[Donn Hewes]

Hi Clyde, You probably already know this but a hinney and a mule are two different things. The mule has a horse for a mother and the hinney has a donkey for a mother. Hinneys are not very common as the usually come about by accident. The only one I ever met did seem like a nice animal though.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Jenn, After 15 years as a teamster I would say plowing is one thing I am still not very good at. Here are some of the reasons why. I have only plowed an acre and a half in the last three years. Almost none for the ten years before that. Two different plows, but no really good plows. Hard rocky ground with a fair portion of clay, and I am always breaking sod. Different horses or mules each time. Since I am a dairy farmer that sells grass after it has been made into meat and cheese I don’t beat myself up about my bad plowing.

Having said all that, plowing with one horse is a unique challenge that will all ways be difficult. With a lot of experience, an excellent horse, a good plow of the right size, and reasonable ground (not sod), it might be a fun skill to master. Part of what makes it so hard is the fact that you are looking for a high degree of precision and a high physical effort at the same time. If you are trying to move a log that takes a lot of effort you can give the horse some room (loose lines) to get rolling; do that with the plow and it will be all over. Each time you try to make a slight correction, the horse is checked and soon gets confused. I like to solve these problems with more horses; but that has it’s own complications.

I am not trying to be negative, and I would encourage you to continue working at it as long as you think you can continue to improve. Just wanted to point out that what you are trying to do is hard for very specific reasons and you can think about each one. Good luck.

[Donn Hewes]

Ed, I think it all looks great too. I know from experience that it takes a while to figure out each of these “new fangled” tools we drag home. The great part is Ozzie standing there like he has all day. Makes the learning curve a lot more fun. I once planted a field of fava beans for a cover crop. As they grew I cultivated them into rows to my hearts content. No lost valuable crops. I just bought a two row cultivator to try for the first time. I am sure I will be scratching my head as my team looks back and asks if I have any idea what I am doing.

[Donn Hewes]

hi Richard, I too think that is a one horse mower. Hard to say for certain though. it is not a #7 or a #9, maybe a McD #6? The very first bar in front is probably bent. I say probably, because I am not familiar with that exact model, but on the others that is a timing bar and should be straight and adjustable. Not impossible to live with it bent if the mower happens to be in time.

My two cents. If the mower is really worth useing I would try and sell it, or fix it up and sell it, to some one that wants a one horse mower. Demand is pretty high for those. Then find a good two horse mower for your halflingers. I think a two horse mower has a wider wheel base. They can pull a five foot bar no problem.

There are at least three ways to deal with concerns over tongue weight. In no particular order, using “D” ring harness will take all tongue weight to the back saddle, using a dolly wheel gets rid of tongue weight all together, and finally a well set up mower, running smoothly, with the proper line of draft reduces the tongue weight when the pressure is applied to the evener (causing lift). Good luck.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Erik, I am excited to see the delivery wagon going forward. I often joke (0nly partly gidding) that when all else fails I will be able to get a delivery route in town and be perfectly happy. Can’t wait for the bread to roll. Donn

I planted about 1/2 an acre of wheat this spring.

[Donn Hewes]

I used drop rings for a few years with out realizing what exactly all the possible benefits were. I all ways thought of them as spreaders. The drop rings with short leather straps will change the spacing of your animals, which I think Doc H. mentioned in his article. Last year I had just about quit using them when I read the SFJ article. Now I am trying a slightly different version.

I get all my large rings from throw away bits. Old bits I have no interest in putting in a horses mouth. Those rings are a good size and weight for lines to go through. Then I used a very small and light threaded repair link to attach the new hames ring down lower were the spider comes off the hames. So far I have been pleased with how they work right there.

I wouldn’t like lines keepers on the back of the horse for a couple reasons. First I don’t want the extreme angles when I step well off to one side or the other. Second I don’t leave any lines on my harness when I take it off, so this would be one more thing to rig each day. I do have a couple odd bits where lines can catch. I use electrical tape or duct tape to hold those loose ends down. can you tell my horses don’t get to go in many parades!

[Donn Hewes]

My mare will get a shot this week for a collection next Monday, insemination on Tues. I didn’t plan a good way to detect heat, (no pony stud, one gelded mule) and don’t want to wait two more weeks to see if her next heat is more obvious than her last. I know breeding this way will likely cause a shorter window to breed to. The vet is very experienced, and we will see what happens.

[Donn Hewes]

There is a set up called a hydraulic accumulator. As the wheels turn the hydraulic pressure that is available is slowly stored. Then you can lift a plow or what ever. I am not sure how much reserve they have, or what they are capable of. White horse MFG. or one of those shops in Lancaster has used them and could tell you what they can do.

[Donn Hewes]

Well, I use a tractor for the bucket, too. I try to keep it out of my fields, but once you have one, they can be really hard to fence in. I believe our energy use is important and will become more so as time goes on. I try to think of new alternatives that may be five or ten years in my future. Personally, I need a bigger barn for hay, and using my old hay barn for winter housing of sheep might allow for pigs turning the bedding before it is pulled out and spread. But that is years away.

Sanhestar, for our 100% grass fed sheep I never think of the uneaten hay as wasted. It does several important things with out being eating. It goes into bedding that keeps sheep warm and dry. It means that the animals have effectively improved the quality of the hay by only eating the best part. This is most important and should be reflected in their body condition at the end of the winter. Finally it helps make a balanced compost.

[Donn Hewes]

Grey, That is what I was trying to teach myself and my apprentices. There is a time to hold the lines. The first time you try and do it it makes hooking up more complicated than it was. With practice I can keep the lines with me, on my wrist or elbow and hook up with making it harder than it was. The trick is keeping the lines slack and still as you move around. A little practice doeasn’t hurt. I have also found that teach teaching someone to pick up the lines with out sending a signal is a good way to get them to recognize when they do pick up the lines to drive they must distinguish between picking them up and connecting with the animals before you ask them to go.

I agree with Carl, as a farmer horses must know how to stand for things as simple as hooking, we just need that basic ability to work around them. I really had to stop and think about why I would want to teach hooking with lines in hand. Now I will be explaining the difference.

[Donn Hewes]

I have had some great mentors, and still have some today. I hope everyone starting out today will find some way to connect with a mentor in one fashion or another. There is no rule that says in order for someone to be your mentor they need to be X years older than you, or have 50 plus years or draft horse experience. Some might give you one solid lesson that you can refer back to many times, some might just give a little encouragement from time to time. As it will take a life time to learn this craft, mentors can be a great asset.

Much has been said about the older timers that were mentors to many of us and are dwindling in numbers, if not in spirit, now. In thinking back on it, I believe they said more than we ( or I at least) realized. They usually did not try to EXPLAIN how to be around a horse, they modeled it. They were not quiet and not saying much to keep the secrets of horses from us, they were demonstrating what a horse responded to and how and why.

Many of the young folks, and not so young, starting out today come from a culture that rewards multitasking. The ability to have your fingers on lots of keys and pay a little attention to several things at one time is what is being valued. Our old mentors could not and would not have done this. I think when living in a natural environment, as opposed to the technological one, the ability to relax and be acutely aware of what is immediately in front of you at the same time are what is needed and valued. Think of hunting all day, or even weeding a garden, or working with animals. You need all your senses and awareness, but you also need to be calm and relaxed. That is why they seemed so quite; they were talking to the horse, not you.

Big long ramble but I loved my first mentors and wish I could spend a day working horses with them today. I wouldn’t have to say a word.

[Donn Hewes]

While I believe animal traction can be very efficient (size and scale are important here), and environmentally sound, and is not fossil fuel dependent; none of those are the reasons I started or continue to work with them today. One day about 18 years ago as I was walking down the street where I lived I noticed that my neighbor had mules. I decided almost on the spot that I needed to have one. No idea what I would do with it.

Once I got one home (and then two!) I found trying to drive them as a means of possibly training them. It was a long and messy story that eventually led me to mentors and other help and the beginning of learning this craft. Somewhere around the first time I put a harness on a mule I realized it was one of the most satisfying, challenging, fun, interesting things I have ever done. It still is today.

[Donn Hewes]

Carl, Your point about dropping the lines for hooking is well taken. I have all ways done it that way. I guess I was questioning teaching it that way. One of the hardest parts of hooking with lines in hand is learning NOT to send signals while you do it. As usual the better teaching method would be the longer one, that includes knowing how to hook a animal the first time, knowing how to read when an animal is ready to stand and hook appropriately, and how to use our pressence (what I have taken to calling “holding them with our personality”) to get them to stand.

Anyway, it is food for thought; I don’t really like hooking with lines in hand but it is a skill I will have if I need it.

I understood what you meant about letting the lines down.

[Donn Hewes]

Being able to drop them on purpose would seem to be a main reason for NOT tieing them. I used to use a loop around my wrist and many other methods to carry the extra lines(over the shoulder). I am really trying to train myself to all ways carry them in a loop with three fingers. It is not hard so much as developing the habit. I am tyring to teach myself to hold on to them the while I am hooking up all my trace chains too. That is a hard habit to learn if you have been dropping them near by for years. The reason I want to learn to hook up with them in my hand is to model that for other teamsters that are learning from me. Once you do it for a while it gets much easier, and it is best that they learn that method to take home as a beginner with unknown horses. It is funny how hard it is to teach yourself to change a habit.

[Donn Hewes]

On my motorized cart I added a carabiner at the guard rail, just so I could hang the end there and know it wouldn’t fall down towards moving parts.

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