Above: Rural Heritage April – May 2024 Cover: Teamsters demonstrate plowing with oxen on difficult ground at the 2023 Draft Animal Power Field Days in Shelburne, Vt.
Rural Heritage
is a bimonthly
journal in support of farming
and logging with draft horses,
mules, and oxen. The April/May 24
issue was mailed to subscribers on March 20,
2024. Below is this issue’s annotated Table of Contents, with a link to a full feature article to showcase the good reading delivered to your door every other month
when you
Subscribe to Rural Heritage.
If, in your reading, you run across
a drafty word you don't recognize,
consult our online
Draft Dictionary.
Table of Contents
Departments
Publishers Post
Joe discusses his parents and his youth on Joe writes about his visit to the hisorical museums in Vevay, Ind. including a hay press, mule and horse lobbers and blacksmith Brian Dale Headley, all for upcoming RH on RFD shows. He also askes for help for a graduate student looking for horse/mule loggers.
Rural Bookshelf
Joe gives high praise tothe writing of Maureen Ash in her new book Holding the Lines. The book "gives us permission to passionately seek improvement in our lifestyle, the horse, and the community in which we live." Brad Busch"
J C Allen Archives
Vintage photos of rural life by renouned photographer JC Allen including photos of drilling alfalfa with mules, manure spreading with Belgians, Hampshire hogs, and a mother and litter of pigs.
Selections from our extensive catalog of books and videos
on draft animal farming, logging, self-sufficient living
and much more.
Associations and Breeders Directory
(contacts for breed registries and regional draft clubs)
(frequently updated online)
(please tell ‘em you saw it in Rural Heritage)
Features
Dick Courteau cleaning hooves with a hoof pick.
Hoof Care - Part 2
A continuation of Dick Courteau’s discussion of equine hoof care, including tools and hoof-trimming techniques.
Ruth Burke tries out the finished MODA/Tillers oxen dump cart with Clark and Sparky.
Photo Ellen Armstrong Bellemore
An Ox Dump Cart − − − click on title to read this story in full.
Rob Collins gives detailed instructions on building a practical, every-day dump cart based on designs he used for several Midwest Ox Drovers events.
Harvested dandelion flowers placed in a jar and pack lightly.
Precise Arena Gaming
Ralph Rice describes the fun of a good-natured precision pull competition and how to make your own apparatus.
Using Beneficial Herbs
After the introduction in the Feb/March 2024 issue, Jacqueline Courteau goes in-depth to explain how to make medicinal salves and ointments from herbs.
Lost Treasure
Jerry Hicks recounts the entertaining stories of lost “treasure” in his native Carter County, Kent.
Founder Rehabilitation: A Case Study
Londrigan tells the story of nursing a mare back from an extreme case of founder and details the steps used to help her recover.
4 years after her arrival and diligent treatment of her severe founder, Grace was like a new horse.
Evolution of a Cowboy
Dick Courteau recounts his interactions with and reactions to a variety of animals from his young days as a cowboy to his elder years – and how his attitudes have changed.
The diversity and domestication of maize/corn is an example of the agricultural sophistication of Indian peoples before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
AMMA Celebrating Tradition & Giving Back
An overview of the 2023 Macon Music and Mules Festival in Shelbyville, Tenn.
Farmers, Ranchers, Gardeners as Craftspeople
Working the soil and growing healthy food sustainably is a craft that requires creativity and adaptability. Jenifer Morrissey cites several examples of farmers, ranchers and gardeners adjusting their practices to better farm the land.
An Introduction to Donkey Training
Bob Erickson lays out philosophy and rules for training donkeys in this first installment of a multi-part series.
Bob Erickson drives his newest team, Alice and Vera, at the 2021 Horse Progress Days. Here, they are put to a logging arch he designed and built himself.
Spring Equipment Checklist
During those in-between days from late winter to early spring, there’s lots to do when you can’t get out in the fields. Ralph Rice goes through his routine for getting ready for spring.
The Reading Room is updated with each new issue. If you wish to be notified by email
when new contents are posted, please
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