Driving down a country road in Panola County can cause a person to do a double take when seeing a man plowing his garden with a team of horses. It's like taking a step back in time. The man plowing is Gregory Morris. Gregory and his wife Ouida worked the garden together for years until she died seven years ago. Morris continues with the garden as he always has.

It's not that he doesn't have a tractor, he has seven of them. Morris has a Farmall 100 with all the equipment for gardening. It has a disk, cultivators, planters, and fertilize distributor. Everyone knows Farmall is the best gardening tractor, but Morris says that he feels more comfortable with his horses. The horses are registered Missouri Fox Trotters. Now, these are saddle horses and Morris says they set a gate that makes riding them seem like sitting in a rocking chair, but they are great pulling horses.

Why? Their intelligence is the reason. Morris bought the trotters in Missouri when they were six months old and immediately started training them to pull with an old tire. He slowly added weights and other devices giving them more challenges. He then took them to a two-wheeled cart made with motorcycle wheels. "The first ride in that was an experience for me and the horses," stated Morris.

The registered Fox Trotters are named Sergeant Brown and Diamond. Sergeant, being the male, is the stronger puller. He pulls single or as a double with Diamond. the horses are huge and strong, but very delicate in their steps, trying not to crush the tiniest garden plant. They gently place their hoofs as Morris instructs in their turns at the end of the row. It is awesome to watch their strength and their tender steps at the same time.

The horse-drawn garden equipment is hard to get and it's even harder to get parts. He made the harness out of a belt from a round bailer. He made a Texas plow out of a hickory tree from the memory of one he saw as a boy. The riding led-better planter belonged to Ouida's great-grandfather Jim Koonce. Morris mad the single trees and double trees out of a hickory tree. "You can order some things out of an Amish book I have, but I make them or use old ones I can fix myself," said Morris. He owns a row disk, a planter, Texas stock, a Kelly cultivator, a middle-buster, and a turning plow - some pulled by tow horses, and others by one.

Morris started out plowing with horses and mules when he was eight years old. That was an all day job. "I would not trade today's equipment for the good old days. I can plow the garden with horses because I want to, then I can get on air-conditioned tractor for pasture work," says Morris.