Friday, December 21, 2012

Park Street Wagon Rides a Success!!

This year's wagon rides were great.  It's always a lot of work getting ready for these.  The horses need shoes, and wagon needs to be decorated, the harnesses need to be cleaned, and let's not forget about making sure the horses are in good shape to perform the work.  Each year this is a lot of work, but each year thus far, the results have been great.

I am very lucky to have an up and coming future teamster as my apprentice for these.  His name is Jacob Riddle, and he helps harness the girls, load the girls, hitch the girls, and then is my header at the actual rides.  He then helps me get them home and put away as well.  When available, he also goes on my practice runs, and this is where I let him drive and learn to really handle the horses.  This is his 3rd year helping me, and he really has come into his own.  I'm lucky to have his help.

This year there were only two wagons for 2 of the 3 nights.  My red wagon, and another wagon pulled by a good team of Mules.  Both of us really have our stuff down, and our horses are very well behaved, so it makes for a very smooth night.  Last Saturday was the last night of rides, and both of us teamsters let the organizers know that we'd keep giving rides till there were no more people.  This was a very busy, and very rewarding night.  We ended up doing 8 laps.  The girls were ready for a break after that many rides!

 The last ride was a cute couple that wanted to do something nice together.  The people selling tickets nearly gave them their money back and sent them away because they felt bad for us giving a ride to just a couple, but I told them I'd be delighted to drive them up and down the road.  As it was the last ride of the year, and all was calm on the road, I handed the lines over to Jacob, who did the honors of driving the girls on our final ride.  He did great, and had a lot of fun doing it.

The final night was also fun because I had some friends come out.  Justin and Cindy Ferguson brought their daughters out.  They wanted to make sure they got to ride with me, so they came early.  The girls got to see the horses and I think they really had a good time.  One of the best parts of doing wagon rides, is watching kids smile and enjoy the horses.  Justin and Cindy are great, and a big thank you to them for providing the pictures below.

Cindy Ferguson and her girls meeting Pam after she was unloaded

The Ferguson's and Pam.  HAPPY GIRLS ALL AROUND!
Once all hitched up, Katie wanted to sit on Pam.  Hames make great handles!

That is one happy girl!
Here's a shot of the wagon, ready to go.







Saturday, December 15, 2012

We made the front page news!

Today, December 14, 2012, we were on the front page of the Herald Banner in Greenville, TX.  The picture was taken from the wagon rides last saturday night.  I really like the shot.  Figured I'd share with y'all.

There we are!  Rachael, Pam, me, and Jacob in all our glory.  :)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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!

Stepping off and walking here.

After a good bit of ground driving, I called it a good training session.  They both got brushed really good, and then fed well for their efforts.
Driving back to the trailer to tie up after a nice work session.

A calm and happy Buck after his first training session.

This was a great day!  It was so great to see Buck in harness.  He's going to be a great hitch horse.  I'm glad to have started him.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

More Pictures from last Saturday's Ride

I had a passenger on my wagon who has some skills with a camera.  I got the pictures today and am VERY impressed!  Enjoy!

This is me and my girls.  


Here's the wagon, all decorated for the season.
I don't go far from my Dr. Pepper.  :)
Pat Chase Ground driving his team to hitch them up.

Pat Chase, and my father in law ready for our wagon ride.
My good buddy, Pat Chase with his beautiful Belgians.
My riders.  Jacob my apprentice, and the Jones family.  Great way to spend a day!
My pretty girls.  Rachael and Pam standing for a break. 

Rachal and Pam.  You can kind of see my spreader configuration here.

Standing for a break.
"Rachael, Pam, Haw ... Come Around.  Good girls!"

Pat and Bob enjoying the ride.
Speed Limit 60?  We better get a move on!
Off the busy roads and enjoying the country.

Pat coming up the road.

Belgians and Clydesdales and a Friesian, Oh My!

Here's some more pictures from when I went down and helped Bev and Mark McGowan (Double M Warhorse Ranch in Terrell TX) with some of their horses the other weekend.  Enjoy!

Rosie and Haley getting harness put on
Mark putting the hames on Haley
Ground Driving Haley.  She did great, and within a few minutes, she remembered exactly what this was all about.
Driving Haley
Mark and his baby, Rosie.

Rosie.  I'm on the lines.  This horse is one stubborn horse!
First go round with Pride on the cart.  Dream come true for Mark.  :)
Pride was a pro.  Making some final adjustments to the shafts, and then Mark is on his own.

And he's off!  Mark and Pride on the cart.
3 mares and Vegas, the stallion!  I love this picture.
Klaas the Friesian stud colt.  Oh my was this horse fun to work!
Me and Klaas

Klaas was great!  I'm sacking him out a bit here.  Smart boy and a quick learner!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Busy times prepping for the Christmas season.

Whew!  It's a whirlwind of horse activity at my place right now.  So much that I can't seem to find time to post about it.

I had the best draft farrier around out to my place.  Oliver Jetton came out and put shoes on the Rachael and Pam.  Pam has been turning into a bit of a butthead lately with her feet.  When Oliver first picked the front hoof up, she stomped it back down in a defiant manner.  Oliver remained calm, used his little rope trick, and instantly Pam remembered him and stood like a lady for him the rest of the time.  I swear he is part horse whisperer to the drafts.  Thanks Oliver!
Oliver on the left with his son putting shoes on Pam

Oliver and son putting shoes on Rachael
Another fun thing I got to do was to head over to my friend Bev's and help do an assessment on their horses.  This meant that we pulled out all their harness and took inventory, then I pulled a few horses out and we saw how they worked.  I got to work Haley, a big ol' Belgian.  She was a ribbon winner in cart, so she went right to work and is going to be a great wagon horse for Mark and Bev.  I also worked Rosie (oh Rosie ... Rosie Rosie ... the same Rosie that gave me fits at my place last year).  She hasn't changed.  So we moved on.  :)  I got to work Pride, a black Clydesdale.  We got her hooked to the cart and mark went for his first ride with his horse and his cart.  Way awesome.  Lastly, I got to work their Friesian stud colt.  He's so awesome.  We worked on standing and leading.  He's so gorgeous.  It was a very fun day.  I love when I get to spend time with Mark and Bev.  They are two of the best friends a guy can get.

Mark and Pride on their first ride together.  Awesome!


With shoes on, I've done wagon rides the past 2 weekends in order to help get the girls back in wagon shape.  The first was around 5 miles and had an empty wagon.  The girls barely broke a sweat.  The ride last weekend was 5 miles again, but this time we had a load of people.  I also trotted them a bit more to really work them.  Mission accomplished.  Amazing to me to watch the rust fall off them and see them get their mind back into wagon mode.  We'll be ready for this weekend.
Heading down the driveway

Out on the frontage road.

This is the entire rig (note the new white wheels). 


So here's what December is holding for the Green Teamster.
  • Dec 7th - Greenville Texas Christmas parade (at night)
    • I'm hosting the Park Street historical society.  We'll be advertising for our wagon rides this month.
  • Dec 8th - Park Street Wagon Rides - Greenville Texas
    • Same gig I've done the last 2 years.  Ride up and down historical park street, which is decorated in an impressive manner
  • Dec 14th - Park Street Wagon Rides
  • Dec 15th - Park Street wagon Rides
  • Dec 17th - Possible caroling ride for a church group
  • Dec 23rd - Wagon rides in Terrell
  • Dec 24th - Personal wagon rides for my friends and family