[Plowboy]

No matter what the cause extremism isn’t effective. It usually makes the extremist look like a freak. The Articles haven’t been that great lately. Nothing like they were in the 80’s and 90’s when they were about people working animals in practical settings and their were bits of wisdom intertwined in them. RH is losing it’s lustre lately too. Draft Horse Journal is back on the top of my list. It has had many great articles in it about real working animals and teamsters.

[Plowboy]

Near Horse, Sometimes you can get away with alot at home but when you get out in public don’t leave your lines tucked in the britchen have them where you can get ahold of them. My one 85 year old mentor once said, ” ain’t never been a horse born that can’t get scared”. Alot of wisdom in that statement. We have another good lifelong horseman that would knock you on your a## for doing something like that. Not because you or your horses might get hurt but because him or his animals might get skinned up in the commotion. Don’t get too comfortable no matter how good they are. Ours are all great but we keep a sharp eye on them always especially in public.

[Plowboy]

We quit getting it because of the politics and bazaar editorials. It used to be great but Lynn gets off on some tangents now days. More worried about the government than the actual day to day work of the draft animal world which we are all really interested in instead of rampant BS.

[Plowboy]

Problem solved. The second never dropped so he got surgery for his second birthday present. We have a new Equine center nearby and they gelded him for $800 which is way less than Cornell quoted. It is probably more than his market value right now but he’s a good colt with the right temperment. Hopefully it’s the end of his major medical problems for the next 20 years!

[Plowboy]

I have never kept a stallion but have many friends that do. It all depends on the stallions personality. Some will tolerate geldings others will try to kill them. They get along with mares but the downside to them running together all the time is having foals at the wrong time of year. Some stallions will be calm gentle willing workers while others will challenge you at times. A stallion needs to know who’s boss or they can become unmanageable. A good friend has tried to give me his Percheron stallion many times and although he is calm and easily handled he is the father of two of our horses and we have no desire to raise foals every year. He would require seperate facilities and be more trouble than he is worth even though he is free. Depending on the individual stallion it may or may not work for you.
In the Mohawk Valley Auction catalog there is an ad for a 15hand Jack at stud in Little Falls, N.Y. that might be more to your liking.

[Plowboy]

Robert I believe that you are not completely understanding this process. The tractor acts as a safety net to keep them from getting away or learning that they can. Other than the use of the boom and tractor there really isn’t anything unusual about it except that it allows you to train two animals together in a team. Strodes mules were sought after by many folks over the years. Sometimes in the training stage you have to train the rankness out of them before you can make friends. No matter how you train animals you have to be the boss. Sometimes that involves making friends as the training progresses instead of ahead of time. Training is definately a case by case ordeal. I can see the merit in this method although I may never use it but the possibility exists that I may need it someday so I keep my options open. There is no reason to believe that these mules won’t be willing and calm workers or even their owners best friends and work partners. I wish you success in training in the future but my advise to you is not to close your mind to any methods that aren’t severe or cruel. You may run into a situation and know what to do someday if you remain open minded. Gather your bag of tricks and even if you have a few that you never use at least they are there just in case.

[Plowboy]

It seems to me that this is a better safe than sorry method. The tractor boom prevents them from running away or baulking. In the video Malcolm Jessup drove the tractor slowly and Jack Strode drove the mules. I would say that this might be safer than trying to drive an ornery animal and having it get away from you and ruining it. A lot of retraining or not being able to retrain can be avoided with this method especially on rank mules that remember everything. I don’t think it is a bad experience just experience. I remember when Strode was alive the Lancaster paper would have ads for Strode broke mules at the big sales and they brought good money because they knew they were broke to work. It pays to have a bag of tricks when training animals because they don’t always need the same curriculum. If you train very many you will see quirks pop up now and then and if you have experience and a bag of tricks it is usually easy to work out the quirks. I have never used this method but if the need arose I wouldn’t be afraid to try it because cull horses are worthless right now. Sometimes a willful animal can be a great worker once you get them around to your way of thinking!

[Plowboy]

We didn’t do anything special with them. They are out of a layed back stallion and the stud colts mother which is also Dixies grandmother is also layed back. I believe that Dixies mother Belle’s nervousness was caused by experiences in her life before we got her. We started driving them both young on something light just to give them experience and confidence. They will probably rake some hay together this summer and other light work. This fall he may even plow a little. Work and hours driving is what makes and keeps them sharp. It’s about time we got another team of equine ambassodors to work on the farm and in the public eye to maybe increase the interest in draft animals.

[Plowboy]

Training Them Old School was the first thread with over 100 replies also as of yesterday!

[Plowboy]

Yesterday my Dad went up to the big field to plow. It was windy hear so the horses were more alert than usual. He had our Belgian Buddy, Belle our more nervous mare, and Dixie her laid back coming 4 daughter. He had to ground drive them about a 1/4 mile to the plow. On his way up to the field the city guys that bought the field across the road started shooting targets with their assault rifles. He got hooked ok but all the horses weren’t paying attention when he went to start them. Belle frustrated because the plow didn’t move reared up and when she came down somehow broke the snap on Dixies quarter strap. He thought about quiting right there but decided to tie up the quarter strap and plow. They got used to the bursts of gunfire and he got alot of sod plowed. I’m sure at first he wanted to tie up the horses and go over and smash their guns into little pieces but instead he went to work just like he planned. He ignored the shots and after a while so did the horses. I guess if you want to get something done you have to work past an obstacle once in a while. Last night he felt like he had a good day and the horses looked content.

[Plowboy]

Jen, He may very well be a good influence on Peanut and as long as the evener is straight they will be a good team no matter if they are the same color or not. Good Luck with it, Dennis

[Plowboy]

Old Kat, Of course it doesn’t hurt to expose a horse to anything that may benefit them in the future. I was just pointing out that weird animals like llamas, emus, camels and elephants that we don’t normally encounter can really get a horses attention 100%. They appear strange and probably have a strange odor which many horses are sensitive to. Do what you can with whatever you have available but always beware that their may be something that they’ve never seen before.

[Plowboy]

Jen, Be carefull driving Reno too much. If you keep driving a good Percheron you’ll be converted and forget about Peanut. He really needs you to help him with his education before you turn him out and forget about him.:)

[Plowboy]

I was thinking our horse may be getting a mild case of EPSM. I don’t know much about this disorder but I know they feed a high fat diet like vegetable oil. We started him on a little oil but it’s only been a few days and he hasn’t worked since we started it. Nobody else plowing in the Northeast or New England yet?

[Plowboy]

I’ve found in recent years that although I use alot of equipment I wasn’t fully skilled in adjustments and repairs. The last few years we have dove right into some repairs and I find it has made me more well rounded and knowledgeable about the functions of the equipment. I am not an expert mechanic but I can trouble shoot because I know the inner workings of most of the equipment so I can usually get them going again. I definately enjoy driving horses more but if I’m out in the middle of the field and something malfunctions It’s nice to be able to fix it and get back to work than have to quit and haul it to a repair shop. Even folks with limited mechanical experience can familiarize themselves with the basic workings of most horsedrawn equipment. We completely rebuilt a McCormick cornbinder in the shop this winter and although I had been using one for about 13 years I had limited knowledge about them. I learned alot with this project and feel I could repair anything on it except the knotter which I’m still a little fuzzy about. We’ve been working on our mowers, hayloaders, corn binders, manure spreader and whatever else with success. A few years ago even though I had plowed many acres I didn’t know alot about plow adjustments. I spent a little while talking to our panel of experts during our plow weekend and now can tune up a plow if it’s not tracking just right or taking a full bite because I learned what to look for and what to adjust. Learn all you can when you can and you’ll be glad you did!

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