Draft horse pulling competitions are little
known, and have a small but dedicated following. They hail from times when draft horses were
routinely used for farm work, pulling plows, moving logs, and doing the work later done by
tractors and other machines.
In those days, farmers would hold informal competitions between their plow horses, to see which
could pull a heavy log faster or farther, or which could pull more weight.
Modern competitions have one, two, or four matched draft horses of pretty much any draft breed
hitched to a sled. The sled is weighted
with a certain weight, and the horses
compete against each other to see which can pull the sled a certain distance fastest. Subsequent
rounds add more weight to the sled.
Horses also still compete pulling logs or trees. Since very few farmers use horses any more for
this kind of work, it is usually done to preserve the traditional techniques. However, keeping
draft horses can be expensive and time consuming, and many farmers do not have the desire or ability to
spend this much money and time on something not vital to the farm.
Draft horse pulling competitions are little
known, and have a small but dedicated following. They hail from times when draft horses were
routinely used for farm work, pulling plows, moving logs, and doing the work later done by
tractors and other machines. 
with a certain weight, and the horses
compete against each other to see which can pull the sled a certain distance fastest. Subsequent
rounds add more weight to the sled. 
