So as not to hijack another thread, I will answer a question about hitching three horses. Klaus asked about my photo on the Rural Heritage desk top calendar. The horses and I are on February.
I choose to work a three horse hitch quite often, because i have three horses. This keeps them all at about the same level of fitness. I rarely need three horses for the work that I am doing, but if I need to rest a horse or one has an off day, I can use any of the three in any position. I also don't have to listen to the "horse in the barn" whinnying while we work. In the spring when the snow melts and we are still gathering maple sap, a three horse hitch makes the job easy as we slog through mud or pull over sticky semi-dry ground.
I must confess that my old plan will now be altered because I bought a fourth horse, giving me two teams. I have recently started training my new filly. I am using the three horse hitch. The youngster is in between my two geldings. They are the gas pedal and the brakes. She gets driven constantly because of the way I hook my lines. She must go and stop when the geldings do. She will learn to work anywhere but, for maple season, she will work where she stays out of trouble and can be easily controlled while staying safe for all involved.