Turning hay with our team of draft horses!

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

All the horses work well together on the ground-driven implement. That's a pretty big hayfield

[@hitchinfarm]

14 acres total, we were very pleased with the youngsters in particular

[@suewillis6431]

Great film, Ellie. .Amazed at how well young Oscar's doing!

[@hitchinfarm]

Thanks! Yeah he's a bit of a dude 😅

[@jacksg1809]

U have a belter of rain coming from us in Devon ... sorry 😐 Love seeing old machinery and horses working how life should be for them

[@hitchinfarm]

It's raining here already!

[@jacksg1809]

@@hitchinfarm grrrr

[@brigidnewton5939]

Magnificent! Hi from NZ! Our horses love their baleage and I barely feed any 'hard feed'. ( mine aren't useful like your horses, though) 😅😅🐎❤️

[@hitchinfarm]

Yeah we don't feed any 'extras' either. Thanks 😊

[@fion1flatout]

Hmmm.. sure you weren't using a spanner incorrectly 😅 the phrase you were looking for Ellie is 'Light Engineering'

[@hitchinfarm]

😂I will remember that for next time... And the time after that

[@rachelmusgrove4299]

Hello. I am new and I love your videos!!! Could you make a video of how you determine how many horses you need for a project? For instants this video you had three horses at first and then you went to Six. How do you know how many horses you need/ what the horse can pull or do?

[@hitchinfarm]

Hi! It really varies from job to job, and in this instance we just judged it wrong on the first day. The grass was really wet and the team wasn't very fit due to only being here a few months. There was also a long stretch of hill in one of the fields. We like the horses to have as easy a time as possible so we tend to go a little overboard, plus it's more fun! We're trying to put together a 9 horse hitch just for fun.

[@willbass2869]

Nice work on the tedding. How times per year can you mow the hay meadow? What do you estimate your tonnage to be? Love, Texas

[@hitchinfarm]

Only once, we get roughly 10 round bales an acre

[@Lucille_ili]

Here from Instagram ❤️🥰

[@hitchinfarm]

Thanks for joining us!

[@gentlegiants1974]

That's a lot of hp just to ted hay lol! Dear me, I can never make hay in the fall, short days, frosty nights, heavy dews. Haven't tried in 20 years. I fed baleage one winter and I vaccinated everyone for botulism and had no issues. I'm a stickler for a tidy hitch even in the field when nobody is watching, all my horses are at least the same colour, no dangly ropes, all straps to match the harness. I think random cluttery harness is a British thing maybe? Even in vintage photographs, the effect is haphazard-looking, big moplike manes and forelocks, patched collars, and just chains running back, rope reins. good lord.

[@hitchinfarm]

Yeah it was, but like I said in the video we've moved farm twice in the last couple of years and so none of them were particularly fit and we didn't want to give them a terrible time. We also have a single horse tedder but a removal man dropped it and smashed the shafts. Beauty is as beauty does. Team did the work well, especially for young horses so I don't really care what colour they are 😂 we do get complaints from the natives as well though about the team. Good behaviour and work ethics are what we care about.

[@whistlebare]

Hi @gentlegiants1974, I just wanted to say that I find your comment utterly bizarre. I have been keeping horses for over 30 years and in that time have enjoyed many different disciplines. When we played polo our horses were hogged and weighed down with tack. When we hunted and our boys went to Pony Club our horses were bathed and plaited up with gleaming tack and turn out. Now I have working ponies and brood mares and I can't tell you what a joy it is that my only concern is their happiness and welfare. They all have mop like manes and forelocks, their tails dangle to the ground. They live a very natural life, turned out all year round living as a herd. I have never before had such relaxed and easy going horses. All of whom will volunteer to spend time with me if I am around their paddocks. When I hitch them for work I pay very close attention to their working with their friends, in harness that fits them well and doing a job within their capabilities. I couldn't care less how they look and I don't think the horses care either 🤣. In the past I wasted many hours meeting turn out standards deemed important by others, that's time I now spend creating a positive relationship with my horses.

[@gentlegiants1974]

@@whistlebare Hi, mine live out 24/7 in a herd also. I'm not advising show turnout for field work in my comment. However, a teamster ought to take pride in the look of his team no matter the occasion whether it is a wedding or logging in the bush or spreading manure. Something as simple as matching harness makes a world of difference, straps instead of ropes. Yes, the way the horses work together is what really makes them a pleasure to work alongside for me, and it is what ultimately matters in getting the job done.

[@dominicelsworth6222]

Will you be using a hay loader next year, or a self loading wagon?

[@hitchinfarm]

We usually small blgae with our I and J hitch cart and a new Holland baler. Then sledge it all in, but we're trying to work out if we can power a bale grab with our triple system

[@dominicelsworth6222]

what about one of these? kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWKppKyvd8lkeK8 @@hitchinfarm