Working Horses of Lancaster County

Every day in Lancaster County, thousands of Plain-sect farm families hitch up draft horses to work their fields, and carriage horses to take them from place to place. These animals are foundational to a faith community that bans automobiles and tractors in a desire to live simple, agrarian-based lives. Stories and interviews accompany over 240 candid photos depicting the most common horses at work and play in Lancaster County - from foals frolicking at their mother’s side to six Belgians hitched abreast to harrow a field. The book features six draft horse breeds and five carriage horse breeds - Belgian, Haflinger, Percheron, Dutch Harness, Spotted Draft, Standardbred, Morgan, American Saddlebred, Friesian, Suffolk, and mule. The photos and stories show how they are trained and cared for, offering profound insight into the emotional connection that Plain people have with their horses. AUTHOR: Beth Oberholtzer and John Herr of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, partnered on Working Horses. They also collaborated on Plain Meetinghouses, which celebrates Old Order Mennonite meetinghouses. Beth, who has a great fondness for horses, is a book designer for various publishers. John is an architectural photographer. In branching out to photograph equines, he built a special rapport with his subjects. SELLING POINTS: . Celebrates the beauty and power of 11 breeds of horses central to Lancaster County’s Plain-sect farm families . Visual and educational feast for horse lovers and people curious about horse culture among Plain people . Dozens of farmers, trainers, and breeders allowed the author and photographer rare access to their work and insights into their lives 240 colour images