Cheaper to travel by car or by horse??

Originally posted by forestlady
reply to post by dr_strangecraft

 

I've never used a plough horse myself, so don't know all that much about it. I do know that it's best if you use a draft horse.

A draft would be good for heavy hauling or large plowing jobs.....but they will eat you out of house and barn.....so you'd better have a really big operation to support the bigger animal.

My Grandad was still plowing with a mule when I was a kid......as he got older and thought he needed to 'down size' (to just the 4 acre kitchen garden ), he bought a 7 yr old donkey.....one that was about 12 - 13 hands ( about the size of a decent Welsh pony).

Grandad had his hands full teaching young 'Bill' to plow, but once he'd decided Gramps was the stubborn one, things went pretty well. Bill would also pull a sled and snake logs from the woods up to the house ( the latter a useful chore I taught my own App when he learned to ground drive)....Bill was also my first 'mount', though I spent as much time on the ground as not!!

A donkey or a pony can pull ( not carry) more weight for their size, than a horse can.......yet they need less upkeep all round, thus making a pony cart a more efficient 'ride' than a saddle horse....also as you get older, the cart will be easier to 'mount' than a moose that won't stand still!!