Local company steps back in time to build and restore horse-drawn equipment

Old black and white photos record the history of how farmers used teams of heavy horses to break the land when they settled in southern Alberta in the late 1800s.

But today, hobbyists that own those heavy horse breeds are looking for ways to keep their animals active and in shape.

So, they're turning to Alberta Carriage Supply just east of Calgary.

"I am always amazed at the new people that come in," said Dale Befus, owner of Alberta Carriage Supply.

"Here in Alberta, we have these great horses and great teamsters and we get the pleasurable piece of helping them put their horses to work."

Befus started the company 24 years ago when he saw a need for horse-drawn equipment and all the required rigging to make it comfortable for the horse to pull.

It's grown over the years and now the operation supplies everything from tack to machinery and shows owners how to use it all.

"We teach people and we call it a basic driving clinic," said Befus.

"So, if you've never driven before, that's the clinic to take and you actually do it so you harness, you drive and at the end of the day, you feel pretty good about it."

The company is now making its own implements and has started with a forecart.

It's pulled by a horse or multi-horse team and has two wheels and a bench for a driver and passenger.

Behind the cart is a hitch to pull farm equipment.

Morihei Yophehki is a welder and pipe fitter by trade and saw an ad to work as a fabricator for Befus.

Yophehki's wife enjoys historic items and encouraged her husband to apply.

Now, it takes him a little more than a day to construct a forecart from scratch.

"I grew up around horses, so I didn't have a problem with that and then I started and I was like wow, there's a lot more to it than I thought," said Yophehki.

"I keep learning new stuff and becoming a bit more of a wheelwright and I'm liking that."

Terry Bailey is a partner in the business and jokes that he's in charge of all things that require patience.

Bailey's specialty is making wooden spoked wheels and restoring vintage equipment.

"Wagons, buggies, some sleighs, a lot of wheels, and they're all different, I seem to run into something new every time I do one," he said.

Bailey says some of the projects take a long time to complete and can test his nerves.

"But when you get it done and you look at it and you got it loaded up on the trailer to take it back to the customer, you look and go, ‘Wow,’" he said.

Brad Lorne has two Belgian horses on his acreage southwest of Calgary and has leaned on Befus and his team for all their knowledge and expertise to help him work his team safely.

He's had his horse for six years and remembers seeing pictures of his grandfather and uncle with their working horse teams.

Now, he's trying his hand at farming small plots of land with his horses.

"To experience the hard work and the challenges that they would have had and the amount of acres," he said.

"We do four acres in a day. They had larger properties and I can't imagine. I know how I feel at the end of the day working the fields."

Lorne says in the spring and fall, many hobbyists bring their teams together and farm at places like the Bar U Ranch.

Befus has a plot of land on his property that they work on annually.

"We use our horses and our equipment obviously and we put a crop in and we take a crop off," said Befus.

"It’s barley every year and that barley goes to Eau Claire Distilleries down in Turner Valley and then we have some great spirits made from it, so that's an annual thing and we invite the public to come out and help us."

More can be learned about Alberta Carriage Supply online, at albertacarriagesupply.net.