standing

[Kristin]

We tapped half the sugarbush yesterday. There a lot of wet snow in the woods and the wagon kind of plowed through it. It was a good pull for the team but they got long rests while the crew ran around drilling holes and hanging buckets. I took the opportunity to work on getting the horses to stand quietly for an extended amount of time, something they’re not keen on. It was a great lesson for me. I found that if I corrected them for the small stuff, like pawing, biting at the pole, or rubbing faces on each other, they stayed focused and relaxed and never progressed to the larger infractions, like moving forward when they were supposed to be standing.

Speaking of standing, my favorite image from last year’s NEAPFD involves the older gentleman with the two strapping Belgian geldings who did a logging demo – I’m sure someone here knows his name. During the demo they worked beautifully, and afterward, with a bunch of fairgoers milling around, the teamster was telling stories about days in the woods. He was casually turned around in the logging cart, lines slack, despite all the commotion around. The big geldings stood like statues. When one of them tentatively put a foot forward a few inches the man turned his head toward them and barked “Back!” stretching the word out into several syllables and imbuing it with such rich distain that the horse actually looked embarrassed, and immediately put his foot back where it belonged. I was impressed. The lesson I took away was that just like with kids, it’s all about having high expectations, and enforcing them consistently.

Was wondering what others do to teach their teams to stand nicely?

[Carl Russell]

When they are tired, they do appreciate the rest, but that is really only part of it because a tired horse can be a trouble maker. I find that it has a lot to do with a clear distinction about the role of the command. If the teamster rattles on, or gives the animals little chance to react to a command before issuing another, then they lose respect and develop a sense of complacency.

Just like picking up feet, you hold it up, but even though your objective is to hold it for as long as you want, you need to put it down before the horse tries to take it back. Repeat and extend the time gradually.

Working horses that won’t stand with the expectation that they should stand while some other work is getting done, is only training them to get bored and fidget. They need to be taught that standing is an exercise like everything else you have them do.

If the teamster uses whoa as a way to have a chance to pay attention to something else, then the horses will know that they are on their own. When they know that they are on task whenever in harness, then standing will be their job.

Whoa should be administered as a reward, but it is not freedom. If they are prone to fidgeting, then practice stopping them long enough for them to relax, but before they get bored, be prepared with a movement task, like breaking trail while the crew taps out a loop, and come back and pick them up in a couple of minutes.

Sap running? Carl

[Kristin]

Yep, sap is running. Going out to collect now and then we’re going to fire up the evaporator, which is a nice excuse for a celebration.

Carl, been thinking about what you wrote and realized that one horse thinks of ‘stand’ as a command and remains on duty, while the other thinks of it as a kind of recess. I think the little corrections remind him that he is still on the job.

-Kristin

[Donn Hewes]

One thing I have gone out of my way to do, and think you were doing it today, is creating oppurtunities to teach standing. Many times I find with the short duration of certain farm tasks the horses don’t get alot of chances to practice standing. Just like anything else, you want to gradually build their ability to stand well. Some friends of mine were doing alot of garden cultivating and other light work for an hour or two at a time. They wanted to know how I got my horses to stand so well. We realized that their horses often went back to the barn with out having a chance to stand for very long. With a young team (or a new team) I will stop to talk to someone, pretend to be adjusting harness, or stand in front of them. Next time I will stand on the other side, or do something else. It may sound like I am waisting time but Standing well, (tired or not) is a critical skill for good farm horses in my opinion, and not one they learn over night but one they get better and better at as they are trained. Never skip a chance to make them stand.

[Plowboy]

The quickest way to get a colt to stand well is to hitch them with a good horse that stands well. It takes far less time to achieve a good standing horse this way. If the other horse stands quietly the colt is more at ease and relaxed. Just saw it today with our two year old hitched with a good 12 yr old gelding.

[CIW]

Most have spoken of standing while hitched.
Letting them stand at the hitch rail for several hours a day will help grow patience. Even if they aren’t to be hitched. Bringing them up to the rail is good.
We also have had good luck hitching the team to a wagon with its back end chained to something secure like a telephone pole. Our hitch rail is welded into the rebar of a large concrete slab. They can pull till they’re blue and it won’t move. This works especially well when they are tired after working.
I usually try to be working somewhere close when I do this. Like working in the shop or cleaning out the barn. Something where I can be within voice range of them and don’t need to walk past them, as it disturbs them.
Putting on harness can be a que or signal to stand still. Its really amazing how the demeanor of our teams will change as we throw harness. The mules realize that when that harness goes on, they may have to work at any time and become very conservative with their energy.

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