Antique 91" Wood & Iron Draft Horse Evener — 4-Horse Scale, Wall-Mount Hardware

A main evener of this span — 91 inches, nearly eight feet — was the backbone of a four-horse or larger hitch, the critical link that equalized pull across an entire team so no single animal bore a disproportionate load. Before tractors replaced horsepower on American farms, a rig this size was working machinery: the forged iron rings at each yoke end accepted the trace chains from the outer horses, while the sliding central board and mortise slot connected to the tongue or to subordinate doubletrees for the inner pair. The gunstock-shaped yoke ends are hand-hewn; the rose-head bolts securing the center board are hand-cut iron — every element made to be repaired in a farm shop, not replaced by a catalog.

Wall-mounting hardware is included, and at this scale the piece commands the wall the way a ship's spar or a barn beam does — as evidence of the working world that built it.

CONDITION

Good. Iron hardware is fully intact and structurally sound, with heavy surface rust consistent with age and working use. The wood displays significant checking and grain separation along the central board, and material is missing from the outer edge of one yoke end.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Height: 9"
• Width: 91" (7' 7")
• Depth: 2¼"
• Weight: approx. 35 lbs
• Construction: single-timber frame, two-piece sliding center board
• Hardware: forged iron rings, hooks, and rose-head bolts
• Wall-mounting hardware included