Amish horse training

I think like us “English” there are good and bad Amish. I currently have a pony on loan to an Amish family, the dad was looking for a project with his son, I had a QH/Belgian/Haflinger 4 year old mare doing nothing. I taught her to lead, tie and consequently she was line driving real well when I took her to him. About a week he and his son were driving her with their standardbred. Their first four trips were 20 miles each way to his brother’s farm and then she stood tied while they helped with a building project. So her first two weeks on the road she logged over 500 miles. Before this severe cold they were using her single on a small wagon (like with wheelbarrow tires) and she of course has been shod. They love her as she never had any kick or bite in her. They keep her in a lot by the backyard by herself with access to a stall. The kids can pet and catch her and it is a good situation all around. If they ever tire of her, she comes back here. If she dies of old age there or of an accident, well, at least she has done honest work and has been loved instead of being a pasture ornament. So I suggest just dropping in from time to time if it concerns you and see how things are going. Get a ride behind your horse, you’ll get to see how he handles her and give you an idea on how she is progressing.

Eli, I had a couple of qtr horse mares, full sisters 1 year age difference. Neither were broke to ride and I had too many horses and they were not worth much so I decided to find an amish guy to break them to harness. My plan was to give him one for breaking one but he didn’t want another horse and he convinced me that I would be more happy with a team than a single. Anyway, I really didn’t know this guy personally but the local feed store knew him pretty well. I may have been lucky but he did a really nice job with them. About 45 days I got them back and they were well trained and have never had a run-away with them. I may have been lucky as there are good and bad people. As mentioned earlier go over as often as you can and check on them. Make sure he drives your horse single a lot, not just in a team situation. They will need more confidence by their self. The Amish guy that trained my girls kept them in a tie stall which is good training in itself.

Eli, I hope you post updates, and share a bit of the feel you get from this man and his methods. Supposedly my Mule was Amish trained, and I know nothing about their ways, commands or anything. I did a little research on Amish Training, but didn’t find much. Good luck with it.

Good idea, and I would in a minute, but there aren’t any in Vermont that I know of. I met a bunch of fellas at a Goat Symposium I went to at Cornell a couple of years ago. They were nice people. I asked them about Mules as I was thinking about getting one then. They used horses, raised Sheep and didn’t have much to offer. They asked a lot about Goats…didn’t take me long to tell them what I know. Ha.

Eli, you keep mentioning you are going to stop in before you drop her off. I also meant you need to drop in often while she is there.

Check with Lynn McVey at pleasent View Percherons. I bought a stallion from him that was Amish broke. He was broke in south eastern minnesota. If you e-mail me at dmcavoy@gondtc.com I could find out his name and contact info from Lynn. His first name was jerry. He did an excellent job; horse drops his head to be halterd and bridled. Drives great even after 6 months out in the pasture breeding mares. Easist horse on the place to catch out in the pasture, so he only had good experiences there.