In this day of modern technology, it’s not often that you see draft horses plowing the fields of farms. It’s even less often that you see a mother and daughter working with those horses. But this video is absolutely beautiful and is a powerful testament to just how useful the draft horse continues to be on modern farms.
This video also demonstrates how docile yet hardworking draft horses are. You can tell that the horses know their jobs and they focus on it. They’re calm and incredibly powerful, yet are happy to do the work that is asked of them.
Modern Farmer identifies a number of reasons why draft horses are so useful on farms. Horses are cheaper than tractors and other major farm equipment, and rather than consuming gasoline, they need only hay, which can be grown on many farms throughout the year. Even better, horses produce manure. Farmers can then apply this manure to fields to fertilize them, resulting in improved crops. Tractors and machinery, on the other hand, produce only exhaust and chemicals which aren’t good for the environment.
Additionally, working with horses allows farmers to develop a relationship with these animals. Hitching up a draft team every morning is far more personalized than hopping on a tractor is. It’s also a callback to how people farmed before tractors, and other machinery was available. A sort of returning to an earlier, more elegant time, perhaps?
But there’s one major factor that working with horses requires — patience. Horses need attention and training. They need care multiple times a day. You can’t just turn off the ignition and leave them when you’re ready to break for lunch. But in return for your patience, horses can provide you with companionship, power, and a great farming experience. Is it any wonder that some farmers continue to use horses?
