[Hal]

Spring in North Florida isn’t much better (but not quite as boring as south FL’s spring). Temperatures are already in the mid-eighties consistently here. At least we still have a bit of cooler (at least by FL standards) weather left–have to look on the bright side down here.

[Hal]

@jenjudkins 7077 wrote:

I generally give them probiotics or prebiotics (or both) for a few days before hand as well as during the travel and for a few days after, as it is definately stressful for them.

I hope this isn’t off topic (and I certainly can’t respond to the original post as I know nothing about horse transporting), but what are probiotics and what are they supposed to do for the horse? Are they bacteria or something similar?

[Hal]

Jen, thank you for posting that forward. I feel that it is a good antidote to some of the hyperbole that I have heard about food safety programs. Of course we have to keep a watchful eye on these things (I don’t support policing small farms like they are criminals, of course), but it seems excessive to say that any program could kill off organic farming, given the growing strength of organic farms, farmers markets, CSAs, etc. I think that there would be public outrage before organic farming could die off (but maybe I am too optimistic). I hope nobody will get too annoyed at me for saying that.

[Hal]

@goodcompanion 6859 wrote:

I know you lose energy with every conversion…. I don’t know, but it’s always astonishing to me just how much you lose.

I know very little about energy and mechanics (and maybe it shows based on my simplistic previous post), but I am confused by this analysis (not saying it is wrong, just not sure how it works). Don’t different conversions lose different amounts of energy? It seems to me that a device that converts grass into burnable pellets would use huge amounts of energy compared to a horse chewing on grass and grains. Or perhaps all life processes use much more energy than I realized?

[Hal]

I don’t know why it would be particularly unworkable. Of course, there would be the issue of storing the electricity generated in batteries (unless you wanted your animals to be walking around on a generator all day–which might not bother them but would preclude them from doing farm work).

I found an interesting article on an Indian website (here’s the link: http://www.kseboa.org/news/kredl-proposes-energy-generation-through-cattle-power.html) about oxen-power electricity generation–it sounds totally workable, but one of the biggest issues with the plan were “animal activists” who the government feared would be up in arms about the use of oxen to turn a generator. Kind of unfortunate, given how helpful this might be for rural residents.

[Hal]

Humble1, why is that post “full of it”? Those are interesting questions that deserve to be asked, I think. Though it might not be very fun, we (as a society) should ask hard questions. What is your take on the impact of tractors on horses?

[Hal]

@OldKat 6745 wrote:

Probably a true statement, but there were other factors in play as well.

Undoubtedly so. I was probably a bit too simplistic when I said that it was such a simple decision.

It is interesting to think about how much the mindset of at least some farmers and consumers has changed in that relatively short time (when tractors were invented and spread). But certainly it seems that many farms are still trapped in the system of producing more while receiving less and less profit on each item produced. Does the USDA still promote this “bigger is better” way of thinking, or have they changed their ways now? I don’t know much about the government’s take on agriculture (though I know that some of it certainly isn’t popular on this site).

[Hal]

@SidehillnDirtpoor 6646 wrote:

I remember reading that the introduction of tractors to the farms……..
Was the best thing that happened for horses…………..
Those people that enjoyed them and worked well with them, Kept them, Those that had No Buisness with horses got their wish and got rid of them…

I would have never thought about it that way. I am sure that this is partially true, but it seems sad that tractors pretty much took over agriculture when they came around, and that draft horse numbers declined so much. Isn’t it true that even many people who were good with horses did not keep them, just because tractors were the new “in” technology?

[Hal]

Robert, I apologize if it seemed that I was suggesting that anyone on this forum is narrow minded. That was not my intent at all. I personally have never had good experiences with political debates, but I sure am glad to hear that others can get good things out of them.

[Hal]

Very interesting posts, everyone. In response to sanhester’s suggestion that people who “tend to humanise” animals are more often inept around animals, I find it difficult to think of a person who works well with animals who does not have at least a bit of a tendency to humanize them. Even giving an animal a name is, in a sense, a form of humanizing it. Of course, I understand that you probably should not treat a working animal like a pet (or maybe I am wrong?).

In addition, these posts concern me a bit. Do you (forum members in general) think that working well with draft with animals is a rare skill? It worries me to think that I might find myself one of these inept people when I start to work with horses at my upcoming internship.

[Hal]

@Robert MoonShadow 6604 wrote:

Like Samuel Clemens {AKA Mark Twain} once said: “Politics is like the weather: everybody complains about it… no one does anything about it.”

I second that thought! I have never yet seen someone change their mind or actions based on a political debate (but then, I haven’t seen or participated in that many political debates).

[Hal]

@Bret4207 6621 wrote:

Plainly spoken, there are a lot of Liberal Democrat types here.

Based on the posts I have seen, it seems to me that there is a decent mix of different political ideas. Or perhaps it is because the conservatives on the forum are outspoken compared to their numbers (and I don’t mean this in a bad way).

[Hal]

Hi there,

I have been through the question of how to get into the business of working with draft animals, and though I am by no means an expert on what is the right course of action (being a newbie myself), I can tell you what I decided to do and not do.

I did consider school. There are two schools that I know of that have draft horses and oxen on campus: Sterling College in Vermont and Green Mountain College (also in Vermont!). Being private schools, they were too expensive (and perhaps exclusive, though that may not be the right word) for me. But if you really want to work to get scholarship money they might work out for you.

There are also many workshops available. Most are shorter affairs (a few days) but some may be longer. I did not investigate them much but I have been assured by some that this is one of the best ways to get started and get a feeling for the craft. A google search for “draft horse workshop” might turn up some good results.

I decided to go with internships as a way of getting training. There is a great listing on the website of the magazine Rural Heritage (http://www.ruralheritage.com/apprenticeship/index.htm), which is where I found the people that I will be working for this summer and fall. There are obviously things to consider when looking at different farms, and there is the issue of your learning style–whether you like to learn mostly hands on or in a more formal way.

Good luck finding what works. I hope this wasn’t too boring or long-winded.

[Hal]

Aaronlee, thanks for the link. I will look over it and search the web some more. However, I am still curious to hear if anyone on the forum has personal experience trying to get farrier training. Anyone been through this search process before?

[Hal]

Why is this post under this category? Just curious about that choice–I thought it might be under “off topic discussion” or “community”?

[Author]

Posts