[Donn Hewes]

Stub guards are very usefully on the inner end of the bar. Never seen them on the outer end and have my doubts about using them there. Stub guards on the inner end main purpose is not to cut a lot of grass, which they might do slightly less well than other good guards. Their main purpose is the ability to chop through grass that was laid down the round before with out plugging. They can do this because there is no point on the guard that spears the hay before it gets to the knife.

I prefer the new haybine guards that are double teeth. They are cheaper and heat treated, they last a long time. Their edge can be touched up a little with an angle grinder, but just one or two strokes so as not to heat them up. I can’t really see how you would use the angle grinder on a ledger plate, but perhaps I miss read the earlier post. Changing ledger plates can be a lot of work, but a good old style guard with new ledger plate does make a good machine.

new knife sections are heat treated also and stay sharp a long time. No daily or hourly sharpening needed. I prefer a serrated section with the non serrated haybine guard. No strong preference for top or bottom serrated. Bottom serrated are still sharpenable (same note on grinder, one or two strokes so you don’t heat them, and the cutting wheel does work a little better in the back corner). Top serrated are sort of self sharpening. I have used these for a couple of years on some mowers.

These year I have a 7′ knife with three different knife sections on it. I am experimenting with a super seven knife that is the larger serrations on it. New cutting parts on an old mower will pay for themselves quickly if you make sure the whole thing is set up to run smoothly.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Andy, I think they all wonder to some extent. At first it seems like a lot of effort to steer them constantly, but eventually it becomes natural and easy. One thing I often suggest is to “steer the head”. What I mean by that is the animal will be looking around, moving its head from side to side, this is part of what causes the wondering, as it’s body follows it’s head. Keep one eye on the head and after allowing a glance in either direction keep the head pointed in the right direction. This might help. I do believe you have to steer them to make them walk in a straight line. Probably even more so with a single.

I was out doing a little plowing yesterday and after a while you might think you weren’t steering much as the furrow horse knows where it belongs and they are working on light lines. Let a beginning teamster try it for a second and see how quick you will be up out of the furrow.

[Donn Hewes]

That sounds like a good plan. Over time you might be able to train the QH to double your draft power as your skills develop. I personally like a mule for riding or driving, but the folks that do the best with them are the ones that find them interesting, and don’t just think of them as different or difficult.

[Donn Hewes]

I hate to tell people never do this or never do that. I have found that there are a small group of people with good enough basic horsemanship skills that they can make a good transition to draft work without huge hazards or risks. The secret to doing this may well be your ability to recognize what you don’t know, and finding good resources (like DAP!) that will answer those questions before you try and do some thing the hard way. Keep us posted.

About the horse above: Obviously I know nothing about him, but it all ways sounds a little funny to make him sound so good (voice commands, etc.) then add; not a beginners horse. Watch these mixed messages.

[Donn Hewes]

Yes, smaller horses or mules sound good, but my recommendation is that you find some one working animals doing the kind of work you want to do and get there. I know that can be a real challenge, but you will learn so much. It will greatly inform your ideas about what you want. It might give you ideas about how to find them. Most important it will give you some idea of what to do when you bring them home. We want to you to have a safe start with drafts and spending some time working with someone else is key part for most folks as they get started.

[Donn Hewes]

I guess I was lucky to trim his feet right off the trailer. He was a little subdued that day. I guess to day he is a little more “alert and lively”. I wish he lived here, but I think that will pass if I get a few mares bred and have mules to work with. He will live in Ovid, NY on the farm of Menno Stoltzfus. I plan to head over and start building breeding stocks in the next couple weeks.

[Donn Hewes]

Yes there is a taper, but even more important is to get the right fit inside the mower. If you can’t do any final fitting at home with a hand planer or a saw you might want to measure it carefully before you order. They taper even inside the mower.

[Donn Hewes]

I do think you want to stay on the light side, in the oil department. The oil will be picked up and thrown as it was designed easier. Lynn Miller recommended a gear hoist oil, but that can be hard to find. I have used 5W30 with no problems. I would stay away from the chain oil myself.

[Donn Hewes]

Carl, Short of hooking a team to a really big log and pulling it up hill, this website and growing community are quiet an accomplishment. Congratulations! Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Hi john, I didn’t get to see that mower (two moving knives)working but I know they pull it with a ground drive PTO cart. Nice looking mower. I think the problem might be price. Can’t remember what it cost but it wasn’t cheap. talk to you soon, Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Geoff, I agree with Carl’s post about the message we send to the animal we are trying to bridle. For myself I wouldn’t like the detached bit method as it would interrupt the method I already use. When my right hand is between a horses ears and holding the top of the bridle this is signal to lower your head and except a bit and bridle. This way my left hand is free to hold the bit and open the mouth if need be. The right hand can hold the bridle up once the bit is in the mouth.

This signal can easily be taught with a halter or a rope halter by placing a hand or fingers on the poll and applying a little pressure as you add a little pressure from the halter. Release all the pressure as soon as the head starts to move down. Eventually this translates to a head that is lowered for a hand between the ears.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Brad, I like “no pressure driving” to help a horse relax. I am sure some are tired of hearing about it but, it is what I do. Basically I tell the horse that I will use the lines to steer and give guidance on stopping, and how fast we walk, but I will make the horse hold them selves back I won’t do it for them. The levered bit it seen as a harsh bit, but when used in combination with this method of driving, it is simply not. Every ounce of pressure that the animal feels in his mouth, chin , or poll is a signal that they must receive and respond to. When they do I release the pressure,nothing in the chin or poll.

In my experience, when horses take the responsibility for holding them selves back, it actually helps them relax. As an aside I have always been a fan of the mismatched team. When we ask a team to go all we really need them to do is walk, and any horse, mule, or pony can do that.

[Donn Hewes]

I try to make a distinction between standing while I do work; ie: logging. fixing something, loading something, and standing while I leave them alone so I can go do something else. In all of the first group I am in some position to impart my will (voice, lines, eyes). In the second group, I have given up all or most of the control over what is going on with them. I know there are horses that will stand for hours, I know there are horses that will stand unattened. I just don’t have the desire for a team that I can leave hooked to what ever and go in and talk on the phone and eat a snack. If I was going to spend more than an hour working in the garden and wanted them to wait for me I would tie them in the shade.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Mathew, One thing I might suggest is that you look for a long thread from several years ago called “training them the old school way” or something like that. That thread had very many posts over a long period that discuss several different approaches to starting horses. I will only say that all the use of trucks and tractors is only one method. Myself, I prefer to use a method that relies less on restraint and more on my ability to watch an animal and see how they are responding to what I am asking of them. I then adjust what I am asking for to keep the animal comfortable, but continue to challenge them with new things. If you are a green teamster this can be hard to do.

Using a bit and line pressure that the animal was familiar with is important to preventing the bolting that you experienced. By the way, a levered bit is not automatically a harsh bit. It will depend on how it is handled by the horse and the person driving. It is a harsh bit if used in that way. Used by hands that can use the bit (and the pressure it causes) to send signals that the animal can understand and respond to, followed by the release of all the pressure as a signal to the animal that it got it right; they are mild and effective way to safely drive calm and relaxed horses.

[Donn Hewes]

Most balers and haybines I have seen have been over 20 HP. My cart doesn’t seem to be working the motor very hard, so it is hard to say for sure what would happen with the 18HP.

[Author]

Posts