tread mills

[jac]

Dont know if this is in the right place but it mite come under mental health… I am seriously considering importing one of those treadmills with the pto on it..or making a circular horse walker with pto… my question is will a horse be more bored on a treadmill or one of these horse walkers… the idea is to power up my hay chopper and get the horses exercised at the same time, but i dont want to send them nuts with repetative work.. I know my lot has a low boredome threshold:D…
John

[Scott G]

John,
Check with Jason R. He has one.

How’s the leg healing up?

Take care of yourself.

[jac]

Thanks Scott… but I think you have me mixed up with cousin Jack:D.. I broke a leg in 2000 but its healed up ok …
John

[Gabe Ayers]

JAC,

I am not sure what boredom means in a negative sense for your horses?

I think there are advantages to the treadmill. One is that walking in a straight line on a slight uphill is less difficult than walking in a circle, given uniform resistance. The fact that the horse can work naked or unharnessed is a plus too, since it eliminates any harness wearing problems and the entire energy collection system takes up less room. The treadmill can be put under a smaller roof than the circular horsepower rigs. It is on sled runners and can be moved around by horses pretty easily.

I have never used the circular horsepower systems, but I have ground or crushed a lot of sorghum cane with a horse walking in a circle. This can lead to sore shoulders and generally sore horses muscularly. I have also seen some horses that would get dizzy/vertigo when walking in a circle for a long time. It seems the bigger the horse the larger the circle needs to be to reduce that result.

When I think of a horse being bored, I think maybe they are falling asleep at the wheel or are hard to keep on task as in keep moving or doing what we ask. The nature of the elevated bed on the treadmill eliminates that concern because the treadmill floor moves under the horse until you set the brake, so they don’t have much option to stop moving. It does take some skill and a well trained animal to get them on the treadmill. It is quite a step up to get on the device and some encouragement may be needed. There have been folks that set the treadmill up stationary and built a ramp to make getting on it easier. Once a horse has walked a while on the treadmill keeping them going isn’t very hard and when you say whoa and set the brake they are usually quite content to stand still.

We are doing some work to enhance the treadmill’s wear features by installing a vulcanized rubber mat around the treadmill, just to slow the wear on the wooden treads and soften the surface for the horse. A horse or animal has to have smooth shoes or be barefoot to work this device with just the wooden treads. They come stocked with white oak and if/when we replace them we will use Black Locust.

The treadmill is available from Athens Enterprises, in Liberty, Kentucky.

I suspect you can make a circular horse power rig easier than a treadmill.

Good luck with using the animals any way possible.

Jason Rutledge

[jac]

Thanks Jason.. that makes sense. Wayne at Pioneer offered to source equipment for me so I may give him a call and see how it goes. I gather they are quite pricey tho and the shipping would add $1000 probably.. a second hand one mite be a good option..
John

[cousin jack]

@Scott G 21682 wrote:

John,
Check with Jason R. He has one.

How’s the leg healing up?

Take care of yourself.

Don’t want to derail the thread, but I think leg is healing fine, but the Doc says I will be in plaster for another 9 weeks yet 🙁 Totally p***ed off.

[Jean]

@Biological Woodsman 21687 wrote:

JAC,

They come stocked with white oak and if/when we replace them we will use Black Locust.

Jason Rutledge

Jason, I know you are talking about using black locust where the horse walks. It is very poisonous to horses, are you worried about them ingesting it somehow, or if the poisons can get in their system through their soles, like black walnut?

Jean

[Gabe Ayers]

Jean,

I must admit that I am not worried about black locust lumber posioning horses through their feet. I know the foilage is toxic, but horses generally don’t eat them in the rougher parts of old growing up pastures. As a player in the forest ecosystem the BL is appropriately not desireable for stock so the reforestation can get a good start by this legumous pioneer species returning unmowed, but grazed land back to a forested condition. Mostly we just thought it might be somewhat tougher and longer lasting than any other species we have locally available particularly when left outdoors.

We still have an idea that a rubber mat or belting around the tread would add to comfort, durability and the life of the treads. I suppose rubber is toxic too, but we would most likely have flat shoes on a horse broke enough to work on the treadmill, but barefoot would work well too. We simply haven’t had time to work the treadmill enough yet to feel experienced about it.

We have been busy working on the owner build Warm Hearth Retirement Village pool enclosure structure. It is 35 miles from the farm so we to do more traveling that I am used to or like. It is a great project and we will report more about it as time goes on. We do have some information on our DRAFTWOOD Forest Products facebook page. Several photos there also.

Best Regards,

[near horse]

Never heard of BL toxicity. Anyone know what the compound is? Also, how much would a horse need to consume? If I recall, young locust has physical protection – thorns and chemical protection in the older vegetation – never heard anything about wood.

I do like BL for a number of other reasons – growth rate, N fixer, tough (live and as wood).

Jason, how worn have your treads gotten by now? Are your horses shod?

[Gabe Ayers]

Geoff,
The wear is barely noticeable, but it is something that will eventually wear away. The horses are flat shod.

I have clips on you tube of the first time we used it this winter under Jason Rutledge’s Channel.

[near horse]

Thanks Jason- I’ll have to take a look at your video clip.

As far as running a hay chopper, John, you’re not talking about a tub grinder are you? Those buggers take a serious amount of tractor HP but guys throw in whole round bales at one time. I’m trying to think of what other style choppers I know of. Maybe a hammermill? Can you help me out here?

[jac]

Hi Geoff.. no I wasnt on about tub grinders but an old Victorian hay chopper or chaff cutter as they were sometimes known.. mine has 3 scimitar shaped blades about 18″ long with a flat belt drive and a small shute that you push hay along with a stick.. it chops to an inch or so and I mix it thru the grain and stops the horses bolting their feed so fast.. the old tractor powers it up just now but I figured as we find it hard to find work in winter that it would be a great way to save diesel and get horses exercised at the same time.. if I can manage that then the tractor will nearly be redundant:cool:…
John

[Gabe Ayers]

http://www.youtube.com/user/JasonRutledge?feature=mhum

this is the link to a few seconds of the treadmill running the woods splitter. There is a front and read view there.

[grey]

Very neat!

[near horse]

Hi Jason,

Since you’re the “man” with the treadmill I’ve got a cople of questions for you. When you’re running the splitter, do you know what the PTO shaft speed is (approx)? Is it running 540RPM at a stiff walk for the horses?

I’m wondering about using the treadmill PTO to drive a press to press oil from some oilseeds. Not sure how to decide if it would work direct drive or if some sort of gearing would be needed. The presses run at pretty low RPM – like 40-60 per minute but it might be a high torque type of load.

Any thoughts?

[Author]

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