Eschewing a tractor in favor of draft horses isn’t laudatory

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I don't share the Swansey's belief that eschewing a tractor in favor of draft horses, is somehow laudatory (The Reflector, May 6, 2015). I don't know if it's willful ignorance or a validation of H.L. Menckens' observation that "No one ever went broke under-estimating the intelligence of the American public." With that said, let me explain the reason for my heartburn.

Draft-horses typically live 20-30 years. In humans that could be 65-85 years of age.

So the first horses, Charlie and Bud, had "grown up on an Amish Farm in Iowa." How peaceful and benign that sounds. They had actually spent their lives as beasts of burden. They were octogenarians, down to the short rows. I would posit that they were simply worked to death.

An analogy might be an assisted living facility and an 80 year old man who has labored hard his whole life. Lets say you need a choker setter on the high lead side at a modest altitude of 6000 feet. Like Charlie and Bud, he was forced to work. At 80, how long will he last, two yrs? I doubt it.

I did that for Lewis River logging when I was 18 and it was brutal work.

Now there are two new horses and they are in their early 20s, 73-74 in human age I guess. We are told that the new (old) horses are peaceful and calm but young enough to "endure" hard work. Interesting choice of the verb endure as that's exactly what these helpless creatures are forced to do, endure.

Daniel says they can sense what he wants them to do. Anthropomorphism is generally used by the right wing lunatic fringe to insult tree hugging vegetarian liberals like me.

Betsy and Duke's responses are pavlovian. They have learned how to avoid pain. If they had any ability to reason, they would throw off the harness, remove the cruel bit, unhook, turn around and stomp you into the soil of your organic farm.



Go back to the tractor and retire these beautiful, helpless, aged animals, please.

With Caroline's soil science and Daniel’s turf expertise I see a new avocation for the Swanseys – develop a method of turning horse manure back to hay, eEcologically sound and most certainly organic.

Seriously, approval by insensate Swansey acolytes simply encourages the perpetuation of animal abuse.

There are now four hundred thousand and one horse farms.

Sadly, Mencken was right.

Finally, a book by Jon Katz titled "Saving Simon" gives marvelous insight into animal care.

Jim Smick

Los Angeles