FARMING WITH Horses

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert on horses. I have ridden saddle horses and, as a kid, drove a hay wagon pulled by a team of horses. Nevertheless, although my heart and interests lie with mechanical horsepower, I have long wondered what horse farming was like.

This prompted me to consider that there may be other readers of Farm Collector who may also wonder what it was like to have only “live” horsepower on the farm. The following account is based on research I have conducted. Perhaps this will prompt an old-timer, or a reader who has firsthand experience, to add some knowledge in the form of letters to the editor.

Setting aside 5 acres of productive land for every work horse

The earliest history of farm power probably involved the horse. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden and Adam found that his