Draft Horse Series
Participants work with draft horses on The Berry Center’s farm and woodlands to gain fresh perspective on the history, care, and practical uses of horses on farms today.
"If the use of draft animals implies diversity, homegrown energy and fertility, appropriateness of scale, and a significant measure of built-in economic health on the farm, it also implies economic diversity and health in the local community."
—Wendell Berry, “Taking Draft Animals Seriously”
Introduction to Horse Teamster Skills: Driving Principles I
February 14
February 21
February 28
April 11
Cost $50
This workshop is designed to provide participants with the necessary skills to effectively work with a horse on a farm or in woodlands. Topics covered will include: horse behavior and body language, proper handling and grooming techniques, basic training commands, horse driving principles, harnessing and hitching a horse to farming and logging equipment, and overall horse care and health management. *Limit 2 participants
Whether you are new to working with horses or looking to enhance your existing skills, this workshop will equip you with the tools to successfully work with these intelligent and versatile animals on the farm.
This workshop is appropriate for anyone interested in gaining basic knowledge and understanding of driving draft horses. Horse experience is helpful though not required.
Horse Teamster Skills: Driving Principles II
April 18-19
April 25-26
Cost $100
Prerequisite: Introduction to Driving Principles I or permission of instructor
A two-day, hands-on introductory course designed for individuals interested in learning how to effectively use chainsaws and draft horses for logging operations. Whether you are a beginner looking to explore the world of draft horse logging or an experienced logger interested in incorporating horses into your operations, this course will provide you with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to work effectively with draft horses on the home place or in the logging industry. *Limit 2 participants
“If we can see that draft animals on the farm belonged to and led to a distinctive kind of farming, then we will have no trouble in seeing that the substitution of tractors for draft animals belonged to and led to farming of a radically different kind. … All this implies and has led to a highly centralized long-distance economy, a commensurate decline of local economies and communities and of the whole social structure of rural America. …By scaling down and simplifying our technology, we would truly be bringing our economy home, where it belongs. Instead of paying outside the community for large machines and fuel, we would be providing income locally to makers of equipment, producers of feed, farriers, breeders, and so on.”
—Wendell Berry, “Taking Draft Animals Seriously”