Long Day

[J-L]

I had moved a herd of cows, approximately 150 head, down to a stack of hay owned by my uncle. It’s about 8 miles from my ranch. Tomorrow is the day I planned on bringing them back up. We’re going to put them on the west side of the ranch to feed up another stack of hay.
Now it’s going to take two teams to get feeding done. One over there rolling out the round bales and one at the home place feeding square bales to 95 cows and 50 yearlings. It’s about 3 miles from one herd to the next.
I’ll be feedin on the east side with my little bitty mules, Ruthie and Sarah. I haven’t weighed them but think their combined weight is less than my perch gelding, Clyde. Handy, good little team for chores though.
Last year working a team out there on the west side, it was a tough job. The bales (1100-1200 lb.) were stacked 3 high and some were a year old and mis-shapen. Hard, jerky pulls getting them out and unrolled.
This year I decided to put 3 head on my cart for this job. Had to readjust harness from one big mule down to one little mule, big horse to medium mule, new (used, but new to me) harness to my big horse, and make some stub lines for 3 abreast. On top of that I had to dig my 3 horse evener out of the snow and find another neck yoke. Had to repair my round bale unroller and find my little tool sled (also burried in a snow bank), etc, etc…then get cattle fed in both places, and scatter feed out for the cows out west after their trip home tomorrow.
I got it all done, and unharnessed three head in the dark and had supper a little while ago. Glad to call it a day. Now to get that herd of cows home tomorrow.

[Donn Hewes]

hi J-L, It sounds like a long day for sure. But isn’t it fun watching the power of the three abreast? One of my favorite hitches and I use it mostly in the winter. Pictures?

[J-L]

Yes Donn 3 abreast is a very useful tool to have in your arsenal. You definitely have more power and don’t give up much in the way of manuverability. I still have the ability to get a team of three in a stackyard and get them turned easily enough.
I’ll try and get some pictures, I know you (Donn in particular) will appreciate the mule working in with the horses.

[mink]

J-L how do you go about starting the round bales when they are froze on the outsides? mink

[Gabe Ayers]

we often use an ax and stout pitchfork to get them started unrolling. Often we keep this degraded material near the barn and used it for bedding in a deep litter method in some of the stalls. We don’t always have enough sawdust, hay chaff or straw for bedding and this beats nothing if you are keeping them in a stall overnight.

[OldKat]

I don’t know J-L, but it sounds to me like you get more done in one day than most people do in a week. I admire your tenacity.

[Lingodog13]

Now you’ve got me curious–who do you have in your 3? Did you make them draw straws?

[dominiquer60]

When I used to work on a sheep farm feeding round bales, we would often use a hay knife to cut through bales to start them. The old fashioned kind that one used to use to cut through loose hay in a barn. I got one at an auction for $5 because no one really knew what it was.

Erika

[J-L]

Lingodog, I put a Percheron horse on either side of my black mule. Makes a good team, but the big horse, Clyde, isn’t the most nimble. Your Val mare would have been excellent on the right side for me.
Mink, I usually cut through it with a razor knife. If I can I try to gather up the strings and tie them to my cart while I’m backed up to the bale to unroll. When we go ahead it’ll usually get the frozen strings (and a chunk of icy hay) off the bale. Then it’ll unroll pretty easily. I have a couple of old hay saws here too. Might have to sharpen one up and put it on cart. I have had to use my water hole axe a time or two as well.
We got the cows home without much incident. Nicest day we’ve had for a long time, but windy. They were some tired cows yesterday still, but they cleaned up their hay and looked content.

[LostFarmer]

Are you ready to try the black mule with the Idaho mules on the flanks? At least the black one has a brain. I look forward to seeing this in action. LF

[J-L]

Their turn is coming, not ready yet. You’ll get a chance to see first hand. Hope the roads are open to get you here.

[Author]

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