The Old Gray Mare Ain\u27t What She Used To Be

From the earliest settlers, horses and mules provided real horsepower for heavy work on farms, in logging camps, for transportation, for powering mills, and to accomplish other tasks. Through the second half of the 2oth century work horses gradually lost their place to tractors and other heavy machinery. Yet today many mountain folks keep work horses for a variety of tasks from traditional farm work and logging to more fanciful uses such as hauling brides and grooms to weddings. How and why Southern Appalachian horsemasters continue to maintain their stock, train horses and mules, and actually derive an income from their equine activities demonstrates the mountaineers\u27 ability to adapt to changing times by employing traditional skills and turning them to new uses. While nearly everyone knows about the Amish and their horses, few people outside of Appalachia know that work horse culture continues to play a role in maintaining traditional skills and ways and in earning an income for those not prepared to surrender their love of horses, mules, harness, and chains. My presentation features horsemen and horsewomen in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina who maintain horses and mules and use them for farming and for social celebrations to earn and income and to preserve tradition in the real world and not relegate it to museums