Work Horses in a Market Garden: Part 3
The Best Horse for the Market Garden

 

Erika Marczak
Rabington Grown, Abington, Conn.

I am not convinced that there is a best breed or type. There are good qualities to instill in a garden team. The ability to follow the teamster’s directions is important, but I also like a horse to have a little autopilot capacity, in other words, horses that you can keep loose line contact with while they follow the rows without wandering and stepping on crops. Maintaining a consistent speed when working is a good thing to practice, as is stopping and standing patiently while a teamster works on equipment. I like a handy team that will take a step in any direction when asked and doesn't hesitate to walk ahead when asked. There is so much involved in choosing the right animal to suit your farm, but the result really comes down to the teamster’s personality and how one goes about shaping a good animal for the market garden.

Next we hear from Klaus Karbaumer, who along with his wife, Lee Ann, manages 17 acres in Missouri using only draft horse power and lots of human ingenuity. Klaus brings more than  50 years of experience with draft horses to the table.

Klaus Karbaumer
Karbaumer Farm, Kansas City, Mo.

What I am looking for is a quiet, cooperative horse which is willing to follow commands and is physically able to do what is requested. Depending on the soil type and the size of equipment used, that can be any breed and almost any size. For cultivation purposes, the horse's width of stride has to fit into the rows or the row width has to be adjusted. Many of today's high-strung show type draft horses do not fit that description, but then there are always exceptions. I do not think a single breed can be preferred or declined over others if the individual horse meets the demand. I have worked with Norikers, Haflingers, Kladrubers, Belgians, Percherons, Bavarian Warmbloods and even with a Shetland pony. The remarks above reflect my experience with all these horses.

The next teamster at the table humbly describes himself as “just a homesteader,” but his long years of devotion to the small farming craft are reflected in his pithy observations.

Mark Gillenwater
Providence Farm, Renick, W.V.

Just as a riding horse has gaits, a garden horse needs gears. In the spring when it is time to turn the soil, my team likes to walk somewhat fast at first, hitched to the Vulcan 13 or Oliver 40 walking turning plow, but soon they settle in. It may be okay to walk fast to the patch but when cultivating tender crops, a steady, slow walk is desired. I use a single horse to make my rows for dropping in potatoes and to cultivate my crops on our small farm. The single horse I use from my team is a Suffolk gelding going on 18 years.

Next up is a teamster who gives us a window into the draft horse farming scene in Europe, where a small but determined contingent of modern-day farmers continue to innovate with appropriate scale technology for a better tomorrow.

Jeroen Vos,
Jardin de l’Espérande, Gardes-Le Pontaroux, Charente, France

This is a discussion which always makes me smile. It is the analysis and the stories behind the choices which I find most interesting. In my case, I owned a breed (Brabançons) and started my market garden after moving to France. A team of 2,000-pound mares in the tiniest of market gardens may look a bit silly when starting, but I soon found out they can do anything if you can do it. Mine are not a matched team, one is speedy and pulls the cultivator like a big tree, so we take the other one for the delicate weeding of young plants. She walks slowly and, more importantly, puts her front feet down in a way that she does not throw up too much dirt on the young plants. Mrs. speedy gets her share of work on the forecart hauling manure to the garden and produce back. We use them as a team for plowing, and, after a while, they go well together. In winter they both go logging, where the added power is handy. Next year I hope to be working in the vineyards too, which will be interesting regarding their differences.

Our next teamster brings to the table a lot of experience working with both horses and mules of various shapes, sizes, and temperaments. Donn Hewes puts up a lot of square bales with his draft animals. Hay making is a farm task that requires a lot of long, repetitive hours of driving, giving the teamster ample opportunity to connect with and understand his animals very thoroughly.

Don Hewes
Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, N.Y.

I am not a professional market garden person myself (primarily a grass and hay farmer), but we are doing a little cultivating each year. Obviously, if I am only going to cultivate for one or two days a year, and I will be looking between my legs trying to figure out which pedal is which, I will want my quietest slowest horse. But fast-forward a couple years to when we have increased the acreage – as well as our skills as teamsters and skills with the cultivating tool. It is hot, and there are still two acres to go; in that situation you will want a horse with a little more eagerness.

I don’t think size is the key, although I suppose  someone could make a case for a certain size horse matching a certain size operation. Finally, I think good cultivating horses will come from careful study of the animal and task, and dedicated leadership to show them what we want.

The next teamster in line gives us a deceptively simple opening statement that holds volumes of experience underneath. Working with live horse power over a number of years can have a leveling effect on the teamster. Our human hubris tends to have us place ourselves at the top of the order over the rest of the animal kingdom. As has been said before in many times and places: to manage draft animals safely, the human must be the dominant partner in the equation. But to be the dominant partner is something quite distinct from being the unmitigated master. To be a partner suggests that our ears, eyes, hearts, minds, and hands are open to a continual two-way dialogue with our animals. To be successful, we must gain at least some insight into how horses “think.” Rather than simply imposing our will, we are constantly seeking to learn how to sensitively persuade our animals to behave in ways that achieve our desired ends while giving them the “option” to make good choices. With such an approach the emphasis is on rewarding “good” behavior rather than punishing the horse for what we deem to be incorrect. If our goal is an efficient and prosperous horse-powered farm, achieving that end with positive reinforcement is not only good for us and our farm customers, it’s also good for our horses.

Carl E. Lyndaker
Crystal Creek Ranch, Lowville, N.Y.

Horses are just like people: each one is different. They will do certain things better than others, and another horse will be just the opposite. Not that you can’t plow with a hitch horse or hitch with plow horse, but they will do one or the other a lot better. I know you can barrel race a draft and you can mow with a quarter horse, just not as good or efficient. It doesn’t have to be different breeds, just their temperament and actions can make a big difference. That being said, you can train just about any horse to do what you want, just maybe not as good or efficient as another horse.

Brian McGinness
Riverbound CSA, Mandan, N.D.

Speaking as relative beginner who has been market gardening full-time with horses for four years, my opinion is that the best horses for me were older, very settled, been-there-done-that horses that knew the ropes. Cultivating is obviously a touchy operation, and your hard work in the greenhouse, on the transplanter, etc., can easily be destroyed with a little drift out of line. It’s my favorite job with the horses, but that’s because my horses are steady, will go slow, and aren’t afraid. They’re not brain dead or anything, but they follow the leader. Mine happen to be Belgians, and I am trying out some smaller-footed mules this season, but the key for me getting started was work with 18-year-old horses who knew how to be driven.

For the final word, we have a teamster and blacksmith who brings the perspective of legacy to the table. By legacy I mean all the invaluable collected wisdom and mostly “oral history” that those old-timers who were raised in a world where working horses were a natural part of the everyday landscape have passed on to the current generation of teamsters.

Michael Wilson
Horse logger and blacksmith, Bluemont, Va.

Forty years or more ago, a savvy old man (late 80s then), who had a feed and grain warehouse, and tack and harness store in New Milford, Conn., shared some information with me that I have never forgotten. Perry Green had lived through the peak and the nadir of draft horses in America. Even during the worst times, he always had good heavy harness for sale, one of the few who bothered.

At that time, 18 hands high horses were still considered very large. He said, "Michael, America was farmed, logged, and freighted with 1,200 to 1,400-pound horses." He thought that the quest for ever bigger horses was ridiculous, particularly for practical working and hobby  models. They were too expensive to keep, too hard to harness, and did not do enough more than smaller horses to justify their use. Today, although it is hard to find a 1,500-pound, 16 hands high or under Belgian or Percheron, one can find good Suffolks, Fjords, working type Haflingers, and crossbreds that will get the job done. And they are not worn out at the end of the day just from carrying their own big bodies around. If you have been led to believe that performance is commensurate with size, I'd suggest that you compare loads pulled at the pulling contests by lightweight teams compared to the open division horses.

Think twice about “big” horses, and consider the many attributes of the “big little” horse. Smaller work horses can make up for what they may lack in brute strength with stamina and hardiness. You may find that, in comparison to a great little team, a pair of bruisers may turn out to be too expensive to keep without getting any more production.