Current Enewsletter

Vol 15, Number 6, June 2025

Welcome to the Newsletter!

Dear Newsletter readers,

I always thought that if I got around to using live power on the farm, I’d work oxen. It seemed logical - growing up with dairy cattle, I’d been training them to do basic tasks for as long as I can remember. Beside that, my only exposure to the horse world was riding horses, and from my perspective, they seemed fragile, expensive, and much harder to feed and graze than cattle. So, I was shocked the first time I drove a single horse, shortly after arriving at Sterling College in VT. The mare’s willingness and responsiveness were thrilling, and there was a grace and ease to her movements that I have not seen in cattle. Later on, I learned to drive Ivy Pagliari’s (DAPNet board member and secretary) gorgeous team of shorthorn steers - I enjoyed it, but there’s something about the mental connection I could form with working horses that didn’t click in the same way with the steers.

Draft cattle are an incredibly practical option for many small farms and homesteads in the northeast: cheaper to get started with, easier to feed, but even so, I find myself with three draft horses and not a single ox in sight. I will train a team of oxen someday, I’m sure of it, but for now, I am content to work horses. I like how they move, how they respond to my requests and training, and the harnessing and equipment is intuitive. The amount of work they can accomplish in a day compared to just my two hands, especially in my market garden, is invaluable, and despite the dire warnings of horses colicing on green pasture, my herd does well with management intensive grazing. In this month’s newsletter, we are exploring the pros and cons of different live power sources. From where I sit, relatively green and new to draft power, the most important factors are what you like and what you can find, but there are practical advantages to each type of draft animal that can help you choose where to start. Folks with much more experience than I share their take on the subject below.

Sincerely,
Ben Retberg
Newsletter Coordinator

Draft Animal Power Field Days Sponsors

Our events committee is hard at work, fitting in planning meetings around busy logging, farming, and working schedules. We will release a working schedule and open registration in July. Meanwhile, a huge thank you to the businesses who have already stepped forward to sponsor this event.

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The Draft Animal Power Network offers an array of sponsorship options that both support this event and get your business name out there to the draft animal community or show your personal support for our flagship event. Choose the level of support that's best for you using the table below and arrange your sponsorship or vendor status via our website.

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Have you had a chance to listen to the Draft Animal Power Podcast? Last year, we have published six different episodes with interviews of people working with draft animals in the USA and Germany! Find us on any podcast listening platform and subscribe to be the first to know of a new episode!

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Oxen versus Horses

Why I farm with draft cattle.

Text and photos courtesy of Kevin Cunningham

I get the question all the time, “why do I use oxen rather than horses?” It is a great question so I figured I would tell you all about it. Honestly when I was considering draft animal power I just assumed it would be horses. I don’t think I could have even told you what an Ox was. I had read a couple of books about farming with draft horses and had started to dream about farming without a tractor. There is more written about draft horses and at least here in the US that is what is culturally “normal.” But that doesn’t mean they are the best beast of burden in all circumstances. I have come to understand that oxen are the most appropriate draft animal in our situation and I believe they can be a great alternative power source for many small scale farms and ranches.

Cattle are actually the most numerous draft animals on the planet. This includes oxen, mature castrated male bovines that are trained to work, and other classes of cattle as well like cows, and bulls. There are many places where horses simply can not live due to heat, feed resources, and parasites. But here in North America the horse, as well as the mule, are the predominant draft animals that we see. That wasn’t always the case though.

Oxen, and working cows made a lot of sense on the small American farm during the colonial period. Honestly most people couldn’t afford horses. Animals that were solely used for work were considered a luxury. Most people yoked up their cow as she could provide milk, meat, manure, materials, and muscle. Even oxen whose sole purpose was work were not as common. American Milking Devons are one cattle breed that is a remnant of the time when cows were more of a multi purpose animal.

I started working with oxen by accident. I had zero training in farming with draft animals when we bought our farm. I was trained in straight ahead tractor based organic vegetable production. I dreamed of not having to hear the noise and smell the diesel exhaust of a tractor, and I wanted something simpler and more sustainable. I found a book called Oxen: a Teamsters Guide, by Drew Conroy. This is just about the only book on oxen available, and it’s currently out of print. After reading that book I was curious about starting with oxen. One of the things that was appealing is that I could just start with calves. They were cheap, easily available and if my crazy new project didn’t work out I simply had well behaved beef. If I was to start with horses however, I would need to invest in an older trained team and honestly I didn’t have the resources to do that. At the time a team of draft horses was probably at least $2000 a piece and the cost of “drop” calves at the local dairy were around $20. The calves were also less intimidating. I got to work with them as they grew and my skills as a teamster also grew.

After I started to train my first set of calves I came to realize that I really like working with cattle. I have grown my interest and my herd since then. The other thing that happened was that they started to work. I still remember to this day the first time I yoked up my small team and tied them to a sled with a rock on it. I told them to step up and they pulled that little load with more intensity than I was expecting. It was exhilarating and I was hooked. Ever since then I have searched for new and exciting things for them to pull around the farm.

I quickly realized that unlike my tractor that was wearing down with time and use that the oxen got better the more I used them. I started designing our systems so that I could incorporate them in more of the farm chores everyday. Soon I was incorporating their muscle into our pasture based poultry production moving feed and temporary structures around the fields. This proved to be great work for them because they got a workout but I also had space to maneuver them so that I could practice driving them in tight spaces. We do pasture chores everyday and it is the backbone of their training program.

The big turning point was when I started to utilize them in the garden. When we began growing vegetables for the market seriously we had to make a decision, because my tractor was a bit too big for a small market garden. We either had to re-tool and get more appropriately sized machinery or I could take the plunge and start using draft power in the garden. I had been experimenting and had some success with certain garden tasks.

It took about 5 years to fully transition to oxen power in the garden and I had to completely rethink the way I was farming. I simply did not have the “horsepower” that a tractor does so I had to be smarter about how to best use the power I did have. That is when I gave up plowing and we transitioned to a permanent bed low till system. I have designed and built tools for this method that allow me to use the oxen to shape and maintain these beds.

I am pretty proud of the way we have developed our farm systems to incorporate the oxen. They are the most appropriate power source in our situation. They are easier to maintain than horses. They can fit into and do work in spaces that I could not reach with a tractor. And they are the backbone of our fertility program. Another reason I use oxen is that I prefer their manure for composting as opposed to horse manure. Because they are ruminants the material is more broken down and I feel that the compost is superior.

Horses could fit well into a farm system and I know plenty of great farmers who use them, not to mention the entire Amish community, but for me it is the humble ox that makes the farm work. They are safe and gentle. Yoking them is a lot easier than harnessing horses. They make great compost, and I enjoy their grounded demeanor. I love working with my oxen every day.

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Kevin Cunningham is an oxen farmer from Humboldt County, CA. He owns and operates Shakefork Community farm with his wife, Melanie, and son, Clyde. You can find his musings on live power and regenerative agriculture though his substack.

Kevin's Substack

Stubborn as a Mule?

By Abby Traywick

Gene England has been working with mules and horses for more than 70 years and is a wealth of knowledge for a newcomer like me. I met him three years ago and am excited every time I get to talk with him. This time we talked about mules and horses and the differences between the two. Gene grew up working mules on his family's farm in Georgia and began showing draft horses as a young adult. All told, he showed horses for about 10 years and showed and judged mules for 40. His barn is full of trophies and pictures, a testament to the impact he has had on draft power in the Southeast. Gene has worked mostly with horses and mules, but has experience with every draft animal under the sun.

*Gene judging a Belgian draft mule foal in 2001.*

Some of the basics: a team of horses, a pair of mules, and a yoke of oxen. Obvious differences are the weights; pure draft horses tend to be the heaviest. Horses are most often used for heavier jobs like logging, while mules work with lighter equipment. Oxen and mules pull with all four feet, while horses pull with just the back two.

Gene has done a lot of work with crosses, for mules and horses, with his ideal weight and height for a work animal being 700lb-1,000lb, around 15 hands. Smaller work animals allow for work in tighter places and easier harnessing. He has a childhood memory of trains coming back from the west where jacks were taken to breed with wild horses. The foals brought back were the famous cotton mules, used all over the south.

*Gene plowing a past team of Belgian draft mules vs his current team of horse mules that he let me take for a spin.*

Mules have been popular in the south for a few reasons. They can handle the heat better and longer than horses, and they were the perfect size for popular crops. Gene grew up working them in tight 3ft cotton and corn rows, where their smaller feet and tighter turns made them preferred. As for the heat, he referenced last year when one day they mowed for four hours with the mules and the next day, after two hours the horses required a break.

Horses require less training than mules. They are more trusting and tend to remain safer to work, even with new owners or beginners. Mules tend to think for themselves a little more and their donkey halves are less immediately trusting than their horse counterparts. This means mules require more training and just because they’ve been trained, doesn’t mean they won't test their new owners. Gene always says a mule will not do anything to inflict pain upon themselves. So if they don’t feel safe they won’t budge- probably where the saying came from.

Harnesses can differ as well. Gene often saw mules working without britchens, as they can be trained to keep their heads up to prevent the collars from sliding over when backing. Mules are almost always worked in a winged blinder and respond better to voice commands once a strong relationship is built.

*Gene with one of his Belgian hitch teams.*

I asked Gene for some advice to those just starting out on how to pick what style of draft power and these were some tips he suggested to think about.

Goals: Consider the jobs you want done- logging, garden work, space available and what equipment you have access to.
Climate: Mules tend to do better in the hotter climates than horses.
Feed: Horses tend to have more sensitive stomachs than mules and mules don’t overeat. The size of the animals can vary a lot depending on the breeding, so consider the initial cost and amount of feed required.
Training: How much time do you have to commit to their continued training? Mules can be a little more challenging for beginners.

Most importantly, see who is able to mentor you and learn from their experience. The saying may be ‘stubborn as a mule’, but my conversation with Gene showed me that mules can thrive as draft animals in particular circumstances.

Events

Have a draft animal related event you’d like share with the DAPNet community? Fill out our Events Submission Form and our volunteers will add your event to our website calendar!

Event Submission Form

For more details on the following events and others, visit our website.

July 4th-5th - Horse Progress Days, Clare, MI.
July 25th - 27th - Small Scale Haymaking. Tillers International, Scotts, MI. Total Price: $595
August 1st - 4th - Oxen Basics, Tillers International, Scotts, MI. Instructor: Rob Collins. Total Price: $500
August 21st - 22nd - Draft Horse Basics, Tillers International, Scotts, MI. Instructor: Rick Eshuis. Total Price: $410
August 23rd & 24th - Pferde Stark, Dörentrup, Germany.
September 19th-21st - Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, ME
October 3rd, 4th, & 5th - 2025 Draft Animal Power Field Days, Sanborn Mills Farm, Loudon, NH. Our organizations flagship event: https://www.draftanimalpower.org/dapfd-2025. More info coming soon!

More Events

Welcome to the DAPMap

This month we are looking at our Forestry and Logging Map!

Bear Bottom Farm - Diversified farm operation, home dairy cow, draft mule team, feeder pig production herd, draft powered crop production including sweet sorghum molasses and seed crop, multi powered hay production, small bandsaw mill. You can contact them here.

Earthbound Forestry Services- Earthbound Forestry Services focuses on low volume, high frequency harvest within the parameters of a silvicultural management plan. We focus on putting the ecological integrity of the forest first by using Horses special Draft capability within a harvest. The goal is to work with landowners so that they can understand how harvests provide long-term health and strength of the forests economic engine within a healthy and strong ecosystem.
Visit their website here.

Stubborn Mule Forestry Services- Full service forestry and logging service. Specializing in low impact timber management and logging in the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions of NY. You can contact them here.

Bass Brook Farm & Forest - Bass Brook Farm & Forest is a locally owned and operated small business working in the central Vermont region. We utilize a hybrid model of both draft horses and small machinery to provide a viable alternative to conventional land management practices. Our low impact tools and mindful approach allow us to accomplish results that are ecologically sensitive, promoting long-term sustainable outcomes. Check them out at their website.

Red Gate Farm, LLC- We are a horse-powered, sustainable permaculture farm, offering educational opportunities in Southern IL. We raise meat and produce, occasionally offering foods for sale, and practice forest-improvement through animal rotations and selective logging with horses. We offer a variety of tours, clinics, internships, and more. In addition, we are TIP trainers for BLM wild mustangs and burros, and frequently have horses available for adoption. Contact them here.

Join our Map

Committee Updates

Executive Committee
Summer is officially here and your Executive Committee is working on supporting the other committees during this busy time. We’re preparing registration information for Field Days, discussing edits for the website, and thinking about the 2026(!) budget. We’re also excited to introduce a few potential new board members in the coming months. We hope you can meet them at Field Days at Sanborn Mills!

Events and Field Days Committee
The 2025 Draft Animal Power Field Days planning is full steam ahead. In the next few weeks, we’ll have information for folks about Friday intensive classes - 2 new course offerings this year - as well as the schedule of workshops, discussions, and fun activities for Saturday and Sunday. We have a program for young people in the works as well as special pricing for youth attendees and their chaperones. So stay tuned. The countdown to Field Days at Sanborn Mills in Loudon NH October 3rd, 4th, and 5th has begun.

Finance and Fundraising Committee
The finance committee continues its work with the fundraising consultant we were able to work with through a capacity building grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. She has really spent time getting to know DAPNet and has made relevant and helpful suggestions as we work towards growing into the well oiled (ground driven) machine we always knew we could be.

Communications Committee
The Draft Animal Power Network has been accepted to have a booth at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. We’re super excited to get the word out about DAPNets work to all the folks (between 60,000-70,000 in recent years!) at Common Ground. We also have a website update in the works to make it easier to find and access DAPNet’s online content and to learn about and register for our in person events.