Connie and hubby took me on a carriage ride in their newest carriage!! They’d given me a ride in it once before, but this time both Gilford and Glendale were pulling us. Connie’s husband is an amazing driver; he taught himself to do a particular style of rein-handling [German Aachenbach reining] by watching videos and he has a “practice” driving set-up in his living room! [his homemade "rein-board."]
Peaches is ready for the carriage ride too!
It was a perfect day and the view of the lake as we trotted down the road was breathtakingly beautiful.
We went into a field and then on some back roads around my beloved lakes region (I’m a lakes region wannabe!).
Glendale kept wanting to nuzzle his big brother, and even though I know he is not supposed to do that, I get a huge laugh out of it! (Connie has since attached an elastic kind of gizmo to the rein on Glen’s right side to try and discourage that tendency.).
Then all of a sudden, Connie’s hubby turned to me and asked me if I wanted to drive. Well, I could have fainted right then and there. At first, I thought he must be kidding… but he was serious. So, I did it!
HorseGal takes the reins!
I only drove for a couple of minutes, but I got the boys to turn a corner, trot, walk and whoa. The feeling of having two powerful horses on the end of the reins was amazing. So, thank you Connie and hubby for letting me take care of Momma mare and for that wonderful carriage ride!!! I’m already planning my vacation times for next year so that I can take care of Momma while you are gone. I want first dibs on taking care of your sweet mare!! Woo hoo!!!! Many happy nickers!
Though the boys have been doing great as a pair, we must not neglect their singles training, especially Glendale’s because he is less experienced. There are things you can practice driving a single horse that become much more difficult to do with a pair, where you sacrifice some of the finer-tuned control over each individual horse.
Driving practicing in the elementary school parking lot.
With just one horse put to the carriage, we practice impulsion, steering, gait transitions, response to cues, standing, and just putting mileage on each boy; going out alone builds Glen’s confidence and shows him he can be OK without his big brother beside him. (This was in September.)
Glen stops in Gilford village to chat with a friend who knew him as a foal!
Meeting neighbors and another friend on a nearby street…
Glen is so lovable and friendly!
This video shows several different training experiences. Glen practices standing hitched to the carriage (showing a lot of patience for a youngster,) although he attempts to walk forward a couple of times (the brakes squeak) then he tries to back up instead, at which point Hubby asks him to moves on out. (Backing up without being asked is highly undesirable!)
Glen trots on for a while, then he speeds up on his own due to hearing a dog following us on the street (watch his ears turn towards the rear when he hears the dog, and his trot tempo increases.) Towards end of the video he suddenly shies sideways away from a manhole cover (potentially dangerous, as he goes right across the yellow line– fortunately no car was passing us at that moment.) This is typical green horse behavior, keeping the driver on his toes. It also illustrates why automobile drivers should pass animals with great caution and give them a wide berth!
I was given the chance this summer to take care of Connie’s beloved momma mare, not once, but twice, for several days in a row both times, while she and hubby took their boys on a couple of carriage drives! I can’t begin to tell you how BEYOND ecstatic I was!! I’ve taken care of horses on my own before, but never this wonderful mare that I have come to love as if she were my own!!
Willy mare photographed by Horse Gal
I was so thrilled that Connie thought enough of my abilities to put her precious mare in my care. That means SO much to me. Connie is my mentor and I respect her so much. The fact that she put her faith and trust in me makes me feel like I’ve really come a long way! Not that Willy needs very much care! She’s pretty self-sufficient, but she did need to be grained and hayed and have some attention paid to her!! In addition, I also considered it my responsibility to check her out for any injuries or problems that might crop up while Connie was away. And what better way to get experience and knowledge with horses than one-on-one time with them out of the saddle?
Contented as always when grass and companionship are available!!
I would go over to see her two times a day and we spent a lot of wonderful quality time together. When the boys are there, it’s SO hard for me to decide how to split my time up between the three horses!! With just Willy, I could devote myself 100% just to her! Almost every time I got there, she would be in her stall. [She has 24-hour turnout so she must have been waiting for Horse Gal to show up!] She looked lonesome and I’d like to think she was waiting for me, however, we all know she was just keeping out of the bugs! I would groom her and constantly tell her how beautiful she is and how much she is loved. Even though she doesn’t know what I’m saying, I do hope that she found the tone of my voice soothing and comforting and that it made her feel good. She just loves having the top of her tail scratched, so I did a lot of that.
Before I arrived for the second week of caring for Momma, she had sustained a cut high up inside her left thigh. Connie left me instructions on how to care for it. Once again, I felt so excited that not only was I feeding her, now I was able to do some medical care for her too. A first for me!! It certainly wasn’t major surgery that I had to do– all I did was put some antibiotic ointment on this cut and I also put some salve on a growth she had on the back of her foot. But this is something I’d never done before and once again, I was feeling so great because I was doing something new that was important to her well being!!
I didn’t know what to expect… Would Momma let me do it? Would she try to move away from me when I went to apply the ointment? She was perfect!! She let me do what I needed to do. I can’t tell you how empowering something as small as putting salve or ointment on a cut made me feel. I just felt I was really learning more about horsemanship. It was yet another building block in my goal to become the most knowledgeable and experienced horse gal I can be. I want to have good horsemanship, and there’s a lot more to that than just riding. However, as good as all that was, it got even better! Read on, fellow horse lovers….!
Here’s a visual idea of what it’s like to canter on horseback. You can hear the mare’s hoofbeats well because we are on pavement in the local school parking lot, in downtown Gilford village…
We have Glen out single to keep up his individual training. Today I am riding momma WIlly, and she hates to let her baby get too far ahead of her so she canters to catch up!
I get Willy onto the shoulder of the road, then trot up beside Glendale. Our friend Bailey is in the carriage today with Hubby!
DOMESTIC HORSE BEHAVIOR…
Our Herd is pretty used to weird things people do, such as chopping wood and using a chainsaw. Often they hang out near us to watch, graze, and come over to get a rub…
Glen the youngest has the strongest curiousity, he shows no fear of the chainsaw dad is using. Also he wants me to scratch him.
While dad chops wood, Glendale gets nosy and Peaches is intimidated by him.
Suddenly Glen makes a lunge at the dog when she gets too close.
It is odd to me how our horses behave with dogs, especially Peaches whom they know. When we are riding and driving, they pay little attention to strange dogs. They usually ignore Peaches– when we are working with them or have them in the barn, she can run underneath them and all around with no reaction from them– but at liberty they will lunge at her and even chase her in their paddocks and fields. They are not fooling around either, they would stomp her if she didn’t stay out of their reach. I can only guess that they have some kind of protective/aggressive instinct which kicks in at times…
Pretty soon Gilford gets into the act, sampling the freshly chopped firewood, then momma Willy pushes in to get her chin scratched.
Back when our daughter Emmie rode in 4-H horse shows, parents and riding instructors were not allowed to stand at the rail and give instructions to the riders in the show class as they rode past. Parents in fact did not participate at all with the the horses care and preparations during a 4-H show– this was part of the kids’ own learning experience, they were guided and supervised by their adult 4-H leaders.
So it brought back old memories to me when recently, at Deerfield Fair, Hubby and I observed a parent (or trainer) communicating via microphone and headset to a rider showing in a class. There was obvious 2-way communication, meaning the rider had a microphone too, and we could hear one side of the conversation as the lady standing practically in front of us told the young girl rider where to position herself and what to do with her horse as the class proceeded.
Lady in stands uses lapel-mike to talk to rider in hunter seat equitation class at Deerfield Fair Horse Show 2008. Young girl rider is in light gray jacket, on bay horse.
Frankly I feel this is cheating– and worse, I think it is detrimental to the children who have this forced upon them, because it does nothing for their own knowledge or self-confidence. To me all it achieves is instilling the sense that winning is everything, and undoubtedly the reason it is done is an attempt to gain more laurels for the training or breeding barn involved, and thus promote their businesses and fill their pocketbooks.
Horse showing is so subjective anyway… it’s all the opinion of a judge. It should be approached as a learning experience for the riders, but in reality it is more often a blatant showcase for those breeders and trainers whom the judge knows and likes. I wouldn’t be surprised if monies crossed palms under the table , especially at high-end shows where much prestige and high breeding fees are at stake.
If I sound like sour grapes, that’s not at all true. At this point in my life I am totally removed from all that sort of thing; I never did horse showing myself. When Emmie was showing as a backyard-trained young rider, she did extremely well in 4-H shows, open shows, and on the Arabian circuit, regularly beating out the high-end monied barns for ribbons and year-end championships. She came to understand that a judge’s opinion was completely subjective and not always fair, but she worked hard, did her best and often won anyway. Getting the best out of each horse she rode was the most important thing to her, and the lessons she learned about life were more important than the winning.
WHAT IS IT that makes our society so competitive? Can’t we be honest and fair and try to learn from each other instead of placing such importance on BEATING everyone else in a sport or endeavor? The worst part is that there are many horses who suffer abusive treatment and pain, all for the sake of winning acclaim for their owners or handlers.
