Hello, just found this forum. Very interesting! I was wondering about the need for different configurations of teams for different pulling needs. The only three types that I examples I know are:
1.) one horse is placed in front of another horse such as puling a cannon 2.) two horses are placed side by side - buck board. 3.) a pair of horses are placed in front or other pairs of horses - Conestoga wagons or mule trains. Are there any other configurations? What determines which configuration is used? Thanks a million in advance!

Well the size of the hitch depends on how much power you need. I beieve maybe Uncle Joe might have book called Big Hitches in Montana in his bookstore? Anyway there have been some really big hitches in the past and not so distant past as well.

6 abreast was common for combines, 5 ranks of 6 +3 leaders. 3 ranks of 4 for plowing.

It was common to see 2 in front of three on plows. 2/14 inche. 3 and 3 if they had extra horses. Seven or 8 on a 3 bottom here Soil conditions mean a lot.

Dale, my uncle was out there just before WW2, he claimed that all horses were for sale except those lead 3.

They didn't much trading until the spring grain was in or the ha rvest was over. Uncle Mac, waiting in line to unload the sacks, would trade anything but Aunt Ida's buggy horse. My Grandpa shipped a car load of horses east every year. These mostly had never been driven, tied in and bucked back but they knew how to work.

My Uncle in ND worked Belgian teams of three, three wide in the fields for years.

Big Hitches in Montana is a good resource as well as They Did it With Horses ----- one of my favorites ( I bought 2 of those, one for me and one for a friend). You'll find both of those books at the Rural Heritage store.

I would second Kate's suggestion, and add that a subscription to the Rural Heritage magazine is an excellent way to acquire insight regarding the many facets of animal power, both from historical perspective and contemporary progress, on an ongoing basis.

The distribution of the horses has to do with whether it is a field hitch or a road hitch.

When working horses in a field, you have plenty of room to spread the horses out. Horses placed side-by-side work more effectively and are easier to steer than horses placed one-in-front-of the other.

When your job takes you on the road, some gates and lanes might not be wide enough for more than two horses side-by-side. If you are going into a town for a delivery, you will want your horses to be arranged no wider than two abreast. Six horses arranged by twos may be a long hitch, but you can navigate them through a winding street and, after you get the wagon backed up to the loading dock, you can swing your horses 90 degrees and get them out of the street.

Placing one horse in front of the other is a "tandem" hitch and is not the most efficient way to hook two horses, but it is quick and nimble. It was a favorite artillery hitch and also much used in the narrow paths and lanes in the UK, where you still see it more often than in the US.

Great, great photo. Thanks for sharing it, grey.

Joe

A little demonstration of the flexibility of a hitch arranged by twos.