Dog Sleds Designed For The Back Forty

Dog Sleds Designed For The Back Forty LIVESTOCK DOGS 33-6-33 If you live in snow country and you've got a couple of strong dogs, you might like these "around the farm" dogsleds. Clyde Risdon, owner of Risdon Rigs, says you don't need a team of Huskys or expensive equipment to travel on snow. He sells dogsleds to owners with just one or two German shepherds, golden retrievers and even smaller breeds. The Michigan dogsled builder has been producing quality, flexible sleds for the past 30 years. Harris Dunlap, one of the first racers to make a living at the sport used a Risdon Rig, and Risdon focused on building high-end sleds for serious dogsled racers. A few years ago, Risdon started building inexpensive sleds for people who want to run them just for fun. "People see sled dog racing on TV and want to try it," Risdon explains. Judy Latchaw lives on a St. John's, Mich., farm and understands the attraction. She got a sled after having her Golden Retriever pull her on cross-country skis. "I always thought it would be fun to do," she says. She admits her first attempts to hook up the harness and train her dog would have made a funny video. It took a while to teach her dog to pull. Risdon's sleds are flexible with light runners and loosely lashed baskets to maneuver easily around corners. He makes many of his sleds out of white ash harvested in Northern Michigan. Handles are made of durable UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) black plastic. Runners on the least expensive models have plastic screwed to the runner. Higher end models have quick-change runners with replaceable plastic slides in aluminum rails screwed to the wood runners. Entry-level sleds start at $400 and another $60 to $70 covers the cost for harnesses and rigging for a pair of dogs. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clyde Risdon, Risdon Rigs, P.O. Box 127, Laingsburg, Mich. 48848 (ph 517 651-6960; www.risdonrigs.com).

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