I always thought it would be awesome to use a draft horse instead of a tractor to drag the arena. Quieter and cheaper, and you've got to feed them anyway so why not put them to work and save some expense? Does anyone do it? Pics would be awesome
I haven't - but at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in the UK each year they have a team of Shires to level the main arena in the main show. The commentator always gives a moving speech about the history of the draft horse in England, and they play stirring music, and a lump forms in everyone's throats. :wink:
I don't have a picture of her pulling the drag but here is one of our mares pulling part of a sled. She is a Bashkir Curly, which generally have solid bone structure and have a bit of a 'drafty' build to them, but she is a touch over 15 hands. Once they accept pulling the weight and the noise (as well as seeing something behind them), which isn't much, you can just lead them around and pull the drag. Any horse with a sane mind is plenty cut out to pull a small drag. Seeing as our four-wheeler is kaput it is easier convincing her that pulling is what she was meant to do than coaxing the four-wheeler into running.
I support the idea of horses working for their keep, but this diet plan doesn't work when certain people, who will remain nameless, give them treats like they are going out of style. :lol: But I don't think you need a draft to drag an arena, even a pony would do. A pony certainly would eat less. ;3
That's a good point! A drag wouldn't be too hard to pull on an arena would it? It's not like plowing up grass or disking. Why did I not think of this? Lol. I guess I just assumed that any implement had to have a draft in front of it. Haha.
You can make a simple drag out of a wood or metal gate. 4' to 6' is about right for one horse. You can also take a board and nail a chunk of chainlink fence and that works great. A tire will flatten out the bumps and is a good training device but you don't get much done with each pass.
I use draging my roundpen as a training opportunity plus my tractor will not fit through the gate.
My Heavy Horse (Clydesdale) is used by the farm where he boards to farrow the 'sick paddock' - where we nurse poorly horses or those waiting for a vet as we can't get a tractor through the gate. The farmer was over the moon when Patrick arrived as a boarder because he used to work with heavies as a young farm lad. His farm hadn't seen a true heavy horse since the late 1960's and my two boys are quite an attraction in the local area. Its lovely!
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