A while back I had posted about doing long line work and Ground driving 101 and after reading it again, I really didn't give any tips or "how to" info.
Nope. Not much info there. So what to do? Well how about we start with equipment. If you plan on spending a good amount of time on the ground teaching the horse how to use their body, you'll probably want to invest in a decent surcingle. These are available online thru a number of companies- Dover, Jeffers, Smart Pak, Stateline, Big Dee's, Greenhawk and Valley Vet to name a few. Prices range from around $30 to a few $100 depending on what you want (synthetic vs leather, generic vs name brands) and how much you plan to spend. If you're working towards driving, the harness saddle can be used. I have the one from my good harness and also my old leather harness I started Kat in. I use either one, depending on the day.
You can also use a western saddle, tying your stirrups together underneath to limit swing and running the lines thru the stirrups. An English saddle can likely be used the same way or with the stirrups run up, but I personally haven't used mine or seen things done this way. That's not to say it can't be done, but just keep in mind the lines will be sliding thru your stirrups and possibly across the flaps if the stirrups are up and may eventually damage the leather.
Lines- can be either purchased or made. Local hardware and home improvement stores have 5/8" nylon rope in 100 foot lengths for around $10-$15 in a variety of colors. They also have snaps and you'll want to buy 3 snaps. Measure out 30' of rope and cut there. Melt the ends to stop them from fraying. Attaching a snap to this gives you a lunge line. The remaining length of rope should be 70'. Putting the ends together and cutting this in half, melting the ends, gives you 2 lines, 35' long. This is plenty of line for working a horse or pony. Attach the other 2 snaps to these lines and you're all set.
Bridle- this can be either a western or English bridle, I use both and for this work, the reins will need to come off. My choice of bits is typically a snaffle of some kind. Either a plain loose ring snaffle (on Kat), half cheek snaffle, an offset D-ring snaffle, regular D-ring snaffle, eggbutt snaffle or a loose ring French link. All relatively mild bits and something the horse/pony can be comfortable with. The biggest thing here is using a milder bit and teaching the horse they can be comfortable with it and still respond. I did use a pony size pelham on Kat once. No it is not a 'legal' bit for driving and yes I did need to use 4 lines (that was interesting and fun) and it did accomplish what I was trying to get accross to him, but we didn't make a habit of it.
Another thing I like to use is gloves. Lets face it- riding or driving we wear gloves for a completed, finished look. Driving it is a requirement. May as well get used to it now, right? My gloves are a heavy leather that I use not just for long line work but when doing stalls, loading/unloading hay? Moving brick, wood or whatever, to protect my hands. If the horse should pull the ropes thru your hands for any reason, gloves keep you from getting rope burns.
The next post we will get started. Hopefully things will have dried up enough that I can get some pics of the work and ways to start out to keep everything simple for both everyone and their horses.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Sunday, August 14, 2016
D.R.E.N.C.H.E.D.
I went out to see the horses over the weekend, feed and figured I would slip a little driving time in. I managed to do all three even though the skies were showing signs of a storm coming. Oh was it a storm....
I got Kat out, dusted him off, put the harness on and hitched him up. We headed off down the driveway without issue, Kat calmly walking out. When we got to the road he picked up his forward, ground covering troy. We got to the end of the road, took a right and kept on cruising. It felt really good to be back in the cart and Kat seemed happy to be exploring the new 'hood too. Although he had been putting his tongue over the bit again, I was back in AZ for a bit last week and picked up a new snaffle for him ($5 at the local feed supply. Woot!) so we could get some ground driving in and sort it out. Yeah we managed one session in the round pen in the lines and that was it.
Although he was a little strong in the bridle at times, I didn't fight him amd just kept making small adjustments to the reins. He would look left so I would take a hold of the right rein and tug, tug, tug, until I felt him soften up and same with him looking right and tugging the left rein to get his mind back in the game. Working him like this, I don't think he put his tongue over the bit once. Yay! Small victories... we take them and always celebrate them.
We got a ways down the road and I figured the sky isn't looking too promising so we had better turn back. Good thing we did. Just as we were in front of the property next door to the barn, it started to sprinkle. Not little, misty drops, but the big drops here and there. I was having Kat walk back this part, but figured it was only going to get worse so I let him bust into a trot again. By the time we got in the driveway it was starting to come down a little harder...
As I unbuckled everything as quick as I could, Kat stood like a statue like I had always taught him to. Everything clear, I flipped the cart up on its seat back, shafts in the air and pulled him into the barn as all hell broke loose and it started pouring. Lucky for me, as we came in the driveway, somebody there at the barn came out and was asking how to help. She pulled the cart into a shed while I took Kat in the barn. My tarp, lock and my friend K's cart was also whisked inside, doors shut and all good. I pulled the harness quick as I could and put Kat in his stall so I could help the woman and her girls get other horses settled and situated. There's a mare that I seen the other day and I have to say, she is Nice!!! She's also for sale. And was stuck out in the rain... I brought the mare in and then I had to go drain the water out of my boots. Literally. Seriously.
Because of This- view from the front porch of the barn
I got Kat out, dusted him off, put the harness on and hitched him up. We headed off down the driveway without issue, Kat calmly walking out. When we got to the road he picked up his forward, ground covering troy. We got to the end of the road, took a right and kept on cruising. It felt really good to be back in the cart and Kat seemed happy to be exploring the new 'hood too. Although he had been putting his tongue over the bit again, I was back in AZ for a bit last week and picked up a new snaffle for him ($5 at the local feed supply. Woot!) so we could get some ground driving in and sort it out. Yeah we managed one session in the round pen in the lines and that was it.
Although he was a little strong in the bridle at times, I didn't fight him amd just kept making small adjustments to the reins. He would look left so I would take a hold of the right rein and tug, tug, tug, until I felt him soften up and same with him looking right and tugging the left rein to get his mind back in the game. Working him like this, I don't think he put his tongue over the bit once. Yay! Small victories... we take them and always celebrate them.
We got a ways down the road and I figured the sky isn't looking too promising so we had better turn back. Good thing we did. Just as we were in front of the property next door to the barn, it started to sprinkle. Not little, misty drops, but the big drops here and there. I was having Kat walk back this part, but figured it was only going to get worse so I let him bust into a trot again. By the time we got in the driveway it was starting to come down a little harder...
As I unbuckled everything as quick as I could, Kat stood like a statue like I had always taught him to. Everything clear, I flipped the cart up on its seat back, shafts in the air and pulled him into the barn as all hell broke loose and it started pouring. Lucky for me, as we came in the driveway, somebody there at the barn came out and was asking how to help. She pulled the cart into a shed while I took Kat in the barn. My tarp, lock and my friend K's cart was also whisked inside, doors shut and all good. I pulled the harness quick as I could and put Kat in his stall so I could help the woman and her girls get other horses settled and situated. There's a mare that I seen the other day and I have to say, she is Nice!!! She's also for sale. And was stuck out in the rain... I brought the mare in and then I had to go drain the water out of my boots. Literally. Seriously.
Because of This- view from the front porch of the barn
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Take aways
Someone asked me the other day- what are some of the things I have either discovered or remember from the early part of training my pony to drive as I was learning the game myself?
Your flaws and mistakes in riding can and often DO carry over. Waaaay back in the days at one of the Arabian horse farms I worked at, the trainer asked me one day if I had ever ridden a bicycle? I had a tendancy to hold the horse with both hands. I asked for the turn with one hand, but didn't release the other hand allowing the horse to turn. I thought I had fixed it, but figured out I was doing it again with driving, just before our first clinic in the driving club.
I can remember doing BIG circles in the beginning. Lots of big circles in both directions. At one of the CDE's I believe, I was standing around near the dressage arena and remember hearing one of the upper level trainers say how much harder it is to do big circles than it is to do the smaller ones. I thought he was crazy. We had done a Lot of big circles. They seemed easy to me. Big circles is one of the things I feel helped me to win the reinsmanship class at our first driving show. Moving up a level, I always made sure to work on all size circles.
The value of ground driving and long line work is priceless. It is an art form in and of itself. I figured that once I put Kat to the cart, we didn't need to do anymore long line work. Ever. I could not have been more wrong on this. At one of our first ADT's I think it was, the woman who was consistantly beating us in dressage and then in turn the outcome of the day, told me that she probably does more work in long lines without the cart than she does with the cart and actually driving. She was beating us so there had to be something to it, right?
Although Kat is smart and tolerant beyond all means, while I have been treating him as a 'Point & Shoot' pony for the most part, he needs me for guidance a lot more than I have been there for him. At one of our last ADT's I realized that I may set him up for a cone, but usually we are a ways off. I line him up and expect it to happen. Seriously. Kat doesn't know his numbers, the pattern of the cones or probably that red cones are supposed to be on the right. But I expected him to perform and do the job, given half the information of where to go.
Trust is key. He trusts me to keep him safe, show him where to go and allow him to do his job. In turn I trust him not to do anything crazy, to behave himself and to listen to me as I try to be the herd leader he needs and respects. Sometimes one of us doesn't trust the other enough and things start to fall apart....... Like at a couple of the ADT's at different times, places and always in the hazards. Little man doesn't think I'm making the right choice on where or how to navigate a gate. For a moment or two it's a battle of wills to decide who wins. This usually ends with him almost doing a faceplant or smacking into a pole or something. You know, we just come really close to crashing into something. Next time around? Little man is submissive and relents, puts it all in MY hands to not blow it. He doesn't want to get hurt having a wreck. Neither do I, so we agree on that.
Your flaws and mistakes in riding can and often DO carry over. Waaaay back in the days at one of the Arabian horse farms I worked at, the trainer asked me one day if I had ever ridden a bicycle? I had a tendancy to hold the horse with both hands. I asked for the turn with one hand, but didn't release the other hand allowing the horse to turn. I thought I had fixed it, but figured out I was doing it again with driving, just before our first clinic in the driving club.
I can remember doing BIG circles in the beginning. Lots of big circles in both directions. At one of the CDE's I believe, I was standing around near the dressage arena and remember hearing one of the upper level trainers say how much harder it is to do big circles than it is to do the smaller ones. I thought he was crazy. We had done a Lot of big circles. They seemed easy to me. Big circles is one of the things I feel helped me to win the reinsmanship class at our first driving show. Moving up a level, I always made sure to work on all size circles.
The value of ground driving and long line work is priceless. It is an art form in and of itself. I figured that once I put Kat to the cart, we didn't need to do anymore long line work. Ever. I could not have been more wrong on this. At one of our first ADT's I think it was, the woman who was consistantly beating us in dressage and then in turn the outcome of the day, told me that she probably does more work in long lines without the cart than she does with the cart and actually driving. She was beating us so there had to be something to it, right?
Although Kat is smart and tolerant beyond all means, while I have been treating him as a 'Point & Shoot' pony for the most part, he needs me for guidance a lot more than I have been there for him. At one of our last ADT's I realized that I may set him up for a cone, but usually we are a ways off. I line him up and expect it to happen. Seriously. Kat doesn't know his numbers, the pattern of the cones or probably that red cones are supposed to be on the right. But I expected him to perform and do the job, given half the information of where to go.
Trust is key. He trusts me to keep him safe, show him where to go and allow him to do his job. In turn I trust him not to do anything crazy, to behave himself and to listen to me as I try to be the herd leader he needs and respects. Sometimes one of us doesn't trust the other enough and things start to fall apart....... Like at a couple of the ADT's at different times, places and always in the hazards. Little man doesn't think I'm making the right choice on where or how to navigate a gate. For a moment or two it's a battle of wills to decide who wins. This usually ends with him almost doing a faceplant or smacking into a pole or something. You know, we just come really close to crashing into something. Next time around? Little man is submissive and relents, puts it all in MY hands to not blow it. He doesn't want to get hurt having a wreck. Neither do I, so we agree on that.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Things on Pause
Since the move out of state, I haven't really gotten a lot of time to drive Katman and working my tb mare towards getting her going in harness has been shelfed again for a while.
When the kids were in school, I had a bit of time during the day to work horses and help them settle in. But then school was out for the summer and the kids are out on break. Although they do help out at the barn and have gotten to ride more lately, their riding has meant Kat learned a few things I need to work on and un-do.
Its all good and nothing major, just little things that can be easily fixed. I put a snaffle bridle on Kat for the girls to ride him. He was on a lunge line and they learned to steer him, but being partial to me, he didn't always want to walk away from me so he began putting his tongue over the bit again. Not a big deal with the kids riding at awalk, on the line in the round pen, but when I drove him again soon after that- even with the mullen mouth butterfly he was doing it and not responding like he should.
With the summer off, he will need some conditioning work before being put to the cart and driven more, so that will be a good time to long line him and get it all back on track. He's been enjoying his time off by grazing in front of the stall while I clean it. He doesn't wander off so why not? He's also gotten a hog as a next door neighbor and a sheep the other side of that, so he's getting used to the farm life pretty well. Funny thing is, there's a larger pen down back with about 6-8 wild pigs in it. First time he seen them move and heard the grunts coming from that direction- he was on HIGH alert. He was NOT going near them, didn't like going towards them. Didn't like going away from them with his back turned their direction and was just. Freaked. Out. The hog next to him? Doesn't bother him a bit.
Go figure!
When the kids were in school, I had a bit of time during the day to work horses and help them settle in. But then school was out for the summer and the kids are out on break. Although they do help out at the barn and have gotten to ride more lately, their riding has meant Kat learned a few things I need to work on and un-do.
Its all good and nothing major, just little things that can be easily fixed. I put a snaffle bridle on Kat for the girls to ride him. He was on a lunge line and they learned to steer him, but being partial to me, he didn't always want to walk away from me so he began putting his tongue over the bit again. Not a big deal with the kids riding at awalk, on the line in the round pen, but when I drove him again soon after that- even with the mullen mouth butterfly he was doing it and not responding like he should.
With the summer off, he will need some conditioning work before being put to the cart and driven more, so that will be a good time to long line him and get it all back on track. He's been enjoying his time off by grazing in front of the stall while I clean it. He doesn't wander off so why not? He's also gotten a hog as a next door neighbor and a sheep the other side of that, so he's getting used to the farm life pretty well. Funny thing is, there's a larger pen down back with about 6-8 wild pigs in it. First time he seen them move and heard the grunts coming from that direction- he was on HIGH alert. He was NOT going near them, didn't like going towards them. Didn't like going away from them with his back turned their direction and was just. Freaked. Out. The hog next to him? Doesn't bother him a bit.
Go figure!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Out with the old
While the whole issue with my now ex, has a lot more backstory to it (and let's face it, there's always a lot more to stories like his), for now I would like to wish everyone has had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a safe and fun 2015. With the new year coming up, there's sure to be changes, new things, chances to revisit old things and experiences to gain.
A friend of mine from the driving club has asked if we will be showing in AJ in a couple months. Not sure what's going on with that yet, but we'll see what happens.
Happy New Year!
A friend of mine from the driving club has asked if we will be showing in AJ in a couple months. Not sure what's going on with that yet, but we'll see what happens.
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Clear the air...
Since I posted about a year ago with our Dressage scores from the ADT's at Dale Creek and had mentioned that someone else had claimed to training my pony For me and what a total load of crap it was, I thought I would clear the air about the who said what and all of that.
In the comments of the post titled Dressage Scores from back in November of last year, in the comments Kaede had mentioned how it sounded like someone trying to start crap between me and another person.
In my post the following January, "All things considered" I elaborated on it all a bit more. How this person had told me on more than one occasion "Driving just isn't my thing", and then turning around and being all butt hurt because he didn't get to show my pony in only but a few classes the first year, then none at all the second year at the Pleasure Driving show.
The second year, I had told him it was coming up, printed out the entry form, handed it to him and told him when the closing dates were... fees per class, post entry fees, lunch costs, etc. and all that good stuff were right there on the form. When the day of the show came, he was pissed off because he wasn't showing at all. Ok but he had told me "Driving just isn't my thing." So what the hell??? Besides that, him being a trainer and all, he should know how to fill out entry forms, who has to sign them where and all of that happy crap that comes with showing horses. Am I right?
That folks, was none other than my so called husband Johnnie Rotten. This is only a small part of the crap handed down by him. It's amazing he didn't break his arm, while reaching around to pat himself on the back for a job not done. Surprise, surprise.... but not really. The horse world is a small one and people love to talk. As the song "Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon says, "Talk is cheap when the story is good, and the tale grows taller on down the line..." Only in this case the tales didn't need to grow at all. I couldn't have made this shit up if I tried and why would I want to anyways? And how fitting that it's a song about cheating. Apparently there was that going on too...
In the comments of the post titled Dressage Scores from back in November of last year, in the comments Kaede had mentioned how it sounded like someone trying to start crap between me and another person.
In my post the following January, "All things considered" I elaborated on it all a bit more. How this person had told me on more than one occasion "Driving just isn't my thing", and then turning around and being all butt hurt because he didn't get to show my pony in only but a few classes the first year, then none at all the second year at the Pleasure Driving show.
The second year, I had told him it was coming up, printed out the entry form, handed it to him and told him when the closing dates were... fees per class, post entry fees, lunch costs, etc. and all that good stuff were right there on the form. When the day of the show came, he was pissed off because he wasn't showing at all. Ok but he had told me "Driving just isn't my thing." So what the hell??? Besides that, him being a trainer and all, he should know how to fill out entry forms, who has to sign them where and all of that happy crap that comes with showing horses. Am I right?
That folks, was none other than my so called husband Johnnie Rotten. This is only a small part of the crap handed down by him. It's amazing he didn't break his arm, while reaching around to pat himself on the back for a job not done. Surprise, surprise.... but not really. The horse world is a small one and people love to talk. As the song "Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon says, "Talk is cheap when the story is good, and the tale grows taller on down the line..." Only in this case the tales didn't need to grow at all. I couldn't have made this shit up if I tried and why would I want to anyways? And how fitting that it's a song about cheating. Apparently there was that going on too...
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
This and that
Last time I posted was about the last time I drove Little Man. I pulled him out the other day and hooked him up. We went for a cruise around the hood and he seemed happy to be getting out and having something to do. It cracks me up how many people slow down, wave, make comments about how much fun that looks and watch almost in amazement as we go by.
Recently a house on the corner had a whole bunch of motorcycles and some cars & trucks gathered there. Seems they were honoring a friend who had passed on. As Kat and I went past, there were plenty of eyes on us and a lot of the bikers were looking on as if they wanted to try it. It's cool, because I was looking at their bikes much the same way. And Katman just trucked along, never missing a beat.
I may pull him out again soon and cruise the 'hood. He's such a fun pony to drive. I'd also like to get my TB mare going in harness. I just need the time... the cart... the harness.... LOL! For what its worth though, so far she is showing great promise as a driving horse. When I put the fake shafts on her, she went from Go! and not wanting to stop or walk, to NO! and didn't want to move at all.
Recently a house on the corner had a whole bunch of motorcycles and some cars & trucks gathered there. Seems they were honoring a friend who had passed on. As Kat and I went past, there were plenty of eyes on us and a lot of the bikers were looking on as if they wanted to try it. It's cool, because I was looking at their bikes much the same way. And Katman just trucked along, never missing a beat.
I may pull him out again soon and cruise the 'hood. He's such a fun pony to drive. I'd also like to get my TB mare going in harness. I just need the time... the cart... the harness.... LOL! For what its worth though, so far she is showing great promise as a driving horse. When I put the fake shafts on her, she went from Go! and not wanting to stop or walk, to NO! and didn't want to move at all.
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