HorsePower
The place to go for information about horse and mule power is the writings of Lynn Miller, editor of Small Farmers Journal (Sisters, OR). Most of what I write here is gleaned from Millers work. Horse power has a number of applications appropriate for Wendell. Buggies, carts, and wagons can transport people and material (up to 25 miles in a day), and this is being done in a number of places already. California has communities in which parks are maintained and busses are pulled by horse. Garbage and freight are hauled in Oregon, and Washington has oil delivery by horse.
Forest and farm work can be done well with horses, which can plow, disc, harrow, plant, mow and rake. Horses can also drive power-take-offs for saws, pumps, laundry, and almost anything you can put a gear to. One-horse treadmills are inexpensive and readily available for such applications as washing machines, corn and wheat grinders, meat grinders, bale elevators, air compressors, and water pumps.
A growing industry exists in manufacturing appropriate equipment and in rebuilding and redesigning older equipment. In this sense, lost skills have been revived, and we now have a broad choice among forecarts, spreaders, elevators, treadmills, wagons, buggies, sleds, pony carts, mowers, tillers, plows, and carriages. Companies as big as John Deere have entered the market, and there is a wide base of local manufacturers and distributors.
Speed is not one of the qualities one expects in working horses. Figure on 2.5 miles a day. But, if one is interested in low-impact production and a renewable energy source, horses, mules, and donkeys are answers. In addition, horses offer a creative partnership, as well as a good deal of great manure to compost. Their services, however, are not entirely free. They demand time, understanding, labor, and investment. Buggy and work harnesses can be bought fairly inexpensively, and much equipment can be purchased for only a portion of what is spent on an inexpensive tractor.
Maintenance for horse work includes Vet bills, hay and feed, housing, fencing, and farrier. Nor are we able to just turn on drive and park a horse, which depending on your attitude, may be an added burden in their use. Learning to work with a horse as a partner is a challenging task for which our family is still on the lower end of the curve, but we find our partners are wise teachers, good learners, and best friends.
For ways of finding horses, look locally and speak with those who already have them. David Fisher in Conway runs a CSA on horsepower, and there are a number of people in Wendell who both ride and drive horses. This raises a larger question about relations within the equine world. It seems that show-horse people and work-horse people have been at odds over a variety of issues historically, but it would be to our benefit to unite for the sake of the horses and for our own necessity.
Info about equipment: Ruralheritage.com, Small Farmers Journal, Lynn Miller in Work Horse Handbook and Training Workhorses/Training Teamsters, Uncle Henrys.
