Still using Draft Horses

[Cole Younger]

Anyone else still using Draft Horses besides me and the Amish?. While I have a complete line of modern equipment in the shed ,I love to hook up a Team and go to the field. There is nothing like the bond of a good Team and Teamster in the field working together. In the field it's all buisness but back at the barn the Team is like your buddies and pals and play games"horse play" like taking my straw hat of my head and not giving it back. Anyone else enjoy this?
 

[Jonak]

I can only envy you, Growing up we had a team of mules. I always wanted horses. Would really like to have a team to enjoy, But town living does not accomodate horses. Wife does NOT accomodate country living. So, Stalemate. Congratulations to you.
 

[LAA]

My Dad never liked the field work part of farming ater the switch to tractors, he was a stockman 100%.
 

[EJ70]

Cole,
I do. Had my lead out today pulling a drag. They are the real yesterdays tractor.
 

[Dick]

Even though this is a tractor site many things get discussed here. Draft horses are interesting since that's what built our country before tractors came into the picture.
Post some photos of your draft horses for us to see.
Draft horses always seem to have a place in peoples hearts and minds, especially us old guys.
 

[DeltaRed]

Neighbor(investment banker)'farms' with horses.Pretty neat to watch.But I do his tractor work.Couple ranchers 'upcountry'will use horses to feed with when the snow gets deep.
 

[8Nr--WI]

Some of my fields are still farmed with teams. This "teamster" is 6 yrs old....The subjects (other than the horses) will not pose for pics, but tolerate my occasional photo ops.

Tim

 

[TomH in PA]

Up until a couple of years ago two bachelor farmers (brothers) near here still used their team to pull a binder for the small grains.

They"re real characters; both "old as the hills"; their father decided to keep the binder and thresher instead of buying a combine back in the 50"s and they"ve farmed that way ever since.

One of them came in a little tipsy one night back in the early 50"s and kicked over a bucket during the evening milking. He decided that was enough, he wasn"t going out again - didn"t set foot off the farm for the next 25 years until he had to visit the doctor sometime in the late 70"s.
 

[BushogPapa]

My brother came over with a bunch of pictures from 1942, of Dad and the Draft Horses and Colts...
That was when they were preparing to ship them to another farmer in PA..
Dad was Drafted into WWII and Grandad bought a Tractor..the Milk Cows left too..I guess Dad did most of the milking (Before and after School) all Milked by Hand...
He had so much wrist-strength that he kept breaking Bats, when he played ball..
I sure can remember catching for him...he could-of killed a person with that Curve OR Fast-Ball...(and HE was a Catcher..!!!)..

Ron..
 

[Josh in Pa]

My Dad uses 3 horses on his small farm. Has one old tractor to rotary mow and bale hay with. Everything else happens with the horses. He has several riding plows, but still does some plowing with a walking plow.
Josh
 

[Ken Macfarlane]

We have one draft horse left on the farm inherited with the place from the last owner, I've loaded wagons behind him when I was young and helped when he was hauling pulp in the woods.

I'm afraid he's getting pretty old though and won't likely be made to work again. Beautiful big horse though.
 

[Dick L]

Probly not what your after in draft horse pictures but this is my team.


 

[EJ70]

Dick,
Nice team. My wife drives with a mini and a two wheeled cart.
 

[jhilyer]

I'm a 'failed horse farmer'. Translation: I give wagon rides.

With a job 'in town', I just don't have the time to harness up and farm with horses. Got a team of Belgians, and I give wagon rides a few times a year.

I give rides all week long at our local County Fair, been doing it for about 10 years now. People, especially kids, love it, and come back year-after-year! They all know 'Dan' and 'Jess', but they don't know my name! I guess that's the way it should be.

Horsefarming was a dream at one time for me, but life goes in different directions. I did some hay cutting, raking, manure spreading, and dragging. And discing, once - almost killed myself that day! But that's another story...

My team are good friends. Even though I don't use them as much as I should, I am with them at leat twice a day for feeding, brushing, etc. They have a good life, and they've enriched my life immensely.
 

[Bret4207]

I still use drafters, quite a few people up here do. Actually I'm between teams right now. I had older well broke horses and their offspring. Well, things got real busy and I never got the youngsters broke and the old timers died on me. So now I'm working with a team of 4 year old Halflingers my wife got me and 3 older Percheron mares. The mares are a handful!

If I could I'd do my major plowing, discing and hay cutting and round baling with the tractors and do some plowing, discing, cultivating, tedding, raking, wood gathering and general chores like fencing and stone picking with the horses. I'm binding Speltz this summer and threshing it using a 1920's Adriance -Platt binder and McCormick thresher I own. Why? I don't own a combine! It's only 3 1/2 acres to see how the Speltz does compared to oats. I've got about 4 acres broke for corn that I'll put in with a horsedrawn JD 999. Cultivating I'm hoping to do with the horses too if I can get a cultivator lined up. The corn is an OP variety an Amish neighbor developed. It's going for silage, 4 acres of good corn will fill my little silo. I'm still looking for a corn binder but have choppers available if I can't find one.

Anyways, there's still some of us doing it small and cheap. Can't beat horses for low cost farming. Every time I start a tractor my wallet screams in pain!