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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 31 2010, 12:03 PM (470 Views) | |
| HandFarming | Aug 21 2011, 02:23 AM Post #11 |
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Rural tv had some shows on mules, logging and other horse skills. Pretty cool. It would take a while to learn, not to mention, feeding horses can be a lot! |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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| Grizzly | Aug 21 2011, 08:42 AM Post #12 |
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Yep, they would be handy. Only problem is I don't much care for them. Nice to look at but that's as close as I need to get. |
| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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| Mommacat | Aug 22 2011, 12:57 AM Post #13 |
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My grandmother and a couple of her neighbors did all their farming and logging with horses. They had cars, but those were mostly for transportation to and from church. I remember the team and the big wagon going by her house loaded with feed sacks after a trip to the feed store. I also remember the haying and, in the winter, the huge horses pulling the logs out of the woods to be cut and split. I think I'm very lucky to have those memories; I know in this day that most people have never even seen it done. I know horses take quite a bit to feed and take care of, but I keep thinking that a work a person can get from them would more than make up for it. If they're plowing a field for grain, of course some will go to feed them, but it would also feed other livestock and people. While I understand that post-SHTF, people will be in a mad scramble to recreate life as they knew it, and it won't take as long this time around as the last 200 years to become a "modern" society, I believe it won't happen in a couple year's time - it may take 20 or 25 years and, in the interim, a person with old-time skills and tools, etc. would indeed be "wealthy". |
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| Grizzly | Aug 22 2011, 08:08 AM Post #14 |
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A couple weeks ago I seen a public TV show on the history of barns. It was really kind of a neat program and they showed some restored barns from long ago. They said back in the old days the barn took priority over the house and was way nicer than their houses cause their horses did almost everything so they were cared for first. Even a modern overpayed architect couldn't design something as unique as some of those barns. |
| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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| Mommacat | Aug 22 2011, 09:58 AM Post #15 |
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That would have been interesting to watch. It makes sense that, in days gone by, a person's survival and doing well was tied to the animals they raised, so financially, taking great care of them would be wise. Our modern world is driven by the combustion engine - the old world was driven by horses. I think horses were preferred over other animals for several reasons: they're very smart and easily trained to do a variety of work, they can forage for their own food if they need to, and maybe the most important - horses have enough intelligence to form bonds with their owners - if the time comes when you need that extra mile from them - they'll deliver because they are much like dogs in their attachments to people. I once had a horse that stood between me and a Charolais bull long enough for me to get out of the paddock area - he got his butt kicked, bruised ribs and a sprained shoulder, but I'm fairly sure I'd be dead if that horse didn't grasp my situation and care enough about me to stand his ground. There has to be a reason that many an old-time cowboy preferred the company of his horse to that of people! LOL |
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| HandFarming | Aug 23 2011, 04:06 AM Post #16 |
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Oh yeah- I think horses will again have value. Trouble is - there are no longer enough horses in society to make up for the energy we presently use in gas/oil/diesel. They have been so much of a novelty more than an actual source of getting work done. My grandfather was the last person in the valley he lived in to buy a tractor and he had a hard time letting go of his horses. A person can get very attached to a purposeful life! |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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| Mommacat | Aug 23 2011, 07:57 AM Post #17 |
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Yes, its true what you say about horses not being able to meet the current energy demand. But, maybe that's the key - there won't be nearly as many of us and those that are left will rapidly and drastically change our habits/expectations. As for farming with horses, its a nice dream, but the reality is that even if you could get horses at a fairly reasonable price, the equipment for them would run up a tab. And, until a person actually had a NEED to use them, they'd be, as you say, a novelty and relegated to hay rides and the County Fair; a person just wouldn't get a very immediate return on their investment. In the past, Raven has talked about oxen for farm labor, but again, you can't just hook 'em up to the John Deer baler and head across a field. But, I suspect Grizzly could figure out a way to do that! Now, if we could just interest him in horses..... LOL |
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| Raven | Aug 23 2011, 08:15 AM Post #18 |
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Griz's parents spoiled him on any horse ideas by buying him a shetland pony as a kid...they aren't fit to breath in my opinion. I used to train horses and as a kid I had to ride 3 of the bastards to get them to the point for the kids of the family to ride. I have a bunch of scars with stories to tell but I could ride them after the summer was over. The kids never could and they ended up selling the little "darlin's". Oxen are very intellegent (you have to be picky about which calf you keep for the job)... they are slower than horses but less likely to spook/bolt. They can also pull more for the weight than a horse. A smart horse is usually smarter than the person who works them and once they figure that out the game is on. I have the two calves and I started them but I have to get back into it. I need a yoke right now. |
| The truth is not for all men, but only for those that seek it. Ayn Rand | |
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| Mommacat | Aug 23 2011, 08:23 AM Post #19 |
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OMG! I think those little demons should be outlawed! To subject a child to one of them is a horrible thought! But, people who don't know horses don't know that - they mistakenly believe its safer cuz the drop to the ground is less. They don't factor in the disposition of a pit viper! I do agree with the idea that a horse smarter than its owner is a bad proposition - for one thing, I am convinced that horses have a sense of humor and they LOVE putting their handlers through THEIR paces!!:) I have never been around oxen and have no reference for an opinion, although they do seem, by nature, a lot calmer and f'sure they pack a lot more muscle! |
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