As I did with Glendale’s initial driving training, I am now following our sessions with the two brothers preparing them to be driven together as a pair. If all goes smoothly, we hope to first hitch them together in July, with help from a professional. We now have pairs harness plus a pole for our Eagle 4-wheel carriage. (Also, Hubby got a front-facing rear seat for the Eagle, to be more comfortable and sociable for passengers.)
Each training Session will be added into this post as it occurs, so you may check back here for the latest progress reports. Please refer to Training our horses to drive as a pair– BACKGROUND for background details.
Glen and Gilford pretending to be a pair (see SESSION 4 below)
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SESSION 1 June 15, 2008
First Goal, on the ground– to introduce the concept of moving side by side
With daughter Emmie’s assistance as a third set of hands, we fit the pairs harness on the boys, including bridles with blinders and pairs reins. Our plan was for Emmie and I to lead the horses from in front (using leadropes to the bridles) and for Dad to walk behind controlling the driving reins. He would drive them by voice and rein and we would be leading to reinforce the ideas and to guide them as needed.
We used baling twine to tie them together at their chests, via the pole straps on their harness breast collars. (Twine would break away easily in a panic situation;l however, with the pairs reins in use the horses would still be attached to each other by their reins… maybe not so good.)
We set up Gilford on the near (left) side and Glendale on the off (right) side. Our reasoning was that Gil being more experienced would be less likely to shy at passing traffic, although an argument could be made the other way too, because scary distractions can come from the side of the road as well.
Gilford as the near (left) horse of the pair (see SESSION 4 below)
I had Gilford’s lead line, and Emmie had Glen, having to lead him from his right side. We walked a couple of turns around the paddock this way OK, then Glen had a sudden reaction to Gilford indicating he may have gotten bumped by him on his left hip. Glen jumped a little then started traveling crooked with his right hip to the outside and his head turned inside to his left. We felt he maybe got startled by Gil bumping him and because of his blinders he couldn’t see behind himself to understand what was going on.
Although Emmie tried to correct Glen’s body position and we kept on leading for a while, Glen never really let go of this worry he had. One other reason he may have been swinging his butt to the outside could have been the influence of his cross rein. Pairs reins have two reins in the driver’s hands which split into a Y-shape before they reach the horses’ bits, giving the driver right-side control in his right hand and left-side control in hiss left hand.
Because of the Y split, the two reins between the two horses, called cross reins, come into the inside of the bit at an angle, thus creating a slight sideways pull on the inside of the bit. Both the horses and the driver have to adjust to pairs reins– the horses have to learn that this pressure does NOT mean “turn to the inside.”
We finished up this first session feeling pretty frustrated and wondering if Glen was going to be able to deal with this pairs stuff or not.
SESSION 2 June 16, 2008
Suspecting that wearing blinders and using cross reins could be a hindrance in the introductory stages, and now remembering the training “rule” of keeping things simple and introducing a new concept ONE PIECE AT A TIME, in our second Session of pairs training we decided all we wanted the boys to do was to walk side by side quietly in a straight line. So we harnessed them partially (saddles and breast collars but no breeching) and we did not bridle them, we used their rope halters.
We tied them together at the chests with baling twine again, to give a little of the feel of being fastened together, then Hubby led Gilford and I led Glendale next to each other. Coordinating with each other, we simply walked them around the paddock, keeping their noses as even with each other as we could. In executing turns, this meant that the outside horse needed to walk a little more briskly than the inside horse, and/or that the inside horse’s walking pace needed to be held in check just a little.
In this situation, Glendale started out acting just a little worried about his left hind side being too close to Gilford, but he quickly got over that and just walked straight. Gilford meanwhile seemed very content to be doing something so simple and easy (and short) and to be beside his brother.
Hindsight being perfect, we should have kept our first session simpler; THIS should have been our first session. We had had it in our heads that we needed 3 people to start out and do what we did, including actually trying to drive them with the pairs reins, but obviously that was too many new things to introduce at once. Though Gilford wasn’t bothered by anything in Session 1, younger (and slightly more reactive) Glendale definitely was. This session today was much more positive and gave us renewed optimism!
SESSION 3 June 17, 2008
For a while Hubby has been piecing together his version of a pairs training pole. Though we have not seen one mentioned in training guides, there are various types of drags that can be used in beginning driving training for single horses, to simulate for the horses the feel of shafts against their sides and of pulling something behind them while they are being ground driven.
So clever Hubby made a sort of T-pole out of 1 1/2-inch PVC pipe, with eye bolts attached for the pole straps and traces to hook into. [NOTE: we now feel that 2-inch PVC would be stronger and have less flex.] As usual, I was a bit leery of this contraption, but I could see the reasoning behind it so was OK with trying it out. This experimentation would require me to walk behind the horses, holding the singletree crosspiece up off the ground, while Hubby alone led both horses forward. I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped for the best, putting a lot of faith in the steady temperaments of the brothers and their proven abilities to get along well with each other.
Training/practice pole as seen from rear, made of PVC pipe. 2-inch diameter pipe would be better.
and with horses attached by traces on their sides, pole straps to the breastplate and to the neck “braking” strap, and baling twine to their harness breeching on the inside to hold it up. Green striped rope out behind is pulled on by me walking behind, to add some resistance, simulating the “load” of a carriage.
We started out harnessing in the barn aisle, as we have done each time, just as if we were going to take them out and hitch them to a carriage. We used baling twine again to fasten their pole straps to the front piece of the PVC pole. Also, to help support the practice pole in the rear so that it wouldn’t fall down and bang the horses’ hind legs, we tied baling twine from the center pole onto the inside breeching of the harnesses. The pole was so lightweight, it actually was held up by itself this way while they stood in the aisleway.
We were still working out the best way to attach the traces to the singletree, and used S-hooks this time which were a pain to insert into the trace slot and had to be adjusted carefully with pliers to make their gap spacing just right. Also, the pieces of the pipe were not glued together, since this was a trial run. Hubby assured me that they were pressure-fit really tightly, he had banged them in with a hammer and he couldn’t pull them out. I said, “well the horses could pull them out if they jumped around” and he thought maybe it was better if it popped apart in that instance. I had my doubts…
The boys modeling the PVC practice pole designed by Hubby. Note pole straps securing short T-ends of the pole to their breast plates.
Anyway, with them “hitched” up to this pole, he led them out the barn into the paddock and I walked behind, using a rope around the back end of the pole to pull back against and give them resistance against their breast collars, simulating pulling a load as well as keeping their traces taut against their sides, which encouraged them to walk straight. They led around easily from their rope halters and we took some turns around the paddock, feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.
After a few circuits and changes of direction, we were making our last turn back to the barn when the T-bar Gilford was attached to pulled out of the pole joint. Hubby stopped them and Gilford scooted a little feeling the piece of PVC pipe hitting his hind ankles/dragging on the ground, but we whoaed him and they both stood OK while I unfastened both their traces from the contraption, and Hubby unfastened their pole straps. OK, this could have been a real setback with a flighty horse, and we don’t know what would have happened if Glendale’s side had come loose, but it wasn’t any disaster.
As I observed Hubby leading them together back into the barn, it reminded me of watching the draft teams in Acadia Park’s Wildwood Stables being handled; they just walked along side by side like they had done it all their lives.
LESSON LEARNED: If you’re going to do something experimental, don’t set yourself up for an accident. We should have asked ourselves “What would be worse, the horses getting jumpy from something external to the pole (and how likely is that inside their paddock with someone leading them), or having the pole itself pop apart and making them scared of that?” Maybe there’s no easy answer…
SESSION 4 June 18, 2008
This time the PVC practice pole is glued together securely. We still feel comfortable leading them from rope halters. We go out from the barn and do many circuits, including somewhat tighter turns. Hubby starts to allow them to feel for themselves while circling that the outside horse needs to speed up a little.
SECOND “HITCH” as a pair, led out by Hubby. At the start, the rear of the pole is not held up by me, then I grab the rope… and notice that Glen’s outside trace (on the right) has come unfastened, so we pause to secure that and then proceed. I must say, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME because leading them around in halters does not give you much control over them, and we should know better. Do as I say, not as I do…
When Hubby, who is giving the voice commands, whoas them back in the barn, I push forward on the pole to simulate what a carriage would do. The pole straps on front of the pole are the brakes, being attached to a neck strap which is actually called a “brake strap;” since we are using breeching, the stopping force goes through the harness to their butts, which they are accustomed to from singles driving. (The Eagle, as most 4-wheel carriages, has a foot brake for the driver to hold back the carriage on downhills… otherwise a heavier carriage would overrun the horses and be too much for them to slow down with horsepower alone.)
Finally today I am able to get some pictures, and even a couple of videos while walking behind them, pulling back on the pole with my left hand and holding the camera in my right. This is a gratifying session, as they are taking to this like ducks to water!! Interestingly enough, Gilford is the one who seems most comforted by having his little brother right beside him. Maybe not so surprising, since Gilford is a wimp and Glen is dominant over him, though Gil is less reactive to things…
We couldn’t be more pleased!! Next step is getting them used to the different feel of the pairs reins! MORE Videos coming soon!!!
SESSION 5 June 28, 2008
For this session with the boys, our good friend HorseGal was visiting and helped us out by taking all these pix and videos! THANK YOU HORSE GAL!!!
Having done great so far while being led, we felt the brothers were ready to be ground driven using the pairs reins. (Remember, in Session 1 baby Glendale acted confused by the cross-reins, in which the inside rein puts a slight sideways pull on the horse’s mouth, different from other reins while driven or ridden…)
They were very quiet standing side by side while we fastened them to the PVC training pole and then attached their driving reins, which we had to futz around with due to our own lack of practice. Pairs driving reins differ from single driving reins in the use of half-length reins called cross reins. In your hands you have only two reins, the right rein turns both horses to the right because it goes to the right side of each horse’s bit. Each rein in your hand splits into a Y before it reaches the horses; your left-hand rein goes to the left side of each horse’s bit.
Cross-reins being attached to both horses… we still are using open bridles on them. When driving a pair, it is difficult to correct an individual horse with the reins because both horses feel each rein when you apply pressure. Therefore, the horse’s training should continue on an individual basis (driving singly) in order to refine and perfect that horse, or to correct any issues that might arise during pairs driving. Your voice, and signaling with the whip, will be the influencing factors on each horse of a pair.
Showing the PVC training pole, each horse having two traces attached to it on either side; the traces will be attached to the doubletree/eveners on the carriage when they are hitched. The horses pull the carriage along by means of the traces, which continue around the horse’s chest via the breastplate.
I put a leadrope on Glendale and walked beside him out into the paddock, letting Hubby drive the horses and steer them while I was there for support if needed. Hubby gave them the voice command “walk on” and they walked beside each other nicely.
Starting out with Hubby ground driving Gilford and Glendale together, using pairs reins, and I have leadrope on Glendale. The PVC ple is supported in back only by a piece of baling twine tied to each horse’s inside breeching (note how the pole flops around quite a bit.)
Shortly I took the lead line off and moved behind the rig. Using a rope tied to the pole, or at times holding the crosspieces, I pull back to give resistance so they will sort of be “pulling” a load.
Hubby ground driving the boys while I pull back on the pole to give resistance, simulating a carriage behind them.
It was awkward for me trying to stay out of the way of the reins; obviously I had no fear that either of the guys would try to kick me. They are fine with all this, never flinch a muscle. They even seem to know when we speak to each one indiviually to step up or to stop trying to play with brother.
Performing a “whoa” is no problem, again using voice commands and also pulling back gently on the reins.
Next we swap places, I drive them at a walk while Hubby pulls back on the pole.
I stay walking on the right side while ground driving, which is the side of the carriage I would sit on, and I don’t even try flipping the reins over Hubby’s head! This PVC pipe is 1 1/2 inch diameter, I think 2-inch would be better because this one flexes a bit when they are turning.
I drive them back up into the barn after several turns around the paddock. What a pair!
Note how calmly they stand while we detach them from the PVC pole and move it out of the way. We couldn’t be more pleased with their dispositions and willingness to do this stuff! Would you believe that Glendale is the same horse that spooked at other horses so badly in Tom Curtin’s clinic that I fell off him…? Together they really do seem to calm each other down, at least in their pasture.
Glen and Gilford done for this session, wishing all their work was this easy!
The next and final new thing to add will be to put their full driving bridles on them, with blinkers. This should help stop Glendale from trying to pester his big brother Gil by nibbling at his face while they walk along! Then we may start ranging further afield. We look forward to hitching them to our carriage in July, with assistance from a professional trainer to be sure we do everything as safely as possible, and to get some coaching in pairs driving and how it differs from singles.
SESSION 6 July 5, 2008
In this attempted training session with the guys, our homemade training pole came apart as we were just leaving the barn, causing the piece of PVC pipe behind Glendale to fall down to the ground hanging off his traces. It ended up between his hind legs, he was just stepping around a bit while we got them both unfastened from the whole darn thing. But it didn’t really bother him, they both are so trusting we just tell them whoa and they settle right down. Joanne Gelinas Snow desensitized them so well with her initial ground handling training to that sort of thing, and we also worked with them since foals with feeling ropes around their legs and bodies!
Then we tried to ground drive them side by side WITHOUT the pole. They were wearing blinders again this time (their new pairs bridles), and Glen started doing what he did in SESSION 1, walking sideways with his head turned towards Gilford. So we decided to just drive Glen on the training cart, I was by then suspicious of how the new driving bridle with the blinders was working for him, because he was acting like he couldn’t see Gilford again. He had even bumped into the stall door when I first led him out (bridled and harnessed).
Well LOL– it turns out I had that new driving bridle really misfit, with the blinders too low and too close to his eyes, and he really WAS having a hard time seeing, not just Gilford but everything. Poor guy, that must have been what was bothering him when Emmie helped us take them out the very first time. Once I got the bridle and blinders properly adjusted, dad drove him put to the cart and he did just fine. In fact, if he has any more problems with going straight beside Gil I will be surprised, but if he does I’ll just get rid of the blinders again, at least for a while. He’s had no problems in the other Sessions without blinders.
SESSION 7 [LAST session of ground training prep] July 11, 2008
This training/practice session started out frustrating as once again the PVC training pole which Hubby had reglued (but not well enough) came apart on us a SECOND time. By this time the boys could have cared less about pieces of PVC pipe flopping around their hind legs, and they whoaed while we extricated them from the remains of the pole.
So to get something productive done (after spending a half hour just getting them harnessed), we ended up tying their traces together behind each of them with a length of rope, then Hubby ground drove them while I walked behind him pulling back on their traces. We had full driving bridles on them with blinders and they were fastened together at the chest by their pole straps.
They went along well, Glen did not seem bothered by the blinders anymore since I had fit his new bridle to his face properly and he could see as he was supposed to. FYI, the new pairs harness we had for them is synthetic. Our single harness from years back when we got Abby was a nice Smuckers leather, but over the years I have tired of all the cleaning needed for a leather harness.
We ended on a fine note, they did fine, and we felt they were ready for the BiG DAY coming shortly when they would be hitched together to a REAL carriage!
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We finally got an arrangement with the Carriage Barn in Newton NH, we’ll be taking the boys down there near Newburyport early next week and with pro assistance we’ll hitch them as a pair to the Eagle carriage. As you know, they have done amazingly well so far, they seem to love being side by side. Now that I have Glen’s bridle adjusted properly…
We’ve done everything but hitch them, we have the Eagle set up with a pole, they have each pulled the Eagle individually… you know all this!! We are all ready and psyched!
Our two geldings are already individually driving: Gilford age 5 has been driving for 3 years, Glendale age 3 (almost) was first hitched last fall and started his first full season of driving beginning in May.
There are two schools of thought on training pairs. One opinion says both horses should be thoroughly trained and experienced with driving individually before hitching together. Another approach, which was taken more in times past, is to hitch a greenie (inexperienced horse) together with a more experienced horse and let him learn from the “master.” Often in the old days even foals were led or tied alongside their moms working in harness, to accustom them to the sights and sounds of the wagon.
You’d have to say that we are trying the old-fashioned approach. Understand that between myself and my Hubby, I am the more cautious and more safety-concerned. When he first proposed pairing Glen and Gil up so early in Glen’s driving career, I thought he must be joking, and I said as much.
However, I was willing to try things slowly and see how it goes. I am encouraged by how well Glendale has been driving so far by himself; he so far seems as sensible as his big brother, and almost as calm by nature but with a bit more energy. Bear in mind that we bred and raised both these horses, so we know their lifetime histories, plus we have had their mom for 16 years and thus know exactly what she is like. Foals get a whole lot of their dispositions from their momma mare– our boys are full brothers.
My analysis of Glendale’s previous issues (see previous– Day 1 and Day 2):
He had been shut in a stall the whole time he wasn’t in class, so probably had some pent-up energy since he is normally used to 24-hour turnout
He is insecure in a brand new situation, especially around unknown horses (having very little experience interacting with strange horses)
He is insecure in a new environment (though he has been to Joanne’s before)
He is insecure away from his supporting Herd family
He hasn’t had me on his back often enough to gain a lot of security from me, although he is quite trusting of me on the ground and when in harness he listens very well to my voice
The third day was quite muddy in the ring; Connie in red shirt trying to keep Glendale focused.
My analysis of MY problems staying on him when he shied sideways:
I haven’t ridden him in very many challenging situations, though we have driven him through several challenges and even solo;
I am not experienced at ring-riding or schooling;
It came to me that I have not been keeping him solidly between my LEGS as I should have, supporting him with my legs. I have been applying my leg for speed changes and direction changes, but not so much for just walking straight ahead.
My new plan to create a better situation today:
I stopped giving him grain feedings, since he wasn’t working his body all that hard, only his mind, because any extra protein can make a horse hotter and potentially more nervous
I need to give him exercise at liberty, to loosen him up and get the edge off his nerves
I need to ride him more with my legs and not just steer with reins, as I am in the habit of doing with his solidly-schooled mother
I need to give him more voice support
I need to double-check the fit of his saddle, which he hasn’t worn since late last fall
I need to be more aware of his ears and what his body is telling me
Arriving early, I put the Australian saddle back on Glen to check its fit, and it seemed OK. Nevertheless, I add a little extra padding just to help it stay in place (before I used only a thin saddle blanket.) With Glen saddled, while other folks at the clinic are having lunch, I take Glendale into the vacant outdoor ring and turn him loose wearing his saddle. I had a lunge whip and got him to trot, to see if he bucked because of the saddle, but he was fine. In fact, he starts trotting a huge circle around me as if we were in a round pen, which he is used to. It was pretty cool because we were using only one half of the ring.
I enjoyed watching him trot at liberty like that, he looks so beautiful and goes so smoothly. I can see that having me be out of balance on his back is hindering his natural movement. I cue him to canter and he does so easily. I let him stop, slap my thigh and call him, and he walks in to me. I point him off in the other direction and cue him to move off, asking him to trot and off he goes. It was truly a close few moments with him, seeing that he was listening to me and doing what I asked and pretty much enjoying it, especially when he stayed in a circle around me.
Glendale feeling a little more relaxed…
It didn’t take him long to realize he could go down the length of the ring and be far enough away from me that he could stop down there and check out the other side of the ring. I didn’t worry about that much, I just walked over close to the other end and got him going again. After all, I just wanted him to get the kinks out and relax, it wasn’t a round-pen lesson, and mostly he was as cooperative as he could be. He came back to me when I called him.
After about 10 minutes of this, mostly trotting and some canter, I brought him out and tied him with a short tie off an overhead pole, which Joanne uses to teach horses patience and to let them become accustomed to hustle and bustle around them. He waited there another 30 minutes watching other horses and people come and go, then it was time to bridle him and go into the ring for the clinic. He was a bit jittery but not nearly so bad as the first two days; I tried to be more aware of where his attention was going, and to keep both my legs on him at all times.
He took 2 or 3 jumps trying to spook but I kept him straight and got his attention right back again. We started outside, the rain came, and soon we relocated once again into the indoor arena while the rain pounded outside. We were given new exercises, fine-tuning our control-of-the-horse’s-feet skills– 1/4 turns, 1/8 turns on forehand and haunches, back 5 steps while turning 1/8 of a circle, swinging shoulders or hips to outside and inside while walking along the rail, swing haunches to inside for a canter depart (NOT ME though, I wasn’t about to force Glen to canter!) I was happy that Glen trotted short spells for me and trotted more easily as we went on, starting to get over his fear of me falling off…
And that’s the one thing I didn’t do this time, I did NOT fall off! Granted, Glen did not make any lightning-quick swerves like he did three times before today, but I’d like to think that was because I was keeping him going straighter than before and more focused on forward, using both legs firmly, and also keeping him out of trouble. Ya gotta love these babies, but you have to think for them and take care of them too, so they can be confident in themselves.
Tom watches Connie and Glen’s progress
All in all, since I’m still walking and breathing and the horse still likes me, there were a lot of positive things that came out of this clinic. The exposure to all those other horses could never have happened at home, and that was beneficial. The indoor arena scary sounds had to happen sooner or later. Mainly, Glen and I became more in tune with each other, he is very light and responsive still to rein and leg, and I now have more tools and knowledge to draw on when riding him in the future.
Perfect hindsight… after the first day I fell off, I should have called up daughter Emmie for her advice! She could have probably saved me falling off the other 2 times, because she knows so much about schooling and maintaining a secure seat! Old mom had to go to the school of hard knocks.
HORSEMANSHIP CLINIC DAY 2
Once again, young Glendale was nervous at the start… he was afraid of the far end of the ring where there were trees beyond and it was darker; it was windy today and a storm front was moving in, so he was looking for things to be nervous about. I didn’t try to make him go up to the rail at that end.
Glendale trying to settle down while surrounded by other horses. This is totally new experience for the almost-three-year-old.
The class began doing what we had practiced the day before, I spent a lot of time trying to keep Glen’s attention and keep him focused. Walking exercises as usual were easier for him since everyone was moving slower, and trotting worried him. About 45 minutes in, a big wind gust hit just as we were rounding the spooky end of the ring, startling at least 4 other horses, and Glen once again spun to the right and I went out of balance again and off him to the left. I was aware of the saddle slipping sideways as I was trying to hang on, then of lying sort of balled up on the ground.
Later I was told that people were yelling at me to let go of his reins, which I have a habit of hanging onto, but I didn’t hear any of that. I DID hear his hoof tap on my helmet, though obviously it was only a glancing blow. Observers said my hanging onto his reins nearly pulled him over, as he was trying to avoid stepping on me. This time Glen got free (luckily for me) and ran to the far end of the arena and stopped on the fenceline, where he waited for me to remount.
I was unhurt, having been lucky once again. I tightened his girth, which sure enough was too loose. Everyone expressed their concerns, but I felt pretty klutzy by then. The wind and thunder was rolling by that time so we all moved into the indoor arena, which is less thatn 2/3 the size of the outdoor ring. Here I spent 15-20 minutes walking him and doing maneuvers at one end of the arena while the pelting rain hitting the tin roof got worse and worse, lightning and thunder were going on, and Glen wanted to shy in succession at the rain outside seen through a dutch door, a walkway leading out of the arena, the sounds, any nearby horse, and loose horses outdoors who had come up close to the arena and could be seen through open windows along the side.
Finally he seemed OK to do cross-arena exercises, trying to 2-track by pushing the horse’s hindquarters out to the side while walking forward. Most of the class sat their horses at the ends while two riders would work across the length of the arena going in opposite directions. This worked out well, so when we were asked to try the two-track while trotting, there was a good deal of space around each rider so I tried him trotting. Sure enough, he spooked and spun at passing a horse on the sidelines and dumped me once again, the same way off his left side. I got up feeling a little more shaken than the past two times.
Soon afterwards, Tom decided Glendale needed help with his confidence (and me as well) so he set up the whole class to help us. Pairs of riders began walking around the rail side by side with space between them, and I was to walk Glendale in the opposite direction and walk between each pair of horses. They were to give me plenty of room so that Glen could learn it was safe to go between them.
I was so grateful for this exercise, which Glen started into being very squirrely but I just kept him walking on straight, and very soon he accepted that he wasn’t going to get jumped by another horse and he walked along. Then Tom had me do a little trotting between the rows of horses as well, so Glen could get over being afraid to trot. Theory was that he was becoming worried about going fast, because of the times before when he had trotted and then I fell off and that scared him.
We ended that session on a more positive note, thank goodness. I went home feeling exhausted that night, but my mind was working on analyzing what was going wrong and working out a different plan for the next day.
Tom Curtin is an itinerant cowboy horse trainer, with ranches in Montana and in Florida. He and his wife Trina travel around the country coaching horses and their riders, and about a year ago we gave our deposit to take Glendale into his Horsemanship clinic on June 21-23. Tom comes to Gelinas Farm every summer and runs a few clinics, among them Colt Starting, Horsemanship, and Cow Work. We had Gilford in two of Tom’s clinics in past years. (The only reason we didn’t put Glendale into Tom’s Colt Starting clinic last summer was because he was SO young, in June he wasn’t even two years old yet.)
Joanne Gelinas considers Tom her mentor and he has coached her and her assistants for years. Tom helped us with hitching Gilford for the first time at Joanne’s when Gil was two (Tom knows a lot about driving horses too.) Hubby rode Gilford the at age 3 in Tom’s Horsemanship Clinic. The Horsemanship clinic is for learning and improving the rider’s skills, establishing control over the horse’s feet, and thus improving the communication between rider and horse.
Connie starting out with Glendale on first day of Clinic (center)… Joanne Gelinas at right of pix on one of her youngsters in training.
HORSEMANSHIP CLINIC DAY 1
There were 25 total horses in this clinic, working in Joanne’s huge (fortunately) outdoor arena. This was more horses than young Glendale had ever seen in one place in his life. Since Glen had also never been schooled in a ring with horses he wasn’t familiar with, learning to feel comfortable with all these strange horses proved to be his greatest challenge.
Glen was nervous on first entering the arena when only a few of the other riders were in, and I worked on keeping his attention on me and trying to get him to relax. He totally could not stand still, so I had him do maneuvers, move off my leg and flex his head and neck to each side to get him to soften and listen to the reins and my legs. I talked soothingly to him a lot too, but I could tell he was quite distracted and edgy; every time another horse was near, he was both interested in it and worried about it all at the same time, and he did a lot of scooting around reacting to the other horse’s movements as they were also being warmed up. It took at least ten minutes before I felt he was settling down a little.
Glendale was pretty insecure and needed a large personal space between himself and the many unknown horses he was suddenly thrown into a ring with…
When all 25 riders were in, Tom did some preliminary demos while everyone sat their horses and watched, except for me and poor Glendale who couldn’t stand still so I continued trying to maintain his focus. Then Tom asked us all to start walking circling the ring. Some of Tom’s typical instructions: “Without bothering your horse, see how slowly you can get your horse to walk– see if you can speed up his walk– see how slowly you can get him to stop– see how quickly he’ll stop, without getting him bothered– now walk a half circle to the right and keep going straight– now come with your left hand and left leg [meaning, behind the girth] and move your horse’s hindquarters to the right a half turn, then keep on walking– now see how slowly you can stop your horse– now see if you can pick up a softness and get your horse’s nose to come down and in– now take that softness and see if you can keep it while backing your horse five steps straight and stop.”
As you can tell, we were practicing control of our horse’s feet; the softness Tom talks about is getting the horse to give to the bit and not resist by stiffening his neck or tensing up and raising his head. The moving of his hindquarters is a pivot on the front end, accomplished through a leg yield. Every instruction was prefaced by “without bothering your horse…,” to keep us focused on how the horse felt about performing these tasks and how he reacted to our cues.
This is the type of chaos that my green horse was reacting to… here everyone is circling to change directions.
Glendale was too nervous to go between another horse and the rail of the arena, so I kept him towards the inside of the ring. He was nervous hearing another horse come up on him from behind. He was doing the maneuvers for me but was listening to me with only part of his mind; I could feel it in his body, and I could see his ears when one would turn toward me as I cued him with rein or leg, but the other ear would be paying attention to his next door neighbor.
He managed to deal with all this for a while and go along pretty well, reacting to another horse only when it came too close. Before long Tom asked the class to pick up a trot. Glen felt real nervous then, hearing and seeing all the other horses go faster, so I trotted him for short spells then walked him, still keeping to the inside of the ring out of the crowd. We practiced varying our speed of trot, circling to change directions (which was pretty wild for Glen when suddenly all the horses changed their directions, circling around all over the place as it appeared to him.)
Soon Tom had us walk again, and had half the class point their horses the opposite way of the ring. Then we were to walk in opposite directions by weaving our horses in and out between each other. Glen was disconcerted about this, but was doing pretty well so long as the oncoming horse gave him a wide berth, and most people were doing just that. But then Tom wanted us to do the weaving at a trot, and that proved too much for Glendale. He managed to do a couple of weaves, but then the next oncoming rider, apparently misreading the direction I was starting to take Glen, did a super-quick cow pony dodge in front of Glen’s nose to change direction, and Glen swerved to avoid him, pitching me off the other side of him when he moved sideways so fast he unseated me.
OK, I have never professed to be a cowgirl or to have the most secure seat in the world, and I don’t practice ring work but I have stayed on some pretty quick moves out on the trail (momma mare IS an Arabian, after all). This move to me came out of nowhere, although I know if I had been reading Glendale well enough I wouldn’t have gotten myself in that situation. Luckily I didn’t hurt anything (except a rope burn on my finger), and I got right back on immediately. After that I didn’t try weaving at the trot because I knew my horse wasn’t ready for that. The rest of the class was more practicing of steering control. The class was ended after 2 hours.
[continuing report from Connie's friend, Guest Writer HorseGal...] HERD VISIT DAY 25 – The days are flying by way too fast and my time with The Herd is starting to wind down, however, my horse time with Emmie is over. Thank you, Em, for all that you’ve taught me, your patience in answering my nonstop questions, listening to my equally nonstop chatter, for putting up with my camera that was always in your face and for letting me spend so much time with you, Momma mare, Gilford and baby Glendale.
HERD VISIT DAY 28 – It’s just me and the Herd now and I’m having a great time just brushing them and being around them. I am still having some problems trying to keep them all from hovering around on top of me (mostly the boys… momma mare would hover but I easily got her to give me some space).
Glendale wearing his lunch!
While I do so love having them rest their head on my shoulder (they really did this from behind me!!) and I love having them want me to brush them (they would all stand perfectly still and not budge when it was their turn), it makes it very difficult to get anything done when they hover around so closely. I tried again to do what I’ve seen Connie do, but it didn’t work well.
But, after talking to Emmie and Connie and getting their advice, I changed tactics a bit and the horses LISTENED to me!!! They were SO good. What I needed to do was 1) be more assertive with them in my tone of voice and 2) I took in a lead rope with me and would swing the end of it towards whomever was getting too close and say, as sharply as I could “back”.
I was so proud of those boys and how well they listened (when I finally started doing it in a way they understood). Like Pat Parelli says “If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question or answered the question wrong”.
I have to tell you about a really comical incident – I was in the pen brushing the herd. I left Emmie’s box with all her grooming tools outside the pen. Well, one of the resident horses (who wander around at will) came up and for some odd reason, grabbed the hoof pick out of the box and ran off with it!
It looked so funny seeing this horse, wearing a cribbing strap, run off with a red hoof pick in his mouth. I dropped everything and ran after him yelling “You drop that!” and he did after a minute or two of running around with it!
HERD VISIT DAY 33 – The Moses Herd left today to go home. It was really difficult to see them leave; I felt like I was losing my best friends. I’d become so close to these guys having seen them almost every day for the past 33 days. I was actually choked up when I saw that trailer pull out. I gave Connie and Em a hug goodbye, walked back to the barn and left them alone to say their own goodbyes.
I learned so much by watching Em, listening to her and asking her questions. I also paid close attention to the Herd and all their antics and to what she was doing with them at any given moment. I even had a few of my own personal “firsts” with horses along the way during their visit.
As far as the Herd’s behavior - sometimes they were fractious; but mostly they were quiet and content and it was always so peaceful and calming to watch them and hear them munching away on their hay on beautiful quiet spring nights! I love the sound of horses eating hay! Because I was able to spend so much time with them, I saw a side of them I normally never would have seen, which is their strong separation anxiety. Especially poor Momma mare– she makes it so unnecessarily hard on herself.
What an experience this was for this Horse Gal. I was given a glimpse into the day to day experience of owning horses, if only for a short time. I consider this whole amazing and wonderful event to be another chapter in my life long journey to become the best horse gal I can be.
Recently we spent a couple of days with Kim and Jack, our friends who are keeping Abby now. We trailered over with the boys, Gilford and Glendale, so we could do some carriage driving on the dirt roads around Kim’s house.
Gilford and Glen at the horse trailer– you can see the Eagle carriage still inside…
and tacked up and harnessed for an excursion. Don’t they look excited!
We had three outings with our horses in drizzly conditions, in various combinations of driving and riding, including a longer drive with Gilford pulling the 4-wheel Eagle carriage and me driving Glendale put to Kim’s Meadowbrook cart. The boys were reasonably well behaved, Glen acting like the green horse he is and Gilford mostly just going along.
Hubby on Gilford (using bareback pad) next to the Meadowbrook while Kim drives Glendale. Behind is Kim and Jack’s house; they remodeled an old farmhouse just like we did, and acquired a lot of acreage.
Typical green horse behavior shown by Glendale:
stopping suddenly to watch other horses or a white donkey or aluminum pieplates hung in a garden;
shying sideways at bush noises, such as dogs suddenly running up from behind or out of treelines right beside him;
not wanting to walk past a couple of rams right next to the road, even though thehorses were pastured right next to those rams the whole time they were at Kim’s;
not wanting to walk through a puddle;
startling at a truck pulling a flatbed trailer which passed from behind… even Gilford, who’s been driving for 3 years, spooked into a run once or twice. Fortunately, there were no runaways or mishaps and both horses were easily brought back under control without panicking.
I got these bits of video on the day when Kim drove Glen in her own Meadowbrook cart and Dad was riding Gilford. We often put Glendale in the lead, which he accepted most of the time; but if he felt balky we’d have Gilford go in front.
Glendale is afraid to cross a puddle until his big brother goes first. Many horses shy at crossing water, even just puddles, even grown horses. Our very young guy is quite steady in that he doesn’t try to turn or run away, though he does back a couple of steps which is not desirable either in a driving horse. He will learn better with experience! You can see him listening to his driver’s voice (Kim) and learning to put his trust in her.
Glen hesitates to pass a pond, then stops to check out nearby horses, concerned mostly about a white donkey! After his brother goes in front he feels more confident and picks up speed, even going past a tepee with hardly a second glance! Not quite 3 years old, typical green horse behavior; he is put to Kim’s Meadowbrook cart.
Other excitement was also in store for us… one of Kim’s ewes had just lambed the night before our arrival, and the day we were to leave a second ewe gave birth! Kim has three more due to drop lambs any day; they are Leicester (SP? Lester?) Longhairs, a pretty rare breed. Kim has a bunch of wool, does some weaving, and plans soon to try her hand at spinning.
Baby ram is less than an hour old, born while we were out driving.
This uncommon breed is Leicester longhair. Mom ewe cleans off yellow meconium which he passed during delivery– soon he will be white, on his feet and looking for food!
The pastoral scene across Kim and Jack’s back yard, showing their sheep shed at right. The black horse in the near distance is our (former) Abby! Doesn’t she have a nice life!
It might look better than here if you view it on youTube at Singin’ In The Rain [Remix] and click bottom right on “View in high quality.” It’s worth it! DarkBay24 has been posting some good stuff.
Video is called “Preparation for halter”, but this training is prep for everything a horse needs to learn, mainly listening to the handler’s body language! This trainer doesn’t need a halter when he gets the horse so responsive to a simple rope around its neck. I bet their training DVDs are awesome—Quantum Savvy on youTube.
[continuing report from Connie's friend, Guest Writer HorseGal...] HERD VISIT DAY 21 –I RODE young Gilford last night!!! The first time on him for me and he was such a good boy! He listened to me so well, thanks to all the wonderful training he’s gotten. I may have even been as good for him as he was for me.
I think we both taught each other something last night. For me, it was what it’s like to ride something new (breed and saddle wise) and a youngster (I’ve never ridden such a young horse before!) and maybe I even taught Gil a little about what it’s like to be ridden by someone new (to him) with lesser abilities than what he’s used to!
HorseGal atop Gil, and so excited!
I had to be a whole new experience for him!!! I can’t believe I even cantered him (which in actuality is a lot more comfortable and an easier ride than a trot/jog) in the English saddle. I’ve just had such a huge phobia that I wasn’t a good enough rider and wouldn’t be able to keep myself on in an English saddle so cantering was something I was hesitant about… UNTIL I got on him and felt so comfortable with him.
And for her next act, HorseGal canters Gilford, riding in an English saddle no less!
I learned last night that if you know how to ride, in the end, it doesn’t really matter what you’re sitting on. What matters is having the knowledge and using the tools you’ve been taught to get yourself BACK (or better still, stay) in balance if you lose it.
HERD VISIT DAY 23 – I went to groom The Herd last night. They were all such a mess! They’d been rolling and it’s been extremely dry, hot, and very dusty here. Emmie always has them SO beautiful, so I wanted to get them all “prettied up” for Emmie’s return tomorrow (she’s been out of town).
I attempted to start with Momma mare… however, they all would just NOT give me any space. They were all over me. I had the shedding blade in one pocket and a brush in the other and Glendale was constantly nibbling at them. I was on one side of Momma trying to brush her and Gilford had his WHOLE HEAD across her back (I’m surprised she let him), so that if I wanted to I could have done her back and the front of his head at the same time.
After about 45 minutes of trying, I just couldn’t get anything done. I literally could not move around at all! I was so disappointed because I really wanted to clean them up! I spent all of my time trying to move them away from me. I tried to shoo them away and I said “back”, but either they didn’t move or if they did, they came right back!!
I’m going to talk to Emmie tomorrow night for some hands-on advice on how I can groom them without being crowded. This has been the first time it’s been just me and them in their pen for grooming. I’ve been in there grooming them before, but Emmie was with me. We’d groom two of them, so that would leave just one to “crowd” us and Em always made sure whomever we weren’t grooming didn’t get in our way.
So, since it’s going to be just me with them next week, I’m going to talk to Em about what I should be doing. I want to learn how to keep them from getting into my space. They’ve all had excellent training so I know they know better than to crowd. I tried to do what I’ve seen Connie do and either 1) I wasn’t doing it right, or 2) they KNEW they could boss me around!!! Maybe both!
There’s no grass in that pen, so I think some of the problem was they were bored and I was their entertainment! There was hay to eat, but I think if there’d been grass, they would have been busy eating the grass and I would have been able to groom everyone with no problem.
[NOTE FROM CONNIE: HorseGal just needed to become firmer and more assertive with her voice and her body language, to show the horses she meant business… see HG’s later post for Day 28.]
[NOTE 2: Taken previously on the Herd's home turf, this video with HorseGal and me shows how in-your-face horses can get, just trying to be friendly and to get a butt scratch.
Cute as it is, it still shows a lack of respect for a person’s space and can be dangerous because the person could get stepped on (a horse can crush a foot) or possibly even knocked over. It would not be safe for someone lacking any knowledge of horses to be out with them loose in a field like this.]
