Rural Heritage August/September 2025

Forecart Update

by Donn Hewes O ver the years, before they sold off their implement lines,Pioneermade a lot ofthese old forecarts.and you often find them being overlooked (or undervalued at auctions) in favor of the newer sleeker looking carts. One arrived on our farm when Becky Frye moved here and started Horsetail Herb Farm. It was sort of a derelict with no pole, one flat tire, the brakes locked up and the front railing wobbling loose. I just ignored it for a couple years. I woke up one day this spring and said to myself: ”I don’t have a forecart with brakes, and maybe that would be handy.” If I set it up for three horses it would be perfect for bringing full hay wagons into the barn. This cart has drum brakes which

was an upgraded model, back in the day, versus the external band brake that most had back then. After we wheeled it into the shop, Becky’s partner, Corey, made quick work of taking the brake drums apart, cleaning and loosening everything and putting it back in working order. We were off to the races. The original design of these carts was pretty clever with three pieces of channel (U-shaped steel) forming the base of the floor and each one offered a different pole placement option. The pole only moved over about 16 inches, but you could move the evener a couple inches the other way if you wanted more room between the evener and the pole. I like 18 inches with the eveners and horses I have. They also always had the floor at an

Donn's newly-remodeled Pioneer forecart is hooked to three-abreast red horses and ready to haul a heavy load.

Rural Heritage

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