Feeling Their Oats

Just as you have.

I usually take advantage of that energy to get a little extra done. If you maintain your directive and working cadence, they will begin to manage their energy more efficiently.

Carl

I try to ignore their attitude and correct them when they are out of place. I have one horse out of five that is like that regularly (I have had others in the past). I try to make sure she is hooked up as frequently as I can, because I think it helps her to keep up that routine. When I am working with her I am interested in her and thinking about making her better. She is a highly responsive horse and all ways will get after anything I ask. Some of those horses quite the behavior as soon as they work a little. Others, like mine unfortunately, will continue until they wear them selves out. She is sweaty and breathing hard before everyone else, and in a long haymaking afternoon she gets wasted before anyone else. I have been driving her for two years waiting to see if she grows out of it.

Yesterday I was driving two other mares together to skid a few logs. They haven’t been hooked together much and the pregnant mare has not worked much this winter. What a quite and perfect team. What fun that is. To make a long story short the little Belgian mare is for sale. she is just started under saddle and will make some one a great little horse.

I have a pair of Shire geldings that are full brothers, 4 and 5 this year. With regular use they operate completely and smoothly off of voice commands. I trust them to listen and respond to my commands at all times. Two weeks ago I was pulling in logs from the woodlot, my wife could see that I was trotting them up to the house and back to the woodlot, time after time. When I went to the house she wanted to know why I made them exert so much for so long. Well they were feeling their oats and wanted to move out, so after of a couple of minutes of trying to make them move at my pace, I instead worked them at their pace. After a couple hours in the woods the listened for my commands and had no problem slowing down. At know time were they going to run off, and they would stand quietly to hook up but they wanted to moveout at a long trot. My idea is I give the commands and they respond, my horses don’t make the decisions but sometimes I have to alter the work so that they think it was my decision. Everytime we handle our horse we are teaching them something—hopefully we are teaching them something good.

So a bit more time to fill in some of the details about my earlier comments. I also have, and have had horses act like this. Some more than others. More often it happens like you describe, after some time off… a week or two. Usually when they are worked at least a few days a week they don’t waste their time like that.

The thing that I insist on though is not trotting back to the woods. A quick-paced walk is fine. I like them to act like they have extra energy, because they usually do, and as I said before, I want to use it. But a running horse is not a working horse in my mind, and I will let them burn the energy when loaded, but they need to walk back into the woods. I do this by insisting through bit pressure, tight until they walk, then release… sometimes over and over until they realize that it is no different than any other day, and they need to obey.

It is actually a great thing when you can have a horse demonstrate that level of pent-up energy, because I love working with them so that they learn to keep it, but to use it for my own benefit. It is a lot easier, and more effective to help an energetic horse manage its exertion, then it is to try to get a mellow horse to become explosive. This is especially related to heavy work.

Carl

That seems fine to me. I understand what you mean as an exercise. That is definitely different than letting them trot because they are full of it.

Mine usually get a pretty good cardio workout when they are headed out of the woods loaded.

I prefer a brisk and even walk, or even a casual walk back to the woods. Just my speed.

Carl

Hi guys.. that gelding I mentioned in yesterdays post that was always jogging … well after I posted that him and me went ground driving again. Had been doing that for a week and yesterday I went past our woodlot and on the way home I steadied him up and we went into the wood..Now I got this horse as a 3yr old and have no reason to think he did any forestry before, my black horse has done timber work but not the bay. Anyway he settled down immediatly on entering the wood. I quietly drove him through and around some trees, backed him up a few times and even talked him over a log.. transformed horse!!.Drove him home and he was settled.. So today him and me set off again into the wood and this time I stood him up in front of an ash log about 10ft long and 12″dia… small stuff but I wanted to try. He stood perfectly while I hooked him up and spoke to him and he gently eased that log into motion and we set off for the road at a steady calm pace??!! That was one horse that I would never before have tried in the wood but in no small way thanks to you guys he now has another job to do other than wagon work at parades:) having said that some of it could be the dentists work paying dividends now as he realises he doesnt have to clamp down on the bit..he was the one with the hooks if you remember.. anyway thanks again for all your imput and another result for a really great web site.
John