[karl t pfister]

I am going to weigh in on the side of some horses have much more of an affinity for going whatevever speed one wants …. or is it I have developed an affinity with some horses to be able to go whatever speed I want . I do have one horse out of 20 or so that was just slow , in the pair , to the point of retirement at 14 ,but has a ton of life if her yet , at her speed .

I guess what want to say most is ,my touch with one horse communicates the world , but with another leaves them with nothing but questions .

[karl t pfister]

The best stretch June hay making weather I ‘ve seen in quite a while we usually struggle with june hay . As an old fellow once said if the forecast is for 4 good days you’ll get 3 ,maybe …We mowed on wednesday and again today looks like again on Saturday Wow . This is Haying . Right now with the moisture in the ground it’s taking us 3 days to bale dry hay .

[karl t pfister]

Hay George nice operation . Jay, It would be nice to dry out a little , Looks like this is it for me . We have a fairly well drained piece . We are being pushed by my neighbors who have a wedding coming up next Saturday on that holy ground,but the soil is wet,wet wet another 1/3 ” last nite . Not sure if 3 days will dry it but I guess we’ll find out … karl

[karl t pfister]

wow you really got hammered,Mitch . Good record keeping ,so far are months averaging normal ? and I”ll bet the quarter will be normal too .BUT it’s not normal to get 3/4 of the months rainfall in one event . We got just under 2″ s for the storm and now it’s blue sky and great looking till this PM when it all looks to start again . It’s wild wild weather at least for pigs , potatoes and people not to mention pfarmers !

[karl t pfister]

Hay Mark I few years ago I got a vinylized pinstriped pad that works well on this mare. I too had trepidation as to vinyl on the working skin, but it has worked, no hot spots , etc. I think it came from Meader’s

[karl t pfister]

Hay Donn, hope you got that hay in, the good weather has continued longer than they thought here .I wish I’d mowed now except we had family and a b-day and I always find it awkward trying to farm and be social . Once we start it’s haying rules and socializing fits in when possible . Anyway hope your hay is dry and happily in the barn .

[karl t pfister]

All above replies are right on , I would add two cents . If when leading a horse if, it walks into you with head or feet he is not really showing the respect appropriate. The more horses being lead ,means the more you can get run over … The more all the horses need to know that the last place they can walk “spook” is into your space . I feel as Mr Russell has demonstrated that to the sides and behind gives one the opportunity to define your space reinforced by elbows etc . Then again as Mr Hewes said about the” circus trick “aspect is not to be denied and with that comes the warning “don’t try this at home “…Ha Ha Thanks that’s why we like it .

[karl t pfister]

Donn, Things do look like they are doing well in Cortland .!! Glad to your jack has not only survived his hard times but thrived ! Was he able to breed any of your mares ? The barn yard upgrades are looking good too, especially on a rainy wet day here ,just 3/4 ” overnite but the river is up like Irene’s second coming .
Are you using that looks like a crimper ?

[karl t pfister]

Wow , alot going on there , Alot of good suggestions too. My 2 cents is the round pen, it’s is a great place to work on standing . The standing has to be totally your choice . Doc Hammill advertised in The Small Farm Journal some videos about this Others too don Lyons ,Ciinton Anderson,Buck Branaman . There are 2 parts to standing #1 is visualizing them standing as you ask for a halt .breath #2 anticipating
how long they might stand . If you think they can only last 5 seconds then ask them to stand 3 secs then ask them to go repeat 1 to 2 million times. asking them to go before they decide they can’t stay, even if the ratio is halt 1 sec then go is in 1/2sec,got to start somewhere Remember movement is survival to them and standing
still is being a” sitting duck ” If they don’t have confidence in your leadership they need to react as nature tells them.
Have fun . do they join up with you in the round pen?ala Monty Roberts style Be happy with whatever goes right don’t worry ,reward for attempts. As Grey said,” they have the capacity for forgiveness ” best of luck

[karl t pfister]

Scott ,Thanks for your explanation , and the bio was a plus too. I guess sometimes the circles of our lives are more concentric
than we realize and sometimes the circles do not intersect at all. thanks again

[karl t pfister]

Thanks Mitch, did they all have tin sides and a steel bed or had the one I saw already fell into a family of ” fixer upper farmers ” ??

[karl t pfister]

i’m voting with nihiljohn for the cockshut A) if it is working that’s great load it “light and often “and it might work for you
B) it has a seat
C) always thought the idea of the tin sides was great , can’t remember if they had a metal
bed or not
D) price (hard to know if that’s a pro or a con as you said
One thought of warning, manure spreaders are noisy things especially for horses the first time ,as they pick up speed they sound like something chasing them , the faster they go the faster it goes and so on . Pardon me if a manure spreader is the only thing your “kid broke mother approved ” horses have never pulled , I really don’t mean to belittle anyones knowledge ! Good luck, Karl

Oh Yeah E) It has the best name in town Cockshutt ,What’s the origin of that ??

[karl t pfister]

Hay Scott what are your experiences with road founder ? Is it a true type of founder ,with separation of the lamina and other similar symptoms ? Thanks

[karl t pfister]

Great suggestion from Grey on the butt rope, to keep them from turning inside toward you .You lose all control in a hurry.

If a team has not been driven much without a pole and your inexperience all 3 of you can loose confidence quickly ,get someone with experience to help . sometimes it’s hard to see the whole picture when all you can see are 2 big butts in your face .

How old are the horses? how broke are they supposed to be ? Some horses can be driven fairly well with a pole and yoke with lines that are incorrectly adjusted ie ( when the fellow dropped them off ) Don’t be to convinced by the marks left by the buckle on the main reins that that’s where they should be buckled by for your team at this time . How about asking the fellow who dropped them off about the lines ? That’s great you saw them getting grumpy something’s causing that ,in fact it may not be the lines at all ??

Take it slow, The slow way is the fast way with horses. Unlearning something that happens in a fearful situation can be very slow.
good luck !

[karl t pfister]

Geoff sounds like you have had training your whole life ,plus you know how to work horses, doing commercial rides would probably be a snap . I am lucky because my ride is 90% on our farm so I like where I’m working and the commute is great too. Seriously location I believe is crucially important .

Back in the beginning Stratton ski area asked me to do rides at the mountain , I’m glad I didn’t for multiple reasons .

You’re right about the family thing ,in the way that i treat riders like family on the ride and some come back in other seasons to
visit and don’t understand why i’m not the same guy when i have 15 acres of hay down and is been cloudy all day and it’s going to rain the next day and we haven’t gotten any hay in yet that hasn’t been rinsed once or twice .

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