[Carl Russell]

@mitchmaine 27908 wrote:

….. yours have a teamster-eye view thats pretty neat. you can hear the trace bchains rattle and the creak of the harness, and almost smell the horse. i think i got leaning one way or the other trying to steer your cultivator while i was watching. great job, and thanks.
mitch

Mitch I was doing the same thing, leaning and trying to steer. Being on the inside of working with animals, I always wish there was a little more from our perspective. I agree some folks with cameras do a great job, but they are typically photographers and not teamsters. I am just getting started, but I think that with this little camera, in the right settings, I can capture some important details about the work we are doing, or are trying to do, with our animals. Oh yeah, and the sense that you are actually driving is pretty cool too.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@Robert MoonShadow 27894 wrote:

What’d you do? Have a mini-cameraman riding on the crossbar? I thought at first you might have it strapped to yer noggin.

Nope, steady horse, and hand-held video.:D

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@near horse 27899 wrote:

I read through this for the second time and it reflects things as I saw them. Approved w/o amendment from me.

BTW – did we just forget the transfer of the BOD task list (so it’s tabled) or is it a formality that we can deal with via e-mail/forum?

BOD Task List Transfer tabled by default. However, I was seeing it transferred to Jean, so it can easily be picked up in that discussion about her job responsibilities.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Here is another odd job I like to use my single horse Ted for. Cultivating potatoes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHO-PR2zf0M

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Dude:cool:

[Carl Russell]

I think you can create a survey with the forum tools. Otherwise how would you like us to get the info to you?

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jen…… Trust your initial intuition. This is not just something I thought up….. I live by it.

Also, this is not about your team. You are a fantastic teamster and horse-person, but you cannot exert any control over the external forces at play during a parade. In the best circumstances you need to have sound equipment that can hold up in case there is trouble. It sounds like this wagon is on the edge even for solitary enterprise on the farm.

I drove my solid team (10 years ago) in the Randolph 4th of July parade for several years with wagons full of kids. Never a problem. The last one I was in I crested the hill leading down into Randolph Village, and for some reason this time I saw them….. thousands of people standing 5 deep on both sides of the road. I had no place to go, no way of controlling any of them, and I realized then and there that it was the most unfair thing I could every do to that team. Everything went as smooth as it was supposed to, but I have never returned, and never will again.

Think long and hard about where your loyalties lie. I for one would not hold it against you if you backed out.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@mitchmaine 27792 wrote:

… so it seems like the same old story. we give up quality for quantity and the result is being able to put up more hay quicker and thats great, but some here, not me, still must put up loose hay. we used to have a ac rotary baler that made a 40 lb. round bale, it took 3 balers to keep one going, but when you rolled out a bale and the heads of the grass and clover were still blossomed and sweet. anyway, just ramblin’ here.

I never baled my hay. Cut with a sickle-bar and put up loose, especially if I was able to keep it from spoiling in the field, that hay was far superior to any I have bought in bales, and especially crimped hay. Sweet, green, wholesome. In January, in a cold barn, those animals would dive into that hay with alacrity. It was like I had brought a fork-full of summer into the barn.

Grazing and clipping all the grass we grow now, but I’m looking at possibly starting to cut hay again within the next few years as grass production improves…. This thread has me thinking.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Around here, all of the folks (with vastly more knowledge than me) say that you should wait to tedd until the dew is off.

@Tim Harrigan 27786 wrote:

George, why is it that they say you should wait until the dew is off before tedding? ….
…..

As I posted in the other thread I haven’t put up hay in several years, but I always tedded my hay.

My take on the dew question is that when the dew has burned off the sun is warm enough to create the warm air that you want to catch in the loosened hay. I don’t think it has as much to do with the moisture as it does with the warmth of the air.

I agree with Tim’s assessment of the energy output equation. I don’t think you tedd hay just to tedd it, you need to tedd it when it makes sense, so that the energy spent is well-used. In the perfect situation I only tedded once, and used the rake for the last tedding/windrowing, but in most instances I would tedd twice, maybe three times.

I almost always cut my hay in the afternoon, not just to catch the day’s growth, but to let the hay naturally wilt overnight. I would also mow hay on a rainy afternoon before a few good days. I would tedd the next morning (after the dew was off), then most likely again in the afternoon. The third day I may tedd again, dependiing on how heavy the crop, then rake and pick up in the evening.

I also found that if I windrowed my hay before a rain, I could tedd it out to dry, and get very little spoilage, and certainly less bleaching. If it was left too long it would heat and mold, but I usually got some pretty good green hay, even after being rained on.

I also always cut small batches, so that I could do the tedding etc. in a reasonable amount of time, and get good hay. I learned this from an old farmer I worked for in the 80’s. He never cut more than 500 bales at a time (using tractors). That way he could tedd it enough times, or rake it up before rain, or handle it however it needed, because he always believed that good hay was better than a lot of spoiled hay.

I also think that tedding tends to be less of a necessity when using mower conditioners.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@Robert MoonShadow 27757 wrote:

Carl – I was just watching the vid (again!) and noticed that the britchen straps on your horses cross; I’ve never seen that before – is that a common thing w/ d-ring harness? Are they sewn together where they cross or what holds them from slipping backwards? Maybe I’m not seeing enough to be able to figure it out..

It is called a “Basket Bitchen”. The cross straps are continuous from hip ring to hip ring. The drop straps have slots stitched into them for the cross straps to slide back and forth through… for adjustment. Fairly common. I like that style. I’m not sure that it has to be used with d-ring exclusively. Some people prefer a “Hip Drop” style, which may be more common.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Thanks Geoff, and Gene. Broaden that network, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Tim I have found the bridging to be somewhat of a bother, but not a deal breaker…. after all I am working with horses and a brief stop once and a while is not a bad thing. I am using my Barden cart which, with its “chariot”-like design, allows me to step off easily (about 8″ from the ground). I keep the shovel on the cart that I use to load the lime anyway, so a quick walk around to the back of the spreader, a few pokes with the shovel blade, and I’m back in business… less than a minute delay, which is actually a gain because the horses got a brief reward for their good behavior.

Also, as I suggested earlier, I can easily spread a ton per hour. Looking at the $50/ton difference between spread and bulk, I figure I’m defraying the expense of $50/hour working my horses….. I can afford a few laps around the spreader.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Here you go, the set-up in action. Carl

[video=youtube_share;Xa6nEAn5t7Y]http://youtu.be/Xa6nEAn5t7Y[/video]

[Carl Russell]

@highway 27705 wrote:

That is a neat set up. What do you think the application rate is with that per acre?

It is variable with settings from nil to a lot. There is a chart (supposedly guaranteed) of application rates and settings inside the cover for every type of soils amendment known to man. I am applying about 1500-2000 lbs/ac. It varies for me as the lime compresses and doesn’t flow consistently. I have to stop and poke it down from time to time, but a heck of a lot better than doing it by hand, and a lot cheaper than paying to have it done. I shot a quick video the other day and will post it…. but I have to wait for the morning to get the band width I need.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@Tim Harrigan 27699 wrote:

Carl, are pigs incorporating the fertilizer and lime?

No, there are cattle grazing those fields.

George, I bought the EZ-Flow about 15 years ago, for $150??? I think.

Carl

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