Atlantic Draft Horse Supply 2.23

Draft Horse Farming & Fun

Often overlooked, the use of the horse for agricultural work not only persists...it thrives!

The Amish, Mennonites and other farmers throughout North America can be found using horses in agriculture today and doing a great job of it. Horse farmers as a rule tend to be environmentally conscious and can be found at conferences and in the field practicing what they preach with respect to the practicalities of using horses for farming. Horses reduce the off-farm inputs of diesel and lubricants and reduce pollution while minimizing soil impaction. They also provide manure for soil fertility and health, they have the ability to reproduce and you are never alone when with a horse.

As a matter of fact, how many tractors know to turn left or right at the end of a field intuitively...horses are smart and enjoy being worked and with their human masters and friends.

There has been many papers published on the comparisons between tractor and beast for the practicalities of each in farming and it is not the goal here to re-invent this wheel but simply to orientate the readers of this website with additional tools to make the choice for yourself.

When we think of agricultural power and tillage/cultivation and harvesting options, we instinctively think in terms of scale. Why would one use one source of power over another? One would not normally use a 90-HP tractor to till an 1/2 acre of cut flowers, nor does one till 150 acres of potatoes with a spade. There is a simpler and more cost effective means of turning bio-mass into farming practices with livestock.

As a society we often overlook other options as we are all to eager to "get it done" a.s.a.p.. Options that are less industrially intensive have been used for centuries not only here in North America but think of all the Oxen, Mules, Donkeys, Water Buffalo and Horses used around the world for growing rice, corn and other foodstuffs routinely as others simply do not have the capital to invest and/or the money to buy fuel but can always let the animal graze in a field to feed itself at little or no cost in return for work required and needed to feed the family and/or provide required transportation.

Lynn Miller from the Small Farmers Journal stated:

"For almost two generations, we have thought of horses in the context of parades, shows, hobbies and pets. This is a crucial concept. Working horses are a part of the larger whole farm system; they need good honest care, but not adulation. The appreciation for the intelligence and honest care they add to the farm will come with time."

As times change and everything gets more expensive from hydrocarbon fuels to equipment itself, farming on small to medium size scales with horses has become more and more of a reality. Many farmers in the Organic movement are drawing the attention to horse powered farming from dairying to vegetable crops and doing very well at it. More of their money is staying in their pocket instead of the agribusiness corporations which depend on their income from fossil fuel based agriculture.

Now having said all this above, we are not all going to stop driving cars and take up horse and buggies, but look at the amount of fun which is derived from the young and old alike when it comes to enjoying the company of a horse. Horses are lots of fun and whether we use them in the saddle, cart, wagon for transportation, in the show ring or for work, we enjoy them.

To quote a famous man,

"There is something about the outside of a horse which is good for the inside of a man" ~Sir Winston Churchill