Ex trotter for farm work

[Steven F]

I am about to take possession of an ex trotter (a mare) and looking for advice. How much work can they do around the farm? I intend to use her for road transport but would also like to use her in a collar for some farm jobs. I guess that she won’t be able to pull as much as a draft horse but could I use her in a one-horse mower and a small hay rake? What else could I use her for? I have a nice sized cart that carries a decent load and would fit ok. Are ex trotters inclined to walk to fast for farm work? It could be a little difficult if she wants to keep breaking into a trot.

Also I will try to do away with shoes. We have a good barefoot trimmer not far away and I can keep them in shape myself to some extent. I won’t be using her on the road all that much so if it seems that roadwork is started to give her sore feet I will probably opt for boots, at least on the front feet.

I would like to mate her to a nearby Clydesdale stallion. He is not a huge horse so I think she will be able to deliver his foals OK.

Any other advice you can give would be much appreciated.

Steve

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