Alto Fair Horse Pull!
From the point of view of someone new to horse pulls, it was a very interesting display of animal control and might. The animal handlers are very skilled at getting their horses to obey them with words or using the reins.
Just a few things that I picked up at the horse pull: The distance that a team has to pull the weighted sled is twenty-seven and 1/2 feet. This is because it was determined in the past that horses run out of pulling power after 27 1/2 feet. So, down through the years, they have stuck with this length for a good pull.
The horses have to pull a sled weighted down with, in this case, bags of lime. The sled is moved along the pulling area by different sets of horses at 27 1/2 increments, or more, until they reach the end of the pulling area. Then, instead of hooking the horses up to the one end of the sled, the hookers just hook up to the other end of the sled and the horses proceed to pull in the other direction until they run out of room again. Then it all starts over again from the other direction.
The horses are ready to pull on the sled as soon as the hook hits the eye on the sled. There is a burst of power as the horses strain to get the sled moving and then to keep it moving for the 27 1/2 feet. After all the horses have pulled the current weight or failed to pull it and been eliminated, the men load more weight onto the sled. There are two hookers who grab the hitch that the horses are attached to and hook it onto the sled. The driver has complete control over the horses and must stay within the lines that are twenty feet apart.
If all goes as planned, after one set of horses is finished with their pull, the next set is ready to step in and continue with their pull attempt. The contest continues until there is a winner that can pull the weight while the rest cannot. |
