[Carl Russell]

In Vermont we call those “Mountain Planes”, “Hoe-dads” or more accurately “Maddock”, often Pick-maddock, or Axe-maddock. I have one of each, and have used them to build most of my waterbars over the last 20 years…. although now I can build broad-based dips with the crawler.

I have also used them to dig out stumps, and fill in eroded ditches, and yes even turn the garlic beds….

Carl

[Carl Russell]

And maybe the effect the accomplishment has on me rubs off on them.

Now we’re getting down to it.

There is no doubt a “chicken and the egg” syndrome here, but when you are confident about the work, or at ease during execution, then they will be much more attracted to your leadership, AND in those situations you will also be more inclined to put energy into more consistent leadership because you know you can pay less attention to the task.

Garden work, or other work where detailed execution is required, straight furrows and the like, can derive a certain anxiety that rivets our focus on the task, but also conveys to the animals our uncertainty, or discomfort, which in turn is not attractive, or might even be upsetting to them.

When we are comfortable, or certain, then directing animals through the complexities of work can be a very effective way to reinforce leadership, making very responsive animals. The converse is true also, so finding those tasks where you can really see their attentiveness is key to building a responsive working relationship. Then build on that up until you can keep their attention even into unfamiliar, or uncomfortable, or complex situations….

Carl

[Carl Russell]

You got one good one Bill!!!!

Thanks, nice looking horse, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Upon reflection, I did not intend to make it seems as though I thought that you were not driving your animals.

I was trying to point out one important difficulty of performing tasks with working animals.

We often focus on the working task, plowing, cultivating, mowing, or skidding, and by doing so we typically run into situations where our animals are not “helping” sometimes because our focus is on the furrow more than on the animals.

This summer while working with an intern, I said to him, “the primary purpose is not to get logs on the landing, the primary purpose is to get responsive animals.”

It is my belief that if we drive for responsiveness first, and the working task second, then we will accomplish both better…… which is why I had highlighted Erika’s comment about timing and reward…..

Keep up the good work, Carl

[Carl Russell]

It is important to strike a balance between taking advantage of an animal’s habitual nature, and letting them decide what they should be doing. This kind of work is probably some of the most pattern-based exercises we do with animals. I think this is a good example of the challenge of the teamster’s art. When animals begin to develop habitual response, whether they are doing what you want, or not, they are taking advantage of gaps in leadership.

The trick is to find that thin line where you are continually guiding them, but without having to work too hard at it. We want to “let” the animal work, but we also need to keep them guessing, focused on us, looking to us for what they want, reward.

I don’t think the idea is to try to trick them about where the field begins and ends. Rather it is more of a constant agenda, so that they know that rest/reward can come at any time, and is related to not just pace, but obvious attention to the guidance of the teamster. Then they know that as long as they are in yoke, they are working, and every step should be in accordance with what the teamster directs them to do.

Erika’s example clearly exemplifies this. She is driving her cattle. In fact, she is never not driving her cattle…… And they know it.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

What state is the horse in? I know he looks fit, but what geopolitical region is he in?

Thanks, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Proper timing and reward is the key to what works for me.

Amen to that…….

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jereon, the steps are cut at an angle to act as a bumper for the wheels. Without the steps one is inclined to step on the ground in front of the wheel, which would result in the risk you mention, so I find them to be a more safe alternative.

The “seat” is really not a “seat” per se, more of a butt-rest. When using this chariot-style cart I tend to stand most of the time anyway, as it is easier to maintain balance, so a lower seat presses against the back of the thigh. Having the butt-rest gives more stability over rough terrain in the woods.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Some folks have a fleet of John Deere Tractors….. I now have a fleet of Barden Log carts….. one for a single, one for the team…

Les built the larger cart about ten years ago for my friend John Hurley. John was a big man so the cart is bit larger than the one I have been using. Accordingly, the hitch is about a foot higher as well. You may also see a few modifications not on my cart, such as angle bumper/steps in front of the wheels.

John died last winter, and his executors finally dug all the way to the back of the storage container where this cart had been stored. Can’t wait to wear some paint of this rig….

Carl

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[Carl Russell]

Rick, we had a good gathering. It was pretty much agreed that the bottom line really comes down to marketing the end product. Of course it is kind of a chicken and the egg thing. How do we put into place practices that support a possible market advantage if we don’t have the market? Or, how can we develop a market for source differentiated product if we don’t have in place the practices that support it?

I think the first step is going to be over the next year to work with draft animal loggers in the NE to determine what they are doing already that could classify them as Biological Woodsmen, or what practices they may need to improve upon.

Then in the fall of 2014 I would like to hold a NE Biological Woodsmens Week, where our NE BW would come to participate in a week-long harvest. In this exercise we can compare notes on techniques and equipment, augment our understanding of the Draftwood Standards, enhance our social bonds, and expose the broader public to the concept to increase the possibilities for marketing. This event, hopefully co-sponsored with DAPNet, would also be an opportunity for novices and landowners to observe and learn.

Folks should understand that my preference is toward unity and cooperation, not competition. I decided a few years ago, that much of what Healing Harvest Forest Foundation and Draftwood
Inc. have been doing is stuff that many of us have been doing for years anyway. Sometimes it seems hard to endorse the work that others have done, but from my perspective, and from talking in detail with Jason Rutledge, it makes a lot of sense to try to expand his work, rather than to recreate a new concept.

There are legal realities to using the terms and standards that he has created, but he has a significant emphasis on cultural development rather than on some corporate business plan. I am suggesting, and have his full support and cooperation, to develop a Draftwood Program in the NE.

Some have suggested that this would be a separate entity, but I really just see it as a regional association that would be primarily for organization and cooperative marketing, possibly pooling our resources and production at certain times.

If this works, then eventually the lines between NE and SE, or other regions, would dissolve as the broader market for Draftwood increases.

Donn Hewes (DAPNet BOD Pres.) and I are in communication now trying to work out details for the 2014 NE BWW, and I will be reaching out to producers to see about developing a BW certification process. I am also trying to arrange time to travel to VA this Nov to HHFF BWW 2013.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I don’t trim feet like this when barefoot, only shod. The white line runs back up away from the blunting, so the wall is really not thinned enough to critically weaken the foot. The shoe is still as wide as normal, to accommodate the heel expansion and frog. It is just he very front toe of the shoe that is pulled back to the white line…..

I was showed this method by old horse loggers over 25 years ago, and have been shoeing my horses like this since then. I have never had an issue related to the weakening of hoof wall as a result of doing this.

Not saying this is for everyone, just trying to answer the question to shed light on the reasoning….

Carl

[Carl Russell]

It all comes down to turning the toe into the soil for traction. They will naturally do that, but if the toe is shorter, they can set the angle of their feet easier, and I have found it to make a big difference in the horse’s confidence.

I was shown to bring the front of the shoe back to the white line. The angle at the bottom of the foot is how the angle of the pastern is controlled, but blunting the toe will not affect that, it just won’t run all the way to the tip of the toe.

In the pic below, you can see one of the off horse’s hind feet is tipped right over so that the sole of her foot is perpendicular to the angle she is pushing….. that’s the basic idea… not that a longer toe won’t let that happen, just that with the shorter toe it is easier for them.

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[Carl Russell]

My log cart has a 24″ high hitch….. It is not as high as other designs, but not low. It is the chariot design that is low, and that is unattractive to many.

Again, it is not that your horses don’t want to pull, it is that live power is limited, and designs that combine efficiencies will augment long-term functionality. Finding a balance between the gain of a high hitch, and maintaining the bio-mechanical efficiency of the horse has real value……then add teamster comfort, safety, and practicality of having tools available at an arms length……….

Les is renowned for “Raising the Bar”, and his cart design is a fine example of that. Farming is an art. Logging is an art. Working animals is an art. In my mind, finesse and thoghtfulness are where the greatest advantages are when considering these undertakings, and in the long run that translates into economic success and financially sound operations.

Be well, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Mike, there are plans somewhere.

I was thinking that they got into the hands of DAPNet at one point.

I am not a fabricator, and obviously my cart has lasted a long time, so I never felt the need to secure plans for myself.

I know that Les had a mechanical drawing put together, and may have copies still. I’ll look into it.

Thanks, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Hey Brad, I am not inclined toward taking up challenges, but my comment are based on just such comparisons (although not personally using John’s design) over many years.

While admittedly overstated, my points were not meant to dismiss other models, rather to point out that efficiency in draft animal use can be subtle, and that if logging were merely about hooking to logs and dragging them, then a cart like John’s is extremely well designed for that. However, as I pointed out, there are many aspects to logging with horses that have efficiencies of their own, and the Barden design comes as close as any cart I have seen, or used, to compounding those into one device.

Efficiency is a strange duck, as some of us may consider one area to be more important than another. For example, you are comfortable walking, but it doesn’t make it as safe as riding on a cart that you can step on and off of quickly and easily. In your operation that is not as critical, but the Barden design provides an effective solution for those who do see it as important.

Also, efficiencies with draft animals are not huge, so on one hand some may be excused, on the other hand working to combine as many as possible will have increased import. Likewise, when one efficiency is held out in higher regard than others, it tends to require more emphasis than those others in order to maximize it. The example of hitch height is an example in which that becomes paramount, many times at the expense of others, and the focus of the logging becomes hooking and dragging (again overstated and simplified).

I know your work as well, if not better, than just about anyone, and it is clear that the Plowden design fits your work well. You are extremely competent in many of the aspects of logging with horses, and there is no doubt that the arch you use plays a huge role in how you take on the work you do.

I am not suggesting that you, or anyone else, need to change devices. I am merely broadening the discussion, and bolstering the components that have gone into the development of the Barden design.

Carl

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