Karm and Karla were called on to help get the job done. I hitched the team and put them on my little hitch-cart. I bought this two-wheeled vehicle at an Amish farm sale when I got my first team of work horses. That was in 1993. It was old then, and it looks just the same as it did the day I brought it home 25 years ago.
I hooked onto a wooden sled (also known as a stone boat) rolled my logs on, and the horses pulled them.
Karm and Karla hauled the logs and braces out to the corners of their pasture. I rented a post-hole-digger from a local rental place and made some deep holes for my large corner posts.
In the photo below, you can see my old electric fence, Karla grazing, my pickup truck, and the post-hole-digger.
Once we got our equipment in place, the horses were sent out to pasture, and I put a gas engine to work.
I now have my corner post set. If it ever quits raining, I'll get back on this project and share some finished product photos.
Well, it's time to give the final rose, as they say on the Bachelor show. If you have been following my blog over the past few weeks, you know about my conundrum.
I was given a choice between two amazing horses; one I've owned for the past nine years, the other a full sister to my favorite horse.
Karla (Karm's sister) gets the rose. I have to say, there was a lot that went into this decision.
Karma and Karla relaxing in the sun.
The first time I hitched these sisters together, it was amazing! They had been a team until Karm was seven and it seemed clear to me that they are perfect for each other.
Coke is such a social creature and seems way happier at the Amish farm with a crowd of buggy horses around her. I asked my Amish friend if Coke raised a fit when she realized that Karm was gone. He said, "Not at all. But when I hitch the team and take them to the field, Coke and one of the buggy horses call back and forth to each other." She has a new best friend.
Ancient Greek philosophers concluded: Change is the only constant.
Seasons of life come and go. Many of us remember taking a new job which altered a connection with our fellow workers. Maybe that new job took us away from family or dear friends, but we knew it was best for our future. Have you ever needed to wean a baby or a colt? It seems so difficult at the time, but in the end, it is best for everyone involved. Our life is made up of seasons that are passing. Coke, Karm, and I had a season together. We learned from each other and grew to love and respect each other. Our time together was never permanent. That season is over, for now. Karla had a season with her Amish friend and other horses. His season of farming is over, and so is his time with his horse. It is time for my friends and me to embrace a new season, which also will someday pass. Wonderful memories of our times and seasons live on forever in our hearts.
When I brought Karma and Karla home a few days back, it was a difficult moment. Karm trotted through the paddock looking for Coke, much like a mare when her colt is weaned from her side. She stood at the gate, looking off in the direction of my Amish friend's farm and whinnied. I went into the house and shed a few tears myself. At that moment, I thought that I would go and get Coke as soon as possible.
A few days passed and Karma and Karla began to form their new routine together. When they seemed comfortable, I hitched them together in harness and the moment was golden. I took a video on that day, and I will share it with you. The moment seemed to declare that this was meant to be. It was time to usher in a new season. A season with Karma and Karla, sisters and friends.
(All of the photos on this post are Karma and Karla)
Every child needs to have at least one great horse in their life! Our family has had a number of great horses and ponies over the years.
We have two wonderful horses at the time, Karma and Coke. They are getting older and at the point where they are perfect for children to be around. It's too hard to imagine what life would be like without them.
As you can see, they are very much loved! Our grandchildren love to come out to the farm whenever they get a chance. If Grandpa is still delivering mail they start asking Grandma, "When will Grandpa get home... we want to see the horses!"
Karm and Coke know what is coming when the children come into the barn. Our grandchildren love to pour oats into the feed bunk and then give them handfuls of hay. They love to brush the horses and sit on their backs. Our oldest granddaughter tries to braid their manes.
We had Isaac over by himself one afternoon and he climbed onto the wagon seat and said, "I wanna go for a ride!" He knew what he wanted and didn't give up until Grandpa hitched up the team.
My wife and I had our four oldest grandchildren over for a field day before school started back up.
Shari (my wife) asked if we could take the children on a wagon ride. I had the wild idea that maybe we should have a picnic lunch with the horses first.
Karm and Coke ate hay while the children had a sack lunch. I harnessed up the team right after taking this photo.
We stopped under our big shade tree after every round we made.
While the horses rested in the shade our grandchildren traded places. Each of the four got a chance to take a round riding up front with grandpa on the wagon seat.
Little Leo Thomas was too small to go along, so grandpa made sure to give him an opportunity to play with a toy horse. His day is coming!
Amish horses came trotting into town early on the morning of the big Draft Horse Sale in Kalona. Spring field work is underway, and this sale is a good place to pick up some extra horse-power to help finish the job.
Nice looking horses were slicked up, dressed in harness, matched with a compatible teammate, and made ready for their new homes.
A horse is a living, breathing, tractor with a big heart and bright eyes. They nicker when you walk into the barn, work for hours in sweltering heat, and nudge you with a soft mussel as you brush them in the evening.
Yes, there are some horse wrecks, but there are mechanical accidents as well. I've heard stories of a good horse sensing a problem and saving their handler's life. I've never heard of a tractor doing that!
This sale is a great place to pick up a new plow. (a very, very old one, but new to the person buying it) If you farm with horses, you may be looking for new or used harness. That's here too!
All you have to do is lift a hand and waive one more time than the next guy, and you earn the right to take home a horse that weighs around a ton.
My horses, Karm and Coke were standing on the west side of our corncrib/horse-barn this morning. Winds are from the east. They have many windbreak options including going inside.
Some folks think I should pen them inside and force them to stay warm... I disagree. They are sixteen and thirteen, fully grown and mature, and know where they are most comfortable. I believe they should be free to decide.
Some folks don't have options, they have to keep their horses in a stall most of the time. Others don't have a barn and their horses have to make do with a wind break, like wild horses. I guess if I'm gonna force them to do what seems comfortable to a human... then I should trap our squirrels and pen them in the barn too!
I had to lure them inside with grain and hay... as soon as they are done eating they will most likely head back outside where they love to stand.
If you wake up thinking about horses. focus all day on a horse issue you need to fix. (i.e. getting hay, wormer, equipment, or thinking of your training methods.) And fall asleep dreaming about horses. Then, you have a whole lot in common with me!
I love to read about horses and people who work with them. That is why I wrote several adventure novels about horses.
Under the Heavens is about a teenage city guy who goes to spend a summer on his Amish relatives farm. Lenny is planning to stay away from horses. Little does he know, that is impossible on an Amish farm. From sunup to sundown his summer is filled with horse adventures
Grandpa is a horse whisperer and determined to teach his grandson horse-sense.
Catbird Singing is about Lenny's second trip to this Amish Horses wonderland. On this visit he finds out that if he wants to date girls, he will have to hitch up and drive high strung buggy horses on the highway.
The girls are a little too cute to resist and he has to find a way to get along with some ornery horses.
Horses are a way of life on an Amish farm.
These books are based on my 35 years of living in an Amish community. When I bought draft horses from local Amish farmers, they didn't just sell me horses. My Amish friends seem to enjoy watching a city boy struggle to do what is second nature to them.
They don't just laugh though. They make every effort to help me succeed. That is the basis of my books.
If you love horses, you have to own one of these books.
Under the Heavens:if you love to read about life on the good-old-fashioned farm. Plowing, making hay, and then going to a young folk's gathering in a buggy.
Catbird Singing: if it sounds fun to read about a young man's funny adventures courting Amish girls while hanging onto a set of driving lines.
Either book can be read first even though they are part of the Amish Horses Series. If you love the first one, go ahead and get the other. Book III is on the way!
P.S. Whispering to Horses is a short story about a man who hates his Amish neighbors... until he actually gets to know them. Horses are the heart of this story as well.
