Logging With Horses

I was not really in a good mood today, not really sure why, it’s warm, dry, we are getting logs out... I even had a few really tight drops that went perfectly. No collateral damage. I think part of it was I had my chain really dialed in this morning, oh it’s a beautiful thing. But only a few trees in I must have hit a rock or metal in a tree. Some thing just flattened the teeth right off, and made them look like serrated teeth... not what you want to have, and I forgot to cha...nge out my file this morning the one I have been using is duller than a rock, and I don’t carry a flat file to knock down the rakers with me in the woods, so the rest of the day I kept trying to sharpen the chain, only to spend lots of time and never get it sharp again, just disheartening. And running a dull chain just beats you up and the saw too. The short of it is I guess every day can’t be the best day in the woods. You are bound to have off days even when things go right.

Well spring sure showed up today! Was down to my t shirt by lunch! As much as I love winter I am ready for sunshine and warmth. Every thing has its season. Lee is still here lending a hand. So we took two teams again today, had a load out by mid afternoon. Though I did have a fair number of trees down and ready to be pulled out this morning, so that does speed things up. But it’s still a nice feeling getting a load out and still getting home in time to just spend an hr sitti...ng out on the hay in the middle of our field of horses watching the sun fade with the wife and the steeds to scratch on, some thing we used to do nearly every day when we met. But life tends to keep us to busy lately. Today I also took the bridal off cottonwood for the first time, I have been working her from blinders to blinderless over the last month, and today after the first hr or so, I switched the reigns to her halter then after a lil removed the bridal, she was a lil unsure and a bit on edge most of the day, but still completely manageable, so I would say a successful first attempt.

Snuck back in the woods for a quick hr or two of dropping this evening again. We will be back at dragging logs in the morning, so fig I would get a few trees on the ground to speed things up for tomorrow. Broke a handle and a pull cord on the saw on consecutive pulls today. it just gave me some thing else to do after dark tonight after touching up the chains. Never a lack or tasks needing to get done around here. I had an old blown up saw so I just pulled it apart and stole the pull cord and handle off of it, now just need to add a spare pull-cord handle to my last of things to keep in the trailer..

A bit late on the gun today, we have another prego mare in the stall with a fever and colic symptoms, the sister of the last mare... To day we got started on our summer side of horse ownership, as we phase out of logging till fall and in to foaling breeding season on the farm. We have a goal to be able to collect and ship semen on our boys, with no breeding facility’s any where near us we have taken to the task our selves. It’s not easy, or cheap, or honestly all that fun. B...ut it’s part of the business and you do what you have to to make it work... Over the winter we got our selves a tease mare, that can come in heat when needed, so today was our first go using her. She was ok, still some room to improve on drug timing and set up on how to best utilize her. The first issue to deal with is convincing the stallions to jump our dummy (fake) mare and not the tease mare, not really as easy as it might sound. Horses are not stupid and hormones only go so far, we started the training last year when we had the chance when a mare was in heat, but only had two stallions successfully jump it, but today after 3hrs we successfully had all 4 stallions jump the dummy, only 2 of them finished the job but that is a challenge for another day. We will take the lil victory’s...

Well we got back in the woods today! It was a beautiful day, took two teams, and lee the visiting horse logger ran one and I ran the other and cut. We got out a good sized landing worth of logs, I never did get around to counting logs but it was enough, and we were logging for the joy of it today any way. Most of the logs really are ugly, twisted lil soft maple or cherry logs, kinda a ugly looking landing, but we pulled out a mature tree or two as well, which is always fun. ...I had a tree or two land a lil off target today, it really is a frustrating feeling, just irritates me, especially when it hits a tree you were wanting to leave un damaged... but at the same time when dealing with multi stem trees with wide canopy’s and leans it really is hard not to hit stuff.... I am really feeling the days work though. Two weeks off then keeping the two of us in logs today was a good work out. I realized I have been spoiled though, only having to mess with one team for the last few months, it’s a lot more work catching, harnessing, feeding, hitching up two carts, and repeating all that in reverse at the end of the day with 5 horses... it’s a sit on the couch watch a movie (fall asleep on the couch) kinda night See more

RAIN DAY! So it pretty much rained alll day... needless to say no tree service work today, but I got a bunch of much needed tasks done, went and met with some logging clients, marked one of the woods we will be logging out this winter. Kinda got a game plan fig out with the land owners. Looked at another job, I always put these tasks off because I just don’t feel like they are that fun or pressing, but they still need done and it is an important part of the business... I hid ...from the rain at a friends house on my way home for a bit, kinda warmed up and built up some motivation to go back out in the rain. But a few hrs here and there to day I snuck in a lil milling. Then right before dark I managed to get the back wall up on a Adirondack I have been snowy putting together down In Our woods, in our fav camping spot. My brother and I built one 20 years ago but it’s starting to look a lil rough! So it’s time for a new one... It’s well from finished but I am chipping away at it... And I threw in a pix of our lil orange family of cats...

A lil clip from bringing the team home a few weeks ago. https://youtu.be/ppAZU2Rv-6Y

So today I had big hopes to spend a lot of the day in our woods and pull out a bunch of logs.... well I never even got a harness out, last night it was 27 degrees and Rebecca wisely said fall is leaving, we need to spend the day prepping for winter on the farm. So a lot of time was spent relaying our winter fences and step in posts before the ground freezes, moving live stock around, saying farewell to three of our foals as their new owners picked them up. We did find time t...o enjoy the day too! Our cat moved her kittens below our deck this morning. So I had to cuddle and warm them up in my jacket for a bit before starting the day, a friend came over and we rode the stallions for a change! And we spent some time with my brother and his fam. So as is always the case, even when there are no logs moved, there is allot of work being done on the farm. See more

Just a lil video from the other day working in he woods. https://youtu.be/965TPcqvQQM

so today I took the day off working and helped a friend pour 45 yards of cement in his garage, I managed to get home with 2hrs of day light left, and with it being such beautiful fall weather I could not help but grab the stallions and run to the woods for some relaxing fall fun! this time of year is just sooo beautiful in western PA! all I want to do is be out in the woods all day! i just need more hours of daylight to enjoy it!

so today was the big day of chopping corn silage, we headed out the door by light to get every one ready and down the rd for a early start. after the rough start yesterday every one just stepped right in like seasoned vets this morning and all the equipment was set and working well. by lunch time cottonwood was pretty worn out and in need of a break, being as the new arrival a month ago I knew she would prob not make it all day, So rebecca got the stallions ready and over lun...ch i ran and brought them up for the afternoon shift! now all winter and spring i hitch them right with the mares, but since we don't do much over the summer all they tend to do is breed the mares. So I was a lil unsure how this was going to go... but aside from some noise making and a few stern talking to's they just stepped right up and both boys worked in the cutter right beside chestnut the rest of the afternoon! it really is such a wonderful sight to see every one working together. its one of my fav days of the year, lots of sitting around chatting with neighbors who stop by, yummy food and desert made by their wives, all mixed in with lots of time doing honest work with the steeds, its just what the soul needs.

We started cutting corn tonight! our Neighbor bought a elevator for his cutter this year, so we wanted to start tonight and get the kinks worked out before tomorrow. none of my three horses had ever cut corn before, so the first round we had some excited horses, and our hands full! It’s a VERRY noisy machine and chestnut really does not like things beside her, and she was right on the corn side... but after some stoping and adjusting the machine and calming the horses we had things under control. And filled up two wagons before dark... We have things dialed in for tomorrow and hopefully the horses will be settled when we start... so stay tuned.

Checked radar at 4 every thing looked good, got home a lil after 5 with just enough time to hitch every one up and get some more discing In before dark. but this was the sky after one round. It started raining and never really came hard but never really quit either. I don’t really like getting wet but with 45 min till dark I sat it out. And it sure was a pretty way to end the day.

We weaned sequoias baby off her on Saturday so now I have three mares home that I am Wanting to start getting in shape for logging season. I spent a few min right after work and put my Z bar in and off set my tung on my cart, switched in my 3 horse evener and in a giffy was all set for running 3 abreast. We went back up the rd to my neighbors and he has a field he plowed up but never got around to planting so we are just disking down the weeds for him, a nice way to get the ...girls back in the swing of things. as much as I love woods work, I feel like field work is one of the best ways to settle new and a lil high strung horses. so it’s really been an enjoyable way to spend These beautiful fall evenings, and Rebecca comes and joins for a lil most nights too! Cottonwood really is getting a full treatment of all different kinds of driving/riding these days, she is deff the most out of shape of the three, she is least used to all my antics too, but after a few stops to adjust every ones tugs so they were pulling even, she lags behind the other two a bit. And is a bit less eager than my full throttle ahead team mates she is stuck with... we had every one settled in and listening pretty well by dark.

We tried it again tonight! we remembered the GoPro this time! The girls did wonderful. Walked the whole way there and back easy, listened, backed. Were less sweaty and twitchy! We also ran into our neighbor who lives next to the field, so it was a nice way to play catch up during breather breaks around the field. there really is just such a wonderful peace that comes from slowing down and working Steeds, i feel It’s part of life we have lost in the mechanized world, no time To stop and talk to neighbors, or sit with your wife and watch the sun fade. It’s a much needed break in our over go go go life I all to often catch my self leading.... We also brought along speck my trusty puppy! she pretty much fallows me everywhere, and enjoys the occasional ride as well...

I have been trying to get some out of shape mares back Inshape, so Tonight right after work Rebecca and I hitched them up, and headed up to my Amish neighbors a mile up the rd, in hopes that he might be out in the field and willing to switch out horses. We saw no teams out in the fields but as we pulled up to his house he walked out and said, I saw you coming! Fig you might be looking for some thing to do? if you want I think we can find you some thing! we went and hooked up ...to his cultipacker, we made a few rounds, befor the girls were ready to quit, we took it slow and gave them long breaks after each pass, not being in a hurry and just enjoying the time with the horses as the light faded was all I was after. One of the mares is chestnut, our 6 year old imported brabant mare, she had two years in the woods, then last year she had a whole year off of being hitched at all, and tonight was her first day back in light work... she did well. A bit forward and touchy but listened well and would stand still when asked. She was a sweat dripping machine though. and the team mate tonight is cotton wood our newly Acquired Percheron mare, she is more whoa than go, but willing to trot along next to the forward moving chestnut... she deff has not been hitched for a few years, if I were to guess, she knows what to do but some times would take a few askings to do it, and is not so eager to do slight position moves or back up... a bit unsure of the odd sights along the way. But we will get her back in the swing of things...

Spent some time at the mill this weekend, I have some building projects on my radar and a growing pile of logs, so i fig I would sneak a few hrs in here and there to try an make a lil dent in the pile, got Some nice 1x8. And 1x6 hickory boards milled up. will prob use them as siding on a lean too down in our woods. If I ever find the time to actually build it..................