Parade Anxiety

[jen judkins]

Recently I was asked if I would pull an antique hay wagon in a local parade this summer with my new team. I said yes, before I had a chance to think too hard about it. I went over to check out the rig a week ago and thought, ‘OMG, the thing is an accident waiting to happen’. It is one of those old rigs they used to collect loose hay. For some reason there is a hole in the floor near the front that looks easy to fall into:(. No seat…..its a standing sort of thing for the driver. I understand when it was in use years ago, the teamster would just tie up the reins and work the team using voice cues while throwing hay up. It has metal wheels and friction brakes that squeal when going downhill. Then when they told me it would be loaded with kids throwing candy to the crowd, I felt like puking. Add to that, crowds of people and a busy road with a fairway…oh and the firetrucks pulling up the rear….I was definately having misgivings.

So I hauled the team over to hitch to the rig yesterday. Some things will have to wait for the parade day to adjust to, but I thought I could at least get an idea how they would do with the wagon, the traffic and the brakes before hand. The rig is in town which gave me the opportunity to drive it on the paved roads and in traffic. I was anxious. I hooked the lines down on the curb part of the bits (as it turned out unneccessarily) and obsessed over the hitch set up before setting out.

This team has only been together for a couple of months and I have had some issues getting them to work well together. Reno is very forward and round….Ripple laid back and a flat walker. Opposites in many ways. But they were as perfect as anyone could ask for hauling this jallopy of a rig through town, around the traffic roundabout and through traffic. We went by the local Hannafords and the mobil station…not a single step of hesitation going over the traffic lines or manholes. No shying from the bystanders triing to reach out and touch them as we paraded by. They didn’t even poop on the pavement :D! They were even in stride and really worked together. The smile on my face has not yet faded.

I’m sure parade day will provide plenty of opportunity to get even better, but at least I feel less anxious about my team and their abilities. I believe I will check with my insurance company though on liability coverage, lol!

[Robert MoonShadow]

Jen ~ I think the hole in the floor might be meant as a place to deposit any unruly kids that hit you w/ candy! :p

[Carl Russell]

Jen…… Trust your initial intuition. This is not just something I thought up….. I live by it.

Also, this is not about your team. You are a fantastic teamster and horse-person, but you cannot exert any control over the external forces at play during a parade. In the best circumstances you need to have sound equipment that can hold up in case there is trouble. It sounds like this wagon is on the edge even for solitary enterprise on the farm.

I drove my solid team (10 years ago) in the Randolph 4th of July parade for several years with wagons full of kids. Never a problem. The last one I was in I crested the hill leading down into Randolph Village, and for some reason this time I saw them….. thousands of people standing 5 deep on both sides of the road. I had no place to go, no way of controlling any of them, and I realized then and there that it was the most unfair thing I could every do to that team. Everything went as smooth as it was supposed to, but I have never returned, and never will again.

Think long and hard about where your loyalties lie. I for one would not hold it against you if you backed out.

Carl

[jen judkins]

I hear you loud and clear, Carl. Thanks.

[Jean]

Jen, I am going to agree with Carl, go with your GUT. if you decide to do it, make sure you have plenty of help on and off the wagon. You will only be able to concentrate on the horses, not the gaggle of kids on the wagon or the crowd. I would offer to help, but just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt and I am hosting a Very Small Equine Event at my house that day.

[Big Horses]

Carl’s nailed it perfectly…..THINK long and hard about it. The only time I’ve had problems in public with horses, were during parades. Once was with 6 small mules… the lines looked like spagetti before I got them back in hand. The other was when a little Indian kid threw some firecrackers under my lead team when I was making a corner….. Both times (by the grace of God) nothing became of it, but it sure scared me and made me realize how quick things can happen way beyond my control! That being said, we still do parades, but have no problem saying NO if things don’t look and feel right. When it’s good, they’re a blast!
John

[Michael Colby]

I’ll join the chorus of those agreeing with Carl. I, too, did the parade thing — once. And it was all I needed to know that it wasn’t for me or my horses. They behaved just fine and there were no issues but it felt like we were way out of balance communication-wise the entire time. Some people like it though. And it is a good way to show people the beauty and talent of our equine partners. Instead of parades, I frequently give rides on our town green — especially when I’m prepping/conditioning for sleigh season. Good luck with whatever decision you come to. It sounds like you’ve got a real nice team in the works. Congrats.

[Rod44]

I don’t do parades anymore. Just too much that could go wrong that you can’t control and too many people that could get hurt.

[Robert MoonShadow]

I rode w/ DDD in my first parade a couple of weeks ago…she does a lot of them, including one this weekend; I think she’s in like 4 or 5 this year? The two I know she’s in (last one and this weekend) are in small towns and Luc is so, so steady of a sweetheart that between the two of them, I think they’ve already handled just about anything you’re likely to run across – including having been driven over the route at least several times. I’m not even sure how many he’s been in…I think he was even at Bishop. She’s not afraid to pull them, either, if the situation is not right. The 3 abreast we’re working on I think is going to be awesome! I’d like to someday be ready to put my donks in a parade somehow showing the versatility of the farm work they can do. {Perhaps modify a manure spreader to fling candy, instead? :p}. But I will keep mindful of what she and many here have pointed out: how the animals react to it.

[tsigmon]

I use to go to parades , antique farm shows, church functions,and all manner of requested places to let people see my team of Haflingers. I thought it was important for others not familiar with draft animal power to see what all it entailed and try to educate people that there is an alternative way to farm. I’m over that now. I think back over all the situations and the potential dangers and I get chills. I think the longer you go the more you realize the potential dangers you have no control over . Most people wouldn’t cause you any trouble for anything ,but there is always the possibility of some nut wanting to cause a wreck. The closest call I ever had was at an antique farm show. Some nut poped a wheelie on a souped up lawn mower , lost control and missed my off side horse by less than a cat whisker. Thank goodness the crowd was a little thin at that particular point or when they shied they could have stepped on someone. They remained completely under control… but the possibility of a wreck was there. If you have any reservations… pass. I don’t go to events like that any more but people are welcome to come to the farm and see what we do.

[Plowboy]

We have done a lot of parades in the last 20 yrs. While they are not my favorite thing to do we have never had a problem. We have been blessed with several great teams over the years and if I couldn’t trust them I wouldn’t have taken them. I’ve never felt I was putting them in a stressfull situation either. My Maggie mare went in a centennial parade at 2 hauling the founding members of the local fire department teamed with her rock solid mother. She shyed at a new culvert sitting at the end of the road waiting to be replaced by the highway dept. on the way. I was panicking inside but when we got to the parade the fire trucks, antique cars with funny horns and loud pipes, the crowds applause nothing fazed her. Even our more nervous gelding loves public appearances, children and music. Jenn you have to make the call but if you can read your team and have the confidence you will probably be alright. We do a lot of public work more for the money than the love of doing it. If it wasn’t hard to turn down the money I wouldn’t choose to do it at all but it has it’s rewards. Little kids going nose to nose with a 1600# horse for the first time or the old timers reminiscing about the teams their folks had back when farming with a team was the norm. Good luck Jenn

[Donn Hewes]

I am in agreement with much of what has been said, but I would add this. The nut on the lawn mower could have killed some one with out any horses around. There are risks in every day life. I would look at parades as an extra special challenge for my horses, only the best horses belong there. I would use the same standard I use for all my equipment and special situations. NOT, can this horse make it through this, but can he be calm and relaxed while doing a parade? It will still be true that the farther we get from the farm, the more unexpected things can be thrown at us (literally), but we know we have taken the best teams to town. I used to enjoy parades, but I got tired of the time spent waiting, now a days I don’t truck horses, but if a friend wanted me to ride along I might find it fun. I really want an old fire engine (steamer) that we can take the blinders off and get the steam up and let the horses run with. Come to think of it, I will just keep making hay!

[jac]

we do quite a few parades and so far have never had a problem in 20 odd yrs.. I would add that farm horses tend to be driven by voice command a lot and we tend to rely less on line control .. A parade team need to drive on the lines and respond instantly..we have been in situations where the noise means the team cant hear me.. their ears give the game away.. so if your gut tells you either you or the team arent good to go then dont !!!..
John

[Carl Russell]

I just want to reiterate that I don’t see the problem resting with the horses. I have taken my horses to town, along route 12, with 18 wheelers, railroad tracks, etc. I have every expectation that mt horses can handle the stress of a parade, or any other situation, but my point was about MY responsibility as a teamster.

I feel that the result of taking my horses to town may be marginal, seeing as I have a truck to run errands, but there is conditioning and the items that I pick up to justify the expedition.

The reward from a parade is nil, in my mind. Everyone else gets LOVES seeing the horses, and I guess I’m supposed to take that to the bank, but IF something goes wrong, I’ll bet my bottom dollar those same people will be frantic about the misbehaving horses.

Also when I work my horses, I plan on ways that I can stop them in safe and secure way, so that I can address any unintended problems. At a parade with thousands of people standing 10 deep along the street, there is no safe place to go to.

I feel that it is unfair and disrespectful of me to disregard my end of the teamster relationship and subject my animals to the potential that I will not be able to substantiate the trust they have in me. They will follow me to the end of the earth BECAUSE they KNOW I will keep them safe.

I also admire horses and other animals that do parades. I just can’t find the value in it for me.

Carl

[Demented Donkey Dame]

Teamdonk just finished doing three parades in three days.:) I have to say you really need to have everything as perfect as you can before you even think about parades. Combining people and animals is so dangerous. The larger the parade the more alert you have to be for potential problems. By the third day the boys had it down to where they were really calm, the second day not so good in one area. 😮 There are photos and stories on the blog and some nice team pictures also http://www.2011teamdonk.wordpress.com just keep going back through the posts.

We had candy being thrown from the float in front of us and tiny little ones were often right in front of me where I could not see them… hate stuff like that. Especially when you have a revving engine behind you that scares the heck out of the donks. One day the egg toss was not cleaned up very well and the boys did not want to enter that block, I thought they were going to go through the crowd or jack knife the buckboard but they did finally straighten out and go forward. I had to really hang on and talk them through that block, they trust me and listen but it was stressful. Fourth of July always brings out the fireworks so make sure your animals are about bomb proof. We had two jets fly over the parade but they came and went so quickly it really was a non issue.

Parades are tough, I love the tiny little ones like the one Robert and I did in White Bird, that was fun! We have five parades under our belts for this year. Here’s a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiF355x3NIQ of Teamdonk’s first parade as a team and the light colored donkeys very first parade. We are to wards the end of the video and it can be fast forwarded if you like. You will know us by the sounds of our hames bells. We hope to be there in 2011 with a Teamdonk #2 and the buckboard. Depending on how haying goes by July 16th. It’s a good one for a first time event, gives us a starting place. I may use one of the been there done it guys with a new one that has not seen a parade but has been driving in White Bird.

Just be safe everyone when you do parades or any public appearances.

[Author]

Posts