[ADKLogger]

Ira you may want to read Biological Woodsman’s thread in off topic discussions on looking for teamsters in the southwest.

[ADKLogger]

Good Luck Ira, and remember the beauty of the internet will keep us all up to speed on how everthing went 🙂

[ADKLogger]

I had a horse like this that I eventually had to get rid of just because he was to dangerous. I could lead him or ground drive him all over the place but when I would try and hitch him to a log he would begin to dance and want to bolt out of the starting gate like a race horse. As you can imagine in the woods this is especially dangerous as we perfected the hitch and dive method of horse skidding.

I truly believe that what ever happened to him in his previous life made him bipolar. So much for my equine psychology. He is now the member of a horse pulling team so this might suite him much better.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

This is good because I thought I was going crazy, she started doing this squirting thing when I brought my new gelding in and she has been a pain in the neck since. Squealing and making all kinds of funky noises, and then he is over there nibbling at her neck. Life is truly stranger than fiction.

Thanks,

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Does anybody have anything on this?

[ADKLogger]

Thanks Carl, I have been mislead by another teamster that told me that all of the power is in the front. So when Petey crow hops, and lunges into the load this is good?

I do vary my loads by taking out branch hitches and varying where I stop to allow him to take a rest when we are taking a log hitch. How often should I push the size of the hitch and what should i look for in his behavior telling me that I have pushed him to far?

Just a side note, on our breaks I give him hay, should i also be giving him oats in addition to hay when we stop to take our lunch.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Hey guys, I’ve got a question that fits right in with this conversation. My new horse Petey is a 5 yr old Percheron gelding. We log with him and he has come along great except for one thing. When we get to a hitch that is fairly large he has a tendency to want to bolt into it using his hind quarters for power, and all this does is make him dance around. How do I get him to put his front end into it and start using the muscle machine that makes up the front 1/3 of his body so he can get a heavier load moving in a much more controlled manor?

Thanks for all of your input this community has helped me immensely.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Jean, I have to admit that since I have gotten my new buddy Petey, we took the make shift sled for a ride one day up the road and I let off the reigns a bit and he actully got into a pretty good gallop, and I could tell he was having a good time for a while, but then I brought him back in to a slow trot and there was a whole shift in his demeanor.

I guess just like kids we gotta let them burn it off, and they will pay even closer attention to what is going on. Unless there is something you do not trust about your bud, don’t be afraid to give him the reigns once and a while. And don’t hesitate to listen to a little George Strait to set your mind right.;)

Both Petey and I grow each day we do something, and the story continues.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Buying a horse is kind of like sales. You do a ton of initial work that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and suddenly it will happen when you almost least expect it. So I would suggest to talk to as many people as possible, post your ad in as many places as possible, and look at different horses that seem to make sense for your operation.
I know this doesn’t help you specifically but I just went through this process myself and learned a ton about buying a horse, but more importantly I talked to and met many awsome folks who love draft horses and working with them. And I know that all of these great people will gladly help you after you find your team of horses no matter what you choose.

Good luck

[ADKLogger]

thanks Ira, my biggest problem is that i had a horse that was trained this way and he learned to bolt both at the hitch and at the gate and i do not want to relive any of that. i had to go back to the barn to many times, and get him. But my team keeps on pushing me to do this as they know that i have become the slowest link.

[ADKLogger]

Thanks Carl, this is right were I am at, and this helps me immensly. You know I have a great team of guys that I work with but we can all suffer from less than giving our best. Many times I have to remind my team that we are a team and this include Petey, and without him we would all be on the side of the mountain without a chainsaw.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Thanks everybody. I believe I have the horse that will work for us. He is a 5 yr old Percheron Gelding, broke for driving and general farm work. We have used him in the woods several times alreadly and he seems to be working out just fine. And seems to meet all of our criterion, except he is younger thatn we were originally looking for.:)

[ADKLogger]

After evaluatin what we were looking for I came to the conclusion that I probably was not going to find the perfect horse just waiting to be bought by me. Anybody would be foolish to sell such a horse. So I looked more closely at my criteria to see which ones I could adapt and which ones I could not. This has made it much easier to find horses to look at, and I believe that I may have found a great horse which was younger than I started out looking for, as well as a little larger than I wanted, and definately without the specific skills for logging that I wanted, but I believe it has happened. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for everything and I am looking forward to becoming a more integral part of this community.

[ADKLogger]

Thanks Carl, this is an excellent post especially for somebody like myself looking to get into the draft horse world, and to find those networks which are beneficial and rewarding.

Definately let me know if you have any other ideas that will help in my search.

[ADKLogger]

Hello Beth I was wondering if Ozzie has gone to a home yet?
If not could you please call me as this is eactly what I am looking for.

Sincerely
Frank A. Cannone
518-623-9917

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