My most time-consuming project recently has been designing and producing a 24-page photo album-type booklet for Granite State Carriage Association. This year is the club’s 3oth anniversary and I am helping in that celebration. It is interesting to me as a member to learn about the origins of the driving club and many of the early things they did.
Stay tuned, when it is finished I’ll have more time to spend blogging again! Also I’ll share a bit of the booklet here.
NBC Universal will be airing 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including the equestrian events, which will be taking place in Hong Kong. This total amount of coverage will be more than the hours of coverage for all the Olympic Games since 1960 Rome combined. All Broadcasts will also be in HD.
The Equestrian events are listed on the Beijing Olympic Games website.
The schedule is as follows:
Date: Program—Time (EST) on Channel
Aug. 9: 3-Day: Dressage— 2:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on USA
Aug. 10: 3-Day: Dressage— 2:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on USA
Aug. 11: 3-Day: Cross- Country— 6:00pm-8:00pm on OXYGEN
Aug. 12: 3-Day: Stadium Team (jumping) Gold Medal Final—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 13: Team Dressage—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 14: Team Dressage Team Gold Medal Final—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 15: Show Jumping—6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 16: Dressage Individual – 5:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. MSNBC,
Aug. 16-17: Equestrian - 12am-12am 8/17, HD simulcast on Universal HD (multiple sports)
Aug. 17: (UNVERIFIED) Show Jumping Team Gold Medal Final 1st Round—10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m on NBC
Aug. 18: Show Jumping Team Gold Medal Final Round— 6:00pm-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 19: Dressage Individual Gold Medal Final - 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on OXYGEN
Aug. 21: Show Jumping Individual Gold Medal Final- 10:00am- 1:00 pm on WHDH (7)
NOTE: The above info was verified at nbcolympics.com, but please correct me if in error– THANKS!
Our friend and Ghost Rider (Guest Writer) Q L Caballo (aka. Sophiea) has won 2 of 4 prizes in an online Photo Contest to benefit Second Chance Ranch Equine Rescue. Check out scrrescue.org
Congratulations to Q L and Q!!! Q is obviously a very photogenic horse!
I know of a gorgous, young horse who is going to be put down if
somebody can’t take her. She is double registered AQHA and 88%
foundation, has 3 weeks of ground training already. This little girl
needs surgery on an impacted tooth and her owner just can’t afford
it. If you, or anyone you know, wants this girl, the owner is willing
to give her away to somebody that will have the surgery done. I had
the girl at my house for a year and what a doll. I would take her if
I wasn’t already at my max. This is a friendly, steady and wonderful
horse. Very loving and playful, no bad habits, had a child riding her
before her 2nd birthday, has never had shoes on, loads, ties, bathes
you name it. Please, please pass this on to anybody you know that is
willing to take on this wonderful girl.
Posted by “megfoste” megfoste@yahoo.com on the Yahoo group NaturalHorseTrim
Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:48 am (PDT)
We have successfully hitched our 2 boys together, under supervision of an instructor! Not only that, but we have already taken them on a carriage drive weekend campout and we drove them 3 times there!
Are we ever happy! I will blog about all this soon and show you pix and videos!!! If you want a preview, a few videos are uploaded now… go here to horsepaintings on youTube to see latest videos as I add them.
SESSIONS 5 and 6 have been added to the end of Driving horse pairs training, step-by-step. I discover why Glendale couldn’t walk straight beside his brother in Session 1 (I’d LOL except I’d be laughing at myself!), AND we have set a date to actually hitch them together to the Eagle!!!
WOOOOOO HOOOO!!! (as HorseGal would say.) Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Watching horses in our backyard daily as I have for 16 years, I have learned a lot about how they behave. I’ve never had the opportunity to observe wild horses, but our own Herd certainly displays many of the same typical behaviors. Though I’ve probably forgotten more than I can recall, I will share under this topic random tidbits as they occur to me. You-all please add your own observations under Comments at the end of this post! And THANKS!
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- An alpha mare bosses the herd. All the other horses fit themselves into their own pecking order, and knowing his place makes each one feel secure.
- Horses talk to each other in subtle ways, or they can shout as well– their communication is almost all body language. A mere flick of an ear or swish of a tail can convey a message. It is very wise for people around horses to pay attention to their language.
- A horse can twitch its skin on almost any part of its body.
- Horses do not sleep for any long stretches of time, day or night; rather, they take short naps on their feet, or sometimes lying down, but rarely for longer than 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
- In groups of horses, when some are napping there is almost always one horse standing and staying awake on guard.
- A mare will stand over and guard her sleeping foal when it is really young.
- Foals sleep a LOT!!! We used to call our guys “pancakes” when they slept flat out in the pasture!
- A horse’s teeth keep growing into old age, their surfaces wearing down while regrowth occurs. A knowledgeable person can tell a horse’s age pretty closely by examining its teeth.
- The horse is interested in 2 things: eating, and being comfortable. For a stallion, make that 3 things.
- A horse’s lower lip droops and often quivers when he is really relaxed; this makes his upper lip hang over, he can quiver that too.
- Their lips are practically prehensile; I’ve seen them pick up a single blade of hay out of a pile of shavings, and they selectively pick grass (and leave behind the weeds!)
- He chews and licks his lips when he is thinking and learning something..
- Horses are very sociable and find security in groups with other horses, once they get to know them.
- Horses can grow so attached to each other that separating one from the others becomes difficult for the handler.
- If no other horse is around to bond to, a horse can become attached to another animal, such as a goat or even a dog.
- And yet, horses can also be aggressive towards dogs, even familiar dogs.
- They are creatures of habit, yet they can adapt to irregular routines.
- Horses love being scratched in itchy places (bug bites) and places they cannot reach themselves (the groove under their chin, withers, between their hind legs, base of mane and tail & under forelock)
- In cold climates, a horse grows its own extra thick coat of fur for the winter. Keeping a blanket on him starting in the fall prevents this fur coat from growing. The winter fur sheds out in the spring, over the course of a month or so– talk about a LOT of shedding!!!
- It’s really cute to watch a foal scratch its chin with a hind foot– even grown horses do that.
- A horse really trusts the human that it allows to approach while it is lying down.
- A horse can snort so loudly it sounds like a gunshot! I believe this shows a high degree of alarm, and could likely serve to warn off an intruder.
Daughter Emmie visited us in Gilford in mid-June and we all enjoyed a carriage drive in Bear Brook State Park (Allenstown, NH) put on by the Granite State Carriage Association. Hubby and I and let her ride young Glendale (almost 3), which she was thrilled to do, while we drove Gilford put to the Eagle 4-wheel carriage.
Emmie had gotten to know Glen while the Herd visited her area a couple of months ago; she loves him as we do and has helped us tremendously with his under-saddle schooling. (I only wish she lived closer by so she could do MORE riding training of our young guys!)
Emmie getting Glendale’s tack while Hubby unloads the carriage, in Bear Brook State Park.
As we start out, Claudia takes our picture for us. See Peaches in front of me! Attendance at this drive was light (gas prices maybe???) and we had the trails mostly to ourselves.
On this excursion, I was riding comfortably in the rear seat of the carriage. My only job (besides picture-taking!) was to keep Peaches securely in the carriage floor in front of me, which proved challenging in the open-sided Eagle. I had her up in the seat beside me starting out, held close with her leash in hand, when suddenly as we slowed she jumped out for no apparent reason and rolled onto her back as she landed, right beside the carriage wheel!
Peaches was unhurt, but it totally surprised me because she is used to riding in carts and carriages since she was a puppy. After that I kept her in the floor in front of me, and had her really well secured by the leash, also between my legs so she couldn’t lean out on either side (we never tie her in by the leash, but hold it for quick release in an emergency.) She does enjoy going with us and hates being left out of anything.
Peaches saying hi to Glendale…
Emmie practiced having Glendale in front and behind, at walk, trot and canter. The following series of 4 videos shows where we encountered a visually frightening bridge, which really worried Glendale. Emmie kept Glen in the lead approaching the bridge (with difficulty) while Dad drove Gilford forward a few steps at a time to give Glen confidence.
Glendale first sees the bridge and wants to turn (and run?) away from it, but Emmie keeps him facing it and slowly advancing. Handling a horse in this type of situation takes a lot of skill and tons of patience. The trick is to keep him facing the scary thing, coax him forward gently but firmly, then reward him for every slightest move in the desired direction, patting him and letting him stand and think things over.
Working our way closer, Glendale seems to become a little more confident as he progresses. Patience is the key… if a rider started whipping on the horse trying to force him forward, it would make the horse even more frightened and create a negative experience. Then in future scary places the horse would associate being afraid with getting spanked– that is how horses are made neurotic. The squeaking noises at the end of this video are the carriage brakes; Dad has the brakes on, but Gilford is pulling against them, he is more than ready to go forward and cross the bridge.
Em I’m sure would have gotten the inexperienced youngster across leading the way, except that another carriage came up behind us and we couldn’t hold those folks up, so Dad drove Gilford over first and Glen then followed readily. This indicates that young Glen just lacked the confidence to be first in line. Dad trots out after crossing the bridge to reach a pullout just ahead, in order to let the following carriage pass us.
Doubling back on the return trip, we come to the same bridge again from the opposite direction. You can see Glendale accepts it now and Emmie rides him across in the lead this time with almost no hesitation on his part.
Glen then has a breakthrough moment (in the video) when Emmie decides for his practice and confidence to ride him BACK over the bridge in the original direction, ALL BY HIMSELF! The 3 yr.old trusts her guidance enough now to haltingly walk over the bridge once more (going in the original scary direction), and even to stop on it for a few seconds each way to deal with standing still on it! (Meanwhile, you hear Gilford protesting that he can’t see his brother anymore and he would like to turn around and follow him, but Dad keeps Gil standing and facing down the trail.)
These 4 bridge episodes demonstrate a compassionate approach to horse training, letting the horse have a say in matters by understanding his instinctive fears when they occur and being patient enough to help him overcome his fears! Emmie has always had a great empathy with horses and taken a kind attitude towards them in their training, developing a trusting (and thus trustworthy) partner instead of a mere beast of burden.
This Bear Brook Drive/Ride was quite pleasant and otherwise uneventful…
Passing another driver with passenger; this striking driving horse is an Appy-Arab cross (half appaloosa, half arabian).
Relaxing walk with Glen and Emmie taking the lead…
On the road again… driver’s eye view! We navigated a woods road that was REALLY bumpy; it was so bumpy I had to hold on with both hands and couldn’t even video!
We had a few nice canters too, here a short uphill run about 3/4 of the way through the drive (Gil is starting to feel a bit tired, but Glen is out in front urging his brother on…)
All happily relaxing once the horses are cared for, and friend Claudia kindly shares her fresh coconut.
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.
