Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 10.01 Agriculture
Presentation #1 Title
The Old Gray Mare Ain't What She Used To Be
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
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' 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.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Michael Joslin is the Director of the Stephenson Center for Appalachia at Lees-McRae College, as well coordinator of the English Program and professor. He has published six books and hundreds of articles on the people, places, and way of Southern Appalachia.
The Old Gray Mare Ain't 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' 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.
