Farm Percussion (Study 10: 1939 Farmall International)

This video above premiers a first-attempt of tractor music for an inaugural event in Queensland, Australia.  These two instrumentalists and their '39 Farmall, aka "Mongrel" were preparing for "Tractor Tattoo 2012," a community arts and cultural project celebrating the transformation of an old tractor into a playable musical instrument in Kingaroy.

Here's a view of the festivities:

Video by Clive Lowe

Spring Work Out

J. Ann Brodland

Saturday Night's All Right

Gelding Team Win

Soon-To-Be-Mom, Dakota Haller, is All Smiles Competing 

in Ladies Team, Who Later Won the Class of 11.

Raedene Messenger competing in Ladies Cart

Brian Coleman, Head of the Wagon Train on the Rail.

Open Freestyle Driving - Docking Maneuver for Draft Horses

Draft horses and their hitch wagons, before the 20th century, were the means for delivery of goods and freight.  Teamsters were the persons driving horse teams with their wagons. In modern American English, truck drivers have been referred to as "teamsters" for years.

Maneuvering horses and wagons in close, heavily-traveled streets required that teamsters were skilled in loading and unloading the wagon in a timely fashion and with ease.  Not impeding traffic flow in the cities was of paramount importance.  The teamsters made sure their horses took up the least amount of space in the roadway, by "parking" more curbside while the load/unload occurred.

This photo above from the 1910's does not depict a large hitch, however you can see the slight

swing of the single horses, opening more room on the roadway, as well as the
swing to the right of the four at the bottom.

Modern day docking

The Lloydminster Colonial Days Fair Draft Horse Show in July offered a six-horse hitch class called the Open Freestyle Driving Competition.  Brian and Colleen Coleman competed the Thiel Percheron geldings in this class, and performed the docking maneuver in their repertoire.  We appreciate J Ann Brodland's photos to help describe this maneuver in detail.

The hitch arrives at its location curbside for delivery:

The horses and their positions:  leader team, swing team, 

and the wheelers which are the larger, stronger horses 

nearest to the wagon.

The horses work together with the teamster, backing and maneuvering the hitch wagon to the foot of the loading dock. The wheelers lean into their britchen, the strap you see that runs under their tail across their lower rump, allowing support to power the movement of the heavy wagon backward.  The swing and lead teams follow the backward movement, adding little horsepower to the effort.

The wagon would be loaded/unloaded while the 

horses waited patiently curbside.

The delivery is over, it's time to go, and the teamster wants to return in the direction they came from.  The leaders now have the job in pointing the hitch in the direction they need to go.  They swing out as the swing team and wheel team fall into place behind them.

This photo below captures the job of each hitch horse.  The leaders work together redirecting the hitch and have the most ground to cover.  The horse in the right swing position (teamster's right) has slightly more ground to cover in the maneuver than the left swing horse who simply steps to the side, following the leaders. The job of the wheelers is two-fold:  the right wheeler side steps in the new direction, but is somewhat anchored (as in no movement forward) keeping the wagon still, while the left wheeler is busy moving sideways with the team, turning the wheel of the wagon.

The wheelers are last to fall into position curbside to 
move the wagon away in the new direction from 
the loading dock and onward to their next destination.

We are so proud of these horses working so well together this year, and are very pleased they won at Lloydminster in 2014.

Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland, in color

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Dog Days of Summer - Team Eaglesfield Chills Out

"The Shire Oath" a la Eaglesfield

Our Sworn Mission:  

Locate Any Weak Spot in the Fence, 

Find Any Open Gate,

and To Boldly Go Where No Shire has Gone Before. . . .

"Yep, Look at them Go!"

Does the Summertime Mosquito Make You Batty?

Click Above for The Draft Horse Journal's Article by
Photojournalist J. Ann Brodland on Bats and Why We Like Them!

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٠•● An Eaglesfield Public Service Announcement ●•٠

10 Facts About Mosquitoes

by Debbie Hadley

1.  Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on earth.  More deaths are associated with this pest than any other animal on the planet.  Mosquitoes may carry any number of deadly diseases (malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis -- they also carry heartworm, which is lethal to man's best friend.)

2.  Only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals; males feed on flower nectar.  The females need protein for their eggs and must take a blood meal in order to reproduce.

3.  Some mosquitoes do not bite humans, preferring other hosts, such as amphibians or birds.

4.  Mosquitoes fly at speeds between 1 and 1.5 mph.

5.  A mosquito's wings beat 300-600 times per second.

6.  Mosquito mates synchronize their wing beats.

7.  Salt marsh mosquitoes may travel up to 100 miles from their larval breeding habitat.  

8.  All mosquitoes require water to breed, including rain puddles.  A few inches of water is all it takes!  

9.  An adult mosquito may live 5-6 months -- a long life expectancy, as bugs go.  [We give you permission to slap away!]

10.  Mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide from 75 feet away.  Humans and other animals produce CO2 in the air -- thus ringing the dinner bell so to speak.  Once a female senses CO2 in the air, she'll fly back and forth through the CO2 plume until she locates her victim.

Tandem Driving Drafts

Tandem Winner at Vermilion Ag Society Heavy Horse Show 2014

Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland

Harnessing one horse in front of the other, rather than the traditional "horses side-by-side" is called a tandem hitch.  This set up dates back as far as the 12th century, but became popular in the 1800's in England.  The larger, heavier horse is harnessed into the wheel or rear position, and the lighter of the two is harnessed ahead in the lead position.  The leader must be reliable since this horse is more than 9 feet ahead of the driver, with blinkers, and can only see straight ahead.

Over time, carriage builders developed a special tandem cart, usually one axle with two bench seats set back-to-back for the grooms -- the driver's seat slightly elevated.  The room at the rear of the tandem cart is called a boot, which allows for hunting dogs and riding tack.  This mode of transportation in the 1800's was popular with hunt participants.  In order to avoid exhausting their horses, they would adopt the tandem hitch style. Once the parties had arrived for the hunt, the still-energetic leader would be saddled up and ridden, while the groomsman would drive the vehicle back home.

Eaglesfield's Kicking Up Dust and Heading Out

Eaglesfield is helping celebrate the Vermilion Agricultural Society's 

108th Annual Vermilion Fair Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

"From Wagon Wheels to Ferris Wheels" is the 2014 Theme.

We are so excited to be competing in the 

Heavy Horse competition.  Here's the line up:

                                          Thursday, July 24   6:30 pm  Heavy Horse Classes

                                          Friday, July 25       8:00 am  Heavy Horse Halter Classes

                                                                       3:00 pm  Heavy Horse Hitches (Grandstand)

                                          Saturday, July 26   8:00 am  Heavy Horse Halter Classes

                                                                       3:00 pm  Heavy Horse Hitches (Grandstand)

If you are attending the fair, please stop by for a visit with us and the horses!

Echos of a Show Season

Which horse and which hoof will it wear?

In which class will it be churning the soil?

Will it take that hoof for a win?

Collecting dust will be short-lived

as this shoe will soon be wearing another horse.

Prose & Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland

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Gentle Giant Moose on the Loose

A beautiful day in Alberta's playground.

Generally solitary, the moose has its strongest bond between mother and calf. 

They stand 1.4 - 2.1 m (4.6-6.9 ft) tall at the shoulder.  (Those of you who have visited the hitch horses know that they generally measure in at 6 ft. at the wither.)  The record holder for moose height was a bull in 1897 that weighed in at 1800 lbs and was 2.33 m (7.6 ft) high at the shoulder.

Female moose (cows) have an eight-month gestation period, usually bearing one calf  

or twins, if food is plentiful, in May or June.

Her young will stay with her until just before the next young are born.  

Mating occurs in September and October.  

Cows will generally run off the calves when they are approximately 10-12 months of age.  

Some yearlings regroup with the family several weeks after birth and 

remain with the cow for up to two years of age.

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Here's a little ditty about a Very Handsome Moose

by Brent Holmes

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Ricki has no qualms about the size of her youth showmanship gelding, Champ.  

She has an adorable combination of determination and cuteness, 

and has a great coach in Brian Coleman.
Eaglesfield Percherons hosts youth training in showing draft horses in Didsbury, Alberta.

"I think I can, I think I can, I know I can!"

Future female draft horse handler / driver in the making!

Champ warms the hearts of all who observe him taking care of his pint-sized handler . . .

. . . since his handler weighs about as much as his four shoes!

Sweet Percherons -- that is why we love them so.

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We are so proud of the youth that represented us at our first three shows:
Congratulations to

Jack Thiel, Ricki Thiel, Rein Roy and Taylor Coleman.

Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland

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North American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series - Lloydminster Exhibition Colonial Days Fair 2014 Winner

All the boys were on their game Friday night in Lloydminster.

Colleen's mom even enjoyed the ease of getting on the wagon and the
opportunity to catch a ride back to the barn with Brian and Jack, offered by Brian Thiel.

We were certainly glad the weather turned about very early Thursday morning 

and we were able to enjoy the final class at Lloydminster's Colonial Days.
It was a wonderful show and we were so happy to be a part of it.

Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland

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Prize Winning Ladies Cart With Pride!

Randi Thiel & Pride

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Central Alberta Draft Horse Classic 2014

Olds, Alberta

Rockin With The Rhythm Of The Rain ~ North American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series Winner - Olds

And Pride sez "Pfft!" to it all, moving forward as he does best.

Thank you for a great show!
North American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series Winner

Central Alberta Draft Horse Classic 2014

Olds, Alberta

Photo Credit:  J. Ann Brodland

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So let the breeze keep on blowin'
Oh my heart will never be the same. . .

Grand Champion Percheron Mare - Central Alberta Draft Horse Classic 2014

Nick's Repeat Offender

Owned by David Bailey

Bred by Heidi Carlson + Kerry Troutman

Presented by Eaglesfield Percherons