It’s hard to explain why, but there is something really satisfying about using horses in harness. Few folks use horses any other way than under saddle these days, yet for centuries horses were probably used more to pull and transport things than to carry people. Other than in Amish communities across the country a quality harness is continually growing increasingly more difficult to come by. Using a harness is rapidly becoming a lost art to many, but if the truth be known, in many cases a single horse in harness is a really handy thing.

Last week we had decided to plant a small pasture on a steep hillside just below our house.  We fenced it using mesh wire so that we could run a few lambs there if we wanted to, not only to feed them but to keep the hillside mowed down since it is too steep for a tractor or lawn mower to safely negotiate.

I wanted to harrow the soil to smooth it out before I planted it and also to cover the seed after I broadcasted it.  The only safe means of doing this that I could think of was to use a horse.  What took our old mare to accomplish in an hour would have taken me the better part of a day using a garden rake.  Not only did we get the job done easily and safely, but it was a real joy walking behind my horse seeing her do a job that she was specially designed to do.