Work horses still popular at events in the Southeast

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This article was published 08/10/2023 (579 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To call these gentle giants of the equine world work horses may be a misnomer in a world at least two generations removed from farm work. The huge crowds that show up when members of the South Eastern Manitoba Draft Horse Association hitch their teams to an antique farm implement for a demonstration of field work, or to provide power for a saw cutting firewood, would be quick to disagree.

The club has been showing off their Belgians, Percherons, Clydesdales and Haflingers for three generations in farm work demonstrations at community fairs, horse shows and at numerous events every year at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum in Steinbach.

Whether it’s Spring on the Farm or Fall on the Farm, July 1, the August long weekend, or any of the many club activities, members of the South Eastern Manitoba Draft Horse Association will never miss an opportunity to put their huge charges through the paces.

There are, of course, the very popular wagon rides in summer and sleigh rides in winter, a favorite at many a special event in the Southeast. The most popular of these is probably Christmas on the Farm, which is usually hosted by the Kehler family on their bush farm trails near Kokomo Road. The day’s activities and rides are free, but the public is invited to make a donation to the local food bank.

The South Eastern Manitoba Draft Horse Association (SEMDHA) celebrated its 40th year in 2022, and while there were no special events planned, mainly because of COVID restrictions, the club spent a busy summer again this year, making sure the interest in heavy horses would be there for the next generation.

The club was organized at a March 11, 1982 meeting attended by representatives of 13 families. By the end of the year, membership doubled, and it has been a going concern ever since.

There are 20 familes, currently as members, but the dozen attending September’s monthly meeting at the Mennonite Heritage Museum agree the truly active members are usually around seven or eight.

In the past, the membership has been as high as 40. The membership fluctuates, as some members retire and sell off their horses, but new interested parties often step up. Hopefully, newcomers will include a new generation as well, according to club president Gilbert Therrien.

“The main challenge is keeping the youth involved. The average age of members is always creeping up.”

Therrien’s father, Arsene, was a charter member of the club and growing up on the family farm on Highway 52 a few miles east of Steinbach, Gilbert remembers draft horses were always very much a family affair.

His father always did farm work with horses and during the 1980s and 1990s the Therriens would pack up Friday and come home Sunday night, travelling to places like Killarney, Selkirk and Morris for the summer horse show circuit.

Everyone who went along had their job to do at these weekend shows, Gilbert says. This interest in dray horses has been passed from generation to generation in the families of the South East Draft Horse Association and today, at least three of those families can boast they have three generations involved at the same time.

Getting the next generation interested in keeping alive the tradition of draft horses continues to be the goal of the South Eastern Manitoba Draft Horse Association.

To that end, they were quick to accept an invitation from Morris to bring teams to a demonstration competition during this year’s Big M Stampede.

Three South East Draft Horse teams were put through the paces on a course laid out in front of the main grandstand. Farm chores were simulated in a log pull through pylons, a figure-eight maneuver, and a task of backing a wagon up to a loading dock to load, or unload, a cream can. The teams were timed throughout the course and the rules required that the horses not be running at any time during the competition.

The event used to be popular at fairs and events like the Big M, and by bringing it back as a demonstration event, organizers are hoping new interest will be kindled and it can again become a regular competition.

The Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition has already scheduled The Draft Horse Team Chore Competition for July 19-21, 2024 and expect 10 teams to be on hand.

The demonstrations of heavy horses at work and the beauty of the animals in full harness in a parade go a long way to giving agriculture that good publicity it so badly needs in these days of constant criticism.

People who live in urban centres are several generations removed from agriculture, and the SEMDHA is a great way to showcase an aspect of farming seldom seen any more.

The nearly two dozen families who make up the 41st anniversary edition of the South Eastern Manitoba Draft Horse Association represent all areas of the Southeast. Members are from Vita, Sundown, Marchand, La Broquerie, Kleefeld and New Bothwell, for example, and Anola and Stonewall are also represented.

Membership in the draft horse association is not by any means limited to owners of strictly the largest of horses, either. Along with the Belgians, Clydesdales, and Percherons are the Haflingers (same color as Belgians, only smaller), Shetland and Welsh ponies.

While the club president hitches up Belgians himself, he agrees with the idea that “harness and hitch” should be the key qualification for SEMDHA membership.

They need not be the same color as Therrien’s father’s, grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s, or even the same breed as many of his fellow club members’ horses.

“I prefer Belgians, but have nothing against Percherons or Clydes. Good horses come in all colors.”

And all sizes, he may have added.

The SEMDHA has also gone modern to keep the link between past and future, both on the farm and off of it. This is the computer age and the next generation of equine enthusiasts will be able to get all the information on upcoming events on the club’s Facebook page.

One of the events to look forward to in the future will be the annual plowing competition, which the club first hosted for heavy horse fans, a decade ago on a field near Steinbach on Keating Road, a mile or so north of where Peter Keating first farmed with heavy horses in 1872.

The last competition locally was held in 2019, with the 2020 event, scheduled for August, cancelled because of COVID. This year SEMDHA members who wanted to compete in a plowing competition had to travel to the outskirts of Brandon at the end of September.

While the regular schedule of events has been interrupted by COVID, the club was able to get back into the swing of things this year with activities including the usual rides and demonstrations at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum and the popular members’ trail ride.

SEMDHA members enjoy two trail rides annually, spring and fall. A typical fall trail ride involves six to eight teams and wagons, travelling to a destination, camping overnight, and enjoying a campfire and meal together.

Another highlight of the year’s activities was Fall at the Farm at the Mennonite Heritage Museum, where club members demonstrated the sawing of firewood with a saw powered by two Belgians walking in a circle, operating a gear and pulley system.

Harold Kehler, who was in charge of the sawing end of the demonstration, said the most asked question was, “What do you do with the wood?”

As the pieces were too short to fire up the steamer, he explained the wood would be used in the wood cook stove and the clay oven on the museum grounds.

A few of the spectators picked up a piece of the firewood and took it to be stamped as a MHV souvenir.

One of the events still on the calendar will be the annual Christmas on the Farm, hosted by the Kehlers at their farm east of Steinbach. The event is admission-free, but a tin-for-the-bin will be collected for the local food bank.