Timberlake

Hi,

not sure where this fits in so I thought beginning rider, as the person that is thinking this is a beginning rider.

Let me give you some background of the problem/idea.

My friend has a farm and is going really organic with his and his wife's produce. Now they were thinking on replacing some of the motorized equipment with manual labour and animal labour.

One thing he was thinking of was getting one or two horses and have them help with draging carriages, on the farm, and also the distance of 4 - 6 km to the local market/village, where he sells his produce.

I have no experience with this, and was wondering

1. Is it good for the horses to be used this way. I would think if you have the right breed and type of horse, this would be ideal to them?

2. What breed and type of horse should they be looking for?

3. Can these horses be used for pulling carriages as well as riding horses?

Hope someone can help with this.

sallyanna

I would think it would be fine to use the horse that way. After all, that's what they were used for for centuries. As long as the horse isn't overworked that is.
The farm work would need a horse that was stronger than your average riding horse, I don't know my breeds well yet but a plow horse of some sort would be good. Maybe a clydesdale.
Carriage horses, as long as they're trained in both, can easily be used as riding horses.
I don't see why you can't use your plow horse for carriage, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Buckskin

Clydesdales, percherons, and any other draft breed would suit the purpose.

If trained properly and not too young, then it's fine for horses to pull carriages/carts/plows as long as hte driver knows what they're doing. The horses need to be well taken care of, just like any other working animal.

You can ride carriage horses if they're broken to saddle, but don't expect them to be very sporty. Stolling around the farm would be fine, but they'll be outcompeted when jumping or racing.

ilovehorses

Horses would be fine to use for animal labor as long as they aren't overworked. The previous posters have given great answers to your questions.

I would get four horses, so that he could work them into a shift type of setup. Two could rest while two work so that they can be assured that they are not overworking their work horses

SaddleSore

Getting the right breed would be most important as has been laid out. You wouldn't want to overwork a horse that is built for racing-speed and strength don't come together.

Just keep the animal in mind when you start this, go easy and work up to it.

HorseDaughter

I have always enjoyed watching the commercials with the so-called 'Budweiser Clydesdales' - they are such beautiful horses! But I wonder - is one single Clydesdale really strong enough to pull a train, like they show in that one commercial of the horse working out to the Rocky theme?