Started working with Seven again....

[lucky seven]

Did a long grooming session, then started walking and reinforcing verbal commands to start him with his driving training. We have been working on walk and whoa all along but added gee and haw for turning left and right. Are these the two words that most of you use? He was very receptive which really surprised me. My biggest worry is the old guy, if I work with Seven at all he starts acting up and is a real jerk. After a few minutes of watching him trying to get Seven to imitate him and be a bad boy, I give up so he doesn't think that ending our session is a reward for being naughty. I get so furious that I threaten to find another mini to keep Franko company so that Seven can spend some bonding time with me.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Sounds like your older mini is suffering separation anxiety (buddy sour) He doesn't behave that way to annoy you he just doesn't feel safe without his pal with him. As long as he is safe and can't hurt himself I would just ignore his antics and continue on working with Seven. It is good for Seven to learn to focus on you even when his buddy is throwing a fit too. As for using 'Gee' and 'Haw' I don't know too many people who use those words, some old draft horse drivers will be heard using them but most people just use the rein cues to indicate turns except during speed work such as in a combined driving event when you can hear some calling out "over hard" or the like. If you are comfortable using the words I say go ahead tho, if you are driving for pleasure not show you are free to suit yourself. In the show ring you won't hear many verbal cues since other horses may be disturbed by it.

 

[lucky seven]

Thanks, I wasn't sure what everyone did as I don't remember anything being said during training sessions discussed here. I'm just using a halter and lead for now until I buy a harness that will fit him. He has gone from wearing a small pony to extra large mini and even that is one the first hole. So I need to remeasure him for a proper fit. The harness I have is way too big, which is a good thing.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Try putting your other horse out of sight. You might even consider taking Seven to a whole different area where he can focus on you. Or tie the other in plain sight where you are working Seven and see if that helps. If he can see his buddy he might relax. Being buddy sour is very stressful on the animal; maybe things will get easier as you take Seven out, then return him and his buddy sees he always comes back. The buddy sour thing is a real pain; you just have to patiently persevere.

I have never used verbal commands. You might try searching this forum and see some other comments about it, as I know the topic has come up in the past.

Good luck with your progress! Sounds like you have a good start.

 

[candycar]

I just say "turn" and give the rein cue. "Come and Get" are the carriage horse terms, I can't remember which is which, that's why I say "turn". LOL!

 

[lucky seven]

Come and get are easy, I'll start using them to get him used to turning one direction or the other.

 

[BSharpRanch]

I am doing mostly teamwork now and any personal horse I start I talk to a lot, using their name just before a command.

I currently drive a four-up and will be doing six soon. I need the horses up front to understand their personal names, their location name and team name. Plus Gee, Haw, Whoa, Easy and Back. When horses are all hooked together, rein cues can and do get muddied which can be really confusing if that is all you rely on for communication.

When I drive single I usually use mostly rein, but if the horse is on the team I will use soft team words as reinforcement.

 

[paintponylvr]

The others stated it.

Since I work my current ponies mostly in draft/work harness - I use the Draft Teamster words - haw - for left and Gee for right (there are actually a few other commands, too). However, I only use them when I want a sharper/tight turn (such as a pivot). I also use whoa, stand, step up, their name in front of a command, EZ, and voice commands for gaits - such as walk, ter-rot, can- ter. Since mine learn to lounge before they are ground driven, they also get sounds for gaits - cluck for trot and kiss for canter and I vary them in while driving as well. I have to think about it as I thought I was using a couple of other commands but I'm not remembering them right now. Also, I no longer use the haw/gee commands when I have a pleasure harness on mine - only when they are wearing a work harness. They know the difference. It's the same as switching from western to english riding - they learn a different way of carriage based on what they are "wearing".

If you go to a CDE competition you will hear all kinds of vocabulary and at an international event - different languages alltogether. Not every driver uses the same commands and some will use different commands while driving the dressage pattern vs what they use on the marathon course. Also some "purr" or "growl" - which means different things to different teams! It's really fun trying to figure out what some are asking their singles/teams to do!!

ADD - Forgot this - the Teamsters I visit with at various Plow Days also said you really should use only single syllable names for a "working" horse. Makes it much easier to call them by name when working more than one at a time. AND don't make the mistake of naming one similar to the commands you will eventually be using. "GG"s name can be confusing when prefaced before the command "Gee",

. I didn't know this before the barn name "stuck"... So I usually start with GG, then say Bell (her dam and current driving partner) - Gee.

Pic of Bell (left) and GG (rite)

and it's really wild hearing the teamster calling all of these horses by name!!

 

[lucky seven]

I would love to watch a CDE, I'll have to check out the NY State site to see when and where they are held. Thanks for the help.

 

[paintponylvr]

You are welcome - when you go to a driving event, let us know what you hear for various commands. That could be great fun!

You should see the big guy driving the 6 to a plow. He's a big puddle of mush when it comes to his horses. Really cool, they DO work for him and they don't get away with bad behavior BUT they are his "babies" and they know it when they aren't working!!

 

[jeanniecogan]

Boy , that was very interesting, i am just starting to put my two together and was going to look on google for the words. i used to know them buttttt. anyhow. thanks everyone. good luck with your teams./