Does anyone here use a horse for farm work?

aoconnor1 · #21 02/27/15, 08:02 AM

I absolutely agree, horses are always a danger even if you know exactly what you are doing with them. They are 1200 pounds of flesh that can crush a puny human in a heartbeat if something goes awry while being handled. I am ever watchful of my large herd while I move around and through them, but that didn't stop me from almost getting my leg broken in half by my largest TB mare (17.1 hands and nearly 1500 lbs of massive, powerful mare) a couple of years ago when a wind blast blew through my corrals unexpectedly just as I was approaching my mare from to tie her. She spooked backwards, freaked out, and kicked out just because. I wasn't within range at the onset, but in an instant she was on me and kicked me solidly in the upper leg, less than an inch above my knee. Had she been a fraction closer it would have been a direct hit on my knee and I would be down for the count. I was fully, completely aware of everything going on, but I could not have predicted a downdraft like the one that hit my barn.

So yes, horses are inherently dangerous creatures simply because they are alive!

redgate · #22 02/27/15, 10:19 AM

Before stories get too frightening, though, I will say that I've heard of far more injuries and deaths from tractor and general farm equipment mishaps, then from working farm horses (since tractors have been around anyway). Perhaps extra caution just comes more naturally with horses, which helps prevent many injuries to begin with? Who knows? Certainly, with the drafts, a calmer nature is also bred into most. They just don't spook as easily or dramatically as the light horses, as a general rule. I'm sure there are always exceptions. Once again, though, starting out with a solid, well-rounded horse is a HUGE precaution you can take to prevent injury! I'd never try to talk someone out of working horses! It's just too much fun, and the big ones especially have a ton of "cool" factor, on the good days!!

redgate · #23 02/27/15, 10:22 AM

Oh, and Philm, I was looking back over the posts and saw your comment about the black plastic mulch. I assure you, you would be AMAZED at the stuff made for horses, or the stuff that can be used by simply attaching to a forecart. I'm not sure where you are located, but if you can attend a Horse Progress Days, it is an experience you won't forget! Quite literally, anything that can be done with a tractor in the field or market garden, can be done with horse-power. It is astonishingly impressive!

jwal10 · #24 02/27/15, 12:16 PM

I love horses. Working horses needs to be a labor of love, especially these days with easy to use machines. A lot of work but great rewards. As far as horses on the farm and danger, anything on the farm is/can be dangerous. Dad worked horses for 60 years and still had a well trained mare break his neck when it spooked and went over backwards on him. I was kicked by a 2600 lb. Percheron gelding when he spooked and I had no where to get away. He was just flailing his legs to get back up. Broke my jaw in 2 places and broke bones in my face. I lost 6 teeth from it and had my jaw wired for 3 months. I kept a small team the whole 20 years that I farmed. I used them for light farm work, logging and feeding livestock. I used them single more than as a team. On a small farm/homestead it is easier to use a single horse. You can even mow hay with a small mower with shafts. You can use a single even tall crops, easier to control 1 horse/1 row equipment but not much 1 row, ride-on equipment. You need wide row, to get a horse down, no 30" rows. Takes a lot more space than modern tools....James