Horse Progress Days
The 15th Annual Horse Progress Days
Mt. Hope, Ohio • July 4th & 5th • 2008
2008 Horse Progress Days Schedule
(Tentative)
- Spreaders, Plows & Tillage 9:00 to 11:00
- Produce 11:00 to 12:00
- Haymaking 1:00 to 3:00
- Logging Demonstrations All Day
- Breed Presentation 6:00 to 8:00 Friday, 5:00 to 7:00 Saturday
Along with the activities listed above, there will be many other things to do throughout the day. There will be seminars on topics such as pasture management, collar and harness fitting, horse health, grazing and other opportunities for you to learn from the experts. Hear Lynn Miller of Small Farmers Journal speak on Why horse farming?. Take in a round pen training or sheep herding demonstration. Try your hand at the Hands On Driving School. For the kids, there will be a children's area with playground equipment, wagon rides and many fun things. To learn more about these, scroll through the articles below. There will truly be something for everyone at the 2008 Horse Progress Days. Please check for scheduling update upon your arrival to Horse Progress Days
Lynn Miller Lightning Rod Keynote speaker and seminar presenter Horse Progress Days 2008 Mount Hope, Ohio
By Dale K. Stoltzfus
Horse Progress Days participants know him mostly as one of the announcers from the auctioneers truck in the fields wherever the event is held. When they wander through the vendor areas they will usually find his booth displaying numerous titles of attractive, informative, and educational publications about farming with horses, mules, or oxen; several of which he has authored. But this energetic Draft Horse information hound is much better known at home on the west coast than in the east.
Lynn was born in Kansas City. He grew up in sunny southern California. He was raised a city boy with no farming background at all. He has a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from San Francisco Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Oregon. His art is collected by private collectors in the US and Canada. These are not the ingredients any of us would have chosen to put together for incubation of enthusiastic and tireless Draft powered farming practices to be hatched here in the 21st century, but there's no denying it; there it is! Lynn became interested in heavy horses sometime during his high school years. Pictures of the brewery horses and horses at work captured his attention and imagination. The seed was planted in fertile soil resulting in a flourishing enterprise. This man attracts and dispatches information like a lightning rod attracts and dispatches lightning. Lightning, were told, fixes nitrogen in the soil, thereby improving fertility. Our man Lynn has a similar effect on the Draft Industry as he collects and dispenses.
Not having been born into the Heavy Horse industry, Lynn, as a youngster, never considered he could be a part of it; could never learn about it. But in 1971 when he was 25 years old he purchased his first team. He bought them from Bob Green of La Grande OR, a man well known in the west for his hitch teams. Bob showed horses at county and state fairs and participated in plowing matches and parades, etc. A few years later Lynn bought his first farm in Junction City OR. At the time he couldn't afford a tractor, but he already had one pair of horses and he could afford the second pair, so he bought them. Now he had four Belgian Draft Horses, 14 acres of organic market garden, and the rest of the farm for hay and grazing. Some years later he sold his first farm when he bought another one near Reedsport OR where he lived until 1988. That was the year he sold his farm on the Oregon coast and moved east of the Cascade mountains to the farm he now owns in Sisters, OR. The current spread is 2100 acres, of which 135 is tillable. The tillable land is farmed with horses since Lynn never looked back after starting out with those first two teams. He never felt the need for a tractor. The balance of the land on the present place is for grazing and growing timber. There are 7 teams of work horses maintained at the ranch with a total of 27 head, all told. There is also a cow/calf herd that varies in number, but can be as high as 250 pairs (mamas and babies).
Lynn, of course, is also the driving force behind The Small Farmers Journal, a magazine many in the industry have come to know and depend upon. He was 29 years old when he started this project. The year was 1976. Today the magazine is shipped to every state and province in North America as well as 71 other countries. It is published quarterly and always offers many educational and interesting articles from many different places and people. He calls the magazine a labor of love. It can be found at his booth in the vendor area at Horse Progress Days 2008.
In 1979 Lynn and his helpers started a public auction for Draft Animals and equipment. It has been held every year since. It is a three day non-stop bonanza of Draft activity. There are usually about 70 select head of horses sold. There is a continuous auction with at least three auctioneers going at once, selling 30-50 mowers, at least 200 carriages, all sorts of plows and tillage equipment, harness, and all sorts of Draft related paraphernalia. All this takes place in a circus-like atmosphere with tents and bleachers full of buyers and speculators. And then there is the swap meet with about 100 vendors. The size of the crowd varies based on the weather and can be anywhere from 4000-8000 souls. Buyers come from all over. For the last two years Lester Roundtree has come all the way from New Zealand to fill up several shipping containers for shipment to his home. The record for a reproduction Stage Coach (Latham) was set at this sale. The owner of the Peppermill Restaurant chain paid $57,000 for the privilege of owning it. Records for restored International #9 mowers have been established here as well. The highest price was $2700, the second high $2100 for a mower Lynn restored. There have also been consignments of new equipment from Pioneer Manufacturing of Ohio and I&J of PA. The event is planned to be educational. All horses are vetted for soundness and health before sold. Teamsters evaluate the training levels of each animal offered for sale. Participants in the 2008 Horse Progress Days at Mount Hope Ohio are fortunate to have Lynn Miller as keynote speaker. This is no new assignment. He has, over the years, spoken to crowds in such places as Tunbridge Vermont's NE Animal Powered Fair,California Farm Conference, Cornell University, Canadian Farm Conference Winnipeg, three times at Eco Farm Conference Monterey CA, and also at the Land Stewardship Conference in Fort Collins CO. In 1980 Lynn wrote Work Horse Handbook. It has sold nearly 200,000 copies between the first and second editions. He has authored twelve different books and there are presently 4 new ones pending.
At the 2008 Horse Progress Days in Mount Hope Lynn will be talking about the practicality of horse farming in today's world. His will be the voice of experience.
So how does our lighting rod of the west manage to accomplish all these things? I don't know, you may want to ask him if you ever get the chance. One thing is certain; there is no rest for the ones God blessed, especially the ones He blest best of all.
Alvin Yoder; Caretaker of the original Beginners Horsemanship School
Eli J.C. Yoder; a name long known in Draft Horse circles in Ohio and far beyond is no longer with us. He made many contributions to the industry over the years. One of the most important was instituting a school for people interested in learning to work with Draft Horses. He loved meeting people and helping them to learn.
Someone had to carry on the work. Who better than someone who worked with him?
Alvin Yoder will be providing some well broke horses to the 2008 Horse Progress Days at Mount Hope for hands on driving and he will be conducting some seminars. Alvin and his horses will be available for those who wish to try their hands at driving. The idea will be to offer a team and single horse for people who may be thinking about getting involved with Draft Horses, or simply want to see if they can drive. This activity will actually be an extension of the Beginners Horsemanship School that Alvin and his wife are presently offering at their farm.
Alvin worked with Eli JC for two years before he took over the schools and has run the operation for two whole years, 2008 being his third. He grew up on a farm and was a dairy farmer for 23 years.
Pupils of Beginners Horsemanship Schools learn from the ground up. Things like properly measuring a horse for a collar, proper harnessing and adjustment of the harness, handling the lines, and driving singles and teams. Mrs. Yoder prepares the noon meal which is included in the cost of the schools. Every school includes hitching a two year old horse for the first time to give students some idea of how to start a green horse. Also included are trips to neighboring Amish horse powered farms where students can drive in the fields, pulling whatever implement is in season at the time. Most of the basic learning takes place at the Yoder farm in the mornings while afternoons are spent visiting places of interest in the community. Alvin's farm was one to which Eli JC brought students in the old days.
There are usually horses for sale at the Alvin Yoder farm; sometimes geldings, sometimes mares. Teams have been sold to places as far away as Texas and California. Alvin is always on the lookout for good teams,a bit on the smaller side. At the Yoder farm horses are also trained for other people. The Yoder farm is located at 5232 State Route 515 Millersburg, Ohio. The phone number is 330-893-2562.
Collar and Harness Fitting Seminar Presenter Raymond Raber
Owner and operator of Walter Hill Harness Baltic, Ohio
Heavy work done by Draft Horses wearing harnesses and collars requires a good fit. Why? In order to be able to do the heavy work beginning in the spring of the year and ending in the fall it is very important that work horses do not develop sores. Like anything else on the farm or in business, it takes just a little bit of extra management, planning, and investment to keep these miserable sores from developing on your horses. The proper fit of collars and harness becomes most important as well as having horses properly conditioned.
Raymond Raber and his wife Clara operate a 25 acre farm which they farm with Percheron horses. They also breed and raise Percherons and run a harness shop. In the shop Raymond makes bio harness for neighboring and distant customers. He ships his harness to customers as far away as the western United States and South America. He has been operating his harness shop for 7 years, but has a lifetime of experience harnessing and working behind Draft Horses.
At Horse Progress Days 2008 in Mt. Hope, Ohio, Raymond will be talking about the proper fit of a collar and harness. This seminar has been offered every year there have been seminars at the event. This is the practical side of working horses and is always very important. With his wealth of knowledge and experience in this area, Raymond is sure to be able to provide seminar participants some useful hints to make working with horses more rewarding.
Logging Activities
The 2008 Horse Progress Days will probably have one of the very best logging displays we have ever had at Horse Progress Days. Demonstrations will being going on throughout the day. From cutting trees, to skidding logs, to sawing, this display is sure to have something for everyone.You can see demonstrations of horse logging carts, sawing with a Woodmizer saw mill and even watch a carpenter construct a pegged barn. Charm Engine will have a display of Stihl chain saws and Forest Manufacturing of Pennsylvania will have an extensive display of horse drawn logging equipment.
You will see:
- Band Sawmill
- Circular Sawmill (Powered by a steam engine)
- Timber Cutting
- Log Skidding
- Tree Removal
- Timber Carving
- Fur Trappers Assoc.
- A Skidding Obstacle Course
- Timber Framing
For more information contact: Henry V. Raber 5079 CR. 59, Baltic, Ohio 43804 Or call V.M. 330-897-2504
Horse Progress Days welcomes Dr. Scott Hancock D.V.M. Sautte, GA Seminar presenter and teacher speaking about common equine health issues such as; Muscle Disorders, Foot Problems, Colic Prevention and Canker in Draft Horses
By Dale K. Stoltzfus
A conversation with Dr. Hancock could quickly put one in mind of James Herriot, the famous veterinarian of Yorkshire, England. The stories and humor of equine practice mixed with the serious everyday problems of equine care are a mixture sure to capture the interest of any horseman or woman. Our seminar presenter and lecturer comes to us with a wealth of experience and a willingness to share it.
Dr. Hancock practiced in Ohio for three years before moving to Georgia to establish a practice there. In that short period of time he made friends with folk in the local community. Theirs is not an ordinary friendship, but one that supersedes ordinary constraints of time and distance. Just this past year, five farmers, their wives, and some of their children boarded the train to make the trip from Ohio to Georgia; all for the purpose of building a new horse barn for the good doctor. There was a barn raising and 600 people showed up to help. The barn was up in one day! He says his friends in Ohio where he began his practice encouraged him and forgave his shortcomings. He is very grateful.
Dr. Hancock describes himself as a general equine vet with an above average interest in horses. He also describes himself as a frustrated farmer. His attempts at farming include keeping a few milk cows and farming 10 of the 16 acres he owns on his farm in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of Northern Georgia. On the evening in November when he took the call to be interviewed for this article, he had just come in from planting a cover crop of clover and rye in preparation for spring plowing. He keeps several Draft horses on the farm, presently using a good steady team of Percheron geldings he bought at the Mount Hope Auction and some used Pioneer equipment he picked up at the Mount Hope Sale. This fall he bought a plastic mulching machine to use for growing produce next year.
Some of Dr. Hancock's work with horses has been on the cutting edge, (although he describes himself as possibly a pirate having stolen some of his cutting edge science from kinder and smarter veterinarians who were willing to share it) some of his work has been somewhat ordinary, and some falls somewhere in between. He has spent some years in embryo transplant work in his practice in Georgia. One of the things he discovered from working in the field of embryo transplant is that foals born to recipient Belgian mares from light horse transplants have yielded some outstanding results for customers in the show ring. Some of this embryo work has been with Egyptian Arab mares he describes as to mean for kids and too little for adults. He has discovered that big Draft mares seem to pass on some of their docile nature to the Arab foals they carry in their oversize baby ovens for eleven months; the babies seem to absorb some of the good nature of their recipient mothers. Not only are they favorably influenced in temperament, they also seem to be bigger in size when they are born. While results seem to indicate this larger size does not necessarily follow them to adulthood, it is an advantage in the show ring while they are on their way to maturity. One of the reasons Dr. Hancock wants to talk about colic in his seminar is because of some of the work in his practice in the past that has fallen between ordinary and cutting edge. Like the beloved Dr. Herriot of Yorkshire he has seen some head shaking home remedies tried in the treatment of this age old malady called colic in horses. Would you believe; onions up the rear end and mustard on the back? He has some more effective treatments he wants to talk about and more importantly, plans for prevention.
Dr. Hancock's work with horses has taken him to many parts of the world including; Russia, the Middle East, Europe, and Romania. He has lectured in a lot of places. He describes himself as possibly overrated, but full of enthusiasm. It is the enthusiasm, he believes, that his audiences find engaging and stimulating. His experience comes from an approach to his work that is made up of a lot of hard effort and common sense. He says he has made enough mistakes to learn and it is from this seasoned perspective that he will be coming to share with audiences at Horse Progress Days.
Presently Dr. Hancock is involved in a research project with over 300 head of Draft Horses. His most rewarding work he says is with an organization called Christian Veterinary Missions. This organization sends practitioners into third world areas to share the love of Christ to folks who could otherwise not afford them. He has been to the country of Romania many times to work with the peasant farmers there and try to improve their lot and the lot of their livestock. These trips and experiences he treasures.
Participants in the seminars Dr. Hancock offers at Horse Progress Days in Mount Hope Ohio in the summer of 2008 will not be disappointed.
The Advent of Intensive Grazing Dairying.
Presenter Jerry D. Miller
One of the most important trends in this areas agriculture has been the advent of intensive grazing dairying. This has been the main factor in bringing back many young people to the farm. Low input, management intensive, stripped down to the basics of cows and grass, this has become the means to many profitable dairies.
Bringing us the Intensive Grazing Seminar is Jerry D. Miller. Jerry and his wife, Gloria, and their seven children-aged 15 years to 9-month old twins, from the farm of Gloria's parents, 2-1/2 miles east of Berlin, here in Holmes County, are the fourth generation on this farm.
Jerry is a relative newcomer to farming, five years, coming from an eighteen year career in plumbing, having been one third owner of Trail Plumbing. Their farm is a seasonal dairy, all fifty cows being dried off during February, freshening in March and April. The cows are milked in a swing parlor and kept on a bedded pack in the winter. The farm has a total of 180 acres, with about forty-five acres of woodland.
Jerry is on the Board of the Northeast Ohio Dairy Grazing Conference, and was the originator of the very popular Family Farm Field Days, held on area farms the last 3 years, with last years attendance being 3,000 people. Jerry's enthusiasm is contagious.
Horse Pasture Management
Presenter John Daniel Schlabach
The hardest animals on pasture are our beloved horses. Because of their habits of overgrazing one section of pasture, while ignoring other sections, leading to the proliferation of unpalatable weeds, horses present many grazing challenges.
Presenting some answers to the these problems will be John Daniel Schlabach, from the south of Orrville in Wayne County, John Daniel and his wife, Susan, retired from active farming in 2005. In 1987, they were among the first intensive graziers. Usually milking around fifty cows, most spring freshening, they also raised most of their own feed. John Daniel was a Percheron horse breeder, using them for their field work. One of their fourteen children is currently the fourth generation farmer on this farm.
John Daniel is well known as a very knowledgeable seed dealer, for Barenbrug and DLF Grass Seeds. He is also the local representative for Organic Valley.
Doc Hammill on Training Horses
Doc is no newcomer to Horse Progress Days, having held round pen training demonstrations at several HPD events over the past number of years. He always draws a crowd and makes many new friends among the horses and people he comes in contact with. His Montana mountain homestead is located near Glacier National Park, a place of wilderness beauty and, as he found out in August of 2007, also a place of danger.
It was on August 2, the middle of a busy summer, when the Skyland Fire paid a visit to the ranch. No horses or human lives were lost, but the barn and a cabin were destroyed. In spite of the fact that the ranch is located 15 miles (45 minutes over unpaved roads), from town, no phone lines come this far, the firefighters did show up to try and save the buildings. Doc is very grateful for all the expressions of concern, offers for help, and gifts of money he received as a result of the havoc the fire reeked on his homestead.
For 50 years a practicing veterinarian and always a horseman, Doc is now occupied with helping others learn how to train and work with Draft Horses. The horses he uses on the ranch are Suffolk and Clydesdale. They are a part of the family. Like his personality, his approach to the horses and people he works with is a gentle one. One gets the impression when talking with Doc and listening to him speak that this is a man with a very high level of respect for animals and people.
Docs seminars at the 2008 Horse Progress Days will be offered in the morning, at mid-day, and in the afternoon. Be prepared to interact with this gentle horseman from the great state of Montana.
Sheep Herding at Horse Progress Days?
Wayne Miller of Fredericksburg, Ohio has a hobby. His hobby is Border Collies and sheep. This is a good combination since Border Collies like to herd and sheep need to be herded. This hobby goes way back to when he and his identical twin brother Willis were taken by their grandfather to sheep dog trials. They were 10 or 11 years old at the time. As is so often the case, being exposed to this kind of activity at this young age led to a lifelong interest.
The ewes on Wayne Millers farm are called Poly-Pays. The Poly-Pays bloodlines are made up of a four-way cross. These ewes are then crossed once again, this time with old style Dorset rams. 40-60 ewes are kept on the Miller farm. Every spring a new crop of hope is born in the form of lovely little lambs.
The Border Collies are a very important part of the hobby. Several are kept around all the time. There is often an outside intern or two around as well. Wayne says he wouldn't want to do the chores around the farm without the help of his sheep dogs. Even though they are just a hobby, they are a very important part of the daily routine. At home his dogs will load sheep onto a livestock trailer sitting in the middle of the driveway.
Be sure to look on the schedule handed out at the gate at Horse Progress Days 2008 in Mt. Hope, Ohio to find out when and where the sheep herding demonstrations will take place. You wont want to miss the impressive relationship witnessed here between a man and his dogs. Wayne Miller is the owner of Salt Creek Turnings, a wood turning operation that supplies wood turnings to other manufacturers for a variety of uses.
