how many young folks out there?

[lukeduke]

im 15 and been around steers/oxen all my life and have a current team that i got last june that im training to work in the woods

[Michael Colby]

I’m 47 but my wife says I act like a 12-year old. Does that count?

[lancek]

Boy it looks like we are getting a lot of new young folks on here! And Michael im 51 and my wife says the same thing so your not alone.

[PeytonM]

I’m 20, just got my first team of Belgians. Gramp’s was just in love with draft horses and I got tired of my moms mini’s not really being able to do anything, I also had to get out of motocross cause of injury’s. It was quited the emotional day when grandma saw my boys cause my gramps passed away a few years back. She did not expect me to have anything to do with horse.. they are a great team.

[Baystatetom]

I got my first team of steers at age 5. If you look at the age of people in my occupation (Forestry) I am extremely young at 37.
~Tom

[LongViewFarm]

28 and learning every day. I grew up around horses, but didn’t take to it until I was 16 or so. Still with my first team I’ve been using for 4 years now.

[Goat Song]

I’m 19, three months shy of turning 20. I got interested in draft animals when I was 12 as I sat listening to my grandpa tell me stories of when he was growing up on a farm where there were no tractors… Only draft animals. He grew up with a pair of Percherons named Prince and Teddy, but Prince was his favorite. My grandpa is an excellent story teller and his words made an impact on me. That was the start… I started training horses at 15 years, and have worked steadily closer towards getting my own team of draft animals someday. I always thought I would get horses, since that’s what I know, but it looks like my first draft team will be oxen! The horses will come eventually, I’m sure, but for now I’m excited to start training some calves.

[Anton Shannon]

I’m 26 and hoping to get a team in the next few years. Still a real beginner, but took a great workshop with Jay and Janet Bailey up at Fair Winds. Great teamsters and great horses to learn from. I come from a non-farming family (at least in a few generations) and run a 75 member vegetable CSA. Looking for mentors in the Lehigh Valley of PA, so if anyone has any leads please send them my way. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about working horses while still managing current farm and family responsibilities (but I suppose that’s what we’re all doing here.) Take care.

-Anton

[KMichelle]

23 and I’m starting my team of Belgian mares this summer. I’ve owned my own horse since I was 11 and used to ride and compete very seriously through the international level. I always wanted a farm bursting at the seams with horses, but when I went through some life evaluation stuff, I wasn’t sure how I was going to justify that part of it. When I lived with my brother for a few months on his grass-fed farm in north-central Vermont I got turned onto SFJ and realized that draft horses was a very real and lively thing, that was four years ago. I did find a little touble breaking through the ‘glass-ceiling’, even with the horse-sense that I had, but now I am involved in an internship in eastern oregon where I am trading my time for a team of horses they will help me start. I look forward to bringing them back to Vermont!

[Matthew Schofield]

I’m twenty six now, but figured that it was close enough for everyone. Started driving horses in the winter of ’07 for logging and sleigh work. Took an internship at Howell Farm for about 8 months which turned into another 2 years of work on top. Shoeing horses now in Central New York and using our first team, Haflingers, for farm work. Still working on building up equipment and patience working with a young team (5 yr. old gelding and 6 yr. old mare). Looking for land and horses to shoe out towards Brockport/Holley NY.

[hillsidehome]

Hey all! Just ran across this thread and I was like: “Wow! I’m not the only young person out there who’s been ‘bitten by the bug’ ” – to borrow the phrase again. 🙂 It’s a good feeling. Because sometimes I get the impression that people think I’m crazy.

So…I’m a 22 year old female who bought herself a Jersey cow 3 years ago. I handmilk and have finally perfected the art of making butter, mozzarella cheese and yogurt. Currently I’m raising a steer for beef and training a heifer to be a family milker. On the side I’m learning how to scythe my field and thanks to a neighbor who just happens to be from Austria I’m getting the hang of it. I’m also growing potatoes, rutabagas, squash and mangels to supplement my cow’s feed during the winter. And as for future dreams, I really want to raise/train my own single ox. And I can safely say that I’m hooked – for life.

[Cameron Littlejohn]

My name is cameron and im 23 years old and I have a clyde belgium cross. I havent been around the scene for long but for about 2 years. My pawpaw always used horses on his property, which I have now, so I was around it growing up and when he passed I eventually got tired of seeing all the equipment sitting unused so I purchased a horse and read some books, and alot on the sitelol and got started.

[Tender Soles]

My name is Rich. I’m 28 and my partner is 27 and are looking to start a horse-powered veggie CSA in Maine. I grew up in NYC and have only been farming for 2 years, but my girlfriend has for 4. Hadn’t had much animals experience growing up in NYC, but I have two years of draft horse experience at two different vegetable farms in Maine as an apprentice through MOFGA and feel pretty good about draft horses. Our goal is to grow food for schools and the local community with a focus on education and getting more young people involved in agriculture; especially the growing of food and the many skills and processes involved outside of growing (like building structures, washing, packing, refrigeration, etc.).

We’re looking for a place to call home and grow veggies/raise animals. We are also looking for a team of drafts to do farm work and are more comfortable having proven animals since we have 3 years combined experience. We do have many mentors in the area and have help in that respect. It is exciting to be part of this growing young farmers’ movement and we’re excited to be able to pass down part of our agricultural legacy to future generations.

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