Bruce with Dan

Last week, Buddy Dunlap and his dad, Bruce, brought over their draft horses, Grover and Dan, to try them at pulling in the garden. We had tilled up a large area behind the barn where we plan to plant more tomatoes and squash, some gourds, and maybe some pumpkins. The area was uneven and full of rocks, until we got the horses in there. It is easy to forget about the innovations that came before us, and resort to a skid loader or tractor to get the job done. But the horses didn’t pack down the dirt, and brought together a big group of people excited to see how the pull would work. And it worked beautifully.

Getting Grover ready to be attached to the pull.

Getting the pull ready to be attached to Grover.

Grover smoothing out the dirt.

Buddy trying it out.

Then Dan got hooked up to the pull.

We hope that by training these horses to pull, they will be able to pull a cart so we can offer rides. Just an idea growing in our minds!