Horses - talk to me!
Discussion
mr2mk1chick said:
don't know any horse forums, but have you thought about loaning a horse first and keeping it at a knowlegeable yard?
often talking to horse owners face to face at a yard is more valuable than forum jockeys
Nope, had not considered that, tbh. But, I have numerous outbuildings and more than enough land to have horses here, where I can see them and be in more regular contact.often talking to horse owners face to face at a yard is more valuable than forum jockeys
Forum jockeys - love it.
mr2mk1chick said:
LOL
please consider this first i think, unless you have had lots of experience of working with horses before etc. it will be invaluable i think. you can go for a short term loan or part/shared loan just to get to grips with what type of horse you want to buy and will be happy with all the considertions of speccing your barns for the job (stable/field, tack store/feed store etc)you will also see feeding in differetn ways if you go for a yard with a few different owners. one answer does not suit all horses etc.
Also a local agricultural college shoudl run night school type course in keeping horses etc, so if you are not that experienced this would be cool.
jo (BSc hons equine science & mgmt
)
Great advice, thanks Jo.please consider this first i think, unless you have had lots of experience of working with horses before etc. it will be invaluable i think. you can go for a short term loan or part/shared loan just to get to grips with what type of horse you want to buy and will be happy with all the considertions of speccing your barns for the job (stable/field, tack store/feed store etc)you will also see feeding in differetn ways if you go for a yard with a few different owners. one answer does not suit all horses etc.
Also a local agricultural college shoudl run night school type course in keeping horses etc, so if you are not that experienced this would be cool.
jo (BSc hons equine science & mgmt
)Cracking steer, too. An underrated beastie is the MK1 MR2.
Sam_68 said:
Since this is PistonHeads, and speaking as someone whose grilfriend bought one (a horse that is) a year or two ago, might I suggest that you buy yourself something like this instead?
It'll be cheaper and more reliable in the long run, honestly...
I've got more than enough bhp in the garage, I'm after a horse (two, really) that I can ride and work (have some steep sections of woodland that I'd like to fell some trees in eventually).It'll be cheaper and more reliable in the long run, honestly...
Costs aren't an issue, but I'm not about to splurge gazillions of a poofy arab or such like that can't handle the Welsh weather and a bit of mud.
Ideally I'm looking at a Heavy Horse - Shire/big cob/Clydesdale, etc. I know they eat shed loads, but hey, if I were 1000kg or thereabouts I would, too.
Sam_68 said:
OK. It's your funeral.
Joking (and costs) aside, my experience as a non-horsey person who hangs around with a lot of horsey people is that not only are they disproportionatley expensive for what you get out of them, but they're not far off a full time job to look after.
I would seriously suggest you consider whether this is just a whim...
A horse is for life, not just for Christmas, and working horses have been pretty much universally replaced by tractors for a reason.
Something like a Clydesdale is a pretty specialist animal, so how about dipping your foot in the water with a Welsh Cob or something similar, to see how you get on?
People literally can't give them away at the moment, so you'll be able to find a loaner, free of charge, from someone who's no longer in a position to look after it themselves.
The only reason horses have been replaced by machinery is progress/tech. Horses/donkeys/mules are still used in many parts of the world, still...Joking (and costs) aside, my experience as a non-horsey person who hangs around with a lot of horsey people is that not only are they disproportionatley expensive for what you get out of them, but they're not far off a full time job to look after.
I would seriously suggest you consider whether this is just a whim...
A horse is for life, not just for Christmas, and working horses have been pretty much universally replaced by tractors for a reason.
Something like a Clydesdale is a pretty specialist animal, so how about dipping your foot in the water with a Welsh Cob or something similar, to see how you get on?
People literally can't give them away at the moment, so you'll be able to find a loaner, free of charge, from someone who's no longer in a position to look after it themselves.
I'm in no rush, but I see little point in getting a Cob, only to move on to what I really want and what will be best for the jobs at hand, too. A loaner may be somewhere to start, but I'm looking for something over 17HH that can haul oak/ash/alder, etc, uphill
I am meeting a horse logger in two weeks so will pick his brain. Time is not an issue, either. I have a flexible working regime...I'm the boss, and only employee, kind of.
Sam_68 said:
Horses like company (people often get a donkey to keep their riding horse company), so if you got a loaner cob, there'd be nothing to stop you keeping him on as company for a heavy horse, if you wanted to go the whole hog, since cost and land are obviously not an issue to you.
For sure.Edited by Sam_68 on Saturday 3rd September 19:47
I'd never dream of keeping one horse, all by itself. The Mrs would also love a donkey, anyway, so one was always on the cards.
Land is cheap in Wales - anywhere from £1500 to £4500 per acre.
Cheers,
C.
mr2mk1chick said:
Atually, snigging (moving timber with horses) horses are often not best being too large, as they need a lower centre of gravity to help utilise thier strength, and the smaller size helps with their agility around the woodland. the 17hh ones were usually for draught horses or those working in the fields with carts etc. the best ones for snigging are the smaller stockier cobs, or perhaps something more unusual like the percheron etc 15hh ish. Also no one should expect horses to remove timber by pulling it up hill - the method ususally is to drag it down a hill. Mechanised winches are usually used to pull uphill where heavy unimogs etc can't get in, or where you want to limit the ground disturbance.
I used fell ponies to snig wood in the lake district many years ago, they were great but large cobs would manage more weight.
It depends on how large you are as to whether a cob will be good for you to ride, but a good large cob will cope with weight - its just whether you have long legs.
Snigging horses are very specialised, and i doubt (not being too presumptuous) that you can train one yourself - you are better to hire in the experts. if you do want to have your own - go for a ride and drive cob that has already had experience in a harness for pulling, but they need to be very sensible types, as a great load of logs crashing away behind them can be a lot more scary than a nice flatcart or carriage!
seriously consider a loan cob, but get the experts in for snigging. they usually want to keep thier horses close to the job, so you could let them keep the horse with you in your fields and you could ask if they wil let you ride them etc perhaps to get a taster
More good advice, thanks Jo.I used fell ponies to snig wood in the lake district many years ago, they were great but large cobs would manage more weight.
It depends on how large you are as to whether a cob will be good for you to ride, but a good large cob will cope with weight - its just whether you have long legs.
Snigging horses are very specialised, and i doubt (not being too presumptuous) that you can train one yourself - you are better to hire in the experts. if you do want to have your own - go for a ride and drive cob that has already had experience in a harness for pulling, but they need to be very sensible types, as a great load of logs crashing away behind them can be a lot more scary than a nice flatcart or carriage!
seriously consider a loan cob, but get the experts in for snigging. they usually want to keep thier horses close to the job, so you could let them keep the horse with you in your fields and you could ask if they wil let you ride them etc perhaps to get a taster
Ideally I wish to do all the work myself with the horses and am prepared to spend whatever is required to reach my end goal.
The reason for looking at the larger horses is because (correct me if I'm wrong) I'm wanting to ride them and I'm not exactly small (6'3" and 95kg with 'Inspector Gadget' legs...OK, not quite that bad, LOL). I don't want to look like a jockey with my knees up round my ears and I fear on a smaller horse I'd need to! Pulling a cart is also on the cards.
As for the inclines, a couple are steep, but short (circa 30M) and the others are minor. I lkie the idea of not getting into the woods with machinery due to the low impact.
Cheers,
C.
Willy Nilly said:
Agriculture, horsey people are generally laughed at. Some won't even do business with them.
If you have some trees and a seemingly limitless pile of cash, how about one on these?
http://www.deere.co.uk/wps/dcom/en_GB/industry/for...
Jeeze, that narrows it down...If you have some trees and a seemingly limitless pile of cash, how about one on these?
http://www.deere.co.uk/wps/dcom/en_GB/industry/for...
Care to be more specific?
Where ever you do your 'agriculture' and who ever you do it with/for, there seems to be many folk with chips on their shoulders.
I would imagine you don't work in Wales. The 'horsey folk' to which you refer don't seem to inhabit these parts.
Willy Nilly said:
I have worked all over. Horsey people are the laughing stock of the livestock sector.
Once upon a time a did some relief work over christmas for a leading dairy producer. I'm no stockman, but unless you have worked with commercial livestock you are unlikely to understand the level of sheer bulls
t that horsey people come out with.
There is a livery yard at work with 20 or so horses. There are enough people working on there, with out the owners, to look after a couple of hundred high yielding dairy cows.
If you want a horse, then good luck to you. But it will take up more time than you ever imagine. It will eat up more money than you ever imagine. Your paddocks will get churned up and full of ragwort. The fences will fall apart.
As I thought...Once upon a time a did some relief work over christmas for a leading dairy producer. I'm no stockman, but unless you have worked with commercial livestock you are unlikely to understand the level of sheer bulls
t that horsey people come out with.There is a livery yard at work with 20 or so horses. There are enough people working on there, with out the owners, to look after a couple of hundred high yielding dairy cows.
If you want a horse, then good luck to you. But it will take up more time than you ever imagine. It will eat up more money than you ever imagine. Your paddocks will get churned up and full of ragwort. The fences will fall apart.
Bitter, twisted, assumptive, etc, etc.
I also didn't realise horses s
t ragwort seeds.
Sam_68 said:
Sorry, Caractacus; I know you probably posted this topic in the hope that everyone would massage your ego by telling you what a wonderful idea it was, and what a clever chap you are for thinking of such a sustainable way of managing your land, but really, you need to think very carefully about what you're letting yourself in for... for the animal's sake.
Not at all, if you read the first post correctly. You know less than you think.Edited by Sam_68 on Sunday 4th September 23:31
We already have 100's of healthy animals that we manage ourselves, organically (that should please willyless and his combine harvester...). We will more than manage two horses - one heavy horse and a friend for said horse.
I've, thanks to Jo, and others, been given some top advice by folk that know what they are talking about, via suitable horse forums.
You and Willyless really don't know much at all. Thanks for the chuckles though.
You and Willyless should shack up together.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
A little Harsh there OP.
Sam and Willy are not far from the mark IMHO - perhaps the delivery or message was not what was wanted to be heard.
I too am a bystander and am fortunate that I roll up my sleeves as and when I want with the OH's eventer. Financially and Timewise.
Owners do look on with rose tinted glasses and I think compared to 'Livestock' - which is what I guess you are suggesting to 100's of others in the menagerie, Horses do require a fair amount of faffing. 365. Twice a Day.
Have fun regardless.
Cheers, but not at all harsh. Especially given my OP.Sam and Willy are not far from the mark IMHO - perhaps the delivery or message was not what was wanted to be heard.
I too am a bystander and am fortunate that I roll up my sleeves as and when I want with the OH's eventer. Financially and Timewise.
Owners do look on with rose tinted glasses and I think compared to 'Livestock' - which is what I guess you are suggesting to 100's of others in the menagerie, Horses do require a fair amount of faffing. 365. Twice a Day.
Have fun regardless.
But here's the rub...you have experience of the expensive and probably snobby end of the horse spectrum - eventing. Along with racing, polo, jumping, hunting, etc.
I have zero interest in those sectors.
What's more is that I will do courses so I can do more for the horses myself rather than rely upon others.There are four of us here and we all pitch in, a team effort if you like.
Fun will be had, that's for sure.
Thanks to those on the thread that provided sound unbaised advice and answers to my OP.
Cheers,
C.
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