In considering an investment in on-farm horsepower, displacing fossil fuels to meet the energy needs of the operation is often a high priority. A fair analysis, however, should acknowledge that horse-keeping requires resources that cause emissions of greenhouse gases. Investigators from Germany examined this topic in the European Journal of Forest Research to better understand the value of using draft horses for logging. With life-cycle assumptions for 11 variables, the researchers established a basis for emission benchmarks in four categories of horse care. In the above case annual emissions came to 1,770 kilograms of “carbon dioxide equivalents.” This means the imaginary horse evaluated in the study must offset roughly one-half gallon of No. 2 diesel fuel each day to earn its way to net-zero status. Worth noting is that between feed and pasture maintenance, this number-crunching effort clearly ties most emissions to basic horse nourishment. One conclusion? The “easy keepers” of the equine world could be especially competitive when it comes to cutting ag emissions.