So today I had one objective. Go and visit my friend Jodi with the horses. Jodi is a fellow teamster and our boys play together. Jodi lives 5.2 miles away from me. The plan was: Drive to Jodi's, let the boy have some fun with his friend, then drive home. I figured it would take me almost 2 hours to travel the 5 miles. Today I also had a friend coming along. A 15 year old young man I go to church with is going to start riding with me and be my header for the parades and wagon rides I have coming this holiday season. His name is Jacob, and he has a real love of horses. Today was to be his first day going out with me.
Hitching was easy and went well. Pam is really getting good at it. I can now hold her feet up and clean them for as long as I want. It's awesome to think that this is the same horse who just 6 months ago wouldn't let me lift her feet at all. She also is letting me put the collar over her head much easier now. It's nice! Rachel was the pro that she always is.
We hitched up, and hit the road. Heading out to Jodi's, I let the horses walk most the way. I was concerned about wearing the horses out and still needing them for the return trip. I ended up trotting them over ditch overpasses and around corners. I wanted to make sure I stayed out of the way of cars. The road I was on has a speed limit of 65MPH, so I did my best to keep there from being any confrontations with cars. Mission accomplished!
I got to Jodi's in just under 2 hours. I unhitched the girls, and tied them. Jodi's husband Paul is awesome! He helped me to put some welds on the brake skids so that it gives better braking. He also educated me on farm stuff. He told me that my wagon is made on a Case running gear. Also ... the wheels that I've had a hard time finding rims for, happen to be farm implement rims, not automotive rims. Paul gave me an extra he had. Paul and Jodi are very good people! I am very blessed to have them as friends. I really have a good time shooting the bull with Paul.
At 4PM, I decided I needed to hit the road. I wanted to make sure I was off the road by nightfall. So off we went. I tell ya ... when you know you don't need to save the horses for a return trip, things go much quicker. The horses seemed very willing to move, and we trotted a lot. We got home in an hour. Not too shabby! Got the girls unhitched and out of their harnesses and gave them a very hearty meal with an extra flake of hay each for a job well done.
Things were great. The horses were very well behaved. The only thing that made Pam nervous was other horses. Any time horses in neighboring fields would run up, she would get all prancy and light footed. It was great though and I get more and more confidence in the team the more we do. When I got home, I let Jacob drive the last half mile. He did pretty good, and learned right away how important proper line tension is. :) (the picture attached is Me and Jacob in the wagon)
So ... what did I learn today? Well ... I learned how important having chains from each side of your evener to the wagon are. Due to Rachael stepping out more than Pam, My new pole got a little bent and twisted. Pam would hand back, and Rachael would get a foot in front, and the yoke would put tension on the pole. If you have chains attached from each side of the evener, it keeps the horses from getting too far out in front of the other horse. I need to get some of those! :)
Gotta love days like today. Sunshine, cool breeze, wide open spaces, and the sound of horse hooves on the road. It was a great day!
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