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If Carl’s mining expedition comes up short you can buy rings at Berrybrook Ox Supply. They aren’t cheap.

George

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Hi Fogish:

Thanks for all the ideas. Turns out, after a four month appeal process, we were accepted back into the program. Looks like we could face the same problem next year, so I will look into those resources.

George

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Billy, that I and J attachment seems pretty reasonable. Anyone know how many HP you need to run a baler (JD 336 in my case).

Hey Bill, any chance you can take some pictures of your cart?

Thanks.

George

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Hey Mark:

Have you considered a ground drive PTO cart to run that tedder? There was an interesting article in SFJ last winter about a guy who made one out of a truck differential to run a tedder.

George

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Hi Jody:

I am no dog trainer, but I have some thoughts. My read of this situation is that your Maremma does not see you as the Alpha. I have 3 B Collies, a Jack Russell, and a Maremma. The dogs do not fight around me. They work out their hierarchy when I am not around. Maremmas and other guardian dogs are tricky b/c they are bred to be independent so “training” is difficult. My Maremma does not know how to sit, or stay, or lie down. Heck she only “comes” when she feels like it. But she does her job of keeping my livestock safe and knows that I am boss. I can handle her in any way (mouth, feet, roll her over), take her food away, etc without challenge. Most importantly (and relavent to your situation) is that she will accept other people and animals on my insistance. Agression or barking at the wrong animal or person gets a sharp “hey” followed by “good girl” when she stops. If she didn’t stop, I would chase her off.

I recommend putting your Maremma on a leash and letting the BC walk around at will. When the Maremma shows agression, you get her to stop. This can be anywhere from a tug on the leash with a sharp reprimand to putting her down on the ground. I would repeat this as necessary until the agression stops and don’t forget the praise. I also feel like the two dogs should be able to work out their own hierarchy at some point. I think preventing this will lead to problems. That said, I am concerned that the Maremma is going for the throat. If your BC was on her back and not fighting (i.e. classic submissive behavior), the Maremma should reign over her for 15 or 20 seconds by growling but continuing the fight at that point is not natural or healthy behavior IMO. Perhaps your work with the dog will help this.

Good luck.

George

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Hey Donn:

There are always tradeoffs and a lot depends on what you are selling, the size of your target market and the cost of feed in your area. Here’s a simplified example of what I was writing about: if you distribute 10,000 lbs of cheese at an average price of $15/lb you gross $150,000. If you hire a distributer, you generally knock off 1/3 of your wholesale price so for the same amount of cheese (you can substitute veggies, meat, whatever), you gross $100,000. You can buy a lot of feed for $50,000.

George

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Fogish:

That is interesting and reassuring information. I searched “bolt strength” after I read your post and found an informative table http://www.almabolt.com/pages/catalog/bolts/proofloadtensile.htm.

I should have figured this info was available. Now I can rely on data rather than my “sense” that something might be under-engineered. In this context is it fair to assume I should be looking at proof load (“The tension applied load that a fastener must withstand without any indication of permanent deformation or failure”) as a opposed to shear strength?

Thanks.

George

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I had the same question/comment on the harness (i.e. what’s the point?). I wonder if these harnesses preceded today’s d-ring and at some point someone thought they could get the weight off the neck by putting in a back pad? I harvested a back pad from another harness to put on this one.

Mitch, I have a sleeve/bushing for this, but 5/16″ still seems wimpy. I think it is fine for farm work, but for logging it seems a stretch (perhaps I’m overthinking this?) Since I am mainly doing farm work with this horse and some firewood, I bought a grade 8, 5/16 bolt – should be fine.

George

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Congratulations. If you PM me with your email address, I can send along a copy of our business plan.

George

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The only reason for the swivel, as far as I can tell, is if your rings on the neck yoke are oriented differently (i.e parallel or perpendicular to the pole). I make all my own neck yokes and orient the rings perpendicular – well suited to the clip pictured above. I believe they are cast.

George

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On one set the gates that keep the hook closed froze open and no amount of PB Blaster or WD40 could keep them lubricated. Every time I hitched I would have to open and close them with my Leatherman. This last set (on both harnesses) the swivel froze. I had to put a torch to them to get them unfrozen. Even after gererous lubrication they are frozen again in the wrong position thereby twisting my front pole straps at odd angles.

George

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Got ’em, thanks. Page 70 for anyone whose interested (http://www.meadersupply.com/Publish/catalogs/tack_catalog/Tack-Catalog.pdf). I can’t stand the newer style clips. I have gone through 2 sets in less than 5 years.

George

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Evan:

I second what was said about attending the Athol workshop. Words are a poor substitute for interacting with experienced horse loggers and watching them work. I attended the workshop last year had the pleasure of learning from Carl Russell (and others). I had struggled on and off with the scoot I built the winter prior to the workshop. Spending the day with Carl watching him position the scoot and sled, load logs, bind, etc. really demystified the use of these tools for me. Thanks to that experience at Athol as well as the numerous follow-up questions on this site, both the scoot and the bobsled have become an essential parts of my logging tool repertoire.

I am not a professional logger and only make a small part of my living selling logs. I am generally self-taught in the arena of horse logging so you can take this “advice” with a grain of salt. That said, here are some things that I have found to be useful working horses safely and effectively in the woods:

• Complete the Game of Logging training. This has everything to do with safety, effective chainsaw use, and directional felling.
• Search “logging” on this site and read and re-read every post.
• Vary the size of your hitches and err on the side of smaller hitches. I like to get a sense of the upper limits of what my horses can pull, so I will load them up once in a while. But more frequent, smaller loads tend to be more productive for me.
• Carefully select the logging tool for the terrain and skid distance. For example ground skidding for shorter distances and using a sled or scoot for longer pulls with the logging arch and go-devil in between. There are also terrain considerations as well (see past threads on “logging tools”).
• If you are selling log length firewood, cut to the size of the truck (usually 20’ or 24’ for a straight truck). If you are blocking the wood yourself, there should be marks on your logger’s tape that have 16” increments. If I am blocking wood, I usually do so immediately on the landing rather than bunching my logs.
• I usually cut what I can pull in a load rather than downing a bunch of wood and skidding later. Digging out previously cut logs from the snow is a drag and the cut/skid, cut/skid routine breaks up the day nicely for the horses and me.
• Keep your saw sharp and your rakers filed down properly (I use a .04 raker gauge).
• If your horses need to be secured while you are cutting, secure them from the rear via your arch or sled instead of tying their heads.
• Approach blow-downs and hang ups with extreme caution. Don’t be afraid to walk away.
• On my arch I use 10’ chains with full c slip hooks at one end and a 24” “needles” on the other for snaking under logs. I also carry a 20’ chain with a grab on either end. This combo enables me to skid multiple logs and once gives me 40’ of chain (if I need it) to get into areas your horse(s) cannot.

Good luck.

George

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@J-L 37179 wrote:

It seems like this happens more during haying season with all the sweat and flies. .

Haying season is the only time I have had a problem – hot, sweaty, tired and flies – not a good combo. Let me know how you like them.

George

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Hey Carl:

Thanks for the reply. I couldn’t find them in Meaders catalogue. I emailed a picture to a sales person. I’ll let you know what I find out.

George

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