I spent my summers on a farm in Nebraska where we farmed with draft horses back in the late 50's & early 60's.. I have a lot of time driving a team. Great to see these teams doing this. I knew from the beginning they would not have a problem with pulling this stone. Didn't think about one not being as trained as the others. I'm 78 & my team driving was when I was 14 or 15. Still love to watch a team doing 'their thing'!
Yep, I grew up on a small farm in East Tennessee. My dad would take a team of mules into peoples gardens that were on steep hillsides ( no rototillers) to earn a little money . I’d tag along , I loved being around my dad and the teams. My dad would plough, disk , whatever needed doing. But working a team of mules is different than working horses.
Jim, I applaud you for trying! You are always calm and think things through. I'm so glad they listen to you! They really are a beautiful team and your years of experience helped. I hope people remember how much horses helped before tractors!
Horses should not be underestimated, if they have to pull they are very strong-willed and grow beyond their strength 💪💪🐴🐎 🤠 These horses are very well fed and cared for 👍👍
Thanks for showing when things do not go just right, keep your videos real and honest. Your videos are having a really positive influence, thanks for putting yourself out there.
I am amazed at just how much those horses love to pull! I loved watching it. They wanted to start off and each one seemed to want to be the one pulling the hardest.
That was some of the very very best horsemanship I have seen in years. Your quiet, firm and steady treatment of your team was wonderful to watch. Despite a wreck you kept calm outside and didn't worry your team. No slapping, or shouting, just asking them. I just loved it. My Dad worked horses and he would have enjoyed this very much!!!
Yes you know what you are doing. Short pulls, rest then pull again. This keeps horses from a bad strain. Your team worked great, am glad horses and you were not hurt as that was a heck of a pull. I was watching your horses after the pull, and they seemed to be telling each other, see I told you we could do it.
Jim, that was seriously impressive, I could nearly hear your brain trying to figure out your final solution, well done you. And what horses you have. The videoing and the commentry was great also. I look forward to coming videos. I wonder did the ancient Egyptions use similar techniques to build the pyramids?
That was an amazing video! Modern equipment aside, those horses were so impressive with their willingness to get that boulder out. I live in New England surrounded by stone walls that were pulled out and placed in much the same way. Kudos for still using the horses for farm work. Beautiful fit and healthy animals. God Bless you and all you do.
My grandfather was a dairy farmer in western NY. I remember one wet spring pruning in the orchards; the tractor became stuck up to the axle. My uncle came back with a larger tractor to pull it out-it became stuck too. Later, our neighbor came with his draft team and pull both tractor out, one-at-a-time of course.
You can't fall in love with the horses without falling in love with their owners. ❤ your videos. Your horses are spectacular so darn majestic if I might say so.. was kool to see them pull that big rock and in all their gear...thanks for sharing your videos! Wishing you all a great day.
I stumbled on this video. I've never worked with horses and had no idea how many moving parts and variables there are to this. Your horsemanship is seriously impressive! Thank God you didn't get hurt. Thanks for the awesome video and God bless!
wow! that was incredible! they are very patient and willing to work hard for Jim. great job all of you! beautiful animals... thank you so much for sharing!
Really impressive horsemanship and also very well trained/listened/capable horses! The draft horses truly do love that type of work where they can hook up and just let their raw power rip! It's impressive what well trained, conditioned and prepared horses are capable of, I don't think most people understand or really comprehend that.
They are the loveliest team, so well trained, doing what they do well. Yes there are mess ups, like anything. But with perseverance they can pull it of.
It's funny I was waiting for you to show the big boulder I haven't seen a team of draft horses since I was a kid back in the early sixties I know a team of four can move that stone. Thank you for bringing back a lot of fun memories
I think your horses are very well mannered. And I can tell by the way you handle the horses that you love them and would not harm them. Any negative comments only come from people that don't know horses .
Glad everything worked out for all. It's always amazing how much skill you demonstrate and hopefully there will be younger people you can inspire to learn your skills to pass on for the future
My Dad was born 1910, he started work at around 12 years of age and worked with horses as a Waggoner , that was his title. Of course he grew up with and used all the early tractors and steam plowing engines etc. During WW2 , with the shortage of fuel and tractors of course, the use of horses on the farm came back again. I rode on many carts, implements, binders, behind one or two horses in a team. But never saw four working before, incredible sight. Once a year in Southern Spain they have a large fiesta part of it is incredibly no less than eight horses as a team pulling a single Roman chariot type , several different teams take part. But for sheer strength this is fascinating, that is one big heavy rock.
Great job with the horses, it's just amazing what they can do and what they're capable of. He who does something makes mistakes, and from what I understand, that's life.
Amazing! Horses are just a gift from God. I remember seeing horse pulls when I was young and I liked them so much better than the tractor pulls of course that was on flat, hard ground and the weight was on a sled. Don’t know how much the boulder weighed. They were really moving it towards the end. People who want to be negative need to remember there was no whipping or mistreatment and those horses wouldn’t have pulled if they didn’t want to.
Здравствуйте! Много лет назад я почти такого же размера "камушек" "выкорчёвывал" из земли. Без всяких механизмов и тягловой силы. Пришлось тот камень окопать вокруг сторон . Потом развёл костёр на верху камня и внизу вокруг него. Сколько времени тот камень нагревал, не помню. Вроде весь день! Вечером стал обливать камень холодной водой. Камень развалился на несколько фрагментов, с которыми я мог справиться и вывезти их в нужное место. Яму потом засыпал грунтом.
I haven't watched you pull it yet but I am so excited. Ok my son and I farmed with oxen and he was in the 4-H it became handy to guess weight. We have a piece of granite 4' long by 8" X 24". About it weighs a ton. I'm thinking you have about 8 ton there. Your good boys will twitch that right out of there for you. Ok back to the video. Didn't see the wreck coming but well handled. With oxen if one jumps the load and gets ahead it puts the load on the slow one so being even is important. I appreciate the craft involved in keep everyone pulling together. Good job.
That was a wonderful video. Your videos are the first ones I look forward to. You have such a lot of physical work to do on your farm and sawmill, yet you and your wife do it with a smile - at least from the videos that is what comes across. Christ is first in all you do and your family exemplifies that.
Horses and driver did a superb job. One side of the rock appeared to have a flat cut edge. Wonder if this was from glacier activity. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, i dont think people really understand what it takes. Not only for the horses, but also for the driver. Its not like the horses can see behind them. And reaching btween them, they could smash ya with their weight. But theyre Gentle Giant's from the day theyre born. Its Beatiful to see them work. Imagine, if we were ever attacked by an EMP, they'd be about the only thing that would work! Spectacular to watch them work!.... Thanks
What a workout, I was nervous and I'm not a teamster. A friend who let me drive his team feeding cows a couple of times told me how dangerous it can be too hook-up a team in that situation.
The far left horse looked as though it was walking stiff on the hind legs prior to the pull. I was wondering if your hitch would withstand the weight. Very nice team and wonderful Horsemanship!
My buddies dad who grew up on Maine potato farm Was telling me how the old timers would bust boulders. Whenever they trim limbs or take branches from firewood trees they pile umm up around/on the boulder all year long. Then on a freezing cold day they'd light it all up, big fire with boulder in the middle. Come spring you'd hit it with a sledge n would split like nothing. I've never tested . But I wouldn't doubt if it works. Or keep it around for bragging rights for the teams.
Scared the crap out of me the first time they took off ,,, looked like they were going to take off at a run and drag you you and everything to the next county,,, 🤔,, Great job for 👍 TY for taking me along,,,,,
Not a criticism. Perhaps next time you could subtitle with your commands are to the horses because it would be interesting for all of us. God bless you
I love this video. I’ve watched it a few times over the months. This time I couldn’t help but wonder if that rock is still there. Tell us Jim, what ever happend to this rock?
I think those horses behaved great and acted like it was just another day,, many people would have had a couple of horses facing them and the traces all wrapped around their legs. I think that bolder needed to be worked on with about two pounds of black powder
Good job very pleasant to see your video and how you manage your work. After seeing that, i remembered when i was kid in france, each farm had 4 or 6 horses" percheron"to do all. Now only machine running faster and faster, sad. Thank you for your Channel
OMGOSH! Your best video to date! This is exactly why God created man and beast. .... To work as a team! You have an amazing family and as always, thank you for being a son of God. ...
All you could do is split the rock into two half’s the old rock splitter way save time start the holds with a 3/8 hammer drill and Masonary bit. Then you could use your Excavator to move the half’s. Why risk Injuring one of your horses.
Hi Jim and Brenda. I really like your horses and am impressed with what they can do and how well you quietly handle them. I noticed something interesting with the big rock. At frames 16:02 to 16:06, and again at 19:16, you can see a face on the rock. It looks like an alien from outer space. Could it be a petrified head of a creature that eons ago visited the land on which you now live? Just kidding, but isn't nature interesting?
My grandfather worked his team in the Train yard in the winter, he had the only team that could start box cars and move them alone, they had to use four horses most of the time. Gramps had big Belgian mares and they would hang in the harness and lean into it until it began to move. That team would do anything for him and he would never allow anyone else to work them.
Great video! Besides the drama of moving the huge rock (that kept us all on the edge off our seats) I found three things very enjoyable in this video. First was the sound of the horses walking through the tall grass. What a beautiful sound. I also enjoyed listening to the horses breathing at the end of the pull. When do you get to experience the heavy breathing of gentle giants? And the third great thing I enjoyed was Jim riding the rock. When will you ever see that again. This video to me was “award quality!” I feel fortunate to have found your Chanel. Keep up the good work. You guys are a RU-vid gold mine
