Love my ponies

[Thecowboysgirl]

Both Duke & Daisy pulled an old motorcycle tire without complaint today. Daisy actually preferred the tire to the milk jugs because it was quiet.

Duke felt the weight and just stopped and actually wouldn’t walk on till I picked up my whip. The only thing either one of them did wrong was to try and snatch a bite of grass.

Daisy quit trying to drag me over to Duke while I was ground driving her, so I felt like that was a good accomplishment. I schooled her out of it while riding, but up till the last time I drove her she would still try to do that buddy dive for him when we passed him. Today she finally acted professional and followed directions.

I have not trotted either one of them since I was advised not to.

Here is one last question on the trotting issue: the last time I trotted Duke he did buck twice. We finished on a good note that day, but I have this nagging feeling that if I don’t ever deal with that before I start hooking him to stuff- what if he breaks into a trot while hitched with Daisy and then gets the idea to buck like that? Wouldn’t I be better off to deal with it now and school it out of him? Or do I instead train him to never trot in harness? Confused…

[mink]

as to trotting i think slow and easy is going to win the race for you. id say the bucking is going to go away, i think hes just frisky and maybe just trying to see what he can get away with. keep up the good work. time is going to turn the horses into something great for you….mink

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Juliana, I would like to suggest that you evaluate the things you hook to in a different order. There are some basic things that are true of any horse and anything you hook to. I am talking specifically about the anxiety we can expect from the horse that has not pull this before. My basic rule of thumb is this; Light and noisy are the hardest, heavier and quieter are easier. That is why a small to med sized log (depending on the horse) is usually the first thing to hook to. You have been successful with the motor cycle tire so far, in a round pen I think; but I wouldn’t push my luck to far with that. A run away with a motorcycle tire would not be a good experience for the horse. In a round pen it is not hard to drive horse at a trot. Your circle is smaller, there for you don’t need to run as fast or as far. While trotting, make sure they are excepting your leadership, this should result in a light bit. As has been said before, I wouldn’t get hung up in the round pen. Get them out doing something useful. If you don’t have anything useful for them right now, make something up.

[Thecowboysgirl]

At any rate, I have not worked either of them in the round-pen in the past few weeks. I did everything in there at first, but they got so good at everything in there I didn’t think we were accomplishing anything any more.

We have been working the milk jugs in the arena, and I also did the motorcycle tire in the arena.

The bucking I am certain was not fear because he would give me a regular rodeo on the longe line back before I started driving him. It was just his idea of a good time. Plus Duke never showed the slightest mental discomfort with anything I’ve hooked to him. He was absolutely unfazed by anything I’ve done to him yet. He’s just an energetic boy. The good news is that he no longer jigs and just walks very calmly, almost lazy.

Daisy is the only one at this point who is a little goosy but her saying she’s goosy is her walking briskly instead of slowly. Neither of them has offered anything like a true spook while ground-driving. I have never had trouble stopping or turning in an eggbutt snaffle. If anything I sometimes have trouble getting or keeping them going.

Donn could you please clarify what you meant “don’t push your luck” with the tire. Meaning I should not have them pull the tire again right now? Or I should not try to school a trot with the tire? (wasn’t planning to do that, by the way) Are you suggesting that I abandon the tire and try and small log instead? And how big of a piece of wood are we talking- can the horses pull it with just my little breast-plate-and-surcingle rig since I still don’t have a harness.

My plan moving forward is to work Daisy more with the jugs until she is unfazed at the start. she always settles down very quickly but she still starts a little nervous. Neither one of them cared even a little about pulling the tire, but I guess i had thought I would do it a few more times just for practice’s sake.

I can see that heavier and quieter would have been a better start—I didn’t have the breast plate to start with so I started light because of lack of proper equipment. Luckily the ponies have been really good sports.

[Thecowboysgirl]

Wheels or not?

One last question….I thought they should never hook to anything with wheels in the beginning but then recently someone said they didn’t find that to be true.

I have a small dump cart a little bigger than a wheelbarrow that weighs practically nothing empty. It is kind of rattly and noisy but I pull it around them all the time while working so they have heard and seen it alot.

They could pull that with their current pretend harness. Any thoughts of when/if I should try to use that? Based on what Donn just said this cart falls into the light and noisy category so it would be one of the last things I would attempt, I think.

[Tim Harrigan]

@Thecowboysgirl 33238 wrote:

Wheels or not?…current pretend harness…this cart falls into the light and noisy category….would be one of the last things I would attempt, I think.

Good choice.

[grey]

Don’t hook to wheels until you have a real harness, complete with britchen.

[Donn Hewes]

Don’t get me wrong, with out seeing the horses I think you are doing fine. I just wanted to introduce some things to think about going forward. Essentially, the buckets and tire are being used to “desensitize” the horses. Some here would argue instead of desensitizing the horses you want to build up there trust in you with each new situation. I personally do a little desensitizing, depending on the horse (sacking out, rope work, bag on a stick). But I don’t spend too much time at it for exactly the reason listed above. I do it enough to make sure I have some idea what I might be dealing with. I realize you are waiting on some harness, that is fine, but I would use this to plan their next task. Wheels are fine and some folks will hook to them the first time. My preference is to drive each animal single and on the ground (logs?!, logs are just the best first work for a horse, actually all the hooking, unhooking, and back and forth, is what makes it so good.) Then I prefer to drive them together, again on the ground pulling something (bigger logs). Then you can more easily hook them to a fore cart or something. Certainly a solid vehicle would be my choice.

[mink]

i think don is just trying to say that a log even it weighs a 100 pounds will let them know weight is back there , might tire them some and if they get squirrley and try to run away it might be easier for you to stop them.

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