Horse Drawn Sickle Bar Mowing, Part 1: First Time Troubles!

[@dianaholvik2554]

I love this. I love history and how things used to work. I read historical fiction and my current story takes place in 1867 and they were using scythes...very slow and labour intensive, so they invested in a sickle bar mower. So I came looking for how that would have worked. This has been very informative. Thank you. And I love to see the environmentally friendly ways to do things. Many blessings to you.

[@ADifferentWay]

Thanks and welcome to the channel!

[@sidneywilliams418]

Keep up the good work. You have a great attitude. I realize it's difficult being a pioneer, but it is worth it, so don't give up. You are a great encouragement to many.

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

The bunching up is quite common when the grass is wet, one can reduce that by moving over a bit, in other words, not mowing with the entire length of the sickle-bar, so that the tall grass is not all the way to the inside. I suggest that you use a dolly once you use the mower without the forecart. Not only will be the weight of the tongue off the horses' necks, but you will be able to make the whole thing more solid. A tongue breaking can be very dangerous. The way you introduced your horses to the mower is very good and considerate.

[@ADifferentWay]

We actually just purchased a tongue dolly, and we had a more experienced guy come show us a few other fixes to it. I’m really looking forward to trying it again once all the tweaks are made!

[@craigslitzer4857]

@@ADifferentWay I don't have any personal experience, just being a guy who likes to watch videos of stuff like this. But I saw a similar video of a team of horses pulling a mower blade like this recently. He said the two ends of the cutting blade are where it's most likely to clog up, moisture and grass height factor in also. I think his channel name was called "Working Horses with Jim" or something similar to that if you wanted to get in touch with him.

[@e-racer4673]

Good video. Glad you were ok and not hurt.

[@baeruuttehei1393]

A few tips from across the atlantic: A on each side of the sickle bar, in and outside, you should use 'throw over boards'. You have one on the outside of the bar but it should be longer and slide over the gound, pushing your mowed grass into a more narrow swath. B this gives a ft wide space where the inside of the bar can slide which prevents your bar from blocking on the inside. C my grandpa, working with horses on his farm, was very much opposed against the eye flaps on horses' headgear. His motto: 'a horse hears something, can't look and is spooked! With whatever negative consequence... Well good luck to you, I'd like to see more! T-Bear from NL.

[@ADifferentWay]

It’s always interesting to hear training tips from other regions. Funny how theories can differ. Although I am a fan of training horses with lots of desensitizing, most of the horses we’ve had are already trained to blinders, and we just continue using them. That said, I think the motto around here would probably be something closer to “if they can’t see it, it’s not as scary! “

[@alancummings5008]

I owned a massey mower in the late 60's. And yes, i broke a square 4x4 hitch beam as well mowing side ditches. Was curious about the 7 ft sickle bar, but you explaied it. Never saw one before so equiped. I did pull mine with a tractor.

[@WorkingHorsesWithJim]

That’s a good video. Looks like your mower will be fine and you will like it a lot better after you put a long pole on it. I hope you show it to us after it’s fixed.

[@duanebolen8359]

That rod is what holds the grass or hay so you need to make one its looks like a C in shape if you can look up a J D number five mower it will show you what you need to get or make that speed on cutter bar has to run fast to cut an when you turn raise the bar make 90 degree turn then it won’t plug I cut a lot of hay with a Sickle bar mower good luck Duane in iowa

[@carmfarm5]

it's been a while since I ran a mower like that, but it seems to me there was a hole on John deere sickle bar mowers near the first guard and there was a heavy gauge, round metal grass bar that bolted on there that pushed the crop to the outside a bit more to prevent your bunching problem. Good luck finding one!

[@MichaelSmith-hs5iu]

I agree, seems to me there was or should be a metal rod probably somewhere between 18-24" with a bend in it pushing the crop towards the cutter bar. I had a john deere No.7 as I remember.

[@ADifferentWay]

Yes, in the follow-up video, you'll see we found the remainder of the old, broken bar, and replaced it. The second attempt had the grass flowing very nicely right into the cutter. The rod definitely helped!

[@carmfarm5]

@@ADifferentWay Saw that, Fixing the Ledger plate problem was probably 90% of your solution. We meet at horse progress days in Arthur last summer. We went to the same high school, but were a "few" years apart

[@martinbenton742]

@@MichaelSmith-hs5iu you are correct. I have and use my grandpa's old JD Big 4 mower every year. The rod and mold board, push the hay toward the center of the bar. Keeping the horses lined out so the inner shoe runs in the "clean" area from the mold board on the last pass would also help eliminate the bunching/clogging bar.

[@martinbenton742]

When I have to go back the way I just came, I will tilt the bar up going one direction, then down going back. This way the guards ride on top or dive below.

[@Dick49311]

It is obvious to see what happened and caused the tongue to break. When you started to mow before the accident, the sickle bar was partially clogged. By keeping moving forward the clog only got worse causing a huge drag on the mower and the horses. With the horses still moving, even with a heavier load, something had to give, and it was the tongue. There was so much of a drag on the bar, that’s what caused the mower to shift to one side. It was like the sickle bar running into a tree or fence post. If you go back and look at the video it will be clear. You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt when you jumped off in front of the wheel. A good teamster and good horses stopping quickly saved further damage or injury. Always try to start mowing with no cut grass in front of your bar. By trying to mow through a bunched up pile of grass will only cause problems, especially if the grass is wet. Hope this helps.

[@ADifferentWay]

While the long, thick grass was certainly a contributing factor, he had already cleaned all clogs before we started. We had an experienced mentor come out and look the mower over, and he discovered that the pull bar had not been properly re-located and adjusted when the former owner cut off the tongue and made it a tow bar. It was still set for a direct pull, which caused far more side force and drag than there should have been. This seems to be the primary cause in the issue we kept having of grass bunching up and clogging. He found a few other minor issues with settings and adjustments, all of which we will be fixing in our repair. We are actually doing a complete overhaul at this point, so I am looking forward to the next attempt!

[@jamesmckay9966]

You should keep the Fore Cart. We used to use aTruck which is the same thing. It doesn't take much Rough grouhd before you abuse the horses neck. I have presonally seen horses on mowers have neck sores 3 inches deep. The cause is the rough ground coupled with the Pole on the Mower causing the Pole to saw back and forth on the horses neck, I am 91 years old and have been there and seen that many times. Perfectlu smooth ground is not a problem . Keep the Fore Cart.

[@ADifferentWay]

Interesting! Thanks!

[@payntpot7623]

I am thrilled to see this. It is something I have toyed with looking at getting for some time. Harder to come by in my country and I only have a single horse which complicates things. I understand some mowers were made for single horses, councils used them on roadsides I believe, however, I have been told they are quite rare. I toyed with having something made, but it would not be cost effective. Your pair of horses are going very nicely for you. My biggest question from watching this video would be, why do you change the pitch of your voice when talking to the short cattle dog (bluey) cross(?)? A naturally excitable dog like that is likely to become even more hysterical, as evidenced by the greeting at the end of the video. I would have thought using such a pitch would be an inflammatory way of communicating with such a dog? Much like using an incendiary device in an already tense situation. It also comes across as sounding very condescending to an outsider. Same as people changing tone to goo, gah, gah at babies does. Better with excitable dogs, for the owner to adopt a calm tone and demeanour around them. Much more impressive to outsiders, and very beneficial for the dog's long term mental and social well roundedness, I would have thought? Is there something I am missing here, not having seen any of your videos before?

[@backachershomestead]

Watch those fingers, that bar can slide when raising and lowering and off goes the fingers.

[@martinbenton742]

My son learned that lesson about 8 yrs ago. Luckily, 4 stitches tied the tip of his finger back. The new leather gloves helped save it from completely cutting it off. (Possibly).

[@tomservo5347]

My Dad drilled that into me as a kid sickle bar mowing-use the palms of your hands to raise and lower.

[@otto8049]

Im getting too old now, but if I could change anything, I would have farmed with horses. I love Belgians.

[@ADifferentWay]

We enjoyed our Belgians, but we had 18+ hand ones. Unfortunately we dealt with several generic issues. I now prefer the draft-cross types in the 15-16 hand range. They seem healthier overall (at least in my experience-the cross allows for some hybrid vigor!)

[@williamchristopher1560]

Have you got the deflector rod installed on the inner shoe? Its a rod that mounts at the tip of the inner shoe. it comes up and around and is bent at an angle in towards the end of the sickle. If you have to make one, make it out of around 3/8ths 1/2in round stock. Make it come out towards the outer end of the bar around 6 to 8in from the center of the shoe, and make it around 8in above the bar

[@ADifferentWay]

Yes, we added the rod as one of the updates. It’s discussed in our follow-up video.

[@williamchristopher1560]

I had one of those. Bought it for $50, 50yrs ago

[@Guernicolatv]

I love your videos! Thanks for share! From Argentina

[@kirksawler1199]

Great video and beautiful horses

[@ADifferentWay]

Thank you very much!

[@allanlavallee7171]

Put a pole on that mower. You hit a wasp nest and have a runaway with that forecart your wife is in the cutter bar if she falls off. With the mower hitched direct you are behind the bar. There is a reason those mowers were built like that.

[@alancummings5008]

Safety first This is a true statement

[@ADifferentWay]

@@alancummings5008 If you recall in the beginning of the video, that was just a trial run to see how the mower worked. One of the first projects we did was convert it back to being a tongue and horse-drawn. You can see the progress in Part 2 and Part 3, both of which were far more successful!

[@stephenhoover6104]

you get a chance call me. most of us run a different style guard on the inside of bar helps the clogging . can get a tong close by

[@ADifferentWay]

Will do! Thanks!

[@allanlavallee7171]

Broken poles were common when the bar hits a rock. There is no release like there is on a tractor mower.

[@davidemmet7343]

It looks like in this lifestyle boredom would be a luxury

[@ADifferentWay]

So very true! 😂 It’s a well know fact that, while certainly allow our children plenty of free/play time, if one of them actually complain of boredom, they will be assigned a task! There are plenty to choose from!! Work is never done, but the sense of accomplishment and the reward from working your own slice of the earth makes it all worthwhile.

[@theodorecarlton5245]

Keep the good stuff coming thanks

[@tomservo5347]

My grandpa told me the story of his Dad's hired hand cultivating with a team of mules. Nearly mile long rows and when the hired hand got to the very end to turn a big black cloud came up and cracked thunder. The mules panicked and ran the mile back to the barn and the cultivator was a wreck. My great-granddad blew his stack at seeing the wrecked cultivator and fired the poor hand. A couple of weeks later g-granddad saw the hired hand in town and acted like nothing happened by giving him his job back with a raise. But to reiterate there's nothing worse than a runaway team so that's really smart teaching them to stop-but acts of God like thunder or a deer jumping out of a tree line are things you have to take with a grain of salt.

[@brozb4chorez831]

would it be possible to get a video of you showing how the mechanics and gears and stuff work on this equipment? Im working on a virtual reality experience project of old Nebraska and Ive been tasked of modeling one of these sickle bar mower and Ive been using your videos for help!

[@ADifferentWay]

Sorry, I’m afraid this is an older video. We got that one working, sold it, and have since moved to build a new farm from scratch. Be sure to check out our more recent videos!

[@krobson2013]

Don't sit on the lines, have them looped in one hand. Split the lines with a finger, to keep track of the right and left lines. You don't want the lines to get caught in anything. Learn to take up and let leather out. I enjoy your videos .

[@williamchristopher1560]

you might buy the book Hay and Haying, by Linn Miller, author of small Farmers Journal. All he does/talk about is horses and farming. When starting out in a field always start out with the sickle IN the field with the mower next to the road/fence/whatever. When the whole field is mowed, then come back and mow out around the outer edge. That way, IF you do it that way, and you end up catching a snag/tree/whatever and break something, well, at least you got almost all of the field mowed. If you mow with the bar towards the outer end of the field and snag onto something and break the mower, your done before you hardly got started,

[@ADifferentWay]

Good idea! I’ll have to figure out my pattern with all the trees we have in some areas, but your comment makes perfect sense!

[@meandyhwh8902]

What a blessing

[@williamchristopher1560]

#1. That tongue should be raised around 2ft at the end. That mower was made for horses, and if you take, say, a 12ft 2 X 4 and clamp it onto the tongue you have on it, the end should be around 3ft thereabouts off the ground. If it is, then you can easily see how high the actual end that you have on it should be. I put a drop hitch underneith my tongue at the right highth so that when I pulled it at the hitch point it was with the tractor drawbar, but yet the actual tongue was I think around 18in above that at the end. #2. That mower was made for a 5ft sickle bar. Yours looks like a standard JD 7ft tractor sickle bar. using it, youll have continual trouble with the wheels sliding cause they cant get enough of a grip to power through the resistance a 7ft bar has. They made horse mowers with 7ft bars, but the wheels had nearly twice the faceing yours does.

[@ADifferentWay]

The cutter bar is 6feet on this one. Not sure what the original was.

[@terrysaddler7183]

great job editing cant hear a thing

[@farmercadman6563]

What’s the name of cart that’s attached to the horses?

[@ADifferentWay]

That’s called a forecart. Not typically used like this but we wanted to test the mower before hooking it to the horses.

[@br927]

You don't want runway horses, I know someone that did with a mower, right down thru the woods and destroyed the mower!

[@tcwaterdrill]

be very carefull picking and dropping the sickle bar to the ground where you put your fingers, more that one farmer cut off a finger while raising the bar by hand. keep those finger away from the blade teeth the bar moves through the teeth as you pick it up and down.

[@ADifferentWay]

Thanks, and yes! We were warned early on in this project, so we try to always be aware, deliberate, and cautious in our tasks around the mower, while keeping our fingers well clear! The big dogs naturally avoid the horses, but we lock the little dog in the house for her safety as well.

[@jozefbartko9729]

Chýba gazdu má mať označené pne zbitočne dvaja ľudia unas kosi jeden a nezlomí oje veľa sa musíte učiť👍🐴🐎

[@jrowe9301]

How often do you need to sharpen sickles?

[@ADifferentWay]

We’re still new to the game, so I don’t know the technical answer to that. However, most of the old-timers who have mentored us seem to do it at the beginning or end of the season when they grease up everything and check it all before the next season begins. I guess like anything, it depends on how often you use it and on what type of grass.

[@jrowe9301]

@@ADifferentWay One guy in your comments said to sharpen it every eight hours of use.

[@vladutandreimiron]

Where can l buy such a mower?

[@ADifferentWay]

In the US, we find the old ones at auctions or old estate sales. We can find newer models at a handful of horse drawn equipment companies.

[@br927]

Mows nice!

[@thestone46]

how about considering a $30.00 wireless mic.

[@jaaak]

how many acres do you have do you go to work or do you only make a living from it

[@ADifferentWay]

We have 25 acres total, about 6 of which is hay, gardens, orchard, and pasture. Sean is retired and our farm income supplements his retirement income. We have no outside job, and farm full-time now.

[@svntndrtypl8s]

Get you some mules they won't scare hook right up and don't break the tongue

[@br927]

you go the opposite way when you mow the back swaft

[@joshbutterfass5251]

Why don’t you cut the trees down and dig out the stumps and make it a hayfield

[@ADifferentWay]

We don’t live at this farm any longer, but at the time, the pasture’s primary purpose was summer grazing. We liked the trees for shade for the livestock. Cutting hay was secondary to that.

[@vinitakanagy7652]

You should cut it when it is dry

[@carlosperaltacontrerasthe1955]

Eye nice cating to grass not full only horse's life machine land ranchs ok 2022 2023

[@rushikeshmore2460]

Can you harvest soyabin

[@ADifferentWay]

There is equipment for harvesting soybeans, but I am not familiar with that, sorry.

[@keithalford2003]

Wood no good steel good gympie Queensland Australia

[@Rowdymotmot]

If you reach out to Neil Dimmocks Draft Horse Friends on FaceBook he might give you some tips. He has a lot of antique equipment and lots of draft horses. He is quite knowlegeable.

[@redmule8621]

Why not add o tounge?

[@ADifferentWay]

We did. This was just a dry run after the first stage of repair, but we had ordered a tongue and were still waiting on it to arrive. There’s a part 2 and 3 for the next repairs!

[@carmfarm5]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nImUh3Z7m9arkLs at about 28 seconds you'll see it. It actually bolts onto the inside shoe

[@ADifferentWay]

Thanks, we’ll check it out.

[@Gr_Potter]

Здраво. Логично.

[@svntndrtypl8s]

Don't mow wet hay lol

[@williamchristopher1560]

Well, that might be a 5 footer after all

[@ADifferentWay]

It’s a 6 foot cutter bar.