[Ed Thayer]

Carl,

Well I guess I don’t need to worry about the wood. Mine are only 1.5″ square. I see yours are hooke directly to the bobs. Do you have a stiffner between the runners to keep them from flexing to much? Just to clarify, this is a fifth wheel style arrangement on the front that swivels on a steel pin.

The rear bob section has a stiffner between the bob’s but the front just has forged steel straps that run up the sides of the runners to a pin mount.

[Ed Thayer]

I should stop whining, I know you have spent a lot more on Reno’s rehab.

Are you looking for a sled or sleigh? I saw something in another post.

[Ed Thayer]

Nice looking sled. Are you going to try and incorporate some sort of swivel arrangement for the connection between the shafts and sled.

Looks like if the shafts hooked directly to the sled it would put considerable strain on them when turning.

[Ed Thayer]

Update on Oz,

He seems to be improving each day. The swelling in his groin and abdomen has almost disapeared. His right hock still has some minor swelling though.

I am still puzzled as to what really happened or is happening with him. He is eating like normal and drinking plenty. I let him out with our other two horses today and he was trotting and bucking and truly seem to enjoy being out in the pasture to roam around.

After spending more than $500.00 hundred dollars in meds and vet calls I would have liked a diagnosis. But I guess that is not an exact science?

Really all that matters to me is that he is feeling better. I have been working on my bob sled and hope to have it ready to go in the next week or so. Hopefully Ozzie will be ready to go in a 2 to 3 weeks.

[Ed Thayer]

Thanks for the thoughts.

Oz seems to be doing better. The swelling in his leg has gone down significantly. There is still a large bulge in his abdomen area. Is it possible for a horse to get a hernia?

Ed

[Ed Thayer]

@jenjudkins 13378 wrote:

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. Mark, I have the split tires all ready to assemble into a harrow, just haven’t gotten there yet and now I’m not sure where to dig in the snow to find them, lol.

I think I’ll start with an oversize tractor tire. I use them as feeders. Not as big as the frontloader tires, but should be easier work for Reno. I’ll just lay a piece of plywood in the bottom. I’ll let you know how it goes…

That was going to be my suggestion. I hava a front truck tire that is large but not so big that Reno would not be able to pull it. Put a piece of plywood under it with a small curl on the front so it glides over the snow and doesn’t plow it up and that would work good.

[Ed Thayer]

Thanks Carl,

That explains all the forged steel reinforcement on the bobs.

Ed

[Ed Thayer]

@goodcompanion 12584 wrote:

I think you must be talking about the curved runner. That must be steam bent from a straight piece or it will have no strength to it. You will probably need to find a boat or chairmaker to make this for you if you aren’t equipped to make sharp steam bends from such thick stock. Sorry for the bad news.

The only way I know of making this kind of piece in an everyday shop is by making your own laminate with weather-resistant glue like titebond 2. You just need a lot of veneer (preferably hardwood) and a lot of glue and a ton of clamps. You could use the iron of the runner as the guide. I can’t say the result would be stronger than a steam-bent piece but it would be about as strong if executed right.

Now I’m confused?

The runners on my sled appear to be original and after inspecting the way the grain runs on them, it appears to be from a piece of oak that was not steam bent but cut from a straight piece of wood. No crook to the grain.

My question, was steam bending or crooked wood the only way these were cut?

Ed

[Ed Thayer]

Bump

Again, price is negotiable.

Ed

[Ed Thayer]

Jen,

Welcome to the ” I dragged more firewood than I can use in 10 years club”

There is something special about pulling wood to me. I don’t know why.

Nice to hear Reno ejoyed the work.

This may not be a conventional horse logging practice, but I use a large hook that I attach to the rear spider ring on Ozzies but and hook the single tree to it to keep the whole assembly off the ground when heading back for another hitch.I do not do this not to make him more comfortable but to keep the chain and tree off the stumps and brush.

ED

[Ed Thayer]

He has not been on a plow that I know of or a work sled. I have had him on the forecart shown and he does fine. I have pulled logs in the field ground driving.

He has been ridden at a local horse camp by a number of people, from beginner rider up to experienced. Very willing to please. My daughter can ride bareback with only halter and bareback reins – cantering. He has shown in english pleasure, jumping and gymkhana shows for the past 5 years. Great to trailer and never an issue around strangers or crowds.

As the post said, he is better suited with an experienced rider or teamster. Would not recommend for a beginner.

[Ed Thayer]

What a great restoration. Nice Job..

Good pics too.

[Ed Thayer]

Nice job Jen,

Peanut looks great. Sorry to hear he left your farm, but I’m sure he will fit in nicely where he is going. This is the first time you have plowed with him is it not?

Ed

[Ed Thayer]

Miniclyde,

I sympathize with your dilema. I too am new to the driving experience.

My one benifit was purchasing an 11 year old Belgian that had been broke and seems to have been there done that, so to speak.

I purchased Lyn Millers book on Training Workhorses / Training Teamsters and found it very helpfull. It has a great deal of information on just what you are looking for.

It addresses the differences in harness, driving equipment and has a ton of photos.

I would agree also that finding someone to help is a huge benifit. That being said, it is not always easy to do. I learned alot by joining a club before I purchased a horse. The members were very helpfull but most of my experience was hands on and not all was good.

Driving a horse at best is a risk. If you read enough on this forum, you will see that broke teams, horses and teamsters have had very scary incidents and no one is immune to problems.

You have come to the right place for help. There is a ton of knolwedge here, myself excluded, and they are all willing to help when possible.

Good luck,

ED

[Ed Thayer]

Several people have mentioned that the tires are on backwords. I just haven’t gotten around to doing it yet.

Thanks for the info.

Is the bed chain still available for the 100? Mine seems to be in graet shape, but I wondered if the detachable chain was still available.

What kind of weight might this be on a single horse hitch? Will I be a ble to load the spreader full and have him handle it single, or maybe load half and make more trips.

Ed

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