Found a good "Wagons & Carts" link? Let Us Know!

Wagons & Plows Several lessons from the 1919 Farm Craft Series covering harnessing, hitching, team & single hitch driving, wagon parts and maintenance, crop mowers and plows. These lessons were designed to teach city boys volunteering their summers for the WW-1 cause; specifically working on farms to increase food production without increasing cost to the farmers. Fairly informative, especially for the uninitiated or those who have never worked on a pre-industrial farm.

Wagons & Teaming: Wagons cannot possibly be too simple in their construction. They should be built of thoroughly seasoned timber, and this caution applies with most force to the wheels, because where the air is hot and the atmosphere very dry, unseasoned wood cracks, shrinks, and readily splinters. At Stockton and Red Bluffs in California, the mule wagons are made in three or four divisions, so that a team of eight mules draws them easily over good level ground, but when hills have to be ascended, or wet ground got over, then the wagons are separated and taken along one at a time. Excerpt from: "At Home In The Wilderness" By John Keast Lord, 1876; Chapter 5

Coach Driving ~ Harnessing & Driving a Single or a Pair: Our young friends ought to know, not only how to ride, but also how to drive. There are necessities for private driving, more important at the present than at any former period; and we hold driving to be not only a necessary, but an indispensable accomplishment to every young gentleman.

Axwood Farm Library Excellent website obviously run by QUALITY FOLKS provides 2 dozen well written and highly informative articles covering long lining, driving, tack and technical articles and more. After wading through HUNDREDS of websites with only one or two or (usually) no articles at all, this was a refreshing find.  

Driving Pairs Website "We are the only site on the web dedicated to the driving of multiples. We also host a moderated discussion list for those who love driving more than one animal, or want to learn how or simply brush up on your driving skills." The archive from the discussion list is a fairly decent information mine on a variety of tips and topics related to team driving and harness gear.

Pair Driving 101 by Hardy Zantke: So you want to start driving a pair, huh? And you think you can do it on your own? You know the saying: Green & green makes black and blue? So save your hide, your animals and your equipment and get some pair driving instructions from a qualified teacher, ok? But I know, there are always some who need to do it on their own, and since we can’t change that, then let me at least offer a few, perhaps helpful hints from between my blinders. Since this is the Pairs List I will only mention pair specific items here, as I assume that you’ll have single driving experience and know how to handle driving horses and how to drive single. If you don’t, then get that experience first... See Also: Pair Driving 102 | So You Want to Drive a Tandem?

Mucked Up & Mired Down by Mary Ruth Marks: Occasionally, when I drive my four-in-hand, I'll cruise by the neighbors to see if anyone wants to ride along. Joy that is shared is much more fun for all of us. And as we know, you're supposed to have two grooms with you when driving a four. My neighbors to the east were dairy farmers, the Schmid's. The wife, LaVonne, liked to play bridge. The oldest boy, David, was a heavyweight wrestler and helped with the chores -- a good kid. Driving down the road, I stopped in front of their place and hollered to see if they'd like to go along. It was a steamy summer day and LaVonne said "Sure, I'd love to take a break, and I'll see if David wants to come, too." He did. They hopped in my democrat wagon (I'd changed it to look like a surrey with the fringe on top), and off we went behind my four Arabians. I had lanterns on the carriage as sometimes I would be driving back to the farm at dusk and needed to light them for any cars that might be on MY road...

Driving Tips: Part 5: Harnessing and Putting To The Vehicle ~ The procedure for harnessing and putting the animal to your vehicle should be followed exactly, every time you drive. Harness parts are fitted in a particular manner and sequence for reasons of safety and practicality. A consistent routine helps both driver and horse to establish confidence and calmness. The procedures described below apply to a single horse. 

Groundwork for Driving & Part II, & Part III [All PDF] Articles that first appeared in Driving West reprinted by Groundwork Training with permission.  You will need Acrobat Reader to see them.

Amish Buggy Safety Approximately one third of all Amish reside in Ohio and there are significant Amish populations in at least 21 Ohio counties. Several of these populations are relatively large and the largest of all Amish settlements is located in the Wayne/Holmes county area (Hostetler, 1993). The Amish reliance on horse-drawn buggies and their use of public highways for their transportation needs readily effectuates the potential conflict with the Buggy/Auto interface. A few major accidents in recent years and several less spectacular, though serious, incidents has perpetuated interest by Amish and non-Amish populations to improve buggy visibility and safety...

Horse packing do's and don'ts Note from Chuck Olsen (website author): John has agreed to write some tips for people who want to pack with horses. He has lots of experience and has been packing in the Rocky Mountains for several years. He also has some trail descriptions on the Colorado page, check it out. Thanks John... see also: Tips and good ideas from Horse People not really anything to do with driving.

Pack Saddles - Purchase Guide: KEY CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINING QUALITY OF A PACK SADDLE. See also: Pack Panniers Info Guide, and especially: Packing Tips

Volume 10 Issue 3 The International Society for Cow Protection ~ Has some interesting articles on the use of oxen. Other back issues can be accessed here as well. I didn't browse them but assume there are more similar articles, though the primary goal of this group is to serve as the "PETA" of bovines. 

S5-hist2003.vp:CorelVentura 7.0 [PDF] An historical perspective on animal power use in South Africa by Bruce Joubert has some interesting information, but of course, with a South African twist.

Lameness of the Horse, by John Victor Lacroix: (Circa 1916) Realizing the need for a treatise in the English language dealing with diagnosis and treatment of lameness, the author undertook the preparation of this manuscript. That the difficulties of depicting by means of word-pictures, the symptoms evinced in baffling cases of lameness, presented themselves in due course of writing, it is needless to say. It is hoped that this volume will serve its readers to the end that the handling of cases of lameness will become a more satisfactory and successful part of their work; that both the practitioner and his clients may profit thereby; and last but by no means least, that the horse, which has given such incalculable service to mankind and is deserving of a more concrete reward, will be benefited by the application of the principles herein outlined...

Animal Traction: This manual is a practical guide to the use of draft animals and animal-powered farm equipment. It is written primarily for use by Peace Corps Volunteers and agricultural extension personnel working in animal traction development programs, but it can be used by farmers who are teaching themselves to use these techniques. While some of the information contained in the manual is specific to the extension of animal-powered agriculture in Africa, the principles explained and illustrated are fundamental: they are generally applicable wherever the method is being used or introduced...

Carriage Driving World Not exactly an Online Magazine; you can get a subscription here and check the archives for the types of articles typically included in each issue. Some of the older issues have online articles available, but not many and usually not the "prime" articles.

Wagons & Other Horse-drawn Vehicles Scroll down for HUGE number of links.

The Use of Draft Animals To Skid Logs: A Fact Sheet

Prairie Schooners The most common wagons used for hauling freight back East were the Conestoga's, developed in Pennsylvania by descendants of Dutch colonists. Conestoga wagons were large, heavy, and had beds shaped somewhat like boats, with angled ends and a floor that sloped to the middle so barrels wouldn't roll out when the wagon was climbing or descending a hill. Like the covered wagons of the western pioneers, it had a watertight canvas bonnet to shelter the cargo. Conestoga's were pulled by teams of six or eight horses and could haul up to five tons. Good historical article with a few good illustrations.

Farrier's Roundtable: Shoeing Draft Horses Kind of like sitting around a hot stove in the general store.

Packing Equipment The equipment used to pack horses and mules varies from region to region, and it would be impossible in the space available to describe it all. This section will be devoted to the basic equipment.

Build a homestead copy cart I don’t know too many homesteaders, gardeners, or small farmers who haven’t at one time or another wished for one of those fancy big-wheeled garden carts. It seems that there is always something that needs to be toted around on the place, be it hay or straw, rocks, firewood, garden tools, plants, compost, or whatever. Think about it for a bit, and the need for a hand cart on your own place will probably become evident. Well, being the basic cheapskate that I am, when I finally decided that I was going to have one of the carts, I figured that I could save some money if I built it myself.

BUILD YOUR OWN DOG SLED. Charlie Yeager

Making Your Own Ganglines Stephen Lee discusses techniques for making your own rope ganglines.

Mount Whitney Diamond Hitch - By Charlie Morgan. It is a simple hitch to learn, and will serve effectively on most loads. It requires about 40 ft. of rope, 1/2 inch cotton or spun nylon, and a 36 inch lash cinch which has a hook at one end. Step by step instructions with illustrations.

Box Hitch. An illustrated guide to tying one of the most popular packing hitches. The box hitch is one of the most popular hitches used in packing loads on horses and mules. The hitch requires the use of a lash rope which is made of either cotton, poly or nylon rope and is about 50 foot long and is tied to a 30 to 36 inch cinch which has a hook on one end.

Inside a pioneer covered wagon ~ A look at what pioneer women stocked in their wagons for the long journey west, this article also includes some diary excerpts.

Horse Illustrated. COM - Serving the horse owner by promoting the best in horse management, riding and training. The website for Horse Illustrated Magazine. They have some articles in the "RESOURCES" section that may be of some use and a pretty neat Breed Registry section that contains very nice articles on various breeds of horses. They also post a couple of good current articles from each edition, but they don't appear to provide access to archived previous articles, preferring instead to list the articles for the sale of back-issues.

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