By way of introduction…

Hello all.
I run a family farm in central Oklahoma and at the present time it is a pretty traditional operation. I am attempting to migrate towards more sustainable operations primarily because I hate to write checks to pay for off-farm inputs. It seems to me that farming should be the foundation for all other industry or production. So, short of the capital equipment like disks, tractors and the like, I would like to be relatively self-sufficient. Nevertheless, I understand that this idea has its limitations.
I don’t have much specific experience regarding the raising, training, management and marketing of draft animals that I can offer to this site. I am looking to incorporate my two draft horses into the day to day operations where they offer a distinct advantage. I think that the more this happens, the for more situations will it become apparent that as trainable, scalable sources of tractive power, they are more suitable than the current options.
Horses and oxen can present opportunities in and of themselves as anachronisms. Sometimes this quality can be used to enhance their actual practical attributes.
Obviously, I like corresponding/talking as much as the next person(maybe more) but I hope that this site can be a source of information as much if not more than simply a site to gab and make clever remarks. Not to say that I don’t enjoy a clever observation or turn of phrase.
Also, while I am more than willing to recognize that farming with horses/oxen is a more artistic endeavor than it is scientific and arguably even a “spiritual” one as well, if you can’t figure out how to keep your team under control then you won’t be long for the teamster world. I hope that we can share what works and what doesn’t work as well.

Thanks and hello again, Brent.