How do you know when they are triing hard enough?

[mitchmaine]

Hey jen, good going! I like this thread, too. I don’t want to belabor the point too much, but it made me think about my own twitch horse, molly. She and I are like an old married couple now. We don’t talk much. We know each others habits, good and bad, and go about our business. She pulls twice and twice only when stuck. she looks at me with her wifey look as if to say, fix it. So I rehook, or put on a roll, or shorten up, something, and she tries again and off we go. Once, she came up against a pine root, and it caught. She gave it two and quit. I kept trying her, knowing she could do it, but she wasn’t listening. I got frustrated, coiled up her lines on her hames, grabbed her by the halter and said let’s go. She pulled loose, so I turned back, and here she was with both feet off the ground about a foot and her full ton frame on her hind legs pushin” for all she was worth.. holy cow! All of a sudden, dirt, wood, bark, and mud started flying, and off she went about ten feet and stopped. I gathered my wits, collected the reins and off we went to the brow. What was that all about? Another gear? So now I knew. She never told me about it. Anyway, I use it sparingly, and only when needed, but another gear? Just goes to show you, you never really know. But I think she thought that I thought that I knew that she knew she could do it so she just went and did it. Go figure.

[Tim Harrigan]

Geoff: Good question. In the measurement of pulling forces I would say the changes we measured were due to differences in surface and tools used. We measured tension in the chain between the team and the tool so the tractive effort was not a factor, only the pulling force needed to move the load. From a practical point the tractive surface can have a big effect on the tractive efficiency and the energy expended to move the load.

In some ways it is like the mechanical efficiency of a tractor that we mentioned some time ago in a different discussion. Because of the challenge of converting engine power to useful work at the drawbar, with a two-wheel drive tractor only about 46% of the engine flywheel power is available for work at the drawbar in soft, sandy soil; 56% on tilled soil; 60% on firm soil and 72% on concrete. The challenge is in developing traction and overcoming motion resistance. I do not know exactly how those numbers compare with draft animals but the surface clearly has a big impact.

We measured the pull, not the tractive efficiency and variable effort of the animals. That would more difficult and would probably involve comparing physiological responses such as heart and respiration rate, deep body temperature and probably other things like foot slippage and efficiency of movement with video, etc. So it is difficult to measure but not so hard to demonstrate by simply walking on plowed ground, loose sand or deep snow. Load up a wheel barrow and roll it down the drive over the grass and through the tilled garden ground and it becomes real. Your team senses the same changes related to motion resistance and footing. The perceptive and observant teamster will adjust expectations accordingly.

Last weekend I had my team out in the woods skidding out some dead ash for firewood. The snow was about 12 inches deep in most places but knee deep to the team near the edge of the woods from drifting and lack of thawing. The logs floated OK, maybe sinking in 4 to 6 inches, but the team really changed their focus in those conditions. They stepped high and were deliberate in placing their hind feet in the holes made by their front feet. That kept them upright, not leaning into the load, and the snow was pulling at their legs. I know because it did the same to me and it was exhausting. They were winded way out of proportion to the load and hauling distance. So was I.

So our measured pull is a guideline. A point of departure for discussion and consideration for experienced teamsters and most helpful as a teaching and training guide. The skill and experience of the teamster has to provide guidance and refine the process. I like the way Carl framed it:

“This way he will not only become strong enough to move the weight, but he will learn that he has the permission to apply as much power as he needs. In fact, that is what she wants, and that she will be there with him to continue to direct him , and help him to manage that exertion so that he won’t wear himself out.”

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