First post / Are Halflingers the team for our farm?

[Billy Foster]

This is my first post to this forum. I have been lurking around for a month or two but I am in need of some advice so it is time to speak-up. Sorry for the long post.
We have a small sheep farm in Poland Maine. My background is growing up working on a dairy farm, Truck mechanic for 20 years, raced sled dogs for about 15 years, Started raising market lambs about 20 years ago, went back to school for a degree in biology and am currently working as a research scientist. I am not 100 so obviously there is some overlap:D. My fiancée was a 4H girl showing sheep as a kid, has been riding and training horses since then as well and she also is a research scientist. Our primary focus is maintaining a steady increase in production through sustainable practices on our farm. We do some gardening for the family and will be planting some vegetable crops to sell to our lamb customers. Most of my chores only require some temporary net fencing and a border collie however I do have a road to drag, fire wood to cut, manure to spread and a garden to plant. In the past I have been using a big old tractor (IH 656) which does it well but is old and I swear every time I use the tractor it cost me money (gas and very often parts). We also have 3 pleasure horses 2 of are retirement age the other has just been sold.
This is where the story begins. The third horse being sold is a beautiful Oldenburg mare; she is 9yo and has been ridden dressage on and off since she was a filly. This is my fiancés horse which she has decided to sell since she can’t give her the time she needs to shine like she deserves, also this warm-blood is just too uptight to trail ride. We want a horse to ride so we will be buying another that will be good for trail rides. The thought has been brewing in our heads about using this horse to help with some chores around here. This idea has gradually evolved into the idea of getting 2 Halflingers to ride and use as a team at our farm. From everything I have read these ponies are good honest workers and excel at pleasure riding as well. A very big part of a farm being sustainable is it has to actually make money. We have accepted that we will be paying to feed one pleasure horse this is a cost that we would already be incurring and I consider it recreation, like a snow machine or going on vacation, not a farm expense. The second horse, as well as the tack that I would need for both, would have to be considered an expense. For this to work I would have to shift more work to horse power and keep the tractor in the barn. I am very happy to do this and am comfortable spending the time with the horses but I need to get some expert opinions on if I am being realistic, so here are some questions.
This is a sheep farm and another horse will be taking away from grass that I could use to support a few more ewes. Also in Maine we feed hay for about 200 days in the winter. I have read the Halflingers are easy keepers; is that a reasonable expectation?
Could I expect a team of Halfingers to pull a 34 bushel manure spreader on relatively level ground? This is JD34 PTO driven spreader. I will have to build a PTO forcart to do this. I could spread smaller loads to reduce the load if need be.
Another big job I have is grading the ¼ mile road to our farm. I have thought about several ways to do this but the most obvious would be to build a 3 wheeled cart with a 3pt hitch and put my York rake on this. I only need to do this twice a year but if I did it more often I could reduce how much I had to cut in and make the draft lighter.
The rest of the work I am sure they are up to: preparing ground and planting cover crops, hauling fire wood, even pulling the small brush mower I use for cleaning up small areas in the pastures.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. The learning curve is pretty steep right now and forums like this give people a great advantage over those starting out in the past. I am also looking for some people in my area to learn from. I can read and watch others at the fair but I have read many times in your forum that a “mentor” is greatly suggested. That is advice that I want very much to take.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Billy Foster

[HeeHawHaven]

Welcome Billy! I am no expert. I have been driving for around 3 years and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. But, I have gained great experience as of late. I own an excellent Fjord and a great young team of Fjord mules. I like their size. They are very strong and are easy keepers. Haflingers should be similar. I have heard that Haflingers are more headstrong than Fjords, but I haven’t had the opportunity to see for myself. This size is also a little easier to find riding tack for – although I’m sure you’ll have to search for a proper fitting saddle. It sounds like the work you’re describing should be fine although I have no idea about the manure spreader. Find someone near you to learn from. Also, don’t underestimate a good mule team for pleasurable rides and work!

Dave

[Billy Foster]

Thanks Dave
Fjords and mules have come up in conversation as well. I have started looking around locally for someone to learn from I think I said it in my first post but one thing I have read over and over again on this forum is “find a mentor”.
Billy

[Pete Jesse]

I have been working with a team of haflingers for three years. They have done everything asked of them. I took some hedge row trees down, 18″ DBH, and they were more than capable of pulling them. I use a David Bradley “75” four wheeled ground drive spreader( I don’t know how many bushels it holds). The first time they pulled it the weight was more than they wanted to start. Once it was moving they were able to pull it but they did not like the weight. Since then I have reduce the load to about half full and have been increasing the weight slowly. They still have some trouble starting it, it is more of a starting together issue, but once it is moving they pull it with ease. The first time I turned the beaters on they did react to the noise but quickly settled down to the job. The person I bought them from said they have also mowed hay, I haven’t tried this yet.

I frequently mention that these animals gain weight just looking a hay. I try to feed them at 2.5% of their body weight using first cutting hay and some oats.

They have both been ridden and are calm and responsive. It is easy to just jump on and lean forward to steer with nothing but the halter or tie the lead rope through their halters.

I have found this team to be quiet and responsive. Who ever trained them did a great job. I wouldn’t hesitate to attach them to any piece of equipment. But I also recognize that as a team they have a combined weight of 2100-2200 lb. and will not be able to pull as much as a 3500+ lb team.

[karl t pfister]

Another way to start to get the feel of working with horses is to do a workshop . An intense 3 -5 days could help alot ,especially as one of you has considerable horse experience . I would recommend both doing a workshop you could piggyback on your gals knowledge . And you get a
“mentor ” for at least the workshop and possibly longer, albeit usually long distance . Goodluck

[mitchmaine]

hey billy and welcome to dap. i know a fella in minot or hebron ? maybe even poland, named brian mitchell. logged with horses for many moons. his dad phil is a logging contractor and thats what they do. brian is a little rough around the edges but knows what hes talking about and would be worth while listening to. further west in berwick is bob crichton, and hes a mule man and can’t be beat. evelyn and francis pike are neighbors of his and do mules too. there is a club over that way called farmers draft hoss and mule assn. you could join. lots of teamsters with various opinions that may not always jibe but never in doubt. you are surrounded with horses and mules and teamsters in every direction. can’t imagine one hasn’t found you yet. good luck with your search.
mitch

[Billy Foster]

MitchMaine: Brian Mitchell, usually has a big plug of chaw in his cheek. Yes I have done some work on one of his father’s trucks back when I was wrenching on trucks. Did he sell his team? I will have to go talk to him. Thanks for the other contacts as well. We have been thinking about the Farmers and draft horse assn sounds like it is a good placed to start.

Pete & Jesse: Good info, I was thinking about pulling the spreader just as you have. I would start with a small load and gradually increase the weight as they become more confident that they can pull it. I really like to hear that they are easy keepers. Feed is my biggest expense so the less they eat the more cost effective they will be. This type of horse sounds like it will fit in really well with us.

[Joshua Kingsley]

I have been working haflingers for a while now on our farm. I have a McCorrmic Deering model 100 ground drive spreader and my team of mares in good shape will pull it and spread with it. My mares weigh around 850-900 pounds each. I would reccomend looking for horses from the “M” blood line on the stallion side or “C” on the mare. The “A” line has more modern influence and is more refined and has a later infusion of arab blood. The biggest thing about working horses, mules, ponies or what ever is to get some you like to work and you will do more of it. If you don’t like being around them they won’t get used much. If you love shetland ponies I would rig a forecart for 4 to do the work but it can be done.
With the spreader you have talked about you should be fine with a pto cart and you should be able to load the spreader pretty well barring any long uphill pulls. my spreader is about the same size and the only time I have any issues is when we get too much hay pack and try to spread it and the beaters plug from the hard packed manure, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue with the pto i would imagine.
Best of luck and enjoy what you decide to do.
Joshua

[Billy Foster]

Really good info about the different breeding lines Joshua, we have been talking about the differences we have seen in the structure of different Halflingers but didn’t realize there were actually different lines. This will definitely help us in our search for a good appropriately built pair. Do you know of any one breeding or selling working type Halflingers in the north east?
Billy

[reb]

Welcome Billy. I don’t have anything to add, I just wanted to say hello and welcome you to DAP. I also have a pair of Hafllingers.
Richard

[Billy Foster]

reb
How far from Poland do you live? What kind of work do you do with your pair?

Billy

[Billy Foster]

Well here they are.
Arnie and Tank. We looked and looked and could not find a team that would fit what we wanted (solid broke to equipment and over 14h). We ended up befriending a teamster that uses Haflingers and he is helping us put a team together. Tank is a 9yo, (14.3h) that came from a hitch horse team; he was being sold because he was not “hitchy” enough. Driving him the first time he was a little tense but the more he worked the calmer he got. I think the prior owner had to get after him a lot to get him to look hitchy but he seems to be calming down as he realizes I want him to just walk and be calm. Arnie is a 3yo (14.2h) that is fairly green to driving but goes down the road pretty well. He gets nervous with noises behind him but will calm down after a bit, even though he has taken me on 2 rides!. He does not seem to hold a grudge if he gets spooked by something and seems to be better with each spooky thing the second time he is exposed to it. I have worked both these horses single in shafts and ground driving but have not put them together as a team. I actually do not have a pole for my fore cart yet so I couldn’t if I wanted to. I am not in a rush to reach that milestone yet. We have had them both for about 2 weeks so a lot of relationships need to be built, between them and me and each other as well. I want to built Arnie’s confidence more before putting him in that situation and I need to feel comfortable that I can handle the situation as well. I have a lot of education to get before that time comes but rest assured, I will have my friend come over and give me a hand for that first hitch. This is not the equipment broke team that we began looking for but I know they will be in time. They both are nice horses and I think they will be as good as I can make them. Thanks everyone for your advice, even if it was not directed specifically to me, just by posting on this forum you have helped me very much.

[Andy Carson]

Very nice, Billy, Congrats! Looking forward to hearing more.

[Marshall]

Billy, nice looking team. When I first started with my haflingers we hooked them to a McCormick Deering 4A all steel spreader. I had an Amish friend helping me and he is a Belgian fan and likes to tease me about my “little horses”. We started out with a small load and all went well so we kept going. Every load he wanted ot pile more on to see how much the horses could handle. On the las load it was piled so high it would hardly stay in the spreader. They didn’t appear to be working very hard. They have hauled a lot of manure since. Two of them in the grain drill is a bit much but they can go for awhile with several breaks. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

[Donn Hewes]

I hope you don’t mind a couple of suggestions. I think they look like a nice team, heavy type haflingers. I worked with a pair like that for several years. sometimes with smaller drafts there is a temptation to make every job see how much they can do. IE. they can pull the same spreader as my big horses; they can pull the same mower; and so on. These are usually very gutsy horses with a lot of try. One problem that can result is to make them a little sour. No problem finding out how much they can do or asking them to pull hard, just don’t get to the point where ever task and pull is like that.

I personally like to set my britchens up a little higher. They will back and stop a load easier. Find the turn of the hip (the hind most part) and set the britchen just two inches below that.

You might already know all that, but just trying to help. Donn

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