The Horses We Serve

As we went down the road
Driving a team of young Clydes
My city dude guest
Was getting into the ride.

"If these gas prices continue
Their up and up trend
We'll have to go back
To using horses in the end."

Yes, I agreed
"The noble horse is quite fit.
To solve pump price shock
They just might be it!"

I've done the math
Compared it one to one
Far as I can tell
I get 'bout 20 miles to a Ton.

With a ton of hay at a hundred,
Or maybe a little under,
Then my horses and wagon
Are an economic wonder.

And oh, for convenience!
I don't even need a key.
Twenty minutes to harness up
And it's the open road for me.

We could also do our farming
Without petroleum as a factor.
Last year I did some cutting
With the team as the tractor.

After doing a whole acre
In three hours of great fun
I could see, at this rate,
I would run out of sun

Horses don't have lights,
And do tend to tire
So I had to let them rest--
Take the night to respire.

So another twenty minutes,
That was about all,
I had them unharnessed
And back in their stall.

Then I got on my swather.
Let it warm up the water.
Fired up the lights
And went to cutting fodder.

In cutting that one acre
The horses were quite nifty,
But in the same amount of time
My swather and I cut fifty.

When the real work is done,
Plowing, planting, cutting too,
The horse is not around.
Just the machinery and you.

You sweat and toil
The whole summer through
So your horse can have food
And straw bedding too.

Horses hold a place in history
As the work source for men.
But now they don't work for us
Instead, we work for them.

Now don't take me wrong
In what I'm trying to say:
Horses are great--
When work is done
And you are ready to play!