The chromosome count for a mule includes all 62 from its donkey sire, plus one more from its dam, a horse with 64 chromosomes. The result? Partners like this team, shown here making short work of an uphill skid during a harvest of high-value hardwoods in Henderson County.
Primordial eons ago E. asinus, the domestic donkey, and E. caballus, the domestic horse, went their separate genetic ways. Not long after H. sapien entered the evolutionary scene, humanity’s fascination with merging these equid species forever took hold. Today researchers are working to better understand both possible offspring from such a union: the mule and the hinny. In the U.S. the mule dominates this cross-bred world, while its reciprocal, the horse-sired hinny, is more common in South America and Europe. Recent findings comparing blood chemistry, for example, reveal how parental influence on hybrids can vary with respect to heart rate, respiration rate and body temperature. Armed with this emerging insight, better care is more possible for these skilled farm and forest workers. (Source: Pilot Study, Amy McClean PhD, University of California, Davis)
Three members of an eight-horse team move in unison to turn the steel arms of a massive sweep, powering a 54-inch circular saw that ripped logs into new lumber.
The display of sheer strength could not have been more dramatic. Four teamsters brought two Belgians each to the job, collaborating for about a month ahead of the 2021 Horse Progress Days to make sure their animals could safely work together. Trained to walk on their own once set into motion, the team was hitched to an ingenious rig that evened the load. A straight pipe clipped to the inside of each halter ran to the sweep arm in front, keeping the horse from crowding ahead. In the back the singletree connected to a rope-and-pulley system, delivering tension that energized a belt running between the sweep and the sawmill. The hand-built sweep had to be anchored into the ground with huge wood slabs to avoid getting yanked from its moorings when the team really began to pull. During rest breaks handlers approached each horse to slowly bring it to a stop and remove the bridle. As bridles went back on this spectacular demonstration rolled along again. (Research credit: Ralph J. Rice, “A Sweeping Success”, Rural Heritage Magazine Oct/Nov issue)
A teamster grabs the ring of a snaffle bit to restrain his draft mule, a choice that could cause pain and confusion for the animal as it stands hitched and waiting to work.
Not every teamster works humanely with the equines under his or her care. When it comes to respectful treatment, this hand hanging on the bit of a fully harnessed mule is at best ignorant, at worst just plain mean. The tugged lip, exposed mouthpiece and oddly angled noseband all suggest hurtful pressure from the drag of the hand both down and forward. Such a skewed grip could pinch the tender cheek on the unseen side of the head, jam the snaffle joint into the roof of the mouth and gouge the sensitive lower jaw bar. Perplexing is the unused chain hanging from the ring: why reject an available and less aggressive hold? It won’t be the mule’s fault, but its behavior could easily sour from such harsh handling. The memory of face pain could make the mule resist bridling. Yanking could harden the mouth, a good way to make the mule less responsive to line cues. The teamster may walk away from this bit of abuse without consequence. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the mule.
Round after grueling round this sturdy pair dragged a log-filled skid from dead stop to a full pull, showing what even the smallest equines can accomplish.
Innovations at the ready, experts from across the horse-powered farming world assembled in early July for Horse Progress Days 2021 under a bright Ohio sky. Over the course of two jam-packed days a throng of more than 30,000 gathered to learn the latest about this mode of crop and woodlot management. Moving constantly between the barns, arenas and fields was a contingent of at least 400 horses, mules and donkeys. Massive hitches were everywhere, but a crowd favorite was Saturday’s pony pull. These teams topped out at just 38 inches but were all business all the same. In a test of strength and steering finesse, logs were slowly piled high between five-foot skid rails. As the weight grew navigating inside the narrow drag lane got harder. Rest breaks drew short as contenders dropped out. Eventually the winners walked away from a load that reached an astonishing 1,400 pounds. Onlookers could not help but take the point: even tiny teams can earn their oats. It was just one lesson among many from Horse Progress Days, setting the standard for what is possible, practical and profitable when forward-thinking farmers truly tap into equine energy.
A crisp November morning put pep in the step of Meg as her human partner ponders the start of his job: feeding freshly harvested sorghum into the bright red press overhead.
Each fall since 2013 Cinder Ridge Farm in Surry County has opened its doors to showcase the timeless role of horse power in making a prized regional specialty: sorghum molasses. A staple in settler pantries, this full-flavored sweetener commands a pretty penny to this day. The process starts as long purplish stalks catch and crack between deeply grooved metal cylinders, rolling together as Meg walks. Her rig triangulates between a precisely angled log anchored to the top of the press, her singletree hitched to the log in back, and a “tie branch” controlling Meg’s head in front to hold her on a circular path. With Meg’s every step juice spurts from the press, collects in a galvanized tub and then flows by gravity to a vat set over a gentle wood fire. Tended for hours in an open-air stone cook house, the juice slowly thickens enough to merit new status as molasses. Meanwhile Meg, 25 years old and reliable still, went back to the barn – her work well done yet again.
Research from 2011 provides an important framework for figuring out how an investment in horse power will influence a farm’s overall contribution of greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
