A farm horse

So the wife invited 3 of her siblings over this weekend.  That meant today I had to do some outside stuff to get ready for them.  I had 2 tasks ... get the big tree that had come down this winter to the burn pile, and then move my mobile chicken coop to a new location.  Both of these jobs are very simple to do with a truck and chain, however, since the ground is so soft, I would have been an idiot to try and do these tasks with a truck.

Well I happen to have a horse named Rachel who seems to be good as gold, so I decided to let her show me how she fares as a farm horse.  Within 30 minutes I had her brushed and all harnessed up.  This horse amazes me the more I use her.  Today, when I was sliding the collar over her head, I just kind of had the lead rope hanging and not tied to anything.  She was standing perfectly still.  My friend Roger has horses that will stand perfectly while they get harnessed up and he doesn't have to tie them.  So I decided to test Rachel on this.  She did perfectly.  The minute the collar was on, she fell right in line knowing what was to come.  She even opened her mouth in anticipation of the bit, which was a first time I've ever had that.

So with her all harnessed up, we did a few laps just ground driving to get her in the right mindset.  She did great, so I drove her over to where the tree was waiting.  I had already chained the tree, and hooked up the single tree, so I just had to drive her over, and hook up the tugs to the single-tree.  So I did that, she backed right up to where I wanted her, and with a single woah, she stood, cocked one rear heal and settled in as if to say, "alright ... lets do this".  It didn't take long to hook things up.  I honestly think that when Rachel hears the tugs move, she freezes and won't move at all.  It's really nice!

I gave her an "easy up" and she leaned into the collar and tried to move it.  She got a few inches and stopped.  This tree was pretty heavy.  I told her to step up and this time she put her all into it and next thing I know, this tree was a moving.  My chainsaw died a while back, so I am dragging this tree with all the limbs still on it.  As I was pulling it through the gate to get to the burn pile, the branches got stuck.  I kept asking Rachel to pull, and she did.  Finally I started moving her from side to side as she pulled, and as she did this, the tree broke free of both sides of the gate, and we were gold after that.  Rachel did so awesome.  To get to my burn pile from there, I had to do a 90 degree turn with the tree.  Rachel had no problem coming around 90 degrees while the tree stayed stationary.  It was pretty beautiful to watch.  Next thing I knew, the tree was in the burn pile, Rachel was standing like a lady, and I was unhooking the chain.  She was so calm and laid back that I was pretty shocked.

I kept the single tree and chain hooked up to her and drove her over to the chicken coop.  This coop is 8x4x8 and is on skids.  This was going to be a bit more interesting.  In order to hook up the chain, I had to put down the reins, and get on my belly to feed the chain down through the skids.  Rachel had been doing so well, and there was no where really she could go if she decided to go, so I trusted her.  I backed her up where I needed her, and gave her a woah.  I then got busy wrapping the chain through the coop.  What a girl.  She didn't even flinch.  So awesome.

This coop hasn't been moved for a year, and boy did it show.  It took Rachel 4-5 tries to get the coop actually moving.  It was stuck pretty good.  I tell ya ... I always think it is amazing to sit there, giving the command for her to move, and listen as the collar and harness begin to crackle and pop as all that power is transferred down the tugs and causes something big and heavy to move.  Once she got it moving, she had no problem keeping it going.  To get the coop where I needed it, it had to move 270 degrees.  Basically, the shape of a paperclip to some extent.  I knew that once again, this was going to require some precise movements and a mastery of coming around to go the path I wanted.  Rachel didn't disappoint, and did all I asked of her.

After that, the single tree was unhooked, and I drove Rachel to be unharnessed.  She walked really slow back.  I think she's a lot like me ... she can do anything I ask her once, but after that, she's pretty tired.  :)  I really have to work her more to get her muscles back up into wagon pulling shape.  I've got big plans for my team, including haying my pasture. 

It's so awesome to be able to do stuff using a horse.  Like I said, this was stuff that could've been done with a truck, had the ground been dry, but I was able to do it even with wet ground thanks to the same methods used long ago.  Having a functional farm horse is an amazing thing, and I think the fact that not everyone can do it now days, makes it feel even more special to me.