Horse Drawn

We attended the annual Draft horse, Mule and Pony Field Days and Antique Tractor Show in Adams county, Ohio this last weekend. We saw and spoke to dozens of draft animal enthusiasts and operators, with multiple breeds and various pieces of drafting and plowing equipment on display. About mid-morning a young man (about 17) came to the 2-acre field at the center of the displays and cut the first furrow. It was amazing to watch the two Suffolk Punch mares effortlessly pull the plow and cut the sod, while the driver attempted to cut it as straight and true as possible. It was explained to me by one of the more seasoned gentlemen there that the first furrow was the most important, because it establishes the path for all future furrows. You see, on the front of the plow is a guide wheel that runs in the previous furrow to make each furrow parallel to the last. Realizing how important the first one can be I asked our fine gentlemen how the driver ensures the first furrow is as straight as possible. He chuckled and said, “it’s easy you just fix your eye on a fence post a drive the horses to it.” That sounded easy enough but not 30 minutes later an old experienced driver cutting an additional first furrow about 50 feet to the left of the first had to stop is horse’s midfield because he had lost his post. You see he was going straight and felt his plow pull a bit and looked down to check his equipment for only a second and when he looked back up, he didn’t know which post was his. While waiting for someone to come out and save him, it reminded me of dozens of proverbs about keeping you eye on the mark.

Many of these proverbs exist in military life or actions, whether its stay in your lane or as they say on the firing range watch your lane. All of them encourage you to focus on the task before. They also stress the need to prepare before a task so once on it you can see it through to the best possible outcome. We should all try to do so, so we to can cut the straightest furrow in our lives as possible.

We are trying to live these proverbs now as we engage in fall planting, and planning for next year. We also hope to start training on draft horses with some local experts that sent us to the field days event in the first place. We will keep you up to date as things advance. May you enjoy the gifts and beauty of this season. Deven Little