It doesn’t make much sense for two sixty-somethings to adopt a team of two young draft horses. But that’s what we did in the summer of 2022. This post is a bit of the beginning part of the story . And the start of an explanation of how something that sounds so crazy can feel so right.
I heard from a farmer contact I had, “Bill” in SE Ohio, that he knew of a team of Belgian geldings that were broke to just about everything and were up for sale. Amish trained for their first several years they’d spent the last year with the seller’s cousin who now had to sell for health reasons. Bills wife sent a few grainy pictures and some even grainier videos. I knew Bill was a horse trader but he seemed genuine. So I took a chance and got on a plane to Columbus then drove down to Athens so I would be closer to the seller in Coolville, Ohio. Turns out I arrived on the first day of the annual craft beer festival in Athens which is home to the University of Ohio. I took this as a good omen for things to come.
Next day when the seller told me that the horses weren’t at his place but that we’d have to go over to a farm where they are having their shoes reset I have to admit to a little skepticism as to where things were going. But the trip to New Haven, West Virginia turned out to be a good one.
I first met John and Jim as they were in harness in a tie stall waiting for Dennis and his brother, a pair of Amish guys, who were loading the manure spreader inside a dark narrow barn. I watched Dennis run out a load. He then had the boys back up the spreader into a very narrow and long barn alley to load the spreader a second time. Very impressive. After that we hitched them up to the wagon for a ride down the road, kids included. The boys did great, trotting most of the way. Being passed by cars going both ways on a skinny little road. Traffic safe.
After we drove the boys they got hosed down to wash off the sweat and we loaded them into the trailer to take back to Bill’s place. We had a general conversation and I indicated my general interest. After lunch we harnessed them up and I did a little ground driving with them. They seemed very well behaved.
Next day I made an offer. A few hours later we had a tentative deal. I arranged for a pre-purchase vet exam on the following day. It was only a brief exam but the boys seemed healthy. So just like that, the deal was done! I made arrangements for a reputable horse transporter to pick them up the next week and deliver them to Oregon for a month training (for them and us) with Walt Bernard. That afternoon got back on the plane back to Seattle. On the trip home I had plenty of time to wonder what had just happened. Even so I did not fully understand how thoroughly my life was about to change.
