Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Crandall Farm Hay Rides, Part 1
Roddie, Simon, and Matthew had waited a long time for this day. Now they stood with sweaty palms as their work was inspected.
They had repaired the big hay wagons and had stacked bales of straw down the center of each one for seats. Then they had painted the wagons in bright colors. The repairs and painting hadn't taken all summer, but learning to handle the huge Shire horses had taken a large part of it.
Mr. Crandall, who owned the farm, used the horses for farming. He considered himself a dying breed, while neighbors thought him eccentric. He chose not to mechanize his farm but to maintain it with real horsepower.
When a bad fall had immobilized the farmer with a broken leg last spring, the three future farmers had stepped in to volunteer. When Mr. Crandall had fallen, the crops had already been planted, but the horses needed daily care.
Roddie had never been around such large horses before. There were four males and two mares. The six of them averaged seventeen hands high.
"Whoever came up with such a strange measurement?" grumbled Roddie, holding up his hands.
"It's just one of the antiquated methods of measuring that became closely linked with horses," said Matthew. "You know, furlongs, rods, chains?"
"You lost me," said Roddie, shaking his head in confusion.
