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Andy Carson
ModeratorSorry to hear about the injury Tim. This is total speculation, but I wonder if a fiberglass cast would help protect the injured horn during the healing process. As long as the cast isn’t too tight and can breath, I would think it could protect the blood supply, keep the injured area clean, and possibly cushion the horn against some of the pain. I would suspect one would have to be clever about the material used for the liner so that it is breathable wet or dry. Just a thought…
ModeratorWell, I have ground drove him and he was fine with that. I’ll throw the harness on too, that’s a good idea. My wife has ridden him around various implements while I was using them. No problem there. He has a great deal of respect for me and especially for my mare. I think he’s calm enough for the work. He is generally a little “scampish,” sometimes “too smart for his own good,” and sometimes a bit fidgety. I thought some hard work would probably do alot to cure him of these traits. I am suprized the offset is so small, but he is really about the size of a large haflinger so that would be a good comparison.
ModeratorI will make sure the double tree has lots of adjustment to it. I know twice the load is a long way to go, but I think a horse that is 1.5 times as big and in shape might actually pull twice the load of a smaller horse that is not in shape. We’ll see. I don’t actually own anything with a pole so am not so worried about that for the immediate future. I suppose that will be an issue in the future if this works out. Maybe a wider double tree? Another draft would definately make this easier (the thought crosses my mind often) but the times I honestly need more power are rare. On top of that, the riding horse is (more often than not) just standing around seeming to say “whatcha doing?” I would be happy to show him…
ModeratorDr. Beth Valentine is accessible as a virtual vet on the Rural Heritage website. She is very knowledgable about EPSM and answers questions quickly and completely. She might have some ideas that would help.
ModeratorI think I’ll try the A frame first, it sounds cheap to make…
Would you think a wooden one would last long enough to do the job?ModeratorBecause of how I want to divide this field in the future, I am discing it in a somewhat different pattern that how it has been plowed in the past. This puts me crossing historical tractor created plow furrows both at the edge of the field and at a diagonal inside the field. The furrows inside the field aren’t that bad (for the most part), but the furrows on the edge are deep and bone jarring to cross. I have gotten dumped off my disc a few times. I can’t think of anything to get rid of them other than discing them over and over, but I am only making margional progress… Any ideas? Similarly, a small piece of the field was plowed this spring by tractor (a neighbors mistake). I kinda welcomed the mistake at first (free plowing) but the furrows inside this area are just as hard to deal with as the edge furrows. I suppose I am not one to talk, but I think the tractor work was a not really straight… Again, I am just trying to disc this area smooth. I suppose that I might be able to plow the edge or some of these furrows, but that would just create a new furrow, right? I am making progress with the disc, but it’s slow and I thought I would see if there was an easier way.
ModeratorI put the bolt in and that solved the “walking” problem. Everything looks really quite stable. The only problem is that this buffer is so heavy it changes the balance point on the disc. Not really a big problem, I just had to shift weight around to balance it out.
ModeratorI tried the buffer on the disc this morning. The action is good, and the buffering effect seems to be more effective without the friction. I have to say it’s much harder to feel the effect on something like a disc where the draft forces change quite a bit from second to second. The effect is by far easiest to feel on a sled, but I wanted to see if there was any twisting of other adverse events with a jerky action. No twisting, but the system of “clamping” the hitch point in place around the spring stack is not sufficient to keep it from slowly “walking” over to one side of the spring stack. I think it’s kinda cool that Jason predicted this would happen just by looking at it. You’ve been doing this a while, huh? I am going to put in a center bolt.
ModeratorHa! I forgot the picture… Here it is.
ModeratorDraft buffer III. I guess I like this one because I felt like painting it… These changes address the following concerns:
1. Much beefier design (two inch 3/16 wall square tube in front, spring shackles are 1.5 inch x 3/16, overall design loosely based on traditional chain and spreader)
2. Friction reduced (with spring shackles)
3. Hitching length “normalized” (moved spring behind bar and added connectors for heal chains)
4. Gradual overload protection (instead of a harsh solid stop, the geometry of this set-up progressively increases the spring rate to cushion and protect the singletree from very large overloads. This increase in spring rate ought to be especially dramatic if the springs starts to “bend the wrong way.”Report to follow soon… Thanks everyone for the constructive criticism and ideas.
ModeratorDonn, I enjoyed the haying pictures. I think I might try one out one of those corded fly nets you are using. I image they work pretty well for you as you have one on every animal… If you dont mind me asking, where did you get yours?
ModeratorHa! Good tip Matthew! I tried to wire on some cinderblocks tonight, but it wasn’t the best arrangement and I ran out of room fast… I have a perfect place for a sandbag or two.
ModeratorThanks again Tim. Based on some rough math, it looks like with notched blades and another 75-150 pounds I would have a smaller version of the disc you measured. The draft with these modifications comes out with my single pulling about 45-65% of the team, which seems about right. I have to say that your measurements are invaluable for someone who either has to (or wants to) make custom equipment.
ModeratorAwesome, thanks alot!
ModeratorThanks Tim,
The residue is preventing me from using my springtooth. It plugs up within 20 feet. Maybe I am better off forgetting that part for now… Maybe I’m better off going disc, disc, disc, then harrow, seed, harrow, roll. At least these implements don’t plug… Most of the horse discs I have seen are two horse types 4-5 feet wide. My mare is strong, but can’t do the work of two horses… Luckily, most of the lawn tractor implements seem sized just about right for a single, they just need tweeked. I had a lead on notched discs that I could replace these smooth discs with. They are 14 inch rather than 12, but I measured and they should fit. Maybe I will add some weight too. I could put on another 100 punds without much trouble. That would be 50 pounds per disc…- AuthorPosts