Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 13 · column 1 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
By CLIVE CARNIE
Arundel Newapnpera Equestrian 'Editor
Motorists driving past Brookside Farm on Rt. 729 in Rappahannock County often think they’ve gone through a time warp when they see John Hinkell working in the fields.
Instead of a tractor, two Belgian draft horses pull equipment around the fields at Brookside just as they used to at farms all across the country 60 years ago.
John Deere, International and Ford are dirty words to Mr. Hinkell. The only type of tractor he has ever used has four legs and runs on hay, not gasoline. !!,"M6stK|)ee!»le kind of chuckle with the horses and say it takes so, long,” says Mr. Hinkel. “It doesn’t take any longer to harness them in the morning than it does to oil and grease a tractor. It may take longer to do the work with horses, but they’re a lot more fun.
“And also the horses are quiet and working with them uses skills we don’t have call for every day.”
The two Belgian mares, Bonnie and Bly, are a lot more friendly and personable than any tractor. Mr. Hinkell also believes that for a farm the size of Brookside, which is 58 acres, they are cheaper and more practical too.
“When you go into the barn in the morning the horses will talk to you,” Mr. Hinkell points out. “Not many tractors’ll do that. Horses can reproduce themselves too — you’ll never go into a stall and find a new bom lawn mower next to the bush hog.”
A healthy, well-kept draft horse can be expected to give a good day’s work until well into its 20s, making
91.5%