Line Spreaders

[Demented Donkey Dame]

This photo came off the Rural Heritage front porch forum. It was part of a discussion regarding Yankee breeching. I was intrigued by the spreaders. I have no experience with them and wanted to ask if this is the correct use for them and if the heart in front was overkill? Do you really need the heart with the spreaders?
The reason I am asking this is because I had a hanging heart get hung up on a bit and it was wedged in so tight I had to drive it that way the last half mile home. Fortunately it hung up on a more experienced donkey but he was hitched to one I had just started and did not feel safe enough to get out and unhook that ring.
I’m wondering if I would be better off to use spreaders and fore-go the hanging heart? I ended up using a round plastic ring on my lines and keeping a close eye on it. Need a little guidance here..

[jen judkins]

My impression is that you can use spreaders in a number of ways and this just represent one version. The hanging heart could be substituted with a simple ring, which is how I do it. I agree…one less thing to get lines tangled in, the better. My boys always seem to be able to get caught up in somthing when I’m not paying attention.

That said I have seen teamsters use up to three sets of spreaders, two sets on the inside (I might have a photo of that somewhere) and one on the outside. Some use one set on either side of the horses and others like this with a single set on the inside. I think it just depends on your set up and what you are triing to accommplish. I use spreaders for two reasons..one is to get a more direct line to my horse’s mouths and second, to keep the lines back abit so they can’t fiddle and get the lines under the pole.

[jen judkins]

Here’s a photo of the double spreaders I spoke of

[Gabe Ayers]

One thing I have found helpful to recognize is this. In addition to deciding whether or not to use drops or spreaders, the more important decision is how long to make those drops. I have found that a 6-8″ drop off the hame rings on both the inside and outside works well, but longer than that allow my boys to work further apart than I want them to. Also, my off horse Pete seems to really dislikes the angle of the lines to the bit when I drop more length from the hame rings. I agree with Jen that a simple ring is safer than a big leather heart for the lines crossing between the horses in the team.

[LostFarmer]

@Demented Donkey Dame 30056 wrote:

This photo came off the Rural Heritage front porch forum. It was part of a discussion regarding Yankee breeching. I was intrigued by the spreaders. I have no experience with them and wanted to ask if this is the correct use for them and if the heart in front was overkill? Do you really need the heart with the spreaders?
The reason I am asking this is because I had a hanging heart get hung up on a bit and it was wedged in so tight I had to drive it that way the last half mile home. Fortunately it hung up on a more experienced donkey but he was hitched to one I had just started and did not feel safe enough to get out and unhook that ring.
I’m wondering if I would be better off to use spreaders and fore-go the hanging heart? I ended up using a round plastic ring on my lines and keeping a close eye on it. Need a little guidance here..

This is my team. The heart is simply decoration and I like it. Kind of like the spots on the harness. It serves no purpose and is absolutely useless other than I like the way it looks. It has my brand in spots on the front side.

The spreaders are used at times and not at times. I hook the teams to various sizes of eveners. I simply add or remove spreaders to allow the horses to walk the width I want them. I could move the buckle on the split to adjust the width but prefer this method. Pure and simple no right or wrong but just the way I like it. LF

[Demented Donkey Dame]

Thank you Jen for your wonderful answer! I just knew I could count on a great response for this group. I like two of the ideas you mentioned. The first is the direct line to the mouth. Sometimes I think that I would like the line to be at a better angle. The second thing you mentioned is getting the lines caught under the pole and the yoke which has happened to me.

When I stopped using the heavy weighted heart I noticed that the donkey that will grasp the inside line and pack it in his mouth has stopped doing that. I’m thinking it was the weight of hanging heart that he didn’t like.

With a spreader do you still feel that you need the ring on the lines?

I’m thrilled you found the photo as I was having a tough time figuring out the double spreader equation. I’m more of a recreational driver who dabbles in a few parades each year and next year I plan to take my new team of mammoth donkeys to participate in a Horse Show near Boise, ID. Of course I really want them to look sharp and do their best and get them out in public more.

I’m wondering if line spreaders will have any effect on the boys who want to put their heads down below the neck yoke. I have tried getting after them with the lines and I don’t like that because of course it effects the non offender. I’ve tried check reins that go across their bellys and attach to the lower breeching rings so when they put their heads down it pulls on the breeching. What I see is the head go down and they hang there pulling on their own mouths and no effect to solve the lowering of the head problem. I had one who would pick the neck yoke up in his mouth and pack it. That I solved with a better fitting collar. I don’t think this is a collar problem.
Any ideas if the line spreaders would help my two that want to hang their heads low?

Thank you again Jen for sharing your knowledge!

[Demented Donkey Dame]

LF, your team is a beauty and I hope you don’t mind that I used your photo. It was the best example I could find to illustrate my questions. I always thought that is why spreaders were used was to place them at the correct width.

I have always like the decorative hearts and I have several I use at different times. I also love the spots on your harness! That makes for lots of work when cleaning and conditioning the leather and polishing the spots!~ I’ve been working on mine this week and am just half way done and I have no spots!

I need to add that I like your direct line to the bit. The double spreaders seem to me to break the directness of the lines. Just a thought!

Thanks for the response, maybe our Idaho paths will cross someday!

[Demented Donkey Dame]

@Bradbury Johnson 30062 wrote:

One thing I have found helpful to recognize is this. In addition to deciding whether or not to use drops or spreaders, the more important decision is how long to make those drops. I have found that a 6-8″ drop off the hame rings on both the inside and outside works well, but longer than that allow my boys to work further apart than I want them to. Also, my off horse Pete seems to really dislikes the angle of the lines to the bit when I drop more length from the hame rings. I agree with Jen that a simple ring is safer than a big leather heart for the lines crossing between the horses in the team.

That was going to be my next question….how long? I would think the 6 to 8 inch length should be fine for my boys.

The ring has been safer for me on my daily drives but I still keep a close eye on it. I was teaching the boys to fan when the heart hung up on the bit. I was surprised the donkey tolerated it as well as he did, it took some talking to him to get him safely home. We use the rings in draft circles but I notice in “Pairs” driving there are no rings. I find the differences very interesting.

[Donn Hewes]

As Brad suggested, and LF said, the lines, and spreaders all contribute to how far apart horses heads will be. Adjusting the length or location of your spreaders or drop rings will effect that. When I look at a photo I all ways look at the result; where are the heads? In both LFs and team donks the horses and donkeys are going straight ahead. Very nice. Word of caution it is easy to take picture from an odd angle or moment and make their heads look pointed in or out when actually they are well hitched. As a learning tool I have all ways found it usefully to see if horses heads are spaced well. You will often see horses whose heads are pointed in or out, and are also not working very happily and no one seems to know exactly why. LF I don’t do it as much anymore, (just use drop rings and made all my eveners the same) But for a long time I used spreaders just as you described. for pulling a plow or narrow evener on the ground I used the lines with out spreaders, then I just went through the spreaders anytime I used a tongue. Worked great and gave me two widths with out changing the lines.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Kristi – which donk was this?

[Demented Donkey Dame]

@Robert MoonShadow 30076 wrote:

Kristi – which donk was this?

It was Galahad, can you imagine him not freaking out?

[Demented Donkey Dame]

Thanks Donn. We are in the same ballpark about their heads. I find videos show how they travel very well. Those coupling adjustments are so important!

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