Farming in E. Washington, ca. 1935

This silent film from approximately 1935 depicts a variety of farming methods used on the Palouse (eastern Washington state) in this era. The film, taken by Norman Longhurst, appears to also include a few clips from another film of horse drawn combines on the Palouse. The film was digitized at the Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) from films held there (MS2002-15).

[@crowznest438]

When a teamster in those days said "whoa", he meant full stop right now. Runaways then, as now, were extremely dangerous. Please don't judge them on technique. It's not how we train today but then, most of us don't have to use horses (so glad for that) and when we do, we can pick and choose the ones that suit our needs and use gentler techniques. We don't have to take them out in all weather and situations. Heck, most people have never even ridden their horse after dark, never mind in a storm or next to a train or some other scary scenario. I guarantee that when your family is in a surrey or wagon and something that terrifies the horse pops up, you want the horse to stop when you say 'whoa'.

[@denniscoile6021]

Can anyone explain this kind of training..

[@lucasstoehr]

Dennis Coile yeah. It’s how you train a horse if you’re not a horseman. Pretty unskilled and unfair to the horse.

[@monicafelan531]

it teaches submission & sacks one out. one of the best ways to train a horse, if he tangles in machinery or traces he will not panic after going through training.