Horse drawn farm equipment used throughout Hells Canyon at the turn of the century was essential to ranching because success or failure largely depended on producing a surplus of hay to feed livestock through the long winter months. Efficient hay production in the quantities needed for a dependable winter food supply required some mechanized equipment, and ranchers relied on horse power as its source of energy. Primitive by modern standards, this equipment enabled Hells Canyon ranchers to scratch out a living in an area where they might otherwise have failed.