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I didn't realize that Buckly and Pistol were so similar. Pistol is 8 and was also a stallion. He hadn't been handled but he's gotten over that. Have you already introduced Buckl to the bit? I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to pick your brain as to what you are doing with him because I've never started one driving before. We've gotten as far as introducing all parts of the harness and one session with "shafts". After that I'm at a bit of a loss....
Buckly took to the bit with no trouble at all. He never even chewed it. First horse I've ever started that took it so easily. Maybe Pistol will also. I do the bit before any other harness parts. Maybe that's not the right way. I let them wear it around for a while, and take them for walks with it under the halter.
 
Maybe next week I can drive. It is supposed to warm up to the mid 30's. It has been so cold here the weatherman said to keep the horses!in (along with other animals) if you have them. I have never heard that before about horses around here. I had them out about 15/minutes!to clean!stalls. They are quite feisty. Lots of running and prancing went on. Bouncy Ponies.
 
We are in the deep freeze here, also. I board my boys, so I haven’t even seen them in a week! Today we’re supposed to get almost to 30*, but it’s my daughter’s birthday and I have to work, so probably only cookies and grooming today. The rest of the week looks much warmer, so I will try to make up for lost time!
 
We had up to 60 last week, and a storm that causes damage. Mud, mud, and more mud on the roads... There are a lot of fallen trees in our forest, so we had to go alternative routes. Not all are passable for carts, so I had to give way to a road with more traffic. Yesterday, I drove the tandem Massai and Teddy on a road that we've never drove before. On a crossroad, Massai (the front horse) wanted to go not that way I've planned to drive; he wanted to go the left direction as I asked for the right. We discussed a while, until I unhitched him and drove Teddy alone for passing the traveled road, then we reached a road with less traffic. I hitched Massai again in the front and drove along. He asked a few times again to go another direction as I wanted, but he took my orders and he stays controllable. It was ok and he did a good job in the end.

I'm not sure what was the problem at the crossroad, I'd NEVER ever had that sort of problems with Massai. Hope this was the first and the last time. I decided to practise more with the tandem in the next time. It should be more reliable, but it's also my fault because I didn't practise enough the tandem on unknown roads.
 
I bet Massai just got himself a little confused if he is still a little bit unsure in his role as lead horse.

He probably will be fine the next time out. It would help if we could read their minds!

Today I ground drove Cappy and he was pretty bad. He did a lot of chewing and head tossing. He seemed really irritated around his ears, so I investigated and found the bridle to be pulled forward into his ears. I put his other bridle on and he was a little better. I then tried Peanut's bridle on him (with Cappys bit) and he breathed a sigh of relief. I think he grew a little bit and his head has broadened. That plus the winter fur has made thing snugger. So I guess I need to go bridle shopping :-(
 
We are in the deep freeze here, also. I board my boys, so I haven’t even seen them in a week! Today we’re supposed to get almost to 30*, but it’s my daughter’s birthday and I have to work, so probably only cookies and grooming today. The rest of the week looks much warmer, so I will try to make up for lost time!
I just realized on your signature that you have an OTTB as well. I've got a 2000 model. Bold n' Easy whom we call Comic due to his April 1st birthday and his goofy antics of dunking EVERYTHING in his water and stealing hats and gloves from heads and pockets.

I'm headed south this weekend so hoping to drive.

My goals for the year are to get Candace and Major as a team and Clementine with Pistol. We'll see....lofty goals!
 
I know I won't be trying a team any time soon with my two, it would be mayhem ? . Anyone who drives a team has my admiration.

I did some ground driving with Cappy, used Peanut's bridle again and he was a good doobie. I have no idea what size to get him, À or B. The A fits with everything adjusted on the last (loosest) hole. The blinders could be a touch wider, but he seems happy, and actually drives better with them close. I am afraid if I go to a B it will be huge. I have "bridle fatigue" or something ever since the custom one I ordered year ago fit so badly. I will just have to measure, call and order!
 
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I just realized on your signature that you have an OTTB as well. I've got a 2000 model. Bold n' Easy whom we call Comic due to his April 1st birthday and his goofy antics of dunking EVERYTHING in his water and stealing hats and gloves from heads and pockets.

!
TheOTTBs can be quite the characters, can’t they? Festin is really my daughter’s horse, although my name is also on his adoption papers. He’s really a great horse, just a little too high maintenance for me. I like push button, go down the trail like I’m window shopping horses, and Festin needs to have someone in the pilots seat all the time. No one believes he’s 21 yrs old, he acts like a 4 yr old. Forever young, I guess.
 
I know I won't be trying a team any time soon with my two, it would be mayhem . Anyone who drives a team has my admiration.

I did some ground driving with Cappy, used Peanut's bridle again and he was a good doobie. I have no idea what size to get him, À or B. The A fits with everything adjusted on the last (loosest) hole. The blinders could be a touch wider, but he seems happy, and actually drives better with them close. I am afraid if I go to a B it will be huge. I have "bridle fatigue" or something ever since the custom one I ordered year ago fit so badly. I will just have to measure, call and order!
I think my easier team will be Candace and Major since Candace is so steady and isn't bothered by anything. Major and she already get along well and she can drive right or left and is a great helpmate. Clementine and Pistol will be more of a challenge as Clementine has quite a bit more "spunk" than Candace and Pistol is still spooky about things. He'll be getting lots and lots of desensitizing and ground driving before he's ever on a cart and the two of them will get lots of groundwork as a team before they are ever hitched to anything with a human in it. I think Pistol has the mind for it he'll just be a little more work.

TheOTTBs can be quite the characters, can’t they? Festin is really my daughter’s horse, although my name is also on his adoption papers. He’s really a great horse, just a little too high maintenance for me. I like push button, go down the trail like I’m window shopping horses, and Festin needs to have someone in the pilots seat all the time. No one believes he’s 21 yrs old, he acts like a 4 yr old. Forever young, I guess.
I'm getting to the point I'd like a quiet horse as well. Comic was given to me by my grandfather when he pulled his last horses off the track. Comic was 6 at the time. He was the first horse that I called my own. My parents and I had two of my grandfathers OTTBs already that we shared between the three of us. The mare my mom still rides (also 21) is a handful all of the time. I can't say much against Comic's character since he's always taken good care of me. The spring he turned 11 it's like his brain finally kicked in and he mellowed out a lot. However, he is still very co-dependent and if he's riding out with another horse don't even think about trying to split them up. Talk about throwing a fit!

Glad Festin found a good home with you and your daughter. They are a horse class all their own for sure.
 
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MajorClem are you starting to work with Major again? That would be cool if he would team up with Candace.
Now that I have the arena to work him in I'm going to try with him again. He's very accepting of the harness and cart. He's just a little more reactive than I'd like him to be. I'm hoping that pairing him with Candace will help him with that since she is so steady. He's a very willing horse but just not confident on his own. He hollers at the other minis if I take them out driving where they don't care if they go out alone or if he leaves them. I think being part of a team may be the ticket for him. I'm going to ground drive him some more on his own then try some groundwork with him and Candace together. She's patient and steady so I've got my fingers crossed.

My plan for this weekend is to get Clementine and Candace both out for individual work. A drive for Candace and a drive or ground driving for Clementine depending on how she is feeling. I'm also wanting to work on some desensitizing and introducing a bit with Pistol and ground driving with Major.

If things are going really well I'd like to take a turn driving the Fjords (dad usually works them while I work the minis) and take Comic out on a trail ride now that I've got his foot pain under control.

I think my weekend plans may be overly ambitious....
 
I hope the days are longer out there than they are here! Sounds like you will need every minute of daylight to get all the training done. We are dark at 4:30 ish.

I ground drove Wee-nut today, he was so happy to have something to do. They are all getting!the winter doldrums. Today I did not get snapped at when girthing him. He didn't even offer to. I don't think it even crossed his mind to try, and that was a satisfying

moment. I put him on a antacid/hindgut supplement about six or so weeks ago and it is helping him a lot. He is less gassy (he said I wasn't supposed to talk about that :) and seems generally happier when being brushed and worked with.
 
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So glad the supplement is helping. I've got Clem back on her supplements and she seems less witchy today.

I ground drove Clementine today. She was giving me a bit of attitude and I wasn't sure if that was because her witchy attitude lately has gotten her out of work or because she hurts. She's not nearly as sensitive in the gut as she was... I would say she's at 90%. So I figured that her cruddy attitude wasn't going to get her out of light duty work. She tossed her head and gave me fits for the first 7-10 minutes then settled in (as much as she ever does) and quieted down a lot. We worked cones and around the arena for another 10-12 minutes then I called it quits. We ended on a good note and she didn't try her spin maneuver on me so I count it as a win.

After Clementine I hitched Candace. Dad drove the Fjords, our friend drove Smokey, and I drove Candace. I noticed, when harnessing, how "stumpy" Smokey's legs looked. Then when driving next to him I thought "wow his face is long and his nose is kind of big". Then it hit me. I believe that Smokey has the dwarf gene. It doesn't make him any less of a horse that's for sure. He's right up there with Candace the wonder mini at half her age. He's also a gelding so no worries of him passing the gene on. It was just an observation.

It was really fun to drive with another mini. I've only ever driven together with the big guys. It was so great to have someone else on my level and going my pace that I could chat with.
 
Clementine was 100% better for me from the beginning. Her attitude was better. She didn't show any signs of tenderness, pain, or irritation when I brushed or pushed all around her sides and belly. She was so much more calm as well. I think having a short and constructive lesson yesterday followed by another today was a good idea. She did try me a few times, bolting forward a few steps for no reason other than to see if I was awake but that's very typical of her. She settled into a walk with her head low and was much more quiet with her mouth and head.

We introduced Pistol to the bit today. He did play with it quite a bit but didn't fight or chomp it. We led him around with his halter on under the bridle. We did hook the reins to the bit after a while and I put gentle pressure on the bit to turn while my dad led him with his halter still. By the end of it he was walking behind my dad with a slack lead and bending his head with my gentle pulls. We ended on that note. He's got a good mind and is taking everything really well. For now we'll just keep working all the little steps over and over before we go forward anymore. I want to make sure he's solid with the handful of things we've thrown his way before we add more to the list.

My son drove Candace in the arena then up and down the road while we walked Pistol next to, in front of, and behind the wagonette to get him used to seeing and hearing it. It was a family affair today for sure.

Tomorrow I'm going to hitch Clementine for a light drive. She gets bored easily and prefers driving to ground driving and is usually better behaved. So after her good willing attitude ground driving today we'll go out for a bit.
 
Hey y'all!! *Wave, wave*

Headed out now to do my bit of groundwork with Spanky while it's mild and sunny.

We are just getting started on a structured training schedule for us all. I'm looking forward to sharing our progress. Here are a couple of pics from the start of the snow last week:

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I need some advise or commiseration. I ground drove Cappy today. We started off in the "spotted" betathane harness that has been problematic. I wanted my husband to see the trouble I was having with it and the difference in the horses attitude when wearing it as opposed to the leather harness. He bought me the harness as a gift and I didn't want to tell him I wasn't going to use it without him seeing why.

We started of with both spotted bridle and harness, the complete set. Sure enough, Cappy was obnoxious, shaking his head, mouthing the bit, whirling, generally all worked up. Thrashing his head so bad he undoes the over check.

So I changed the bridle. Some improvement noted. Changed the rest of the harness and he reverts back to his normal old self. My husband agreed, something about the spotted harness is setting him off.

Peanut acts the same exact way in this darn spotted harness.

Its official. They hate the harness and I hate the harness.

I have gone over every inch of it and can't really see an fit issue except for the entire thing is extremely stiff and does not mould to them like leather would.

There is nothing sharp.

So, I guess my question is, has anyone had a harness that fit, but the horses

said different? If it was just one of them, I would say it was an attitude issue, but when both are saying "NO" and seem unhappy in the same way, I tend to think they are trying to tell me something.

I cleaned and boxed up the harness and it is going away! Hooray!

Thanks for listening. I promise I will speak no more of said harness!
 
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Dad had one draft horse that was like that. He hated the synthetic harnesses and, near as we could tell, the fit was the same. I think some horses are more sensitive to the fit and feel of the harness than others. Some will wear anything, some like what they know. Maybe that harness had something that you couldn't see but was rubbing or pinching somewhere when put on. Something that looks fine when you inspect the harness but goes wrong in a way that you can't see when it's all buckled on. Props to you for listening to your horses. Sorry it didn't work out. Spotted harnesses are so much fun!
 

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