Sod Buster Rod

Photos by Scott Moody

Dan and Duke were 18 year old belgian draft horses when this was taken. They were pulling a sulky plow of unknown origin. They plow, disk, mow, spread manure, and give hay rides. The team is self-sufficient; they worked the ground so they could have oats in the winter. This was their first time plowing, and they did not do too badly, given the light plow. The next year they used a heavier John Deere plow that turned the sod much more consistently. With the sod turned completely over, the disc cuts the ground into a fine seed bed with just a couple of passes. They did an extra day of disking in order to get this patch in shape.

The furrows are supposed to be straight, but we don't always get things right the first time. This makes for more work at the end and an awfully rough ride. The tugs, those are the straps that run from the collar back to the plow, should be out of their carriers and allowed to drop almost a foot. That makes for a better alignment of shoulder to point of resistance- the plowshare that's 6 inches in the ground. It would also help to have them hitched longer.

Dan and Duke are loading hay with a Massey-Harris hay loader, and it does an excellent job of cleaning up the field. They need about 2 acres of hay to last them over the winter. Between mowing, picking up the hay, and putting it in the barn they only do about one day's work.

The loader rakes the hay off the ground and pushes it up the ramp where it falls on the wagon. It's work to keep up with the loader, but it's much faster than loading by hand.

Photos by Eric Hodel

Here we're loading oats in the Fall. Since I don't have a grain binder, I cut the oats with the mower, pick them up with the loader, and put them in the barn. The horses eat them, straw and all, and I won't have a feed bill.

Brooke is setting the hooks on the carrier and the horses will pull the oats into the barn loft.