The Green Teamster: Breaking Buck to Drive

This what the wagon looked like for the Greenville Parade

Before I get to the meat of this post, I should report on the Greenville Parade and the first night of wagon rides. Both went well and we had no problems at all. I really LOVE this new team line configuration. My biggest problem in years past has been the lines getting tangled under the team pole, and this new configuration keeps that from happening. Two easy nights of driving two awesome horses.

A funny thing happened Saturday. Saturday morning I got up and ready, and then I realized that I had nothing planned till the wagon rides that night. With a full day in front of me, I was a bit taken back. It's been a while since I had free time. I've had lots of people asking me about Buck lately, and it's been weighing on my mind that he's just sitting in the pasture not being worked. So, I decided that Buck was going to get worked. It's been a few months since I did any training with him, and I've never even put a harness on him yet ... so I set a few goals and off I went.

Like I have done with all my horses, I set my goals, but I set other "just in case" goals too. Goal #1: Get the harness on Buck and get him used to it. Goal #2: Just in case he has no issues with the harness, try ground driving him single. Goal #3: If that doesn't go well, hitch him up with Rachael. (now, normally I just go from harness, straight to team training, because it works so well. However, because Rachael was going to do a long night of wagon rides, I was reluctant to just use her up front to pull buck around. I wanted her saved for the wagon rides).

Off we went, and the goals were all achieved.

Step 1: Out of the Pasture and Groomed

Buck is an easy one to catch. I got him haltered, and tied to the trailer. He was COVERED in cockle-burrs. With the help of some ShowSheen, they were easily removed, and soon buck was burr free, and looking very pretty. I might add, I now know why farmers docked their Belgian's tails. It took me 30 minutes to brush out Bucks long tail. I also cut a bridle path out of his mane, and made sure his hooves were cleaned out.

Here he is ... clean and ready for what comes next.

Step 2: Put the Harness On

I wasn't sure what size collar Buck was going to take. I opted to try out Nellie's 24" collar. Now, Nellie's collar does not separate at the latch. The leather strap is still in place. This means you have to put the collar on by sticking their head through it. Buck did very well with this and he didn't seem to care when I slide it over his eyes. This was great. I found that Nellie's collar was a size too big. I happen to have a collar pad though, so I put that on him, and it fit him nicely.

Once the collar was on, I retrieved the Nylon harness that I normally use for Nellie, and walked towards Buck with it. He was a tad nervous, but with a gentle voice, he calmed back down. I let him sniff it, and he didn't seem to mind it. I slowly slid it over his back, and he didn't really react to it. This was awesome. I then went about the task of adjusting the straps and sizing things so that it fit him well. He's not much smaller than Nellie, which surprised me.

Once I had everything on but the bridle, I untied him and walked him around. His first few steps were a little excited, as he heard all the clanking of the chains on the harness. It wasn't long though before he settled down and just walked normal. I did lots of starts and stops, making sure he heard the sounds. Also, when I do those starts and stops, I give him his vocal commands. For instance, when I would step out, I would say "Buck, Step up", and then walk forward, leading him. It's just one more way you can associate that command to the outcome you want. Once he was walking without a care to the noise, we went back and I tied him again.

I put the bridle on, sized it, and then let him stand. I talked to him while he stood there, letting him know I was there. Buck was a little alarmed at first once his vision was blocked, but after a few unsuccessful tries to turn his head, he gave up and just stood there. I let him stand there for a bit and he was doing awesome. He cocked a rear hoof, and was licking his lips. Both signs of a relaxed horse. Once he relaxed for a bit, I once again led him around like before, watching him for any signs of resistance. He had no resistance in him to this, and thus, I decided to move on to Goal #2.


Here he is ... Buck in harness

Step 3: Ground Drive Buck Single

With the harness on and Buck calm as can be, I hooked up my single lines. I then also got my son to join me with the whip in his hand. This is the stage where Buck learns to listen for commands from behind, instead of following a person in front of him. This is a new concept, and you can see how smart/stubborn a horse is during this time. My son was there with the whip, to tap on his rear end when I told him to step off. I give the command, and then my son starts to tap his butt. As the horse stands, you get harder and harder with the tappings until the horse finally steps forward, at which point you stop tapping. Pretty easy concept, but definitely an extra set of hands is great for this.

We walked Buck out into the open, he then stood still, and I got behind him with the lines. I gave the command, and no response. My son started tapping on his but, to which Buck started backing up. I then instructed my son to hit harder, and he did until Buck finally stepped forward. Success! We then walked a bit, and I got him used to having a bit in his mouth. We did lots of starting and stopping, and used the whip most times to initiate the stepping off.

This stage requires a ton of patience. You have to understand that the horse does not know what you want him to do. After 30 minutes he was still not quite getting the concept without the tapping. It would have been easy to get upset with him, but that is bad for everyone. A good rule of thumb is that if you find yourself getting mad, stop, and pet the horse for a minute. Petting will calm him a bit, and it will reset your mind into the mode where you are looking out for the horses best interest, not your own.

The ground driving session was OK, but I wanted more. So I decided to pull Rachael out of the pasture and hitch them as a team, so Buck could learn the commands from Rachael (my resident pro). :)

Step 4: Drive Buck as part of a Team

This was awesome. I harnessed up Rachael. I hooked the horses together in front with a yoke. I also hooked their rear ends together by hooking the outer tug on each horse together (as I've discussed before on this blog). I had the team lines hooked up, and off we went.

Buck on the left, Rachael on the right

This went exactly like it did for Pam when Lily trained her, and for Nellie, when Rachael trained her. Buck stayed a half a step behind Rachael, and followed her lead on everything. After 10 minutes, he was walking out even with her, feeling the relief in harness pressure as he walked even with her. This was awesome. Everytime we stopped, he'd kick his butt away from Rachael, but that will be corrected with time and work. He would step off good with her, and he turned well with her. And anytime he decided he wanted to stop, Rachael was there to pull him back into the right way.

Rachael, Buck, and a smiling teamster.

Standing still at one of our rests.

One thing that really impressed me was how well he stood. When I gave a "woah", they both stood perfectly still. No prancing or pacing by Buck at all. This was great!