[jen judkins]

Ed, I certainly hope it turns out to be nothing serious! I feel for you…having seen Reno in bad shape for so long. Just make sure you are supporting Ozzie with probiotics and good nutrition. Let me know if I can help in any way!

[jen judkins]

@Carl Russell 13400 wrote:

As always I respect your choices, but I just have to say your logic is flawed.

You had to use that word…flawed! Its just not accurate, Carl:(.

I agree that the teamsters choice of tack reflects their personal style and teaching method more than anything else. In fact, my own style has always been more about letting the horse participate in the partnership, in whatever way they can. Its not a flawed approach….its just different from yours.

In addition, I would add that, there are some instances where working ‘outside the box’ makes excellent sense, particularly when working with a horse that is having trouble in one way, shape or form. There is one thing I know about horses, unequivocally, is that there is no one way to train them. If you can’t approach a horse with some versatility, you will only own one kind of horse.

[jen judkins]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. Mark, I have the split tires all ready to assemble into a harrow, just haven’t gotten there yet and now I’m not sure where to dig in the snow to find them, lol.

I think I’ll start with an oversize tractor tire. I use them as feeders. Not as big as the frontloader tires, but should be easier work for Reno. I’ll just lay a piece of plywood in the bottom. I’ll let you know how it goes…

[jen judkins]

Do you think a single horse could handle that in deep snow? I wonder how much the tire ‘really’ weighs when dragging it through a foot of snow?

[jen judkins]

@Dave Camire 1197 wrote:

Not for certain if it is an old tale or if giving Hemlock boughs in the pasture may be used for deworming/prevention. I have heard of old timers giving tobacco leaves for worms, have also heard of hemlock, is this accurate? Has anyone else heard either positive or negative to either method?

I wonder if this is why my horses love to chew on my hemlock barn?!:eek:

[jen judkins]

I enjoyed reading your perspective on blinders, Wes. Its always an interesting discussion about blinders or not…

Recently I took the blinders off Reno. I can’t exactly explain how I came to the decision, except to say that it felt like he needed more information. He was having trouble with noises behind him sporadically…nothing major…just some jumpy behavior when an unanticipated noise would occur. Since he is rehabbing from a hind end injury, it makes sense to me that he might have some negative memory patterns regarding the injured leg, so I thought being able to see what was going on behind him would help. So far he seems fine without the blinders…maybe better in some ways. I haven’t hooked him to a cart yet, but he is skidding wood and dragging tires without blinders without any trouble at all and is less reactive to noise.

Anyway, its nice to hear from teamsters who don’t use blinders…I’ve gotten some flack from mentors who don’t see the point of going without them.

[jen judkins]

@Bumpus 13277 wrote:

Any kind of Live stock will move on fear no matter how much you train them ! ! ! !
.

I think you have misunderstood the intent of the thread once again, Bumpus. This conversation is about ‘reading horses’ not about whether it is a natural state for a horse to stand still.

Teaching a horse to stand requires a teamster to be able to read the situation, their horse and the likelihood that there will be success. Its a mathematical equation of sorts. The more the horse spends standing, successfully, the better they get at it and the more reliable they become.

[jen judkins]

@Carl Russell 13149 wrote:

You guys make my point exactly. You needn’t be throwing a harness onto any horse.

Haha! I guess ‘toss’ was a poor word choice. There is no way I could literally toss anything but a rope over Reno’s back. I do it just as you suggest….but it would definately be more challenging with more weight:D

[jen judkins]

@TBigLug 13133 wrote:

Leather’s great but man after a day of throwing up on and pulling off of those horses I never want to see it again. Unlike Carl I can’t slide it off my shoulder onto their backs since our “shorty” is 17.2.

And since I am throwing my D-ring up and over an 18 hand horse….I will solidly stick to my biothane harness 😮

[jen judkins]

I prefer horsepeople…..they are very understanding when things don’t go as well as planned….:p

[jen judkins]

@Plowboy 13080 wrote:

Standing should be a part of every horses education so that when you need them to they will stand.

I agree, Dennis. I work just about 100% alone and every now and then I have to put the lines down to do something. Reno has had a good ‘whoa’ installed, thankfully:rolleyes:…but I don’t take that for granted. We work on standing every time I drive him. Some of it is simple, like harnessing him without tying him. He gets the chance to have me come and go while I get parts of his harness or disappear into the tack room for a different set of lines. Later, when he is more tired, I unharness him out in the driveway where there is alittle more distraction and I have to go further away to put up his gear. These simulations are relatively safe for both of us and having a ‘park’ mode has been extremely helpful for me. Just yesterday, I drove Reno down the hill to the arena to drag up a couple of poles. We arrived at the poles and I realized I had dropped my chain somewhere. I parked Reno and backtracked to the last gate and there it was. I had to go 200 feet or so, but he was rock solid and waiting. I could have simply driven him back to the gate, and I might have, had he seemed anxious or uncertain. But this is where being able to read your horse is so important as you say. It only takes one day when he decided to walk off to ruin some good training. Reading where your horses are, in regard to comfort and confidence allows you to set them up to be successful. Its just good leadership.

[jen judkins]

Ya know I have been thinking about this most of the day, interestingly. I’m rehabbing a horse from an injury and we keep bumping into the same ‘problems’. I guess I have finally ‘clued in’ and realize that there is a ‘scenario’ playing over and over in his mind that needs to be disrupted. Ignoring it hasn’t helped. So creating a new scenario needs to happen as soon as possible.

My suggestion is to get her back into a safe pulling environment as soon as possible, with as little stress as possible. Sorry to hear of your accident.

[jen judkins]

@Livewater Farm 13008 wrote:

cheap solution add more trace chain
Bill

Done. Thanks, Bill. Do let us know when your business is ready to go;)

[jen judkins]

OK, Bill…here’s your first bit of business:D.

At LIF Brad and I shortened the front trace on my D-Ring by about 6 inches. At the time I only noticed that the market straps were abit too snug. I remedied that with some spare straping (figuring these straps took very little wear) and the britchen now sits pretty nicley.

However, today, while dragging a tire (Reno’s first day without blinders), I noticed that the rear traces were now too short and the single tree was bumping Reno in the heels. Can you make me a rear trace that measures 54 inches instead of the standard 48 inches? Thanks.

[jen judkins]

@Carl Russell 12845 wrote:

Oh by the way Jen, I know you mean “Front Trace”.

And I know everybody has their right to a preference, but in my mind horse harnesses are made out of leather. I just can’t imagine the point in having anything but a leather harness. Do you have biothane saddles?

Carl

Yes, thanks for the correction, Carl.

When it comes to leather versus bio. Its just a preference. Cleaning a leather saddle (which I do as little as possible:D) is one thing….cleaning a leather harness is an entirely other monster. I like horses and riding and driving…not cleaning….so I won’t do leather. And if they made a nice bio saddle, I would buy one of those too:p.

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