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8 years ago

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I began following this site after learning in my 100 year old uncles obituary that he had farmed with 6 Belgians up til the mid-30's. He was farming in south eastern ND, and I'm told the soil would have been sandy. He used his horses as two teams of 3. Would he have been most likely to have hitched them 3 wide? or 3 in a line? Just curious. Thanks.

Carl says 2015-11-12 12:35:20 (CST)



Possibly neither. Depending on what he was doing, he may have
hitched them six wide by driving the center two and having the
outside twos on a jockey stick. If not that method, then most likely he would have hitched them three and three if he was plowing or using a one-way. If you can find pictures of the old bonanza farms
that might give you a better idea.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

So. Oh. Bill says 2015-11-12 20:10:02 (CST)



A Amish friend of mine plows with six horses, But he only plows with three while he rest the other three. This allow to plow almost non-stop and not burn out his horses. He uses a single bottom 16 inch sulky plow.
Bill Lemar


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

grey says 2015-11-13 00:39:36 (CST)



Hitching "in a line" as you describe is very inefficient. If three guys grab onto the same rope and pull, they will not be able to exert as much power as three guys who each have their own rope attached to the same load. Your grandfather most likely hooked three across and two deep. That's two teams of three. A fairly common larger field hitch.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum


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