Why Every Small Homestead Should Have a Draft Animal

Small draft animals are a wonderful way to have cheap help around the small homestead when you need that extra helping hand.  Goats, in my opinion, are the most versatile. They are small, inexpensive to feed, are easy to maneuver in tight quarters, are easy to train for most people, and are less prone to step on your feet. I'm not saying they are the only, or the best draft animal. Every homesteader needs to take stock of what their needs are to determine what animal they should use. Very small places could go with one or even two large dogs. But they do eat a lot and require that you feed them meat. Pony's would be good to have if you needed much more strength than what a goat could provide, pound for pound. However, they do get frightened easier, are harder to train for someone not familiar with horse personalities, and they eat more.

Here Shadow is helping me clean out the sheep shed. I do this weekly. It only takes two loads of this stone boat to get the job done. I do need to raise the height of the sides of the stone boat. If I did that, it would only take one trip. After unloading the sheep droppings into the compost pile, Shadow then helps me with moving leaves to the compost pile. Four loads of leaves, 2 loads of sheep droppings = black gold in the garden!