Description

Stories in this issue:

• A View from Holmes County: Mary Ann Sherman’s annual overview of her experiences at Horse Progress Days. What was new, who attended, and some of the fun and interesting sites.
• HPD Field Equipment: Plows, Tillage Equipment, Spreaders, Haymaking Equipment, Forecarts, Miscellaneous
• Pipestone Wagon Train: Joe Mischka traveled with this group of teamsters on a portion of the original wagon train route. Photos of this three day event are spectacular and everyone seems to have a smile on their faces. Fjords, Percherons, Belgians, Ponies, Shetlands, Haflingers and even quarter horses provided the power for this event.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Beekeeping: Steve Lesniak of Peace Bees in Indiana presented a seminar on beekeeping. He presented facts, figures and extensive information for anyone wanting to take up the profession. He tells us what we need to begin, the cost to set up, bee species, hive information, feeding, harvesting, mites – and so much more.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Benefits of Cover Crops: Seed specialists presented this seminar on growing cover crops to feed your soil. They discussed the science behind this farming method the different plants, nutrients, soil, the importance of grazing, and planting dates.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Growing Fall Crops: A seminar on growing pumpkins and winter squash was presented by Barry Rupp of Rupp Seeds. He explained how to determine planting dates, tips for certain varieties, new varieties, disease resistance and rotating fungicides.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Harness/Collar Fitting: Sam Schrock of Topeka taught about each part of the harness and how to adjust them. Then he moved on to the collar and hames. Sam’s many years of experience and the teachings of his grandfather were well appreciated by the Round Pen audience.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Horse Training: Ray Yoder demonstrating his training techniques with a gelding that had been “started a little bit”. He started by working on the horse’s trust, desensitizing him to distractions followed by bitting. He then explained general rules about training including.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Produce Seminar: This was a produce tour and seminar on the grounds of HPD. Gary Schafer developed the greenhouse and outdoor vegetable gardens for the purposes of the seminar. He explained good growing techniques for tomatoes including varieties, required nutrients and disease. After that he moved on to other vegetables such as cucumbers, onions, and leeks.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-Transitioning Organic: Two Amish farmers explained their transition to organic farming. Much advice on the transition process and tips on feed, fertilizer, seed and certification were explained.
• HPD 2016 Seminar-International Meeting: his annual tradition of welcoming international visitors to Horse Progress Days brought together people from Germany, Columbia, Canada and Zimbabwe.
• Pastured Paradise: Danielle Londrigan takes her many years of experience with horses to create an environment for her horses that creates healthy, fit, happy horses. After trouble with hoof care for her draft horses, she developed a pasture/paddock that resembles a playground with stations for feeding, watering, exercise and play.
• Horse-Powered Winter Squash: Stephen Leslie provides a thorough tutorial on growing winter squash. He takes us from variety choice to preparation, planting, cultivating, pest prevention, harvest and storage.
• Club Insurance: Mike Hansen, a draft horse club president, shares his experience with insurance for a club. He shares the challenges he faced searching for a policy and finally gives us advice on four layers of protection that should cover the club.