Field Days
Friday Intensives
This year’s Draft Animal Power Field Days takes place at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon, N.H. Free Camping is available to participants all 3 days (no hookups available) and lunch and dinner is included in the price of registration.
This year we are again offering Oxen Basics, Draft Horse Basics, Farming, and Forestry with the addition of two new intensives: Large Animal Rescue and Building an Ox Cart/Logging Arch.
All intensives encourage hands-on experience and offer opportunities to have “hands on the lines” (except Large Animal Emergency Rescue; you will not drive in that workshop). Definitely consider the Beginner workshops if you are curious about working with draft animals but have never had the opportunity to learn to drive.
OXEN BASICS & BEGINNING TEAMSTER TRAINING (hands-on)
Spend the day learning about draft cattle with instructors Ivy Pagliari, Ray Ramsey, Ariana Auger, and of course, the oxen. We’ll focus on hands-on activities that strengthen relationships between humans and cattle, improve communication skills, and explore bovine psychology and training. Then we’ll spend time yoking and driving teams and single animals in all stages of development - from calves, to handy steers, to adult oxen - and hitching them to simple implements using a pole or a chain. There will be time to talk about choosing animals to work with and basic care and maintenance of the mighty ox. And we’ll top it all off with demonstrations of some basic yoke and harness construction techniques. If you’re getting started working with bovines, or if you just want to know more about draft cattle, come and see why, for 5000 years of human history, oxen have never gone out of style.
FORESTRY INTENSIVE (optional hands-on)
John Smolinsky, Coordinator
Join our team of live power loggers (Daphne Rose Courtes, Derek O'Toole, Tyler Allen, and John Smolinsky) for a day in the woods focusing on methods for home woodlot management and small contracts. We will cover chainsaw safety, tree selection, felling, limbing, lineless single horse twitching, skidding with one or two animals, scoot loading, and forwarding logs. Our goal is to keep this workshop on the ground and out of the spreadsheets, but we can do a little number crunching if there is a demand. For folks who have a solid foundation driving horses or oxen, there will be time for hands on safe skidding training. This is a great opportunity to learn from professionals in Sanborn’s woodlot, which has been managed with animal power for several decades.
Build an Ox Cart in a Day (hands-on)
This fun intensive will build a steel ox cart in one day. Donn Hewes and Bill West have built many carts of original design and enjoy teaching these skills. With safety in mind, we will get to see and try cutting steel and then grinding and welding to make parts for the cart. Designed to be useful for both farming and logging; the cart is both simple and rugged. Come prepared to get dirty and begin to learn some of the skills needed to build your own farm tools. After final assembly and crafting a tongue from a log; we will test out our new cart with a team of oxen before selling it at auction on Saturday night!
DRAFT HORSE BASICS & BEGINNING TEAMSTER TRAINING (hands-on)
Dave Gibaldi, Coordinator
Participants will get a full day hands-on experience learning basic care, harnessing, and driving of equines. The morning will focus on basic equine care, harness parts and types, how to harness and ground driving. The afternoon will include more practice harnessing and how to hook/unhook and drive a variety of vehicles, as well as the possibility to try some more technical driving environments, like a basic obstacle course. All topics covered will emphasize safety. Our instructors this year will include a farrier, trainer, equine body work specialist and lifelong teamsters. All ages from youth to adult are encouraged to sign up. Any youth under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
FARMING INTENSIVE (hands-on)
Presenters include David Fisher, Tim Biello, Tianna Kennedy, Sam Locke, and Michael & Karma Glos
This hands-on workshop is designed for all skill levels and garden sizes, from backyard plots to full-scale CSAs. We’ll cover soil preparation, plowing, manure spreading, secondary tillage, bed forming, transplanting, cultivating, and harvesting, all with horses or oxen.
Teamsters will demonstrate working with both single animals and teams, emphasizing safe practices and effective use of tools. You’ll also learn about efficient wash-pack setups, storage, marketing, and more with plenty of time for questions and observation throughout the day.
Bring gloves and work shoes, we’ll be in the dirt with great animals and experienced teamsters.
Introduction to Large Animal Emergency Rescue
Presenter: Vicki Schmidt, Maine State Fire Instructor III and owner of Troika Drafts, Hebron ME
Accidents Happen! This day-long Introduction to Large Animal Emergency Rescue is designed for horse/oxen owners, farm owners, agricultural officials, and first responders. The workshop includes a combination of lecture, demonstrations, and light-duty hands on participation. Handouts are also included as additional take-home resources. Issues covered include:
- Skills on training and preparing your large animals, especially horses, to be handled in an emergency.
- Understand how to reduce emergency environment stress & trauma to your animals.
- What equipment and training are available for your farm and local responders?
- Understand how large animals may respond in various situations.
- Learn what to expect from and how to work with emergency responders that arrive on scene.
- Risk reduction and disaster preparedness actions and activities for your farm and livestock.