[dominiquer60]

Best of luck, new beginning are tough but liberating at the same time 🙂

[dominiquer60]

When we load horses into the trailer with or with out harness we do it one at a time and tie them in the trailer, if they are harnessed we take bridles off and put halters back on. This is what works for us. If you have a wide trailer and small horses, two at a time may work if you feel that the animals and harness are not at risk of being damaged. Do what works for you AND feels safe.

Happy Woods Work,

[dominiquer60]

Donn,

Thanks for posting about this topic. After visiting the Nordells this fall and seeing just the visual and nice pollution on a slow day, never mind the toxic chemicals, I wish fracking on no community. We don’t Need the fuel so bad that it is worth polluting our waters, soils, stock, and ourselves, plus it is all destined for the other side of the Pacific, it will never see a domestic use other than creating a few flash jobs.

I fought this as a NY Farm Bureau delegate and it is frustrating that a few noisemakers seem to quiet the fact that many farmers are indeed against such an industry.

Thanks for sharing an opportunity to voice my opinion from out of state.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

What great news! I am so happy for you and your families, you two are so good together.

[dominiquer60]

If you decide to take hay off of the round bale and move that in a sled or cart a hay knife is handy(http://edgetoolworks.wordpress.com/tag/hay-knife/). I used one on a farm that I worked on years ago, I would make 2 to 4 cuts around the bale making the hay easier to work with and measure out for the animals. It is good at making you sweat, but if you can’t move a round bale beyond rolling it into the barn to stay dry, this tool can give you a better option than striping large sheets off of a bale.

Go slow and if you challenge her with a bigger load, alternate with and easy load.

An 8″ walking plow is meant for a single draft horse, a very fit saddle horse could be used to plow a garden with a plow this size, a friend has a 6″ plow from Canada that works nice too. Keep your eyes out now for a plow that you may be able to use later. Until your heifer gets more mature you may want to hire a neighbor to plow/till your garden, you might be able to use her to harrow and cultivate if you find something suitable for her size.

Good luck, I am glad to see someone working a heifer.

[dominiquer60]

Thanks for sharing Andy, this movie was fantastic indeed. The subtitled version would add some insight but there is certainly a universal language between man and beast, husband and wife that needs no translation and made this a great watch even on my little laptop.

Nose rings and lines may not be needed, neither are bridles and lines for horses, but in public a teamster can not control his surroundings and as long as abuse is not an issue there should be no shame in having extra control for the unexpected situation.

Lets say a teamster at a fair has the unexpected happen, the team is distracted or simply testy and not listening to the teamsters commands, it could lead to a really bad situation that could make the management wonder if they should offer ox competitions.

I have a lot of confidence in my team for somethings and not so much for others. As a novice with very limited time to train, I have no qualms about using a pair of halters and single lines to get a job done with my steers. I would like to get to the point where they are not needed, but lack of knowledge and time lead me to do what what I can with what I have, and I am happy with the results. Most of the time my lines are tied up, but when I need them to reinforce a command, they are there, a simple and humane way to communicate and a good way for me to gain efficiency doing tasks that I rely on for income.

It would be great to take the time to learn from those successfully driving from behind with voice only, perhaps someday, but for now a pair of lines makes a real life working situation a more enjoyable one. I plan on using my steers on my riding cultivator next year, I will use lines with no second thought of it, and I am sure that by the end of the season I will use them less, for repetitive tasks make for wonderful training.

I see that even in the movie the farmer still had to correct the behavior of the old cow now and then, we (man and beast) get better with age, but we still make mistakes.

[dominiquer60]

Boy that is a shame Donn.

If I recall Connie is your Suffolk mare, regardless loosing any mule, no matter how young or what color, is tough. I hope she cleans out well and that she and Eddie have better luck in the spring.

[dominiquer60]

Customer Education is key. We have to teach people to think differently, outside the box, to see “owning” a forest as a responsibility rather than a resource to rape.

[dominiquer60]

Welcome Dale,

I was a saddle horse person too, now I have a team of steers. I like riding, but I love working with my animals. Enjoy your time with your team and know that there is a ton of info here and lots of supporters of what you are doing.

Be well and keep us posted on your progress,

[dominiquer60]

The latest SFJ in the mail today has a buck rake article with some details, but no schematics.

[dominiquer60]

The homesteader is a light implement, the plow is small. On old ground it works effectively, I have never seen it used to plow sod, but after watching it at HPD in drought stricken Michigan, I imagine that it is not heavy enough to stay in the ground. This tool was made light and easy for the wife or kids to manipulate and use it to tend to the homestead garden or small market garden. A good rock may cause the homesteader to buck you off, as will hilly or rough ground, this I have witnessed.

[dominiquer60]

Wow they said they would likely include it but never said for sure. A note to those reading the details, the captions on the 2 pictures of Dale’s greys are reversed, an easy mistake, but hopefully it makes better sense with this correction.

Thanks for posting Carl, I can’t wait to get the paper copy and read it the proper way… in the reading room:)

[dominiquer60]

I have seen a the Homesteader in action a few times now. It is a good piece of equipment for an already established garden on somewhat level and not too rocky ground. For this application it works well. You may find it frustrating to break new ground, work newly plowed ground or work on a hill side or with many large rocks. It is not the end all or be all single solution to all of your gardening needs, but if you could hire a neighbor to start and work new ground until it mellows this could be a reasonable solution for a homestead garden that is neither steep or rocky.

I hope this helps.

[dominiquer60]

Well done Andy, It is nice to see all of this information presented with different factors considered. It is great that you have taken interest in this site, it is DAPNet’s gateway to the rest of the world and has the potential for education that the newsletter and live events can’t offer (though we should continue them). I am looking forward to what we do with this compiled info.

[dominiquer60]

A Hard thing for you to do, but I can imagine Liz’s joy and Reno’s contentment at the same time. You did a great job bringing him along after his injuries, so I realize that it was a big step to let him go. Well done and happy skidding trails to all involved.

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