Horse chewing on neck yoke?

[JayChase]

So I’ve had the haflingers out in the field a few times and felt fairly comfortable being a new teamster. 😉 We then ventured out onto the road and they have continued to do wonderfully. Dolly however, chews on the neck yoke while pulling. My first inclination is to buy a steel neck yoke, put I just put all of my money into the team, harness, and wagon! Am I doing something wrong? Does she need to be working harder? Or might she be bored because I am keeping them at a slow pace to be comfortable because I am new? For the record, I am not complaining about my mare and if this is the only problem I ever have driving horses I would consider myself blessed. Have an outstanding day!
Jay

[sickle hocks]

Be careful she doesn’t snag a line on the end of the pole. I would also like to hear strategies for managing horses that are ‘busy’ in harness, especially individuals in a team.

[Anonymous]

The quick fix for that may be a over check. Using a over check prevents them from tucking thier chin in far enough to chew on the yoke. I use over checks on all my horses now. I would advise giving the horse some slack on the check if it has never had on on before. For me the chewing would be a no go as it is a safty concern as mentioned previously lines stuck on the yoke can be a problem. This type of behaviour is often a horses way of distracting it’s self because it is stressed or a over active thinker(ADD). Finding ways to engage and challange the horse will often be the solution to beaviour ticks such as chewing or picking on thier team mates.

Tristan

[JayChase]

I was thinking she might have been bored. She had already snagged a line, but I thought it must have been my fault…the bridle I have has side checks, so I guess I’ll figure out how to use them. I had read somewhere that over and side checks can be harsh, but I know they had them before.
Thanks for your help…
Jay

[Donn Hewes]

A couple of thoughts, I agree with Tristan, that it is more likely anxiety than boredum. I use check reins on all my bridles. They help keep an animal from eating while working. A check rein needs enough slack to allow natural head positions while working. For me it would difficult / impossible to use a check rein to prevent an animal from reaching the yoke. I would not think in terms of the chewing directly, I think in terms of; is the animal relaxed. If not my goal would be a relaxed horse. A slightly different goal that would eventually help with the chewing problem too.

[dominiquer60]

Jay- like anything check reins can be abusive in certain situations (think Black Beauty) and in other situations they seem extreme also like the 6 horse hitches at the fairs where often they use an over check and side check simultaneously. To a working horse they make a great anti-grazing device and are seldom adjusted in any extreme fashion, in fact I know some that only use them when the horses are are rest to prevent grazing and then unhook them for heavy work. They are what we make of them and they can be a great tool.

[Anonymous]

The side checks are good and many ways better all round check rien. They will prevent the horse from putting it’s head down to graze but as Donn said it won’t prevent it from getting it’s head tucked far enough to chew the yoke.(unless used excessively tight wich will not only be uncomfertable but will most likly make the horse act out in more extreme ways) I like over checks (they can be abused if used wrong) because they run over thier pole and forhead down to the bit this makes it easier to prevent them form over flexing at the pole. To me a good horse is relaxed when it is engaged and focused on the task at hand.

[near horse]

Could one use a jockey stick in this situation? I’ve been dealing with this behavior too but it happens while at rest not during work. I keep on them each time they start to “fiddle” by saying quit.

[grey]

Jay, make sure your neck yoke isn’t up too high or too far out in front. If you are using the common bellybacker harness with box britchen, the neck yoke should be just high enough that they don’t bang their knees on it when they trot and far enough out in front that, when viewed from the side, you should be able to draw an imaginary line straight down through the hame and the breast strap, terminating at the neck yoke. If the neck yoke is up in their space, it is in the way when they lower their heads to really dig in and knuckle down.

I have one that bites at the neck yoke at rest, but she is prone to anxiety. Also, I know that the crown pieces on my bridles are too wide and dig into the back of their ears. They know better than to toss their heads or rub on each other – I have drilled that into them – but I think that the discomfort finds other outlets. Biting the neck yoke is probably one such outlet, at least in my situation. If I really get on her case and keep her from biting the neck yoke, tossing her head, rubbing on her team-mate, blowing snot on passers-by AND trying to sit on the britchen OR the tongue, then she plays with the shanks on her bit or pops her lower lip to make the curb chain rattle. SIGH. Time, I think, to commission those bridles I keep meaning to order.

[Riverbound]

I have a mare who does this when she is cycling. If I hook her with our gelding, the object of her unrequited love, its much worse. Also, although it can get tiresome, I found that “see-sawing” the lines Doc Hammil style helps, so that I can give an exaggerated line tug on her side when she turns in, without messing with her teammate too much.

[Ethan Tapper]

Has anyone tried just standing with the team and correcting them with the lines every time they mess with the pole? I know that chewing on stuff can be a larger problem for horses, but it seems to me that standing manners are like any other manners and should be trained. Even if a check rein kept the horse’s head above the pole (which I’m not sure it could/should) I wonder if that’s really the best solution. Maybe it is, just wondering.

[Anonymous]

Each horse is a differnt book. Some horses might not mind being repeatedly told not to chew by the teamster. Others will find it too frustrating and do better with aid such as check or jockey stick that serves as a reminder that when they do somthing that we don’t want them to it is unpleasant…. theses aids are easly removed when not needed. My chore team has over checks on but so loose that they could reach the ground if they wanted. The point is they don’t because they are focussed on being connected to me the teamster. Fix the root of one larger problem and the smaller ones like chewing will disapear all on thier own.

[Donn Hewes]

Ethan, I agree with you that I think these things are taught, but I just don’t think it is taught all at once. If an a horse is “busy”, nervous or just “not relaxed”; making him stand will seldom help it improve. Rather give him meaningful work to do. Rest when rest is needed. Encourage relaxation while standing.

[JayChase]

Well it certainly benefits a new teamster to be a part of such discourse! I have explored all of the options presented and found that the yoke was a tad bit high on her side. Lowering that, telling her to “quit” during undesirable behavior, working her more, and building our relationship has improved the situation. Haven’t quite figured out the side checks yet; not sure how to attach to the saddle.

Thank you all for your input. I look forward to improving with your help.
Jay

[grey]

If you have a crupper on your harness, you can run your check rein to the top ring of the britchen spider. Put a ring or a roller on the check rein (so you don’t crimp the leather of the check rein). Then, a single strap with a snap on either end (often called a coupling strap) attaches to the ring/roller and the top ring of the britchen spider.

If you don’t have a crupper, then you use a rein-up strap. Instead of attaching your check rein to the top ring of the britchen spider, you come up from either britchen dee (the ring at either end of the britchen) to a shared ring and a short coupling strap.

Anchoring the check rein to the crupper or to the britchen dees makes it impossible for the horse to pull his harness out of adjustment by fighting against the check.

Some people just toss the check over the hame/hames. I don’t recommend that. If a hame strap were to break during a hard pull he would hit is own mouth terribly hard instantly as soon as those hames pop backward off the collar. With the check going to the britchen (either via the top ring or the dees), you’ve got about two steps with which to react and stop the horse before he hits his mouth. Having him come up against his mouth because of equipment failure during a hard pull is bad, bad. Punishes him for trying hard.

Some harness makers put a ring or a hook on the back pad/harness saddle that you can attach your check rein to. Depends on the harness style and the maker. I have a nice set of team work harness that have a little ring on the top of each back pad that a coupling rein can be attached to. Don’t see that too often.

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