Great ride today!

It's January and 60+ degrees in Texas.  Gotta love it.  I had to take the opportunity to get out and ride.

Rachael was happy for the attention.  I had to re-clinch some of the nails in her front feet.  I heard a clicking sound as she walked, and figured that wasn't good.  I tightened up the nails as best I could, and hoped for the best.  I think it's time to have the farrier back out to re-set the shoes.  I sure wish I had the mastery of that skill to do it for myself (and the toned muscles to be able to do the job without being plain tuckered out).

The ride was good.  Beautiful scenery, and nothing eventful happening.  I really had a good time.  I rode with 2 friends from my saddle club right here in Campbell. 

After the ride, I got to help my friend Ann with her new horse.  She rescued a horse about 6 months ago.  It was in a field and just all ribs, so one day she saw someone in the field and she stopped and asked if she could have the poor starving horse.  They agreed and so Ann has spent the last 6 months putting groceries in her belly.  She's fattened up nicely.  She's over 25 years old, and Ann is trying to see what exactly she can do.  Ann is really good at working her horses, and she had lunged this horse without any problem.  Well, today Ann wanted to try and actually ride her in a round pen.  I could tell that both she and our friend Linda (who is also an AWESOME horse woman) were a little hesitant at the thought of hopping on this horses back for the first time.  So I volunteered, cuz I'm young, stupid, and ignorant.  ;)

She lunged great.  When I stopped her from lunging in one direction, she immediately faced me, and then went the other direction.  We all cracked a smile, cuz that behavior meant that this horse has been worked in a round pen quite a bit in her life.  We slowly worked up and eventually I was in the saddle, and riding.  She did really well.  She had a funny gate that I sure wasn't use to.  I was real proud of her.  The only scary moment for me was once when I asked her to move and she busted out into a full lope.  It wasn't her fault though.  I tell my girls to step off by kissing at them.  I've become aware that many trainers use the kiss noise to move a horse from a walk to a lope.  So ... I figure this was the case.  I had to make sure I clicked (which was hard for me).

Sure was a good day.  Always is a good day when it's over 60, sun shining, and playing with horses.

Ground Driving Nellie

It's pretty safe to say that if you give me a day with nothing scheduled, and the sun shining, I'll find a way to fit horses into it.  This happened to me this past Saturday.  I could've just gone on a wagon ride with the team, but decided instead to work Nellie, the new girl.

My goals were pretty simple.  I wanted to attempt to get the harness on her.  When it comes to my training, I try to make a goal that I feel fairly comfortable with, but I always leave it up to the horse.  I want my training session to challenge them and make them learn something.

First things first ... I groomed her all up and made her all pretty.  While doing this, I enforced our ground rules, and made sure she knew not to move in on me, or move while I'm working on her.  She did this very well.  On her feet, I've been lifting and quickly putting them back down.  I'm still working up some trust with her on that, and am taking baby steps towards her just letting me have her feet completely.

Once all clean and ready, I brought over a collar.  I put it in front of her face and let her smell it.  Nellie didn't act scared of it at all.  She mildly sniffed it, just cuz it was in front of her nose, but really didn't seem to care one way or the other that it was there.  I rubbed it against her shoulder a bit, and she just sat there, rear foot cocked, totally relaxed.  I unbuckled the collar, and put it on her without any problems.  She didn't care at all.

Next I grabbed my nylon harness.  I did the same thing with it and let her smell it.  Once again she didn't care, and to my surprise, she had no issues with me throwing it over her back.  She just stood there and showed me what cold blood really means.  :)

It took me about 15 minutes to adjust the harness to fit her.  Once it was on, I let her stand for a few minutes and just watched her.  She was calm, and very relaxed.  I then untied her and led her around a bit.  The noise of the harness, and the jingling and clanking of the metal parts did not even phase her.  I was very happy about this.  I still hadn't challenged Nellie yet, so I decided to keep going forward.

Up next, I put the bridle on.  She didn't object to this, and even after it was attached, she just stood there, chewing on the bit.  I talked calmly to her since this was probably her first time with blinders on.  She was pretty relaxed still, so I led her around with everything hooked up.  She was perfect, and did exactly what I wanted.

Well ... the next step it so actually ground drive her.  So I grabbed my single lines, and started hooking them up.  Got it all on, and unhooked the lead rope.  She stood perfectly.  Then came the fun.

Nellie has never been worked on the ground before.  This means that she had no idea what the cues meant.  When I told her to step up, her ears cocked back and she knew I wanted something.  We then began a battle to keep her from turning around.  She wanted to face me, and so I had to really work the lines to keep her head facing away from me.  It was during this, that I realized how valuable a crupper is on a harness!  :)  After she realized that she could not turn around and face me, she started just backing up fast.  I kept telling her woah, but she wouldn't stop.  I had to start smacking her in the butt hard with my lines to start letting her know that was not what I wanted from her.  Finally she stopped and I let her sit for a minute.  I then started telling her to step up and clicking and kissing at her, and she started backing up again.  We did this for another five minutes, till she finally took a few steps forward.  As soon as she did this, I let go of all tension on the lines, and told her what a good girl she was.  She felt the looseness of the lines and immediately stopped.  We went through this a few more times, and she finally got it.  She started walking forward and I praised her and praised her.

She is really good on bit pressure, and turns her head at the slightest pressure.  She also stops very good.  One woah and some tension on both lines and she stops perfectly.  If I was facing away from the other horses, she would step off very good.  But when the other horses were in her sight, she was a bit of a butt.  I worked her for about 30-45 minutes just ground driving.  Lots of it was nice and she did really good.  Occasionally she would forget what step up meant, and we'd wrestle to keep her facing away from me and going forward.  I finally ended on a really good note where she went for an entire figure 8 on my property with no problems.  Always gotta stop on a good point.  At this point, I took the following picture.

After that, I praised her a ton, and pet her really good.  I then left her tied, and went in the house to get myself a drink.  It was good for her to stand with all the equipment on after a break.  She stood well, and didn't get too impatient.

After that I took off the harness without any problems, groomed her again, and turned her out.

She did very well.  I'm really excited about working her.  She's smart, and she figures out what I want pretty well.  I'm also happy about her response to pressure.  We'll need a few more lessons, but I'm very happy with her.  She was very stressed during Saturdays lessons, and the amount of sweat she had worked up showed that to me.  After a few more of these sessions, she should be ready to pull something.  I'm real happy with her!

Introducing Nellie

A week and a half ago, I brought home a new horse.  My family is getting concerned that I'm addicted to Belgians.  This new horse is a 9 year old Belgian mare named Nellie.  Nellie came to me from the Bev at the Double M Warhorse Ranch in Terrell, TX (www.doublemwarhorseranch.com).  So as far as I can tell, here's her story.

Nellie used to be owned by a spur maker.  The spur maker decided that he was going to make Nellie his riding horse.  He paid someone to put 60 days on her, then started riding.  Apparently on one ride, Nellie decided that she was not going to go through a gate.  You can imagine what a spur maker might have on his heels, and he made use of them on Nellie.  2 days later he woke up in the hospital.  After that, he wanted nothing to do with Nellie.  Bev at the Double M Warhorse Ranch was contacted and took the horse in. 

She's really pretty, and has some nice action in her trot.  Her papers are pretty good too.  Bev kept her for over a year as a brood mare, but right now with all the clydesdales she is bringing in, she needed the room.  And that's how she ended up with me.

She's a gorgeous horse!  I really love her.  Her hair is really thick.  She's a smaller build than my other horses, but is just as tall.  She's got a whole lot of spunk to her too.  Working with her reminds me a lot of working with Lily.  It's been kind of nice.

I just got in from our first real work session.  Ground manners and grooming were the topics.  Ground manners are something we're going to really have to work into her.  While tied, she moves around a lot and does not care if you are there or not.  Today she responded well with me just popping her in the side when she would try to move in on me.  She's really sweet, but makes you work for her love, and she's very responsive to pressure.  I had a good time working with her.

My goals with her are to get her into hitch working shape.  This would mean I could do 3 abreast for all my farm work, and I'd love to try and learn to drive a unicorn hitch with the 3 of them.  I'm really excited about the future of this horse.

Nellie has also taken the lead mare spot here.  She and Rachael can't seem to get along.  They still get in fights occasionally.  Rachael has let Nellie have the lead mare spot, but is not going along with it willingly.  Pam on the other hand, is Nellie's new best friend.  She is by her side constantly and with how submissive she is, Nellie has no problems with her.

More fun to come!

One Last Wagon Ride for 2010

I've been off work this whole past week.  I had planned to do a lot of horse stuff, and really start working Nellie, the new Mare I am working with.  Sometimes, the weather can sure change plans in a hurry.  This past week has just been nasty.  Really cold temps and rain.  The ground has been soup here, so there wasn't much that could be done outside.  Friday Pat and I decided that only a hard rain would stop us from a wagon ride though.

The idea was for me to bring my horses over to his place, and then we'd hit the road.  The nice thing about this, is that Pat has an extra wagon (the hay wagon I borrowed for the Greenville parade this past year), so I can do a wagon ride at Pats, without having to haul my wagon.  Very nice!  Pat was going to hitch his horses up as well, and then we'd hit the road.  The long route we were planning was 7 1/2 miles, but we could scale it back if needed.

The first thing I did was call the girls out of the pasture.  This was a bit of an ordeal.  Due to having Nellie, the herd dynamics have changed.  Nellie has established herself as the lead mare, and Rachael is not happy about it.  Pam is a follower, and is now always side by side with Nellie.

Rachael was very easy to get.  She walked right up to me almost asking to be taken away from Nellie.  Pam was a bit different.  She was fairly easy to get haltered, but once we started heading to the gate, ol' Nellie realized that we were going to go out of it.  Suddenly she came trotting over, as if to make sure she wasn't going to be excluded.  This lead to a bit of a struggle at the gate.  Since I am working alone, I have to open the gate, walk through it with Pam, and then close the gate.  This means that I can't have Nellie close by or else she could possibly squeeze out the gate as Pam is walking though on the lead rope.  Eventually, I was able to get her to back away far enough that I got Pam out and closed the gate before Nellie could make a run on the gate.

It's been 2 weeks since I last put my hands on the girls due to Christmas and the crappy weather.  The picture above shows them right out of the pasture (they look much better in the picture than up close though).  Their coats were covered with mud and the rain had matted them up a bit.  The show sheen I had put in their manes and tails for christmas has done wonderful at keeping the cockleburs out.  It took me around 30 minutes to clean the girls up and get them harnessed (without bridles).  Cleaning their feet was a task with all the mud we have right now.

This leads me to one of my ways of thinking when harnessing a horse.  When it comes to bridles, I think of it as an extension of my arms in directing the way I want them to move.  The blinders on them are telling the horse to trust me and not worry about the things I'm not allowing them to see.  This means to me, that it is my job as a teamster, to make sure that nothing happens to scare the horses while those blinders are on.  This can lead to a breach of trust, and I don't want that.  So, because of all this, I only put on the bridles, if I'm actually about to drive them.  Once I am done driving them, I take the bridles off immediately.  I think of the bridle as a tool, not tack.  I only use the tool when it is needed.

While I'm waxing on about things I do, I might add what I did next.  Next I loaded the horses.  Yes, I loaded them with harnesses on.  Now I've heard all kinds of people say that you should never do this.  I've heard all kinds of stories of things getting tangled up, caught, pinched, and on and on.  For me, I have no problem doing this for a short trip.  If I'm hauling somewhere that is 30 minutes or less, I have no problems harnessing them and trailering them.  I have an open stock trailer, and the girls, due to their cold blood and laid back nature, just don't move that much when we're on the road.  It's so much easier on my back to haul harness from the tackroom, to the horse, than from the tack room, to the truck; from the truck to the horse.  The harnesses don't get tangled this way either.

So ... anyway, off to Pats house my son and I went.  When I got there, Pat was hitched up and ready to go.  I unloaded the horses, and tied them, and then we made sure the wagon I was going to use was ready to go.  Once it was, I put the bridles on, and I ground drove the girls over into position on the wagon.  Once they were hitched up, I drove them up to the truck and we threw some bales of hay on the wagon for me to sit on.  The pictures below show this.

It was time to hit the road after that.  We grabbed drinks, and used the restroom and we were off.  My son had eyed Pat's wagon, and determined that the nice looking bucket seats up front looked more appealing than the hay I was going to sit on, so I got to ride alone while Pat got to enjoy the chitter chatter from my son.

The ride was awesome.  I started off trailing Pat since he knew the way.  Rachael and Pam were great.  They were calm and cool while getting ready to go, and were pulling great on the road.  Working them hard this past fall has given me a really nice team.  I really enjoy driving them.

One part of the drive had us cross a very busy highway.  Pat had some lucky timing and didn't have to stop.  I was not so fortunate.  Did I mention that this stop is on a hill?  Rachael and Pam were leaning forward for all they were worth to keep us still at the stop sign and keep the wagon from rolling backward down the hill.  I was very VERY pleased with them.  Occasionally they would have to get new footings on their rear feet but they didn't move.  After a few minutes, I had a window, and the girls were happy to get moving and get the wagon off that hill.

Not too long after that, Pat asked me if I would take the lead.  Pat hasn't been working his horses too long as teammates, and they are still getting used to how things are supposed to work.  One of the things Pat has had problems with in the past, is them wanting to run the entire time they are hitched to finish things up faster.  Working from home can be difficult with this.  The horses know that when you come back, they are done, and this can lead to some barn sour.  Pat was hoping that with my girls taking the lead, that his girls would settle down and walk nicely.  This was a great idea on Pats part, and it worked great.  They even stood still when we stopped and acted like they enjoyed the break.  The next two pictures are of one of these stops.

 Have I mentioned how pretty Pat's horses are?  Dolly is an AWESOME specimen of what a belgian horse should look like.  She knows it too, and is a DIVA!  :)

The rest of the ride was awesome.  It was so much fun to just be out on the road, seeing the sights, and enjoying life at 2 miles per hour.  As I was enjoying myself on this adventure, I think I really came to see what Bob Skelding see's in horse travel.  For those of you who don't know, Bob Skelding is the wagon teamster and he's been traveling across the country by horse team and wagon.  I met him as he came through Texas, and I've conversed with him enough since then to consider him a friend.  (his website is www.wagonteamster.com)  As I sat there driving the team, I really came to appreciate all the life you get to see when you travel this slow.  Small little details in life that are normally missed when traveling by car.  It's a beautiful thing, to have the chance to enjoy life at 2 MPH.

My last ride of 2010 was an awesome one.  I'm thinking I need to do more of it.  I wonder if I could talk my wife into a weeklong wagon ride someplace for our summer vacation instead of a plane ride and a hotel.  On second thought, I think I already know the answer to that one.  :)

Happy New Year everyone!  Best wishes for 2011!

Sad Morning

Today we lost Duncan.  Duncan is my son's horse.  He was a 35 year old quarter horse.  He was fat and happy, and I cant' find anything un-natural that could've caused his death.  I'm thinking it was just his time to go.  It's been a somber morning.

Thank you Duncan, for taking such good care of my son.  You showed him the joys of horse ownership, and gave him a love of horseback riding.  We love you and will miss you greatly.  Thank you for being the best first horse any kid could ask for.  Wait for Riley on the other side ... he'll be anxious to ride you again. 

Hauling a wagon and horses with one truck

Tonight was my last night for wagon rides.  It was great.  We were super busy, and the girls definitely earned their oats tonight.  We did 6 trips tonight, which means the girls did over 7 miles of riding, with at least 10 people in the wagon per ride.  They did awesome and I am so proud of them.  Lots of people were loving on them!

So, tonight I didn't have my normal helpers with me.  Jacob went out of town today, and my wife was busy.  I was a one man show.  I'm used to doing things on my own, because at home it's how I have to do everything.  This time things were a bit different though.  I had to get my wagon home from the rides, as well as the horses, and I'd prefer to do it in one trip.  Good thing I had a hitch added to my trailer.

This first picture is of my setup.  Good ol' blue up front, running as well as ever;  the 16 foot gooseneck horse trailer next; followed by a 16 foot flat bed trailer to haul the wagon home.  I was actually able to go 60 MPH with this rig and it was really stable.  I'm sure I burned up a whole lot of diesel though. 

This second picture is of everything loaded up and heading home for the night.  Note that I even have lights on the 2nd trailer.  I centered the wagon weight over the axles on the 2nd trailer, and it would start to move around a bit at 45MPH, so I just took the service roads and kept it at a low speed.

SUCCESS!  I was able to haul both the horses and the wagon by myself, without inconveniencing anyone else.  I'm feeling pretty proud!

First weekend of wagon rides

Had an amazing weekend.  In Greenville, TX, there is a historic street called Park Street.  Every year almost all on the street decorates their houses up for the holidays, and they offer wagon rides.  I did this last year one night with Lily.  It's a really sweet gig for me.  They are insured for all the events, and they take the money for the rides, and load/unload the wagon.  I get to do the fun part, and just drive. 

This year I was invited to give rides both nights, both weekends (fri/sat last weekend, and this next fri/sat).  I have been very excited about this, and after the girls did so well in the parade, I was even more excited about it.  I was asked to haul as many people as possible, so I had decided to use the hay wagon that I hauled for the parade.  I figured I could get 12-14 people each load on that.

Friday night rolled around and we got hitched up and ready to go.  I had my helper, Jacob, with me, and I was also babysitting my son and his cousin.  Things got off without a problem.  I had two happy kiddo's happily bundled in the hay behind me, Jacob sitting beside me watching the horses, and me behind the lines.  The girls were stepping well, and not scared of any of the lights/carols/blow up displays/music.  They really didn't care about anything.  It was great.  They were easy to drive, and even broke into a trot occasionally.  I tell you, there is no prettier sight (my wife excluded), than a pair of Belgians trotting in step.  Simply gorgeous!!  The ride is about 1.25 miles long in all, and it takes about 30 minutes to get through it.

On the 4th lap, I started noticing Rachael.  She was wearing out.  When walking, Pam has a tendency to let Rachael step out and take the weight of the wagon.  When trotting, Pam takes the lead and pulls most of it.  I now have chains on the tree, so that once they reach the end of the chain, the single horse is pulling the entire wagon.  I could see Rachael perspiring pretty good, and by the end of the 4th lap, she was breathing heavy.  I gave them a 15 minute break when I got back, and it looked like I had one more ride to go to finish off the night. 

That last ride was Rachael's last.  She still gave me all she could (like any good horse), but during the second half, her back feet began to occasionally slip, and she started to wander just a tad from side to side.  We finished that ride, and then got the girls home quickly to an extra large portion of feed (1 big scoop sweet feed, 1 big scoop whole oats, 1 handful of horse minerals, and 1/4 bale of hay per horse).

The next day, I thought and thought.  Rachael went about 1 ride too many, and I intended not to let that happen again.  Instead of the 14 people I thought I would be hauling on the hay wagon, it was more like 10 due to how the hay was configured.  My red wagon easily hauls 8 people, and so I determined that it would be better on the horses, to haul my red wagon, rather than the big ol' hay wagon.  This meant a lot of stress on saturday.  I had to get my wagon there, move the garlands/lights/other Christmas decorations from the hay wagon to my red wagon, and be ready to haul people.  Jacob and I made it happen, and the result was wonderful.  The girls did another 5 rides and neither were wore out at the end.  It was much easier on the horses, and we didn't experience a surge in people waiting from the decision.  I was very happy about this.  Once again, the girls were a dream to ride, and we got to enchant many a young person with the beauty and majesty a draft horse gives.

I have no pictures, but hopefully I'll get some soon.  It's hard getting a good picture at night.

So ... as always, if you don't learn anything from your experiences, you're not doing it right.  Here's my lessons from this weekend:

1)  As a teamster, I am responsible for the welfare of my horses.  Other people will want more and more and more from you, but it is up to you, to lay down the line as to what your horses can, and cannot do.  Sometimes it means telling people no, or going against their wishes, but you can't sway from the well being of your horses!

2)  Rachael is 16 years old.  Friday night really showed me that Rachael is older than Pam.  Rachael still has MANY good years ahead of her, but that night did remind me that she is getting up there, and that I need to particularly pay attention to her.  She's the kind of horse that would follow me till she collapsed, so it is up to me to make sure I stop her when she needs it.

3)  Different types of wagons serve different purposes.  A big heavy hay wagon, is great for a parade, or a single hay ride with a big load of people.  It is not good for a full night of ride after ride after ride.  This basically equates to 3 hours of straight walking, pulling the wagon.  For this, you want as light a wagon as possible, so that the horses are pulling people weight, not wagon weight.  (If that makes sense).

Not a bad weekend.  The girls ended up pulling the wagon for 6.25 miles in a 3 hour span of time each night.  I can't ask for more. 

Also ... I'm VERY glad that they both have shoes!  I could not do this without each horse having iron on their feet.

This next friday and saturday I'll be doing the same thing.  Looking forward to it.  So much fun!!

Pam has shoes!

So yesterday I had two good things happen.  1) I found a farrier that will shoe drafts, and 2) I found a farrier that was able to shoe Pam without stocks!!

When I got Pam, she would not let anyone lift her feet.  I’ve been working with her for the past year on this, and I am at the point now, where I can clean out each hoof for as long as I need.  She’s not a real witch about it, but after a few minutes, she does tire of it and her true mare self comes out.

The farrier is Oliver Jetton.  Oliver is amazing at his job.  He’s 60 years old, but he can still shoe a draft with no problems.  He brought a young apprentice with him and between the two of them, they did 4 shoes on a draft in 2 hours.  Pretty good!

Rachel went first.  She was pretty decent, and the most noteworthy event from her trimmings was when Oliver asked me if she was walking bad a month or two ago.  I said yes, and explained that she was walking really delicately on hard surfaces.  He showed me on her sole where bruises were.  He said it takes 2 months for a bruised sole to come to the surface where you can see it on the sole of a hoof.  So, it was kinda cool to see the areas where Rachael was sore.  He said it looked like the bruising was from walking on rocks.  Rachael’s hooves are growing out nicely, and she had a lot more sidewall to nail the shoes to this time around.

Next came Pam.  This was where I got worried.  I just told him I really wanted the fronts done and that I didn’t know how cooperative she would be for the rears.  Oliver had brought shoes with him that were already set up with Borium.  Oliver took over and trimmed up the first front hoof.  Pam was great for the trim, and then when they were notching the front of the hoof for the toe clip, she started to get a little intolerant.  This is where Oliver’s experience came in.  Before she got too antsy and we got too agitated with her, he stopped everything and got out a 2 foot long piece of small nylon rope that was hooked to a lead rope.  He then said that we were going to calm Pam down with it.  The young apprentice told me that I was going to be impressed by this trick.

Each end of the small rope had loops in it.  Oliver looped one rope around the halter on the right side, then he ran the other side through the halter on the other side.  Then with a sweeping motion of his hand, he pulled on the rope, and slid the rope so that it was running up between Pam’s upper gum and her upper lip.  He then stood there and pulled gently on the lead rope with that rope on it.  He then explained to me that up on the top of the gum between the lip and gum, are some endorphin glands, and that putting pressure on them causes endorphins to release into the horse, basically, tranquilizing the horse naturally.  I had never heard of this, and was a little skeptical.  I was soon corrected.

Five minutes later, Pam’s head began to droop and her eye lids began getting heavy.  Oliver and Dakota (the apprentice) got back to work and the next thing I knew, Pam was shoed.  I was very impressed and thought this was a very neat trick.  I took some pictures of it so that I could show y’all.  Look at Pam’s head and eyes in the pictures to see how relaxed she was feeling.

I was very impressed with Oliver.  He really knows his stuff, and his natural horsemanship ways are great.  He does not get mean with a horse, even when they are acting out.  He’s a true master of his trade and I’m very glad I found him as a farrier.  Oliver works out of Winsboro, which is the Sulphur Springs area.  I would recommend him to anyone.

Greenville Christmas Parade 2010

Friday night was the G-ville Christmas parade, and boy was it awesome.  I'm still in awe at how well it went.  I've found in life that it seems like very few things actually happen like you plan them.  When they do, it's definitely a time for celebration.  All my work this year, getting the girls ready, paid off big time on Friday night.

I arrived at the parade route right as the sun was setting.  I was one of the first there, and it was nice to get the trailer backed in before the sun went down.  I then unloaded the girls, and tied them to the trailer.  Then the beautification started.  I had a few hours to kill before we needed to get going, so I took my time and brushed each horse very thoroughly.  I also put a little show sheen in their manes and tails to really make all that flaxen hair look pretty.

Following that, on went the harnesses.  It was after dark, and I had forgotten my flashlight, so it was kind of interesting doing it by light of the lights inside the trailer.  It's a good thing I am very familiar with each setting on the harnesses.  I had no problem getting things set where they needed to be.

In hitching, with regards to bridles, I make it a point to only put on bridles when I have to.  I know lots of people just always put them on and leave them on the entire time the horse is hitched.  I guess I view it as an extension of my arm and hands.  For me, it is used for input to the horse, to tell it what I want done.  While a horse is tied, with nothing to do, I leave them off since I obviously don't want them to do anything.  I know the horses feel more comfortable with this, and due to horses being predatory animals, they are a little more at ease being able to see all around.  Just my 2 pennies on that.

I also put out the hay bags and the horses sat there, all pretty, happily munching on hay.

My wife showed up with the wagon, and I helped get that all set up with the team pole and everything.  At this point, I saw what turned out to be the only other wagon in the parade.  A guy had a great looking set of sorrell mules that were matched well.  These mules were pulling a small, 4 rubber wheeled wagon.  This wagon was then hitched to a grain cart that had been modified as a people mover with benches on the inside.  It was a real long hitch, and the mules definitely had their work cut out for them.

Within the hour, the staff of Turtle Creek Veterinary Medical Center had showed up.  We had lots of happy kids all dressed up, and employee's with their dogs.  The wagon was definitely bustling with activity at this point.

The wagon full of Turtle Creek Veterinary Medical Center staff, family, and dogs

My gorgeous wife and our Great Pyrenees.

I got the bridles on the girls, and did a few laps ground driving with them and then tried to back the girls up to the wagon.  Due to the hustle and bustle on the wagon (kids and lights everywhere), the girls refused to back up.  Instead, they would each turn in, and kick their rear ends out away from each other.  They flat out refused to back up even after the 3rd try.  This meant we had to pull the wagon up to the horses, which wasn't a problem.

Rachael and Pam, with me on the lines

After that, we walked the horses to our waiting spot ... and waited.  One thing you do a lot of in parades, is waiting.  I had my header, Jacob with me at this point, and I had planned on him standing holding Pam's lead rope.  I had anticipated that Pam might need a little help behaving while standing.  He stood next to me, and we sat there, just waiting.  I was in awe at how relaxed the horses were.  They didn't seem to care about any of the stuff around them.  They were calm, and not antsy to get moving or anything.  This really surprised me.  Especially when this "laid back" attitude continued after the parade started getting under way.  The flashing lights of police and emergency vehicles, the loud christmas songs playing, the loud cars, 4-wheelers, and tractors all did nothing to alarm the horses.  I was truly surprised by this.  (AND VERY PROUD!!)

Waiting to get the okay to go.

Rachael on my right, Pam on my left.  So proud of them!!

Once all the motorized floats had gone, it was time for the horses.  We made our way down the road and it was smooth sailing.  The girls didn't step a single foot out of place.  It was easy driving, and I was grinning ear to ear.  This was fun driving.  The stress levels were as low as could be for this kind of situation, and it truly was a delight driving them.  I love watching the kids, gaze at these horses and just smile.  On a side note ... I only heard 2 people yell how nice my "clydesdales" are.  LOL.  When I hear this now, I just smile and appreciate their well meant compliments.  :)  I did hear one guy yell how nice my Belgians were.  I definitely gave him a "Thank You" and a wave.

Me and Jacob

After the parade, we unhitched, loaded up, and got on down the road without any problems.  Once again, this was truly an amazing night.  No problems at all, and lots of good/fun times.  This is what it's all about.  Like I said in the beginning of this post, it's so awesome to see your plans work out.  For the past 6 months, all the work I've been doing, was to solidify my team into a safe team that I could use for public use.  The girls showed me in this parade that they can be trusted to listen to me in adverse situations.

The next two weekends I will be giving wagon rides at Park Street in Greenville Texas on Friday and Saturday nights.  If anyone is in the area and would like a nice hay ride, come on by.  We'll glady haul you down the road and I'll probably talk your ear off while we do.  :)

Parade Practice

Tonight I took the girls to down town Greenville, and we practiced for the parade tomorrow night.  I haven't driven the girls at night, or in the middle of town, so I figured I'd better be safe then sorry.  I've also only pulled the big hay wagon one time with them, so some more miles in front of that would be nice too.

I LOVE draft horses!  These girls didn't even bat an eye at anything.  They stepped around a few manhole covers, and Pam did a tiny side step away from a Christmas tree that was close to her, but that was it.  They were calm and fun to drive!  I got some pictures.  They're a bit blurry, sorry.  Tomorrow night will be the parade.  I'm excited to do this with a team for the first time.

Getting ready for the Christmas season

Well ... it's been a while, so I figured I would give an update on how things are going at my place.

The biggest thing of note, would be Pam's feet.  I have learned that 10 miles on a horse with good barefoot hooves is too much.  For a few days after my last 10 mile trip, Pam acted really sore on her front feet.  I think by the end of that trip, I had bruised her frogs on the front.  She was very very tender for a week after the ride, and at one point, she was walking with noticeable pain in every step.  Add to that, that my water line decided to leak near their pen, so they are walking in mud frequently.  I have had to be vigilent with keeping feet clean to keep thrush from happening.

I had a farrier come out 2 days ago for a trim on Pam and my 30+ year old Quarter Horse.  Ummmm ... yeah.  It's pretty apparent when someone has no clue how to work with draft horses.  He did an A+ job on the quarter horse, but when he turned his attention to Pam, he acted shy and timid.  Pam picked up this right away and gave him hell.  I ended up having to help him hold her rear feet up with the use of a rope.  He almost left without finishing the job.  I don't think I'll have him back out.  Finding a farrier who is willing to do drafts is turning out to be quite a task.

Rachel's feet are doing awesome.  The shoes are doing exactly what I wanted.  They have stayed on very good, and her hooves are looking great.  She's had them for 6 weeks now, and soon I'll need to get her re-shod.  Guess I better start searching for a farrier to do that too.  ;)

Christmas season is on me, and that means I've been really busy getting ready for the Greenville Christmas parade.  I am very happy with my team, and think they are going to do very well.  The wagon I am pulling in the parade is a big 7' by 16' hay wagon.  My friend Pat is letting me borrow this wagon.  I brought it home yesterday, and went to work tigthtening up all nuts/bolts/screws/nails.  This wagon has been sitting in a field for a bit, so I snugged everything up nice.  The team pole that came with it was 8 1/2 feet long.  I knew just from looking at it at home, that it was too short to work with a draft.

Today was my day to try the team with the wagon.  I hitched them up, and saw that my fears were true.  The team pole was too short.  What this means, is that when the horses were walking forward, the yoke was pulling back on the front of them, and when I was stopping, the tree's were right up on their legs.  Pam did not like this too much, and got a little prancy with her feet.

Now I had a job to do.  I needed a longer team pole.  I thought of what I could do, and decided to see if my team pole from my wagon might by chance happen to fit.  By looking at it, it looked like it would put the horses 3 foot further in front of the wagon then I wanted, but it seemed like it was my only option.  I started to hook it up, and to my surprise, my entire team pole slid right inside the square tubing on the wagon.  Awesome!  I just drilled a hole in it, so that I could secure it properly, and hitched up the girls.  Away we went, on a short mile ride just to make sure they were fine with the noises and weight of this new hay wagon.  It went great.  I was on the freeway service road for 100 or so feet, and someone pulled over and was taking pictures of me and my son with a really nice (big) camera.  We smiled and waved and felt like celebrities.  :)

It looks like we're ready to go.  Next friday night will be the Greenville night parade, and the two weekends after that, I will be doing wagon rides on Park Street in Greenville. 

After seeing what the road did to Pams feet, I have decided to order some boots for her.  I am going to get some just for the front feet.  I am actively searching right now.  Pam's front feet measure ~8" x 8".  I'm having trouble finding a boot that will even fit.  Wish me luck.

Horse Hay raking

So my good friend Pat had his daughter take some video of him raking his hay field with the horses.  She just posted it to youtube, so I thought I would share the link.  They did a great job.  Next time Pat and I are going to try running 3 or 4 abreast and dragging two of those hay rakes. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QVbd7cZ3Mo

A great day of driving!!

This has been a very busy week.  I have been working frantically to get a few last minute touches done on the wagon.  After a week of detective work, I finally found seals for the hubs on the wagon, and this morning at 6AM, I got up and went to work repacking the bearings, putting in new seals, and putting the wheels back on the wagon.  I also got a pioneer wooden double tree and yoke that I put on the wagon too.  They look great and I'm very happy with them.

So today I had one objective.  Go and visit my friend Jodi with the horses.  Jodi is a fellow teamster and our boys play together.  Jodi lives 5.2 miles away from me.  The plan was:  Drive to Jodi's, let the boy have some fun with his friend, then drive home.  I figured it would take me almost 2 hours to travel the 5 miles.  Today I also had a friend coming along.  A 15 year old young man I go to church with is going to start riding with me and be my header for the parades and wagon rides I have coming this holiday season.  His name is Jacob, and he has a real love of horses.  Today was to be his first day going out with me.

Hitching was easy and went well.  Pam is really getting good at it.  I can now hold her feet up and clean them for as long as I want.  It's awesome to think that this is the same horse who just 6 months ago wouldn't let me lift her feet at all.  She also is letting me put the collar over her head much easier now.  It's nice!  Rachel was the pro that she always is. 

We hitched up, and hit the road.  Heading out to Jodi's, I let the horses walk most the way.  I was concerned about wearing the horses out and still needing them for the return trip.  I ended up trotting them over ditch overpasses and around corners.  I wanted to make sure I stayed out of the way of cars.  The road I was on has a speed limit of 65MPH, so I did my best to keep there from being any confrontations with cars.  Mission accomplished!

I got to Jodi's in just under 2 hours.  I unhitched the girls, and tied them.  Jodi's husband Paul is awesome!  He helped me to put some welds on the brake skids so that it gives better braking.  He also educated me on farm stuff.  He told me that my wagon is made on a Case running gear.  Also ... the wheels that I've had a hard time finding rims for, happen to be farm implement rims, not automotive rims.  Paul gave me an extra he had.  Paul and Jodi are very good people!  I am very blessed to have them as friends.  I really have a good time shooting the bull with Paul.

At 4PM, I decided I needed to hit the road.  I wanted to make sure I was off the road by nightfall.  So off we went.  I tell ya ... when you know you don't need to save the horses for a return trip, things go much quicker.  The horses seemed very willing to move, and we trotted a lot.  We got home in an hour.  Not too shabby!  Got the girls unhitched and out of their harnesses and gave them a very hearty meal with an extra flake of hay each for a job well done.

Things were great.  The horses were very well behaved.  The only thing that made Pam nervous was other horses.  Any time horses in neighboring fields would run up, she would get all prancy and light footed.  It was great though and I get more and more confidence in the team the more we do.  When I got home, I let Jacob drive the last half mile.  He did pretty good, and learned right away how important proper line tension is.  :)  (the picture attached is Me and Jacob in the wagon)

So ... what did I learn today?  Well ... I learned how important having chains from each side of your evener to the wagon are.  Due to Rachael stepping out more than Pam, My new pole got a little bent and twisted.  Pam would hand back, and Rachael would get a foot in front, and the yoke would put tension on the pole.  If you have chains attached from each side of the evener, it keeps the horses from getting too far out in front of the other horse.  I need to get some of those!  :)

Gotta love days like today.  Sunshine, cool breeze, wide open spaces, and the sound of horse hooves on the road.  It was a great day!

Using the team on the road, and pictures from the past.

I had such a great weekend!!  Last Friday night, I went up to Roger's place and picked up my wagon.  Roger made some modifications to the wagon for me.  When I saw his work in person, I was in awe.  Roger has such a talent at creating things with metal.  The way he engineered my brakes was perfect.  I'm so happy with his work.

I bet you can guess what I did Saturday.  :)  I went out on the road with the girls.  Roger spaced the team pole perfectly.  It was easy to hook up the girls and then I hit the road.  I ended up driving 5 miles, which took 1 1/2 hours.  Anyone Traveling east on I-30 past Campbell probably saw me.  It was a great day and I'm sure you could see my grin from miles around.

I will probably use both the girls in the Greenville Christmas parade.  To make sure I do this without a problem, I'm going to see about getting a header to ride with me.  His job will basically be to be ready to jump out of the wagon, and grab Pam's lead rope, if required.  Rachael is bomb proof, but I'm cautious with Pam.  I had a hard time predicting her behavior in stuff and am going to make sure that I do everything I can to ensure safety.

A friend sent me some pictures this weekend.  This past summer, I went on a pioneer handcart trek re-creation with my church.  I was a horse wrangler and helped take care of all the horses being used.  They also used me as an Indian chief in one of the skits they did.

One evening, a bunch of us horse people went swimming with the horses.  This was the first time for me and Rachael, but she did great.  Enjoy the pics!

My wagon has been updated!!

I’m so excited that I had to share.  A few weeks back, I took my wagon to my friend Rogers for some work.  I needed some brakes fabricated for it, and a team pole made so that I could have both my girls pull the wagon.  I got the call and some pictures last night letting me know that it’s done.  Roger took it out with a team of hafflingers to test it out and it is working great.  I am so excited!  I can’t wait to go pick it up.  Hopefully I’ll do that this weekend.  Enjoy!

 

 

My first Wedding, Driving A Horse

So this past Saturday was a huge day.  I provided a horse and carriage for my friends wedding.  I'd never done this, so I really got exposed to all that goes into this kind of event.  I had my wife and son along as help, and it was greatly appreciated.  Also, my wife decided that she was going to let my son be the photographer, so most of the shots are from him.

Saturday morning was spent making Rachael pretty.  She got a nice bath, and I even applied a nice coat of show shine to her.  Her hair was flowing magnificently!  :)  I used clippers to trim her beard and nose hairs/whiskers.  I also trimmed her bridle path short.  She was looking really nice.  Want proof?  Queue the first picture:


Riley picking some small leaves off Rachael

I unloaded Rachael and tied her to the trailer.  Riley then started brushing her, and getting her ready for me to harness.  While he did that, I unloaded the carriage from the trailer.

Attaching the shafts to the carriage

Once the carriage was ready to go, I turned my attention back to Rachel.  Time to get her harness on.  This went fast, and in no time, she was ready to go.

Harnessing the horse, with the help of my son

Putting the bridle on Rachael, with a view of the carriage

Rachael, ready to get some pictures taken of her

The carriage.  Loaned to me by my good friend Roger.  It's very nice!

Once Rachael was ready, the bride came over, and they took pictures with Rachael.  The bride even got brave, and wanted to sit on Rachael.  Rachael did not object to this.  A normal horse may spook to a woman wearing a dress puffed up the size of a small car, but not a draft horse. :)  Rachael did very good.  She was very laid back today, which I was very grateful for.  (the night before at the practice, she was pretty antsy, so I was happy she was being easy).

Once the bride had all the pictures she wanted, it was time for me to work the wiggles out of Rachael.  I hooked her up, and off we went.  We drove about 15 minutes down the road, and I had her in a nice trot.  She comes to work so easy, that it makes me very grateful for her.  We turned around, and then headed back.  The way back was a gentle rise the whole way, which put a nice load on Rachael.  When we got back to the wedding, she was more than willing to stand.

I'd like to take a moment to say how AWESOME Rachael did with shoes.  She was a different horse.  She wasn't timid on the road, or cautious.  She stepped out real nice, just like she does in the field.  I'm very grateful to my friend Cody for taking on the job, and helping me out.  Also, I noticed that shoes with drilltech applied to them do not make a clip clop sound on the road.  You can actually hear that drilltech grinding into the road.  No chance of slippage on these things! 

After a nice ride down the road, its time to begin the process of waiting

One back to the wedding, I tied her to a tree, and I changed into my wedding duds.  This was a country wedding, so I dressed for the occasion; white shirt, and black wranglers.

Me and Rachael, in my wedding clothes.

Once I was changed, then came the next part.  WAITING.  We stood in that one spot and waited, for 30 minutes.  I wasn't really excited about this, but, I figure you gotta roll with the punches on this kind of stuff.  Wedding was supposed to start at 4PM, I was supposed to be there to pick up the bride at 3:55PM.  I actually picked up the bride at 4:30PM.  Good thing Rachael didn't mind standing.

Still waiting.  :)

After the wait, we finally got the wedding on the go.  The bride came out, and she, her father, and her son hopped in the carriage.  Then we headed off to the wedding.  It was a nice peaceful drive there.

This wedding was set up in the middle of a 5 acre field.  In the center of the field, was a single, HUGE, pecan tree.  The hitching post, and all chairs were set up in the shade of the tree.  It was beautiful.  We drove out to the place, and it was so pretty.



Waiting during the ceremony

 I dropped the bride off, and then, once she had exited the carriage, I hopped down, and held Rachael's lead rope.

I should take a minute to brag on Rachael.  I was very nervous to see what her reaction would be to the crowd.  I figured when they all stood for the bride, she may spook a little.  To my surprise, this didn't bother her at all.  She really didn't care one bit.  She stood like a lady, and was very well behaved (besides relieving her bladder during the ring ceremony)  LOL.  The only time she got a little cautious, was when the applause came right after the wedding.  She wasn't too sure about that.  I had to keep reassuring her that it was okay.  She didn't spook enough to move the carriage though.  Her head was as high as it can get, and she was looking at the crowd as they cheered.

We loaded up the happy couple, and we went for a loop around the pasture.  It was awesome.  I then brought them back to the crowd.  Instead of having a reception where they stand in a line to greet everyone, they dismissed the audience by row, greeting each person who came.  I thought this was kind of a cool idea, and saved the couple from standing in a boring line during the reception.

The next thing on my list, was to load up the happy couple, and take them up and give them a grand entrance to the reception.  They neglected to tell me there would be 45 minutes of picture taking between that time though.  I passed the time by talking with people who came to admire the horse.  Lots of kids came over, and loved all over Rachael.  One of my favorite parts about doing this kind of stuff is letting kids pet the horse.  They are so excited, and just have this look of awe.  I love it.

After the pictures were done, I loaded up the happy couple, and away we went.  I dropped them off at the reception, to some more applause, and then I headed to my trailer.

In no time at all, everything was unhitched, and loaded back onto/into the trailers.

This was a very cool experience.  I really had a good time.  All the preparations I took paid off big time.  Rachael is awesome in shoes, and she performed perfectly.  I wouldn't mind doing more of these!  I'll try to post some actual pictures of us driving if I get some from the bride and groom.  As you can tell, my 7 year old photographer kind of crapped out on me.  Guess I should've given him a bag of skittles or something.  :)

Speaking of my camera man, something funny happened at the wedding.  At the reception, a friend noted the margarita machine, and tells my son that they are serving "slushies".  So my son gets all excited and he seriously started burning the sugar from it before it even entered his body.  We then, had to be the mean parents, and try to explain to him that he couldn't have one of those adult "slushies".  The following picture is the aftermath.  LOL

Wedding Practice

Here's a picture taken tonight at the wedding rehearsal.  Tomorrow should be fun!