Ode to the Fire Horse

The era of the fire horse spanned from the end of the Civil War until 1915-1920.   There were the lightweights (1400 lb) used for the steamers, and the large (1700+ lb) used for the hook and ladders and other heavy equipment.

The first horse-drawn fire apparatus in Nevada was manufactured for the
newly created Virginia Paid Fire Department in 1877 by 

H.M. Black & Co. of San Francisco consisting of two one-horse hoses.

Fire stations during this time were located approximately two miles apart -- or six minutes away in response time.

Horse Drawn Hose Cart (1871)



Fire horses were well loved in the neighborhood.  Children would bring treats of apples and sugar cubes on the weekend, and they could ride in the exercise wagon with a fireman.

There was extensive training in sound and hitching.  The ringing of the bells/gongs alerting to the fire, and the horse's rapid response in getting ready for the "quick hitch" methods.  They were trained to stand in their stalls - not tied, with a folding door that opened mechanically by a man who rang out the alarm.  Each horse would go directly to their place to be hitched.

Station 16 Crew, Portland (1915)

The halter for each horse was a combo bridle/bit that was snapped in.   The bit only was removed for feeding; however, some companies would not use a bit at all.  The harness hung in the air over the tongues of the wagons and hose carts.  The collars were hinged at the top, open at the bottom.  All they had to do was pull down the harness, snap the lines to the bit, fasten the collar and away they went.  If you watch the video below, the Percheron quickly steps into place and practically harnesses himself.

Life of an American Fireman 1903

In the winter with deep snow, the hose carts were unloaded and put onto a bob-sled.  The men would used sawed off broomsticks so they could roll out easily until they hit the snow and were gone.

Percherons were imported in the US in the 1870s and took their place pulling fire wagons as soon as they arrived.  They were adept at being surefooted while galloping along at high speeds over sleet and ice, rain or snow. 

"Engine Company 9 On A Run"

Yet another reason we so love the Percheron breed.

Seducteur

Artist:  George Ford Morris

Brought to the US by the Ellwoods of DeKalb, Illinois in 1889
Great sire and show horse. 

Felix & BB

To celebrate the birthday of Colleen Coleman, a video concert of Felix from Quebec who is 10 years old and is already a very soulful Blues guitarist who is also blind.

Felix got his first guitar at six years old and is inspired by Delta Bluesmen such as Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton.  Here is a video of him playing “Everyday I Have The Blues” by BB King.

Celebrating "The Father of Railways" (1880s)

The George Stephenson Centenary celebration at Newcastle-on-Tyne, celebrating the "Father of Railways."

Farm Percussion (Study 10 - Mongrel Music)

To the Emergency Room . . . And Step on It ~ Percheron Style!

Ohio State University Veterinary Ambulance

(1916)

Farm Percussion (Study 4)

Have a Great Saturday!

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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March Viking

March Viking

Foaled in the U.K. in 1929, H.H. Truman of March, Cambridgeshire.  Before he was imported into the U.S., March Viking took first place and was champion of the British Percheron Society's Stallion Show in 1935, 1936 and 1937.  We honor this champion here, on our blog.

Photo From:  BPHS Stud No 3 - b. 4th March 1929

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!"

World Percheron Congress 2014 ~ Veterans Recognition Project War Wagon

If anyone is interested in participating in the opening ceremonies of the 2014 World Percheron Congress in West Springfield, Massachusetts October 6 - 11, 2014,  please contact Kim Davenport at 845-325-3014 (kdavenport@2014worldpercheroncongress.com), or Tory Macdonald at 860-214-1330 (tmacdonald@2014worldpercheroncongress.com).

Tunnicliffe's Percheron

The Percheron (1940)

Wood-Engraving

Charles F. Tunnicliffe (1901-1979)

Photo:  John Hammond

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Tunnicliffe was best known for his engravings of birds and farm animals.  

His work has been included in books written by authors such as 

Ernest Hemingway, H.E. Bates and Henry Williamson, as well as Tunnicliffe himself.

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Percheron Thunder Theme . . . With a Slight Twist!

We have seen people tackle classic rock songs in different genres before, but finding Steve n' Seagulls from Finland with their outfits brings the familiar "Thunderstruck" to a whole different light.  

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.

Farm Percussion (Study 3 - Water Pump)

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Water Pump Blues

A hydraulic ram pump, with its steady, water-splashing beat.

Guitar and Vocals:  Bottleneck John

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McLaughlin Percherons of 1924

Another "Broadside" from years past.  The "broadside" was a printing usually on card stock weighted paper which was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, produced by local printers.

Here we have an example of James B. McLaughlin's 1924 Percheron advertisement from The Annington Farm Co. located in Hagerstown, Maryland.  At one time, it seems Mr. McLaughlin had a healthy stud operation as he imported 68% of the prize winning stallions from France.

Up, Up and Away!

An increasingly popular alternative to transporting horses via truck with trailer 

and 18-wheeler is by airplane -- nationally or internationally.  

Have you ever wondered how horses are loaded and transported by plane?  

Click Bud's sweet muzzle above and watch!

Thank you FedEx for sharing your video with us on safely shipping precious 

four-legged cargo all over the world by air.

Photo Credits:  J. Ann Brodland

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Got Bottles?

Here's a little kick-start to your day . . . as we head down the slope to Friday.

Enjoy!

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!

Pas De Deux De L'Attelage!

A pas de deux can either be a ballet or equestrian performance of two people or two horses.  The horses perform dressage movements, mirroring each other, which is almost always accompanied by music.  If you have ever attended an exhibition by the Spanish Riding School, a high level dressage competition, or a Cavalia performance, you have witnessed the pas de deux. 

At the Calgary Stampede Heavy Horse Show, with the Calgary Philharmonic's accompaniment, spectators were able to witness pas de deux de l'attelage (in hitch).  Guy and Pride (above) are our leaders who were captured by photographer, J. Ann Brodland, performing in sync.  We share with you this example of what judges want to see in hitch competition -- closely matched horses in size and shape, who work together tirelessly in unison.

To emphasize the mirror image performance in dressage, World Champions Andreas Helgstrand and Jan Brink perform in pas de deux at the World Cup Show in Denmark in 2007.  While watching the video above, keep in mind that these gentlemen ride horses they had never before seen nor ridden.

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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Ode to a Saddlemaker

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle." ~ Winston Churchill

(Then if you're creating one, no hour spent is for naught.)

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Click the photo above to step inside Jesse W. Smith's saddlery studio.

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

Circus Percheron of 1908

A Circus Girl in Massachusetts 

With Her Beautiful Vaulting Partner (1908)

Equine Chronicle: Extreme Horsepower at Calgary Stampede Results in Drive Off for World Championship Title

Thank you, The Equine Chronicle (Ocala, Florida) for Your Coverage of the

Calgary Stampede World Champion Six Horse Hitch Competition.  

(Click Photo to View)