My grandfather had always used draught horses to do the heavy work around the property. I have a photo of him clearing the land with a team of eight horses pulling a type of implement called a tanden disc used to break up the soil.

There were several horses still being used for active farm work when I was a child. They all had very original names - Blackie, Bluey, Brownie and Bloss (short for Blossom). They did the heavy work such as pulling the loaded dray and the spray cart for the orchard. They would pull the spray cart down the row of trees, stopping every few trees to allow the men to move from tree to tree without having to drive the cart on to the next position. The trees had to be sprayed with a copper sulphate solution to prevent mildew and something for the codling moth which used to cover the men and the horses with white powder. I hate to think what it was but I'm sure that it was toxic.

My grandfather grew apples, pears and nectarines, although the nectarines were never very successful: the area was a little bit too cold for them. In 1952 there was a large bushfire which burnt through the orchards and my father, who had by then taken over the management, eventually removed the trees which had survived the fire. Instead he started growing potatoes which was a cash crop needing very little tending, unlike the orchards which were labour -intensive.

Later, when the four Bs were put out to pasture he acquired another heavy horse. Not a Clydesdale like the others but very large and strong nonetheless. She was called Trilby. She used to lean on fences and eventually had to be kept in an electrified enclosure which had been bought to keep the bull in his place.

As well as the draught horses there was Duchy who pulled the trap. The trap was a two wheeled passsenger vehicle which was used to travel the three miles to the post office to pick up the mail. To get there Duchy had to ford the Onkaparinga River at the ford near the brewery in Oakbank. The river used to flood periodically and there was a water level marker; Duchy was never allowed through if the water came much above his fetlocks.

If the river was flooded a detour through Balhannah, which had a bridge, had to be made. Eventually the Post Office was moved to Balhannah and later the council built a bridge at the ford in Oakbank. However, it was still very low, really no more than an elevated ford, and when the river was up the bridge was covered so the water level marker had to be retained.

The only riding horse was my Grandfather's superannuated thoroughbred, Gay. She preferred a life of ease and although she behaved for my grandfather who could ride just about anything (see "Dinah") , she used to try to scrape me off under every low hanging branch and nip me in the back if I got off to open a gate.

Eventually, my grandfather decided that my sister and I should have a pony. Why he thought that one pony would be adequate for two sisters who thoroughly disliked each other is still a mystery to me. However, after the fiasco over the pony Dinah he modified his ideas a bit and bought a bay pony called Gleam which he took an immediate liking to.

So when we went riding together he rode Gleam and I was stuck with Gay trying to wipe me off under every low branch.