Two Horsepower Front Foot Assisst
- Thread starter cedardell
- Start date
IL Rancher
Well-known member
Stretch
Well-known member
I struggle with that a bit myself... I think if you get the Img bracket to be on each end of the photo info line it will work fine.
Shortgrass
Well-known member
That is a couple of big stout horses. I worked for a place in NE where we fed with 6 Belgians abreast. That was a great experience. The colder it was the better they started! I'll bet there are still a couple of ol die hards in the sandhills that still use horses. Anyone know if Ravencrofts still do or when they quit?
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
the Haythorne Ranch still uses horses in all aspects down there-those are a nice big set of horses but I'd shudder at having to harness them every A'M-there's alot of teams still in use up in our country. A good skid horse for logging is a site to behold too. it's funny you'll go to a place with the doors falling off the house-everything else wired together and mixed up but his chore team will be perfectly matched. It's hard to raise teams that match perfectly-I've only done it a few times.
High Plains
Well-known member
Oh boy, Cedardell, now you've done it. I won't be able to get any work done today for thinking about those good teams. What I'd give right now to get a set of lines in my hands.
Dad had a pretty nicely matched pair of black Percherons when I was a kid that worked about like they were one horse instead of two. Only difference was that the right-hand horse had a little star on his forehead and he was a touch heavier, but not by much. These horses weren't like your typicaly Percherons, they were a little shorter than the big show teams that you see and they were more muscular, all business. Their heads were also a little more refined than the stereotypical Percherons. They were something else. But, I digress...
Dad also took me to meet an old Belgian breeder in eastern Iowa about 10 years ago. The man was pretty old at the time and I'm sure he's gone now. His first name was Jiggs, but I don't recall his last name. Anyway, as Northern Rancher pointed out, his place was a broken down as they come. But I doubt that there were many real draft horse men that could hold a candle to this guy. Talk about horses! Dad said that this Jiggs had sold many horses to the money outfits as breeding stock and even some leaders in the big fancy show hitches over the years. To think of all the money and shine on those hitch teams, and then think that some of those horses came from Jiggs' humble little farm in Iowa. Goes to show that the best stockmen aren't necessarily the ones that you read about or see in the fancy advertisements. Wish I would have realized what I was witnessing at the time. I might have paid more attention.
HP
Dad had a pretty nicely matched pair of black Percherons when I was a kid that worked about like they were one horse instead of two. Only difference was that the right-hand horse had a little star on his forehead and he was a touch heavier, but not by much. These horses weren't like your typicaly Percherons, they were a little shorter than the big show teams that you see and they were more muscular, all business. Their heads were also a little more refined than the stereotypical Percherons. They were something else. But, I digress...
Dad also took me to meet an old Belgian breeder in eastern Iowa about 10 years ago. The man was pretty old at the time and I'm sure he's gone now. His first name was Jiggs, but I don't recall his last name. Anyway, as Northern Rancher pointed out, his place was a broken down as they come. But I doubt that there were many real draft horse men that could hold a candle to this guy. Talk about horses! Dad said that this Jiggs had sold many horses to the money outfits as breeding stock and even some leaders in the big fancy show hitches over the years. To think of all the money and shine on those hitch teams, and then think that some of those horses came from Jiggs' humble little farm in Iowa. Goes to show that the best stockmen aren't necessarily the ones that you read about or see in the fancy advertisements. Wish I would have realized what I was witnessing at the time. I might have paid more attention.
HP
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
Most old horseman can't remember every girl they kissed but they can remember every horse they drove. It's neat listening to the chuckwagon guys talk about the great horses they've owned-they're like members of the family. I bought my big team as weaners I'd never drove horses before so we grew up together in that respect-they're 17 years old now. I got a pair of roans out of my bronc stud that I'm going to get hooked when they grow up a bit. If you don't love draft horses you can't have a heart in my opinion.
