# Anyone put their horses to work?



## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

Not sure if this is the right forum but, it seemed at least related. 

So my goal for the future is to become entirely self-sufficient on my piece of land. No tractor, no vehicle- only devices that utilize renewable energy. That includes horses- yay!

Is there anyone that has any experience using horses for their work? Be it transportation, harvesting, plowing, dragging logs... whatever. I can't find a whole lot on the internet. What I would like to start finding out is how much work a horse can realistically do in a day/week/year/whatever and not be tired or worn out too much. Yes, it depends on the horse but averages are important for planning. I'm not sure that I need an actual draft horse, and would prefer not to have one since lighter breeds eat much less. Ponies or mules might be more realistic. 

My uses, as far I can see right now, would be transportation, planting (not plowing, just seeding), harvesting, draft work like hauling, and being the brunt muscle to move heavy things.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Dream on about being totally self sufficient. Even my Amish farrier and the others in a closeby Amish community aren't growing and making everything themselves. They trade and sell with one another, bc some prefer to do some work, while others do the rest. Even THEN, he relies on non-Amish customers, and he pays a driver to drive him (in a car bc they don't drive) to trim 8 customers, including me, who live _pretty close_ to each other, but one hour from his farm.
Are you an avid gardener? It takes decades to really learn how to grow and can when you grow and feed yourself for a whole winter. I know. I Am a gardener, and I am still learning.
Still, I think it's worthwhile to try and certainly training your horse to plow would help.
The Amish put 8 horses hitched across to plow their 40 acres, and I've seen them at work.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

A friend of mine was operating a completely horse powered farm until recently. I sent him a private message. If he responds, I'll pass it on. It took him a while to make the transition from tractor to horse. And his goal wasn't self sufficiency, but sustainability. I do know that a lot of his horse work was spent haying and reaping grain to feed the horses. He purposefully located near a major metropolitan area to have access to high end customers for his grass fed beef, pastured pork, and squabs. He got stomped by a dairy bull not long ago, and I'm not sure he's still operating the farm. He does still make hay with his horse team.

My own thoughts are to rethink not using a vehicle. You may need to transport a team and equipment to fields too far to realistically drive to. Hope that helps some.


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## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

Self-sufficiency within my community. I'm not going to be able to do everything. 

I am a gardener, yes. I canned and pickled quite a lot of veggies for this winter, but not enough to last the winter. That was only with about a 600 sq ft garden, though. I grew up gardening, and my grandfather and his parents lived off the land. They had beef and grew all their food. The only things they bought were paper products. I also have chickens and ducks. My freezer is full of chickens, trying to get rid of some actually. I'd like to keep more heritage chickens than meat chickens, so that I eventually won't need a freezer. Just take the old hens when they're done laying. 

As for plowing- I don't see a need. What I'm going for is permaculture, or grazing land. If I extend my garden, I would need to plow that, and have a cover crop for winter. But I doubt it would more than an acre. I'm thinking about using sheep for direct harvest of the pasture, and rotate them after the horses. Or dairy cattle. I know more about dairy than sheep, but sheep are easier, or so I've read.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I like your idea of training your horse to drive and to do farm work. It only makes sense to have a strong animal drag things that it takes gasoline to drive a machine to do.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Where do you live? Our Mennonite friends use only horse power. No running water, electricity, gas. If you are fairly close, it is interesting to see how they work. These people are in southern Kentucky.


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Not sure who told you that Draft horses eat more but I have two of them, they don't eat any more or less than my two 16H Quarter Horses. If you don't mind sharing, what state do you live in?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

By self sufficient, are you also wanting to grow your own feed for the animals year-around? How much property do you have?

It takes a _lot_ of land to provide enough forage for the horses year around along with producing enough to store up hay to last them the winter. We have 30 acres that we farmed until the early 90s. Using 4 head of draft mules, it would take about 2 days to plow it all because we had to let them rest frequently. Everything we did was with horse-drawn equipment; plowing, seeding, fertilizing, mowing, raking, and baling. It was all-summer work, almost daily, and still didn't produce enough hay to sustain our small (at that time) herd through the winter.

In addition to that, getting all the equipment you would need is a huge overhead cost. Horse drawn equipment is hard to find....and harder to afford. Plus harness...and teaching or buying a horse to pull and pull efficiently.

I think it's a noble goal to reach toward, but unless you have a lot of money to get started and you have all the time you could possibly want, in addition to a big chunk of land, probably all you may be able to manage is to supplement what you have to buy and save some money there.


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## Lane (Dec 24, 2014)

I'm the friend that Cordillera Cowboy mentioned. Yep, I've used horses for plowing, harrowing, seeding, cultivating, spreading manure, making hay, logging for firewood, and local transportation both on a buggy/wagon and under saddle. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to do my best to answer them. 

I am/have been entirely horse powered (as far as farm operations go). Biggest thing is making hay. Huge time factor. I easily spend as much time making hay during the growing season as doing everything else combined.

As has been stated, equipment is a huge investment. Know what you want to do, have a plan, and plan out your acqusitions. Do you live near an Amish community? Do you know where the nearest annual Amish consignment auctions are?

I would suggest at least a couple draft crosses or draft mules. Ponies won't be able to handle the work load. Morgans, quarter horses, and standardbreds crossed on a draft breed tend to make good horses. They will be big/strong enough to handle the field work and light enough to handle regular local transportation.

Like I said, I'd be happy to help any way I can and answer any questions to the best of my ability. You can also go to Draft Animal Power | Sustainable farming, forestry and living for more info.


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

Thanks for popping in Lane. Good to hear from you.


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## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the info, suggestions, and links. I appreciate it! 

To answer some questions; I live in Michigan, and I personally have 10 acres. I have access to another 40 as well, that my parents live on. The land is mostly field, but was used for commercial farming recently. Still have to seed it for hay/fence it in, or do whatever I want to do with it. A note; Michigan has higher quality soil than most States, and we are able to produce more per acre, especially for dairy. My plot in particular is very nice. Black loam on most of it. On a well managed plot, a horse can be kept year-round on only 3 acres. 

I have an apple orchard that produces, lots of walnuts, experience raising chickens for meat, and eggs, raised pigs, rabbits, and dairy cows. I hunt deer and know how to clean (although I would like to learn how to butcher too), horses of course, and I am an avid gardener. 

When my pasture is producing, I'd like to keep a few sheep or small breed dairy like Jerseys- huge fan of raw milk. The downside to that is I probably won't be able to keep a bull on-site and will have to trade/buy services to keep in production. 

As for the horse labor.... These would come in for regular seedings, spreading fertilizer, lime, compost, whathaveyou, cutting hay, raking hay, and transportation. I see them being underutilized, probably, just because my projects will be mostly dairy, poultry, fruits, nuts and gardening. The hay and pasture will be extra, mostly for the horses themselves (cuz I love horses). 

Admittedly, the pasture will be the hardest part because I have virtually no experience with it. I am reading up on different techniques, but everyone says perma-polyculture, multi-species grazing is the best way to go, and the most productive.

Edit, sorry forgot to mention; I do know some Amish! There is actually a monthly horse/tack auction that they run, and it's within a reasonable distance. I will have to check it out very soon


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Homesteading Today - getting back-to-the-land practicing sustainable, agricultural, ecologically sound, energy efficient, self-sufficient lifestyles also has loads of info that you may find useful.


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