My father had draft horses and we used them on the farm when I was growing up. My brother still has a draft team. I have mules. I did then and still do take a great deal of pleasure in working with the draft animals.

You're right. The initial outlay for harness and equipment can be quite impressive, although it will last for years and years with proper care. A well-trained team will also cost a chunk of money.

Training a horse for draft work, i.e., plowing, pulling a wagon, is every bit as hard and requiring of knowledge and skill as training a horse for any other work. You have the added issue that this is a TEAM, and the horses have to be trained to work together. (You can have a single, but that reduces the 'horsepower'.) So, no. An inexperienced person attempting to train a green horse is a prescription for bad things. It can be done, and sometimes it turns out well, but--no.

You also have to work the draft horses regularly, just the same way you have to keep a riding horse in practice, or they forget or get lazy about following direction, and they simply get out of shape. You can't just leave them in the pasture for most of the year and then one day throw the harness on them and expect them to be en pointe for spring plowing.

They're big animals and eat a LOT, and when they're working, they have to have grain. Well, my father said they have to have grain, and he didn't just make those kinds of things up. They have the same regular needs as other horses, shoeing, worming, vetting, grooming. And even though they're in general of calmer disposition than some other breeds, they can do some severe damage when upset. And at all times they have very big feet and don't necessarily pay a lot of attention to where those feet may land.

You, too, will have a steep learning curve. Have you any idea how you're going to 'steer', as my children say, the horses while you're holding onto the plow? And are you physically able to plow?

I know this sounds like a downer--I've been accused of discouraging people from trying new things. Another time I would sing you the praises of both the horses and mules I've used.

But if I were a first timer thinking about getting a draft team, I would find someone who had a team and ask questions. Lots of questions. Lots and lots of questions.

Ray

I guess when you put it that way it makes sense you'd have to pay a good chunk for a trained team. It was just a bit of sticker shock and kind of disheartening!

I will be the first to admit I don't have much idea how to actually drive or anything else involved with a draft team. I don't know anyone right now who uses them, but maybe once we get to our new place we will be able to hook up with someone. Being in Ohio, I know they're around, but we're not really in Amish country (Circleville is where our new place is going to be).

We want horses of some kind or other, regardless. I've ALWAYS wanted horses and that was what got us started looking for a place in the country in the first place. Our original thought was to acquire 2 or 3 'pasture ornaments' - retirees or rescues, not for riding or work. Then we got to thinking why not put them to work.

The BIG horses are quite intimidating! But I don't think we'd really even need that much horsepower for our little place. I actually think a team of draft-type Haflingers might be ideal for us, but I'm not holding my breath for a trained team of them to come along. Maybe we will start with a team of mules if we can find one - not the huge draft mules even, but more of the light type. I think one of my (probably very outdated) library books calls them southern or cotton mules?

We are definitely not thinking of doing this in the next year, probably not for 2 or 3 years yet, and we'd definitely want to educate ourselves somehow in the meantime. I want to get more experience just handling horses in general, as well as with draft hitches. If we couldn't find local people willing and able to help us, I know Kentucky Horse Park offers those types of classes (both basic horse care and draft horses) but not very frequently.

Thanks for the info and advice, Ray! I want to know the good and bad of whatever I'm thinking of getting involved in.

www.mullerslanefarm.com has great draft horse info. I have a nine-day vacation starting Wednesday and will be stopping at this farm. I'm excited!

http://www.farm-garden.com/heavyhorses/ This might be helpful.

What about haflingers? They are even based in Ohio. Smaller, very gentle drafts.

Here is a link that might be useful: haflingers

Head to any draft auction. Buy yourself a pair of old Amish drafts that were teamed together if you can. Around here, you can get old (20) retired Amish drafts for a few hundred bucks. We have one, and he's a doll. They're sooooo well trained, and have seen it all.
I've seen teams of retired Amish drafts go for $1000. Nothing exceptional to look at, but trained to the hilt, and work well together. Typically around here the Amish retire their horses out around 18 or 20 years old. So you can still get a good 5-10 years out of them if you use them lightly.
Erin

I absolutely LOVE horses, have had at least one for over 30 years now. But, if I was looking at that price for a working team, I'm afraid I'd have to buy a tractor.

Find someone to teach you how to drive and how to care for horses BEFORE you buy. They are not dogs. They require knowledgable care, and their size and strength must always be respected.

My vet bills for the past three months have been close to $1500 each month. For one horse. You dont save money with horses.

I have horses and 30 acres (7 in pasture). I understand wanting to go the organic route, but I would go the tractor route. It will be cheaper and easier in the long run. But, to each his own.

Robin provided a great article about the prcticality of working with horses. I enjoyed reading it! And it really summed it up: farming with horses isn't done for prcticality - it's done for the love of horses and history. Some people do fall in to that category (besides tha Amish, obviously).

I have no opinion on the whole concept, just that I love driving tractors and I love riding horses :) So I liked your first idea, about rescuing a couple of pasture ornaments.

Thanks for all the good info! Those links were great, Robin. I'd love to visit that farm myself someday....

Erin, do the Amish teams you've seen tend to be any particular draft breed, or just 'draft-type' horses, or what? Betraying my ignorance again. :) In my library book it states they prefer Percherons, but my library book is almost 30 years old. :)

To Apcohrs, I would like to point out the whole reason I am asking questions, reading and researching is so that I can educate myself, and I already indicated above that I don't plan on buying for at least 2 or 3 years if at all. Nor did I indicate that my goal is to save money by using horses instead of a tractor - rather, I want to have horses anyway, so why not a draft team if that's something we can handle.

Oh, and I'd be doing the same thing even if they WERE dogs, as I happen to think dog ownership should be approached just as responsibly. ;)

~Lori

Lori, as part of your research, find a local auction to attend/watch. We have one nearby and you can get older teams as somebody else suggested, for FAR less than what you found in the classifieds. In some cases you'd be outbidding a meatman at a draft auction (on an older team) so you'd be killing 2 birds with one stone if you bought there :). BTW, in this area the Amish are using Belgians mostly, then some Percherons and crosses. We have a Percheron here and if I were to start driving I think I'd look for a shorter team of Belgians...if you aren't a tall person, just getting around a taller horse to groom is a hassle, then consider tacking, etc.

You can also stop at an Amish farm and ask for some training on driving and working a team. I've popped in on the Amish many times asking for advice (butchering, finding livestock, spinning advice) - they don't seem to mind, especially if you're looking to pay for a bit of instruction (at least in this area they don't mind).

Good luck and have fun researching the topic.

Thanks Tracy - I will definitely be looking for local auctions probably next year after we get settled in. I don't think there are many (if any) Amish in the area - south central Ohio - but I definitely know where to find them. :) As I mentioned above I would really love to have Haflingers - at 5'2" I'm not really built for handling a 17 or 18 hand horse. But if we do decide to go this route, I may have to just settle for as short a draft team as I can find!

I myself know next to nothing about raising/upkeep of horses but my father has raised big breeds for about 15 years since his (ha ha) retirement. It had been his dream during his working years because as a boy he and his father used draft horses to clear their land and farm. Growing up we always had a few horses around. He has a small herd of 6 Belgiums who are mostly related with the exception of the stud (sisters, gelding brother and the sister's offspring). They require a tremendous amount of work and money to upkeep. He absolutely loves his little horse family and will not part with even one of them. At 71, his wife has put her foot down and demanded that he sell a few but surprisingly, nobody will pay the amount he advertises ;) There is a funny story there but getting back to my point: They are huge, strong animals, time-consuming and expensive. You have to have a love of them to use them in the way you are thinking about. My father has bought a lot of antique farm equipment over the years and uses his horses to plow, cut hay, etc. In his words "earn their keep." In reality, they don't earn their keep in the financial sense but keep him young because he loves them and the history they represent for him. To him it's all worth it. I love his animals too although I initially was very intimidated by their size. I keep respectful of that but soon learned that since they (except the stud) had all been hand-raised by my father and have known nothing but love and kindness, they are remarkably gentle and loving creatures. I don't want to put you off on getting work horses but do keep in mind that they seem to require a lot of work and dedication to keep them happy and healthy. Good luck with your farm, I keep dreaming of doing the same someday. Lori

Lori, we have two donkies that we bought last year to guard our calves. Dh sent them to be trained to drive. (Then he took a few driving lessons himself.) We also have two carts, several sets of harnesses now, and he is having more fun than should be allowed. THAT means, instead of building/working on my coops, he's driving his dang donkies all around. It is fun, he's just way more into it than I am. He's started entering some preliminary competitions, some days good, some days not!

Suzie

Around here the Amish use Belgians. And we have a retired Amish Belgian. He's on the smaller size, and my father wishes he had another one just like him. He's broke to death, has one speed (SLOW... we call it Bill Speed as that's his name).
And as someone else stated, you are pretty much outbidding the meatman. They aren't the prettiest of horses, but they are the best behaved!
Erin

twinsmom -
How many acres do you have?

Adding to the cost of horse and harness is the cost of the equipment ... horse-drawn plows, hay cutters, hay rakes, etc. That said, you can usually pick up money on other hobby farms, plowing or mowing. A farmer where I grew up was well known for plowing everything from a veggie garden to a 10-acre field, and cutting hay wherever he could get a single hitch and a small cutter into. He also used the teams for pulling sleighs in the winter and snaking logs all summer.

For light plowing and hay-making, any horse trained for draft work will do (you could do it with an Arabian if they were trained), they just do a bit slower and a bit less. The Incredible Hulks are only needed if you are plowing large fields, or pulling real heavy loads.

We run a 52 acre hobby farm, and a couple of tractors. I having been reading up on draft horses for work, thought it might be a cool thing to try, but then realized with the cost of feed, vets, supplies, equipment, etc. horrors!! I'd be working full time just to support those four legged hay burners. While a tractor, you just buy fuel, spark plugs, give the tires an occasional kick, cuss it when it doesn't start, and leave the derned thing outside all winter. All ya need is a glow plug - LOL - Ellen

We only have about 9 acres, and I honestly don't know how much work there'd be for a team.... but I know there will be enough work for a smallish tractor, so I'm sure we'd find work for them; just not a lot! I honestly do understand that it's not a cost-effective solution; like I mentioned earlier, I can't see laying out $4K or $6K up-front for a team, but I CAN see possibly "subsidizing" the extra costs just for the fun of it.

I don't really want a "monster" team... I would actually prefer smaller horses, but I'm assuming that for our first try we would definitely want a trained team, and I can't imagine it would be easy (barely possible, I'd guess) to find a trained team of light horses. :P But I guess we'll see how my "continuing education" goes. :)

I don't mean to be a downer, but I think if you invested the money you would spend on a trained team in a tractor you would come out ahead of the game.

My greatgrandparents used to farm with gigantic mules, well they looked big when I was a kid ...... seems like alot of up keep for little return.

Dan

I use drafts to farm. My farm has a total of 70 acres, 25 pasture, 18 acres brome hay meadow, 16 acres broke ground. Yes, a tractor is easier, faster and maybe cheaper. Many would argue that horses are cheaper to farm with than a tractor. I think farming with horses is great fun. It has taken me several years to get going on this and as time goes by I will farm smarter and better with my horses. I used to farm much more with three tractors and began to think I would work myself to death. I have been haying these last several days and will be for many more. If you are patient you can find old horse drawn equipment fairly cheap, especially if you are able to revamp them. I do believe you would want a pair of full drafts because they will be able to get much more done than smaller horses. I am guessing that most drafts are not over 16.2 hands; anyway it is easy to find shorter ones. I use Percheron, but any breed is good. I believe the advice about an older pair of Amish horses is good. Based on my own experience I believe you should be able to buy a fairly young pair of very well broke horses for $4000 or less and a good set of used harness for $500 or $600. Yea, I think thatÂs what you should do.

Kent

We don't have draft horses, but have just started with a bottle calf to train to work as a single ox.

We've got 15 acres, heavily wooded, steep hills, and natural springs that frequently leave key paths a muddy mess. We need the footing of a mule, donkey or ox to move equipment - even a good tractor would have very limited usefulness on our terrain.

We got out ox trainee for $150 and she's coming along nicely with her baby ox training. (She's a freemartin, which is a heifer born twin to a bull calf so there is a 95% chance she is sterile. Good for us, though, because she should have a bit more muscularity than a cow and we don't want to deal with breeding and birthing.) Most of her work will be light hauling (300 lb wood chipper up steep and muddy paths), light riding, and light timbering. A single ox will work best for us because loads won't be too great and access paths are narrow. We didn't want to have to put in full sized roads to work a team!

Connie is a great combination of low cost, high utility, all terrain footing, and sweet personality. And if she didn't work out, there would be the option of Connie burgers or selling her at a stock auction, but we are a bit too tender hearted to consider that unless she was truly a dangerous animal. She should be ready for light loads (me or some logs on a sled) by winter.

Circleville's got much easier terrain than we have here, so horses may be a great option for you. Getting into oxen could be pretty economical though, if you have the time for the training.

As for Amish, you should have no problem finding Amish stock auctions near Circleville. Ask the folks who operate the Amish produce markets between Circleville and South Bloomfield to point you in the right direction.

Lynda

I keep thinking about your post! I was outside yeaterday wondering what it would be like to break ground here - with our clay/loam patches of soil, using horses. There are areas we can't get in because we sink the tractors. I'm wondering if that would be an important factor in your decision? Like if the ground is just trecherous where you are (I'm thinking anywhere in OH can't be that bad though) if it would be unusually hard on the horses or equipment...or the body?

Just a thought - I'm curious only, and have no real knowledge of an actual working experience!

That's really interesting about your ox, Lynda! That was actually a thought that flitted through my head at some point, but I don't think I'd have the same motivation to work with oxen as with horses! I'm glad to hear I should be able to find Amish stock auctions nearby. I was thinking I'd have to venture eastward and northward to find Amish. :)

I really do get the point that this would most likely end up costing a lot more than a tractor! LOL Like I said before, I can't afford to spend a fortune on this little venture, but I really wouldn't mind paying something extra for the opportunity to work with horses. If you think about it, I'd probably be getting a lot more back on my investment than most folks who own riding horses!

That's an interesting thought about the soil characteristics affecting my decision, Tracy. I do have some specific areas where the ground can get very wet. That will definitely be something to check into.

"If you think about it, I'd probably be getting a lot more back on my investment than most folks who own riding horses!"

Thats an absolute truth!

I've been playing with the idea of using our horses to work around the farm. The two adults are broke enough to put up with just about anything! The old mare has been used to pull landscape ties around when I don't want to carry them. She's always been pretty interested in things like that.

My two-cents is that any horse can work if it has harness that fits. NO, any ANIMAL, because I hear of goats and large dogs being used as well as oxen.

The trick is to train yourself before you try to train the animals.

Hey Lynda, in case your oxen girl has PMS like the mares get, you can use the implant brith control device to stop her from coming into heat. She'll be chemically pregnant, which made my standoffish old mare quite cuddly.

Talk to your vet, to see if they have heard of it. My vet offered to "spay" my old mare like that if I ever started to show her again. (She was a FREAK when she came in heat, until we actually bred her! I actually understood why most folks like geldings so much.)

Good luck!

Hi Miss Kitty -

Actually, there is a 95% chance that Connie the calf is sterile and that she doesn't even have any development of her reproductive organs.

Apparently twin cattle usually get crossover connections in the placentas as they develop. That's no problem for same sex calves, but if a cow is born twin to a bull, his hormones develop earlier and her reproductive development is severely stunted. Connie is technically a "Freemartin", and was essentially born spayed. She probably just has some bands of connective tissue inside instead of a reproductive system.

There's a lot of net rumor on Freemartins, but the best info we've seen comes from a research project that has intentionally been developing a twinning herd to investigate the economic balance of more calves/possibly higher mortality vs traditional non-twinning herds (evaluating it on a total meat $$$ produced basis). They report that Freemartins are useful in beef production because they tend to have very well marbled meat that gets graded well.

There's less info out there on Freemartin behavior and temperament, mainly because anyone who knows they've got a sterile heiffer is probably going to pack them off to a livestock auction or butcher her in timely manner. There is one guy on the Rural Heritage site who has mentioned training a Freemartin ox, and being super pleased with her.

Some of the net rumors describe Freemartins as bulls in cows clothing, and are wary of agressive temperament. As far as I can tell, none of this is based on first hand experience and certainly not on a Freemartin that has been trained to work. Our vet doesn't see that as likely, and expects that worst case scenario she acts like a tom-boyish heiffer or maybe like a normal steer.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, and we will be staying in touch with the farm we got her from. Their bull is throwing twins each year, and if he throws another bull/cow pair, we might want to bring in a second Freemartin calf. To us, at this point, a Freemartin ox looks like a great choice for us as a working animal on a small farm. (We don't breed our own livestock since we are such big wusses about the risks of losing the mother or babies in the process. And since all of our animals are working animals, we also think that avoiding the strain of childbirth and lactation decreases some potential health risks.)

We'd like to get some good first hand experience with a Freemartin and then get some real information out on the net to balance the rumors. We also feel good about giving Connie the potential for a lifelong career instead of turning into somebody's Connie-burger.

Lynda

I use my draft horse and I love him. "Sampson", is an old white percheron. he keeps me company and is super trained. I picked him up for 500$. Just befor winter many Amish farmers cant feed them all winter so they sell em cheap and then re-buy a pair in spring. So now is a great time to hit an Amish benefit auction and get a pair cheap. Usually a pair goes for 1000$ all trained at our local auction house. I must confess they eat 2 times that of an average horse. They need a special blacksmith(who does draft) and a bigger trailer and stronger truck for haulin. All things that you may want to think about.
Have fun!!
Marie

Hey Lynda- I am really curious about twin calves too. I have a cow that some think may be carrying twins right now. The bull had sired twin bull calves in another cow in the same herd that I bought my cow from.

But being a twin myself, (I have a twin brother) I have learned a few things about twins, first that my brother and I came from separate eggs, so we were (are) fraternal. If a bull is notorious for throwing twins would it not have to be identical twins, i.e. either two heifers or two bulls? Or wouldn't it rather be the cow having 2 eggs causing the twinage if it would be one of each? I'm truly not trying to argue, just thought about this one since we are thinking we may possibly end up with twin calves too.

Could it always be the same cow having twins? Or maybe there is more than one cow having twins?

Bulls can't make twins. The cow either drops two eggs (fraternal) or one egg divides (identical). The bull has nothing to do with it. I would imagine the bull that was 'throwing twins' was really him being bred back to the same cow year after year. It sure makes for interesting biology to think the testosterone present in a fraternal twin situation would throw off the chemical balance in the female twin, enough to make her sterile.

To get off the topic, twin calves are a pain. They are usually sterile (unless you get a bull and a heifer calf... then I think they're okay, but 2 bull calves will be sterile, or 2 heifer calves will be sterile), and you end up having to bottle feed them b/c the mother can't keep up w/ nursing them. We have beef, so calves are REALLY frowned upon.
Back to the drafts....
I went to the NYS Draft Auction last week and horses were going for a bit more than usually... Spotted draft stallion that was RODE into the ring by his Amish owner sold for $4100... that was the most anything went for, but a few teams went for $6500.
Untrained colts went for anywhere between $250 and $1500 depending on what people thought of them. Average price for a broke horse was probably $1500. Mostly Belgians, but quite a few Perch., and a few Clydesdales which were a suprise. A few mules (that went for dirt b/c they didn't behave very well), and quite a few halflingers, too.
Erin

Actually (c; it is the opposite of what you said, male/female will leave you with a freemartin female-- has to do with the male's hormones crossing through the placenta, boy/boy ok, girl/girl ok. A bull's genetics could "throw" identical twins, having a tendancy to make the egg split, and a bull can throw heifers with tendancy to have twins, but directly the only way would be identical. Enough said.

Ok, back to drafts, my brother and sister inlaw have mules, and raise mules with a jack and some mares. They pull a chuck wagon, but I think they need a little cart that would be fun to run around their place with. I guess that would be the cheap way out to produce their own and train them theirselves. You should have seen them trying plow with the walk behind plow and the mule, hilarious. Fortunately they do not rely on this method for survival.(c:

Thanks for the clarification... I knew it was something along those lines. We never get twins, so it's not a problem, but I know of a few local people that have a lot of twins.

To stay off the topic (temporarily), a cow can't be an ox (maybe a girly ox). An ox is a steer by definition. And the equipment is made to fit a steer's physiology, not a cow's. You might ask about that before you get too attached to your cow. A standard ox yoke might kill a cow.

At the link check out the Chianina at 3,000 pounds and the Dexter at 1,000 pounds. You can pick your size by picking the breed, and they eat grass.

Here is a link that might be useful: What is an ox?

i don't really know where to start on this discussion. If you have horses you need a tractor a trailer and a barn for starters. If you just have a tractor it can sit in the weather, but it won't whinny at you when you come outside, or nuzzle you for a rubbin or an oatmeal cookie. I have two three year old drafts, onepercheron and one percheron shire cross as well as two "saddle" horses. The big drafts were bought for around $600 each and are now being trained to ride at $350 for 30 days training. They cost about $50 each, each month to feed, keep in hay, andworm. Every 6 to 8 weeks the farrier comes by for his cut of $20 per horse to trim (more to shoe) there hooves. I got real lucky and found a miss matched set of harness big enough to fit these two for $350 and have been rejuvenating and cleaning it for over a month. As we are in the process of clearing 5 more acres for pasture to keep from paying $20 a roll for hay which disappears here at the rate of 1.5 rolls per week I haven't had time to do much else this summer. Even with the horse I have to have the tractor to bring the hay ot them. But this is the start as cows are next and pigs in the bottoms near the creek next. I like the tractor but I love my horses and they they show it with effection right back so you can't ask if it makes economic sense cause it doesn't, but if your need in this world is to love and be loved, horses give that better than any old cold hard to start tractor. I say this even after the big percheron dumped me in the spring and i got my back broke in the process. In summary: Horses are dangerous, expensive and not always suited for jobs at hand but tractors are dangerous, expensive however not always as much upkeep, and not always suited for the job at hand. I'm going to keep working both as soon as I get that tractor started and the horses back in that tangled harness......

As part of your education process, consider contacting one of the people who have a draft horse team for sale to see if they are willing to give you hands-on lessons on driving a team. Most people likely would for a small fee. That way you'd get some experience and a taste of whats involved before shelling out the big cash.

Also, sometimes people will rent out their teams and themselves for plowing and what not.

Just more food for thought.

Good luck.

FYI Circleville Ohio is the heart of the halflinger industry in Ohio.

Have you considered a walking tractor like a BCS?