Greenhorn from Dixie

[Smalltown]

Hey all,

I’m a 25yr old man in Alabama just getting into farming with horses. I just purchased my first team of draft horses last Saturday, Percherons. I’ve had saddle horses from time to time but never any real work animals. It’s a whole new, big, exciting world to me. I’ve got a ton to learn so this seemed like a good site to join.

Jordan

[LStone]

Congratulations and welcome Jordan. This is the right place.

Larry

[Andy Carson]

Welcome Jordan, we are glad to have you.

[bradley]

Hey Jordan, just wondering where you are in Alabama, I am from Ozark but live in Massachussetts now, a buddy of mine runs a farm in Birmingham. Congratulations on your first team.

[Smalltown]

Thanks everybody!

Bradley,

I’m fairly close to a little town called Ashville, about an hour from Birmingham. Does your friend in Birmingham farm with horses?

[Carl Russell]

Welcome Jordan. I hope to hear about your progress. Good luck, Carl

[bradley]

Hey Jordan, my friend Keith doesn’t have horses but he wants to get a team of steers this winter. He works at Jones Valley Farm. They have a CSA and do markets in Birmingham. He lived up here and worked with my horses some.

[OldKat]

Welcome Jordan. Wish you were an hour southeast of B’ham instead of an hour northeast. I am going to be in Alabama week after next visiting my daughter at Auburn & would drop by and visit with you, too. Alas, it would be about 3 to 3.5 hours up to where you are and I don’t have that much extra time in the schedule.

How are you going to use your team on your farm? Where did you get them? What kind of experience do they have?

[Smalltown]

Carl,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m reading Lynn Miller’s Work Horse Handbook 2nd ed. and saw a picture of you in there logging with horses, very cool. Maybe I’ll get to meet you at one of the field days sometime.

Bradley,

That sounds interesting, I may have to look him up sometime.

OldKat,

War Eagle!!! I didn’t go to school there but I’m a big Auburn football fan. I wish you could come up to my place, I’d love to be able to talk with you about working with horses and learn from you. It is a good 3.5 hour drive though.

I plan to use my horses for farm work mostly; plowing, planting, cultivating etc. I would also like to try a small logging project by pulling out the trees that fall into the creek. Their first real job is going to be powering a sorghum press and then pulling a disk over the sorghum field for a cover crop. The guy I bought them from trains draft animals as a hobby mostly and worked them about once a week. I worked the horses to a wagon, walking plow and sulky plow and disk two different weekends before buying them. Thanks for asking.

[OldKat]

@Smalltown 21207 wrote:

Carl,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m reading Lynn Miller’s Work Horse Handbook 2nd ed. and saw a picture of you in there logging with horses, very cool. Maybe I’ll get to meet you at one of the field days sometime.

Bradley,

That sounds interesting, I may have to look him up sometime.

OldKat,

War Eagle!!! I didn’t go to school there but I’m a big Auburn football fan. I wish you could come up to my place, I’d love to be able to talk with you about working with horses and learn from you. It is a good 3.5 hour drive though.

I plan to use my horses for farm work mostly; plowing, planting, cultivating etc. I would also like to try a small logging project by pulling out the trees that fall into the creek. Their first real job is going to be powering a sorghum press and then pulling a disk over the sorghum field for a cover crop. The guy I bought them from trains draft animals as a hobby mostly and worked them about once a week. I worked the horses to a wagon, walking plow and sulky plow and disk two different weekends before buying them. Thanks for asking.

War Eagle! Gee Jordan, sounds like maybe I could learn a thing or two from you! I’d give anything to be there when you fire up that sorghum press.

Is the guy you bought them from relatively near to you? Are his horses the old, deep bodied farm type or are they the taller, leggier hitch type? I am sure looking for an old-time squatty bodied Perch stallion to breed one or both of my mares to.

BTW: I have a design in mind for a disk that could be pulled by a team and then modified for more horses if a guy had more horsepower available. I can’t get the parts locally, but there is a place in Tifton, Ga where I can get them so I will be making a side trip over there. Otherwise, I probably would try to slip by and see what you are doing. Maybe next trip we will have a liitle more time, sort of short trip this go ’round.

[Smalltown]

@OldKat 21230 wrote:

War Eagle! Gee Jordan, sounds like maybe I could learn a thing or two from you! I’d give anything to be there when you fire up that sorghum press.

Is the guy you bought them from relatively near to you? Are his horses the old, deep bodied farm type or are they the taller, leggier hitch type? I am sure looking for an old-time squatty bodied Perch stallion to breed one or both of my mares to.

BTW: I have a design in mind for a disk that could be pulled by a team and then modified for more horses if a guy had more horsepower available. I can’t get the parts locally, but there is a place in Tifton, Ga where I can get them so I will be making a side trip over there. Otherwise, I probably would try to slip by and see what you are doing. Maybe next trip we will have a liitle more time, sort of short trip this go ’round.

This is our first year to try making sorghum syrup so we’ll see how it turns out.

His farm is in Hayden, AL, about 45 min from me and he doesn’t actually keep a stallion. Dale and his dad train draft animals as a hobby I guess. His dad likes mules and the son is more into horses. Anyway he will get a young team and train them, maybe go to a few plowing events, and then sell them after a few years and get another team. I really couldn’t say yet (still getting my “draft eyes”) if mine are the old style but I think probably not. One is a bit stout and the other is more long legged but I think they would probably both be considered the new style. I’ll try to post some pics. Dale said he got them from a friend who has a lot of Percheron mares and a stud. I could ask him about the stallion if you want. Also the lady who ownes a harness shop near me has several teams and one stud and I think it’s a Percheron, I’ll look at him the next time I’m over there.

That disk idea sounds really interesting, you should try to get a patent for it. I’d like to hear how it works out. I know how those quick trips can be, maybe next time.
Jordan

[Smalltown]

Here are some pics of my team OldKat.

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