Wanted: Single horse mower

[paintpony]

Hi, I’m looking for a single horse mower ready to use. Prefer one that is easy to find parts for.

Thanks

[Donn Hewes]

How much money do you want to spend? How much mowing do you plan to do? How big is your horse? Depending on your answers to those questions, I would make a couple of suggestions for your consideration. One is use a number seven or number nine mower built up with shafts. These are well built machines that can be used and maintained. The bar length will be the most important factor in your horses success in working with it. I have seen these with and with out dolly wheels. Another possibility would be a brand new I & J mower, ground driven or motorized. I have successfully rebuilt a couple of “one horse” mowers that are mowing today. Based on that experience I am not a big fan. Lighter, narrower machines that are a little harder to setup and maintain. My two cents. Donn

Where are you located?

[paintpony]

Hi Donn,

At this point, I’d say at the max I’d want to mow 5 acres (not all at once). I have a 12 hand pony, and a 15 hand quarter horse. Money, I’m on a budget, but want something I don’t have to fix. If it came down to it, and I couldn’t find a one horse used, I’ll have to save my pennies for an I&J ground drive.

Located in AR.

Why do you say the one horse mowers are harder to setup and maintain? Would love to hear of your experience with them.

Thanks

[Donn Hewes]

The one really big advantage of a number 7 or number 9over most any other mower is this. They made lots and lots of them and they were making lots of them right up until they stopped in the 1940’s. They have the used and new and remanufactured parts because of all these mowers in use. They have this advantage even over the JD in my opinion. Many folks like their JD mower (or other more rare make) but try and replace an axle seal in a JD. I don’t think you can find them. The one horse mowers I have seen and worked on fit into this general pattern. Even the McCormack Deering which was a more common model was rare compared to the standard two horse model. The ones I have worked on were probably made between 1910 and 1915 perhaps. Their open gear technology was similar to a number 6. They were built light to improve the performance of one horse, but the wheels were narrow and for a wheel with much ware this would lead to a loose of traction sooner than a wider, heavier wheel. They were lighter where the cutter bar is attached to the head. This is a real stress point and as a result it was difficult to recover lead on these mowers.

Mowing an acre at time is within the range of possibility. Have you ever considered working the two horses together? This would give you more mower options and more success. Do they both drive? Driving these different horses together is one of my favorite subjects, so if you have questions let me know. Donn

[paintpony]

I have considered working the two together, but I had concerns with them being an unmatched pair. My DH didn’t think that two different sized horses would be able to work together. It would certainly be eaiser to find equipment if I could work them as a team. I have been using the pony for driving, pulling logs and I have a garden cart that I pull behind the forecart for odd jobs. I have finally found a good used harness for the mare, and will start training her to hook up to the cart. She already ground drives and will pull the single tree, no problem.

How would you go about hooking them together so that they are working evenly? And also can a pony and a quarter horse pull a two horse mower without too much fatigue?

[Donn Hewes]

I have spent some time working Haflingers and Percherons together. There are some adjustments we can talk about, but first is the general misconception that they “walk at different speeds” or “one pulls harder than the other”. When my wife and I lift something, We usually both take an end. I might be stronger than her (might be !) but we both carry half the load for two reasons. First, it is the simplest set up, each take a half. The second reason is because the work required is with in the ability of the smaller animal. Not to say it won’t tire a little faster than the other, But you will have still cut way more hay easier than with the one horse mower. Has far as how fast they walk, that is really pretty simple. A horse of any size or shape should be going exactly as fast as we ask it to. That sounds great but it can be hard to achieve sometimes.

One thing I like to adjust for is the height disparity. A lower hames ring on the tall horse will make the two hames rings about level and this will keep the heads point forward. Some times you may do something similar for a team with one horse with a high head carriage and one low. or a wide horse and a skinny one. Make sure both horses have harnesses with tugs the same length. Certainly a lot of Haflinger harness is made with shorter tugs than the bigger horses.

I have done a fair bit of mowing with a pair of haflingers And with a five foot bar they could mow a couple acres on a hot day That might take a little over two hours. Your pony might not be as big as they were. The standard evener on a two horse mower is 36 inches. One option if the horse seems stronger than the pony would be to take a 38″ evener and drill a new hole in it about 2″ off center. the 38″ would mean they still had room from the tongue. Put the short end of the evener on the mower side and put the horse on the short end of the evener. Put the pony on the longer side. He will be laughing all the way. For smaller animals I really like a dolly wheel on the mower. It ensures that the front of the mower is up at the right height, no matter where the tongue is. Also easier on the animals, and easier to hook up. Remember to get them working well before they tackle the mower. It is a fun machine to work, but not so good for horses that are not ready for it.
Take a look at these pictures and you will see horses, mules, and ponies working together. Donn

https://picasaweb.google.com/mulemandonn/HorsesAndMules02

[paintpony]

Thanks! You are really helping me alot. At this point I’m going to guess that the pony is just as strong as the horse as he has been pulling/driving for 2 yrs now. I took him out for a 10 mile drive a couple of weeks ago, still eager to go at the end. The horse on the other hand is not in shape and is quite lazy.

Would you describe to me the dolly wheel? Where can I find one and what height should it be set at? Also, how do you attach it to the mower? Could I use the wheels off of an old disc?

I will definetly make sure the horses are ready before hooking up to mower, that would be a monster of a wreck!

Figured out how to add photo of my pony pulling a tree top that fell in the driveway.

[Donn Hewes]

That is a great looking pony. I am no pony man, but as a mule man I can appreciate them as different from horses. You can make a home made dolly wheel (they bolt on the tongue, and the tongue is cut and bolted in). I always recommend buying one however. The amish use them and sell them for between $170 and $200. I know that is not cheap, but these dolly wheels where made for mowers and they really figured out where to put two springs, grease fittings, and the draft rod that help pull the mower square. I have never seen a home made one as good. If you flip through my photo album (above) you will find some close up of dolly wheels and lots of animals pulling them. Donn

[Andy Carson]

I think Donn’s recommendations are very reasonable and practical. From a functional point of view, I would simply do what he suggests. Still, these recommendations bring up thoughts and questions in my head…

I have always suprized me that they were designed so tongue heavy in the first place. I wonder if this was a design flaw or if being front heavy has some fundamental function for mowers. A dolly wheel would solve this front heavy problem, but it would take some weight off the drive wheels. Is it enough to matter? I don’t know… Do you ever see the drive wheels spin more with the dolly wheel setup? Do you have to be more careful about feild conditions? An alternative solution that would take weight off the tongue would be to shift the center of gravity rearwards. You could move the seat back or simply hang something heavy on a short pole extending rearward behind the drive wheels. This makes total sense to me, but I don’t remember seeing this much… Perhaps I haven’t looked hard enough, or perhaps it doesn’t work for some reason… This would actually increase the downward force on the mower (and resultings traction/force) rather than decrease it (as in the dolly wheel). Also, it is easy to set this kind of thing up. Any thoughts Donn?

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Andy, you bring up some interesting points. I was afraid that no one was watching this interesting thread, (because we are down here in the buy and sell) until yesterday I noticed it had some 800 views or something! First, people always say that the #9 was better than the #7 because the gear box was moved back and made for less tongue weight. I think these mowers were better designed than we might give them credit for. Check the tongue weight while someone is in the seat. It is already greatly improved over what you had to lift to hook up the animals. Second, with the hitch adjustable and mounted some few inches below the tongue, this is providing considerable lift as well while moving. For most good sized horses I would never really worry about the tongue weight. These machines to a varying degree also have a great deal of vibration, and I think this is a bigger concern for the horses than the tongue weight. In many cases, this vibration is not so much by design, as by the 70 – 80 years of wear. In either case the dolly wheel or D ring harness will take the problem away from the collar. With a dolly wheel some of the vibration that doesn’t go up the pole goes back to the seat. I have dolly wheels on three mowers that I own. I put them on before I had D ring harnesses, but I wouldn’t take them off. It makes it so much easier to pick up the tongue for hitching! Dolly wheels also serve a valuable purpose for small horses or ponies in holding the tongue at the right height. there is no tongue weight, either on back or neck.

As for slipping that is an interesting question, and one I have been thinking a lot about. I work two mowers regularly. Both have 7′ bars with a variety of guards and knifes. One is a number 7 with slightly worn wheels that are the more narrow type (4.25′). the other is a #9 with 7″ after market steel wheels that replace rubber tires. These are lugged with small pieces of 1/2′ rebar. In most conditions I like the #7 better as I think it is the smoother cutting, easier pulling machine. But under the worst conditions; heavy mowing and dry conditions, (really thick second cutting) the #7 has started to slip a little. Noticing a mower slipping can be a little tricky because they only slip for a second before they plug. You can feel the hesitation, but then you are plugged which is just like any other plug you every had. The number nine keeps jugging a long, no slipping here.

I never really attributed the slipping to the dolly wheel, but it is an interesting thought. I have been planning to change these wheels, or better yet learn how to recondition the lugs. That is something I have been working on this winter, and explains this long and detailed post. If I understand you correctly I could put the end of a tongue on a regular mower up in the air and use a jack to lift an axle; and it should take more effort than if the mower had a dolly wheel. Interesting.

[Mark Cowdrey]

Slightly off to the side… I will reiterate here a point I have made before, when hitching my mower I make sure the cutter bar lift mechanism is released so that when I pick up the end of the pole I am not lifting the cutter bar. This is one of probably only a few things that gets easier to remember the older you get, at least for me.
Mark

[Andy Carson]

@Donn Hewes 38379 wrote:

I never really attributed the slipping to the dolly wheel, but it is an interesting thought. I have been planning to change these wheels, or better yet learn how to recondition the lugs. That is something I have been working on this winter, and explains this long and detailed post. If I understand you correctly I could put the end of a tongue on a regular mower up in the air and use a jack to lift an axle; and it should take more effort than if the mower had a dolly wheel. Interesting.

Yes, Donn, using the dolly wheel will remove some weight from the drive wheels. It sounds like slipping can be a problem, so this reduction in downward force (and reduction in traction) could be a problem. Strong emphasis on the “some” and the “could.” You could jack up the rear with the dolly wheel vs support from the tongue, but you will likely be comparing “heavy” to “heavy.” You will probably need a scale and I’m not sure you have one that would work for this application. Let me suggest a different methology. Weigh the downward force and the end of the tongue and under the dolly wheel. You could probably do this with a bathroom scale and a stool (to sit the tongue on). If you are using a western style harness, you would measure at the end of the tongue. If you are using a d-ring, you would move back from the end of the tongue a distance that is equal to your side straps and weight the downward force at this point. Next, slip the scale under the dolly wheel. Any weight supported by the horses or the dolly wheel is not applied to the drive wheels. If you do this, please share. I am curious.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Andy, I truly believe these weights change when the machine is pulled. Mark, You probably said it before, but that is a good idea. I haven’t found anything getting easier to remember as I get older! Donn

[Andy Carson]

@Donn Hewes 38389 wrote:

Hi Andy, I truly believe these weights change when the machine is pulled.

Perhaps they do, I can see how they could. You could replicate this easily enough. Block the wheels, and apply a forward force to the double tree (or equivalent) that represents the draft force from your horses and/or mules. I would do this with a rope, a pulley, and some known weights. Tim’s collected some data on this on here somewhere on this site. This would represent the effect of the applied draft force when in motion. Probably more accurate with 200 lb (or equivalent) in the seat too. There are always others effects when you are in the field, but i think this captures the effect of the main players.

PS. Here’s a link to the thread discussion mower draft. 462 lbs would be a good estimate of the draft for a 7 foot mower. I don’t don’t have 462 calibrated pounds laying around the house, so I would probably end up putting a pulley on the mower attachment point (doubling the applied force) and hanging 230 lbs. I have free weights laying around that do this. Water containers work too, as do weighed bags of animal feed. Anything else that take be tied to a rope works as well, as long as it’s “people sized” you can just weigh it on the bathroom scale.

shttp://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?3103-Sicklebar-mower-draft&highlight=draft+force+mower

[Does’ Leap]

@Mark Cowdrey 38383 wrote:

….when hitching my mower I make sure the cutter bar lift mechanism is released so that when I pick up the end of the pole I am not lifting the cutter bar. Mark

Wow, I must have missed that tip – thanks Mark. Hopefully I will remember it when I pick up my pole next summer. Does it make a big difference?

George

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