[Donn Hewes]

Start with low energy an use more energy after the animal has clearly rejected an invitation from you. I try never to approach from the butt. It is rude on their part, but I don’t try to send them all over the paddock if I don’t have to. If a horse will stay I will approach from the front quarter and halter the horse.

Some people have different standards about what they expect from horses that are loose on pasture. My horses get no grain ever, getting brought in usually means a harness and work. I don’t expect them to come running to see me with joy. I expect them to understand my rules, and know what I will and won’t except. Stand to be haltered, wait until all four or six are haltered, lead together as a group. Sometimes I walk to were they are.

Allow your self time to become comfortable with these exercises, they will become natural with time.

[Donn Hewes]

I really like my portable horse fence at this time of year. My small paddock is made with tread in posts that have been stapled to blocks of hard wood 6 x 6 or poured into half blocks of concrete. This fence is handy year round for moving for wagons or what ever, but yesterday i just went and dug them up and set them a little higher in the snow.

[Donn Hewes]

I use a liverpool or other levered bit on my animals all the time. Used properly this is as mild of a bit as you could want, but also gives you the options of different settings that help the individual animal pay attention when needed.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but the word coaxing in your first post made me a little nervous. I am not that familiar with CA but I doubt there is much coaxing. When you enter the barn stop wishing they would all like you and come right over. Start to wish they would stay out of your way. Now when you need a horse to catch or tie up; act decisively, “this is what we are doing now, if you walk away from me that will be a choice that you made, but not the right one”. Good luck.

I worked with a ten year old gelding a few years ago that had been ridden, but never driven. It was much harder than I expected. He was very smart and made it appear that each lesson went very quickly, But when he challenged the whole idea of working, he put everything into it. Every horse is different though. Don’t with hold too much feed!

[Donn Hewes]

Glad the shaft is out. Oil from the gear box is the only oil for the axle. Operating with the tongue at the right level helps insure oil traveling over all the gears and axle. I fill my gear box to just below the mid point of the lowest gear. I have used a light weight motor oil, but would like to try the gear hoist oil Lynn Miller recommends. Hard to find.

[Donn Hewes]

Geoff, that Pawl holder you are talking about is on a number 9, not a number seven. Not to say that isn’t what the WHS was referring to. Number sevens have atleast two different wheel set ups. If you have a small cap with a center bolt, I would paint the cap and bolt red, against the white wheel. for the two bolt clamp on I am not sure what I would do. When I changed the seal on a #7 seven; after I locked up the gear inside, the shaft unscrewed with out much force. Not nearly enough to brake any thing. Just gotta figure out which way to turn it. If my memory is correct it is counterclockwise.

[Donn Hewes]

A USDA inspected mobile slaughter plant is a red herring. There is no way a small scale can afford to have an extra person standing around watching us kill and cut a few animals. This trailer is NOT a vehicle to transport a safe, clean, Licensed environment around to the various farms. If that was all they wanted we could do that on each farm. It is a vehicle to transport an inspector. We need to seek clean, safe, simple, and ecologically sound ways to kill, preserve, and sell meat from our farms.

One of the big problems with USDA slaughter today is the great distances we are all driving to get our animals slaughtered, cut and rapped. unfortunately these trucks will haul our meat back to the USDA plant, and just use more fuel than if I had hauled them there myself. Why isn’t there a USDA plant in my county? Because they cost several million to start and are hard to make profitable. This is the problem that needs to be solved.

Like Carl I have nothing against mobile slaughter. We had a state inspected truck visit our farm in Washington State many years ago. It was an excellent kill, and provided our farm, and friends with excellent meat. The carcasses were taken to a local plant a few miles away for cutting and rapping. We weren’t properly prepared to do it our selves back then. Of course this wasn’t a USDA slaughter and we couldn’t sell cuts.

[Donn Hewes]

At Tractor supply I bought international White and International red. They looked pretty close to me. There were places on the only machine I painted where you could scratch down to the original paint, or so it seemed. There were high lift and vertical lift mowers if my memory is right. I wouldn’t worry about that. Many folks have taken that rod off. If it is working right and not hanging up the shifting or lifting I would leave it alone. Other wise I would take it off. Just my two cents.

[Donn Hewes]

I like the way you suggested ” the way the parts MUST be painted” They do look good all done up. That rod will kick the mower out of gear, when you lift the bar. I think they were mostly associated with the high lift mower. I have used several number sevens with great success, and think they are a little under appreciated. Good Luck, and let us know how it turns out.

[Donn Hewes]

Tim, I wanted to experiment with out the tank heaters, as in most weather I think the added warmer water would work for some time. My wife didn’t want to mess with it, and put the heaters in as soon as I went to work, Sorry, donn

[Donn Hewes]

I think the tanks are working great. Both tanks have electric tank heaters in them, and wouldn’t freeze with out the covers, but I think I am saving a fair bit of electricity. i also think sheep and horses are drinking plenty of water and that is always a good thing. tanks might be a little cleaner than they used to be, as all the horse and sheep dribble isn’t going back in the tank. maybe after a couple more electric bills I can really tell. my tanks are about 100 gallon tank for four horses, and fifty gallon tank for 45 sheep. Both groups will drink about 1/3 of the water twice a day.

[Donn Hewes]

With every ground driven PTO there are two main questions and a few smaller ones. The two big ones are; Is the cart heavy enough to keep from spinning a wheel against the power it is being asked for? More PTO power the heavier the cart must be. Second; how many horses will be needed to pull it? Again, the higher the Power required the more horses will be needed to pull it. The teamster 2000 I saw many years ago was a good looking machine with some weight to it. It might pull a baler, maybe only on flatter ground. The problem with a baler is if it works 95% of the time, it really isn’t working at all. I think it is hard to do with ground drive and the best I have seen is the ground drive baler conversion.

Probably four horses to pull it on flat ground, and that is putting the bales on the ground. Six or eight to put the bales right on a wagon. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi, I drive my four abreast with normal team lines and four check lines. Is that what you meant by “two lines” My normal team lines are set up: left hand goes to the left side of two left mules, and right hand goes to two right mules. It is a little hard to say how long your checks should be. How far a part you want the animals, where your lines are set, and if you use any spreaders, or drop rings will all effect the length of the check.

The best way is to look at them from the front while they are moving. They look good in the pictures, but I couldn’t make out the line arriagnment for sure. if your lines are set up like mine, I might guess the checks are still a little long. But look at them from the front. Just try to get them evenly spaced about equal to their evener and neck yoke spacing.

[Donn Hewes]

sorry about that. I fixed the link. I misspelled the link.

[Donn Hewes]

unfortunately it is the dragging hoses that affords all else. Just twelve years to go.

[Donn Hewes]

perhaps rebuilts eventually. I am starting out focused on about 60 Amish Neighbors who all seem to support the idea. I think they mostly want parts and maybe a few repairs. They also want the cutting, welding, and bending services.

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