They Still Work the Land With Horses
BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN AUSTRALIA
IN THIS age of high technology, some may find it hard to believe that there are farmers who still work their land with horses. But there are places where teams of husky draft horses are used instead of tractors.
Admittedly, horse-worked farms have become rare. Yet, there is something to be said for making use of horses.
Use in Agriculture
From early times horses have been used as beasts of burden. They are mentioned in the annals of the Sumerians, the Hittites, the Egyptians, and the Chinese. But for centuries their use in agriculture was limited. This was because oxen were said to be cheaper to keep and could serve as food for the table when they were no longer able to work. However, oxen are slower than horses.
By the 19th century, the horse had taken over the tilling of the soil in many Western lands. One source attributes this, in part, to the “invention of more sophisticated farm machinery [that was] better adapted to the quick, even action of the horse than to the slower-moving oxen.”
In time breeds such as the Clydesdale in Scotland, the Suffolk Punch and the Shire in England, and the Percheron mainly in France had found their place in agricultural life. These slow but powerful horses were bred with lighter ones to produce a horse with a little less strength but with greater speed. Such specially bred animals came to be called draft horses, referring to their ability to pull heavy loads.
Horse Compared With Tractor
Of course, no horse has been bred that can equal the pulling power of a modern tractor. But you may be surprised to know how much strength horses have! In 1890, two Clydesdale draft horses pulled a fully loaded wagon with its wheels locked! And in 1924 a pair of English Shire horses performed an equally impressive feat, exerting an estimated pull of 50 tons!
Draft horses are also intelligent and exercise initiative. For example, a team of horses plowing a field needs almost no direction if there is a good furrow horse. The furrow horse will lead the team, following the furrow all day long. It is thought that teams can plow exceptionally straight lines because the horses wear blinders and are unable to look behind, which people working on a tractor are often prone to do.
Furthermore, during harvest horses can be more versatile than a tractor. Their ability to do an exact 90-degree turn—and when it becomes necessary, a 180-degree turn—means that they do not miss covering any part of the field during farming operations.
Teams of Horses in Action
A team of horses responding to orders from their driver makes an impressive sight. A team is trained to respond to specific commands with specific maneuvers, though the exact language and expressions used vary according to the driver. The horses become familiar with an individual driver’s vocabulary and tone of voice. A characteristic whistle, along with encouraging words from the driver, may be the signal for the horses to move off.
In Australia the horse on the right of the team (from the driver’s viewpoint) is known as the offside horse and the horse on the left, the nearside horse. This designation probably originated from the manner in which old-timers worked their teams, usually walking on the left side.
How exciting it is to watch a line of ten horses as they execute a 90-degree turn, reacting to the calls of the driver! To turn left, the nearside horse must take small steps backward, while the rest of the team march in a quarter circle around him. Then, if the turn is to be made to the right, the offside horse must take small steps backward. In drier climates it is quite a sight to see the team disappear in a cloud of dust and then reappear as a wall of pounding horseflesh after the turn is completed!
Each horse is known by its name and responds to it according to the tone of voice used by the teamster. If one horse slacks off, a sharp, reproving tone in the use of its name is usually all that is needed. In early training the horses often have to learn that such a tone is accompanied by the flick of a stick or a whip. Once that lesson is learned, however, the stronger discipline is rarely, if ever, needed.
A Typical Workday
A farmer may rise about five in the morning to feed the horses and have his own breakfast while the horses are feeding. The horses learn to drink well before the day’s work starts because they will get nothing else to drink before lunch. Each horse is brushed down before being harnessed. This prevents irritation to the skin and is a pleasant sensation. Usually the horses crowd around and patiently await their turn. Then, they are harnessed and yoked together. All of this can take up to an hour or more, depending on the size of the team. Also, nose bags are prepared for the horses’ midday meal. After all, the driver is not the only one who deserves a lunch break!
The team toils uncomplainingly for eight or ten hours, and if collars and equipment fit well, the horses will not finish the day with sore, chafed shoulders. As evening starts to fall, man and beast are glad to head for the homestead to enjoy a quiet feed, a long drink, and a good rest.
Those who still work their land with horses may be quick to say that this is far more enjoyable than listening to the roar of machinery all day long. The serenity makes a farmer feel a part of the land. He is able to notice more closely the creation around him—the sound of birds scratching as they inspect the freshly turned soil in the plowed furrows; the smell of damp grass; the crackling of the frost as the plow knifes through the chilled earth on a cold morning—little things that tend to go unnoticed when the farmer is bombarded by the noise of a tractor.
True, tractors can work 24 hours a day, which is a feat not possible for horses. It is also true that tractors can work more land and that they require less maintenance. But no tractor ever produced an adorable little one, and this is just one of the pleasures that makes working with horses incomparable. The teamster can also enjoy a “conversation” with his horses as they work. And they answer by their obedience, with their ears pricked forward to catch his every word.
Farming is hard and, at times, tedious work. But for those who still plow their fields the old-fashioned way, with horses, there can be joys aplenty from working so closely with these sinewy, hardworking animals of God’s creation.
[Picture on page 26]
Horses can be more versatile than a tractor