Category Archives: scaling for horsepower

early warning?

This fanciful cover illustration may stray far from the nitty-gritty of actual farm life, but the unmistakable sense of partnership between horse and human rings true. 

A 1951 children’s book offers a bittersweet glimpse into America’s farewell to most horse-powered farming. With a valuable harvest at stake, Nubbins faithfully returns to work after the family’s shiny new tractor breaks down. Nubbins gets to keep his stall, but thousands of equine workers met a far less happy fate in the break-neck shift to fossil-fueled farming during this period.