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Draft Hitches

jodywy

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
6,149
Location
Cabin Creek, Carlile,Wyoming
Few years ago, Idaho decided to feed a herd of elk , because when they where crossing the State line getting into Wyoming hay stacks, Wyoming Game and Fish was setting up traps and hauling them The Alpine feed ground.
Neighbor that used to feed across the fence from me in the meadow got the job to feed the Idaho elk. It was up some steep country behind his house. He was using a 4 horse hitch with a double tree chained to the front of the bob sleigh tongue. Problem was he was too long to turn around in the stack yard. Some one gave him a set of harnesses they said came out of Canada. The front team had a really long ting that went just a foot or so past the wheel team's collars' the back team had a short foot or so tug that went to a short foot tree that the front teams tug went to the bottom of that short tree. Then a tug went from the middle of the short tree back to the double trees. He broke a couple young teams with this hitch putting a couple big old draft horses in front.
Other neighbor used a 3 horse tree on a sleigh; he had some blocks built out of some RR ties and would harness up a couple wild horses he bought, then with a old draft horse in the middle next to the tongue he hook the wild horses to the outsides…. Was like watching a cutter race they pull the old horse along, always wondered why didn't he use the two old horses and one wild horse…
 
That is a good story that should be in a ranching history book one day. It is obvious to me why you would run 2 wild to 1 draft, rather than 1 to 2. You train twice as many horses in the same amount of time, and have twice the fun doing it!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
When I help my neighbor with wagon horses we just head for a big slough when things get exciting-a half mile or so in water up to their belly tends to slow things down a bit.
 
My father loved draft horses and when well into his sixties he decided to ''slow down.'' He drove to SD and brought back a couple of Belgian geldings that had only been hitched a few times. He eventually broke three or four young teams by hitching them one at a time with an older broke horse.
 

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