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"A farmer who relies primarily on animal power has to cultivate patience, Davidoff explains. "When you work with horses, you have to let go of the expectation that you're going to get everything done today." He works longer hours, but at a slower pace than he would on a mechanized farm -- and he enjoys it more. "None of it's drudgery and dreary," he says. "It's beauty made extremely efficient."
We could all benefit from cultivating patience. I remember my old friend, Vic, who talked about the joy of working his team of hosses in the field on a moonlit night.
About 20 years ago, while on a bicycle trip on the rural backroads of Lancaster County, PA, I stopped for half an hour or so to watch an Amish farmer work a team of horses to plow a field. The horses were massive draft horses, sort of Clydesdale looking. It was obvious that the farmer had a lifetime of experience. He was not a young sprout, the farmer was probably around age 60. It was almost hypnotic to watch this guy at work with the team of horses. The farmer seemed like he was at one with the horses, part of a team.
Plowing with a team of horses looked like it would be one of the most challenging jobs that any human could take on. The size and the power of the horses would make most people tremble, myself included, if somebody everput the reins to a horse drawn plow in our hands.
Years ago my dad had a team of horses and a couple of wagons. It was hobby more than anything. One summer dad used the team to pick up square bales. My brother has a wagon he restored and a horse that he takes to parades and fair events.
Growing up on a farm dad was around at the end of threshing days (right before the self propelled combines became a mainstay of farming) as a kid he ran a team picking up shocks to take to a thresher. You'd have 4 or so draft teams bringing shocks to the thresher, two people running the threshing machine. Two or three teams hauling the grain. It was labor intensive as all get out.
With a combine 10 years later the dozen people you had working at harvest could be cut on half or 3/4. 1 running a combine and two or three running grain to bin (all with tractors and grain wagons or in trucks.)
Running a team, you need to keep them fed all the time, where with a tractor, at the end of the day you can fuel it up, or you can wait till morning. When you are not working the horses still need feeding, while a tractor doesn't.
Is it fun to watch? Sure.
Now cowboying is still done on the back of a horse, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing is better than using a horse. You can go places, cover ground, rope an animal.
After the depression and the war just about anyone could own a tractor. Before the war it was possible due to economics.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
I have heard that modern cowboys use fwd ATV's instead of horses where possible like when mending fences.
but... in regions with ROCKY and steep terrain (ie, NH, CO, MT) horse make pretty good fence fixing machines too. (tho most likely packing only. Sometimes for assistance in tension.) I was always skeptical that while fixing fence. Mr. Horse was scoping out the next spot to Get OUT...
but... in regions with ROCKY and steep terrain (ie, NH, CO, MT) horse make pretty good fence fixing machines too. (tho most likely packing only. Sometimes for assistance in tension.) I was always skeptical that while fixing fence. Mr. Horse was scoping out the next spot to Get OUT...
I certainly used one when fence fixing. They also worked pretty well as a warning for four legged intruders who were coming to investigate the remains of a meal.
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