What breed of horse did they use...

[preppy*hippie*chick]

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Actually Sheridan rode a Morgan named Rienzi during the Civil War!

This seems like a prime opportunity to show off some of my Morgans. Ruby was a heartbreaker. I bought her as a two year old for $2500. I became preggers and sold her for $8000. She went World Senior (5 & up) Mare and the gentlemen I sold her to turned down $100,000 for her.

I showed, but I refuse to have a Morgan with an ugly head and I like them typey but showy too. I'm glad the Lippetts are still around, but I like showing too much to go that route breedingwise.

Ruby the night I brought her home.

Ruby outside. She's standing funny, but you can see what a neat little mare she is.

The last foal I bred. I still own her.

A customer's horse, Tara's Kingsport in the open park saddle at a regional show. He could trot, but was very typey as well. Yep, that's me on him. Looks odd because it's a video still.

 

[silverlining]

Quote:
But, that is not how work horses actually *were* used. Nor in most cases is it how they are used by serious horse farmers today e.g. Mennonites and Amish.

If a horse was lame for too long (lame to the point of not being able to work, that is), it went/goes bye-bye, one way or another. Work horses were/are not necessarily retired to live a long maximal lifespan as pasture ornaments, not most of them anyway.

Most serious farmers would/do train their own horses, or buy already slightly-started ones (no tons of money involved). Similarly, much farriery was/is done at home. Teeth were not done at all, but if there was a problem you paid someone to fix it once and that was it (teeth are not normally a major expense on modern-day recreational horses either).

Draft horses, especially working draft horses, are not particularly injury-prone, and again if the injury is too severe the horse is/was not necessarily kept.

Some major advantages of the horse: they can reproduce themselves (good luck getting your tractor to make baby tractors) and they can be run solely on fuel produced on-farm. Their byproducts are also useful on the farm as fertilizer. Repairs to horses and harness are also much more likely to be DIY than requiring you to send off for parts imported from Asia like tractors these days. Also the purchase price is generally lower, quite significantly lower if you're comparing to a new or large or late-model tractor.

The chief disadvantage of working with horses is that you have to feed the horse whether it's working or not, whereas you can put the tractor away for the winter and not have to spend money on it til you want to use it again. Also you have to be a decent horseman, as opposed to any fool can drive a tractor in some way shape or form. Also you can't put a loader or PTO-driven augur or generator onto a horse

On giant mega-industrial scale, tractors win hands-down because they are so much faster and more powerful. But on relatively small acreage, horse farming can make economic sense.

And quite obviously a lot of people do it successfully today, just look around at your nearest Mennonite/Amish/etc community.

While the horses are not pampered pets I am not convinced that on average they live worse lives than yer average pampered-pet recreational horse whose life has its own set of challenges and unfairnesses and unhealthy practices, just different ones from the working horse.

Pat

I absolutely agree with you as to the experience training requires.

It can be done very successfully as far as farming by the Amish etc though. The rest was some new info for me! I compete in Eventing, so I am not experienced with the heavy draft breeds. They would certainly not be ideal for leaping over the 3+ foot fences my own sport requires.

My mare is 1/8 Clydsdale though, and because she is bigger boned we have had virtually no soundness problems that our friends with lighter boned thoroughbreds etc have had. They are truly much better put together than some of the lighter horses in my opinion. Horses have big bodies, and you gotta have SOME solid legs to put 'em on! (That being said, she lives quite the cushy life. If she WAS unsound it would be ridiculous. She is not ridden into the ground).

 

[la dee da]

I'm so happy I asked this question, so many interesting facts! Wheather it's chickens, horses, or insects you guys just seem to know everything!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I've read through most of this thread and want to make mention that I had a gorgeous team of Percherons for a number of years. A working team, not a show team. We hayed with them. No tractor can compare, IMO. No tractor I've ever seen will walk down a row, turn, and walk down the next row, all the while pausing where you need the pause, speeding up where you need it, slowing where you need that, and do it all on voice command only. Haying is a back-breaking job, especially if you are working alone, but one I thoroughly enjoyed doing with a team. Cannot say the same thing for a tractor.

Rusty

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I used to event and my husband does photography at horse trials on the weekends... there used to be a considerable number of full and halfblooded drafts at the lower levels (like through Training Level). (I don't know what things are like now, I've sort of drifted away from it.)

Irish field hunters are often basically draft horses, although the things sold as irish sporthorses have a lot more TB in them.

Draft horses mostly jump quite well (up to a point, anyhow) and are EXCELLENT field hunters and lower level eventers -- very very safe sensible smart rides -- except that they are not super fast and unfortunately do not tend to stay sound into middle age under that sort of work.

"Draft" or "farm" horse really covers such a huge variety of things, though, from 2300-lb heavies to talllllll but lighter-built and higher-gaited breeds to sturdy pony-sized things to mules of all description. Different ones are suited for different jobs

Pat

 

[silverlining]

Quote:
I used to event and my husband does photography at horse trials on the weekends... there used to be a considerable number of full and halfblooded drafts at the lower levels (like through Training Level). (I don't know what things are like now, I've sort of drifted away from it.)

Irish field hunters are often basically draft horses, although the things sold as irish sporthorses have a lot more TB in them.

Draft horses mostly jump quite well (up to a point, anyhow) and are EXCELLENT field hunters and lower level eventers -- very very safe sensible smart rides -- except that they are not super fast and unfortunately do not tend to stay sound into middle age under that sort of work.

"Draft" or "farm" horse really covers such a huge variety of things, though, from 2300-lb heavies to talllllll but lighter-built and higher-gaited breeds to sturdy pony-sized things to mules of all description. Different ones are suited for different jobs

Pat

Yes, I still see a medium amount of the at BN and N levels, and they do just fine. I especially think it is a great fit for bigger boned or slightly heavy riders, because it is not as taxing to the horses legs etc. There are no solid drafts that I have seen at Training anymore where we leave (area IX) because the fences and such are just getting more technical and faster turning than they used to be. Warmbloods are popular at the lower levels now because they are so good at dressage though.

Im interested to hear you think they don't stay sound...do you think that of all event horses? My experience is that a good horse will stay sound if ridden sensibly. I've seen a lot of fox hunters go lame though. I think they are ridden much harder in general. I know that our event horses are bought with clean x rays etc, very slowly brought into shape, and stay sound foreeeever. My friend has a 22 year old arab (although he's obviously not a draft haha) who is still sound (although he only does BN now).

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Nope, just drafts and halfblood draft crosses, and only when galloped and jumped a bunch. They just don't have the bone and feet to support the extra weight and stresses involved (I know they usually have *apparently*-substantial legs, but it is just not sufficient for the extra body mass involved, not when that mass is repeatedly landing from jumps and pounding hard ground at a gallop).

The barn where I grew up riding (hunters, both show- and field-) got into importing heavy Irish hunters for a while, this was a few decades ago. Apparently it was unusual to have a heavy Irish hunter still functional past age 7 or so back in the home country, and frankly they did not do much better on this side of the Atlantic either. Which has also been my experience with drafts used for eventing. Fun and safe, but slowish and not highly durable.

They can stay quite sound for a long working life if used for what they are better-designed for, though.

JME,

Pat

 

[BroncoHollow]

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I may be wrong in my history, but I believe the registry was opened because at the time when carriage horses were the mode of transportation - a flasher, high action type horse was desired - to show off in a sense.. Much like comparing taking a SUV to town or take your sport car. Allowing the Saddlebred in added the sought after characteristics desired at that time.

Preppy*hippie*chic ~ I showed Saddle Seat back in the 60s [gosh that may date me lol] on a Saddlebred/ Morgan cross. Do you still show? Loved the pictures of Ruby.... she's a pretty one

 

[mamato3]

wow very interesting i always wounder how people back then did things or how they got by. Someone was talking about what they used in the wars well i found a pic with lots of horses in it its called Custer's column cavalry artillery wagons SD
http://news.webshots.com/photo/2704040310054938111JpNXuR
Of course most are to far away to see but thats alot of horses and mules

Wow look at these pics these horses really trust there owner
http://news.webshots.com/photo/2840640670054938111SSrMfE
http://news.webshots.com/photo/2140982690054938111Numrzc

 

[horsejody]

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You usually only have the leg problems in horses that were started too young. Drafts mature at a slower rate. You cannot judge a horse's legs by size alone. If you have a well put together cross, they will be sound for many years if the trainers are smart enough to be patient and wait. Nobody on their back until they are 3. No difficult maneuvers until they are 4. No higher jumps until 5 or 6. Then you can get a lot of years out of them. BTW, my husband rides a 7 year old draft cross, and I can assure you of his absolute soundness.