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In the two previous posts I mentioned lining there heads up and making sure they are “nose to nose”. This is incorrect (in my mind, at least). What I did is make sure the collars are even and then made the trace chain adjustments from there.

George

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Pete, I am certainly no expert, but if two horses of different lengths are nose to nose the shorter (we are talking length) is further away from the evener necessitating more links to be dropped (i.e. s/he is a greater distance from the evener). In fact, when I work my halflinger with one of my bay drafts the difference was so great (pushing 3 hands) I had to lengthen the trace chains on the harness to get them hooked evenly.

George

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Tim:

I have not had problems pairing horses of different sizes. Here is a picture of with two horses with a 2 hand size difference.

One thing that needs attention is line adjustment. If your cross checks both go through the hame ring on each horse you are essentially shortening the line to the shorter horse b/c it has a longer distance to travel (i.e. it goes higher to the hame ring on the taller horse and then lower to the bit on the shorter horse). Left unattended, you might see the shorter horse driving with the head to the inside. To combat this, I used a drop ring from the hame on the taller horse and went directly on the hame ring to the shorter horse. Even with this adjustment, you might need to make differential adjustments to the cross checks if they are not driving straight ahead (heads tweaked outward or inward).

I also paid attention to making sure their heads were equal when adjusting the trace chains. I made notes on each piece of equipment on how many links to drop. Unlike horses of similar size, there is length difference between the horses and therefore the number of links you drop is different.

Lastly, I kept a twitch with me. A little tap above the tail when needed got them in the habit of driving even.

Good luck.

George

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Does anyone have good sense how long it takes to block and split a chord of wood? I have sold a little firewood for $80 / chord, log length and for $250 split. I have never really timed myself and would like to know what the labor return is for the extra step of blocking and splitting.

George

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Rod, thanks for the pictures. Do you know how many btus your modine is rated for. I am considering 2 smaller units instead of one big one. How well does the one heat your shop? How high are your ceilings? I am thinking of constant cycling to the heater as well and kicking the fan on with a thermostat when I need it.

Geoff, I plan to have a remote starter so I don’t have to get off my lounger to start the thing. Just kidding. I am so used to working in unheated space that any heat, even while warming, will be a luxury. However, any excuse for a cup of coffee is welcome.

George

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Thanks for the replies. Jim, my wife gave me a pickeroon for my birthday (“keep at that wood honey”:)). I found, at least with frozen wood, it doesn’t sink as well as a pulp hook. I am eager to try it again on thawed wood. Phil, I have a central boiler. Any wood that is too heaving to handle (a.k.a the “hernia-makers”, I cut to length and split. The balance gets tossed in whole. Rod, any chance you can snap a few pictures of your woodshed / boiler set-up. Also, how do you heat your shop? This new barn we are building will have a 30×30 shop and I am planning on putting a 47,000 btu Modine unit heater in it.

George

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Brad:

There are some similarities between your horses and mine. My more active horse, Don, was always up on the bit and surging ahead when we got him 3 years ago. Change has happened slowly and incrementally and it is often hard to put a finger on how and what has made the differnce. Two big changes we made were to change to a Liverpool bit and to practice no-pressure driving. The curbed bit enabled us to put more pressure on him compared to our other horse Jim. The no pressure driving in many ways took the “fight” out of the equation. I also did a lot of round pen work with both horses. This helped us (me particularly as a horse novice) read each other and established dominance. Don used to chase both Kristan and I around the pen, charging us, kicking out etc. We would go in that pen day after day and repeat until he finally relented and accepted us as leaders.

My other horse was never a balker, just not as ambitious. If a big load needs to be moved Don goes after it and Jim follows his lead. Don still gets amped up, but usually only when logging. Both horses are more up on the bit when we are logging, but particularly Don. I like this, to an extent, as I find them more maneuverable. He will stand fine and tolerate lines being rearranged on his back. However, somehow he senses when I am ready and will false start at times. I reign him back, wait, start over. I will occasionally put him down a notch on the bit from Jim, but usually drive them both one notch below the ring. I saw some benefits when working him single in the woods. “OK big boy, you want to pull, let’s go.” Eventually he would settle and I didn’t have to exhaust his partner. Logging single with him, I believe, helped him conserve energy and be a more efficient logging horse.

George

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Andy:

Looks great. Thanks for posting that.

George

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Brad, thanks for the input. I guess I will stick with the farm collar.

George

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I have a two wheeled 50 bushel Lancaster. I love it and have not had a problem with the tounge popping up. I like the 2 wheel b/c I can switch forecarts from 2 to 3 abreast depending on the conditions. You can also move it around with a truck/tractor if need be.

George

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Here’s another piece of information that George didn’t mention about the collar fit. One reason we think we might need a full sweeney is that this spring I noticed a concentration of white hairs on both sides of his neck where the collar lies, up high, well above the point of draft. They aren’t a dramatic patch of white, but he has a smattering of white hairs on both sides like in a 2″square. We have never had any sores or skin changes in this area, but I am wondering if it could be a pressure point since I am seeing these changes in the hair. Anyone else ever seen or heard of that?

Kristan

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Here’s another piece of information that George didn’t mention about the collar fit. One reason we think we might need a full sweeney is that this spring I noticed a concentration of white hairs on both sides of his neck where the collar lies, up high, well above the point of draft. They aren’t a dramatic patch of white, but he has a smattering of white hairs on both sides like in a 2″square. We have never had any sores or skin changes in this area, but I am wondering if it could be a pressure point since I am seeing these changes in the hair. Anyone else ever seen or heard of that?

Kristan

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Tristan:

Thanks for the reply. Not many teamsters in my area who have an abundance of collars to try out. I think I will size up 3 inches leaving room for a pad.

George

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SJF -Small Farmer’s Journal (great quarterly magazine on farming and draft animals. DAP -Draft Animal Power (this website). Sorry for the acronyms.

George

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Andy:

We raise a dozen hogs or so yearly. I sell about a quarter of them as “shares” where the customer buys a 30 lb box (roughly a quarter pig). The balance I sell in cuts at the farmer’s market. It has been profitable for us and pigs are easy. Keep in mind that pigs and chickens eat a lot of grain (yes, even if they are pastured). Conservatively, figure 1000 lbs grain / pig (180-200 lb hanging weight) and work your prices from there.

Last year I got licensed to make sausage here on the farm. I started selling frozen and grilled sausages at the Farmer’s Market and that has worked out well. Folks love the sausage and it is very profitable (albeit labor intensive) b/c a quarter of the sausage is fat – a throw away product (there is only so much lard a family can eat). I have also dabbled in chickens, but got tired of the processing. If you plan to process your chickens, I made a great chicken plucker (“whizbang plucker” – you can get plans on line). I am happy to share my numbers with you if you want to pm me.

George

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