[TinaY]

I had one that did this…now she moves if you fluff the hair on her hip. That is, if she doesn’t move just by me looking at her hip.

The key is to start soft (fluff the hair) and get progressively harder until she moves. If your finger isn’t enough, do some rhythmic tapping with the end of a strap or something. Once she moves IMMEDIATELY stop asking and rub her so she knows she did the right thing. Only ask for one step to start with and reward the slightest try…even if it’s just a shift of weight. Every time you ask her to move, start softly and gradually increase the pressure. Once she’s doing one step with very light pressure, then you can ask for more.

It works best sometimes if you practice it while she’s not tied…she might be slightly claustrophobic and not as able to concentrate on you when tied.

Good luck!

ps~ If you rely on brute force, I guarantee you’ll lose…unless she’s a mini!

[TinaY]

What I think of as an overcheck is a line that runs from the bit, through rings near the top of the bridle, and hooks to a strap attached to the hip assembly or back pad.

We use an overcheck line, but loop it around the hames, on our one mare who insists on hooking a side check on the end of the neckyoke. Since the overcheck runs up alongside her head, she can’t hook it. It doesn’t bother her when she gets the sidecheck hooked, it’s a fun game to her. She hooks it and pulls it off…hooks it and pulls it off…EVERY time we stop. Drives me bananas, hence the switch to the overcheck.

We keep them on to prevent grazing and any sort of mischief. I know of a horse that didn’t have one that put his head down to scratch his leg and got his foot over the line. I don’t feel that they hurt anything as long as they aren’t overly tight. Both our horse’s checks are adjusted to be barely loose when in a resting position. If we’re doing any heavy pulling where they might want to get their heads down more we take them off.

[TinaY]

I don’t (yet) own a D-Ring, but used one mowing pastures at Steve Bower’s place. Before hitching, I lifted the collar off the neck and wiggled it around. Once hitched, I could still lift and wiggle it, and it didn’t feel any different to me than before they were hooked. The back pad, however, was heavily weighted. In order to get the mower going, they pulled into the collars, but once in motion, the collar was again unweighted.

That’s the only experience I have with D-Rings, but based on that, we intend to buy a set once we’re doing more heavy work.

Nate did mention that he didn’t like them for trotting down the road because they seemed to flap around more than a traditional box brichen draft harness. Any thoughts on that?

[TinaY]

Bachelor: As to your comment about hitch-type horses…AMEN!

[TinaY]

I can’t wait until I can have my riding steer. Between that and the Percherons, we’ll be like a circus (freak show?) when we go riding at the state parks! Unfortunately, my husband says I can’t get oxen until we move to our own place (we live in town now and keep our horses at my parents’). I tell him I could be packed in 6 hours, so what are we waiting for?!?!

Soon, soon!

[TinaY]

Sorry about the confusion…I pulled the term right out of Steve Bower’s book. What do other people call them?

When we spent our week with Steve in May 2007, we didn’t do a lot of single driving, and when we did, we used a pleasure breastcollar style harness.

I will be using a Pioneer cart, LaNette, so I’m glad you mentioned the breaking/distortion option. I’ll get to work on ordering the shaft loop adapter.:)

We sold our sleigh and bought a Pioneer cart, and I’m loving it. The axles have been extended about 10″ so I can see over the team real nice. The implement seat is much more comfy than I anticipated, but we’ll probably make a bench seat, too. Gotta have somewhere to put the carseat! My 11 month old son rides along. When we take him on the wagon, we just throw the playpen on.

We have also purchased a 4 yr. Percheron mare who will be my riding and single driving horse (and eventual replacement), and since the Pioneer came with shafts, I’m excited to use it single. It was easier to buy another horse than separate the elderly mares we’ve got. They don’t appreciate it, and it’s not worth it to us to force them apart…they’re 21 and 28 and have to be getting close to retirement pretty soon. 😀

I appreciate the input!!

[TinaY]

I think it would be great fun to buy a top winning horse and pull it’s shoes off and get it’s feet normal looking again, and then see how it does. Bet we’d be last! Square feet 😮 are a pet peeve of mine.

We keep ours barefoot and love it!

I’d also love to post pictures of mowing from last weekend…Neil how do you do it?

[TinaY]

I’ve gone through several phases of horsemanship, so my library is peppered with books on western riding and reining, lots on dressage, some jumping, some draft/driving, and one on oxen. I do have some that I haven’t read yet, but I’ll get to it…someday!

The ones that are essential in our work with our Percherons (that we ride, drive, and pull) are:

*Farming with Horses – Steve Bowers
*A Teamster’s View – Steve Bowers
*Developing Respect and Control on the Ground (video) – Clinton Anderson
*Horse Owner’s Guide to Natural Hoofcare (book and video) – Jaime Jackson

These are also useful:
*True Unity – Tom Dorrance
*The Faraway Horses – Buck Brannaman
*The Principles of Riding – German Nat’l Equestrian Federation
*Common Sense Dressage – Sally O’Connor
*Dressage in Lightness – Sylvia Loch
*101 Arena Exercises – Cherry Hill
*101 Longeing and Long Lining Exercises – Cherry Hill
*Reining – Bob Loomis
*Centered Riding – Sally Swift

[TinaY]

So Neil, are they actually lame and lazy or are those just your affectionate pet names?:rolleyes:

[TinaY]

I spent my teenage years working for a very large Quarter Horse breeder (12 stallions – 50-60 foals annually). Most of the herd mares were bred to foal in late spring April-June, so we wouldn’t have to worry about the weather. People who were interested in show horses were breeding to get a mare to foal in early January, to have a size jump on the competition. When are people foaling drafts? I’m kind of thinking that it might be nice to have a late summer baby, so that I can spend the long lonely winter on groundwork.

[TinaY]

We live in central MN, and our elderly Percherons are outside 24/7 with a small run-in shed that they never use. We don’t have a barn. We feed round bales all year long, as our pasture doesn’t get a chance to grow much grass. We’ve never had any problems with them being outside, and they definitely prefer it. We don’t intend to ever keep any of our horses inside. We feed round bales because they’re cheaper than small squares (by a LOT!) and we only need to bring them hay every 10 days or so, rather than daily. Dragging in round bales gives them a good workout, too! The only problem we’ve had with round bales is that they won’t eat lowland grass, so if we get some in a bale it is just wasted. They will lay in it though, so I guess it’s not a total waste. 🙂

[TinaY]

I like the idea of collars simply because I’m a small gal and would have trouble lifting a yoke! 😮

[TinaY]

I don’t have experience with oxen, but am very interested in them. I saw this past weekend a man with a team of Brown Swiss that had rings and lines. The rings were clipped to a snap sewn into the halter and two lines attached to each nose ring, and then run through rings on the yoke. I didn’t get a chance to see if they crossed them like horse lines (like a stub line), but I’d imagine they were. This man also had a pair of young shorthorns that he led by the halter, they didn’t have rings in their nose, but it sounded like he planned on doing it. I found it interesting that he didn’t train them from the beginning with the rings. The rings seemed comfortable, and were healed like earrings in a human…you don’t even notice them, and pulling on them doesn’t really hurt. However, I’m not using my earrings as a steering wheel either!

Being a horse person, I feel uncomfortable with the idea that an ox will cooperate and behave on voice and whip commands alone (you can’t guarantee that with a horse!), so that part of me likes the idea of a ring or a bit. But, that’s one of the draws of oxen for me…that they don’t behave like horses.

[TinaY]

Mark,
I LOVE my Wintec Isabell. It has a nice deep seat and a synthetic suede finish that helps you stick to it. I like where it puts my leg, also. It’s nearly indestructible – I had a horse go over backwards in it several times on concrete, and it still looks brand new. It fits my 16hh, 1800# Percheron mare good with the widest gullet.

I don’t like the X-tra Wide as well. It’s a shallower seat and more slippery than the Isabell, but it’s wider, which is the plus for us! We use that one on our 16.1hh, 2000# stocky Percheron mare with the middle sized gullet and it fits well.

[TinaY]

Like Jennifer, we also subscribe to the Bowers Farm way of training, and love the idea of no blinders. We spent a week with him last summer and were with him when he passed away. With the knowledge we gained from our visit, we were able to go in an open bridle with our 21 year old mare, who’d previously never been driven without blinders, atleast to our knowledge. She did great with the sled, but shied slightly when she saw the wagon out of her left eye. (She’s driven on the left.) Cars coming up on that side didn’t bother her, however.

We didn’t try our 28 year old, simply because she’s a bit scatterbrained to start with, and tends to forget where she is and what she’s doing. We didn’t want to exacerbate that trait.

We do ride both of them successfully in open bridles.

We currently drive both of them in blinders, simply for safety’s sake, since that’s what they’re used to, but any new horses will definitely be driven open!

[Author]

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