A question for all you horsemen & horsewomen of the world

[Robernson]

How many of you had actual mentors? I thought I would ask you this because my neighbor (the mule one) didn’t have one. He started with horses; he bought an old team,read some books and went at it. Now granted he had some experience with saddle horses but none with drafts. So I ask you,how many of you had a similar start?

~~R

[dominiquer60]

I had a similar start. I have been 25 years with saddle horses, and took 2 semesters worth of draft classes in college, but learned little real life knowledge of working horses, we broke many show horses there. I have spent a day there and few days here at different teamsters places, this has provide me with good examples of their working relationships. I have read books and experimented with friends horses driving, long lining and a little work (mainly dragging a riding ring).

Then I got the Ox bug after watching a few workshops and spending a day in the woods with a young pair in Maine. Much of my inspiration and advice has come from being involved with Northeast Animal Power Field Days, MOFGA’s LIF and all of the great members of DAP. I don’t have the time that I would like to devote to working directly with a mentor, but I feel that with patience, perseverance and a little help from my friends here, I should at some point have a good team and a good working relationship with them.

Erika

[Anonymous]

Same here. Saddle horses (showing, training etc) up until now. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of videos. I had an elderly neighbor come and assist me with the proper adjustments on my harness. I may ask him for some ideas and help from time to time. I feel pretty alone in my voyage. 🙂 I’m green and my horse is green, but we’ll get there. 🙂

[Carl Russell]

I certainly had mentors. At least two significant ones, but there was no hand holding. I spent a lot of time reading and experimenting on my own. It was good though to have bits of wisdom that would float around in my head until, as I was scratching my head to try to understand how I had managed to screw something up, then “Oh, that’s what he meant”! And of course to have the example to watch, and listen to.

Just remember, “mentor” is term you can define for yourself. You may feel, like many of us do, that Lynn Miller, or Monty Roberts are your mentors, as they have a lot of material in print, and both are very capable of expressing themselves clearly. And you CAN learn from people who don’t know it all, if they inspire you, and challenge you, and encourage you to try.

Carl

[mitchmaine]

when I was young,not that long ago, there were working horses all over maine. Not expecting any change, I took it for granted, and they started disappearing. tools and machinery were still everywhere, mostly free. I took that for granted, and that all disappeared too. The old farmer teamsters were still around. I thought they would always be there, but of course, they are all gone now too. Even then they were really too old to lend much of a hand. And they were a different breed of cat, compared to us today. Very reluctant to offer much advice unless you asked. Made you feel the same about asking. They were happy you were using horses, and would come out to watch. And of course would answer all your questions if you knew what to ask and when to ask it. They were just different. It’s hard to explain. I think offering advice was impolite before it was asked for, does that make sense? Pretty soon they were gone and there you were wondering “ what’s that button for?” And you had to push it to find out.

[jac]

I had what I call 2 “unconcious” mentors… that is to say they didnt know they were tuning a small boy to want to work draft horses. To grow up in the 50s and 60s was perhaps the worst decades regards draft animals.. certainly in Scotland. A great many of the older ones at that time got swept away with the modern way of tractors and although sad at the demise of the horse were glad to have an easier way to get the work done.. No worries of global warming or finite resources then.. So when my time came to buy my first horse when I was 19yrs old, my grandmother on dads side and grandfather on mothers were very supportive but thought it was just a nice hobby and I’d “probably grow out of it”:D.. But years of listening had paid off… I think:D and 31yrs later im still here and still learning daily…
John

[Donn Hewes]

I have had some great mentors, and still have some today. I hope everyone starting out today will find some way to connect with a mentor in one fashion or another. There is no rule that says in order for someone to be your mentor they need to be X years older than you, or have 50 plus years or draft horse experience. Some might give you one solid lesson that you can refer back to many times, some might just give a little encouragement from time to time. As it will take a life time to learn this craft, mentors can be a great asset.

Much has been said about the older timers that were mentors to many of us and are dwindling in numbers, if not in spirit, now. In thinking back on it, I believe they said more than we ( or I at least) realized. They usually did not try to EXPLAIN how to be around a horse, they modeled it. They were not quiet and not saying much to keep the secrets of horses from us, they were demonstrating what a horse responded to and how and why.

Many of the young folks, and not so young, starting out today come from a culture that rewards multitasking. The ability to have your fingers on lots of keys and pay a little attention to several things at one time is what is being valued. Our old mentors could not and would not have done this. I think when living in a natural environment, as opposed to the technological one, the ability to relax and be acutely aware of what is immediately in front of you at the same time are what is needed and valued. Think of hunting all day, or even weeding a garden, or working with animals. You need all your senses and awareness, but you also need to be calm and relaxed. That is why they seemed so quite; they were talking to the horse, not you.

Big long ramble but I loved my first mentors and wish I could spend a day working horses with them today. I wouldn’t have to say a word.

[OldKat]

What a great thread!

My experience with mentors mostly mirrors that of miniclyde;

Same here. Saddle horses (showing, training etc) up until now. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of videos. I had an elderly neighbor come and assist me with the proper adjustments on my harness. I may ask him for some ideas and help from time to time. I feel pretty alone in my voyage. I’m green and my horse is green, but we’ll get there.

Except that my elderly neighbor is actually a lady that is younger than I am, but who had the good fortune of living through her teenage years right next to the man who is probably the most noted teamster in our entire state. She also lived in a draft horse rich area of upstate New York, with neighbors who worked their horses … a lot… until her late pre-teen years. She is a good resource, but seldom available.

I agree with Carl Russell in that some people consider Lynn Miller, Monty Roberts and such as mentors, even if they have never met them. For some reason Doc Hammill’s work resonates with me. Some people may not care for his approach; others may be completely opposed to it. For me it seems to be sound and easy to understand, so I have used it as a starting point.

What a super post by mitchmaine; that is one of the most, what is the correct word? … maybe succinct posts I have ever seen.

Enjoyed all of the posts in this thread though. Good job, Robernson!

[Joshua Kingsley]

My mentors were family that had drafts as I was growing up. My mothers uncle lived down the hill from the farm and had drafts. He would drive by and ask if I wanted to go for a ride. I still remember riding on that wagon with the slow breeze and him handing the lines to his big team to me. That was a start of driving. Then I got a donkey and had to figure out how to get him to pull a cart on my own as Uncle Russel had passed on. I was about 10 or so at the time.
My grandfather on my mom’s side lived across the street and would shake his head as we were trying to get that donkey to move with bribery. My sister in front with a carrot and me on the cart with the reins.
At 14 a wonderful thing happened, I started going to my dad’s Uncles house in the summer for a couple of weeks at a time. He didn’t own a tractor so everything was done with his horses. That first summer I picked up hay with a team, and did all sorts of things from working on a stone boat to learning how to hook them up all alone.
Over the years the tasks went from just raking and tedding hay to mowing and baling. Then we started logging with the old team and I remember being there for two weeks and loosing a bunch of weight, as I would only ground skid. He would cut and I had to pull out every hitch.
When I moved here to the current farm I wanted drafts so I tried to remember every thing I had learned and I have made plenty of mistakes along the way. With phone calls to my uncle and books I have always muddled through though I am sure that I still have a lot to learn before I would be comfortable teaching others.

Sorry for the long post,
Joshua

[cousin jack]

One of my mentor’s is Brian, 75yrs of age who was working horses on his own from the age of 12. Simon Lenihan is the other who has given me a lot of help.
Pictured is Brian and his latest project, Apollo

[jen judkins]

Well, its not hard to find teamsters who know more than me so I set about being a sponge whenever I am around someone working with horses. So there are folks out there I guess I would consider ‘mentors’ but they don’t know it and probably would disagree 😉

On the other hand I have a handful of people, I ‘go to’ when I need help and they aren’t 80 years old either, lol. Most of them are on this board…so you know who you are….all worth your weight in gold. Luckily they are mostly small guys…with the exception of Carl who is a bit more pricey if you get my drift. 😮

All kidding aside, I just don’t see how you can go from zero to working a horse or a team without a mentor….of some sort. Jennifer.

[Big Horses]

I am very fortunate in that I grew up working around horses. We always had around a hundred head, mostly saddle horses (we had a guest ranch and a commercial outfitting business), but also work horses. Not necessarily draft horses, but good, big work horses. I also had access to quite a few mentors. My Dad and our hired man had both grown up working horses, both on farms and in the woods, and had learned from alot of the (then) “old timers” and passed alot of that on to me. I spent alot of time hauling hay and feeding cows with a team, and it was some great education! I was also around some very talented “old timers” myself, as they were good friends of our family….Adam Funk, Glen Phanco, Tom Triplett, John Keller, Jasper Johnston, Martin Hendrickson, and a host of others…and these people had made livings working horses…and soaked up all that I could from them. Probably out of them, Tom Triplett took me under his wing more than any. He taught me how to drive multiple hitches, and a host of things….and it still continues to this day. In that same breath, I learn from my wife and oldest daughter, whom have both been driving multiples down to singles all their lives too… as well as from every horse I throw a harness on….. sometimes the “mentor” can have 4 legs too. :rolleyes: It’s kind of like everything in life, I guess… if I’m not learning something every time I do it, I’m not paying attention!
Great thread, thanks for starting it!!
John

[Gulo]

I had one great mentor, but he was a mentor in natural horsemanship – hands-on roundpenning stuff, and a little driving. I am very grateful to him.

The great majority of the time it was me alone on the farm with my new drafts and my Lynn Miller books. It was a bit hair-raising at times – they weren’t the best horses. One of those situations that you wouldn’t recommend, but having lived through it yourself, wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, either.

Getting through some hard stuff like that early on gives a person some resilience fast, and makes the easier days that follow seem like a dream. I don’t have to wonder what it’s like to work more challenging horses – I started with ’em!

[richa]

Some of the best Mentors, if you are near one, is a healthy Draft club.
I have been around Dairy cows and all kinds of horses from my youth, Mass.
But, I will say that the South Carolina Draft Club, or any other club is a great place to start. Old and young a like. So, join up. It’s a great family.
Richa

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