Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Gwen Giffen" <ggiffen@1st.net>]

I haven't worked with horses much myself. We had a pretrained mare when I 
was growing up, and I have messed around with foals some. My maternal 
g-grandfather was a horse team trainer, and my paternal g-grandparents used 
a team on this farm. Maybe farm teams are sugar coated in my mind because of 
my family's pervasive positive attitude toward them. You are probably right 
that many average farmers were abusive. My husband, who has worked with 
horses a good bit more than me, says you are right. I've heard people 
comment on some of their Amish neighbors regarding abusiveness to their 
horses, and sometimes its an Amish person doing the commenting. And then 
some people abuse and neglect out of ignorance rather than intention. So I 
would agree with you that it isn't good for all people. It is an option 
though, as you said, and a positive one for some.

Gwen



 "  I agree that many farmers did treat their horses  well but I was
referring to those that did not WANT to work with horses.   My father farmed 
all his
life.1920- 1990. He saw and did farming from horses to  the huge machinery.
His stories of horse farming from his life and the  standard practice of his
neighbors made me very happy that tractors came to  replace horses.  Not 
all, in
fact most farmers, were not expert  horsemen.  They used some  training and
handling methods that would be  soundly decried now.  Maybe now with modern
information and ways of  acquiring it, and having options available , the 
horse
farmer  would not be abusive.
   Again I state, the farmer has to want to work with  the animals.  I do
not want to get into a flame war here and do not want to  defame any 
religion.
We have a Amish community near by. The local non Amish  horsemen regularly
report instants of horse abuse among the Amish .   Again, most/many of the 
Amish
do not abuse.  But the ones that simply  want/ need the work done and do not
especially care  for the animal  will get it done by any method needed.
   For that matter, many reports are out there of  abuse by people who do
not have to use horses but do.
   I agree and approve of low impact , sustainable  farming but let us keep
in mind that some ways are not good for all.

   As for the work horses being treated better than  their wives, ....The
poor horses couldn't talk back and had a higher monetary  value at a sale 
barn
if unharmed.  The wife could talk back and if  divorced, might have taken 
some
of the farm goods, and/or children (farm  labor).  Beside that, a horse can
kick a lot harder than most women.  :-)
    ( dry tone and trying for sense of humor  here)

Peggy"