[Mac]

Andy,
I have never actually seen this done… however, I have heard my granddaddy tell me about doing this when he was a kid. They would actually cut them with a mower, then rake them up, stack them, and either thresh them out or feed them vines and all to the livestock. I have fed peas like this as well, but I hauled them in out of fields that had been either beat down by hail or were to wet to pick at harvest time.
Mac

[Mac]

Carl:
I’ve never owned any blind animals, so I won’t be much help to you in that department, but I thought I’d share this little story my Granddaddy told me the other day.

It seems one of his uncles, I think Uncle Perry or Uncle Charlie, had a team of white mules (I have only seen one white mule my whole life too.), and between them they had one, yes one, good eye, and one so-so one. They worked for years in the 20’s on up to the early 50’s, when they both died, supossedly, on the same day. The old man said that Uncle would work one of them in the garden, and the would NOT step on any plants.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, just because a horse (or mule as the case may be) is blind, doesn’t mean the are no longer useful. I like how you look at it as an adventure, and I wish you the best of luck.
Mac

[Mac]

To be honest, I have no earthly idea what kind of weight they need. Daddy bought that one for his use moreso than mine, because he don’t believe in working horses when he has two Deutz tractors in the front yard. :confused: But, when I used it, I set it as far down in the ground as I could, and never had any real problems. But it all really goes back to soil prep. I turned my ground early, then disced it twice and drug it once. You may have more trouble if you intend to go thru your crop residue. I wish I could be of more help, but my personal favorite planter, in the whole of the world, is my old McCormick two row planter. I have had it ever since I first started farming, which has been a while back, and have never had any problems. Forgive me for forgetting, but what are you going to plant anyway? This would naturally affect planter choice.
Mac
P.S. Sorry I can’t be of more help on the modern stuff, but I have never been fortunate enough to own any myself. All my equipment was horse-drawn from the start.
M

[Mac]

Carl,
Thank you for saying that in a better way than I could’ve. I am positive that she knows exactly what she’s doing with this or any horse. I just don’t like it when some people who don’t know anything about horses and working try to tell us that do how to use those horses. No one has done this yet, at least on this board, but it’s happened to me before, and I haven’t forgotten it.
Good luck Jen, and have fun with him.
Mac

[Mac]

Jen:
Thats a fine looking animal you’ve got. I hope he works out well for you. That grey is my favorite, my oldest one is that same color, except he bleaches out in the summer to a lighter grey. And here’s my input: if you want to drag logs, or pull a sled, or a plow, or a Mac truck for that matter, I’d do it if I wanted to, and wouldn’t much care what anybody else thought. He’s yours to enjoy, same as mine are mine to enjoy. Have fun and good Luck!
Mac

[Mac]

Hey, I forgot to mention this: Covington Planters, they’re made in GA, and are some of the best. My dad bought one two years ago, and we’ve planted corn, cotton and some sorghum with it, both with the team and his tractor. Its a dandy little rig if you ask me. Just google Covington Planters and you’ll see them.
mac

[Mac]

Well sir, let me ask you this: who much ground are you wanting to work? Now if you’re looking at a kinda small, fairly level and rockless spot, I recommend one of the small, push styles, like a planet jr. If we’re talking 1/4 to 1/2 acre, I might try to find one of the older, one row corn planters like they used to use around here. The were pulled by one horse and walk behind. Anything bigger than this you should have a two row riding job. Its easiest, I promise.
I use my two row McD every spring, and I have a little one row no-name for the garden. Just my opinion here.
Mac

[Mac]

Ourn is a good-sized job. Its a Standard, and I forget the maker. It has six eyes, a big oven, and is all black save for the doors, reservoir, and warming ovens, which are white porcelain. It throws out a good heat. Its almost too much in the summer time. Its been in the old house since it was built as far as I can tell. We also have one of those nice little Isinglass parlor stoves. I ordered it from Sears several years ago. Those two and the little gas stove in the bedrooms are all the heat we really need.
Mac.

[Mac]

Just from looking at the pictures, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that harness that I can see. I looks really good, the blinds are fine and the backband is alright too. I’ll just tell you, I have worked a lot of hours with harness that looked a heck of a lot worse.
Mac

[Mac]

I hate adding to older threads, but I did leave out a couple of things.
1. There is not enough money on God’s earth to make me use an open bridle. And before anybody jumps on me, a friend lost the best damn team I ever saw because he got in a hurry, broke his regular bridle and used an open one. They jumped head first off a wooden bridge. So therefore I’m biased in that regard.
2. I just wanted to add my old granddaddy has worked horses for more years than I care to count. Hence, he can use the end of his checklines for such practicle purposes as snapping flies off of ears and dogs out from under wagons, etc.
3. On a somewhat lighter note, the dog suprisingly lived. He ran around town for some years on three legs. As I said, iron tired wheels and Pits don’t mix well.
4. I also meant to say the team consisted of two full sisters about 10 y.o. and mixed foxtrotter/qh that we used until the mother of my team died on our farm. The sister to her literally got heartsick and we sold her to a children’s ranch.
I do appreciate you all for putting up with my rambling, and again apologize for rubbing salt in old wounds.
Merry Christmas
Mac

[Mac]

@Jean 22556 wrote:

“durn dogs. Walk out girls.” I love that!

I know. When I tell that one everybody just gets down I mean! But that was that team. Then never moved a muscle. And that is the old man. He’s 81 now, and a real treasure, to me anyway.
Mac

[Mac]

I know I am late getting to this, but it reminded me of a good story on my old Granddaddy. I was about 8 and we went out in the wagon (old Springfield) with the team. Goin along real good and outta nowhere comes this big dog and hits the off one in the ankle. He never missed a step, until the old man and his 28 foot checklines snapped the dog out from under him. Lets just say iron wagon tires and Pit Bulls don’t mix well. The old man never flinched, and neither did the team. Oh, and they did have blinds on, by the way. I’ll never forget what he did: spat over the wheel and said “durn dogs. Walk out girls.”
Mac

[Mac]

Hi all,
Just my opinion, but my favorite heritage breeds are Barred Rocks, Buff Orphingtons, and Rhode Islands. I have found them to be the best layers and the best eaters. And they do real well down South in our awful heat.
Mac

[Mac]

Hi folks.
I can honestly say I’ve never even seen a JD cultivator. I’ve always seen/used the old McD’s. They are the most prevalent in my area of the Ozarks, but then again there aren’t many JD pieces of equipment around here period.
Just my two cents.
Mac

[Mac]

Speaking from experience, we feed ours cob and all. We shell some of it, but mostly just chuck it in the crib and be done with it. But before you feed it, you can peel the shuck back, but don’t pull it off because they’ll eat that too. That’s how us old Arkies do it anyway.
Mac

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