I also worked on my harnesses, but I'll add another blog entry for that.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Changes to my wagon
I also worked on my harnesses, but I'll add another blog entry for that.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
More Pictures of the wagon ride
Monday, March 29, 2010
A wagon ride
Friday, March 26, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Restoring an old harness, Step 1
2 months ago, a friend offered me a set of leather team harnesses. They were complete, and the leather is very pliable, but very dirty. This set was used for her team, and they upgraded to bio harnesses, leaving these old dirty leather ones to sit. A deal was made, and the harnesses arrived at my place.
I wish I had a before picture of the harnesses, but I don't have one. The leather is very soft and pliable. There are no stress cracks, and the only problem with the harness is that it is very dirty. The brass buckles have a lot of green build up, and the leather itself will get your hands quite dirty from handling it. Now that I have Pam and Rachel working okay, I need to get this team harness up and functional. I decided that I am going to clean it very thoroughly by taking it completely apart, cleaning the hardware, and cleaning the leather.
Today I broke the harnesses down. I unhooked all the harness pieces that were hooked with conways, and I unhooked the tugs from the hames. So now everything is separate.
THE HAMES: I unhooked everything possible from the hames. I even took a drill bit, and drilled out the rivets that were holding pieces of leather that were between the tugs and the horse's shoulder. After that I took a wire brush to all of the loose paint. I also wire brushed around each part that sticks out from the hame. I wanted to remove all debris, so that I can repaint them. I am going to tape all the rings and brass balls, and apply a fresh coat of black rustoleum paint. I'm still torn between flat black, or shiny black. Since this is going to be a set of work harnesses, and not fancy parade harnesses, I may just go with flat.
The hames are in really good shape. They didn't take too much to get ready.
TUG HARDWARE: The hardware that held the tugs to the hames is really rusted. They used to be painted, but a lot of use has worn them a bit. I decided that I was going to wire brush each part, including the spacers and bolts. The picture to the right is half-way through that process. The parts on the left are done, the parts on the right are not done. Of the parts not done, the top one shows the side that was on the outside, and the bottom shows the side that was right against the leather. The top one is not black, it is rusted. The picture isn't very clear.
After I finished up with those parts, I decided to keep going and wire brushed all the conways and the snaps that were on the hold back straps. It was really nice to get all these pieces done.
And ... the results for the night. Most the hardware has been brushed and is shiny. The picture below shows it. (I should note that the yellow hue in the pictures is from my energy efficient work lights. They sure don't help with pictures.)
As I get ready to work the leather, I have a lot of questions and need to research this more. It seems everyone has their own idea for the best way to clean up leather. I feel like I should wash each piece with soapy water to clean it, but I know that will make the leather dry out when the wet leather dries. I have a bar of saddle soap, and wanted to use that, but it seems to me that the leather is way to dirty to just do that. The only think that I think I'm sure of is that I'll be using neetsfoot oil after it is all clean. If anyone has any tips on this, please let me know. I'm not much of a leather pro, and I'd hate for my ignorance to do something detrimental to these harnesses.
I wish I had a before picture of the harnesses, but I don't have one. The leather is very soft and pliable. There are no stress cracks, and the only problem with the harness is that it is very dirty. The brass buckles have a lot of green build up, and the leather itself will get your hands quite dirty from handling it. Now that I have Pam and Rachel working okay, I need to get this team harness up and functional. I decided that I am going to clean it very thoroughly by taking it completely apart, cleaning the hardware, and cleaning the leather.
Today I broke the harnesses down. I unhooked all the harness pieces that were hooked with conways, and I unhooked the tugs from the hames. So now everything is separate.
This is the spieders and backsaddles broken down.
This is the cruppers, belly bands, holdback straps, Brichons, and tug holders.
These are the tugs, and the bridles are in the back.
THE HAMES: I unhooked everything possible from the hames. I even took a drill bit, and drilled out the rivets that were holding pieces of leather that were between the tugs and the horse's shoulder. After that I took a wire brush to all of the loose paint. I also wire brushed around each part that sticks out from the hame. I wanted to remove all debris, so that I can repaint them. I am going to tape all the rings and brass balls, and apply a fresh coat of black rustoleum paint. I'm still torn between flat black, or shiny black. Since this is going to be a set of work harnesses, and not fancy parade harnesses, I may just go with flat.
The hames are in really good shape. They didn't take too much to get ready.
After I finished up with those parts, I decided to keep going and wire brushed all the conways and the snaps that were on the hold back straps. It was really nice to get all these pieces done.
And ... the results for the night. Most the hardware has been brushed and is shiny. The picture below shows it. (I should note that the yellow hue in the pictures is from my energy efficient work lights. They sure don't help with pictures.)
As I get ready to work the leather, I have a lot of questions and need to research this more. It seems everyone has their own idea for the best way to clean up leather. I feel like I should wash each piece with soapy water to clean it, but I know that will make the leather dry out when the wet leather dries. I have a bar of saddle soap, and wanted to use that, but it seems to me that the leather is way to dirty to just do that. The only think that I think I'm sure of is that I'll be using neetsfoot oil after it is all clean. If anyone has any tips on this, please let me know. I'm not much of a leather pro, and I'd hate for my ignorance to do something detrimental to these harnesses.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Good, The Bad, and the Awesome!
The Good:
I harnessed up Rachel today, and drug an old tractor tire behind her. This is the setup I use to make sure a horse knows how to move with weight on the tugs (including turning circles wide enough and not stepping over the tugs with her rear feet).
Rachel did awesome. She is such a pro. She responded to everything I asked her to do. I even had her come around 180 degrees with the tire staying in place ( with me holding the chain up and tension on it) and she did it.
After dragging the tire around for quite a bit, I took her back up to the house and tied her for a nice break
The Bad:
No picture for this one. After tieing Rachel, I saddled up Pam, and went for a ride. Pam was doing pretty well. She's still very green, and sometimes I have to use a lot of pressure to keep her head where I want it. I'm thinking about changing her to a liverpool bit instead of the snaffle so I can get more bite on the bit.
We rode for at least 30 minutes, and then, out of the blue, for no reason that I know of, it happened. Rachel suddenly decided to trot. I have stopped her plenty and she's always done just fine. Well when she started to trot, and I put on the brakes, Pam decided that she was going to override the brakes.
She sucked her chin to her chest and lept out into full on bucking. Both rear legs were kicking out. She headed in a straight line just bucking as she went. Thank goodness for my australian saddle (love those wings!) and a mind that stays cool under pressure. Even though she was bucking I kept talking calmly and trying to encourage her to stop. After 100 yards of bucking (it seemed like an eternity) she finally started trotting, and then walked. She then stopped for me and was fine. I pet her really good on her shoulders for stopping and I tried to keep composed with all the adrenaline that was surging through my body. I kept thinking that it couldn't end like that, so I did a few more laps with her, and then we called it a day. I took all the tack off her, and put her away. My legs were still shaking as I walked. I haven't checked, but I'm sure I left a crease in the center of the saddle. :)
The Awesome:
I chilled out for a few minutes, and then decided that since Rachel did so well at pulling the tire, I should really test her. I would've loved to have tried her on a training cart, but since I don't have one, I used what I have. :)
Rachel is SOOOO awesome! She did an incredible job. She was pretty tired, so I didn't do too much with her. I went for a few quick laps, and then my wife and son hopped on and we went for a wagon ride. We just kept it short and went around our whole pasture. Rachel responded awesomely, and even backed the wagon up for me at the end so I could put it away. She's amazing.
After such a great day, I brushed her out good, and gave her a more than healthy serving of her food. I also decided that the girls earned a day in the pasture, so I turned them both out to eat the green grass that is growing right now. They were in heaven.
I Love my horses! They are incredible. What an awesome day!
Rachel did awesome. She is such a pro. She responded to everything I asked her to do. I even had her come around 180 degrees with the tire staying in place ( with me holding the chain up and tension on it) and she did it.
After dragging the tire around for quite a bit, I took her back up to the house and tied her for a nice break
The Bad:
No picture for this one. After tieing Rachel, I saddled up Pam, and went for a ride. Pam was doing pretty well. She's still very green, and sometimes I have to use a lot of pressure to keep her head where I want it. I'm thinking about changing her to a liverpool bit instead of the snaffle so I can get more bite on the bit.
We rode for at least 30 minutes, and then, out of the blue, for no reason that I know of, it happened. Rachel suddenly decided to trot. I have stopped her plenty and she's always done just fine. Well when she started to trot, and I put on the brakes, Pam decided that she was going to override the brakes.
She sucked her chin to her chest and lept out into full on bucking. Both rear legs were kicking out. She headed in a straight line just bucking as she went. Thank goodness for my australian saddle (love those wings!) and a mind that stays cool under pressure. Even though she was bucking I kept talking calmly and trying to encourage her to stop. After 100 yards of bucking (it seemed like an eternity) she finally started trotting, and then walked. She then stopped for me and was fine. I pet her really good on her shoulders for stopping and I tried to keep composed with all the adrenaline that was surging through my body. I kept thinking that it couldn't end like that, so I did a few more laps with her, and then we called it a day. I took all the tack off her, and put her away. My legs were still shaking as I walked. I haven't checked, but I'm sure I left a crease in the center of the saddle. :)
The Awesome:
I chilled out for a few minutes, and then decided that since Rachel did so well at pulling the tire, I should really test her. I would've loved to have tried her on a training cart, but since I don't have one, I used what I have. :)
Rachel is SOOOO awesome! She did an incredible job. She was pretty tired, so I didn't do too much with her. I went for a few quick laps, and then my wife and son hopped on and we went for a wagon ride. We just kept it short and went around our whole pasture. Rachel responded awesomely, and even backed the wagon up for me at the end so I could put it away. She's amazing.
After such a great day, I brushed her out good, and gave her a more than healthy serving of her food. I also decided that the girls earned a day in the pasture, so I turned them both out to eat the green grass that is growing right now. They were in heaven.
I Love my horses! They are incredible. What an awesome day!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Rachel Drives!!!
This afternoon was awesome! I got home with plenty of time to kill, and decided that I would work the horses. Rachel needs to gain a bit of muscle, and I want to see what she remembers from her old hitch training, so it seemed logical that ground driving her was the best thing to do. So that is just what I did.
She harnessed up with no problem, and even let me slide the collar over her head instead of unhooking the clasp. I was very happy about that. When the lines got hooked up to the bit, she started getting a bit antsy. She wanted to start walking off, but the lead rope was keeping her in place. Once I was ready, I unhooked her lead rope, walked behind her, and we were off.
When I told her to "Step up", she sprung into a canter. Her feet were lifting well, and I jogged behind her keeping the tension on the lines. She responded VERY lightly to the lines. I was really excited about this.
I walked her in a few circles, and then stopped her. She really struggled at standing still. She kept throwing her head, and wanting to get moving again.
After 15 minutes, she settled in nicely, and I was just enjoying myself driving her. She was incredibley responsive. The slightest pressure on either line would get her to move, and towards the end of our session, she was stopping on the whoa command before I really put any pressure on the lines.
Like Lily, Rachel had someone who loved her enough to put some time into her training. She seemed to remember what to do, and after 40 minutes of driving, she was acting like a pro. Thanks so much to whoever trained her!
I wore her out after 45 minutes of driving. Her head was getting pretty low towards the end (which is when my wife took the pictures). This was a great day! Rachel got a good work out, and I got to see her perform in harness.
This really exctied me, because I had counted myself out this year for all the major parades. I'm almost thinking that I may not be down for as long as I thought.
Up next, drive her while dragging the tractor tire behind her. Once I'm comfortable with her doing that, then I'll head to my friend Rogers, and make use of his 2 wheeled training cart. If that goes well, I'll have to dust off my wagon, and get working her with a real wagon.
Great times here! I've got a great team, and they are coming along nicely. I can't be more satisfied right now!!
She harnessed up with no problem, and even let me slide the collar over her head instead of unhooking the clasp. I was very happy about that. When the lines got hooked up to the bit, she started getting a bit antsy. She wanted to start walking off, but the lead rope was keeping her in place. Once I was ready, I unhooked her lead rope, walked behind her, and we were off.
I walked her in a few circles, and then stopped her. She really struggled at standing still. She kept throwing her head, and wanting to get moving again.
After 15 minutes, she settled in nicely, and I was just enjoying myself driving her. She was incredibley responsive. The slightest pressure on either line would get her to move, and towards the end of our session, she was stopping on the whoa command before I really put any pressure on the lines.
Like Lily, Rachel had someone who loved her enough to put some time into her training. She seemed to remember what to do, and after 40 minutes of driving, she was acting like a pro. Thanks so much to whoever trained her!
I wore her out after 45 minutes of driving. Her head was getting pretty low towards the end (which is when my wife took the pictures). This was a great day! Rachel got a good work out, and I got to see her perform in harness.
Up next, drive her while dragging the tractor tire behind her. Once I'm comfortable with her doing that, then I'll head to my friend Rogers, and make use of his 2 wheeled training cart. If that goes well, I'll have to dust off my wagon, and get working her with a real wagon.
Great times here! I've got a great team, and they are coming along nicely. I can't be more satisfied right now!!
Playing with Rachel's baby
Last night I spent some more time with Rachel. I really really like this mare. The more I get to know her, the more she impresses me. As I walked into her stall, she gently walked over to me and lowered her head right to the perfect height for me to put on her halter. It was awesome. I've never had a horse that would do that before. I've had them stand still, but never lower their head to make life easy.
I brushed Rachel out real good, and the wife and I were assessing Rachel's pregnancy. I've had my doubts lately about how soon Rachel is going to foal, and so I had my wife (who is a vet tech for a small animal clinic in town) out to help me in assessing the situation. As I brushed her all over, I noticed a bit of movement on Rachel’s right side, in the soft area between her ribs and her rear leg. I put my hand there, and there was distinct movement, that I could not dismiss as gas or normal digestive movement. My wife and I both held our hands on this area and felt the baby moving around. It was really cool! I started pressing in on that area, and the little foal seemed to push back. I pressed again and the area didn't budge at all, as if trying to resist my pushing. Then suddenly the foal moved and disappeared completely from that spot. A few seconds later the movement came back to that area.
So Rachel is bred. I have no idea when to expect the baby. She isn't bagging at all, but I've read and heard that that isn't necessary a guarantee that she won't foal soon. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I'll just keep working her and getting her in shape.
One other cool thing to note today is the change in Pam. Pam used to be this normal horse, who liked other horses and didn't want any human interaction at all. Well last night as we were focusing so much time and attention on Rachel, Pam was right there, longing for attention. If we came within her heads reach of the fence line, she would reach out and gently nuzzle us. She seems to love the affection that comes from humans now. It's awesome to see this horse transform like this. I even caught a glimpse of her nuzzling Rachel. These two girls are kept in different stalls, but I think they are already pretty good friends. It's awesome to have 2 sweet girls like I have. How did I get so lucky?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Rachel In Harness
Well, today was an amazingly beautiful day. On days like today, I can't help but work the horses! (especially after all the rain and mud we've had this year).
So today, Pam and I did our thing. She once again let me lift her feet and clean them out without the use of the rope I've been using for training. She did awesome. I was going to saddle her up and ride, but I have some plans for later, and I decided that I wanted to spend more time with Rachel today. So Pam got put away, but she wasn't sad at all, cuz we had a whole bag of apples that were on the downhill side of their life. Rachel didn't want any, so Pam got all of them. She was very very happy about that.
So Rachel got some real nice one on one time. I really like her!! She is so easy to work, and so laid back. She is a lot like Lily in that I can do anything to her without her even caring. She even surpasses Lily in that she will let me also mess with her ears and mouth (Lily was protective of those areas). Rachel is filling out nicely, and I think I've been able to give her more nutrients than her baby is taking. She isn't bagging yet, so I'm not expecting a baby anytime soon.
After all the brushing, I decided to put the harness on her and see how she took to it. I decided to put the bridle on first, since I was pretty sure she was going to need to get use to the straight liverpool bit that I use. It took some work to get her to take the bit, but we got there. I then let her stand for 15 minutes while she kept shaking her head trying to get the halter off. She didn't complain at all about the rest of the harness. She stood like a lady (aside from the occasional head shake) and let me adjust everything to her.
After that, I spend 30 minutes just walking her around my property. She didn't react at all to all the metal parts moving and clanging together. I decided to keep todays lesson simple, and end it at that. Maybe next time I'll hook the lines up and work on ground driving her.
I did stop for a second, and ran in the house and got a camera. So here she is. Rachel in harness.
So today, Pam and I did our thing. She once again let me lift her feet and clean them out without the use of the rope I've been using for training. She did awesome. I was going to saddle her up and ride, but I have some plans for later, and I decided that I wanted to spend more time with Rachel today. So Pam got put away, but she wasn't sad at all, cuz we had a whole bag of apples that were on the downhill side of their life. Rachel didn't want any, so Pam got all of them. She was very very happy about that.
So Rachel got some real nice one on one time. I really like her!! She is so easy to work, and so laid back. She is a lot like Lily in that I can do anything to her without her even caring. She even surpasses Lily in that she will let me also mess with her ears and mouth (Lily was protective of those areas). Rachel is filling out nicely, and I think I've been able to give her more nutrients than her baby is taking. She isn't bagging yet, so I'm not expecting a baby anytime soon.
After all the brushing, I decided to put the harness on her and see how she took to it. I decided to put the bridle on first, since I was pretty sure she was going to need to get use to the straight liverpool bit that I use. It took some work to get her to take the bit, but we got there. I then let her stand for 15 minutes while she kept shaking her head trying to get the halter off. She didn't complain at all about the rest of the harness. She stood like a lady (aside from the occasional head shake) and let me adjust everything to her.
After that, I spend 30 minutes just walking her around my property. She didn't react at all to all the metal parts moving and clanging together. I decided to keep todays lesson simple, and end it at that. Maybe next time I'll hook the lines up and work on ground driving her.
I did stop for a second, and ran in the house and got a camera. So here she is. Rachel in harness.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Introducing ... Rachel.
Introducing the newest member of the 3A Ranch. This is Rachel. I got her from a friend who has a private rescue organization here in greenville, tx. (http://www.wrights3wranch.com)
Rachel is really sweet natured with me, and reminds me a lot of Lily. She walked right up to me to put the halter on, and then she trailered without a problem. Once I got her home, she had to stand tied for 1 1/2 hours while I got her stall (which will also be a foaling stall) ready. To my surprise, she stood like a perfect lady. No pawing or other bad habits or anxieties were shown. I was very impressed with her. I was told that she was green broke on hitch a few years ago, so I'll have to see what she remembers.
Besides being totally happy with how awesome Rachel is, I saw these two girls together, and realized what a close match they are. Rachel is a bit taller than Pam, and Pam is wider than Rachel. But they look pretty close to each other in size. Looking at those two together got me real excited about the team in the making I have. It's gonna take a lot of work to get there, but I'm excited to do it. I think Rachel is going to fit in real nicely here at the ranch.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Gordyville USA
Last week I went to The Mid-American draft horse sale in Gifford Illinois (aka Gordyville). My friend Pat called and asked me if I wanted to attend with him. Upon learning more, I found out that this sale is pretty much the best of the best in Percherons and Belgians. I was excited to go and see what the best horses look like. I pulled some strings, got work off, and went up with my friend Pat.
Pat and I left Wednesday morning at around 9AM. It was a 12 hour drive to get there. Much of this was new terrain for me to cover. We headed east through Texarkana and then on up to Little Rock Arkansas. From there we continued up into Missouri and then into Illinois. The highlight of the drive up was crossing the mighty Mississippi river. I have never seen it before, and it truly is marvelous. I had no idea that it was as wide as it is. It was awesome to see.
I absolutely love road trips. There’s something awesome about seeing this great land with your own eyes. Cruise control set 5 over the limit, sunflower seeds, and Dr. pepper make for good driving. The hours passed quickly and eventually we arrived at the hotel, and hit the sack. Sleep came easy after spending the entire day on the road.
The next day we got prepared for the day at the sale. The temps were in the teens outside. The sun was out, but I had forgotten what an icy wind really felt like. Texas sure has spoiled me.
The sale was in a giant indoor building. The layout consisted of stalls up and down both sides of the building. The center portion was divided in half. The front half was arranged with bleachers and this is where the auction would take place. The second half was the hitching area. This is where horses were hitched to wagons either single or as a team so that potential bidders could see them work. There was also a second building that had some vendors and shops.
I was blown away with this experience. Pat and I began looking at the horses in the stalls, and looking in our sale guide to see the details on each horse. Pat is amazing at knowing bloodlines. Walking around with him was a very educational thing for me. Pat knew which sires were good, and what they were good for. He also knew which mares were good. It was awesome to hear him talk about all this stuff. It was completely new to me, so it was like drinking from a fire hose at first. J
When I saw my first Belgian worked in the hitching area, I was floored. This was the first time I had ever seen the high stepping action that the high dollar horses do. It was so cool looking. Basically, the front hooves, come all the way up to their shoulders when they trot if the horse does it right. VERY PRETTY! Both Percherons and Belgians are desired to do this.
In order to make this somewhat shorter, I’m going to give some bullets and put my thoughts on it. I could probably write a novel with how much I observed and learned.
· The Amish: This was the first time I’ve ever seen the Amish people. This sale was about 90% Amish, so it was definitely out of the norm for me. If I had to stereotype, I would say that they are a short, healthy group. It didn’t look like many of the men were even 6 foot tall. What they lacked in height, they made up for in other area’s though. I didn’t see a single overweight Amish person. They were all very fit, and very healthy. I would also have to say that these people are masters of horsemanship. Watching them work them was awesome. They make it look easy. The conversations I had with a few of them were very pleasant. I really enjoyed being exposed to them for the first time and seeing what wonderful people they are.
· The horses: It was amazing to see so many top notch horses in one place. All of these horses were amazing. The ones with the good leg action, size, and bloodlines went for a lot of money. (I saw a Percheron gelding go for 32K, and a Belgian mare go for 16.5K) It was interesting to see what traits were desirable and which were not. To my surprise, there were many there that were quite affordable. Some of the mares (which were better looking that most I’ve ever seen) went for a thousand dollars. That floored me. Most draft rescues I have seen, want 1500 or so for their horses, and then you might get a horse who is overcoming some health issue, with no papers, and only 30 days training. These horses at the sale were all extremely well trained, and had good papers to boot. I guess a person might get warm fuzzies from knowing they rescued a horse from somewhere, but I get warm fuzzies knowing I have a top notch mare that is trained and papered.
· America’s farmland: It was incredible to see the land in Illinois. Pat explained that all the farmland I saw was usually filled with corn in the normal season. The land stretched for miles and miles, and was dotted with farmhouses, and silo’s for storage. It was quite a sight. Pat also taught me about the history of farming in this region, and explained many of the outbuilding on each farm to me. It was very cool!
· A friends horse: My wonderful friend Pam had a horse that she bred selling at the sale. Pam was at the sale and I got to meet her for the first time ever. What a wonderful friend I found thanks to my yahoo horse group. This horse, Cassie, was 3-4 years old, and Pam sold her at 6 months old. The current owner had her trained amazing, and was selling her. I got to watch her pull a cart, and wow was she good. She had really good leg action, wonderful conformation, and a cute little white spot on her rear end. Pam was beaming with pride. It really says something about your breeding program when you have a horse that gets sold at Gordyville. This is not the kind of sale that average, non-papered horses go to. Cassie was superb and looked wonderful at the sale. Congrats Pam on helping to bring a wonderful mare into this world.
· Show me the money: One amazing thing I noticed, is the gap in pricing between Percherons and Belgians. Just looking at Geldings. The average price for a Percheron gelding at this sale was ~7000. Contrast that to a Belgian gelding that averaged at ~5000. Almost all the Percherons were pure black. I kind of got the feeling that if you want to be into draft horses for the money, Percherons is where the money is. LOL.
The sale was simply amazing and I would love to make it a habit to go there every year. It’s a lot of fun to see beautiful horses and hang out with wonderful horse owners. This trip was awesome and taught me a whole lot of stuff I didn’t know. Thanks for asking me to go Pat! I could not have had a better time with a better friend. Thank you so much!
I took some video clips at the sale. Sorry, no sound. Click the link to see the video.
A short clip of Cassie hitched to a cart
A long clip of Cassie hitched to a cart
A clip of Cassie being sold at the auction
The sale was simply amazing and I would love to make it a habit to go there every year. It’s a lot of fun to see beautiful horses and hang out with wonderful horse owners. This trip was awesome and taught me a whole lot of stuff I didn’t know. Thanks for asking me to go Pat! I could not have had a better time with a better friend. Thank you so much!
I took some video clips at the sale. Sorry, no sound. Click the link to see the video.
A short clip of Cassie hitched to a cart
A long clip of Cassie hitched to a cart
A clip of Cassie being sold at the auction
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Rode Pam again (wife got pictures!)
So this afternoon, I rode Pam again. My son rode his horse too. Good times on a great day!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
I have some wonderful friends!
Today I got a call from my friend Kim. She told me that she needed me to come over because she had something for me. Riley and I went to pay a visit and got a wonderful surprise.
Kim, Deb, and Pam, from my yahoo horse group, had a tribute to Lily put together. It is amazing. This wonderful tribute captures everything Lily was to me.
How lucky I am, to have such wonderful friends. This is something that will be cherished. It will always remind me of my wonderful horse, and my wonderful friends who loved her with me.
Kim, Deb, and Pam, from my yahoo horse group, had a tribute to Lily put together. It is amazing. This wonderful tribute captures everything Lily was to me.
How lucky I am, to have such wonderful friends. This is something that will be cherished. It will always remind me of my wonderful horse, and my wonderful friends who loved her with me.
What a day!!!
Today was a wonderful day!
I started off by working with Pam. The Weather was in the 40s, and it was sunny. After our daily brushing, and working her feet, I decided that I would put the saddle on Pam and see how she did. At first she was apprehensive at the blanket (thinking that it was obviously a horse-eating monster of some kind) but a slow hand and patience with her had her not afraid in no time. The same thing happened with the saddle, but before she knew it, she had a girth tight around her belly, and the bridle on. I walked her around a bit so she could feel this tight girth and get used to it. She had no problems with it.
Pam was much more aware of her surroundings today than when I drive her in harness, and I attributed this to the fact that this was a normal bridle, without blinders. To help calm her, I ground drove her with this saddle and bridle. She did pretty well and was following command in no time.
I then tied her, and spent a few minutes climbing in and out of the saddle on both sides. Pam had no problem with this, and stayed perfectly still while I was swinging up and down.
So next I had Riley (my son) hop in the saddle, and I lead him around. He had a blast and next thing I knew, a half hour had passed of me just walking Pam around. Riley is a real talker, and time always seems to pass fast when he is out with me.
Pam was doing so well, that I talked Riley out of the saddle, so that I could try Pam for the first time myself. Riley was on standby just in case he needed to run and get mom in case something bad happened.
And then it happened. I unsnapped the lead rope, gave a steady "woah" and hopped up in the saddle. Pam stayed still just fine, and let me get both feet in the stirrups properly. Next, with the reins in my hands, I gave her the command. It took some coaxing, to get her to respond, but she slowly did, and seemed to love the praise she received after doing what I wanted.
It was awesome riding her! She is MUCH wider than Lily, and a few inches higher. She was very calm, and at no point was I ever scared that she was going to do anything I didn't want. It was incredible.
To top that off, after I got off her, I lifted her feet and cleaned them out. She let me do this to all 4 feet, something that she has not allowed up to this point.
Woo Hoo! It was awesome! Pam is coming along nicely!
I started off by working with Pam. The Weather was in the 40s, and it was sunny. After our daily brushing, and working her feet, I decided that I would put the saddle on Pam and see how she did. At first she was apprehensive at the blanket (thinking that it was obviously a horse-eating monster of some kind) but a slow hand and patience with her had her not afraid in no time. The same thing happened with the saddle, but before she knew it, she had a girth tight around her belly, and the bridle on. I walked her around a bit so she could feel this tight girth and get used to it. She had no problems with it.
Pam was much more aware of her surroundings today than when I drive her in harness, and I attributed this to the fact that this was a normal bridle, without blinders. To help calm her, I ground drove her with this saddle and bridle. She did pretty well and was following command in no time.
I then tied her, and spent a few minutes climbing in and out of the saddle on both sides. Pam had no problem with this, and stayed perfectly still while I was swinging up and down.
So next I had Riley (my son) hop in the saddle, and I lead him around. He had a blast and next thing I knew, a half hour had passed of me just walking Pam around. Riley is a real talker, and time always seems to pass fast when he is out with me.
Pam was doing so well, that I talked Riley out of the saddle, so that I could try Pam for the first time myself. Riley was on standby just in case he needed to run and get mom in case something bad happened.
And then it happened. I unsnapped the lead rope, gave a steady "woah" and hopped up in the saddle. Pam stayed still just fine, and let me get both feet in the stirrups properly. Next, with the reins in my hands, I gave her the command. It took some coaxing, to get her to respond, but she slowly did, and seemed to love the praise she received after doing what I wanted.
It was awesome riding her! She is MUCH wider than Lily, and a few inches higher. She was very calm, and at no point was I ever scared that she was going to do anything I didn't want. It was incredible.
To top that off, after I got off her, I lifted her feet and cleaned them out. She let me do this to all 4 feet, something that she has not allowed up to this point.
Woo Hoo! It was awesome! Pam is coming along nicely!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Not much new, working as I can
With all the moisture and cold, not a lot has been going on. Today I did work with Pam a bit. She is getting much better with her feet, and I think she is slowly starting to enjoy the love and attention shown to her. Today I actually sat on her back for the first time, and she didn't complain about it at all. I LOVE the cold blood in these awesome horses.
My big news is that this next week I may get to go to the Gordyville sale. Gordyville (or the Mid-American horse sale) is held once a year and is where the best of the best in registered Belgians and Percherons can be found. My friend Pat invited me to go with him, and I'm hoping my work will let me go. I would love to go and see for myself what the high dollar horses look like (what traits and conformation are desirable).
Another great thing about going to this sale would be the chance to get to meet a friend who actually has a horse from one of her mares selling. Pam Johnson is a wonderful person and a great spokesperson for the Belgian breed. You can check out her website at www.sandrockbelgians.com. I hope to get to meet her face to face. Pam has been a member of the yahoogroup I have been in since I got Lily, and her advice has helped me through many things.
Hopefully my next post will be all about how wonderful the sale was. :)
My big news is that this next week I may get to go to the Gordyville sale. Gordyville (or the Mid-American horse sale) is held once a year and is where the best of the best in registered Belgians and Percherons can be found. My friend Pat invited me to go with him, and I'm hoping my work will let me go. I would love to go and see for myself what the high dollar horses look like (what traits and conformation are desirable).
Another great thing about going to this sale would be the chance to get to meet a friend who actually has a horse from one of her mares selling. Pam Johnson is a wonderful person and a great spokesperson for the Belgian breed. You can check out her website at www.sandrockbelgians.com. I hope to get to meet her face to face. Pam has been a member of the yahoogroup I have been in since I got Lily, and her advice has helped me through many things.
Hopefully my next post will be all about how wonderful the sale was. :)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Snow?!?
I woke up this morning to snow. That’s right, snow, the real deal (not some kind of sleety rain that Texas see’s from time to time). I haven’t seen snow like this since I lived in Utah. It was very elegant to see everything with a blanket of white. It was also refreshing to see the horses in a white pen (instead of a mud pen). I took some pictures too. Enjoy!
The picture of the horses also shows my feeding configuration I described a few blogs back.
Monday, February 8, 2010
TOO MUCH RAIN!
I am soooo sick and tired of rain. This black clay ground of mine is just a sponge right now. The driveway is looking like something set up for a mud bogging contest for big trucks. This time of year is usually my most productive with the outside work. Usually it's nice and dry now, and with the cold temps, and slow growth of all the grasses, trees and weeds, its normally a great time to trim fencelines, gather broken limbs, and just do some overall maintenance on the place.
Aside from the horrible mud, I have learned something new that I hate wet ground for.
Pam is confined in my small pen right now with my son's quarterhorse. This pen used to be my goat pen. It is made up of 5 strands of electrical wire (which is not hot because the unit died) and before putting Pam inside, I added one strand of barbed wire to the top and stretched it nice and tight.
Pam has no fear of hotwire. I don't think she's ever been around it. Needless to say, she figured out that she can stick her head through the fence to get at the grass on the other side of the fence. I noticed some of my posts beginning to lean, and I knew I needed to get another hotwire unit, but I figured I had some time.
Did you know that in this spongey ground, a draft horse can put it's head under a tight barbed wire strand, lift her head up, and pull 6 t-posts out of the ground? I sure didn't. Saturday my son went to feed his horse, and informed me that Pam was out of the pen. Sure enough, she had lifted 6 posts up and then as the wire slide down her mane, she just walked forward, breaking the 4 strands of hot wire (which was not hot). GRRRRRRRRRR! Of course, this happened an hour after I had come in for the day, showered, and gotten in my comfy flannel pj bottoms.
So ol' Tim got to spend saturday night, out in the cold, pounding fence posts back in and fixing fence. To add insult to injury, I had to cut my awesomely tight strand of barbed wire to get Pam back on my property. She then got put in her small stall, and had to wait while I fixed the fences. I went to Tractor Supply, and got a new hot wire unit.
I rigged the whole pen up with 2 strands of hot wire. One at about 4 foot high, the other at about 2 1/2. One leg of the hotwire also runs down the stall she is in.
I got it all rigged up, and went inside and plugged it in, and I had a short somewhere. So out into the cold I went to find it. I found the problem spot, and as soon as I fixed it, I heard a startled Pam jump about a foot off the ground and run to the other side of the stall. I guess she was standing with her neck right on the hot wire just leaning on it. A sadistic grin came across my face. Hot wire is a great lesson for a horse to learn and a wonderful thing for a horse to respect. Because of Lily's great respect for hotwire, I could put up a single strand of wire and she was contained. I'm hoping that I can get Pam there as well.
So Pam got moved back into her pen and got given some food. I smiled a bigger smile the next day when I noticed that she spent all day eating on the round bale in the pen, instead of reaching through the fence for the other grass. HOORAY FOR HOTWIRE!
Now ... if I can just do something about drying up all this land, I'll be able to actually work my land. I hope someday it dries up!!
Aside from the horrible mud, I have learned something new that I hate wet ground for.
Pam is confined in my small pen right now with my son's quarterhorse. This pen used to be my goat pen. It is made up of 5 strands of electrical wire (which is not hot because the unit died) and before putting Pam inside, I added one strand of barbed wire to the top and stretched it nice and tight.
Pam has no fear of hotwire. I don't think she's ever been around it. Needless to say, she figured out that she can stick her head through the fence to get at the grass on the other side of the fence. I noticed some of my posts beginning to lean, and I knew I needed to get another hotwire unit, but I figured I had some time.
Did you know that in this spongey ground, a draft horse can put it's head under a tight barbed wire strand, lift her head up, and pull 6 t-posts out of the ground? I sure didn't. Saturday my son went to feed his horse, and informed me that Pam was out of the pen. Sure enough, she had lifted 6 posts up and then as the wire slide down her mane, she just walked forward, breaking the 4 strands of hot wire (which was not hot). GRRRRRRRRRR! Of course, this happened an hour after I had come in for the day, showered, and gotten in my comfy flannel pj bottoms.
So ol' Tim got to spend saturday night, out in the cold, pounding fence posts back in and fixing fence. To add insult to injury, I had to cut my awesomely tight strand of barbed wire to get Pam back on my property. She then got put in her small stall, and had to wait while I fixed the fences. I went to Tractor Supply, and got a new hot wire unit.
I rigged the whole pen up with 2 strands of hot wire. One at about 4 foot high, the other at about 2 1/2. One leg of the hotwire also runs down the stall she is in.
I got it all rigged up, and went inside and plugged it in, and I had a short somewhere. So out into the cold I went to find it. I found the problem spot, and as soon as I fixed it, I heard a startled Pam jump about a foot off the ground and run to the other side of the stall. I guess she was standing with her neck right on the hot wire just leaning on it. A sadistic grin came across my face. Hot wire is a great lesson for a horse to learn and a wonderful thing for a horse to respect. Because of Lily's great respect for hotwire, I could put up a single strand of wire and she was contained. I'm hoping that I can get Pam there as well.
So Pam got moved back into her pen and got given some food. I smiled a bigger smile the next day when I noticed that she spent all day eating on the round bale in the pen, instead of reaching through the fence for the other grass. HOORAY FOR HOTWIRE!
Now ... if I can just do something about drying up all this land, I'll be able to actually work my land. I hope someday it dries up!!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The GreenTeamster meets the WagonTeamster
When I first began working Lily, I was introduced to a blog by Bob Skelding (www.wagonteamster.com). It is an awesome read for anyone who likes the thought of paying less attention to the physical things in life, and paying more attention to the people and beauty this country of ours has to offer. To summarize, Bob left everything behind, and is traveling around the country with his 3 draft horses (2 belgians, Bill and Bob, and percheron, Doc), and a great friend Denise.
When I first started reading about Bob and his travels, it really motivated me to work Lily. Bob is a wonderful writer, and through his words, I was inspired to get my horse hitch ready, and start pulling wagons.
Well it just so happens that Bob is in North East Texas. I couldn't let a hero of mine swing within an hour of me and not say hello, so I called my friend Pat, and together we went out in search of the WagonTeamster. Due to the horrendous internet signals in north east Texas, we had to put on our Sherlock Holmes hats to find him. I think I called every feed store, gas station, and other store in Gilmer to see if they'd seen him. The negative responses told me that was where he would be today. Off we headed to Gilmer, TX. Luckily, Bob does not have any diapers on his horses, so once we found the horse apples (and made a call to my wife to get details from his newly updated blog) we were able to track him down.
We crested a hill, and caught a glimpse of a flashing yellow light, and a very handsome belgian gelding trailing a wagon (Yes B.O.B., I'm talking about you). SUCCESS!! When traffic slowed down a bit, we pulled up along side the wagon and informed Bob and Denise that we came bearing gifts. Pat (who cuts hay) had a few bales of some choice Texas hay. We aggreed to stop at the top of the incline we were on. Pat and I got in front of the wagon, and rode up till we found a spot where the wagon could ease off the shoulder a bit.
It was awesome to meet Bob. I've seen plenty of pictures from reading his blog for so long. Meeting him face to face was great. We exhanged pleasantries, and then decided to get the hay we brought onto the wagon. Because of the limited storage Bob had, we had to practically unload his trailer, and then stack the hay in. We also let the boys sample the hay. Doc and Bill informed me that it was DELICIOUS!!
We got the hay loaded, and then posed for a few pictures with Doc and Bill (the percheron and belgian that Bob was using for today). After that Denise offered to drive Pats truck, and let Pat and I ride in the wagon with Bob for a while. I felt like a little kid at christmas. How could I say no to such an offer.
We loaded in the wagon, and off we went.
It was so awesome to watch Bob work the team. If you've ever seen a true craftsman working in his element, that is what this was like. Doc and Bill were synced up nice, and down the road we went.
I found Bob to be one of the most pleasant people I've met in a while, and Denise as well. I found that life at 3 MPH is wonderful!!
With Pat and I sitting with Bob, almost all the conversation was related to hitches and horses. I have one year under my belt, and Pat has 7, so we had LOTS of questions. It was a wonderful ride and I learned a whole lot. I think Bob has more horse knowledge in his pinky finger than I do in my entire brain.
It was great to head slowly down the road, chatting away, and learning at the same time. Bob was so laid back and at ease, you wouldn't have thought he was driving the horses at all. Truly a master of his art!
I have no idea how long we actually rode with him. I joked with Pat that it was a good thing I didn't bring a sleeping bag or I might have tried to go along for good. That would get me in the doghouse with the wifey though, so I guess it was all for the best! :)
Thanks so much for having us Bob. You and Denise were wonderful. It was great to spend a short amount of time with you. I hope to stay in touch. Maybe when I get my team I can join you in another of your adventures.
Anyone who has not read Bob's blog, I encourage you to do so. www.wagonteamster.com
We loaded in the wagon, and off we went.
It was so awesome to watch Bob work the team. If you've ever seen a true craftsman working in his element, that is what this was like. Doc and Bill were synced up nice, and down the road we went.
With Pat and I sitting with Bob, almost all the conversation was related to hitches and horses. I have one year under my belt, and Pat has 7, so we had LOTS of questions. It was a wonderful ride and I learned a whole lot. I think Bob has more horse knowledge in his pinky finger than I do in my entire brain.
I have no idea how long we actually rode with him. I joked with Pat that it was a good thing I didn't bring a sleeping bag or I might have tried to go along for good. That would get me in the doghouse with the wifey though, so I guess it was all for the best! :)
Thanks so much for having us Bob. You and Denise were wonderful. It was great to spend a short amount of time with you. I hope to stay in touch. Maybe when I get my team I can join you in another of your adventures.
Anyone who has not read Bob's blog, I encourage you to do so. www.wagonteamster.com
Monday, February 1, 2010
Feelin' that good drivin' feelin'!!
For me, when driving a horse, there is an amazing feeling. I'm not sure if it's because you are successfully doing something that not many people can do, if it's the satisfaction that you are successfully conveying directions to a horse and it is listening and responding appropriately, or if it's just because it's fun. I recon it's a bit of all of them, mostly the fun one.
Today I got home, and since I had a few hours of daylight, I thought I'd put the honey do's aside, and work Pam. I love having Pam up close to the house. She meets me at the gate, and lowers her head to get that halter on. It's kind of nice.
So I got Pam out, and began with the basics. After she did very well at the groundwork basics I wanted to do, I decided that I was going to give her a real test. I was going to ground drive her and see how much of what she learned with Lily was retained. I decided to put the entire harness on her, so that it might help her to remember the last time she was in it.
Next thing you know, she's all harnessed up, and I'm standing behind her with the reins in my hands. Now is the time. The next move would tell how much she recalled. Last time I got to this point, my commands to start walking were worthless. "Alright Pam, easy up" slipped out of my mouth, followed by a few clicks.
And then it happened ... she stepped off!! I must've had an ear to ear grin, just like a kid who just got his dog to do a trick he taught it. It was great. We spent the next 30 minutes walking, stopping, and turning. She's still got a ways to go till she's fully used to the bit. Right now she really leans on one side, making it hard to keep the tension on it how I want. But she was stepping off!! That was great!! I didn't work on backing, I decided just to keep this day simple, and give her lots of praise.
After a great ground driving session, We stopped, and she stood great for me while I got the harness off. After that, she got brushed out, and then I used a rope to lift her feet. She did great with this! She fought hard for a few seconds, but with a lot of "easy" words, and some rubbing on her side, she let up, and relaxed. As soon as she did this, I let her put her foot down. I repeated this 3 times on each foot. This worked WONDERFUL!
Lastly, she got put back away, and got a full scoop of food. She was very happy, as was I. Today I got that feeling again. That great feeling that comes from driving a horse. For me it just gets inside, and it feels great. Pam has potential!! I may not be set back as far as I thought. I wonder if I could have her ready by the 4th of July. Hmmmm ... that may be a goal I could reach. Only time will tell. For now I'm satisfied with where we are!!
Today I got home, and since I had a few hours of daylight, I thought I'd put the honey do's aside, and work Pam. I love having Pam up close to the house. She meets me at the gate, and lowers her head to get that halter on. It's kind of nice.
So I got Pam out, and began with the basics. After she did very well at the groundwork basics I wanted to do, I decided that I was going to give her a real test. I was going to ground drive her and see how much of what she learned with Lily was retained. I decided to put the entire harness on her, so that it might help her to remember the last time she was in it.
Next thing you know, she's all harnessed up, and I'm standing behind her with the reins in my hands. Now is the time. The next move would tell how much she recalled. Last time I got to this point, my commands to start walking were worthless. "Alright Pam, easy up" slipped out of my mouth, followed by a few clicks.
And then it happened ... she stepped off!! I must've had an ear to ear grin, just like a kid who just got his dog to do a trick he taught it. It was great. We spent the next 30 minutes walking, stopping, and turning. She's still got a ways to go till she's fully used to the bit. Right now she really leans on one side, making it hard to keep the tension on it how I want. But she was stepping off!! That was great!! I didn't work on backing, I decided just to keep this day simple, and give her lots of praise.
After a great ground driving session, We stopped, and she stood great for me while I got the harness off. After that, she got brushed out, and then I used a rope to lift her feet. She did great with this! She fought hard for a few seconds, but with a lot of "easy" words, and some rubbing on her side, she let up, and relaxed. As soon as she did this, I let her put her foot down. I repeated this 3 times on each foot. This worked WONDERFUL!
Lastly, she got put back away, and got a full scoop of food. She was very happy, as was I. Today I got that feeling again. That great feeling that comes from driving a horse. For me it just gets inside, and it feels great. Pam has potential!! I may not be set back as far as I thought. I wonder if I could have her ready by the 4th of July. Hmmmm ... that may be a goal I could reach. Only time will tell. For now I'm satisfied with where we are!!
Moving on?
I’m trying as best I can to move forward and continue with my love of working draft horses.
I’ve been trying to spend time with Pam every night. She is soooo rough on her training. I’ve been doing lots of little things like disengaging the rear end, flexing her neck, desensitizing to rope, and things like that. I don’t think she see’s me as the alpha, and so she still doesn’t listen well.
One of the first things she taught me was that she is not motivated by food like Lily was. With Pam in the pasture alone, I can call and call and she will not come up. She gets to where she can see me and then just watches me. I suppose the sight of me calling, whistling, and shaking a feed bucket as loud as humanly possible is quite an entertaining sight. As for me, it got VERY frustrating. So … some changes were made.
I put Pam in my smaller fenced of pen (probably just under 1 acre big). This is the pen where my sons horse resides. My sons horse, Duncan, is 30 years old, and is on a special diet since he has no molars(teeth). Also, because he has no molars, it takes him over an hour to eat his food (which he gets twice daily). Because of this, I had a problem to solve … how do I arrange things so that Duncan can eat in peace, without having a much larger Belgian run him off and steal his food.
The question in itself had the answer. I needed to design something that allowed a small horse to enter and eat, and keep a big horse out. My mind went to work and here is what I came up with.
I made the entrance to the normal horse stall just wide enough for Duncan (who is a quarterhorse) to walk in. I thought this would work alone, but I soon realized that Pam has a “tank mode” where she will just push herself in any opening not wide enough for her. How do I solve this? Add a line across the top of the stall at the end. This line is about 5 feet off the ground. Duncan has no problem lowering his head and walking under it. The first time I left the horses, Pam wrecked the whole thing by trying to go under, then lifting her head. She unhooked the panels, and the line took a nice fistful of hair off her mane. I had to reconstruct the whole thing, but it taught Pam that this entrance was BAD.
The next problem I had was that Pam would run up and bite Duncan on the back, causing him to abandon his stall. I guess Pam thinks “If I can’t have it, nobody can!” The solution to this was to create the empty stall in the middle. Now Pam cannot get to Duncan. It is quite humorous to watch her run a U around him unhappy that he has food in his bin that she can’t have.
This is working very well and lets the horses eat in peace. So far, I’m extremely satisfied.
Having Pam in this pen, allows me to easily work with her every evening when I get home from work. This Pen is right next to the house, and it keeps me from having to walk a half a mile to get Pam. In these winter months, every minute of daylight is precious. 10 minutes saved chasing her, is 10 minutes of getting her feet moving.
This is what I’ve been up to lately. I may try to ground drive Pam again with my carrot stick in hand to motivate her to walk. She did so well that last session with her and Lily, that I’m hoping she’ll now catch on to what I’m asking. Raises Glass … Here’s to hoping!
I’ve been trying to spend time with Pam every night. She is soooo rough on her training. I’ve been doing lots of little things like disengaging the rear end, flexing her neck, desensitizing to rope, and things like that. I don’t think she see’s me as the alpha, and so she still doesn’t listen well.
One of the first things she taught me was that she is not motivated by food like Lily was. With Pam in the pasture alone, I can call and call and she will not come up. She gets to where she can see me and then just watches me. I suppose the sight of me calling, whistling, and shaking a feed bucket as loud as humanly possible is quite an entertaining sight. As for me, it got VERY frustrating. So … some changes were made.
I put Pam in my smaller fenced of pen (probably just under 1 acre big). This is the pen where my sons horse resides. My sons horse, Duncan, is 30 years old, and is on a special diet since he has no molars(teeth). Also, because he has no molars, it takes him over an hour to eat his food (which he gets twice daily). Because of this, I had a problem to solve … how do I arrange things so that Duncan can eat in peace, without having a much larger Belgian run him off and steal his food.
The question in itself had the answer. I needed to design something that allowed a small horse to enter and eat, and keep a big horse out. My mind went to work and here is what I came up with.
The next problem I had was that Pam would run up and bite Duncan on the back, causing him to abandon his stall. I guess Pam thinks “If I can’t have it, nobody can!” The solution to this was to create the empty stall in the middle. Now Pam cannot get to Duncan. It is quite humorous to watch her run a U around him unhappy that he has food in his bin that she can’t have.
This is working very well and lets the horses eat in peace. So far, I’m extremely satisfied.
Having Pam in this pen, allows me to easily work with her every evening when I get home from work. This Pen is right next to the house, and it keeps me from having to walk a half a mile to get Pam. In these winter months, every minute of daylight is precious. 10 minutes saved chasing her, is 10 minutes of getting her feet moving.
This is what I’ve been up to lately. I may try to ground drive Pam again with my carrot stick in hand to motivate her to walk. She did so well that last session with her and Lily, that I’m hoping she’ll now catch on to what I’m asking. Raises Glass … Here’s to hoping!
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