[Tender Soles]

I am overwhelmed by all that everyone has to offer on this topic and an hesitant to add more to the jumble of information. Of course stubbornness often overcomes instinct; whether that’s good or bad I don’t know. I do know that my stubbornness has helped me more often than not with our horses.

A couple of thoughts:

I just got back from teaching at the Low Impact Forestry Workshop at MOFGA. We had a great, safe workshop with a good student to teacher ratio of 2:1 for the first couple of days. Similar to Joel’s story with the horses in the woods, the single I brought has worked in the woods single before, but wasn’t demonstrating that he had. It made for many teaching opportunities for myself and my students.

I believe (but probably will never definitively know) that the horse was anxious for multiple reasons. New environment being the first. New horses. Not having worked for more than a day a week for the last month (extra energy, out of practice). New hands on the lines. I know chainsaws, chains, logs had nothing to do with his anxiousness because he has been around those things plenty of times before. It’s interesting to note that one way his anxiousness manifested itself is that he ate significantly less hay the first day he was at the workshop.

Note that all of those factors were “new.” I think it pays to know that for a horse, whether gaining trust, being trustworthy, giving trust or any other way you can say it, being in a new situation will always put them on a higher alertness. They are primarily flight animals and are always figuring out if they need to run (or even fight) from something that is new. It’s important to keep this in mind and I think someone made this point in saying that it behooves you to have some direction or goal, because a horse can sense if you don’t. You can’t ever really trust a horse or you can become complacent, but you can develop a trustworthy relationship. An undirected teamster means an undirected horse.

This became supremely apparent to me when on the last day of the workshop, I took on two new teamsters in addition to the two students I originally had. This is a horse that has always been a pleasure to drive, requiring little line pressure and voice. Thus he is used to this communication style. Of course my students didn’t have the same voice, line pressure, or body awareness I did with Tony, nor did they have the rapport I have with him.

Their communication at first was often unclear, less direct, and not on time, but most got the hang of it. To the horse, this does not speak of leadership and it’s not a situation the horse wants to be in. A good leader knows what they are doing and how they are going to get there, but is also flexible depending on the situation. I think there was a lot going on for both students and horses.

Over the course of the last day, Tony became more and more agitated. Near the end of his work day I noted this as we kept switching teamsters. I decided I should end on a good note and drive him the last couple of twitches. Almost instantly he relaxed and his demeanor and maneuverability in the woods was loose and easy again. I want to mention this anecdote because it is a behavior the horse hadn’t demonstrated before and having him out of his comfort zone and watching him under stress helped me learn a lot.

I realized that over the last five years as a teamster I have accumulated many subtleties in communication with my horses. I’ve also accumulated a library of knowledge on each individual, a mental catalog of horse behavior, and a mental toolbox of tools I have at my disposal for reacting to these behaviors in order to accomplish the work I need to do in partnership with horses. This was very hard to communicate to students over the course of 3 days and I still find it hard to communicate.

I guess what it comes down to, to me, is that there isn’t any silver bullet for working with horses. They all have issues and histories, mine definitely included. There may be a few people who have a natural knack for working with these animals, but I think most people here who have been doing it for a while have developed their abilities through hard-earned work over time, through observation, and repetition. I think apprenticing is a good and safe way to accumulate this knowledge (which I’ve done), but that only gets you so far too.

Like Joel said above, you kinda just have to do it. The more the horses work, have predictable routines, and have a safe, familiar environment, the more settled they (and therefore we) are. Sooner or later the work and people that were once challenging and scary, become a part of the mental library you and your horse have and become automatic like riding a bike, writing, or pouring a glass of water. Every so often though, you always get reminded that it isn’t so easy to ride a bike, pour water, or work with horses, but that’s probably why we all are hooked. It took me and my team a couple of years to get to the point of comfort, and we still have a ways to go. Keep at it Carl.

Rich

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I’m enjoying this discussion since I am experimenting with having one horse without blinders. I wanted to talk about Carl’s point about removing much of the horses’s curiosity zone. My off horse tends to try to check things out around him, especially wanting to make sure that the teamster is still there behind him. He displays this behavior a lot more when driven single and it at least appears that when he doesn’t know where I am, he wants to turn around and check.

This horse also joins up very easily, especially to me. I have repeatedly seen him display the tendency to want to turn around and join up when driving single. A lot of this behavior fades when he’s in better shape, but still he carries a much more anxious gait when he has blinders. I tried switching him to a blinderless bridle this fall and he immediately carried his head much lower and generally responded better to commands. I’m still wary of things behind him, but he seems to respond better to knowing what is behind him. I haven’t had any issues so far with driving him single or double without a blinder.

As Donn mentioned, I try to keep aware of where his head is and make sure he is paying attention where and when he needs to be. I am also planning on treating most implements as if they were new to him even though he’s been on them all with blinders on. FYI, his teammate still has blinders and does fine.

I had been of the thought that blinders were a better idea than not and I still generally am, but am becoming more comfortable with the notion that trust can be built with or without blinders.

[Tender Soles]

Carl,

Give me a call and we can figure out getting your horse or horses there. I’m not in charge of decided who comes, but I can get you in touch with Pete Haggerty.

Rich

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I second that Geoff. Moving horse pasture can seem time-consuming, but holistically it is just a part of the system. I don’t see any power source more efficient than one that harvests its own energy while you sleep! The pasture set up also gives me time to look at the forage they are getting and gives me an idea of how to manage the pasture better long-term.

Also a good change of pace and another time to observe your horses and their health. I’ve noticed that when it’s really buggy, they often self-medicate with plantain (if there is any) to help with the itching along with a good roll.

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I regularly use a butt rope too. I found that with our two horses with unknown training histories, and different amounts of training on our farm, that it is easier to prevent them from spreading too far out and create a potentially dangerous situation. I am not 60, but 30 and I am the teamster 95% of the time on our farm so I often work by myself with the team.

I think it’s a good safety mechanism. I also think Donn makes a good point in that you can train your horses to keep themselves aligned with each other without a butt rope. It’s a goal I would like to achieve in the future if I were to ever train younger horses.

Haven’t seen the outside to outside of britchen setup, but I like that better than running the rope on the inside. It does seem to put unnecessary strain on the harness that way.

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I agree as well. I need to shorten the front tugs on our D-rings for our 16.3 Belgian and 16.2 Suffolk from 24″ to 20 or 21. They bow out just as you described Erika. This certainly diminishes the usefulness of the tongue weight-distributing properties of the harness to the back pad.

I also just acquired a third horse with a D-ring and Wallingford hames. Haven’t measured his harness fit yet, waiting on a collar that will fit his big neck. We’ll see how it fits soon enough!

I’m also thinking about switching from a bolt to a swivel like Rick mentioned. It’s hard to tell, but I think the short tug also wants to be lower than the hame bolt allows when the team’s pulling a load/implement on the ground. Does anyone else run their D-ring this way? Any appreciable difference in line of draft?

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Bob, thanks for the advice! I’ve been trying to figure out a good place to get rope the right size. The pulleys aren’t very accessible right now and birds have cemented the trolley onto the rail with their nest. Thanks for the heads up on the rope either way.

Would you happen to know of anywhere that may still make slings? There’s one on the trolley which I haven’t taken a good look at again because it’s cemented to the rail, but once I get a look at it, I may have a better idea of what to look for and how easy it is to fabricate a few. I suppose I’d also have to find the release hooks at the bottom of the sling too.

Donn, I have met David. I’ve only seen his old barn, but I did watch that video of the new one being put up in “a minute.” I will give him a call and pick his brain. Thanks.

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I agree with Carl, strike while the iron is hot. However, I also recommend lots of initial observation and learning time with someone who can mentor you for however much time you can allot to it. Having no prior horse experience other than allergies, I’ve had the luxury (depending on how you see it) of apprenticing on two different horse-powered vegetable farms which allowed me to see different ways of speaking to, responding to, interpreting body language, and generally communicating with the horses. As with anything in the world, the horse, the harness, the implement, and you are an integrated system that can work together to formulate action and beauty in motion.

It does take a certain commitment, pride in work, confidence, grit, or stubbornness. Probably a combination of all those things as well as compassion for the animal. I do think it is important to definitely understand basic horse behavior beforehand. I am learning more everyday about reading and communicating with the horses, but a fundamental understanding of how they behave has helped me grow immensely as a teamster over this first year of owning a team. The past two days I have been experimenting and learning by doing in regards to line pressure and how little I need to use it in the woods and have even figured out how our Suffolk Jess “likes” to be told to back up.

I’d also like to add that observing other teamsters and what they do is helpful in another very important aspect: safety. Just make sure you are safe and feel safe taking the next step, whether it is simply harnessing and bridling, ground driving, or ground work on a lead. It is easy to jump too far ahead for you and the horse. I’m sure everyone on this forum has experienced this; I have many times this past year and have learned a lot without getting hurt. It is a risk that we take, but one that you must be calculating at all times, and mitigating as much as possible. An experienced teamster is invaluable in providing the guidance for creating a safe environment and conditions for you and your animals. I may not have had the confidence to begin working with my own drafts if I had not developed a foundation of teamster language and skills.

To build on Carl’s comment: Immersion with a small dash of precaution.

[Tender Soles]

I second Will’s comment on being able to pick up a horse’s feet. Our Suffolk did not like picking up his feet when we first got him. When he did pick up his feet, he did it stiffly and leaned on you. I was determined to have him be more cooperative as well as gain his trust i.e. build our relationship. I picked up his feet every time I put him into his stall at night. He would never kick, but he would lean and resist my prompts to pick up his feet.

After a month or two of doing this, it became much, much easier to have him pick up all four feet. Now I can do this in the pasture anytime with ears curious instead of against the back of his head. His back legs are still stiffer than the front; I think this has to do with several factors.

I notice he is stiffer when I haven’t picked his feet out in a while. I think this has to do as much with how much exercise the horse is getting as well as the stretching you provide the horse when you do pick up their feet. Either way, the simple act of picking out his feet practically everyday was a nice, structured, goal-oriented way to build our relationship.

Once got his foot caught in a hay bag that got loose, but was still attached to the wall. Like Will, I also didn’t know how long it had been up there, but he yielded his foot easily so that I could untangle his hoof from the bag within 10 seconds. In case he gets his foot tangled in something else, I can rest a little easier knowing that he will let me handle his feet.

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Congratulations Joel and Ayla! Kate and I live nearby in Whitefield right now and are working on getting a lease on land and a house in Jefferson. Both are about half an hour from that property. Let us know when you’re in the area or if you have anything we can help you with.

Regards,
Rich

tendersolesfarm@gmail.com

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Brad, I’m looking at the 562XP as well. One of the things the guy at the shop said to do when your saw is hot is to skip the compression release and just pull the choke in an out to put it into starting position. He said it starts hot much better this way without affecting the saw. Starting cold, you should use the compression release though.

He also did have a few other Husqvarna saws with the chain brake handle cracked which did give a heads up as to the brittleness of the handle.

Rich

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Do you think I could come over and check it out sometime? Maybe take it for a test drive? I’m in Whitefield. You can e-mail me at tendersolesfarm@gmail.com with your address and we can set up a date.

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Jim,

I haven’t seen an arch like this one. What advantages does it have over an arch with a single pair of wheels? Do the two pairs articulate independently? I’d be interested to take a look at them in person sometime. I’m living in nearby Whitefield right now.

Rich

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My name is Rich Lee and I’m from Whitefield, ME. Thank you so much to everyone who helped with the event. I was one of those lurkers you guys mentioned at the annual meeting and tend on the quiet side anyway. Kate and I were really happy that we took the time to come to the Field Days and learned a lot and got some good ideas from the workshops and demos. So much so that we have become members.

I don’t know much about the strength of DAPnet’s connection to Maine and there is a Maine teamster presence on the board, but I started to think of the idea of having some sort of liaison to MOFGA to improve DAPnet’s presence in Maine. There are many skilled teamsters all over the state; I’m bumping into new ones all the time as a young teamster myself. Some already participate on DAPnet and some don’t. Many of these teamsters I have learned a lot from just through conversation yet I believe that if they had some prodding they would like to step up and help or participate in the organization just as I needed a bit of prodding. I can certainly nominate myself to make an attempt at this, but was wondering if anyone could offer some guidance on how to get there.

Thanks again for your hard work and I look forward to the next Field Day.

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@Eli 39427 wrote:

When I was a kid we would throw a shovel or two of dirt to the sows in farrowing pen. My father said pigs like dirt. We farrowed some pigs in pens and some outside. I was young so I don’t know exactly what his thought process was. Eli

I got some pigs that were a bit young and seemed to be having trouble with putting on weight and dealing with the stress. I think they may not have been completely weaned. A friend who raises pigs for a living took a look at them and said to try throwing sod in with them because they are probably lacking minerals; particularly iron. You father may or may not have known the reasoning is for giving them the dirt, but they sure do go crazy on the soil and the roots of the sod as well.

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