The Draft Cattle Symposium in Lauresham Open-Air Laboratory at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kloster Lorsch in Germany, 8-10 March 2024 To say the very least of this remarkable meeting, it has been “a-building” for many years through efforts from many and varied partners and institutions, among them the AIMA, several of whose members… Continue reading Draft Cattle Capture a World Audience
Animals In And Out Of Museums
Draft Animals in the Past, Present and Future
Virtual Conference 8-9 May 2021. “Draft Animals in the Past, Present and Future” was piloted by AIMA President, Claus Kropp, now taking up the challenge of a world-wide effort to bring together draft animals users. The congress was virtual, and hosted by Lauresham Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kloster… Continue reading Draft Animals in the Past, Present and Future
Jackstock Mules – a Presidential “Stomp” of Approval
Spotlight on Local Breeds This is the first in a series of articles contributed by Jeannette Beranger, of the Livestock Conservancy During the history of the development of livestock breeds in America, not many can claim its origin began with the vision of an American President. The American Mammoth Jackstock is one such breed. It… Continue reading Jackstock Mules – a Presidential “Stomp” of Approval
The Amazing Impact of Furry and Feathered Interpreters
Jeannette Beranger joins us again for an article on her experiences in the United States in using animals as the star performers in audience contact. For nearly 20 years, I was in charge of a Heritage breed farmyard exhibit within a facility that enjoyed over a million visitors a year. It never ceased to amaze… Continue reading The Amazing Impact of Furry and Feathered Interpreters
How Much is a Banker Horse Worth?
Jeannette Beranger points out that a sad incident led to precise evaluation of the “value” of the Banker horses that attract millions of visitors a year to the islands off the eastern coast of the United States. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy staffers Alison Martin, Steve Moize, and Jeannette Beranger headed to the North Carolina (United… Continue reading How Much is a Banker Horse Worth?
Donkeys, The Helpmeet Of Humankind In Pharaonic Egypt
Donkeys had long been domesticated in ancient Egypt and may have come from the family of Equus africanus known in Nubia. An illustration painted on a pre-dynastic (ca. 3000 BCE) schist plaque shows a donkey among the booty taken in Libya. The Egyptians used donkeys as pack animals and they were among the livestock of… Continue reading Donkeys, The Helpmeet Of Humankind In Pharaonic Egypt
Equine Breakdown Assistance
A Note of fun from Pete Watson at Howell Living History Farm. Before Howell Living History Farm (Hopewell Township, New Jersey, USA) built a parking lot in 2006, visitors to the 130-acre historic site parked in a sheep pasture where, during winter and spring months, teamster Kevin Watson often required the services of 1950 lb.… Continue reading Equine Breakdown Assistance
Moving A Megalith With Cow Power
at the Dahlem Domain Open Air Museum in Berlin. The German group piloted by Jörg Bremond, a rare breeds specialist, meets once a year in late winter. They were hosted in 2016 by the Domäne Dahlem Open Air Museum in Dahlem, which has a working farm totally open to the public. Berliners stroll around there,… Continue reading Moving A Megalith With Cow Power
The Learning Curve At Lauresham Open-Air Laboratory
– from oxen to old swine breed. Preparing the field for winter crops. A team of two Raetian Grey Oxen at the Lauresham Open Air Laboratory in Germany is ploughing one of the fields with a (re)constructed Early Medieval ard. In Lauresham various medieval field types (e.g. ridge and furrow) and systems (e.g. three-field crop rotation)… Continue reading The Learning Curve At Lauresham Open-Air Laboratory