evener/doubletree and yoke sizes

[jen judkins]

I recently was shopping in a local harness shop…dangerous as I went home with a new D-Ring harness for Peanut, Collar and all. I consider it my contribution to stimulating the economy:D

Anyway, while I was waiting for them to pack up my harness I went looking at the eveners, double trees and yokes…yes, I believe there is a team in my future, even if a mini pair. I was confused by all the different sizes.

I thought it might be an interesting topic. Is there a way to measure your horses ass to figure out a double tree size that works? Or are there standard sizes for pony, horse, draft, etc? Do you always have the same size trees on an evener?

I’ve only seen yokes with an O-ring attachment, but there were some there with a bolt on set-up…I assume this is meant to be left on the pole semi-permanently? The O-ring allows you to use different equipment more easily? How do you size a yoke?

I did buy a single tree for skidding purposes…I believe it is 32 inches. I guessed and thought it probably wasn’t a huge issue for a single horse skidding firewood. but I can still return it if someone thinks it is inappropriate for a 1300 lb belgian.

Thanks as usual.

[Plowboy]

The neck yoke and evener bar must be the same length so the horses are able to walk straight and comfortable. I think most of ours are 40” and the singletrees are 30”. Ours are average size drafts 1600-2000#. As long as the evener bar and the neck yoke are the same, wider singletrees are not a problem but too narrow may cause rubbing on the horses legs. We prefer a slide on yoke as opposed to a bolt on yoke for convenience and versatility. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

i just bought a real narrow single tree to use on a single horse cultivator. when the plants start to get higher the single tree may start to hit them. so a short one makes sense for that job. i guess it always helps to know what you want to do with your horse when looking for any equipment.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Jen; I don’t know whatnot about eveners & such, but one thing I remember from my studying & asking is that there is a possibility of a slip-on neckyoke coming off – I don’t know how common it is (probably not too), but there’s a guy who advertises in SFJ that developed a latch to put on the tongue that prevents this, while still having the convenience of quick-change. Perhaps someone here has tried this?

[Plowboy]

The only time it is possible for a slide on neck yoke to come off is if you are hooked too long. Those latches are a good safety net for beginners but require someone to go upfront and release it when unhooking. It seems like a bad habit for them to always have someone upfront when getting hitched and unhitched both horses and people. We saw one of the new one’s on display at the Amish repair shop and it was more of a joke to them and they work horses everyday. We do pin the neckyoke when working tandem hitches just in case you can’t take up enough line pressure to slow up your wheel team quick enough. If you worried about every little possibility you would never take them out of the barn.

[Simple Living]

In selecting an evener for plowing, the width/length is important so that the furrow horse is centered in the furrow and not being pushed into the plowed ground, or pulled back into the landside. The evener length will affect the draft and travel on the plow. There is a formula for figuring out the length for the size plow you are using, I have seen it in several books, I’ll have to look it up and post it for you.

Gordon

[Plowboy]

Simple Living, thanks I forgot that one . We use a 36″ evener for the walking plow with full size horses. I’m not sure of the formula but close is the key especially when you go to 3 abreast.

[Simple Living]

This is taken from Sam Moore’s book “Implements for Farming with Horses and Mules, a Modern All-In-One Manual” It is a bit pricey but I have learned a wealth of knoledge,well worth the price.

“The center of power of a 2 horse team is a line from a point exactly midway between the inside hame hooks to the center clevis of the evener. The center of draft of a 14″ two-horse walking plow is about 2″ in from the landside and directly under the middle of the plow beam. The distance from the center of draft to the edge of the furrow wall is thus 14″ minus 2″, or 12”. The furrow horse walkes in the middle of the furrow, so his singletree clevis will be 7″ from the furrow wall. The distance then, from the center of draft, or the middle of the evener to the singletree clevis is 19″, calling for a 38″ evener.

For a 12″plow, the center of draft is approximately 10 1/2″ from the furrow wall plus 6″ to the center of the furrow, or 16 1/2″. Thus, a 33″ evener should be used on a 12″ plow.”

There is a lot more information on plowing and such in the book. I find it easy to read and if you have some basic knowledge of machines and physics, you can translate the information for your needs. Hope this helps and not clouds the issue.

Gordon

[OldKat]

@Simple Living 7247 wrote:

This is taken from Sam Moore’s book “Implements for Farming with Horses and Mules, a Modern All-In-One Manual” It is a bit pricey but I have learned a wealth of knoledge,well worth the price.

“The center of power of a 2 horse team is a line from a point exactly midway between the inside hame hooks to the center clevis of the evener. The center of draft of a 14″ two-horse walking plow is about 2″ in from the landside and directly under the middle of the plow beam. The distance from the center of draft to the edge of the furrow wall is thus 14″ minus 2″, or 12”. The furrow horse walkes in the middle of the furrow, so his singletree clevis will be 7″ from the furrow wall. The distance then, from the center of draft, or the middle of the evener to the singletree clevis is 19″, calling for a 38″ evener.

For a 12″plow, the center of draft is approximately 10 1/2″ from the furrow wall plus 6″ to the center of the furrow, or 16 1/2″. Thus, a 33″ evener should be used on a 12″ plow.”

There is a lot more information on plowing and such in the book. I find it easy to read and if you have some basic knowledge of machines and physics, you can translate the information for your needs. Hope this helps and not clouds the issue.

Gordon

Where did you buy this book? I don’t remember seeing this one in the SFJ Bookshelf, etc. Sounds like one I should have.

[Simple Living]

I think I received it as a gift now that I think of it. BUT…..I did find it at the Rural Heritage web page. Here is a link to their page. I would think you could find it in other places as well. Hope it helps.

http://ruralheritage.com/bookstore/catalog_details.cgi?recno=517

Gordon

[OldKat]

@Simple Living 7391 wrote:

I think I received it as a gift now that I think of it. BUT…..I did find it at the Rural Heritage web page. Here is a link to their page. I would think you could find it in other places as well. Hope it helps.

http://ruralheritage.com/bookstore/catalog_details.cgi?recno=517

Gordon

Thanks Gordon. I’ll check it out for sure.

Stephen R.

[Author]

Posts