[Carl Russell]

I meant to say “Snow Seal”, but I also have used Mink Oil.

Donn even with no pressure the Beta lines can be slippery. It’s not so much about having to hold tight, as it is about grip. Although I do find that maneuvering around obstacles under load in the woods that horses tend to put more pressure on the bit, and need more contact for guidance.

My hands only get cold when the gloves get wet, and that is the primary reason why I treat the gloves with Snow Seal, but one side effect is the “grippiness”.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

No that’s office assistants.:eek:

[Carl Russell]

Private sales, and auction. I am always looking. I never find what I want if I wait until I need it. I just ask and look, and keep an eye on the classifieds, and other sources, and when the deal presents itself, I buy.

I have a little piece of philosophy that I try to keep working in my life. It applies to many different aspects of economic, social, and emotional factors. “Opportunities are like Grouse. You can’t shoot until you beat the bushes and flush one out.”

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I use Kinco. In my mind the only glove to wear in the woods in the winter. I regularly rub in Mink Oil. This gives them a grippier quality. I also use Beta lines. They do seem slippery in certain conditions, but I have gotten used to it, and learn to overcome it in some way. Every once in a while, I have the grab a loop, wrap the lines around my hand. Not the safest, but better than letting them slip free.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Earle, I definitely see the irony here. 2 years ago I hadn’t even been on the Internet, and these days I am checking a couple of times a day. To me it feels like a great opportunity to connect to a wide community, but it is no replacement for actually doing the work.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Dave, looks like a good cart. Depending on how big your trailer is, I back my cart up ramps right into the trailer (16′) and then stand my horses on either side of the pole. I chain the cart tight so it doesn’t slop around.

Seems like a pretty big cart to try to get into the bed of the truck.

Good luck, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Welcome Rick. Nice photo.

Can you tell us, from a working horse perspective, why this is one of your favorite photos?

What is this photo showing us?

Do you have a purpose for taking pictures of working horses?

Can you show us how you are helping to advance the culture of working horses with your photography?

I hope you can add something positive to this site, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Aw shucks:o.

I haven’t seen the article yet but I was only one among many interesting and enervated folks from all over New England.

I’m glad to have taken part in such a inspiring undertaking.

See you next year everyone:D, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Hey Miles, I thought others would chime in before now, so I held off.

At this stage of the game (7 mo) I wouldn’t be too worried about “straining” them. Muscle-wise, they actually need the exercise, and 250 pounds is only about 25 board feet. Pretty puny log. Sure they can handle that, just make a lot of trips. That’s not bad either, but I think they could handle up to 500 pounds even, and probably more.

The actual poundage is not so important as the fact that they get used to moving the weights you hitch them too. If you keep hitching to weights they can move then they will not only build muscle, but they will learn that they can pull whatever you hitch them to. Just play with them, and you will learn what they are ready for. And every once in a while put them on a good challenge, just to see how they handle it, and to keep them informed that they always need to be ready to pull more than they ever have before.

Have fun, and a good new year, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Scyther;13997 wrote:

Makes me think of the old Saturday Night Live skit with the punch line,” it’s better to look good, than to feel good”. Only the truth is in reality the opposite. In this case, it’s better to work good than to look good. Good luck.

Or….It’s not how they look from the road, but how they work in the field that counts:D.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

These are good thoughts. I yearn for the day when the animal power community is tight-knitted enough that people work with regional breeders to work out these things you wrote about.

Currently it is too easy for me to come by a horse that seems suitable for my uses, and even though I have always had mares in my teams, and have thought many times about raising my own horses, the whole bred-mare-foaling thing is still beyond my conceptual reach.

My wife really wants me to get our Belgian mare bred to one of Neal Perry’s Morgan stallions. I admit I just haven’t wrapped my head around the whole thing yet. But based on your discussion, perhaps it is time:eek:.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Glad to have you aboard. Hope to see more of what you are undertaking. I like the website. Which section do you manage?

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I hang mine in the breeze-way behind my horse stalls. The door is always open. Sometimes I get some mildew, but I wipe it off, and oil the harnesses a couple of times a year. If it is too wet from working while it is snowing or raining, I will wipe it off, and sometimes hang them it the basement by the wood stove. I take the bridles and collars into the basement anyway in the dead of the winter.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Good luck James, keep it between the lines:D, Carl

[Carl Russell]

DraftDriver;13977 wrote:

…..
Bachelor Farmer…I will debate you that Belgians and Percherons are the same, as I don’t think so. Belgians are more even keeled in manners and attitude, getting down to business and are honest. Not saying that Percheron’s aren’t but they are a bit more flashy and easy on the eyes if you will. I hope that makes sense.

This statement is far too generalized. There is no way at this day and age that those kind of characterizations can be made about those two breeds. Some breeds like Brabants, or Suffolks, or the like, have not been so overbred that disposition is still a strong genotype. Both modern examples of Belgians and Percherons have far too many variations to be able to make general statements about the breeds.They may not be the “same”, but both breeds are so variable that neither are they “distinctly diferent”.

Carl

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