Dilemma #1 Lacking resources…

[Thecowboysgirl]

Hey guys,

Recap on my intro- I m on ten acres in SW Florida. I have worked with light horses all my life and a scarce few drafts that came through my barn. I did get a herd of clydesdales into the SPCA barn I was volunteering at for awhile, but my part was limited to packing and diapering the worst thrush I’ve ever seen. (horses were rescued from knee deep mud).

I have ground driven light horses as part of dressage training or rehab from injury but that’s it.

So… where do I learn? I am not really in a position to travel and I can’t seem to find any resources for horse-drawn farming in Florida. Drafts in harness seem to be limited to carriages in the cities down here. There is one lady in my town who runs a carriage business and seems to have some knowledge of horses. I had even thought of contacting her and asking her if she’d teach me to drive.

If I were able to buy an ex-carriage horse could we learn together to operate farm machinery? Just ideas…trying to get creative here. Most of the veteran farm horses and people seem to be in very cold, faraway places 😉

[blue80]

Would you like to pay us to come down to Florida? Preferably next January?:D

Seriously, I’d start with books, there are many draft horse books and applications available. Get the theory down from several different authors. Then when the opportunity arises, it becomes a plug and play type scenario with whatever theory/s work for you.
I started with a team, then followed up reading books when it became apparent I was always on the verge of being out of control…. Leave it to a man to read directions AFTER he is lost…

I spent several years in Bradenton. Had to leave, like you say not enough draft animals…

[Thecowboysgirl]

Bradenton? Wow that’s just an hour away from us. Wish you were still there 🙂 Yeah maybe I’ll host a driving clinic here on my farm next winter and all you poor souls up in the freezing north can come down.

Yeah Florida is the land of cowboys and cattle. Not like the way I remember rural New England. I have watched most of what I could find on Youtube for starters…

At this point my husband and I were discussing buying the most bombproof QH’s we could find and then I could play around with them ground driving and eventually hooking up to something to pull little by slow and see if we couldn’t figure it out together. That way we could horse shop locally (which is hard enough in and of itself- never mind doing it long distance).

I do have tons of experience training horses and I have set out to do new things with little or no instruction and managed to trial and error my way there. I have lived with, worked with, and trained horses for most of my life so I have pretty good skills as far as keeping myself and my horse out of harm’s way. Does that sound like a pipe dream?

[Thecowboysgirl]

“Ned is a 17.3h Belgian… He was used for weddings and the Orange Bowl Parade for years. He was trained well and knows his job. He can pull a large carriage, or a Forecart and adjusts himself well. He has also driven lead in a 4 horse hitch and pairs. He drives for me off voice command and is being sold with a barely used working Forecart w /brakes with 2 Implement seats, hold backs, full harness set, bridle, nice driving reins,riding bridle, new cart shafts etc… Everything you need to drive comes with him. Very well mannered. He is big and needs to be reminded of his place. You can tell him to put his head down to halter or bridle him and he does. NOTHING bothers this boy! I also ride him Dressage and he is great under saddle or harness. Please be a great home and have exp driving big guys. He is NOT a beginner horse. He is very flashy and showy and does well under Meadowbrook cart showing as well. Must be a good home.”

sounds like too much horse for me, but the drafts here in Florida are the city carriage guys.

[Donn Hewes]

I hate to tell people never do this or never do that. I have found that there are a small group of people with good enough basic horsemanship skills that they can make a good transition to draft work without huge hazards or risks. The secret to doing this may well be your ability to recognize what you don’t know, and finding good resources (like DAP!) that will answer those questions before you try and do some thing the hard way. Keep us posted.

About the horse above: Obviously I know nothing about him, but it all ways sounds a little funny to make him sound so good (voice commands, etc.) then add; not a beginners horse. Watch these mixed messages.

[Thecowboysgirl]

Donn

Yeah I totally get that teaching myself is not optimal, though maybe possible. I would certainly never consider it if there were an alternative that was achievable. If I’m lucky maybe I can still find a resource nearby.

If nothing else, I’ve recently learned how to use Youtube, I can have my kids video tape me trying and maybe you guys could critique me 🙂

One idea that I had which no one has really chimed in on: would it do me any good to ask one of the carriage people to teach me a little? Is learning about a heavy horse pulling a carriage applicable enough to fool with?

Thanks so much to everyone for thinking this over with me. I really want to make this work!

[Andy Carson]

I mostly grew up riding horses, and learned draft work later, so I know this is something people can do. It isn’t easy though. I had substantial help for my first drives (especially with harnessing, hitching, and horse selection), and my first horse was an old, slow, gentle, draft horse that had done farm work her whole life and knew what to do when asked. I also have the advantage of being fairly young, difficult to hurt, and generally learn quickly. Even given these advantages, it wasn’t an easy task to pick up. I am not saying that you can’t do it, just to let you know to have respect for the descipline and realize that this type of training is going to be difficult. Couple this with performing draft work that you are (I think) also unfamiliar with and it is going to be a very very steep learning curve. One of the biggest things to get used to is just how dangerous this type of work can be and how important that your horse knows “Whoa.” Until you have seen a runaway, it is difficult to imagine how destructive dragging stuff can be behind a spooked horse. Think of a 500 pound sledgehammer being swung by a 2000 pound gorilla, and you’ll get an idea. I am not trying to discourage you, just trying to explain that these kinds of difficulties aren’t things you can “ride out” like you can on horseback. Although there is alot of horsemanship that is similar, it really does require a different set of skills. Something to think about… Another thing to think about if how many hours you would spend driving to look at horses versus how many hours you would spend breaking a horse to drive… This isn’t going to be an easy thing for the horse to pick up either. I am sorry this message sounds bossy, I just really want to help you set yourself up for success.

PS. Yes, Yes, have a carriage guy help you. The work may not be the similar in some ways, but having someone with driving experience get you started will help you out immensely. They would probably also know where to find a horse nearby.

[Thecowboysgirl]

Oh yeah…NOTHING bothers him but he’s NOT for a beginner…hmmm

Anyway, if you believe the ads there isn’t a single horse in FL who has ever bucked, bit, kicked or bolted in his life 😉 And they’re all sound! Isn’t that great? Everyone should move to Florida 😉

I think it might have been on here that someone said believe none of what you read and only half of what you see. All I can say is boy would I hate to wind up with a horse that big who was a bozo or nasty!

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