Blinders or no blinders

[Plowboy]

I was at a plowing event a couple weeks ago and a good friend and horse trainer helped me get unhitched at lunchtime. He noticed the open bridle on our filly and a short discussion evolved about open bridles and how we couldn’t make an accurate assumption based on this one easy going filly wether or not blinders were necessary. He replied, “Boy, when you’re dealing with horses you need a bag of tricks because each one is an individual and what works with one may not work with the next”. I too have noticed this, we have 8 horses on the farm now all good work horses and many of them related but each has it’s own individual personality. None of us can conform a horse into a carbon copy of another we just deal with the small quirks and correct the important one’s.

[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!

[cxb100]

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[TBigLug]

Just a thought for the “rider immigrants” (my g/f is one so i have some experience in this), if you ride your horse in an open bridle and drive him in a blinded bridle it may help him get his mind ready for what he is expected to do. Just like with some high dollar studs have special halters they wear when they are going to breed and differant ones when they are going to ride or work, it may be a good way to help them dicern what they are about to do.

[jen judkins]

@TBigLug 3408 wrote:

if you ride your horse in an open bridle and drive him in a blinded bridle it may help him get his mind ready for what he is expected to do. Just like with some high dollar studs have special halters they wear when they are going to breed and differant ones when they are going to ride or work, it may be a good way to help them dicern what they are about to do.

That’s a very interesting observation, John! I had initially thought I would start Peanut in an open bridle, but Ted decided against that and started him with blinders, so I have continued with that practice. I agree with Carl, that the blinders do little to prevent the horse from being aware of things behind them. We had a very quiet dog stalking us yesterday…Peanut totally knew he was there, even though he couldn’t see him (or hear him as far as I could tell). The blinders do tend to create focus, I think and perhaps as you say, makes the job at hand more clear. I have not had any problems getting Peanut to go forward, even driving down a distracting road…which surprised me as I would have expected more opposition from my experience with green horses under saddle. Jennifer.

[Plowboy]

Our filly “Dixie” has been in an open bridle for over a year now and is doing well. I plan to take her bridle to the harness shop and have one made to match for her younger brother who will start his education late this winter. These youngsters are very laid back and will soon be working public appearances ,parades, wagon rides, and all around farm work. I believe that you still need a bag of tricks and assess each horse individually. Not every horse should be worked in an open bridle and probably that decision should be made by someone with experience. We have never trained any others open but by pure coincidence we started “Dixie” that way and I have every reason to believe that we’ll be just as successfull with “Dan”. The next one we raise we’ll have to wait and see. There is an Amish man north of here that works his entire string of Belgians by snapping a bit into their halter. Keep in mind though his horses work hard every day and even the more nervous one’s mind their manners hoping to catch a break. Also I would not hesitate to put blinders on “Dixie” and “Dan” at the first sign they might need them but they are by far the most laid back pair of colts we have owned.

[Wes Gustafson]

This has been an interesting topic to read and follow along. My horses are all worked in open bridles. Since they are worked in the woods full-time, I want my team to have as much visual awareness of there surroundings as possible. When I’m hooking up a log behind them, they can see where I am, or a helper is: no surprises. If they step on a stick or branch that snaps up and pokes them in the belly, they can see right away that it’s not a mountain lion, or who knows what, about to tear out there belly, just a stick. Turning around the team in the woods, especially on narrow skid trails, I think that the horses have a better chance of avoiding getting poked in the eye by branches or staubs, since they can see what’s coming before it hits them.

It might be that blinders are more a product of tradition and cultural practices that have been handed down: In some European countries, it’s customary to use blinders, in others it’s not; but the horses all seem to adapt to whatever gear that we throw on them.

I think that allowing our horses to see their surroundings gives them an advantage when the unknown happens. On one thinning job I did some time ago, there was a herd of about 30 elk that regularly bedded down on the owners pasture every night. Since I was keeping my team on-site in the owner’s corral that was adjacent to the pasture, that first evening was exciting for my team. The owners showed me the digital picture of my team staring at the herd that first evening. Tails straight up in the air, ears perked, noses flared. The subsequent days as we worked in the woods, I’m sure that my team had in the back of their minds that the elk were out there somewhere in the woods… but what else? There was also a neighboring property that had horse trails that ran through the woods where we were working. As we worked, then, any crashing sounds in the woods could be other horses, elk, mountain lions, deer, etc. Without blinders, my team could instantly determine what the threat level was.

Just some added thoughts to the topic.

Wes

[Gulo]

Our first horses were green-broke to blinders. I then became convinced through reading they were unnecessary. I didn’t take them off our existing horses, but the new ones i trained without. One was a blue-roan who’d never been anything but a semi-feral brood mare when we got her at six. She trained up really fast. Then, over time she became less and less workable, even when i went back to ground-work with her. Finally, she was really getting virtually unworkable, and with visions of dog-food cans flashing through my head, I decided to put her on a blinded bridle. I took her right back out into the field. It was like i’d bought a new horse. I’ve never had the same issues with her since. So my attitude now is, some horses need ’em and some don’t! I have a bay that has never had them and doesn’t seem ever likely to need them.

[becorson]

this is a good thread.
i have a horse-trainer friend in norway. he’s getting up there in years and has trained literally thousands of driving horses, including carriage horses and work horses. he always starts them in an open bridle because he does a lot of long lining and he wants the horse to be able to see him and respond to his position (like round-penning). also he wants to see the horse’s eye because it helps him gauge the horse’s mood etc.

In Norway work horses are usually driving in open bridles. Carriage horses more often have blinkers. i think it has to do with how “reactive” the horse is. my experience as a veterinarian has led me to think that some horses have a reflex to startle and run from something that appears suddenly in their line of sight. if free, they would run a little distance and then turn and look at the startling object. if they are harnessed to something, it follows them when they run and that sends them into panic mode. so horses like that are better off with blinders. i had a saddlebred that was like this. i would not have driven him without blinkers.
other horses are less “reactive” and if something suddenly appears in their line of sight they are better at assessing its danger without running. horses like this seem to be better without blinders , maybe because they like to be able to assess what is making the noise etc behind them.
i have a mare that fits into the second category. she is around 18 now and i’ve had her since 1994, she was about 4. she was amish trained and i used her with blinkers for years but she was always trying to turn around to see what was going on. it wasn’t dangerous but was annoying for me and she seemed stressed too (head up, ears twitching, etc) . for the last 3-4 years i have been driving her without blinkers and she seems much happier. i like the fact that she and i can make eye contact easily when i’m driving her. she is a very savvy “survivor” type horse and has more than once made a good decision when moving logs about when to stand still and when to move a little. she backs herself right up to the log i want to move as if she can read my mind.

I have a DVD of horses working in the woods in norway, without blinkers , and the horses look as cooperative and wise as guide dogs, which also make their own decisions at times .
the horses in the DVD are Doele horses from eastern norway. it is a great DVD and i wish i could share it with you all!
one more thing: my horse trainer friend says if you drive a pair or other multiple hitch of carriage horses, there is another good reason to use blinkers and that is because you don’t want the horses to see the whip. if they can’t see it, you can use the whip selectively as an aide on one horse without it influencing the other horse.
thanks

[jen judkins]

Becorson, I enjoyed your prose on the blinders issue. I agree wholeheartedly…what works, works. What doesn’t work, needs a different approach. Jennifer.

[becorson]

thanks Jennifer, i always enjoy your posts, too. this is such a great forum.

Barb Corson

[Plowboy]

We started our second horse in an open bridle today. Dan the 22 month old stud colt that we have been driving a few times lately. We got his new open bridle last wednesday from our local harness maker friend. We put it on him with our big gelding and I ground drove him across the icy driveway to the sled in the field. Good thing he didn’t spook or I would have gotten a crash course in Skiijoring barefoot. He hitched quiet and drove around the meadow a couple times with no trouble. My Dad lives on a state road so we headed out along the road going away from traffic. The first truck that came along he made two small lunges. The next few cars he paid alot of attention to but did nothing. The next time around 8 cars went by and he never even looked at them. All in all I think it was a success.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Plowboy: Here’s a handy solution about avoiding going ski joring barefoot; next time you go outside in the winter, try wearing boots. :p
Just something to consider.
Sounds like that stud colt of yours is going to be a good one. What breed is he? Was he born on your place? What’s his mother’s temperament like?
I wasn’t sure if I understood: when you ground drove him along the state wighway, was he hooked to the gelding, or were you driving him solo? Also, what signs will you be looking for in him, to tell if you need to put blinders on him? That’s where I get lost at… I’m going to try teaching my donkey from the start without blinders, but don’t know what are the indications to perhaps switch to them.

[Donn Hewes]

Some one wanted to know why I put blinders on, if I thought it was so great to work them with out. I thought about all the factors that I would consider.

If you break it into two groups, the first group is all the different horses and mules and their different temperaments. No two are a like. It is more like the seven dwarfs meets the eight reindeer. You know, sleepy, dopey, blitzen, and so on. Some horses never hear or see any thing until it is right under them; some are all ways know if the school bus is unloading the neighbors kids, even when we are mowing in the opposite direction. each one has a slightly different reaction to sudden input. All of them might be fine, but they are all different. Each one will react to blinders in their own way.

Next, consider what the possible distractions are. You might think it is hard to identify, but actually some can be anticipated. In my case, I don’t have a truck and trailer, and that limits a lot of the wilder stuff that is harder to predict. Just remember, a lot of the stuff in parade land can come from any direction so blinders may not be as much help in that situation as in others. The first place I have to look is farm equipment. Most of the farm equipment happens behind the team so you do have the option of making them not see it if you choose. I use a haybine with a four abreast hitch. To use a haybine you repeatedly make very sharp turns to the right. With the haybine already on your right and turning right your right hand horse (or mule) is side stepping right toward the spinning reel of the noisy haybine. The mule I use in this spot is a good mule and one I raised my self. After some practice he accepted the haybine noises but I am sure seeing the haybine would have made it a lot harder for him. He is a simple guy, he would shy a little from a dark spot and then not apologize, it was my fault for putting it there. He was open faced until a few weeks before he started mowing hay.

I always like to credit the horses. Most and maybe all my animals will wear blinders; most and maybe all of them could work just as well without them. Incredibly adaptable animals. The blinders are there for me.

[Plowboy]

Well Robert thats a good one but I meant without skis. I don’t have all the answers yet but have seen a lot of horses spooked seeing things over their blinders or things coming alongside them suddenly past their blinders. The jury is still out but so far they are comfortable seeing what is going on and pay attention to the task at hand. Others will be scared of motion behind them or distracted as Donn said.
Our stud colt is a Percheron He was born at my friends place and his mother is a good mare real gentle.
He was hitched alongside our big gelding and we were driving them on a training sled. Sorry I can’t give you concrete answers but we are still in the experimental stages also.

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