Filed under: May 2020 | Tags: farm fencing, farm repairs, light durable sled, renovations, work sled
May 21, 2020
Our recent wet weather has field work stalled, but there is still plenty to do. Last week, we renovated the horse’s stalls. This week, I repaired the back fence of the feedlot. The fence had fallen into disrepair, from horses reaching over the fence panels to nibble grass. It was almost a game for my Percherons!
The old fence had stock panels for the top section. The horses mashed it down all the way to the middle guardrail. The top section of guardrail is new to this spot. It is re-purposed from another project.
I even added brace poles to straighten the fence up. The effects of twenty years of livestock pushing on it could really be seen. The horses can’t reach over it anymore. The rubbing from cattle and sheep shouldn’t hurt a thing now that the brace posts have been added.
The drying winds of the last two days are making the fields look much better. Hopefully we can get busy fitting them up. It’s time to plant our field corn for the animals. We may be able to make progress on that job very soon too.
I built this little sled for the young horses in training to pull around. It measures four feet long and thirty inches wide. It is made from leftover lumber, a recycled horseshoe and a chunk of log chain. The runners were made from a recycled treated 4×4, but I added some replaceable hardwood soles. This will make a light load for training young horses. It is large enough to stand upon. It’s just big enough to haul a few light loads. This builds confidence in a young horse as they learn to work.
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RicelandMeadows 
I love that sled. You sure have a wonderful farm. You have been so helpful for us at the Kodiak Baptist Mission in trying to get our mule to pull.
Comment by Johnny walkwr May 24, 2020 @ 3:55 pmThanks Johnny
Comment by ricelandmeadows May 25, 2020 @ 10:08 amThe sled is very handy. The replaceable runners is what makes it work so well. The soles wear out, just replace them. Note the angle and how it goes together.