Your Drive Day

[Marsha Cassada]

I buckle the halter around Dapper Dan's neck until I am ready to get in and drive.

I trained the last three horses to stand untied for hitching and that was much better. But Dapper Dan is too old to learn that new trick and I wouldn't trust him. I didn't know about training for that when DD and I got started together.

Working alone you gotta do what you gotta do. But, frankly, I would not do the hay bag. I think that could lead to all kinds of annoying habits later.

 

[Northwolf]

My horses always learned to stand untied while hitching. For the unhitching too. It always worked great, even my 30 yo shetland gelding who was trained to drive again at the age of 25 (he had an accident at the age of 13 and wasn't drove for years). A good trick is to condition the horses always to get a goody BEFORE they start walking. I learned this trick from a therapy horse trainer - the horses never should walk away until the patient climbed up safely and the goody was the safe sign for the horse "now we're finished and it's ok to react to the GO-signal from now on". I'm not a big fan of feeding goodies all the time, but for this case it's worth to me to give a little treat. If they take a chance to do one or more steps before I hitched completely, they have to go backwards consequently.

Yesterday evening I shipped Massai and Teddy to drive with a friend of mine. I drove Massai with the sulky and Teddy ground-driven aside him. We enjoyed really! Terrain was flat and my horses were very easy-going, just had to slow them down all the time to not leave the (much taller) shetlands of my friend behind

 

[Cayuse]

Thanks for all your replies. As much as I hope he will learn to stand on his own, without a header, I have my doubts, but he may surprise me someday. Northwolf, the goodies are good idea, but he can't be hand fed as he used to be a biter. He is not without his faults, lol. He is however very loyal and a blast to drive. Of my three, he is my favorite.

Here is a picture of him taken last week.

 

[Cayuse]

Well I tried again. Looks like we got two for the price of one. He's my "Bestie"

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The trainer who helped me with Rowdy is very big into Showmanship. She is a firm believer that it is a good basis for any training. She showed me how to teach Rowdy to stand for hitching. It also came in handy when we were walking; I pick up litter on my walks and it was convenient to leave Rowdy on a Stand in the road while I went down into the ditch for trash.

I have my doubts I could ever teach Dapper Dan to stand like that. But now that it is just the two of us, maybe I will work on it.

 

[Cayuse]

Can I ask how you and she trains them to stand? I put them into position (like in showmanship, feet squared up)and verbally tell them to "stand" and when them move out of position, place their feet back into position. If they stand to say 45 seconds or whatever to start with, I praise them and we go on to some other task. I increase the length of time that we stand as they get better at it. Cappy is in the middle of this lesson right now. You should've seen his first showmanship class last month ? it was quite lively.

I try to practice it after they have been worked, their attention span is longer then. Peanut will stand perfectly to be UNhitched because the edge is off him then.

Does Dapper Dan fidget?

 

[MajorClementine]

Clementine has her good days and her bad days when it comes to standing to be hitched. I've found that it's just easier for me to keep that halter around her neck. She knows it means "stand still" and so she does. If she's naughty and I have to fight her hitching up then I get worked up then we both have a crappy drive. I wish I was a more patient person but I have to admit that I'm not and do things to help me avoid extra stress.

I'm headed down to the barn as soon as my foster kitty gets dropped off. She got spayed today and her little brother has been meowing his lungs out all day.... I prob won't drive tonight but I want to get Clementine's mane braided over to the other side. She still has bit of a cresty neck and her mane is starting to pull it over just a bit. I want to flop her mane to the other side to keep that crest from falling over on me. I may work them both in the round pen just a bit but I also need to feed the big guys, bute one mare, and change water so I don't think harnessing up is in my time frame. However, my son is off camping and I have a free morning tomorrow...

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Can I ask how you and she trains them to stand? I put them into position (like in showmanship, feet squared up)and verbally tell them to "stand" and when them move out of position, place their feet back into position. If they stand to say 45 seconds or whatever to start with, I praise them and we go on to some other task. I increase the length of time that we stand as they get better at it. Cappy is in the middle of this lesson right now. You should've seen his first showmanship class last month it was quite lively.

I try to practice it after they have been worked, their attention span is longer then. Peanut will stand perfectly to be UNhitched because the edge is off him then.

Does Dapper Dan fidget?

I believe it is consistency that is the answer. She practiced it while she was cleaning the pen or working around them. They were not allowed to graze while on the Stand. She used the whip and lead to cue their feet into the proper stance. I am not into Showmanship, so I did not worry about that; I just wanted them to stand untied.

I do plan to work with Dapper Dan on Stand. Too busy in the mornings and later it is too hot. Excuses, excuses...

 

[Cayuse]

Cappy has figured out his mouth doesn't HAVE to be so busy ☺. The last two times out he has been pretty quiet, some chewing but no more of the "bubblegum" mouth.

MajorClem have you tried your new snaffle yet?

 

[jventresca]

MajorClemintine - If your mare's crest is starting to fall over she may need magnesium in her diet. Just a little bit extra can prevent her crest from"breaking". Any feed mill that mixes their own grain will have some on hand as an additive. My local mill let me purchase a 10 lb bag. I added about 2 tablespoons to my problem horse's feeds for a few months and his crest is fine. It's been about 15 years.

I have a wiggler too. I keep setting him up so his feet are square and telling him stand. He's just a little better after a month. Took him to his first show. He drove very well, doing a wonderful slow trot and showing a little lengthen for the strong trot. He did not stand in line though. I made sure we were at the end of the line up with plenty of room between him and the next horse. When he got too twitchy we made a circle. In a field of 5 we still placed 4th in Turnout and 3rd in Reinsmanship. I was pretty happy with that.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have a wiggler too. I keep setting him up so his feet are square and telling him stand. He's just a little better after a month. Took him to his first show. He drove very well, doing a wonderful slow trot and showing a little lengthen for the strong trot. He did not stand in line though. I made sure we were at the end of the line up with plenty of room between him and the next horse. When he got too twitchy we made a circle. In a field of 5 we still placed 4th in Turnout and 3rd in Reinsmanship. I was pretty happy with that.

Congratulations!

 

[Cayuse]

Jaye, congratulations on your mini's maiden voyage. Sounds like it was smooth sailing for almost all of it!

I had Peanut out ground driving in the tall grass yesterday and a garden snake about 14 inches long slithered right between his front legs, he arched his neck to look but didn't miss a beat.

Today while I was driving him in our field, he kept giving every tree root we trotted by the stink eye and double take. I guess he thought the snake was back and had grown into a python...

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I went to the local horse sale, which is held once a month, since I am looking for another horse. Wish I had not gone. I came home and groomed Dapper Dan; I felt so sorry for the little hroses I saw there it made me want to brush my own. I haven't been to the sale in a few years; guess it will be a few more before I go back. On the way home I stopped at a horse acquaintance, as I saw a little hrose in her pasture. She said it is for their 2 year old and he will have outgrown him by fall. So, I will wait for him. He is 10, a silver dapple, the same size as Dapper Dan and she said he has a very nice temperament.

 

[jeanniecogan]

Yes Marsha, the sales are so sad. I raised dogs for years and realised there are so many abused animals out there that i didn' want to add to the population anymore.

I am glad you found a mini at your friends, i hope it works out for you. temperment is sooo important.

 

[Cayuse]

Sometimes the good things in life find US in a round about way, sounds like you've been found! Silver dapples are stunning. Does the little guy have a name?

I can't go to a horse sale either, I went to one or two many years ago and that was enough. It makes you want to hold on to the ones you have really tight.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sometimes the good things in life find US in a round about way, sounds like you've been found! Silver dapples are stunning. Does the little guy have a name?

I can't go to a horse sale either, I went to one or two many years ago and that was enough. It makes you want to hold on to the ones you have really tight.

Sometimes the good things in life find US in a round about way, sounds like you've been found! Silver dapples are stunning. Does the little guy have a name?

I can't go to a horse sale either, I went to one or two many years ago and that was enough. It makes you want to hold on to the ones you have really tight.

Unfortunately, his name is Bubba. I think he already knows his name so I probably couldn't change it. Hope they don't wait too long to call me, as he needs his feet done badly and I think he has parasites. I mentioned it to them and they are going to get some wormer from the vet. They were unsure how to dose a miniature. And their trimmer doesn't know how to do miniature feet. He is not registered.

There was one mare at the sale I went to check on. She was 7. Very poor, but she had possibilities. but when I put the lead on her and looked closer, the skin stuff wasn't herd damage, but that dreaded skin stuff that has no cure. Been there; done that. So I walked away. I've done my share of rescue but at this time in my life I need a horse I can use. And good hroses need homes also. So, I will wait for a good one.

 

[Cayuse]

One of the first ponies I learned to ride on was a "Bubba" and he was a REALLY good guy so maybe the name will bring you luck! He was not a mini, probably a grade Shetland about 10 or so hands. A good egg.

I think you are doing the right thing by waiting. My husband and I adopted a rescue (big horse) a few years back that animal control seized due to starvation and it was not something I would want to do again at this stage in my life, sad to say. We had her two years and she was a wonderful horse, but she was older and the damage that was done by poor care caught up with her in the end. We miss her a lot. My husband still can't talk about her without getting teary. Before we got Peanut we thought about fostering for the shelter, but we decided against it. It makes me feel guilty, but like you said, other ones need homes too.

 

[Northwolf]

I never visited a horse sale, I'm glad about that. Luckily, it's not usual in my country to sale horses on sales like that. They're commonly selled via advertisments and the seller mostly visit the horse and take a look with or without veterinary advice before buying.

My shetland Massai is adopted from a rescue too. He was at the age of 4 and he only was 1 year in bad care. He was hold in a pig barn for this time

He had health problems like parasits, digestive problems and always increased liver values for many years and his growth was poor until he was 8 (he looked like a 2-year-old when he was 7... ). Then he started to regenerate and developed very well, got some muscles and a shiny fur. He got more self-confidence too. I never, never regret I got him because he's now the best horse I've ever had

Because we actually have two retired ponies in our barn, I was focused on healthy horses when I was looking for a teammate for Massai. It's a lot of work to take care of a rescued horse and it can take years until they're regenerated. I needed a horse for driving immediatly because Massai is now 16 years old and I wanted to have a teammate for him before he starts to get old. And there are a lot of healthy horses that need a home too, like you said.

Marsha, sounds there and I hope it will work with "Bubba"

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I've been working on the Stand with Dapper Dan. He is working really well with me now that Rowdy is gone. Maybe they were not good for each other. Maybe because he is an "only" he is working better.

 

[KLJcowgirl]

I hope it's ok I jump into this thread so late in the game. I enjoy reading it and have learned some things I'd like to try. I also think it's a great way to track progress, for everyone!

I wanted to add too, I like Bubba as a nick name (we still call my youngest brother that), but I don't know if I could use it as an actual name haha hopefully he works out.

I just wanted to post about the last drive I did with little Miss May. It was the fifth I've done with her in the cart and the longest. Probably around 45 minutes. She worked like a pro (pfffhhhhht, like I know how a pro works haha it just felt so good). She really threw her body into it. She put her head down, held her nose at the vertical and lifted her body. It gave her such a smooth floaty trot, well, smooth for her, she's pretty choppy and bouncy.

We did have a couple things test her, but she came out a champ. First thing that threw her was a backhoe parked in someone's lawn with the bucked almost in the road. This was within the first couple blocks, so she was fairly fresh. She looked up at it and said "Nope" with a little startled jump and turned right around. She wasn't out of control or quick, just turned. I turned her back and trotted her toward it. She gawked at it, but went past it this time, albeit a little quick.

In my town, there are a number of girls who ride their horses around the roads. They don't REALLY know how to ride and goof off a lot. Nice girls, it's just hard to work when they're around. They were the second thing that happened...

I saw two of them a couple blocks up from me and just hoped they would leave me alone. Well they picked up a trot and started heading toward us. I pushed May into a faster trot to stay ahead of them (how I was going to out run them with our little legs I don't know haha) Well I turned up and down blocks a few times like you do when you think someone is following you in your car haha Well they ended up running up behind me at a gallop, so I know they were following us. Miss May threw her head up, started snorting, and flagged her tail (honestly pretty cute). She picked up her gait and seriously looked like a little Saddlebred. She started swerving back and forth as the girls gained on us.

I was going to yell at them, but was to focused on keeping little Miss under control. I managed to turn and get halfway down a block and the girls stopped in the intersection, so I wasn't even close enough to yell at them... but I was fuming. I don't know what they were doing, but I was not impressed. I did turn my head and gave them a "What the Heck!?" glare (I've been told I have a pretty mean face). Miss May put her head back down and acted like nothing had happened.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. I did have to push a couple dogs away from us with the whip, but most people are pretty good about calling their dogs back. And I have yet to encounter an aggressive dog, most are just curious and Miss May has absolutely no problem with dogs.

I also got myself a Slow Moving Vehicle triangle. It's way bigger than I thought it would be and is a fabric one that Velcros on. I love it. I do think it made a difference with cars coming up behind me so that was nice too.

Fewh, novel over.