Filed under: December 2020 | Tags: Draft horse, horse sled, white Christmas
December 26, 2020
Wow! We just got buried in another winter blast of snow. The temperature dropped big time too! I will take credit for the madness. My friend Marvin and I reworked my old sled. I made the remark that now all we need is some snow! Holy Cow did we ever get some! Last night at chore time it was twenty inches deep on the flat!
I had cleared the drive on Christmas morning. I had to be very careful because the water, mud and gravel under the snow was not frozen. In fact, it was mush! I cleared just the main parts and will try to do a better more complete job later today.
The sled is a “Pioneer” style, with a steel frame, including the runners. I added the chains in front for times when the sled needs help staying in place. The ones in the picture need to be just a bit longer to allow for a more sweeping turn. We also added high density plastic to the runners to increase the sliding efficiency of the sled. I will use this for general purpose stuff like hauling wood, bales and children.
So, I guess its okay to say “Let it snow!… but maybe no need to say it twice :o)
Filed under: December 2020 | Tags: Draft horse, Draft horse training, long line, Suffolk horse, Suffolk Punch, training a young stallion
December 10, 2020
All of us remember our first steps, perhaps not when learning to walk, but for sure starting a new venture like a job or relationship. Hank is taking his first steps in learning how to be driven. He is doing very well. His biggest problem on lesson one, was being very relaxed. This made it a wonderful problem for both of us. He much preferred to just stand and look around, rather than walk on. My son led him a bit. Hank was very content to just follow him. Once my son would let Hank take the lead, Hank would just stop and wait for him to catch up.
I encouraged him from behind with words of encouragement and clucks from my mouth, but Hank simply rested on three legs waiting on my son to give him direction. It took awhile, but he finally caught on, that I was guiding him from the rear. I have driven him every single day since. We keep the lessons short. He is responding well and allows me to be in control from the back. He is gaining confidence and learning to walk on, turn and stand when told whoa. He is very patient with me.
Our only issue came when Hank saw his reflection in the barn door window. He made a sideways jump, then turned his head to look. I let him stand a minute to process what he saw. We then walked away. On the next round, he looked at the window again, slowed but didn’t stop. Now, when we go by the window he pays it no mind. I walked him near my truck to again catch his reflection in the mirror or windows. He does see it, but is not frightened by it. Progress is a wonderful thing
Soon, he will be hitched as part of a team. First he needs to hear and understand basic commands. He needs to hear strange noises and feel things drag behind him. I will introduce him to all of these things, slowly and safely. I want to continue to be able to keep him learning in his relaxed, calm manner. He is a big boy who won’t be two years-old until next spring. This early training is to keep his mind on something other than the ladies. Hank is and will remain, a stallion. It is very important that he respects me, trusts me and becomes a working member of our farm. I will say that he is off to a great start…even though we are just taking our first steps.
Filed under: July 2020 | Tags: Draft horse, horse training, Small Farming, Suffolk Punch horses
July 9, 2020
These hot, oppressive days take the starch out of me! I got the bright idea to give the horses all baths. I included our baby Bree. This is all part of her training. I continually expose her to all sorts of sounds and experiences.
She took the squirting hose very well. She wasn’t actually thrilled by it, but she wasn’t scared either. I put this in the win column. I think she was more upset about being tied just around the corner from mom, than anything the hose did. By the time we were finished, all fear of the hose, the water and the hissing noise was gone.
The gardens and crop fields are doing very well. They could all use some rain, but they are holding up well. The speltz harvest is just days away. Straw bales will soon be stacked in rows near the barn for winter bedding.
Normally, I would be wrapping up the wood splitting job for our sugarhouse, but this heat made me decide to just pick away at it during the cool of morning. Its working okay, but taking a bit longer. No worries, I’ll get it done :o)
Filed under: February 2020 | Tags: Draft horse, letting go, Percheron, Small Farming, Suffolk, Suffolk Punch
February 13, 2020
In the photo above compares the size of my Percheron gelding Knight, to our new Suffolk Punch mare Amee. There is a full eight inches of height difference! It seams funny to be able to see her back when I am brushing her. Putting the harness and bridal on is a breeze with the new girls. My old, short body appreciates that fact. My geldings are big. Hoss measures 18 hands. Knight is 17.3 hands. Amee measures 16 hands. Her mate Abby is a bit shorter at 15.3. A “hand” for you non-horse folks, is a unit of measurement of four inches.
My geldings have been sold. They are still here on the farm, while their new owner prepares a stall for them. They will be getting a great new home. They will work some, but have a good retirement home, giving wagon and sled rides, mowing cow pastures and skidding a little firewood. The new owner is kind and calm. He has been driving Knight and Hoss. This gives the horses and the man a chance to meet and get to know each other.
As we transition to the smaller, chunkier Suffolk punch horses, things are going smoothly. The new girls have gotten used to the routine. They will soon be powering the farm 100% of the time, but for now, are sharing the work with the geldings. My own emotions are on a roller coaster ride. It is a bittersweet thing to be making this change. It helps me a bunch, knowing that my guys will be going to a good home. A place that I can even visit from time to time.
Our black Percheron mare, also called Abby will be headed off our farm too. We are in negotiations over her sale now. She is a flashy girl who is broke well too. I will make sure that she too gets a great place to live.
Maple syrup time is at hand. We need horses to power the sugaring operation. So far, things are working out well. I will say though that my emotions, just like the sap in the maple trees, are having their ups and downs!
Filed under: January 2020 | Tags: change, Draft horse, Mares, Suffolk Punch, Work Horse
January 31, 2020
Well, I did it! I bought a pair of Suffolk Punch mares. These gals are registered, six years old and in foal. The photo above was taken on their first day on our farm yesterday. I am pleased with them. It will be bittersweet to say farewell to my Percheron pals, Knight and Hoss, but these ladies will power our farm just as well.
We are making this change after thirty years of working mostly Percherons. I do really like the breed and have had some wonderful horses. I am simply getting old and throwing the harness up on my black gentle giants, takes too much effort. The Suffolk Punch horse is a chunkier and shorter work horse. These are just two of their attributes.
They are “easy keepers” meaning they make efficient use of their feed…much like me. They have been bred for stamina and gentleness for centuries. The powerful horses are known for their great attitude, willingness to work and calm disposition.
I am continuing to be amazed by this breed. Today the mares got their feet trimmed, bridal path clipped, dewormed and fitted to harness. I guess that is the equivalent to a day at the spa…am I right ladies? In any case, they took it all in stride. They look nice tonight all cleaned up and shining in the barn light.
Big changes for the farm for sure, but the future looks bright! Oh by the way, their names are Abby and Amee. Their DNA tests revealed that they both are unrelated to our little guy Hank.
Filed under: February 2017 | Tags: Draft horse, draft horse feeders, horse manger, horse safety, tie chains, Tie stalls for draft horses
February 18, 2017
My draft horse tie stalls are ten feet wide.I made my mangers like the one pictured above. I had several people ask me questions about their size and how they are made. The mangers have a bottom that is about 18 inches above the floor. The ten foot width is divided in half. Each horse has a compartment that is five feet long, thirty three inches wide and twenty six inches deep.
I installed a corner feeder in each section for the horse’s grain. The size of the manger easily holds a half of a 50# bale. The horses have plenty of room to “root” around in their hay, without pushing it out onto the floor to be wasted. The mangers pictured have been in use since the year 2000. The top board is a 2×8 inch piece of red oak. The top edge of which is forty four inches high, when measured from the floor to the top edge.
I drilled a hole in the 2×8 inch top board. I off set it just enough to have a little more wood on the top of the hole than the bottom part. The chain is long enough to allow the horse access to the bottom of the corner feeder. That length is long enough to allow the horse to lie down easily, but not so long so the horse can get tangled. I use a big heavy snap to connect at their halter. I moved the snap a link at a time until I found the desired link for the proper length. This should be somewhere between 18 to 24 inches, depending upon the size of the horse, looseness of his halter etc. I cut the extra links off the chain to keep them from becoming entangled in the snap once it is attached to the horse’s halter.
On the end of the chain that is inside the manger, I attached these big rings. The rings can’t pull through the hole. They are heavy so as the horse moves forward, the ring pulls the slack in the chain to the inside of the manger. It slides up and down easily keeping the chain taut while not pulling on the horse. The horses had no trouble adjusting to the chain and ring.
My double tie stalls keep my horses safe and clean. They are turned out or used each day, so don’t need the exercise a boxstall allows. They can lie down whenever they want and often do. I would not make a double stall any wider than ten feet, nor a single stall and wider than five feet, otherwise, the horse may try to roll in his stall. I stable my horses in the same manner that they are hitched, each horse shares a stall with its team mate.
It is possible to harness that horses in their double stall. They are roomy for the horses and makes caring for them easy. I have used tie stalls since 1986. The key is that the horses need to be used or exercised daily. The mangers are a key component to keeping them safe, fed and secure.
Filed under: September 2014 | Tags: breast feeding, Draft horse, new-born, Promise, splendor, sunbeams, sunlight
Duke in the dawn’s early light
September 22, 2014
When I was a boy, I read in a copy of Reader’s Digest, a story about a man who related a story of his childhood. He had heard our National Anthem and in his mind the words “dawn’s early light” were melded into the words “daunserly light”. That kind of light, he reasoned was for extra special things like the sun on a new-born baby, or the afternoon hue that engulfs a new bride. Our flag, bathed in sunlight at the end of a long battle, was of course that kind of light.
I read that story in the Reader’s Digest and laughed out loud, because for years I had made that same observation! Surely, there must be some divine light know as daunserly! It simply had to be that way…after all they made a song about it, that thousands of people sing. I belted that phrase out many times in my childhood, never knowing I was doing it wrong.
In my adulthood, I still believe that there is such a light. Perhaps there is a different name for it, but I still see that doggone daunserly light! When the preacher is preaching and light through the stained glass bathes his face, Is that not daunserly? For sure it must be that light, when a new-born babe suckles his mother’s breast, as the early morning sun shines on them from a window. Or how about when the sun breaks through the fog in the middle of a forest and sheds light on a tiny seedling? Perhaps it is the hype, or maybe the beauty, I don’t know. I guess for me it is the splendor, the wonder and the promise of something great found on the sunbeams…. All I know is; that I love it!
The horses help gather sap by voice command
April 1, 2013
After several trips up and down the sap roads, stopping many, many times along the way, the horses have the routes memorized. Jake was gathering sap along the edge of the roads. He would ask the horses to go. They would lean into their work, step off together and walk until he told them, “Whoa.”
This is where horses beat a tractor everytime 😮 You can tell the tractor to move. You can yell and scream until you are blue in the face… and that tractor will not move. Of course, leave the thing in gear or on a hill in neutral … and suddenly it won’t “Whoa!” I’ll take horses over a tractor every time for this job!
I guess the horses work by “conditioned response”. They know the way. They know where we stop most times. Telling them to stop and go, makes sense to them…. This is what the experts would say… I however prefer to think a bit differently 😮 I say the horses are my partners. They work for me because I ask.
I look after the horses just as I would my children. I feed and care for them. I nurture and praise them. When needed, they get a slap on the butt or usually a stern voice of disapproval. I think my voice, filled with disappointment, stings much more than the slap on the butt.
Our horses have come a long way. Their training is on going, but they are becoming a trusted team. They stand when told. The move when asked. They enjoy our farm’s visitors. They almost look forward to all the petting and love, especially when given by children.
There is sap to gather again today. The rain fell last night along with the temperature. The horses will get a short break tomorrow, perhaps even Wednesday, but there is warm in the forecast by the weeks end. I am sure the horses will take it all in stride. The maple season for us, is nearing its end… but for now, we are in the groove!
Teamwork !
March 11, 2013
We had an awesome weekend of everything maple 😮 We gathered sap, we boiled sap, we burnt wood … LOTS of wood. We tasted the fresh syrup several times for quality control measures … of course!
We had lots of help and many visitors. On Sunday, I thought we would just gather what little bit had dripped over night. I wasn’t expecting much, so I didn’t line up much help. Sunday turned out to be one of the biggest days we have seen for gathering.
On that very big day, my hired man brought his mom and dad and his sister to watch and experience the maple process. They had a great time even though they worked like dogs due to my lack of help. They did have fun. They did learn a little, but the best part was the memories that they will have forever.
I know all about those great reflections. My life is full of them. I am very thankful for each and every one. It means that someone took the time to share their life with me. They cared enough to make a special mark upon my heart. I am doing my best to make those kind of marks too.
We had a pair of brother-in-laws who brought their children out to the farm. I had not met them before, but we are now friends. The children are city kids from west of Cleveland. Their eyes got opened to a whole new way of life. They even got to see my horses working … a sight not seen much in the big city. They tasted syrup and stood in the steamy room, breathing in all that they could.
Today, rain fell softly as I boiled the last of the sap from the weekend. The steam vented the sugarhouse, but then was directed downward filling my little sugar valley with the sweet smell of the maple season. Lambs jumped and played in the warm rain as I watched out of the sugarhouse window. Today, I once again drink from the saucer …. because my cup runneth over.
Making maple syrup, at least on this farm, will always be a family affair. I know that no matter how far away my friends and famliy get, when the sap runs … their thoughts will run back to the little sugarhouse in the valley, right here at Riceland Meadows.
Filed under: March 2013 | Tags: Draft horse, maple syrup season, nature, outdoors
Lots of help gathering sap
March 9, 2013
Today was the best sap run of the season. Our trees were dripping like mad. The bags were full, the sun was warm and smiles were everywhere! We had a great time.
The horses got another good workout, but the work is starting to become “old hat”. They take it in stride and almost seem to enjoy it as much as we do. It is so much fun for me to see the looks on the little kid’s faces as they watch the horses work.
We had lots of help today today and it took a while to gather all the taps. Once the sled tank was full, the gatherers would rest and wait for the horses to come back. They laughed and joked and made memories that will last a lifetime.
I boiled for just over six hours and made some very nice syrup. We had customers, visitors and helpers all watching and sharing memories. I had a great day 😮 I could feel my grandpa guiding my moves, whenever he wasn’t out watching my son Jake handle the team. My grandpa watches from heaven, but I know he was here today…if only in my memory.
RicelandMeadows 