Right where they belong

[john hall]

Completely NOT lawn and garden related, but possibly of interest to some of the farm boys.
I would venture to say that 95% or more of the folks here have never had dealings with farming with horses. There are quite a few of us though whose fathers and grandfathers have shared numerous stories about such adventures. As best as my dad can figure, my family quit using horses and mules in the mid 50's--all replaced by IH tractors (2 M's, 2 Super A's, a borrowed Cub, and a McCormick 10-20---think the F-20 was long gone). Anyway, the barn was built in 1950. There was no where fancy to store harness, bits, collars, pads, blinders and whatever else was needed to put the animals to work. They just nailed a couple pcs of rough cut lumber up and hung everything on them--60 years later, most of the items are still there where they were hung after the last horse was worked--I know a couple harness and hanes have been removed. Anyway, we were filling the barn with straw today and I decided to get a picture, kind of neat in my opinion. Oh yeah, most all the horse plows are still under the same shed attached to a corn crib. The last of the horses died off in the mid 60's, dad swears he fed them as much in retirement as he did when they were working.

[clay1811/44c]

Neat picture. Thanks for sharing.

[zippy1]

Thanks for sharing the pictures John, real cool.
I know over at the "home place" there are a few horse collars, and bridles still hanging in the old straw mow. My grandfather bought his first tractors in the early 40's if memory serves me well.
Those were the days when men were men. Can't even begin to imagine all the hours that were put in behind a horse back then... All I can say is they were tough, and determined.

[Dirty Steve]

Thanks for the picture, John. My dad says he can remember his elders using a horse to pull loose hay up into the barns using the forks with a rail system under the peak of the barns. Most all of which are still hanging in every barn today. My family had a stationary bailer which they did custom bailing for other farmers with. Yep. There are some piece of harness and some collars still around.

[ol'George]

My Father and Father in law, used to tell me I had it made, with electric lights in the house and barn to do chores by.
Also a '39 John Deere "A" to do the plowing/fittin' & cultivating by, when I was first married.
They used mules and horses,till they left the farm for auto worker wages, in the early 30's
Dads been gone 50 years this spring, but seems like just yesterday, I talked to him.
I would always ask how they did this or that without electricity, and marvel at the ways it was accomplished.

FIL would tell me how he rigged up a generator on an old windmill to charge a
6 Volt battery so they could listen to the radio in the evening, as it was the only "power" they had.
I still have the RCA "Waltons" style radio he bought new, back in the day.
And yes, it still works on AC or 6 Volt and still gets grand ol' opry on Saturday night like back in 1925 on WSM, 20 years before my life began.
We have come a long way.
Happy 4th of July folks, enjoy our freedom and way of life!