Tuesday Video: Horse-Powered Hay Elevator

That’s one big step for a horse, and one giant leap for good old-fashioned horsepower.

Here’s a piece of farm equipment you don’t see every day — the horse-powered hay elevator. Just one horse walking on an inclined treadmill powers this hay elevator, reducing the need for electricity or a generator or a lot of manpower to manually lift the bales up to the loft.

The treadmill, as described by developer Athens Enterprises, can run a variety of farm equipment. As treadmills are used for fitness and rehabilitation programs in the equine world already, why not use a little renewable energy at the same time?

While these certainly aren’t common pieces of equipment, we have to admire the ingenuity to harness the power of a horse in a unique way to get the job done.

Go riding!