Your Drive Day

[Marsha Cassada]

Weather has been unfriendly for quite a while. I haven't done much with the horses. This makes Dapper Dan more attached to me when I go out and makes Midnight quite uppity. Or, as Uncle Remus would say "biggity". Running around freely in the pasture with nothing to do but eat and play has gone to her head. As soon as this latest round of cold-windy-wet passes, she will need some refreshers. It's satisfying to see her frisky and healthy, though.
I was asked to take on a horse this past week. Not a rescue exactly, as it is not starving, but living in a very unsuitable place. Not free, of course ($150). Strong temptation to take the horse, as one of my favorite things is getting a bedraggled, neglected horse and grooming and socializing it.
I decided against taking on the horse. She is a little taller than I'm comfortable with, and I have worked so hard to get rid of parasites here that I don't want to introduce a new horse now. And it takes all my energy to keep up with the two I have. I can't save the world, I can only do my best.

 

[Cayuse]

I wish I lived near you Marsha, I would take the horse and we could fix it up together. I need a project and love to fix them up like you do.
"Biggity" is running rampant in my barn, too. Fun to see them feeling good, but it makes working with them interesting.
I ground drove both of mine this weekend and Peanut was obnoxious but settled down. He always does this thing with his head, he pulls down and then snakey shakes his head. Usually when I ask for a walk to trot transition when he hasn't been worked in awhile. I was hoping that the habit would be gone this Spring, but his "Biggity" self pulled the trick out of his back pocket again . But we worked through it.
And Cappy was discouraging. He is SO good for Dan but he just gives me a hard time. I ground drove him today. Dan started out with him and he was great, I took over and he was pulling and diving for grass and shaking his head in a tantrum and when Dan took him back . . .he was just fine again. It puzzles me because in hand Cappy gives me no trouble and appears to like me. And I like Cappy! So where are we going wrong?

 

[Cayuse]

My farrier was here this morning and we had a conversation about Cappy. He said "Cappy is the way he is because he knows that you're a pushover". Probably some truth to that!

It was a gorgeous morning, warm enough not to have to wear gloves and a jacket so I took Peanut out for a spin and he was perfect. And happy .
Cappy can wait for his turn tomorrow. My head hurts and I am done for the day.

 

[Willow Flats]

Cayuse, I was just thinking that your Cappy sounds a little like my Annie. Maybe not, but she is more forward and confident than any other horse that I have had and can be pushy. Horses want to know that you can take care of yourself to be their leader, so I have had to step up my confidence and consistency when handling her. She periodically tests me, asking are you the leader today or am I the leader today? I am practicing being firm, but fair with her and then heaping praise on her when she does something right. Funny, my farrier once told me somebody needs to be the leader and your horse will do it if you don't.

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about contacting the breeder of Kriss; my other driving horse to find out more about his past, because his problems were not disclosed by the seller. A few days ago I contacted another woman listed on his paperwork and she confirmed that he had troubles which is why she sold him as a pasture pal, considering him unreliable and dangerous as a driving horse. She purchased him after a show and when she tried to drive him at home he blew up on her. He was very nervous when I got him home and hitched him at first. Then twice I brought him to a play day and he had a bad melt down both times! But I have been driving him for almost two years here at home with no problems until now. I am only going to work him in hand which is all I can do safely when I am by myself during the week.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My farrier was here this morning and we had a conversation about Cappy. He said "Cappy is the way he is because he knows that you're a pushover". Probably some truth to that!

I am a pushover also. Trainers tell me I need to be a strong leader. I try, but dominant horses see right through me. We are what we are and need to work with our personalities.

 

[Cayuse]

WillowFlats, I am sorry to hear about Kriss. It is good though that you could get some info from a prior owner even if it just helps to validate what you are seeing with him.
About Cappy, he does look for someone to be the leader. He is an odd little guy. He can be VERY pushy and dominant sometimes but can also be, IDK exactly what to call it, insecure? Sometimes I find him hard to read as I don't know if he is bluffing or is really nervous. My husband just treats him with a "git it done" attitude and it works out well for the both of them.
One example of his attitude is Cappy always had a spook in him when first hitched. Guarenteed to happen within the first five minutes. Every time. I would usually pull him down to a walk and restart him trotting when I felt he was ready because I thought he was nervous. Last summer he pulled this stunt and for some reason I was "done" with it and wacked his butt and sent him forward. This helped . So the next time he tried it, the butt got wacked again and he got sent into a good strong forward trot, lol. Things improved after that. I don't think he would take a reprimand so well and have such a postive result from it if he was reacting from "nerves".
And he is a complete grass hog with me. I ground drive him and his nose is down all the time even with the overcheck. With my husband, he marches happily along for the most part and knows (nose) better than to dive for grass. Oh he'll try it once in awhile, but it's random and half-hearted.
The positives are he is so darn smart and he loves to do obstacles in hand, halter, and showmanship. He will really listen and work with me on those things. And he loves attention!


Marsha, How do they know??? That we are pushovers? They seem to instantly know that I am one no matter what I do!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think horses know we are pushovers by body language. Just the wiggle of an ear can communicate from the herd boss to "move over". We pushovers just don't have the presence the dominant horses respond to. I've watched Tyrion (aka Buckly) with the 5 large horses he now lives with. He is their boss. One biggie comes up, towers over him and pretends to bite him on the neck. Tyrion reaches right up and threatens back with teeth and laid back ears. The big horse always backs away. The big horse could stomp him into the dirt, but backs off. Tyrion's new owner treats him like a horse and puts up with no nonsense. No treats. No kisses. Just the facts, ma'am. He is not a pet, and that suits him.

 

[Cayuse]

My old instructor said it was body language, too. No matter how much I try to give off a "boss mare" aura I fail. In fact, sometimes I think it makes things worse by setting up a confrontational situation (not always, but with that certain horse that has the tendency to want to best you, the super smart ones )

 

[Willow Flats]

I think a pushy horse like Annie sensed my physical strength was lacking too. She is stocky, and weighs about 290 so it's a lot easier for her to throw her head down to get grass with me than it is with my husband. I have to pay closer attention and be ready when ground driving or leading over grass. It sure is pretty here but I'm tired of the competition!

 

[MajorClementine]

Midnight was really wound up so it was a little nerve wracking. So cold. I should have taken her farther but my hands were frozen. Easy to keep all the rest of me warm, except hands. My new bell surcingle from JSRI Show Equipment came today so I tried it on her. We did some gentle longeing wearing the bells. She did not like it.
She didn't want to put her boots on. She didn't want her tail brushed. She didn't want to leave bossy old DD on our drive. I wanted to get her to walk more on the drive, but she was too feisty. Because of weather, we haven't done much work lately and she was feeling uppity.View attachment 40855

Beautiful bells! JSRI is recovering the dash and fenders for my Jerald buggy. I really wanted to order bells as well. They are so nicely done. But I'll have to wait until next year after surveying spending all my $$ on the buggy.

@Northwolf I love Mooney on the treadmill. He's such a nice looking guy and I've always found treadmilling horses fascinating. I remember my grandfather's racers on treadmills.

@Willow Flats that play day sounds so fun. Our little local mini group is going to try to put together a few play days this spring. I'm excited to join them. I've never done anything like that. I'm thinking I'll take my 2yo colt to start working with him and my ugly ducking Peanut Butter.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Ground drove Midnight 50 minutes. Took her to the neighbor's who had poles set up and we practiced that. She needs a lot of work like that. I have cones, but I don't do well with them; the taller poles give me more visual reference. I need to make some for myself. When we got back home, I hitched and we went back and did the poles. 15 minutes hitched. She is so fast, the half mile to the neighbor's doesn't take long to cover in the sulky. Took me a lot longer to walk it at first!

 

[Willow Flats]

Our next play day is March 7th. I'm going to try and make it every month. They set up timed courses but also have 9 acres to drive around in and some tricky obstacles. Really good practice for us! Several people that come compete in CDEs and are accomplished drivers so I learn a lot. One of the minis was the triple crown winner last year here.
Last summer he had Muffy Seaton out there to do a clinic so I audited that as Kriss was my only driving horse back then. She is really good and happens to like the minis too which is a big plus.

I'm taking my little 12 year old buddy whose been coming over and learning to drive. She has started competing in western dressage with her lesson horse, but is horse crazy so she will do anything horsey since she doesn't have her own horse.

 

[MindySchroder]

Yesterday Zorro and I tried out the newest sidepull bitless bridle by Countryside for Chimacum Tack! So far we both like it. I'm not a big driving bitless person, but I know that there are people that are. They may as well have a good safe bridle to do it in! I do ground drive in the halter quite a bit and this bridle offers far more stability and comfort since it was designed to do this. Pretty cool!

What are your thoughts on driving bitless versus using a bit?

What about with blinders versus an open bridle?

 

[Cayuse]

I used to ride my large pony with a bitless bridle. He had bitting problems from a old fractured facial bone. The fracture healed crookedly (happened sometime before I got him, vet said probably when he was a colt) and his upper and lower teeth did not meet properly and his teeth were a crooked mess because of it. Anyways, the bitless bridle was great for him. He would get very "hot" under saddle with a regular bridle and I assume it was from pain. He was happy and relaxed with the bitless.
My POA on the other hand, hated it and did not adjust to it. I did not feel safe riding her with it.
The only problem I had was that sometimes the reins did not "release" fast enough after asking for a turn. They would get stuck in the rings. This was a Dr. Cook type bridle/crossunder type of set up where the reins went under the chin through rings.
Would I drive with a bitless bridle? I might try it if I had a trainer or someone to help me out. Especially with Cappy. I think might be a canidate for one.
Regarding blinders vs open bridle, I feel whatever works best for each individual horse is OK. My personal preference is blinders. My two horses are very "looky" and somewhat reactive. One I would not drive without blinders. A part of this stems from being used to blinders having grown up around Morgans and Standardbreds where they always use them. I do keep my blinders "open" and not tight so the vision is not too limited.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Probably would not use a a bitless bridle. But I can see where one might be good, as in the case of the old injury. Use to ride our horses with a hackamore when I was a kid. We had no clue how it worked; no one ever told us. The hackamore may have been worse than a bit; we had one "hard-mouthed" horse that wouldn't respond to the bit at all, but the hackamore got his attention.
I've had horses that preferred no blinders. Dapper Dan goes either way. Midnight does better with blinders; it keeps her focused. But I have driven her in open bridle also.
Good that you are checking out the bridle on Zorro, so you can give a good answer to enquiries.

 

[Crimson Rose]

I am so excited about this bridle! I am going to train my future pony with positive reinforcement, and having a nice bitless driving bridle is a must for me <3 It looks lovely so far! I can't wait for you to test it more and for it to become available.

 

[user 44366]

Here is a link to the TTeam Lindell - which Linda Tellington-Jones designed, and developed, many years ago. https://ttouch.ca/2020/01/17/ttouch-lindell-sidepull/

 

[Willow Flats]

Mindy, thank you for letting us know! I'd really like to try it at least for ground driving.

 

[Northwolf]

Thanks for sharing, Mindy!

What are your thoughts on driving bitless versus using a bit?

What about with blinders versus an open bridle?

The former owner of my mini Teddy used to drive bitless with a caveson. She recommended me to drive him bitless. I tried it twice, but it didn't work. Grass was always too attractive for him and he've learned from the former owner how to NOT obey with the bitless bridle. And when there was no grass, he was walking like a drunk, swayed from the left to the right to the left... roadside. He didn't care about what I was trying to say with the lines. So I stopped using the bitless bridle and started him completely new with a bit. That worked as expected, great. He's respectful and I need much less firm to lead him.
My other minis are too reactive to drive bitless. I think, my insurance company would not pay in case of an accident if a bitless bridle was used (a lot of european insurances do not pay for riding or driving accidents if the horses where drive or ride bitless). But I think for a new started mini, it can be a great possibility to drive them bitless, especially when they have teeth issues.

I always use blinders when I drive them in a team to not confuse the teammate when I correct or push one of them. Hitched as a single horse, it doesn't matter, I use both - with or without blinders. I think it's important to get them used to drive without blinders too, since they're not getting panic when the blinders (or the bridle, accidentally) are removed suddenly and they see the cart is following them.

 

[Willow Flats]

The play day I was so looking forward to is still scheduled for tomorrow, but two things have happened. I caught a terrible cold and the forcast is calling for rain showers so Annie and I will just have to wait till next months.