Hitching for the first time

[Does’ Leap]

Looking good Ed. Way to go. Keep us posted on how things go. Any work planned for the future (spreading manure etc.)?

George

[Ed Thayer]

Goerge,

I allready spread manure with Oz single.

I would like to do some mowing this summer and Jim, the owner of the black horse, picked up a nice number 7 and would like to use them for clipping his pasture.

[grey]

Excellent, excellent! Isn’t that a great view? Good job!

[jen judkins]

They look awesome, Ed. Hey, call me when you guys are doing some mowing…I’d love to come over and give it a try.

[Donn Hewes]

Ed, they look great in those photos! I know how satisfying that is, working to make them go well, and then enjoying good working animals. There are a couple of tricks for the first time you hook them to a mower. If you have questions be sure to ask. Nice work! Donn

[jac]

Regards the first time in the mower.. We conditioned our 4 to it during the previous winter by hooking up an old mower with a draw bar for a tractor to the hitch cart. That way I felt they got used to the noise while still in a familiar place{the hitch cart}.. Hooked the steel pitman arm up with a big shackle and put it in gear.. even more noise… It was one less thing for them to worry about when they got to the hay field… Worked for us .
John

[near horse]

I agree with John about giving the horses a little “primer” on the mower before going at it for real. I hooked my team up with the mower bar up and disengaged (obviously) – drive around a bit – then run it with bar down but knife disengaged for a bit – finally, run with bar down and knife engaged but not cutting anything (just for the noise). Engage and disengage a number of times as you travel around until the “new clatter” from the knife ceases to effect the horses. Then you can try and cut some grass – there’s enough to watch/pay attention to when mowing that you don’t want to worry about your team being uptight.

That said, I think mowing and plowing are my favorite activities. HAVE FUN.

[Author]

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