World-Class Pairs carriage driver Lisa Singer held 3 days of carriage driving Clinics November 18-20 at the Carriage Barn in Newton, New Hampshire. Hubby and I were privileged to audit on Sunday and we absorbed tons of new info about carriage driving and the subtleties of correct training. We were especially interested in the two teams Lisa worked with, because we hope to drive our two guys together as a pair someday.
Lisa Singer with pair of Percherons in hand.
Brief video glimpse of Lisa’s skills…
Lisa of course demonstrated her vast wealth of knowledge of all aspects of fitting, hitching and handling driving horses, for pleasure and competition. Each participant learned a ton. We came away inspired and personally I felt a bit overwhelmed by so much there is still to learn!
Thanks to the Carriage Barn for hosting Lisa.
Please Email me your dog, cat, horse pix and stories– any pet pictures so I can post them on this blog! I love learning about others’ pets, love of wonderful animals and horse dreams, so you can write to me about anything involving critters! connie@PortraitsWithHorses.com
What funny and unusual things has your pet done? Why is your favorite animal so remarkable? What makes your pet happy, and how does he make YOU happy? Have you taken special photos or done artworks of your pet or horse? WE’D LOVE TO SEE THEM!
Please send, and I will feature your pictures and publish your stories and pet experiences, and Email back to notify you when yours are published. I can link to your website or blog if I like it and it’s family-friendly. (Your email will not be given out, nor will I publish any full names.)
THANKS to everybody in advance– and may your animal hopes and dreams all come true!
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[HorseGal was visiting the Herd recently, and sent me this Email the next day...]
I gave each one of them 2 treats when I went to leave yesterday… and Glendale
showed again that he is the “boss” over his big brother. You know how
they clamor around when they know (or even suspect!) there’s food?! Well, I
was giving them their treats and poor Gilford tried to get his second one when
Glen pinned his ears flat against his head and that sweet baby of yours
KICKED out at him.
I wasn’t in with them… this was over the fence so there was no
chance I’d get hurt… but it does show how you have to PAY
ATTENTION all the time. One could so easily get caught in the middle of
such antics so it was a really good reminder for Horse Gal to not get lulled
into too much of a comfort zone… especially when they are all milling
around you looking for that treat!
Those back legs went right for his brother!! (This is in addition to
Glendale’s playful buck that I saw earlier… silly boy!) It’s the first time I’ve seen Glendale do that to Gil, although I know it happens… not just with your horses,
but all horses.
He missed Gilford by only an inch or so because Gilford got out of the way
of Glendale’s flying legs. And Gilford did get his treat… I made sure of
that! But this was my first time at seeing such interaction. What FUN to
watch them being horses!!!!!! And Connie, how I love them all!!!!!
I’ve been tracking a newer site for pet videos called MyPetVideos.tv. Wanted to see how they came along before I blogged about it. The site is small but growing, some are kinda cute, a few are ridiculous, and I particularly like these two below.
This one is not just dogs, though its name is Funny Dogs…
Looks like Pete Ramey is preparing an instructional barefoot trimming DVD series, 16 hours of instruction. We have one DVD he made for a Clinton Anderson series where he demonstrates trimming a few horses, very informative!
View on youTube: Under the Horse Sneak Preview of Ramey’s DVDs.
HOOOORAY!!! We have something to celebrate with Glendale! After 15 training sessions covering 4 1/2 months of ground driving training, all done ourselves (see Glen’s Ground driving horse training step-by-step), our 2 yr.old no-longer-a-baby has pulled his first cart and driver!!
Hitched and ready to roll!
SESSION 16 Nov. 5–
Equipment: metal easy-entry training cart, full harness, driving bridle with snaffle bit and blinders, driving whip
In this session we reviewed all our prep work: I ground drove Glen at a walk; then dad pulled the metal training cart on both sides of him with one shaft in a tug; we did a few sharper turns which pushed the shafts firmly into his shoulders; and we introduced pressure on the breeching (strap behind his rear which keeps the cart from rolling into him when going downhill) by pulling on it while he was standing.
Glen was good as usual, so we felt we could fasten the traces in. Dad first walked behind the cart, pulling back on it a little to add resistance, and I LED Glendale from the bridle, feeling I had a bit more control that way than driving with the reins. None of this bothered him at all, so dad next walked behind the cart driving him, then just got in and asked Glen to walk, which you see in video below.
Very first walkout fully hitched to training cart, using breeching, and steered from behind by Hubby driver, who soon gets into the cart. (Clanking sounds are quick-release bullsnaps on holdbacks hitting the metal shafts.)
Lo and behold the smart guy just went around, only showing his greenness by chomping on the bit, hesitating on startup, slowing down or stopping unasked, and going into a trot when the cart pushed against him on some downslopes. He didn’t get nervous, or kick at the cart or rear up, or try to scoot off, or any of the potentially risky things that can sometimes go bad in training.
Glendale looking like a real driving horse!
Continuing… walk, a little trot, and even backing a couple of steps on command.
PLEASE CLICK ON EACH VIDEO LINK BELOW TO SEE MORE ON YOUTUBE:
VIDEO Glendale shows unsureness in his hesitancy to start walking, stopping by himself, and trotting unasked when weight of cart pushes against him. (Driver can help the green horse on downslopes by holding him back a little, teaching him how to slow himself down and support the weight of the cart with his hind end.)
Dad was enjoying this so much it was hard to quit; he asked him to trot and trotted him short distances a few times. No excited reactions. Glen had one passage between the sawdust pile and the stone wall which he didn’t like much (I had noticed this spot while ground driving him,) but he pulled the cart on through it OK.
The training cart is what’s called an easy-entry, which means it is an easy-escape design really… (I guess they don’t want to refer to it in those terms!) It is small, lightweight, durable and can be exited in a hurry.
Relaxed walk towards end of session.
This turned out to be Glendale’s longest driving-training session so far, all told about 45 minutes, of which he was pulling the cart maybe 20 minutes. He got lots of well-deserved praise, scratches and treats afterwards, he really had to work at this, mentally and physically too. It surely seems like the horse has a sense of trust in us, even when we ask him to do all these weird things, and he IS smart like his mom mare and very trainable.
It just doesn’t get much better than this, folks!!!
Sharing some horse portraits not yet on my website, with the reference photos I based them on…
Morgan horse Main Street portrait using representational technique
Client’s reference photo for portrait of Main Street
Alternate version of Main Street in a more freeform style. This work went through two iterations, a more representational style and this expressive approach.
Coaching in Acadia pastel portrait painting giclee
Reference photo for pastel portrait, taken in Acadia National Park.
Detail from Coaching In Acadia giclee
Oxygen (she taught me to breathe…) Memorial horse portrait pastel painting, from client’s snapshot below
Dreams Really Do Come True… Custom watercolor 3 subjects, morgan mare with her outstanding daughters, one was in memoriam.
Reference photos for 3-horse portrait above, as provided by client
(this post also shown under NEWS from PortraitsWithPets category.)
As an avid horse observer, I have bunches of videos of our own little family herd of three. It never ceases to fascinate me how they interact with each other… which I share here!
Horse actors: 1. Willy momma alpha mare, defacto herd leader when she wants to be (age 21), Polish Arabian with 1/8 Connemara blood, brown bay with 3 socks and stripe– officially Willow’s Bask
2. Glendale, herd leader wannabe but still quite young (2 yr. old,) arabian/percheron warmblood gelding, brown bay with white hind socks and star– officially Willow’s Fleet Command, sire Silent Commander
3. Gilford, least dominant horse (4 yr.old) perch/arab warmblood gelding (full brother to Glendale), black bay with white hind socks and star– officially Bask’s Commandant, sire Silent Commander
(These videos are in sequence…)
HERD LEADERS DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
I have called them to barn to be fed, but they aren’t sure if they want to come or not. Willy mare is the usual herd leader, with Glendale often challenging her authority in close second place. He gets to lead when she lets him, he is sort of her favorite.
Here they display indecision and Glen and Wil take turns being herd leader. Glendale runs away from gate, Willy leads through the gate, Glen runs back to follow her. Then Glen returns through the gate, sayin he REALLY wants to go somewhere else, and Willy then follows him back out. Black brother Gilford just hangs out to see what his leaders will decide.
Though trained to come in to barn for grain when we ring a bell or call them, in summertime their bellies are often so full of grass that they don’t feel great incentive to come to the barn when called, because they aren’t hungry. We don’t grain them very often or very much in summer.
________
TWO TOP HORSES VIE FOR LEAD
Willy mom makes the final choice to come up to the barn, but Glendale, upon seeing this, races past her so he can gallop to the barn in the lead. Gilford, in his position as low horse on the totem pole, remains in third place.
________
FOLLOWER HORSE MOVES TO REAR OF HERD
Returning to pasture, Gilford (black horse leading at first) moves to rear of line to walk behind his mother mare (first brown bay) and his brother Glendale. Gilford is low horse in their pecking order, even behind his younger brother, and he doesn’t feel comfortable in the lead. Note that momma mare is then leading.
