I & J mowers

[hobnob]

Hi. I’m possibly looking at investing in one of the I&J ground drive mowers down the line. They sell them with 5 & 1/2 ft bars for single horse or 7 ft for pairs. Just wondering what people make of those lengths – feedback I’ve had from other people using vintage mowers are that 3-4ft tops is as much as a single horse would want to be pulling (& I’m talking about heavy draft horses such as Ardenners), with a 5 & 1/2 ft bar being something more appropriate for pairs. That is from a European perspective, & perhaps we have hillier ground this side of the pond. I have this impression that in America you’re all operating on vast flat plains type terrain…..Or is it that these newer mowers are that much more efficient & easier to pull than the older style ones, that it enables a horse to pull that much of a longer bar? Any comments, please? Also, are they the only company currently producing horse drawn mowers, or are there others to look at? Thanks

[carl ny]

IMHO I would say the old mower would be 4 ft. for single and 6 ft. for a team. I would also say that I&J are probably right on as I would think that the new machines would pull and cut a lot easier than the old style. Oh yeah, what are “vast flat plains”, Not in New York!!! LOL

carl ny

[Donn Hewes]

I don’t know of any other companies making new HD mowers. I have one of their brochures on my table and it looks like a nice machine. I wouldn’t hesitate to hook a horse over 1500# to the 5 1/2 bar. You will have to wait and see when the right time to rest is or how many acres per day it will do, but that is the nature of the one horse operations, right?

[Does’ Leap]

@Donn Hewes 38480 wrote:

I wouldn’t hesitate to hook a horse over 1500# to the 5 1/2 bar.

Hey Donn, you know a lot more about mowers than me, but that seems like a lot for one horse – the equivalent of an 11 foot bar for two horses. As you know, I run a 6 ft bar on my flatter land (this is a relative term), and a 5 ft bar on my hills and I would like to think my horses are hard and my mowers are well tuned. The I and J is a ground drive unit (I know they sell a motorized mower)? Do they really run that much better than the MD #7s and #9s?

George

[Donn Hewes]

i think there are two different factors at work here George. One is I will bet those mowers are more efficient and easier to pull than ours. They also sell a standard model 9′ for two horses. Second, the single horse movement as I call it is real and growing. It is not necessarily how I would choose to do things, but lots of people want to, and are doing some amazing stuff with one horse. So what will happen when you hook a single horse to this mower. If he is not mentally and physically prepared, it wont go well. if they are a good stout horse they will make the more go just fine, but you will need to stop and rest before two horses would, (and maybe for longer) The best people to ask would be I&J. 717-442-9451. Call between 8 and 9 am

One thing I didn’t understand at first was that hobnob was talking about hillier ground. Yes that would make a big difference, and I might not be as eager to try it in that situation. Also, what do they cost?

[Tim Harrigan]

Donn, I am curious about side-draft in those 9 ft machines. What do you make of that?

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Tim, Along with slipping; I think side draft is a good indication of how well your mower is running. Of course there is side draft by design, but how much? I can say this, I use two seven foot bars regularly. When the mowers are working well and moving ahead without plugging, the side draft is not evident. Not to say it isn’t there, but you don’t notice it in your tongue or yokes. When you have a mower that is misbehaving, you can immediately see and feel the side draft. Almost like a sag and bounce, sag and bounce. So I think the longer bars in and of themselves won’t be a problem for side draft, provided they are cutting as advertised. It would be fun to try one.

[J-L]

I have the motor driven 7′ model. The double action cutting stroke is pretty awesome. They cut the rankest of lodged grass hay without plugging and you barely hear the little Honda motor bog at all.
I think a decent horse could run 5.5′ alright.

[Does’ Leap]

Back to my original question….Are we talking ground driven or motorized mowers here? The answer, to me, would make all the difference regarding what one horse could comfortably pull (or two for that matter). Hobnob, you mentioned a ground drive mower in your original post. Do I and J even make a ground driven mower? I have seen their mowers, usually powered by a motor, being used on their ground drive PTO cart, but I am not aware if they have a stand alone ground driven mower.

George

[Tim Harrigan]

That’s for sure, George. Almost 1/2 the draft of the mower is in the resistance of the crop to the knives, and about 1/3 is just the mechanical resistance of the gearing. Put an engine on it and it turns into a pretty easy job.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi George, I wiish I was on their mailing list, but an Amish friend of mine recently passed me one of I & J ‘s flyers. I have seen some of these parts (the double motion knife etc. But never the complete, all new, horse drawn, mower.) This is the first company I know of to make an all new GD mower. There is an outfit making the all new center cut mower but that is different. From their flyer They will sell this mower in many combinations. Motorized, PTO, or ground drive. Trailered or three point hitch, and 5 1/2, 7, and 9 feet. It would seem any combination of the above. Again really nice looking machines, How much more efficient? What do they cost? I have to run now but I bet you can find them on line. Check out: farmingwithhorses.com

[hobnob]

Does’ Leap – yes, my original question referred to their ground drive mowers (they make them ground drive, PTO or motorised). Not that I’m passing judgement on anyone or anything, because everyone has their own situation & their own motivations, but purely for my own personal situation, I prefer to go for the non-motorised solution where there is one.

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