While things like tractors replaced horses for the majority of the work done at a farm, it was not because the horses were weaklings and this video, taken just about a week ago is living proof of just the kind of work those four legged beasts can perform. You are about to watch these two Belgian draft horses help tug a stuck semi up a frozen driveway. The horses are named Molly and Prince and they are owned by Minnesota couple Jacob and Lizzy Hershberger. The horses are used on the farm to haul logs and the occasional sleigh this time of the year and when it came time to help a trucker in the driveway they were pressed into service.
Belgian draft horses are big and boy are they strong. Among the large breeds of horses, they rank near the top of the strength charts with two horse teams having been recorded pulling weights of up to 15,000lbs at fairs and competitions. You can see Jacob driving the team here and you can see how he rigged them to the truck using a spare tire as a kind of shock absorber between them and the truck.
It takes them a coupe of tries but once they move to the left of the drive and into the snow they seem to get enough forward momentum that the truck starts to move and up the drive it goes. While we are not horsemen here by any stretch this seems like something you would not attempt unless you had to. If that rig were to have slid backward quickly or the horses were to have slipped and fallen on the ground the end result could have been sad and disastrous but with an experienced trucker at the wheel and an experienced horsemen running the team, it all worked out.
This is freaking awesome.
If they had rigged to pull from the grass/snow, the horses would have had no issues. Real horsepower.