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I don’t go to many pulls but I haven’t seen any abuse to speak of. I’m sure it can happen. I do like the pulls and look for teams that I think are broke and quiet just to see how they do compared to the lathered up nervous kind. Seems like they do better many times.
Like has been stated before, you’ll find the knotheads in any horse related sport.
I’ve had to ask a little harder than I wanted to get out of some holes with my teams. I’m glad nobody was there with a camcorder.

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Hey Robert, I just talked to another guy who’s got a set of that harness. It’s only the second year of use for his but he says it’s very decent harness in his book, and seems to be holding up well.

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That’s a good point you make about your jumpy horse. I have a mule who has that same affliction. She could care less what she’s dragging, but when things ‘pop out’ from behind her blinders it makes her jump. I’m thinking of putting her in an open bridle to see what she does. Let us know what comes of your experiment there.

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I can almost hear all the ‘Boo’s!’ for that one Carl.

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Jen if you run out of things to do, come on out to Wyoming this spring. Plenty of tasks here.

1. Barn cleaning (weekly during calving)
2. Spread manure
3. Drag (harrow) hayfields (300 acres +/-)
4. Ditching/pitching sod/building dykes
5. Finish discing oat patch
6. Drill said oatpatch
7. One heck of a rock picking project in oat patch (should be before #5)
8. Hit a lick on fencing projects as snow drifts come off of the fences
9. Cow work starts (branding, herding to summer pastures, AI work)

Most of this will take place while still feeding cattle ’til 15 May and calving duties. During calving I ride the pastures morning and night.
I like winter just for the fact that all I have to do is feed 3 or 4 ton of hay a day. One job. Me and a couple of teams. Spring gets my tongue hanging out after a while.

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I’d really like to see one.

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I would love a team like that too. I’ll bet that’s all the horse you need for most jobs, and then some. Beautiful horses.

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Thanks for the headsup Iron Rose. I have a neighbor who runs a stud horse from Haythornes. Real nice horse. They’ve been breeding good Quarter Horses for a long time. It’s good to know they really use them.

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At one time we had some a horse or two out of the Hancock bloodlines of quarter horse. They were big boned and stout. Their grandpa was a horse called Blue Valentine. These horses wore a size 1 and 2 shoes but could really run. My brothers and I used them heading steers and the buckskin was used in tie down steer roping. Both would weigh around 1300 give or take. I think they’d have made a good team.
I’ve worked some quarter horses and paints. They do make nice teams for lighter chores. My Dad said they used a lot of them on mowers and for feeding cows, raking hay etc. I’m sure if you’re plowing and some other heavy jobs you’d want more horse though.
Those Morgan/Perch crosses sound ideal for what I use teams for. Of course a QH/Perch would work about as well. There are some really good points on the Morgans I do like. They tend to have a lot of bottom and most of them I’ve ever shod had very good feet.

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Wow CIW, I thought you’d fell of the end of the earth! Hope you and yours are fine.
I’d try a straight bit, might be you could borrow a few different ones to try before buying.
That Kimberwick with a low port that I use on one mule is a fairly comfortable bit for him.
When I have a saddle horse with issues like some described, a trip to the dentist might not be a bad idea. Wolf teeth can really play hell with a bit in their mouth.
JenJudkins I do what you describe with my mules. Let them find the place they want to pack it and then adjust the headstall to that point. Got a kick out of your ‘foreplay’ description! But that’s a good point. Usually this is accompanied with them picking their head up and being tough to bridle as well.
Working some half halts helps with some of these things too. I do it with teams and saddle horses.

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Funny you should ask because just the other day I was looking at my cousins new harness she got from St. Paul saddlery!
It’s the second set that I’ve seen. It’s not bad harness for the money. You will not break those tugs. They use both leather and nylon and you’ll pull everthing else apart before they give.
The only thing I saw that I didn’t like was on her Yankee or Mormon britchen. It could be a little stouter. It’s the brake system on the harness and speaking as someone who hauls loads on downhills you sure don’t want that giving out.
I’m sure it’s stout enough, but just.
Other than that I liked their harness and think it’s a good value. I think it’ll hold up alright for you.
As far as bits for your donkey, I’ll have to defer to someone else on that. I’ve noticed my mules go as good in a snaffle as anything else with the exception of one draft mule who likes a Kimberwick with a low port. I would guess you’ll have to experiment a little there.

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I have a mule who is the hungriest animal in the world. You can take her out of the corral with a feeder full of hay and she just has to eat when we stop on the feed ground.
Over checks are what I have, don’t know about side checks. I’d recommend them. Adjusting them is trial and error. I know these guys logging and doing real heavy work will tell you the same. Some horses and mules put their head in a different position when they are pulling hard and they need to have enough freedom that they will be comfortable. Most of my animals don’t have their heads jacked up in the air when they are getting after it hard.
Robert, in the mountains on pack trips I’ll graze my stock whenever I get the chance. Seems like there’s never enough time to graze them around camp on hunting/fishing trips or doing trail work like you guys.

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Not only can they work single, they have to skidding logs in tight places and other odd jobs.
I just sent one to be driven in town last year, in traffic on a cart. She does well and is used often in that setting.
Appenix quarter horses are crossed with Thorobred not draft breeds. That is a fact. I have some on the ranch.
In my neck of the woods, a cold blood horse is a draft horse. Maybe that’s regional and in Florida I’d be wrong. I won’t tell you you are absolutely wrong.

Back to training. Donn I was wondering what differences, if any, you see between mules and horses in your roundpen work? That may be a good subject for another post.

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Manesandtails, I use the term ‘hot blooded’ to describe horses other than the ‘coldblood’ breeds. The Perch/QH cross is what I call a warm blood. I didn’t mean hot blooded as in hot headed or in a derogatory sense.

I was thinking about this while I was driving up to get a load of hay today (it’s a 3 mile round trip to this stack,plenty of time for thinking). I had a greener mule hooked with one seasoned mule. The steady animal is relied on heavily. The green one does seem to feel the calmness from her. She’s not too comfortable holding a load back on a long downhill for instance, but can see the older mule doing it calmly.
Without really thinking of it as training, you do it most of the time. Daily I can see the progress with the younger one backing into the stackyards, standing up when told to take the slack out of the tugs and starting a load easy. Even minding the bit in the turns. She comes up to a trot when told and will check back when I ask her to ‘walk easy’ or by gently milking the lines. These are important lessons for her to know on the feed ground while I’m at the back of the wagon or sleigh cutting bale strings and feeding. We’ve worked on them steady while we got the work done.
Isn’t that training?
Even after being worked daily for months those guys are waiting at the barn door every morning ready to go in and be harnessed and get a bite of oats. I do get the feeling they enjoy their job for the most part.
Like I always say, a bad day behind a team is way better than a good day on a tractor anyway.

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I had my brother read manesandtails last post and he got a good chuckle out of it as I did. I have to share his response.

“How can a guy who takes a month and 3 people just to hook one up criticize anybody else?”

He raises and trains Quarter Horses for a living. Does some reining and rope horse training and runs a ranch like I do.

We were raised on and around horses. I use horses/mules daily on the ranch, and have for my entire life. Just to get my work done from December to mid May I have to harness two different teams daily (teams that I broke). Trust me, there’s more than one way to skin this cat. I work by myself and have to trust them absolutely and vica versa.

I have to tell you about one mule in particular. I had one come up lame when he got kicked. It was dead of winter, cows were hungry and way too much snow and drifts (12′ drifts in all the tree lines) to get it done with my tractor. My black mule (who is pictured with my 9 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter driving them) got pressed into service. She was broke to lead and pack before this. She got the quick treatment.
I ground drove her one day. Next day gave her the same treatment for 20 minutes but dragging a single tree and a tire. Then left the corral and hooked her to the bobsled with her new team mate. That was that. The first week or so she had some nerves and after that she just settled into her routine. Never has looked back. I use her logging, haying, wagon rides, on the feed line, etc. She is the most trustworthy animal I have ever worked.

Another point I’d like to make is this. Breeding makes a world of difference. Your experience is with hot blooded horses. These cold blooded draft horse have been bred to do this job for a LONG time. Having worked all kinds of horses (from ponies to percherons and lots in between) I can tell you it makes a huge difference, especially in harness.

Manesandtail, in your world it sounds like horses don’t have a job. In my world they do and it’s good for them. Sometimes they’ll get worked or rode hard enough to be tired and maybe even get sore, but it’s not going to kill them. Sore muscles are a fact of life for working people and working animals. I believe standing around their whole lives in a stall or small pasture is more abusive than having a real job.

Donn, your right. I have to look at it from the viewpoint of people disassociated with daily work using and relying animals. It’s a world of experience.

I respectfully disagre with Manesandtails.

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