More teamwork

Last night I got home from work and the temperature was in the mid nineties.  It looked like there were clouds to the west and north, and I was thinking how nice a storm system would be.  Well after an hour I had a wonderful thing happen.  I looked outside and noticed that there was a wind blowing.  I stepped outside to feel the heavenly feel of a temp in the 80s.  A cold front was coming through!  With weather like that, I knew just what to do!

I had the girls haltered and led up to the house in no time at all.  They were all brushed out, hooves picked, and fly sprayed in no time.  I kept an eye on the west, and kept guessing whether or not I had time before the rain came to work the girls.  I finally decided to heed the words of Nike, and "Just do it".  I got the girls harnessed up and hooked them up to the sled for some good training/exercise!

Some interesting things I noticed this work session:

1. I am so grateful for Rachel!!  Rachel is trained pretty well.  She really knows her job, and you can pull her out of the pasture after a month of not doing much and she is as ready and steady as she was the last time I worked her.  I believe this comes with a horse who has quite a few miles under their belt.  Pam on the other hand, is not this way.  The minute that bridle was on, she started throwing her head and acting like she'd never had one on.  I double checked the bridle to make sure it was correctly adjusted to see if maybe she was trying to tell me something, but it all checked out fine. 
   
   When I started working the horses with the sled, Rachel was the steady girl who responded exactly like I said.  Pam was quite flighty at first.  She didn't want to stop for anything.  Keep in mind that when I work these girls, I am doing it alone, so in order for me to hook up the double tree and the sled, the girls have to stand still.  It took Pam 5 minutes of woah's to finally stand still.  She would stop with a woah, then 2 seconds later try to walk again.  I was steadfast and immovable in my commands though, and soon she was standing still.  Once hooked up to the sled Pam did great, but she would still take a few minutes to stop moving and trying to walk.  This is where having an awesome horse like Rachel is great.
   
   Having Rachel there is really enabling me to train Pam at a faster rate than I could without her.  When Pam gets flighty, or spooky and starts popping her feet up, Rachel is there, sound and calm by her side, holding her back and in her place.  When I issue a "woah", Rachel stops and stands and is perfect, helping Pam realize that she's okay and that she can stop.  Rachel also helps to be an anchor so that when Pam tries to start walking, she has an anchor to her side that won't move.  Without Rachel, I would not be driving Pam in front of a sled or wagon yet.  Because of Rachel, I have a 15 year old brood-mare for life, that is stepping out perfectly on command, and responding to the input on the bit very nice.  Rachel is the reason Pam is as good as she is.  This is so awesome, because Pam is built like a tank, and I don't think I've ever worn her out yet.  She's going to be an incredible worker when I get to my goal of doing my own hay with horses.  As of right now, Rachel is the brains, and Pam is the brawn!
   
2. The sled I built is a real lightweight one.  Last night I got to see first hand how light it is when being pulled by a team.  Pam, was quite anxious at first, and I knew that once I wore the edge off of her with work, she'd fall right in line and respond better.  How long would you figure it would take to wear the initial edge off a Belgian mare on my sled?  I figured a few laps and I'd be good to go.  WRONG.  Try 30 minutes.  That's right.  For the first 30 minutes of doing laps around my place, anytime I stopped, Pam was antsy to get moving, and she wasn't even breathing hard.  I figured that dragging a sled with my fat butt on it would not be an easy task.  I guess I was wrong when it comes to this sled I built. 
   
   After 30 minutes, and going up every hill my flat property has to offer, I finally reached the point where I could say woah, and Pam would stand still.  I could also see her breathing a tad heavier.  So ... the lesson here is ... draft horses are so much stronger than we give them credit.  A friend of mine named Marty told me to build a sled out of 8 foot long telephone poles as runners and then deck the top of it.  In my mind I thought there was no way they'd be able to pull that.  After watching how they pull my sled, I believe that they could pull that with no problems and it would be a great workout for them.  Look for a new sled to be constructed soon.
   
3. The last observation is simple ... having a sled with a seat is AWESOME and the only way to go!  Last night was the first time I have used my sled with the seat installed.  That was nice!  Up till now I was so busy trying to balance while standing on the sled that it was really hard to focus on my line tension and make sure the girls were working like I wanted.  Last night, I sat there all relaxed and focused on making the girls go where I wanted.  It was great!

That's it for now.  I'm very pleased with Rachel and Pam and the team they are turning into.  I still think it's incredible when I say "Pam, Rachel, step up!" and watch each of them step out with their left feet together.  I love the small details like this.  Truly a wonderful sight!  Also, last night I had them trotting for a bit in the pasture, and watching those big ol' feet move in that majestic slow trot is so awesome!  It's sights like these that help keep me energized and wanting to work these horses.  Good times!

I'll try to make my wife take pictures of me next time.  She had put in a 10 hour day, so I didn't make her come out and snap a few pictures.  Next time I will.  :)