OT/ horses have been hitched

JRSutton · Jul 20, 2014

A big day for my wife yesterday. She's been working with our (her) two belgians for several months now, slowly getting them ready, and slowly accumulating the proper harness equipment - and a fore cart, and slowly getting herself mentally prepared.

she finally hitched them yesterday for the first time.

I give her a lot of credit. Working with those big horses looks easy from the sidelines - but when you're right up close and personal, it takes a lot of determination, and a lot of guts!

She drove them around in circles for a bit, then took them out on the road.

She did all this while I failed with the camera. All the pictures came out blurred. But - still I've gotta post something because I'm really proud of her.

Fergienewbee · Jul 20, 2014

Love draft horses. You don't realize how big they really are until you stand beside them in a pasture. Tell your wife congratulations.

Larry

rick1 · Jul 20, 2014

that is a really high accomplishment for anyone you must be very proud.
RICK

Oldiron29 · Jul 20, 2014

JR, Are the pictures blurred because of her speed? Take more picture and post back looks great!

danofarming · Jul 20, 2014

A man in our town trained mules for years, he had two logs tied behind his fore cart. The last time I saw the logs were worn to half their original thickness.

Bret4207 · Jul 20, 2014

Good for her! I'm a draft horse man myself. Tell her nothing makes a good horse like sweaty collars. Give her the support she needs to get them out and working. Even just pulling a spring tooth across a pasture does them good, or getting out fire wood. And suggest she get them working single too. Nothing better in the woods or garden than single horse.

Tom in TN · Jul 20, 2014

JR,

Thanks for the picture, and I would request that you give your wife a sincere "well-done" from me. She has more grit than I do.

Tom in TN

Phil9N3667 · Jul 20, 2014

We'd go to Busch Gardens, Wmsburg, VA when the kids were younger. One of our stops was the horse barn and it always amazed me how big the Clydesdales were!! Can't imagine what'd happen to a toe or foot if it was stepped on by one of them. You oughta be real proud of that lady!!

Allan in NE · Jul 20, 2014

You should be proud! That is one he!! of an accomplishment. Good on 'er!

Allan

Dick L · Jul 20, 2014

Good deal! Lots of had work and then the feeling of accomplishment that takes all of the pain endured away from the memory that it took to get to that point.
Your only worry after her learning how to get horses to do as she wants is being able to recognizing when she is using it to get you to do as she wants. Horse training techniques works with most animals which includes people.

Dixie set down with me to watch Clint Anderson's down under horse training show and after said, You have been treating me like your horses haven't you.

jon f mn · Jul 20, 2014

Looks like a lot of fun!

Nancy Howell · Jul 20, 2014

Good for her. Horses communicate very well with "body language". If you pay attention, you will pick up on it. When training, a horse will "tell" you when they're ready. If they're not, you will see tension in the body, jaw, face, tail switching, ears flatening, face hard, maybe even some foot stomping, etc. When they get to the "ok, I can do this" point, you will see all those places relax, head will drop and maybe some mouthing and/or chewing.

Yes, those are big guys and it can be scary working with them. Worst horse injury I ever had was from a little 13 hand Mustang. My fault, didn't get the "Ok, I can do this" and pushed the lesson. It ended badly for me, but I learned from it.

JohnDY · Jul 20, 2014

First thing you learn around horses is to have a good pair of shoes but most horses are pretty good to be around. The worst problem is when they are shod for Winter. Harnessed a team every day for hauling manure in the winter for 8 years and you always learned in a hurry to go against the wind when spreading!!!

Dick L · Jul 20, 2014

They don't step on anything they don't want to unless they are excited. Even a foal. Stinkers will step on your foot if they think you are to close to their fee pail to get you to move. I say OK so you don't want to get any feed today in a stern voice. They miss a scoop of feed a coupla times and guess what, they catch on and stop that crap. I don't even whack them. Last week I had one that wanted to use her shoulder on me when I was getting to her feed pail. It only took a scolding and missing one feeding. Probly tone of voice and I wouldn't let her kiss my cheek. If they are not excited they think things thru more than most realize. If they get excited from fear they stop thinking.

Billy NY · Jul 20, 2014

I would definitely agree with all of that, never pays to get angry with a horse, something not all understand for some reason. It does take an enormous amount of patience to figure them out and what works best, once they get 'riled up, nothing good ever happens or from what I have seen.

Billy NY · Jul 20, 2014

It looks like the rest of the world is going by, but time has stood still for her and that beautiful team ! Admirable accomplishment, I'll be there will be many more, never had the pleasure of working with those giants, always interesting to see them !

bison · Jul 20, 2014

(quoted from post at 04:51:02 07/20/14) You should be proud! That is one he!! of an accomplishment. Good on 'er!

Allan

second that.

Bobl1958 · Jul 20, 2014

Very nice indeed. I would guess she is very proud at the moment. The best advice I can give is to always be prepared for anything. They are gentle giants, but extremely powerful when they spook. And few teamsters haven't found that out at least once.

They look like a very nice pair and you will have lots of fun with them, I'm sure. Bob

SweetFeet · Jul 20, 2014

JRSutton,
Still a really neat picture. Your wife is brave... those are some big horses.

Sometimes for movement situations, I set my camera to "burst" mode instead of "single picture"... eats up your battery faster, but pics come out clearer.

showcrop · Jul 20, 2014

Good for her!! I'm just curious about what made her want to do it. Did her father have draft horses?

JRSutton · Jul 21, 2014

no, she had horses when she was young, but not
drafts.

In our town here there's an old link to the amish
in ohio. A lot of us go out there, and they come
out here. Horses end up making the trip too every
now and then. In fact, our two came from a
friend in ohio.

Through that connection, my wife's gotten into
working with our friend's belgians - and learned
to drive, she been going with them (and other
groups) to various events to give wagon rides,
that kind of thing for the past three or four
years.

So it was inevitable, once she got all that good
experience, we pretty much had to get a team of
her own.

She'll be in that mix going to shows and events
with her horses, but we'll also use them within
the 4H club to teach kids about them, and watch as
we hay with them, etc.

JRSutton · Jul 21, 2014

Nancy, the bigger one (that you can barely see in th e picture!) is 18 hands.

My wife rides them occasionally, and was thrown from that one.

It's a loonnnng way down!

I can't watch when she's out there working with them.

JRSutton · Jul 21, 2014

oh you aint kidding -

I stay in the house when she works with them. I lost my nerve for it, and I don't want to go introducing a whole bunch of negative energy.

I was traumatized by that big 18 hand girl the first time she got harnessed and stuck alone on a forecart. (this picture was the first time put together as a team).

We did it in a friends barn.

To see a horse that big get scared is ... hard to even describe!

A one ton animal jumping and kicking is something you DON'T want to be around.

We've both dealt with p()*#$ off cows before, and some pretty big ones at that, but still - NOTHING compared to big scared horse.

She pulled the cross ties right out of the beams of the barn, bent a fore cart up, ran out side stuck to the cart, fell over...

It was ugly.

I left with the feeling that I could spend the rest of my life without ever seeing another horse and I'd be ok with that.

My wife on the other hand, with a swollen bruise on her leg the size of a basketball, got her horse up, calmed down, straightened out, and drove on the forecart till the horse burnt off her energy, calmed down, and learned to accept a squeaky wheeled cart behind her like it had always been there.

Two life lessons. 1.) I like horses, but I'm not a horse person. 2.) don't ever - EVER p off my wife! she's a lot tougher than I ever thought.

JRSutton · Jul 21, 2014

now that's she's proven to herself that she really
can do it, she'll be working them a whole lot more
now.

JRSutton · Jul 21, 2014

no

they were going slow.

There's just a setting on my camera that's off.

I'll get it figured out one of these days when I have nothing to do...!

OT/ horses have been hitched

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