Article: Charlie Pinney, pro use draft animal power

In the memory of Charlie Pinney,

Here´s a positive article on draft animal power written by Charlie Pinney. He made, in my opinion, a well written and great article about the modern use of draft animals called “The case for returning to real live horse power” (See PDF).

For those who haven’t heard of him, Charlie Pinney was an important pioneer for modern draft animal traction in Europe. He had a bright vision on the possibilities of the modern use of draft animals. Although there was much criticism towards him on the re-use of draft animals, he was positively for the revival or the modern use of draft animals.

He made some amazing achievements in his live. Here a couple of them are mentioned:
Charlie was a very well educated farmer´s son from the United Kingdom where he farmed with horses. He visited several countries in Europe. Creating a network of draft animal power users.
He also played an important role in connecting 14 different draft animal associations from 8 different countries. Which is now to be known as the “European Draft Horse Federation” (http://www.fectu.org).

Charlie Pinney was also an inventor of modern horse farm machinery. The Pintow Carthorse Machinery was his brand and he offered several products. An example of this is the “Triple-System”. This being a forecart which can be used in 3 ways:
The basic setup is a one axle forecart for simple work.
Second an engine can be added to power PTO driven machinery. This engine can be taken off the forecart and used for powering devices like a buzz saw, grain mill, water pump etc. Third, a second axle can be added with a 3-point-hitch. So light tractor machinery can be operated. This second axle also provides more stability then when using only a one axle forecart with a 3-point-hitch. When a cultivator is to be pulled with a 3-point-hitch, the engine is not needed. So why let the horses carry the extra weight? The engine can then be taken off and the cultivator can be lifted by a hand pump.
He demonstrated his machinery at the Pferde Stark in Germany and also at the Horse Progress Days of 2005 in Pennsylvania.

For many people he and his vision were and still are inspiring today.