[Donn Hewes]

Pioneer also makes a stove called the baker choice. Same design. Same use of stainless at the base of the pipe. No extra trim and much cheaper. I think we paid about 1,000$ new about four years ago. Do love the stove. I heat my home (small, passive solar, straw bale) and domestic hot water with about six face cord a year. No back up.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Ed, I guess I am not sure if there was a question in your post. The horse did a great job. Ideally I would like to tie to something a little more stable but that will probably be OK. Also, if I doubt a horse I would tie them a little shorter. Nice that he had room to turn around and see what you where doing, but almost a foot of extra rope if he does get excited.

It is interesting that he gets excited when you tried to hold him. “heading” an animal well is not as simple as it seems, and that is part of why it gets such a bad rap. to do it well a person needs to have the demeanor that the animal can feed off of and produce the right behavior. The best way to do it is not to touch the horse – not to talk too much, and model the behavior you are seeking. Gently correcting the horse when it is over reacting, but letting look around. Don’t let it nuzzle, paw, or rub. Many folks that try to help get it just backward. With four and six horse hitches I use heading regularly (for filling a spreader also) I make sure those that are helping understand what I want.

If some one thinks the goal should be to fill that spreader with out securing the horse in some way, or heading them up, then they are willing to take much greater risks than I am. Just imagine what happens when you accidentally hit the rear cross piece with you bucket. Does anyone think that saying whoa from the tractor seat will help. The horse will either stand for it or they won’t. No reason for me to find out.

I think the operation looked great, and I am all ways impressed both of you. Talk to you soon, Donn

[Donn Hewes]

George, someone here had a great design for a roll over tongue that easily flopped from two horses to three. I would be perfect for what you want to do. I hope they see this. Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Hi George, I just bought a NH 162 tedder (1600$ from a dealer). It is said to be a 17′ tedder, but I don’t see how they measure that as that is like from end to end. It should easily handle two 7′ mower swaths. the one I pulled last summer was a similar size and three pulled it easily. Folks at Essex farm have been pulling one all summer with two horses (7000 bales, about six hours a day some times), but they have a very flat farm(they have an I & J cart). I think the extra horse will give us the power we need for the hills. Can you work across the hill as much as possible? It is much easier for the animals if they can do the up hill in 100′ sections and then do a longer traverse. I know it is a hassle to break a small field up into even smaller pieces, but if it was steep enough it might be worth it.

The grim tedder is a good tedder and I have been happy with it. I am hoping to achieve three things by adding this tedder. First, when I want to do six to ten acres at one time, this tedder will still get it done in a shorter amount of time (like before one pm.) Second, a rotary tedder is the only tedder that will really touch a rained on windrow. I work hard to avoid those but it will still happen and I want to be able to ted them out. Finally, I think it will do a better job with some of the heavy cutting, right after mowing. If the last was the only benefit, I don’t think I would have done it, but the speed is a big factor for me as I am mowing and raking with two teams.

Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Does your plow use a tongue or no tongue? With out a tongue I find the shortest three horse evener your horses will work in comforatable will allow for the best plow adjustment. When you use three horses you draft attachment is moving left (right hand plow) adding side draft. the wider the evener the more it needs to move away from the center of the plow. I like to plow with three if it is hard going; sod, etc. It helps an inexperienced horse figure out what to do with out just focusing on how hard it is to pull. Easier to teach them to go slowly, etc. Down side is it can be harder to get the plow set up nicely.

[Donn Hewes]

I have a new idea horse drawn rake, and it has a nice little set up to remove the tongue with two cotter pins. I take the tongue out every winter. That may be why it is a little hard to “see” how it goes. I could take a couple pictures and see if it is the same set up. Couple thoughts on that rake. It works well as both a rake and a tedder. On side hills it will tend to rotate toward the up hill horse. The only way I found to effectively keep the tongue off the horse was to use a wide evener and yoke and spread the animals apart. I used a 48″ evener. As this rake should be in tip top condition for use with horses. if the chain that supports the far end of the basket brakes (or repair link opens) the bars fall to the frame, with lots of noise and excitement. if the bars are old and rusty they have a tendency to brake in rough ground, again with lots of noise and excitement. While these can be very useful rakes and tedders, they are also light and noisy implements that we should be careful about which horses we put on it and mindful of how they react as we start out. I am going to let mine go to an Amish neighbor so he can use it for parts.

[Donn Hewes]

It depends on the length of the evener and yoke you are using. The lines being different lengths will determine how far apart the heads will be while working. We would like them to work in a straight line, so the evener, yoke, and bit should all aim for the same distance apart. Anything like spreaders, or line adapters will change the distance as well. If we knew your evener we could give you a starting point. There will all ways be a little fine tuning as different horses head carriage, neck length, and body size can all change the path of the lines a little. Remember to look at them while pulling something (not standing) straight a head and try to make their heads point forward.

[Donn Hewes]

I thought I was gone a long time and I was home by 8 pm on Sunday night! nice job Geoff, it was good to meet you.

[Donn Hewes]

It might be easier than you think to buy a replacement part for the broken one. Check with BW Mcnair. They advertise in the SFJ.

[Donn Hewes]

Grey – that has been one of the things holding me back until now. Where in Washington are you located by the way? I have a good old friend down in Oly. that loves to talk about the working horses.

[Donn Hewes]

Just ordered some parts from Peach Lane, but I didn’t ask him the price! We will have to wait three weeks until I go and pick them up to find out what I spent. I didn’t buy Market straps as I looked at my harness and decided I could repair the market straps and back saddles to take the added use. I didn’t get the little strap? that holds the front side strap up as I figure I will make those out of the quarter straps I take off. He had some used clips for half price, and I ordered some jockey yokes, but I will look at the different styles when I am there (steel or wood). I will take some pictures. I should start with the old harness on the animal and finish with the new harness on the animal.

[Donn Hewes]

John, Thanks for the advice on tug length. I don’t plan to buy new tugs. I plan to cut my tugs (five horses and mules in harness) and fit metal clips to adapt them. When I get ready to cut I will be really careful to find out where the “D” ring belongs. I will keep you all posted.

[Donn Hewes]

Thanks Mark, I had a lot of fun too! By the end of the day on Saturday I was feeling a little worn out and wondering if we would rally for an obstacle course. Jason Glick, John Plowden and his crew, and Ben Johnson, and many others were ready to play on Sunday morning and that was great. I have been to a fair number of conferences and field days, and this is the only event I can think of where every year I have added to the list of folks I call friends, and doubly the relationships I started in Tunbridge have all gotten richer with each year.

Special thanks to all the folks who worked to make the teamster breakfast, coffee, and all the meals great; and not just because I was hungry and some else fed me (which I greatly appreciate), but because for me a lot of the fun is sitting down with folks and visiting at “the tent”

Great job, Carl and Lisa, and everyone.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Brian, I am sure you gave some consideration to the benefits and draw backs of learning to drive your self while teaching this horse. One concern I have with such a set up is horses getting bored. A round pen can be a useful place to teach a horse certain specific things, but it is a lousy place for a horse to work repeatedly as you gather skills to take the horse further. Just like smart kids in school they get bored easily, and don’t really benefit from excessive repetition after they have learned something. This is not to say I won’t go back and repeat a drill as needed, but I continue to add new material as fast as they can absorb it. They thrive on this as you have them fully engaged.

Do you have plans for the work you would like this horse to do? Do you have the equipment you need? I would build a plan that ends with them doing useful work. He will appreciate this. This may or may not be easy to do with your experience level.

[Donn Hewes]

Scott, Thanks for adding the point about “taking a moment to relax”. That is part of the reason I stop a few times, but some how I forget to mention it in a description. Allowing the teamster and the horses to relax is very important in my opinion.

Often when some one describes a small problem they feel they are having, I suggest make it take longer, don’t rush to put the trouble behind you. This will include that time to relax while you are working out what ever the current issue is.

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