Stanley Doble
Call Me a Cab
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- Cobourg
Let's dispel the idea that only poor farmers used horses (or mules). The size of the farm and the type of farm made more difference. The smaller farms, and the mixed farms that were most typical at that time, found horses more practical than a tractor as well as lower in cost. Not only in first cost but also in operating cost. You do not have to buy gasoline and oil for a horse, you grow your own oats and hay. You also save on fertilizer. And the horses provide their own replacements.
Giant monoculture farms as seen sometimes in the west, were more apt to use tractors exclusively.
Another factor was the age of the farmer. Those who grew up with horses and liked them, preferred to stick to what they knew. The younger generation that grew up with cars and motors, had an easier time adapting.
This is why it was not unusual to see old timers with their horses, or mules, well into the fifties, sixties and even seventies. Many of them could easily afford a tractor but never got around to buying one.
Giant monoculture farms as seen sometimes in the west, were more apt to use tractors exclusively.
Another factor was the age of the farmer. Those who grew up with horses and liked them, preferred to stick to what they knew. The younger generation that grew up with cars and motors, had an easier time adapting.
This is why it was not unusual to see old timers with their horses, or mules, well into the fifties, sixties and even seventies. Many of them could easily afford a tractor but never got around to buying one.