Doc Hammill Horsemanship Videos and Workshops

SEE DOC ON RFD TV!

2012-01-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

DOC'S NEW VIDEO

"PREVENTING WRECKS" will be featured on RURAL HERITAGE HOUR on RFD TV!

Preventing Wrecks Part 1 (New) - Doc Hammill provides essential advice and rules to follow to prevent accidents. Rural Heritage's Hour on RFD TV: February 3, 2012! Check your local listings for times.

Rural Heritage's Hour on February 17, 2012: Preventing Wrecks Part 2 (New) - Doc Hammill provides additional advice and rules for avoiding mishaps.Check your local listings for times.

To order your very own copy of Doc's video "Preventing Wrecks" follow this link:
http://dochammill.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=37

Horse Drawn Haying with a Side Delivery Rake

2011-09-09T16:34:00.000-06:00

What a great Workshop! Not only were we able to work through our typical hands-on activities with our human students, but we also had the opportunity to help our new horses learn to accept a piece of noisy equipment while working on our hay at the same time.

We had hay down in our biggest hay meadow...25 acres. Doc decided to use Brisk and Solven, our Norwegian Fjord geldings to demonstrate a safe way of introducing horses to unfamiliar equipment. We acquired this team last fall. They are a well-experienced team, with a life time of pulling carriages and wagons in a variety of situations. They work quietly and willingly. Brisk and Solven however are new to all farm activities. This noisy hay rake is the first piece of farm equipment that these horses have EVER been hitched to, so we wanted to make sure it was a safe and comfortable experience for all.

Solven and Brisk checking out the rake

Doc drove the team to the hay meadow, where the truck and rake were parked. He drove them to the rake, let them see and smell it while it was idle. Cathy then drove the pickup with the side delivery rake attached, around the edge of the mowed hay meadow. She first pulled the hay rake out of gear - not raking hay. Doc drove Brisk and Solven hitched to their fore cart behind the moving rake. The horses were completely comfortable being driven behind the rake while it was traveling out of gear, so Doc then drove the Boys along the side of, and in front of the pick-up and hay rake. There was a point, when the rake 'dissappeared' (due to their blinders) behind the Boys that they showed some concern. Doc slowed the Boys down so the rake again came into their view, and they regained their comfort. After a few times forward and back, the horses showed no concern at all when the rake and truck were behind them or beside them. All these steps were repeated next with the rake traveling now noisily in gear behind the pickup. The horses showed no signs of concern at the rake traveling behind, beside or in front of them even when they were driven very close to it.

This advance and retreat method is a technique we use to expose any horse to new equipment, processes, environments and activities. This process gave the horses the ability to see and hear the machine working, and to ensure they were comfortable with it before they were asked to rake hay with it. Breaking activities down into small steps, like this, lets horses accept new situations in small increments and stay comfortable. If we see concern on the part of the horses, we drop back a step to again allow them to feel comfortable. We go back (retreat) as far as is necessary to allow the horses to regain their comfort.

Incidentally, this process also gave us a chance to make a couple of necessary adjustments to the rake before we hitched the horses to it. It is good to make adjustments to and make sure equipment is working well BEFORE putting the horses on the equipment.

After one round of the meadow with the rake attached to the truck, Doc determined that the horses were not concerned about working in this new area or the noise associated with the side delivery rake. We stopped the truck, unhooked the rake from it. Then hitched the rake (again out of gear)to the fore cart with Solven and Brisk; the Boys walked off comfortably. Next, we put the rake in gear and when given their signal, off the Boys walked. We spent the rest of the evening raking hay with them. They continued to work quietly, steady, and calmly.

Montana Workhorse Workshop July 10-16, 2011 Update

2011-07-17T11:06:00.000-06:00

Announcing New Staff at Doc Hammill Horsemanship!

Solven and Brisk step into their teaching positions at our Montana Workhorse Workshops!

Noah driving Brisk and Solven, White Fjords

Here is a picture of a great little (big for Fjords at 15 and 15.1 Hands) team that Cathy acquired last fall. They have been just AWESOME in this, their first workshop here at Doc Hammill Horsemanship in Montana.
We want to give our continuing thanks to Dave and Pam for training this great team and selecting ours as their second home in life. These experienced, smart, and gentle horses are proving to be the quiet, dependable, willing, solid, and powerful BOYS that we hoped they would be.

The following video is of Laura, first time Doc Hammill Horsemanship student, skidding a small chunk of wood with Solven. This is Solven's second time working single for us. What we appreciate about this short video is that Laura asks Solven to ease into his load, and he does; notice how he begins (and continues) his pull: quietly and careful eases into the work, and doesn't hurry as he drags this log to the bigger pile. Congratulations to Laura for her gentle commands and soft hands, a big Thanks to Brisk for being such a willing staff member! This is the epitome of relaxation and comfort, exactly what we want for ourselves and our horses as we work with them.

Laura working the Boys on a stone boat.

Montana WorkHorse Workshop: July 10-16, 2011

2011-07-12T12:23:00.000-06:00

Wow! Here we go! This workshop is underway!

"I feel like I came to this with a lot of horsemanship skills, but here, I am learning the kind of techniques that are not really something you can "get" from reading a book or even watching a video. It is pretty great!"

"I was taken back with the whole RHYTHMIC DRIVING concept, I had no idea how well that could work."

(Student comments after their first day)

Doc is giving a student silent physical signals that simulate cues we give our horses while driving.

We moved on to harnessing

student-harnessed horses ready to be hitched

Beautiful Montana! One backdrop scene to our Workhorse Workshop

come back to see more photos from this workshop tomorrow.....

Tom Triplett and Jay Jay the Welsh Pony

2011-07-04T16:16:00.000-06:00

Tom Triplett, (Doc's mentor and step-father) along with his wife Betty, cared for Jay Jay, Cathy's Welsh pony, for the last 2 years. We all thought he would be a good cart driving partner for Tom. Jay Jay enjoyed life with two standard Donkeys, and being cared for by Tom and Betty. In the winter of 2011, we all agreed that Jay Jay might benefit from living on the wider open spaces at Therriault Creek Ranch with Doc, Cathy, their horses, and mule for a while.

Tom knew that if Jay Jay was to live on a ranch, he best be ready to do ranch work. Tom didn't figure that the light driving harness that Cathy had for Jay Jay was a proper ranch harness. So he made a work harness for Jay Jay. This one is complete with wooden hames that belonged to Tom's father.

Tom and Jay Jay

June 20, 2011, Father's Day, Tom fitted the harness to Jay Jay. It is perfect!

In the photo at left, Tom is adjusting Jay Jay's new work harness. This harness is complete with:

Painted wooden hames, originally belonging to Tom's father
Leather belly band, back pad, back straps, lazy straps and crupper
Fire hose covered chain tugs

Tom, taking Jay Jay for a spin in his new harness:

"The Mind of the Horse" presentation for Sunburst Foundation

2011-06-23T12:55:00.000-06:00

"Thanks to you & Doc for a great seminar on Gentle Horsemanship! So much to learn! You guys are great. Thanks for sharing your knowledge." K from the Sunburst Foundation.

Doc and I had a terrific time doing two nights' presentation as a fund-raiser for Sunburst Foundation, http://www.sunburstfoundation.org/ in Eureka, Montana. Attended by 25 students both nights, it was a chance to share information for horse enthusiasts in our community and to meet some of our great neighbors here in North West Montana.

Doc's presentation, "The Mind of the Horse" gives students a foundation of information to understand horse behavior and the natural horsemanship approach to working with and training our horses.

For me, it is energizing to watch people as they listen to this presentation; hearing their insights and 'aha' moments as they begin to understand why their horse behaves in certain ways, and also begin to understand how changing their own behavior will help their horse behave in a different way.

Thanks to you Sunburst, for having us.

Draft Horse Feeding question

2011-06-15T17:13:00.000-06:00

Check out the Q and A page on the website http://dochammill.com/news-and-tips/
Doc answers Laura's question about feeding draft horses

2011 Doc Hammill Driving Clinic at The Natural Gait, near Marquette, Iowa

2011-06-08T16:14:00.000-06:00

June 23-26, 2011

We have a few spots left in this fun and informative clinic..

A Quote from a 2009 student at the Natural Gait Clinic:

"This clinic was AWESOME! The people, the setting and the general atmosphere was like no other clinic we have attended. The free flowing of information was special."

This Driving Clinic is one of the few that Doc holds where students may bring their own horses This is a unique opportunity for students to have instruction directly related to them and their own horse or team of horses. Students may also come WITHOUT a horse, and drive the quiet, well trained horses that we will have there.

This is also a unique clinic in that Steve Woods and Theresa Burns are co-instructors with Doc. Students have tremendous advantage of three very knowledgeable instructors to help them advance their driving skills during the 4-day clinic.

Pictured below are Doc and Steve helping 2 students work with their saddle horses laying a foundation for driving as a team.

to see the beautiful setting, fabulous accommodations and additional information,

check out

THE NATURAL GAIT'S website at

http://www.thenaturalgait.com/

to make reservations, contact Linda at the Natural Gait

ntrl@acegroup.cc

or 877-776-2208

Theresa helping a student work with the student's team.

Come join the fun, we hope to see you at The Natural Gait for

DOC HAMMILL'S DRIVING CLINIC

June 23-26, 2011

Horsemanship Class With Doc Hammill, DVM

2011-06-05T18:36:00.000-06:00

News Release from the Sunburst Foundation, Eureka, MT:

Tuesday, June 14 and Thursday June 16
7-9 pm LCHS Auditorium
Eureka, Montana
Sponsored by the Sunburst Foundation

This Class is open to anyone wanting to learn more about getting the most from your horse. The cost of the class is $30.00; Children who are accompanied by a paid adult are welcome for free. Dr. Hammill's lifetime of studying and working with horses, combined with his equine veterinary experience give him a unique perspective on horsemanship.

Hammill will discuss topics such as the nature of horses, how their minds work, how they learn, interpreting their body language, and gauging their perceptions and reactions. Students of the class can use this understanding to better communicate with their horse and get desired behavioral results. Learn how to teach your horse to willingly cooperate. There will be a question and answer session at the end of the class. To register, please call the Sunburst Foundation at 406-297-0197.

For more information, visit http://www.sunburstfoundation.org/

"Not only does Doc have an incredible knowledge of horses, but he also possesses the gift and patience to teach it"

Celebrating The Birthdays of Duchess and Misty

2011-05-25T20:40:00.000-06:00

Duchess and Misty are celebrating important Birthdays this week. Duchess turns 29 June 1st, and Misty turns 27 May 27!
We feel very blessed to be in the lives of these two magnificent creatures.

Misty, Outstanding in her Field, May 25, 2011

Misty has been with Doc for most of her 27 years, working in various occupations. For the last 12 years, she has been a reliable staff member of Doc Hammill Horsemanship, working as an instructor for begining and advanced students. Misty has taught hundreds of students to drive. She has also co-starred in several of Doc's Instructional Horsemanship DVDs. Misty is still a regular instructor at Doc and Cathy's Montana Workhorse Workshops, and will be working with students again for the 2011 Workshop season.

Misty teaching a student to ground drive

Duchess, Outstanding in her Field, May 25, 2011

Duchess, a Suffolk Punch Draft horse, started life at Mountain View Farms where she and her sister Delilah were born. These two became the leaders of the Mountain View hitch of six Suffolks and were shown extensively in Washington and Oregon. Cathy acquired Duchess and Delilah when their earlier owner retired; these two taught her a lot about driving. Duchess as a single has been Cathy's 'Go-To' horse for many years now; always having been easy to work with and ready for a parade, some field work, log skidding, a county or state fair, plowing the home garden, a buggy ride, or teaching people to drive. Duchess is the kind of herd leader that Mark Rashid talks about..a leader that gained the respect of the rest of the herd through her quiet, strong leadership. Duchess is retired from most physical aspects of ranching.

Duchess plowing in the garden May 2009

Misty and Duchess now both spend time daily teaching Doc and Cathy lessons about horses and life.

Happy Birthday Gals!

Horse Powered Farm Work: Harrowing

2011-05-05T22:47:00.000-06:00

May 5, 2011

We are having a very normal Rocky Mountain Spring time this year; We woke three days in a row last week to new snow! Here is a view we walk past on our way to the barn.

This photo shows Ten Lakes Farm www.tenlakesfarm.com, the organic market garden and CSA, owned and operated by farmers, Todd and Rebecca, on Therriault Creek Ranch. Snow doesn't stop them, they are set to deliver their first CSA baskets to customers the third week in May!

Misty and Duchess, the Equine Grand Dams of Therriault Creek Ranch, are in the center of the photo. From this prestigious vantage point in their pasture they monitor all human, animal, and plant activities undertaken on the ranch. A disproportionate amount of their time seems to be devoted to gazing dreamily at the carrot patch and hay meadow growth.

Sunshine!

What a welcome sight! One thing about N.W. Montana, only a bit of sunshine is needed to see the pastures 'green up'. Therriault Pass is beyond the meadow and pastures.

Finally! An opportunity Doc has been waiting for....the chance to get out and get some work done!

What is the first thing he did? Hook Kate to a harrow.

Tomorrow, Doc is working on getting that bigger harrow going....!

2011 Small Farmer's Journal Horsedrawn Auction & Swap

2011-03-29T18:21:00.000-06:00

April 13-16, 2011 Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Madras, Oregon
This is a very fun, informative and exciting annual event. In Lynn Miller's words, "Right from the beginning the concept was to do an event that was one part auction, one part education, one part theater, one part street market, and one part reunion. And that’s just exactly what’s occurred. I can say without reservation that we are very proud of the event. It has evolved and matured to become a thing unto itself. Thirty some odd years worth."
What will be happening there?

2nd annual Jethro Tull draft horse and mule plowing competition!!!
Horsedrawn Field Trials for new and restored implements
Swap meet and trade fair peppered with demonstrations, clinics and meetings
Horse market fair .
Auction: Horsedrawn carriages, wagons and items, antiques and collectibles, harness
Teamster Roundtable with these famous Teamsters: John Erskine, Walt Bernard, Chuck Baley, Lisa Hube, Bob Olson, Doc Hammill, moderator. Question and answer format. 6:00pm, April 13 and 14, Maccie Conroy Building.

http://www.smallfarmersjournal.com/
Stop by Doc's booth and say HELLO to Doc and Cathy! We will be playing Doc's educational DVDs and slide shows of 2010 Workhorse Workshops. We will have available:

Doc's DVD's
Doc’s 2011 Driving Workshop and Clinic Information
Doc favorite Horsemanship DVDs and Books
Safe Driving Equipment
Horsemanship and Safety handouts

AUCTION SPECIAL:

Discount on 2011 Workhorse Workshops at Doc and Cathy's Montana ranch

Real People + Real Horses + Real Work= Real Fun

Horse-Logging with Draft Horses: Natural Horsemanship in the Woods

2011-03-19T19:37:00.000-06:00

Cathi and I love to work in the woods. It’s even better if we can work with our horses in the woods. On March 8 we had some fire wood logs ready to skid out and each of us took a horse to do the job. Here we have Kate and Ann, our Suffolk Punch Draft Horses.

Kate was very relaxed, comfortable, and interested as I prepared the first log to hook to her.

However, when she started off with the first small “warm up” log she became a bit anxious and was not very responsive to my attempts to calm her and slow her down. As so often happens, a training opportunity (not a problem) presented itself.

After stopping several times, letting her relax, and then attempting to start her again in a more relaxed and easy way I realized she was not able to control her anxiousness.

I was not willing to hold Kate back with the excessive force that would have been necessary I asked Cathi to bring Ann over and drive her in front of Kate - to set an example of a relaxed and comfortable working pace.

Not to mention creating a moving physical barrier as we each drove our respective horse down the skid trail.

Kate was not happy with the slower pace initially. However, once she realized she would not be allowed to go around (“pass”) Ann she started to relax and accept the job on my terms. We made it difficult for her to do the “wrong” thing and easy for her to do the “right” thing. Thanks to Cathi and Ann I was able to avoid heavy pressure and harshness on the bit in order to get the job started at a safe and comfortable pace. It doesn’t matter that Kate has done this type of pulling in a relaxed way many times before, what is important is that for whatever reason (and they always have a good reason as far as they are concerned) she became anxious on this particular day, in this particular location, at this particular job. Rather than fight with her we used some gentle “creative horsemanship”.

Thanks for checking up on us on our blog,

Doc

Plowing Snow with a team of Horses

2011-03-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Doc plowing snow in Montana with Belgian mares, Molly and Dolly.

What are you doing with your horses this winter? Please send us photos and stories that we could consider posting on our blog...

Teachable Moments

2011-01-20T16:35:00.001-07:00

Recently I was watching as Doc worked Kate, one of our Suffolk mares. As he helped her through an anxious moment, I was struck by how easily Doc was able to help her through this time of concern, and actually use it to help build Kate's confidence. How often do we miss these opportunities with our horses? I thought I would share what I observed here on

Doc's Blog.

While ground driving, Doc noticed that Katey reacted fearfully in a familiar area. She had been through the area many times in the past, however, Doc knew she had not seen or been in the area covered with snow, and she had never seen the newly installed snow-covered sign at the side of the gate. Kate's fearful reaction to this sign told Doc what he and Kate needed to focus on in that moment.

This photo shows Doc encouraging Kate to examine the sign. He gave her the consideration to gather her own information about this sign. Doc lets her see and smell the object that caused her to worry. Rather than force her to approach the object or ignore her concerns (which could create more fear or greater concern for the horse), Doc allowed Kate the choice to check it out, take a closer look and gain understanding.

Giving our horses the opportunity to check out a worrisome object, helps their understanding that this thing need not be feared, therefore building the horse's confidence and trust.

Doc Hammill Sighting

2011-01-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Doc was seen on New Year's Day, 2011 outdoors enjoying the scenery at home on Therriault Creek Ranch. He reports having been at his computer for days(maybe even weeks!) working at writing an article. He says he is looking forward to the completion of the article and getting outside to "drive our horses".

Introducing a horse to new implements

2009-12-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

From Walt Barnard

Hello. Here is a brief description of how we introduced a particular horse to some new implements. The horse, Belle, is a Suffolk and there are some earlier posts about her training on this blog. Anyway, Kris and I had been working her up to actually pulling real farm implements by skidding a small tire for short periods.

I occasionally would sit on the tire to add some weight and change the 'feel' of the pull for the horse, making sure to not overwhelm her with too much weight for too long. When we actually had some real work to do over the past few days, Kris drove one of our broke horses and I drove Belle along to investigate and later, if she was mentally ready, to participate. With each new implement, I first lead Belle to it to investigate, lead her along behind and to the left, right, and front of the implement as Kris and the broke horse worked, then ground drove her as I had lead her above. If she was mentally ready, I then hitched her to the implement and Kris lead her while I drove.

Kris gradually dropped back to Belle's shoulder and then as all was well stepped aside to let Belle work by herself. I had the lead rope tied up to the hames so if Belle needed more mental 'support,' Kris could easily get control of her head with the halter.

Of note, I would not try this technique on a horse that didn't have a solid foundation of training that Doug describes in his DVDs on starting colts. The horse has to accept you as their leader and be responsive to the halter. Even with a horse with a solid foundation as Belle has, we were very careful to make sure she was comfortable with each step in the process, and would have backed off if things escalated to where we were beginning to see signs of discomfort, fear, or flight potential.

Also, I would not try this by just leading the animal, someone needs to be on the lines. Here are a couple of pictures of Kris driving Jerry on the disc, while I drive Belle along with them. She did well with this introduction but, since the disc is a pretty heavy pull in our deeply tilled hoop house, I didn't think she was ready to pull a load heavy as this.

A couple of days later we started Belle pulling a section of spring tooth harrow. This is a good starter implement, because you can vary the draft by adjusting the depth of the tines. I started her very light and gradually increased the draft to a moderate amount for a single horse. As I worked her, I changed the draft from time to time, to give a different 'feel' on the collar for her. As you can see we lead her initially, then dropped back. I also only worked her for about an hour with lots of standing time and praise.
Here is Belle's first experience skidding logs. Kris is driving Ray, our grouchy yet excellent mare, skidding small poles to the wood pile. As you can see, I am leading, then driving Belle, getting her used to the sounds, visuals and smells of skidding, as well as the fact that the longer poles are a different experience than a shorter harrow and can kick up brush and debris in sudden and strange ways.

Later Kris and I hitched and successfully skidded some of the lighter wet Doug Fir.

Belle did well.

Here is Belle now working on the disc. We broadcast peas and oats in the hoop houses, then disc it in with the groffdale disc. If you don't sit on the disc it pulls real light.

I did a lot of short pulls and Kris walked ahead for much of the time for support. She did not stand as well as I would like when facing the barn but overall, for her first time I was pretty happy. At one point, we were standing inside the green house. I was adjusting the lines and accidentally hit the top of the hoop house with my bamboo stick causing a loud noise and plastic movement over her head. She got pretty alarmed and jumped forward, but immediately stopped with whoa combined with line pressure (her bit is tied to her halter in such a way to minimize pressure on the bars, so it functions like a halter more than a bridle; a trick Doug showed us at a past workshop). After she stood for a while we kept discing but she was still a little worried, so we unhitched the disc and ground drove her back and fourth thru the hoop houses until she was calm again. Then we went back to discing in a relaxed manner.

These photos were taken after that.

Walt

Slip Scraper and Three Abreast

2009-11-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

After a week of rain we were blessed with a wonderful weekend of clear weather. Harley and I wanted to take advantage of that, so on Saturday we harnessed Tom and Charlie. They are half brother Belgians, 8 years old. They worked one season on an Amish farm before Harley bought them as 6 years olds off the English farm where they had not worked at all since the Amish training. Harley uses them to make hay on his farm. They are a very experienced confident team of horses.

After moving a wagon out of the crib, we hitched to the slip scraper to take some compost up to the house. This device could be called a horse-drawn scoop or drag scraper. Steve Wood tells me that this device was used to build roads in the earlier days. Folks would turn out with their horses and scrapers and work together to build roads in their area. The Fresno scrapers were similar, but pulled by a multiple of horses.

So back to our compost moving project: Two horses easily pulled the scraper up to the house. It is tight quarters around the raised flower beds, so we wanted to do this with just one horse. We thought Tom would be good to go with this single project as he is the more forward horse in the team. He surprised us both by not wanting to go forward even when I was out in front with the lead rope. We tried ground driving him on the flat by the barn but decided that we would need to spend much more time driving single before we ask him to pull the slip scraper.

Next it was Charlie’s turn to ground drive single. We put the single lines on him and asked him to walk forward into our flat area. He surprised us by willingly moving out without my help. Both Harley and I were pleased with his confidence. He was comfortable with the slip scraper too.
The approach to the house is steep but Charlie did a great job for us. He pulled the slip scraper up without hesitation and was steady when we dumped the load. He stood quietly for us while we flipped the scraper back.
On the way back to the compost pile we found that a little of the lift the handle would pick up a load of fresh manure to add to the compost pile. I have seen these slip scrapers before but never in use. It was great fun learning something new to use with our horses. What a great piece of equipment to move dirt, gravel or manure, plus giving a horse a job that is not too tasking.

The next day was also great for doing horsey things. Harley wanted to drive three abreast, so we put Tom on the right, Charlie on the left and Babe in the middle. Babe is a four year old Belgian trained by Steve Wood. Harley used a butt rope around all three horses.

We ground drove them first just to be safe. Babe was very comfortable with the two other horses and did as we asked so we felt comfortable putting them to a heavy stone boat.
With Tom’s leadership they swung around easily to their position in front of the stone boat. Starting off slowly and together we headed down the lane to the south hayfield.

What a joy it was to see them work evenly to pull this stone boat. We were surprised by a fallen tree blocking the lane. The road was too narrow to turn the horses around so Harley stopped the horses and we tied Tom to a tree. I stood in front of Babe and Charlie while Harley walked back to the barn to get the chain saw.

I really enjoy making every experience a learning experience for the horses. Babe was very relaxed during our wait. She fussed a little with her head, trying to rub the other horses but she was very cooperative when I corrected her. While Harley was running the chain saw, she watched but was not frightened with the noise. She has had some experience working in the woods while in training with Steve Wood.

Once the roadway was cleared we circled the hayfield a few times. We had put the best rope halter on Babe with the longest lead rope. But I also wanted a long lead rope on Charlie who was on the left side. If I had a problem with Babe, I could easily move it to her halter and have control rather than trying to untie her lead rope from her hame. I felt doing that could put me in an unsafe position. Things were going well so I left it on Charlie.
The horses had a reasonable workout going around the field.

I had a great time driving them back to the barn. Both Harley and I were thrilled with the way the horses pulled together and worked as a team. We are going to enjoy doing more of this during the winter months. Driving three is a great way to get more horses in condition for next summer’s work.

Mix and Match- new learning from the veterans

2009-10-01T06:29:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Harley and I had a great time working with the horses. During the summer Tom and Charlie have been his reliable veteran team that helped with making hay. We just didn’t have time to experiment with his other two horses. But this weekend we first ground drove Babe with Tom and then put them to the sled. Having an extra person on the ground that can help Babe understand her task is extremely important.

We drove around the yard for a bit and then things were going smoothly so we headed down the trail to the hay field. I stayed on the ground ahead of the team, one to open gates and two to be there for Babe, if she was hesitant. Babe has been through training, but it has been awhile and we didn’t want to assume anything so we started with the ground driving which she accepted, so we put her to the sled.

We thought that she would be ready for a test of helping Tom take a load of firewood up to the house. We did not overload the sled with wood as it is a bit of a climb up to the house. I was on the ground with her lead rope in hand as I had to encourage her to help Tom get the sled up the hill. She stood quietly while Harley unloaded the wood. I stood at her head and praised her. We took another load up to the house and thought it was a good day for Babe.

Next we ground drove Charlie with Shorty. Shorty is seven and has done field work a few years ago. He has a very short tail and is not as big as the other horses. He can be excited at times and we thought Charlie’s laid back personality would have a steadying effect on him.

The ground driving went well and we put them to the sled. Our goal with them was to haul a few large rocks into the front yard to finish a landscaping project. The pair took the sled up the road to the house and stood quietly while Harley unloaded the rocks. I was at their heads making sure they stood. Shorty did really well and remembered his job in the team.

Sunday it was dry enough that we could start mowing Harley’s last hay field. We put Shorty with Tom. Tom is on the right as he handles the turning extremely well. Shorty is smaller, but energetic and kept a better pace and helped Tom more than Charlie does.

Harley was pretty excited to have a more forward PAIR of horses on the mower.

Since Shorty does not have the condition on him, I caught Charlie and we put him with Tom to finish the rest of the field. It just doesn’t help to overtax a horse that is not fit. You must take it slow and build him up. It was a warm day too.

Monday came and Harley put Babe with Tom to ted the hay. It is easy work and she did okay. With more experience she will do the turning better and have better condition. She didn’t mind the tedder behind her either.

Recently Harley switched Tom and Charlie by putting Tom on the left and Charlie on the right. It helps them to think and hopefully develop their muscles more evenly. We are excited with the flexibility to use all four horses for different jobs and in different positions. So this fall and winter we will have fun mixing and matching horses and driving them to keep and get some condition on them. We want to work three abreast also. With another year of experience behind them, we could even think about putting a four up together. Wouldn’t that be a grand time!!!

A drive with Paige and Val

2009-08-19T10:39:00.001-06:00

From Jane:
A friend of mine and I went out to visit the Woods and their horses on Friday. It was a gorgeous warm day and one of the highlights of our visit was a wagon ride with Val and Paige.

Steve hitched the mares up and drove us all over hill and dale around the farm. Paige was wonderful, and if I hadn't known her history, I would have assumed she was just a part of his regular string. We went around the farm and down by the lake where the wagon hit a hidden stump or fallen limb and came to a very sudden and jarring stop. Steve told the ladies it was all under control and Paige didn't even seem bothered.

Later we went out on the road. A couple of vehicles went roaring by, but again, the mares were calm and quiet about it all.

I continue to be amazed by Paige's progress. Steve said she is progressing at a tremendous rate each day.

I apologize for the lack of photos. I didn't even think to bring my camera with us. (I know, I know . . . ) Thanks for letting us come out and visit your beautiful farm, Steve! And thank you Cathy for the wonderful garden goodies!

Communicating with horses

2009-07-29T19:25:00.000-06:00

From Cathi

Hello Doc…

Just thought I would write to you about a little work I have been doing lately with my Welsh pony JayJay. I recently brought him home; he had been away for a few years, and as it turns out the last two he spent languishing in a pasture with his older equine companion and a goat. He is “Mr. Personality”, a beautiful dark bay, 13.2HH, driving pony. In harness and cart I’ve thought of him as my sports car; he is quick, agile and flashy. He had very little contact with people for the last two years, was down on his weight, had forgotten his ground manners, and was very much in need of some attention and ‘tune-up’ time.

I feed him grain and hay in a large feeder that is placed about 10 feet inside an open ended run-in shelter inside his paddock. He is very interested in that grain, and the good hay he is now getting. So interested that he charged in on me to get at the feed. He saw me as merely part of the food delivery system, showing no respect for me or my space; he just wanted his food. This sort of behavior was unnerving to me, and felt dangerous and unnecessary. I decided that it was important to start working on boundaries with him at feeding time.

On the first day of boundary training, I walked into the shelter, carrying the grain canister in one hand and my 4 foot long, 1 inch diameter stick in the other. JayJay rushed along behind me and crashed ahead of me to the feeder. I set the feed canister on a high shelf and turned, facing the pony directly. Coincidentally, there is a railroad tie on the ground across the opening of the run-in shelter. I decided that rail road tie was the ‘boundary’; It helped me as much as it did him to have a very real physical boundary to work with. My intention that morning was to drive him back behind the boundary and wait until I gave him a signal to come in and eat.

This took some doing, as he was used to getting the food right away; not getting it made him even more focused and somewhat anxious about getting to that food. I got his attention with my voice and used body language to drive him off. Not being completely successful with the body language, I also used ‘eyes on eyes’ to reinforce that I wanted him to go away from the feeder. Once he was on the other side of the boundary, I used the stick as an extension of my hand and arm (not touching him with it) to keep him back.

This exercise was awkward and probably confusing to him, still, I persevered in holding him back. He was so persistent to get to that feeder, me just as persistent to keep him behind that boundary, using all the body language, eyes on eyes, and arm and stick waving and loud a voice as I could muster at that early hour of the morning. Finally, I saw my opportunity to reward a behavior; his feet stopped, his head went down, he licked and chewed-showing me his submission. Whew! I said, “O K”, to him, grabbed the canister, dumped the grain into the feeder, and let him walk in quietly to eat. I scratched him on his rump and left him with a verbal “Good Boy!”

Each feeding since, I’ve asked for quiet feet and quiet signs of submission from him, before dumping the food and giving him permission to enter the area and eat. One day I was on the phone to you, Doc, while going through this procedure, giving the “O. K.” after JayJay lowered his head, licking and chewing. I said to you then, Doc, “I feel like he isn’t telling the truth, that he is going through the motions, but only to get that grain, not truly giving in.”

You suggested that it was time to bump up my request from him. At his next feeding time, I waited until his feet were quiet. He put his head down, licked and chewed, but I didn't give him the verbal approval he expected, he tried to move over the boundary. I had to use body language again to keep him behind the boundary. He again quieted his feet, look at me, and then put his head down licking and chewing. I knew that he was getting frustrated; this exact behavior had been rewarded before. I thought to myself, “What am I looking for, and how am I going to let him know what it is? And there it was, the behavior I was looking for! His feet and body had become quiet; he looked at me, and randomly and quietly turned his head away and he looked over at the neighbors’ horses. I gave him the verbal cue, “O K” and dumped the feed into the feeder. He quietly walked in to the feed area and began eating. I’m thinking, “Hmmmm, this is working, we are shaping this pony’s behavior.”

He and I have worked this way now for about a month. Some days, he walks with me to the barrier, stands and waits, looks at me, looks away (as if casually looking over the landscape). I say “O.K.” and he gets his food. Other days he doesn’t show up right away. I now wait t see him, dump his feed and wait for him to come to the barrier and stop. I now say, “Woah!” as he gets to the barrier. He stops, looks at me, calmly looks away, and I give him the “O.K.” signal. JayJay is such a good student. This training is fun and thrilling for me.

Doc, I am so delighted with how this has worked. It feels good! It feels good because this relationship is based on clear communication, trust, and respect; it also feels good because I have a gentle and kind working relationship with this pony. There is a deeper reason for this to feel good.

Have I ever told you about my communication resolution? Several years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I was in my barn feeding the Fjords their Holiday evening meal. I was touched and moved by their gentle spirits and felt fortunate to be in their presence and spent quite a bit of time that evening observing them eating and enjoying the sound of their munching.

I could see that they communicated information to each other, moving one another over, away from the food, inviting one to come in closer. Was it a look, a tail swish, what? The communication was so subtle, I saw it all, but I didn’t know what each movement meant. Another big question for me was what was I missing that these equine were communicating to me? The understanding was not intuitive for me and seemed both mysterious and sophisticated at the same time. How did they share information with each other without speaking! I realized how fascinating this was to me, and I made a New Year’s resolution to seek understanding of equine communication. I have since followed a path that has given me wonderful communication opportunities for a higher connection with these equine I am privileged enough to spend time with daily. This is just the beginning! I am excited and imagining the opportunities, they are the previews to coming attractions. Thank you for your help and guidance. This has such meaning for me.

JayJay and I are interacting gently and quietly, and we are both getting what we need. Doc, You tell me that this ground work all transfers to working with horses in harness and under saddle, wow…I get energized at the possibilities! Do you know I think this sort of communication transfers to human relationships too?

Paige takes a big stride forward

2009-07-09T18:13:00.000-06:00

From Steve Wood:
A wonderful chapter has opened in Paige's driving career this week. She has become comfortable with a vehicle behind her, as well as a human or two being in the vehicle. She has been hooked to this vehicle as well as the single two wheeled cart, but has never been comfortable in the past. This is rather an involved story, but it is a great one!

Last week, after returning from the Natural Gait, I noticed Paige and Val (our most talented helper horse), looking for each other and occasionally calling to each other. Both Val and Paige made the trip to The Natural Gait, but did not work together while there. They also traveled in separate trailers. The closest they got was being paddocked in adjacent paddocks. These paddocks are about 15 feet apart. Somehow they got to talking to each other.

So, on Monday evening this week, I decided to try to put them together in a large paddock overnight. They calmly said hello, went to separate piles of hay, and began to eat. I watched a while a went to the house. About 1:30 in the morning a loud horse argument was in progress, so I got out of bed and headed out to investigate. When I got to the paddock, the two horses were standing very close to each other, and both were resting a hind leg. When I went into the pen, Paige got very vocal as I approached Val. A very Low voice, but very intense. Val had no marks but, Paige had two significant marks. One from a set of teeth, and one from a glancing hoof. She let me investigate them, but swished her tail at me as I got my hands close to them. They were sore. I watched the two of them for about an hour, and twice during that time, I began to catch Val to move her out to another, adjacent paddock. Paige nearly put herself in between Val and me, and talked in that low voice. (Very interesting,She controls from a subordinate position in the herd). Finally I added a bit more hay, the first piles were not completed, and went back to bed.

Tuesday morning, when I pulled Val out to go into her day stall, Paige and Val both began calling and looking for the other. They called and fidgeted for 2 hours, ignoring hay!! Finally, I harnessed Val and brought her to the barn where Paige was still calling every 30 seconds, and both went silent. Next we harnessed Paige in a farm harness. She has not worn a farm harness in over two months. I put them together and they walked out of the barn as calm and quiet as any old team would. Once outside we hooked to a team stone boat and they drove around for about an hour with calm, steady steps, quiet stands, and just plain a sense of calm all the while. For Paige, that is way longer than in the past.

Tuesday night they paddocked together, and Wednesday's driving was a monumental day!
We harnessed in farm harness, and walked out to the waiting Fore-cart. We had Paige step over the tongue, and she stepped over like an old pro! We stood still, and then walked away calmly when I asked for them to walk. This weird sense of calm is still here, so I just stepped them over the tongue again, and they stood perfectly still for lifting the tongue, and then hitching to the eveners. I stepped up into the seat and wiggled it around a bit. I asked the team to walk and they stepped out together, and walked around the woods for about an hour. What a joy! When I returned to the barn, a loaded spreader caught my eye. We stopped, backed up to the spreader, stood still, hooked onto the spreader, and walked off calmly when asked. Can you believe it???

We walked out to an unused pasture, and stopped to put the spreader in gear. Still calm. When I asked them to step forward, Paige was bit quicker than Val, and kept leaning on the collar until Val joined in. That is Big Time Comfortable Horse behavior!!! As we unloaded I just could not contain Myself, and I called Karen while we walked calmly down the pasture.
We finished the load, I disengaged the spreader, and then continued to talk to Karen as we oh so calmly walked back to the barn through the woods. There was no one to take a picture.

Today we had Cathy home to get photos, so we did it all again. What a day! Thank you all for your part in this story. Team Paige has many members who helped us find a few of the pieces to this 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Come out for a wagon ride someday in the near future and see your project in action.

(You can read more about Paige here.)

More workshop photos

2009-07-02T20:04:00.000-06:00

A big thank you to Don Eisermann for sending these photos from the clinic. Great shots!

Below, Doc is showing how to properly tie a rope halter. Note that he looped the long tail back into the knot so that it would not injure the mare's eye if she flipped her head.

Jeri Eisermann helping to get Saturday's potluck ready:

Sunset view:
Behind the scenes:

Doc's web site

2009-07-02T16:54:00.000-06:00

From Jane:
I'm making changes to Doc's web site, so it will be down for a day or so. I hope to have it back online by the end of the weekend -- if not WELL before then!

Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience.

-Jane

Workshop follow up

2009-06-30T07:47:00.000-06:00

From Jane:
Received a nice comment from Jeri and Don Eisermann, who participated in the workshop:

"This clinic was AWESOME! The people, the setting and the general atmosphere was like no other clinic we have attended. The free flowing of information was special."

Thanks Jeri and Don!

Folks have been requesting contact information.

Doc can be reached at workshops@dochammill.com
Steve can be reached at admin@wildwoodsleighandcarriage.com
Theresa can be reached at tdburns@yousq.net.

Doc will be at Horse Progress Days this weekend. Be sure to stop by and say hi.

Natural Gait Workshop, Day 3

2009-06-28T08:52:00.000-06:00

9:40 Relaxed start this morning as Doc discusses the progress he's seen with horses and with everyone's line handling. He's going to spend the morning session addressing questions and discussing bits. Steve would like to learn how to teach a horse to hobble. He says east of the Mississippi we dont hobble horses, but in the west horses are routinely hobbled.

Doc also discussed bits and bitting, providing some advice he learned from Tom (Triplett) and Addie (Funk), two of his mentors.

10:35 (pm!) Had some connectivity issues today. I promise to update on Monday. Stay tuned . . .

(Monday) Yes, it's the day after, but I want to keep Sunday's blog post on one day. And what a great day we had. Lots of fun. First of all, here is a photo of Sunday's class. A few people had to take off Saturday night, so this isn't everyone. If we missed you, next year remind us to take the class photo on Saturday!
Lisa's mare has some bad leading habits -- she tries to walk ahead of Lisa instead of behind her. Doc said that when your horse walks with its shoulder next to your shoulder, they are doing the leading. Instead, the horse should be behind you. As you can see, she is a big girl, so lead manners are important.
Look how much better she leads now.

And, as promised, here is a shot of Barb and Mo.
Mo has one annoying issue: He paws. And paws. And paws. Steve and Doc discussed this and Doc mentioned that he will hobble horses with this annoying habit. (Hence the hobbling discussion at breakfast.)

Doc and Mo demonstrated how to teach a horse to accept hobbles. There's a process to it so that the horse doesn't panic and hurt himself. I'm going to show the photos, but not go into the process lest I leave out a critical point. Like driving and other tasks we require of our horses, it's essential they be taught properly.

Kal, Doc's brother, mentioned that the old timers would teach the horses to have any of their legs hobbled so that if they became caught in a fence they would patiently wait for help instead of panicking.

Mo was a fast study and it took about half an hour for him to accept having his front feet hobbled. Here he is learning to "walk" with the hobbles on. You can see he is doing a little jump.

Natural Gait Workshop, Day 2

2009-06-27T08:21:00.000-06:00

9:10 We're back at it at Doc's Natural Gait workshop. Just finished breakfast and everyone is sharing new revelations and asking questions from yesterday's workshop. The first question was about teaching the horses "gee" and "haw," and Doc is explaining how to use a fence to block the opposite direction. The head is heavy, he explained and if you turn the head, the horse will have to move a foot to support it. You can use this to get great precision and teach the horse to move a foot sideways instead of forward. Beak it up into tiny baby steps, he emphasizes. If they take one step forward, you can stop them, but it would be better to have them back up and take that step away. Then pause so they can consider what happened. If you "give" them that step, they will learn to take ten steps to get over to that grass they want.

Harley asked a question about Charlie slacking in the lines; Charlie's perfectly happy to let Tom do all the work.

Favorite quotes:

"Driving horses is a waltz, not a polka."

"When we train a horse with force and punishment, it will work only until we encounter something the horse fears more than the punishment. "

10:03 We are teaching every moment we are with our horses. It's a concept we can't be reminded of enough.

Doc is discussing boundaries and how never lets a horse touch him with its head. Consistency is key. "If we're going to be the boss we have to be the boss all the time. We have to think and act like the boss. A horse that respects your space will respect your leadership. This is incredibly important for safety."

"Paying attention is the difference between people who have wrecks and people who don't. My mentors were all phenomenal horsemen, but I learned there was a category that had wrecks and a category that didn't. The guys that didn't have wrecks paid attention to details, they wanted everything just right and they required their horses to follow the rules."

Steve: "One of my pet peeves is the mantra: If you drive long enough you're going to have a wreck. The difference between a fast drive and a crash is that you've got an escape route planned. You've got to always be looking ahead."

10:20 Doc and Steve are both emphasizing the need to look at our own emotional barometers. If you're in a hurry, it's not a good day to drive. You have to set it aside. Time is a huge thing in our society, but horses don't share our concept of time.

Favorite quotes:

"You can't have a romantic notion that driving is easy."

"Riding is to driving like football is to soccer. They are kind of alike, but they are nothing alike!"

Everyone is commenting about how helpful it was to drive different horses yesterday.

11:15 Folks are out by the outdoor arena taking turns driving different horses. Below, Jim takes a turn with Tom and Charlie.
Steve helps Karen with the lines:

1:50 Those who brought horses have them out in the arena right now. For some horses are practicing how to stand quietly. Doc is checking bridle and harness fit again for others. Jane and ? are ground driving their horses.

Below, Theresa and Harley instruct Sherry on ground driving. Sherry has never driven before, but she is in good hands with Tom and Charlie.

Look what a great job she's doing.
In the meantime, we also hear that Mo may have made a love connection with Barb.

3:05 Folks are hauling carts into the arena. It looks like some horses will be hitched under the watchful eyes of Theresa and Doc. At events such as this, it's always helpful to have an expert check your cart, harness fit, and most import . . . your horse's attitude.

I wonder where Steve is. He must be in the outdoor arena letting folks practice driving with Val and Cole, his best team.

4:35 Just checked in from the arena where Val and Cole were tied to the fence while Steve helped drive Larry's pair of gaited horses. (Breed to come.) On my way back up the the indoor, I saw Doc heading Lisa's horse. There's a potluck at 6:30 pm, but horses will be worked until it's it time -- by their clocks -- to stop.

(Sunday am) Didn't finish posting last night, but I need to include the last horse, Paige, here. Paige is a gorgeous paint mare with a lot of "issues." She belongs to Karen who sent her to Steve for training last November. We don't know a lot about her background, but her recent history includes an auction and three owners in one year. For a young mare as beautiful as Paige is, that in itself indicates a problem. Steve characterized her as one of the angriest horses he has ever worked with. Her progress was very slow. She would not allow anyone to stand near her hindquarters or pick up her hind feet and she would not bend her neck in one direction. When asked to stand still, she would have a fit.

In her determination to rehabilitate Paige, Karen has been willing to try alternative therapies. She recently engaged a woman who does healing touch massage and healing touch. The healing touch practitioner was able to release her hind end so that she would allow her feet to be picked up and she encouraged Karen to have an equine dentist look at her.

The dentist found hooks on the back molars that were rubbing her cheeks raws. She was given a short break to heal after her teeth were fixed. When Steve started ground driving her again, the healing touch practitioner asked to watch her work. When Paige would freeze up, the practitioner would do some body work to help her release. Finally Paige was making real progress.

Karen also asked Steve to speak with an animal communicator about her. Steve was skeptical, but willing to comply with his clients requests so he made up a list of questions, being very careful to not give out much information. I think he was surprised at how much sense some of the answers made.

Steve brought Paige to the workshop and last night we got to watch her pulling a stone boat in the indoor arena. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to ground drive her past the outdoor arena. She was nervous, but held it together, and as she worked in the arena, she began to relax.
Even Ross, Steve's 22-year-old son, was amazed. "I've never seen her do anything but breathe fire," he remarked.

Karen nervously drove her with the stoneboat while Steve headed her.
Afterwords, Paige held court in front of the Mercantile.

Welcome to the Natural Gait Workshop

2009-06-26T08:55:00.000-06:00

From Jane:
9:45 "It's not the heat, it's the humidity," and here at the Natural Gait we've got a little of both, so we're enjoying our introductions in the air conditioned Natural Gait dining hall. We are missing Steve and Ross, whose truck broke down yesterday about an hour and half from here. With the help of The Natural Gait manager they managed to pull the horses in around 1:30 am, but now they've gone back to fix and/or collect the truck.

Doc just started the workshop. "Comfortable horses don't have wrecks," he explained. As drivers and as horse people, our job is to make the horse comfortable.

As we introduce ourselves, we hear a variety of stories. "I hear Fjords are born broke to drive," says one participant. "I'm here in case that's not true."

Another participant tells the story of how she had a wreck because she dropped a line, and Doc uses this as a launching point to emphasize the importance of sitting on the lines. One of his mentors, Addie Funk, would never ride with someone who wasn't sitting on the lines.

We all have something to share and we can all learn from each other.

Barb is here to learn from Doc, but also to meet Mo, a horse that Steve feels will be just right for her. Mo is a homebred horse horse at Wildwood Sleigh and Carriage. Mo is a great horse, but Steve's teams are either sorrel or black. Mo, unfortunately, is a bay. Will there be a love connection? Stay tuned.

1:15 We're out in the area to learn about holding the lines. Another Addie quote, this one about folks who drive with completely slack lines: "They aren't drivin' those horses, they're herdin' 'em!"

Doc demonstrates starting, stopping and guiding the horses. Then it's time to try it out. The driver is always pleased when the "horse" doesn't wander all over the place. The person acting as the horse is pleased with how helpful it is to have more information from the lines, which prevents them from wandering about.

3:00 Harley Weyer has graciously brought his Belgian team, Tom and Charlie, and folks are getting some practice driving them in the arena. Tom and Charlie recently pulled a covered wagon across part of Iowa. In the meantime Steve has harnessed Val and Cole, his black Morgan team and Theresa has harnessed Opal as a single so that participants can practice with a variety of horses.

During the driving practice, Doc sat down with those who have brought their own horses to find out what they'd like to work on. Later he helped them adjust harness.

(Later) It wasn't blogged at the time, but the workshop went until about 7 or 8 in the evening. When Doc is working horses, he puts all aside and stays with it until he's done and everyone has gotten what they needed for the day.

"Live" blogging from The Natural Gait

2009-06-21T11:07:00.000-06:00

From Jane Fallander:
Hi all. This weekend is the annual Doc Hammill workshop at The Natural Gait in beautiful northeastern Iowa. I'm originally from Colorado, and I have to admit I had pretty low expectations for Iowa. (Sorry Ioweigans.) However, when I first visited The Natural Gait near McGregor in northeastern Iowa, I was blown away. What amazing country!

The Gait itself is an incredible place. It's a horseman's getaway with state-of-the-art facilities that are comfy for horses and humans. Howard and Donna, the Gait's owners, have a business selling cultivated native plant seeds, and The Gait is a showcase for native wildflowers.

This will be Doc's fifth weekend workshop and we're going to try something new: Live blogging. Okay, it may be more like semi-live blogging, as we cannot do constant updates, but the plan is to do many frequent blog updates each day so that everyone can have a taste of what's going on at the workshop.

Doc will have his hands full teaching, so I will be the guest blogger logging in from The Gait's Dining Hall.

I think there may still be some openings, so if you'd like to join the fun, call The Natural Gait at 877-776-2208. If you don't have a horse or can't bring yours, you can audit or they'll fix you up with one.

I know Theresa and Steve will be there. Cathi G. is coming. Who else is coming?

Talk to you all soon!

-Jane

Springtime in Montana (part 3)

2009-06-12T13:24:00.000-06:00

From Doc:
Spring returns as quickly as it left, and the snow's moisture has made the pasture lush. Barney (to the left) is enjoying the new grass and has declined to be photographed.

The yellow flowers are not dandelions; they are a small alpine lily.

Springtime in Montana (part 2)

2009-06-09T12:24:00.000-06:00

From Doc Hammill:
Weather changes rapidly in the mountains. Saturday it was a warm 83 degrees. Saturday night winter came calling!

Not to worry. Spring will return just as quickly.

Springtime in Montana (part 1)

2009-06-03T13:07:00.000-06:00

From Doc Hammill:
Wildflowers are always especially abundant after a fire. Here at the ranch it's no different as the forests and meadows regrow.

Can you identify them?

Time to ease into work

2009-04-20T19:10:00.000-06:00

From Theresa Burns:
This past weekend the weather was great for getting some manure hauled with the horses. Harley used his veteran team Tom and Charlie with one load on Wednesday and with two loads on Thursday.

I was there to help him on Friday. We took one load out and it is about a mile to the field and the road has a couple of hills on it. Harley asked the horses to stop on the crest of a hill on a flat spot so the horses would not need to hold the load.
They stood quietly and we could see that the respiration rates of the horses was quick and shallow. To see respiration watch in the flank area and you can see the in and out of the flank as the horse breathes. Not sure how long we stood there, but waited until the respiration rate slowed. We rested the horses again once we were in the field as we had some grades to pull up and down and we had full load of manure.

Once we got back to the barn and parked the spreader, we unhooked the horses and tied them to a post while we loaded the second load of manure. It is a tight area and thought it would be safer to not have the horses so close to the skid steer. Before we took this load out we offered the horses some water. They drank. Harley asked about them drinking water with the bit in their mouths. Horses will figure that out and it is better to offer water than to skip it.
So Saturday we went for a six mile tour with Harley's Prairie Schooner along the Raccoon River Valley. The wagon weighs about 1600 pounds with us it using the same pair. I was in charge of applying the brake on the downgrades to make it easier for the horses. Here again we would stop after the horses had climbed a hill to let them breath. I could apply the brake so parking on the level was not as critical.

Tom is the more aggressive puller of the two horses and he seemed a bit upset with some of the noises of the wagon or brake and external noises. We need to work on some of that desensitization and refer back to Walt's blog entry on January 12 about noises.

As we headed back to the farm, we had a very long grade. The question was do we let them rest half way up and will they be able to start the wagon again or do we wait until we have arrived at the top of the grade. We thought it would be safer and easier for them to continue to the top.

All the decisions that we make as we work horses depends on their attitude at that time and if they are acting normally and not over tired or stressed. The more you drive horses the more you know them. With ay to day work you get a good sense of what that horse can handle, because of how he handled previous work. But if you have not done the day to day progress then you should be more conservative. I would rather say at the end of the day that the horses did their work well than have to say I have pushed them too hard today.

For me each outing with the horses is an experience to learn from as you are always making decisions and always need to be paying attention and driving the horses. Driving in that you have rein contact and they know you are the leader. It is your responsibility to be aware of their physical and mental boundaries for that day and to build on those and improve.

It was a beautiful tour to see the trees and the forest floor and to see the river valley. Once we arrived back at the barn and unharnessed, we loaded both of the horses in the trailer and fed them hay. They need to get accustomed to the new trailer and the loading and unloading process. You can do that in small steps weeks before you want to haul them which will make the trailering a good experience for them.
What always assures me that the horses took the day okay is the fact that they are hungry and ate the hay aggressively at the barn. The more you work with them the more you know what is normal and what is not normal.

With the way Tom was acting on Saturday, Harley thought it would be a good idea to drive on Sunday also. We took a shorter ride that was less challenging. Tom seemed more settled and it was more relaxing for him. Harley and I talked about our weekend and the good points and the things we want to work on with the horses. We are looking forward to our future days with the team whether it is a tour with the wagon or some type of field work.

One horse in the team is too hot

2009-04-06T09:34:00.000-06:00

From Zoe Bradbury
Hi Doc,

I'm in need of some advice about my gelding, Barney.

As you know, I grow a few acres of mixed vegetables and berries in Southwestern Oregon. This is my second season in business, and my second year of owning my team. Last year I used the horses mainly for discing, harrowing and rolling cover crops. I didn't use them much on precision tasks like cultivation, but am hoping to do more of that this year as my skills improve and my relationship with my team deepens. I had a great first summer of working the horses - very quiet, smooth and steady. I felt like I had found my dream team (thanks to you!).

In the last few weeks as spring has unfolded, I've been harnessing up my team (Barney & Maude) a few times a week in order to start getting them in shape for the farm season. The first day I had them hitched, I ground drove and then hitched up to the forecart. We drove for a couple of hours and all was well. The second day we pulled a pasture harrow around the farm roads. Maude was as steady as could be, but I noticed that Barney was a little hot. He tended to want to break into a trot on the turns, and when we passed over a patch of gravel in the field that made the pasture harrow clatter, he jumped and actually kicked his hind legs up and to the outside of the traces.

He was responding to pressure-release driving technique, but was definitely keeping me on my toes. I checked his harness and bridle multiple times to make sure nothing was making him uncomfortable, and as far as I could tell, things were normal. No rub or pinch spots that I could find, though I've since determined that his collar is too big, which means the line of draft might be a little low on his shoulders. Nonetheless, he hasn't demonstrated any soreness on his shoulders in the past few weeks. I use a 7" snaffle bit on him, which he seemed to respond well to last summer.

The third day we hitched to a disc to work in some rye/vetch cover crop. All was well for the first hour, but then, as you know, I had a run-away with them - which fortunately ended with no one getting hurt. That's a whole story unto itself, but even after replaying and analyzing the experience with you and other teamsters, I realize I am still a bit shaken up by it.

I had some trepidation when I went to hitch them after the run-away, so I took it slow with harnessing, then ground driving, then hitching to the forecart. Again, it was a pretty smooth day with no signs of fear or concern from the horses. Barney was trying his trot maneuver on the turns again as I drove the farm roads around my fields, and definitely trying to move faster than Maude in general. Pressure release helped, but not enough to get him working as quietly as Maude.

Since then, I've been experimenting with hitching to a new straddle row cultivator I have, and even doing some single line cultivation of my asparagus. I very quickly learned that the Danish S Tine sweeps I have on the cultivator were digging too deep and making it a really hard pull for the horses. In response, they would try to power into the pull and move too quickly. Again, Barney was hot and Maude was mellow - but I was willing to attribute at least part of his behavior to the tough pull. Also, the farm roads are lush with grass right now, which I imagine might be a bit of a torment to a horse who's been eating hay in the barn all winter.

I adjusted the depth of the cultivator and tried again the next day. It was better, but Barney was highly sensitive to my start command, and even with my best efforts to start them evenly, he would try to step out ahead of Maude and set a pace that was faster than I wanted. Again, he was also trying to trot when I turned them (particularly when he was on the outside of the turn). I would cultivate a row, and then do a lap around the field, practicing starts and stops, letting them settle, etc. They responded beautifully to a whoa and my stop command, but still Barney wanted to bounce into a trot from time to time.

It was frustrating b/c when he would begin bouncing or trotting, I was using every technique I've learned from you: pressure release (including, long firm see saw strokes, double pre-whoa pressure pumps (you know when you go "easy (pump with both hands), easy (pump with both hands), whoa"), making them stand, moving their heads side to side with my line pressure, etc. And, I drove them for hours, until dark (a very Doc Hammill-like thing to do!). But while I was in the field, I just couldn't get him to quiet down to the place that I wanted him, and to the place where he was last summer.

At the end of our session that night (last friday), I decided to drive them home along the paved county road instead of through the field. Amazing thing: he was a quiet as could be. His head dropped, his energy went down, no attempts to trot, even when I turned them both directions. It got me wondering if somehow the field environment revs him up. Is it because it's spring? Is it because of all the green grass? Is he associating being in the field with the run-away? Do you think he might just mellow out as summer comes on and he's worked out his pent-up winter energy?

Some other observations I've made and things you should know:

It didn't matter which direction we were headed (towards the barn or away) when driving in the field - he still would try his trot routine on me from time to time.

Certain spots in the field seemed more loaded energetically for him. None of them are where we had the run-away, but they do seem consistent - like he tries to break into a trot in the same place frequently.

It didn't matter whether I had weight on his collar or not - he was the same whether pulling the cultivator or ground driving around the field.

Barney is the dominant horse. That said, I do my best to make every moment a training moment with them and assert my own dominance daily. He has very good ground manners.

One thing I've noticed when he tries to break into a trot: he tucks his head even tighter to his chest and lets out a little stifled squeal/snort. Sometimes he even tries to kick his heels up a little (not a buck - more like a little heel kick, sometimes to the side....he's on the right, so he sends his back end out towards the right, away from the tongue).

When I was driving laps around the field, I would vary my pressure so as not to have them harden up on me. If Barney was trying to trot, I would use long, firm see saw strokes. When he quieted down I would reward him with less pressure and quieter, gentler strokes.

When I fed them today (Sunday) I noticed that he had little dry skin tags at either corner of his mouth (not scabs or sores), but just flakes of skin that came off - maybe from all the bit rubbing on Friday? It didn't look sore or raw, but it concerned me. I don't want to have to put that kind of pressure on him, and it also wears me out! Farming is tiring enough as it is!

I don't know what to do to break through this behavior in a gentle effective way and would love your insight. I plan to get a smaller collar for him, and maybe try a fat, smooth bar bit on him instead of the snaffle. Someone suggested I should put him on a heavy load and just let him burn it off, but I am hesitant to work him too hard when he's still soft from winter.

Would driving him single help? Round pen work (I don't have a round pen, but maybe could improvise with portable fencing)? More of the same? I'll admit that I am reluctant & afraid to put him on something like a disc or plow right now - after my run-away experience, and given his energy of late. The tough thing is that I've got LOTS of that kind of work on the farm right now. I want to do it with the horses, but I want to do it safely. I don't know what Barney is trying to tell me, and until I understand it better, I'm stuck with the stinky loud tractor to get the jobs done.

I'm looking forward to your insight.

With much gratitude,

Zoë

Light, relaxed contact on the reins...

2009-03-18T16:09:00.000-06:00

I get an email newsletter called "Horse Sense" written by Jessica Jahiel (pronounced ya-hell). She is a talented rider and excellent teacher. Her background and primary interest is ridden dressage, but she advises readers on a huge variety of other topics. I came across this thought-provoking quote in one of her articles that I think applies to driving every bit as much as riding:

"...riders who make a deliberate effort to let the reins sag and flop, with the idea that they will take up contact only when they "need" it, generally make their horses very uncomfortable and apprehensive because the horses can't rely on the riders to provide instant quiet communication through the reins.

"The ideal is a light, steady, relaxed contact that lets the horse's mouth feel every tiny movement of the rider's hands (and vice versa). What too many horses are given - sadly, by riders who believe they are being "gentle" - is periods of NO contact ("Horse, you're on your own!") alternating with sudden jolts when contact is imposed abruptly.

"This is unpleasant and causes horses to worry and become hesitant. Some horses will even move hesitantly or with shorter strides; most, though, will shorten, tighten, and arch their necks and go "behind the bit" so that their riders' sudden grabs at their mouths will be less painful and less surprising.

"Like a person walking fearfully on an ice-covered pavement, a horse in that situation will be extra-careful and tentative, always worried, always afraid, always ready for something painful and sudden to happen. It's not a nice way to travel...."

Although Jessica is talking about riding, I think her words are also relevant to people learning to drive, especially if they are coming from a riding background.

Many of us who ride Western on a loose rein think the normal pressure on the driving lines is far too heavy. Many people incorrectly trained in English riding think the contact on the reins should be heavy and unyielding, because the horse has to be held in a "frame".

It's clear from your words and from Jessica's that neither approach is right, but it is difficult for a new rider or driver find the appropriate middle ground of "just enough pressure". This problem is compounded by the fact that "just enough" will vary depending on the horse and the situation.

I remember ground driving my mare Sissel and feeling how she wandered and became anxious without contact and tended to ignore steady, heavy contact after awhile. She responded the best to appropriate pressure-and-release contact. Sometimes the "appropriate pressure" was pretty firm, and sometimes it was a lovely elastic give-and-take.

The "instant quiet communication" and "light, steady, relaxed contact" on the reins that Jessica talks about seems similar to the pressure and release you have been teaching us to use. It occurred to me that Jessica's way of explaining things might be useful for riders learning to drive.

--DeeAnna

More information about Jessica Jahiel:

Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter www.horse-sense.org
Copyright © 1995-2009. Jessica Jahiel, Holistic Horsemanship®

Materials from Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter may be distributed and copied for personal, non-commercial use provided that all authorship and copyright information, including this notice, is retained. Materials may not be republished in any form without express permission of the author.

Training all the time

2009-03-15T17:01:00.000-06:00

From Cathi:

I just finished reading Doc's latest article, "Who's the Boss? Part 2, Gently Becoming Your Horse's Trusted and Respected Leader" in the Winter 2009, Small Farmer's Journal which reminded me of something that I thought maybe others would find interesting.

Doc's concept of Training all the Time has been a powerful tool for me. I used to think, "I am not a trainer," little did I realize that I actually was training the horses! When one considers that horses are learning all the time, we do train horses every time we are with them. Taking that thought to the next level, it becomes our responsibility to be mindful in our interactions with them. We can use every opportunity interacting with them as a training session.

This model has taken me from thinking of 'training' as isolated formal lessons I scheduled with myself and my horses to training anytime I am with horses. As I feed, water, catch, groom, lead, tie, harness, trailer load, drive, ride, or simply move them from paddock to pasture, I do so in ways that teach lessons dealing with behaviors I desire from the horses. I set up situations that will make it easy for the horses to make the choices I want, and then reward those appropriate behaviors. I move, speak, and interact with them in ways that consider the horses' natural language.

Every lesson, no matter how small the step, is also intended to help them remember that I am their herd leader. This idea has made me a responsible horse owner, given me more confidence, helps the horses behave in ways that are safer (for me and them) and certainly helps me appreciate the positive changes I see in their behavior. Training is no longer a mystery that was somebody else's responsibility (ever heard anybody say they needed to "take the horse to the trainer"), but it is my opportunity to interact with horses in rewarding ways every time I am with them.

Here is an example of one way I have used this. Have you ever taken a flake of hay into your horses' feed area, and have your horse crowd into your space, and take a bite of the hay you are carrying? Maybe it is dark outside, maybe muddy, or icy and you are not sure of your footing, and the crowding horse makes the situation unsafe. I currently must walk through a paddock with three horses to get to the barn where the feed is kept. The horses are so happy (or are they just hungry?) to see me at feeding times that all three are right at the gate when I get there. I greet each one with an affectionate scratching on their forehead, and then make each one "go away" from me. I make them go 10 or more feet away.

As I walk to the barn through the paddock, I insist that they all stay away, no crowding into my space, or coming any closer than 10 feet. Once I get to the barn, I have established a routine of putting each horse's feed bag on, one at a time. The routine has gotten fairly elaborate, and I am surprised how willing the horses are to follow it. Sometimes one or the other of the horses will break the routine, and I go back to square one to remind them what that routine is. It is worth it to me to take the extra time to go get a horse, lead them back to the feed area, and resume the routine, so that we all keep the pattern going.

After they are done with their grain, they are given hay. The hay feeding station is inside the paddock; the hay must be carried through a gate and placed into the feeder. My arms are full carrying the hay; I used to feel vulnerable to their crowding and not very safe at this point.

Again, I have worked with them, and the three must go away as I come through the gate and carry the hay to the feeder. They are, after all horses, and frequently need reminding to stay away, however are willing to go back to the routine if I follow through with my request. If I let up on my requirement of them staying away, they would be back into my space; I have learned to be consistent. When I have placed the hay in the feeder, I tell them, ok, and they may then come in to eat. I am so much more comfortable feeding using this approach. It has been fascinating to me to watch the willingness the horses show to follow a routine, and the expectation they have for me to be consistent if they are going to be.

Starting Belle

2009-03-15T11:08:00.000-06:00

From Walt:

Hey Doug! Thanks for helping me start Belle, our Suffolk mare, at the last Winter Workshop at our farm. Since then I have been working with her every day. Basically, I used your DVD Starting Colts as a guide to what exercises to do and added a few things of my own. I would watch part of the DVD and then go out and do it. One thing I noticed about you ‘moves’ in the round pen is that you have a really fast reaction time; where did you get that reflex speed?!!

3/2/09 You worked with Belle about 1.5 hrs. As I recall, she was defiant and you spent most of the time establishing yourself as the leader by pushing her away. You worked on keeping her attention focused on you. By the end of the session, she would turn her head to follow you and eventually turned a few steps to follow you. You called it good and then we left her in the round pen for several hours to ‘think about it.” I thought your idea of leaving her alone in the round pen to process what just happened was a great idea and hadn’t occurred to me before, but, as I thought about it, when your done with a session, if you leave the horse by itself and later come back as the leader to lead the animal back to the herd group; this act is a strong reinforcement of the lesson we are trying to impart.

3/3/09 I had Belle in the round pen. I did some basic lead rope exercises until she demonstrated that she wasn’t completely with me, so I pushed her away with the plastic bag on a stick (PBOS), until she licked and chewed. She was only bending her head in a little, and not dropping her head much, however by the end of the session she would turn to face me as I walked (with pressure off) to her left and a little to the right from the opposite side of the round pen.

3/4/09 I pushed her hard away from me with the PBOS to get more signs of submission than the day before. I was able to get lots of licking, chewing, and her head would bend in from the rail to me some. She would turn to follow me both directions from a distance and at her head, but I would loose her if I walked out straight, so I would continue walking but make an arc to pick her back up. Then I roped her out with rope, burlap bag, plastic baggie, and a plastic bag on a stick. I rubbed these items all over her and with the bag on the stick waved it in the air all around her. She accepted all of this readily and stood quietly.

3/5/09 I pushed her away and she early on licked and chewed. I hung out with her, brushed her out, roped her out and then tried to get her to follow me. She would follow me in arcs but not straight ahead, however she definitely had her attention on me. I had to do something elsewhere on the farm so I left her in the pen for a while. When I returned she readily followed me around both directions and straight ahead for a few steps. If I got out to far ahead I just arced around to pick her back up. Called it good for the day. This is when I discovered that leaving the horse alone to process things adds a reinforcing dimension to the lesson of who is the leader, as I mentioned above.

3/7/09 I laid a big piece of plastic down in the round pen. She was a little hesitant about it initially, but picked me up and followed me around readily without a lead rope. (I guess I should mention that when I say follow, I mean without a halter or lead rope in all cases unless otherwise stated.) I initially could not get her to walk across the plastic but by arcing and having her turn in circles I worked her closer to the plastic, eventually getting her front feet on it. I would stop and praise her, then continue. Eventually, I got her to walk over the plastic sheet several times. Then I worked with her feet during which she stood readily for.

3/8/09 worked her with the plastic sheet still on the ground in the round pen. From the beginning she followed me readily all directions and over the plastic. Kris, my wife, came along which was a distraction to the horse, and I will need to work with her further on that. After Kris left, she readily came back with her attention on me so I elected to not make an issue of the distraction and continue with some positive work. The horse was back following and standing with me real well. I laid the harness and collar in the round pen and had the horse follow me near, around, and away from the harness which I accomplished like I did when I introduced her to the plastic sheet—in turns and arcs. I put the collar on her, which she readily accepted.

Then I moved the collar about on her shoulders and removed it. I repeated this several times and she stood well. Then I put the collar on and had her follow me about the round pen, over the plastic sheet doing turns and stops. Then I did the same maneuvers with the harness. I approached her with the harness, shook it and backed off.

Next, I touched her side, legs and neck with the harness, and then backed away. She accepted this test well. Next I put the harness over her back and removed several times. Finally I harnessed her with the collar and had her stand. I was real careful to get the harness on her securely so it could not fall part ways off and create a negative experience. After I had her stand for a while, I tried to get her to follow me about the pen. Initially, she didn’t want to move because she didn’t fully understand what was on her back, so I gently drover her with the PBOS. After she figured it out she followed me around the pen no problem. I left her with the harness on for about 30 minutes and removed.

Called it good for the day.

More about the B Bar Ranch workshop

2009-03-13T19:43:00.000-06:00

From Doc:
The major focus of the Haying with Horses Workshop a the B Bar Ranch will be hands-on . . . haying with horses. Those participating as hands-on students will be pre-qualified to assure they have reasonable experience and skill harnessing, hitching and driving teams. By doing so, we intend to maximize the time we can actually work horses at making hay, and minimize time spent on the basics.
In addition, each day Don Yerian will spend an hour or so demonstrating his method of starting young horses in harness. We will follow the training progression of a specific horse throughout the week.

At other times in the mornings, or during challenging weather, we will focus on the equipment used for haying with horses. This will consist of discussions and demonstrations on evaluating, comparing, selecting, tuning, maintaining, repairing and rebuilding such equipment.

The majority of our time, however, will be devoted to actually making hay. Hands-on students will rotate between mowing, raking, baling, picking bales (optional) and putting bales in the barn (optional). Groups of hands-on students will assist and monitor one another, with the instructors providing close overall supervision.
There will be optional workshop related activities on some evenings, such as viewing and discussing selected instructional videos and talks on the nature and mind of the horse, horse psychology, the language of horses and how we can learn and use it to better communicate with them -- in ways they understand and that make sense to them.
We'll be posting prices sometime next week.

Click here for more photos of the haying workshop.

Lets go have fun at the B Bar Ranch

2009-03-11T12:46:00.000-06:00

From Harley:

Theresa and I are busy putting together our summer activities schedule. We are looking forward to going to the B Bar haying workshop. (July 12-18)

We hope that our friends will come too.

http://www.bbar.com/www/index.html

I attended the B Bar workshop several years ago and had such a good time, I’m really anxious to go again. I want to drive those fabulous Suffolk draft horses with Don Yerian and Doc Hammill in a hay field that has a million dollar view of the mountains.

It is more than just a workshop. The B Bar is a terrific vacation too with great accommodations and gourmet food. I really enjoyed the evening discussions around the dinner table talking about horses. Doc and Don have some great stories to tell.

Harley

Accommodations at the B Bar Ranch

2009-03-10T11:08:00.000-06:00

From Jane:
These photos just came in from Doc and the folks at the B Bar Ranch in Montana, home of the haying workshop July 12 - 18. I knew it was a nice place and all, but when I saw the photos, my jaw dropped. Seriously, I was not expecting this.

The B Bar is a private ranch and isn't open to the public; Doc's workshop participants are one of the few groups of people who have the privilege of enjoying the ranch during the summer. The result is a draft horse workshop and luxury vacation rolled into one, and there's a special rate for spouses or friends who just want to hang out at the ranch or use it as a home base for touring Yellowstone.

Here's the outside of the lodge where you can eat meals and hang out when you're not working horses. You can either stay here in the lodge or in a private cabin.

The dining hall where you can enjoy gourmet meals prepared by Chef Aaron.
Another view inside the lodge. The perfect place to listen to Chef Aaron recite cowboy poetry after dinner or talk horses late into the night with Doc or Don Yerian.
All of the food is organic and much of it is grown in their large garden or in this greenhouse on the ranch.

Here's one of the cabins:

The hayfield is shared with the thousands of elk around Yellowstone. Doc says this is about a quarter of the herd they saw that day.

Wow.

More driving fun!

2009-02-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

From Steve Wood, Elk River, MN:
Wow How time flies. We have been driving every day and haven't taken time for a new post until now.

Snow has been good for nearly the entire winter. On the last day of January a warm front came through and brought 45 degree air with it. We lost a couple inches of snow that day but we were fortunate enough to not get any Ice. Horses were sweating very easily for a couple days but, my fingers and toes were thinking they had gone on vacation! Sleighrides and driving the team with Vis-a-vis at wedding fairs were keeping us busy on weekends. As expected, winter came back with a vengence and gave us some snow and a bunch of cold. During one of those cold days I retreated to a local retail store to look for warm gloves. That's a favorite pastime for sleigh drivers don't ya know. Well I wondered in to the bargain room and what do you suppose I found? A wildlife scouting camera for 39 dollars! My mind's eye started to decide what tree I might mount that on where I could take picture of horses in training! It works! I get pictures of every horse that walks past that camera. Now I can send photos to owners showing their horse and his latest task.

Well now it did get warm enought for a couple days that we had a big melt and then we had ice. While the ice was soft I drove spreader loads of hay around on the driveway. The hay froze into the ice the next night, and we were able to keep right on working horses being careful to stay in the woods where the sun didn't melt the snow to create that layer of ice. My neat new camera was pointing up a trail that saw no horses for about 10 days. We got pictures of people and critters walking, but no horses. WE have now moved the camera to a post on the barn and we get photos of us as we pass in front. It's knida fun.

A neighbor had his wildlife camera set to take videos and he got a video of what he thought was a couger. Mountain cats don't get into this part of the country very often so he created quite a stir. After the DNR and the local High School Biology department got a chance to view the video it has been determined that we have a very large grey fox in the neighborhood. Whew! NOw back to training horses. The training barn has had some great progress lately. Here's an update.

Page, our spotted pony trainee has begun working solo. She handles the training shafts and stoneboat combination quite well. She has skid a bit of firewood lately. She loves to keep moving, So right now the hardest thing for her is standing still. Once in a while we have quite a dicussion over where to park. When she decides to give up on her quest to prove perpetual motion she will graduate to the two wheel cart.

Missy, A Welsh pony mare has gone home as a wonderful little driver. She will be competing in the coming years, And I think she will enjoy every bit of it. Good things do come in small packages.

Annie, A Morgan mare is becoming quite a horse. She and her owner are becoming more comfortable with each other each weekend. She is currently at the "I am proud and I know I look good" stage of her life. Her courage is developing nicely. Next weekend her new cart arrives and then a new harness. We haven't gotten a good photo of her yet, but we'll publish one soon.

Knight, a paint horse gelding will be heading home to his new driving career this coming weekend. His courage is changing him daily. He has muscles now where he used to have none. He is quiet, calm, and determined to improve every day. His human Mom and Dad got to take Knight out for a solo drive last week and all went well. This is a rather old photo in his old cart but It shows him nicely. Yahoo!

My Turn, the Halflinger Stallion, went home to work in the woods last week. His owner came and drove him single for a bit and then we hitched My Turn with his new halflinger teammate and all went splendidly. He learned his teamwork with our Belgian Gelding Jim and that made a rather comical looking team, but Jim had his work cut out for him in the early going. My Turn was a bit of a cad about town in the begining and I was real glad Jim was there. We wish My Turn nothing but the best of luck in his new career. Isn't he handsome?

Cassie, a Shire cross mare came in last month. She is currently working very comfortably in training shafts and with the stoneboat. We have spent a few workouts in her two wheeled cart but it's a bit overwhelming for her as of yet , so we have gone back to the stoneboat to gain some more confidence. She works without blinds, and has a mountain of athletic ability. As a riding horse she can side-pass at a trot! When we are working in the shafts, that side-passing at a trot could give me a bit of a workout. We are working at directing all that ability toward calm forward pulling and standing, then we'll work out the sidepass later. Lots of fun in the woods working with Cassie as she has such great control over her feet and body. She will stop and swing a few degrees, then pull forward until I need to swing again. That side-pass is coming in very handy.

Two new horses Came in yesterday so I'll get to know them this week and let you know about them real soon. What could be more fun than that?

Snow forecast for tomorrow, I love this time of year!

Driving clinic at The Natural Gait

2009-02-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

From DeeAnna Weed, Postville, IA:
Doc had a clinic at The Natural Gait in June, 2008. I wrote this "clinic review" afterwards and shared it with a friend. I thought maybe folks reading

Doc's new blog would enjoy it too.

Friday (the first day of the clinic) was mostly lecture and discussion, although we did get our horses out later in the afternoon to harness and ground drive. Doc, my husband Chuck, and I worked with my Norwegian Fjord mare Sissel for a couple of hours in the late afternoon to see how well she had retained her knowledge of being a driving horse. She looked pretty good for a green horse -- we hitched and drove her in the covered arena that day.

On Saturday, we harnessed our horses, ground drove them, and eventually hitched them when they were ready. Doc worked with Chuck and me to drive in the covered arena. Then Chuck and I took Sis down to the larger outdoor arena and drove her there. Sis kept offering to trot without my asking for the faster gait. I think this "go fast" mindset was a combination of insecurity, inexperience, and lack of strength. We humans wanted her to Juuuust Waaaaalk!

The horse-human disagreement about speed was never a real fight, but I didn't like it, because it required me to hang on Sissel's mouth far more than I wanted. Steve Wood was in the arena at the time, and I asked him for help.

Steve told Chuck, who was riding with me in our cart, to hold the lead rope of Sissel's rope halter in his hand. Whenever she got too strong, he was to bump Sissel on the nose by tugging on the halter rope. Steve explained that this "bump, bump" is a familiar signal with a clear meaning - Slow Down! Boy, that was a winner of an idea -- she got a lot softer and mindful, so I didn't have to hold her back constantly with pressure on the bit. We were all happier with that improvement.

Doc did trot her later in the day in the covered arena, and I got brave enough to try it myself, on my own without Doc. That sure was fun! Sissel likes to get moving, without being crazy about it. When we get more experience under our belts, I can see us both enjoying a good trot. But that will need to wait for a bit until she is stronger and more comfortable, and I am more experienced.

On Sunday, we harnessed and hitched our horses and braved an increasingly difficult obstacle course in the large arena. Doc, Steve, Theresa, Cathy and Ross progressively added more and more things to the arena to challenge us as drivers and the horses. Flapping signs, flags, and banners. Tight "L" turns to negotiate. Inner tubes to drive over. Creaky wading pools to go round. A diesel truck motor and air brakes to listen to. Barrels to serpentine around.

Even with all the distractions and challenges, everyone was doing really fine until Mother Nature decided to add a windy cold front and a brief but intense rainstorm to the party. That got the horses way more "up" than anything the humans did! There were several spooks right as the wind came up and the rain started. Thank goodness there was no thunder to wind things up even tighter.

Even Sissel got in a jump and a few strides of gallop when Onna, a young Friesian driven by SaYon, spooked and leaped toward her. Chuck bumped Sis with the halter, and I asked her to slow down with the bit. She came down immediately to a walk and calmed down really well. Everyone else did a good job of controlling their horses too.

After all the excitement, we all decided to go to the covered arena. Of course, the rain stopped right after that! After we dried off and warmed up, Theresa Burns fitted Sissel with a spare pair of her Easy Boots, so Sis could go on our Monday picnic drive without "ouching" on the gravel. The boots worked great -- I'll have to get Sis at least a pair for her front feet.

On Monday, we did a picnic drive and ride. It lasted, oh, about 2 hours I think. I rode Sissel on the trip, rather than drive her, because there was no one to go with me in the cart. I didn't feel comfortable driving alone --that green horse, green driver thing had me a little nervous! Chuck had to work that day, and Doc and Steve were riding with students Lydia and SaYon. There were a few tense moments with Onna, SaYon's Friesian, and Dakota, Lydia's mustang, but the horses and their drivers handled the excitement well with reassurance and coaching by Steve and Doc.

After we got back, I thought I would get Sissel loaded up and head for home about 3 p.m., but Doc said, "I have time to work with you and Sissel, if you want!"

Hah! Does the sun rise in the east?

*** to be continued ***

2009-02-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

I will second Doc's comment that we shared a Wonderful Day with Mary and her Donks. Mary has done such a great job exposing her donkies to all the activities and elements she could think of to make them good driving partners. She has worked with them in a deliberate and gentle way, and really used the information she learned at the Happ's Workshop with John Erskine and Doc in 2007. She obviously has spent many hours ground driving each donkey individually and had put each to a single cart as well.

It was great to be there on the first day she put Thistle and Tumbleweed together on the wagon, the culmination of much work and a big dream. I am grateful to have been a part of that day! Mary's determination to do her training the right way was evidenced by her use of a booklet she referred to as she worked to put the harness on correctly.

Mary has hitched the pair since and she emailed me this week to say she was thankful for the pictures we took that first day with the lines hooked correctly as Thistle had eaten the 'lines' page out of her booklet that afternoon! Gotta love those donkies.

Hello from Ruby and Amber's Farm

2009-01-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

From Walt Bernard, Dorena OR:
Finally figured out how to get on this site. Thanks for setting it up. Our horse line up has changed some since the post I made above. We now have two new additions: Belle a 4 yr Suffolk mare and Larry, a suffolk belgian cross out of our mare Ray, now 6 mo.

Larry was imprinted and is now halter broke, trained to lead, pretty good with his feet, and yeilds to pressure pretty good. He is fairly independent of his mother which i hope is a sigh of his mother's temperment, calm and quiet.

Belle was basically given to us and is somewhat of a "pet" (more of a pet than I like) I did some ground work with the lead rope/halter in the fall but other than a little work with her in our Doc Hammill winter workshop series, she hasnt had much training until last week. I set up the round pen and started in on her. Doug, I hope we will get to work with her when you are here in Feb, if possible.

Anyway, I started with ground manners and standing with the halter as I posted above. She's doing pretty good here. I took her in the round pen and drove her with a lead rope, just working for about 20 minutes getting her to go and stop, which she did pretty well, standing pretty good. So I ended on a good note.

The next day I worked her with the lead rope, ran my hands all over her body including her face and ears, and sacked her out with a burlap sac. Then I put the collar on her, all of this she accepted readily without moving. I got an open bridle with no bit in it and then made like I was bridling her, (same motions, straps over the face, handle ears) about twenty times, but between each time, I asked her to do something else to break it up--like back a step. Then I put a egg butt snaffle bit in the bridle only on the off side. Put the bridle on being careful to not let the bit hit her in the face. Then I held the bit in my left hand near her mouth and opened her mouth with my right and slipped the bit in easily and buckled it in. She accepted this with ease. I choose not to us food or syrup with the bit on her because she already associates your hand near her mouth with food (remember she is kind of a pet). I tied her to the hitch rail and let her stand for about a half hr. I then carefully removed the bridle and bit as follows: I give pressure on the pole, and as soon as she drops her head I pull the bridle over her head and hold securely so the horse can drop the bit out of her mouth without banging on her teeth. Ended on a good note, lead her back to the pen, turned her 180 back facing the gate (Thanks for the tip Doug!) unbuckled the halter, gave some down pressure with the halter strap and when she dropped her head took off the halter. I then pushed on her chest and "told" her to go away from me.

1/29/09 In the round pen with Belle. I did the lead rope basics. Then I worked on driving her with a rope working on starts and stops, trying to get her to learn that a kiss means go and what who means. I was eventually able to get behind her and drive her with a kiss and occasional use of the rope on her backend. ( I am aware that she could kick me in this position, so next time I might use a bamboo pole such as the one Doug uses). At her head in the lead position, I was never able to get her to follow me without a lead, so I could use some tips on this when you are here, Doug.

I then sacked her out with a plastic bag, which she was initially scared of but after 30 minutes or so I was able to rub it all over her with her standing. Initially, I would move it closer to her and she would shy away so I would decrease the "pressure" by moving it away from her. Doug, I would like your opinion introducing scary things to horses like this. Because she is such an 'oral' horse, I wound up introducing it to her body at her mouth and working out from there, untill she stood calm and unconcerned.

I then did some lead rope exercises to finish on a calm positive note. I would appreciate any comments.

walt

Hitching donkeys for the first time

2009-01-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

From Doc:
Cathi and I had a fabulous day Saturday helping a delightful student named Mary hitch her two donkeys to a wagon for the first time. She has done a wonderful job of training them herself with little help other than one 3-day workshop with John Erskine and me a little over a year ago.

Hello from Wisconsin

2009-01-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

From Theresa Burns, Mineral Point, WI:
This blog is a great idea for us to read, learn, keep in touch and contribute. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Doc. I also get inspired knowing others are working with horses and dealing with issues and looking for comments.

I read the post about the mare not standing still when she is pulling the stoneboat. It reminded me of last May when we were at your ranch cleaning up after the fire. We were using one of your Suffolk Punch mares to move some huge stones and other items that we could put on a stone boat sled. She was getting antsy, anticipating and not standing still. At first one of us stood at her head and helped her stand. You were behind her and you began rubbing her rump and talking to her, encouraging her to relax and wait. When she was getting the idea the person at the head left. But when we repositioned her for another load, you were quick to talk softly to her and rub her rump.

If she moved you asked her to return to her standing spot. She learned to relax and wait. I so appreciated watching you and your patience. It is not about getting the job done, it is about how the horse and human work together. In the beginning of a horse's training it is so important to take the time in the beginning to establish the foundation. Then we you get out to do work it goes much smoothly.

When I work with young horses on the halter and lead, I teach them that to rub is to stop and relax. I expect them to move away from pressure either steady or rythmical and to stop moving when I rub them. It is their reward, reassurance and they learn to relax and take it in. It makes the next steps adjusting to the harness, poles and or shafts easier for them to accept. Another really important response is to put their head down when you touch the pole or put downward pressure on the halter. For them to know that makes bridling so much easier. After they know what is expected it takes so little pressure for them to repond. Of course, I word of praise and a rub helps too.

I have attached a couple of pictures from the cleanup event.

I am from SW Wisconsin, where the temps have been too cold to train horses and where the horses are getting bored and walking over the hot wire. We had to plow snow along the fence to make it harder for them to step over. The days are getting longer and hope to hook up my new stone boat sled for training my youngest horse.

-Theresa

Round pen question

2009-01-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Doc,
I have a round pen question for you. I have received your latest video about round pen work. I haven't sat down to watch it yet but look forward to doing so. My round pen instruction and experience is rather low, but I have used it with several horses in the past 3 years. I have been having a recurring reaction from working stallions in the round pen and I wonder if you seen anything like this or if you feel I am talking incorrectly to this gender group of horses.

I know horse's body language does not lie but, I continue to have a reaction from Stallions that puzzles me. We work the entire process from the beginning as described in Monty Roberts' book called "From My hand to yours" The stallions exhibit the normal progression of language. Ear locked on, tipping the head in, licking lips, dropping the head while moving. As I pull in my "claws" and rotate my shoulder to invite them in, and they almost freeze in their tracks and begin sniffing the ground and nearby manure piles. Even passing back and forth in front of them, rotating my back to them does not seem to get any attention. I have not been able to get any Join up type of response.

Is there a step I'm missing? Do stallions have a different way of interpreting the rotating shoulder since they usually work from the back of the herd? It does seem that, even though I don't get a true join up type of response, the stallions are showing increased respect and are paying close attention in work after our round pen time. I'm puzzled. Do you have any suggestions? Is there a particular pattern in stallions that I just do not have enough experience with to be able to identify?

Hope to hear from you on this one. I'll get time watch the videos real soon.

Thanks.
Steve Wood

Hello to all

2009-01-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

From Steve Wood, Elk River, MN:
Good Morning to all.

Doc, Thanks for starting this blog for us to peer into each others daily challenges as well as our triumphs! This will be fun!

Our farm is in east central Minnesota.The temperature this morning was 24 below zero during morning chores. The music on these cold still mornings is amazing. Ringo, the dog, talks urging me to be faster as we dress in our warmest footwear and coats, rawr rawr rawrlll. The excited murmur of the horses as they hear my footsteps squeaking on the, oh-so-cold snow outside the barn. They know the morning ration of food is near. The chickadees and cardinals and juncos flit, chirping and scolding, to and from the sunflower feeder collecting energy to fight the cold. The hawk floats over the barnyard hoping to see a squirrel away from his tree. The lever on the water hydrant squawks to life as we fill the water tanks. The bass drum sound of the frozen horse apples as the hit the wooden floor of the spreader. Then again the refrain of the squeaking snow as the team pulls the spreader out the end of the barn and out to the hayground to spread.

Now for the most magical of all the sounds we engage the spreader and ask the team to step out. This snow is not packed so the wheels float along silently. The beaters play a tune like you've never heard as they ping and tang against the frozen horse apples, flinging them into the air. The chains and levers working to power the stiff steel to do their work. The rythm is set by the pace of the horses, and as they slow to a stop for a much deserved break, all falls silent. The air is so clean! I know the deer are watching, They silently glance to each other, as they watch the human go through his morning routine. What more can a guy ask for?

Six student horses to work today. I think each lesson will be short as I will retreat to the warmth of the barn office to regain the feeling in the fingers. It's a balmy 45 degrees above in there! Currently all of the horses seem to be progressing well. Each at their own level of ability.

Paige, a pony mare, has shown me she is much more comfortable working without blinds. She works on left and right side of the teams while pulling the stoneboat and is learning to relax while standing.

Missy, another pony mare, scoots along comfortably while driving single on her little cart. Her time with us is drawing to an end as she will be graduating and going home this coming weekend. She lives near Rochester, Minnesota.

C-C is a morgan mare who is just getting a good start on this job of driving. She currently ground drives single as well as pulls the small stoneboat with Val, our helper horse. Soon she will be on the big stoneboat with the tongue helping take wood ashes out to the fields adn bringing in new firewood.

Annie, Another Morgan mare is currently happy pulling the big stonebaot with Val. Her owner had her first chance to drive the big stoneboat this past weekend. We are getting close to pulling the sleigh. She just needs to show me she is ready and comfortable pushing on the tongue to turn the vehicle. Then we'll be sleighriding.

Knight, a Paint cross with Arabian gelding, is showing huge improvements in courage. Last week his job was to pull the empty wood hauling wagon out to a new spot in the woods. This week he is working on a lighter cart and we are working on transitions from walk to trot and back to walk. We are working on weekends, with his owner, to get them familiar with each other. What a treat!

My Turn, A young halflinger stallion, has a bit of a challenge in developing his working attitude while harnessed. He would rather talk to all the horses he can see! He works fairly well with Big Jim, our Belgian gelding. He really thinks that he should not have to work on our current chore, no matter what it is, because at the moment he wants to chat with the rest of the farm's occupants. He is improving so we just keep on slowly getting closer to our goal of being a single cart horse!

Good bye for now. I can feel my fingers again, so it's time to go harness up. I'll try to get photos up of each of the students real soon.

Overcoming confidence and noise issues by Walter Bernard, Dorena OR

2009-01-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Overcoming confidence and noise issues
A blog by Walt Bernard, Dorena OR

This blog or log of horse activities on our farm was created out a need to gain and share advice and information from Doug Hammill about horse behavior issues on our farm, while at the same time sharing his advice with others. Over the years that I have known and observed Doug in seminars, workshops, and general conversation about the equine mind, I have been impressed with his training and problem solving abilities of the working horse. His non-judgmental and non confrontational approach puts both horses and humans at ease and the best learning comes in times of low stress for the animal and human involved.

I can’t tell you how many times I have had a situation where “it seemed like a good idea at the time” or “how could I do this better.” I have been working horses now for 12 years and only am now seeing the beginnings of what is possible, as you will see from this blog. Hopefully, we can all learn and help each other thru our real life experiences as posted here. And by the way, my wife and I are always available for visits or calls about horses.

We have 5 draft horses: Nugget, a 7 yr old Belgian/Percheron cross; Ray, an 11 yr old Belgian; Tom, a 4 yr old Belgian; Jerry a 3 yr old Belgian; and Ruby, a 19 Belgian/Percheron cross. We use these horses on our farm of 70 acres, comprised of 7 acres of market garden, hay and grain ground, woodlot and pasture. The initial entries here are from memory and may not be perfectly accurate but once you begin to see dates things are true to chronological order. For an entry about a particular horse, I enter their name, as each horse has different individual needs.

The horse I have been working with most is Nugget. He has confidence issues and issues with noise behind him. He was trained on the farm, and has been on disc, harrow, mower, and manure spreader. He will work single or as a team, and I have worked him a fair amount three abreast.

I had a run with him in the fall on a work sled pulling single. He had been on the sled before but it had been about a year. I had hitched him and we drove out and he jogged along at a human fast walk pace. We were headed towards the barn when the sled hit some rocks and the metal runner on rock noise set him to a run. At that point, I should have said whoa, but if I remember correctly, I just turned him into the field away from the barn and used line pressure release to get him down to a walk.

We stood for a bit and I talked to him, then set out at a walk away from the barn, but when we came around and headed for home, the same thing happened. I turned him from the barn but wound up having to take him between a greenhouse and a fence that gradually narrowed to a 3 ft opening. He slowed down to a slow trot, I talked to him and when he came to the opening, he hesitated, and then went thru the opening. The sled stuck and I said whoa. Then I let him stand for about 5 minutes and unhitched him. I ground drove him back to the hitch rail, got an evener and immediately hitched him to a tire and pulled that around for about ½ hr. He was calm and walked the whole time. I should mention that I was never panicked myself during his run.

I hitched Nugget to the sled both single and with a team mate several times over the next two weeks both in a field and arena, and although he didn’t try to run on me he was definitely up on the bit, jogging along, would not stand well or try avoid being hitched to the sled, and would startle at noises while pulling but not standing. As I think back and compare him to other horses, he has always been nervous about noises and I think this experience put him over the edge. It’s interesting; a disc blade hitting some rocks doesn’t bother him but other sounds do, like the ring roller. Also, I think noises combined with vibration thru the tongue of a forecart may also contribute.

Anyway, I had decided that I was going to have to go back to the basics and beginnings of training to help this horse improve. It was coming on winter here anyway, so there was really no fieldwork to be done. About that time Doug Hammill paid a visit to our farm. When he worked with Nugget it was clear he needed additional groundwork. Doug demonstrated how controlling the horse’s movement is the foundation for an excellent and willing working horse. He gave me some very valuable tips on controlling the horses feet and movement using a lead rope. I began using these techniques with excellent results over the winter.

Per Doug’s suggestions I would halter Nugget and spend 15-60 minutes working on standing and space issues. You have the horse stand and control his foot movement with the lead rope. Initially, Nugget would take steps and try to move. I would keep him standing still, then go to a different place and repeat. Then I would drop the lead and walk around the horse, doing different things like picking up feet, and crawling underneath him. He got to where he would stand pretty well with this. I would take him to different areas of the farm to repeat the lesson, to expose him to different sounds, buildings, and equipment as a part of the lesson. I did this exercise 3-7 days a week all winter long as a single lesson, if I only had a few minutes, or as part of some driving work in a longer session. For example, a standard lesion starts with the lead rope work on standing, then I harness and repeat the lesion w/o bridle, then bridle and repeat lesion with lines and driving. Then I go on to whatever I will be doing, either fieldwork or lessons on things that are noisy.

At the end of the work I would repeat the standing in reverse order, i.e. with lines and ground driving, then lead rope, then without bridle, and always quit on a good note. The horse did generally well and eventually would do these ground exercises without a lead rope, as long as there was nothing to eat nearby!

From this base I began training to noisy things in my arena. I have used a large tire, a metal garbage can, and a variety if metal items. First I introduce the item to the horse, and lead him along while the item bounces around him. On occasion, I lead him while someone else drags the item behind him. With the garbage can, which makes a lot of noise, I then ground drove the horse while pulling the can myself. I then hooked a truck tire (about 100 lbs) with a single tree and drove him just with that. Then I added towing the garbage can myself, then actually tied the can to the tire and worked nugget that way. I should add that I used the tire to provide drag so as to prevent a lightweight thing like a garbage can from fouling the traces against his legs and causing too many sensations at once. He has adapted to this well.

Additionally, all winter I have been ground driving him single and as a team with Ray and on the forecart, to build confidence and introduce him to all kinds of stimuli. I spent a lot of time teaching them to stand, especially in front of the forecart, often for hours. After they stand in front of the forecart, repeatedly hitch and unhitch them without driving anywhere, to reinforce the concept that we don’t just drive off after the last trace is hooked. He has definitely improved in his standing patience, but will still take that testing step, especially when hitching for the first time that day At the end of work or lessons, I drive the horses to an area in front of my barn and have them stand awhile. Then we go to the rail to unharness.

Bits. I broke Nugget with an egg butt snaffle, and was working him in a leverage bit for the past few years. I had put him back in the snaffle during the summer for no specific reason I can remember. I had the run on the sled with him in the snaffle, so I went back to a leverage bit. I vary the lines from zero to maximum leverage depending on the horse.

3/27/08 I worked with Nugget today. Harnessed him in the arena. I did the usual standing exercises with a lead rope, then without. I could walk several feet from him and he would stand just fine. Then I bridled him and did the same thing. (total 20 min). Then hooked a single tree with grab hook and drove him about at a walk and stand exercise. (10 min). Then I hitched him to the sled and had him stand. He was definitely taking that testing step, but after a few minutes he would stand OK. I drove him a few feet and stopped, till he stood OK, and banged a rock around on the sled as described before. Then I drove him a few feet and just before stopping banged the rock on the sled and the horse stopped on his own!

I then had the horse stand for about 30 minutes. He would still “test” to see if he was on the bit, but when is was clear he was standing well, I did the reverse sequence of the opening of the lesson. After I unbridled him (not tied), I just clicked and he followed me to the gate. He stood while I opened the gate, followed me thru, stood while I closed it and followed me to a second gate and stood the same again. Then we went to the hitch rail, with out a lead rope.

3/29/08 Nugget I had him in the arena on the sled for two hrs or so. Started with standing exercises then drive and stand with a single tree, then on to the sled. He would stand well with and without the single tree, (not under load, but just the noise of the single tree). So I went on to the sled. Hitched to the sled, he wanted to trot, and jog along, but this settles down until the metal runners happen to hit a rock. This scares him and he picks up the tempo every time it happens to a degree. I try to go easy on the lines and then gradually use pressure release to work him back down to a slower pace and then whoa him. So at this point I have two issues. 1. He doesn’t want to stand—he tests the lines and hitch over and over to see if he can go. 2. The noise issue, which contributes to #1.

I let him stand as long as he will. If he steps out I kiss him up and we move out. Eventually, I get him worked down enough that he just stands for 15-30 minutes, even though he still was nervous about the noise from the sled runners, and I unhitch and go back to standing exercises. Then I took him back to the hitch rail for a few minutes. He thinks he is going to quit, but his demeanor is calm. I put the lines/bridle back on and ground drove him around the gravel drive in front of my barn. Then I drug the metal garbage can behind me (nothing hitched to the horse) He was jiggy initially but calmed down quickly and I called it good for the day.

3/29/08 Nugget. Had just a small bit of time today so I spent 30 minutes re-teaching nugget how to unload from my horse trailer. I don’t trailer much. He loads easily. In fact, this horse will follow me almost anywhere. For example, I once asked him to get up on my flat bed trailer. By golly, he put his front foot up and raised his front half up on there before I backed him off. Any way, he is too big to easily turn around in the trailer so he has to back out. I taught him to do this using a halter and two lead ropes. First, I just led him to the trailer and had him put his front feet in, then stood for a bit, then gave him the cue to back out. I did this a few times, and then he got all the way in. I backed him a few feet in the trailer while standing by his shoulder. Then I took two lead ropes and used them like driving lines to his halter, and gave him the back command. A little bit at a time he worked his way back, then forward, then finally went for it and got out. I did this a few times then quit. I thought it was interesting that he would not back all the way out with me at his shoulder, but would do it when I was behind him.

4/2/08 Nugget. I took Nugget and did the usual standing and ground driving today followed by an hour of heavy pulling. I have a loader tire that weighs approx 6-700 lbs. I built a seat in it and hitch to it with a grab hook. It’s a good pull for him. The objective was two fold: to get him to a good stand, and to get a good pulling walk instead of a jog/trot.
This was the first time I hitched him single to it, and it makes a funny and different “noise”. First I hitched him and had him stand, then I did the 1, 3, 5 step start I read about in the SFJ; i.e. I had him pull 1 step, then 3 steps etc. He was nervous initially, but responded to pressure release, (and the weight). I let him go a few yards and had him stand. He likes to jog and my ultimate goal is a nice pulling walk, but I settled for the slow jog initially. We went 20-50 yards and stopped and stood. He did well on the standing and after a while was pulling at a good pace. I drove him back to the barn, had him stand for a while, then unhitched and stood some more. Then ground drove him around to paddock back to the tire and made him stand there. I then hung up the lines, unbridled him standing untied, kissed him up and walked to the hitch rail with the horse following.

4/10/08 Nugget. Just ground drove him in straight bar bit all around the property and near our new sow. He stood well. Then pulled a metal garbage can around for a while and he walked well. Unbridled him kissed him up and he followed me to the hitching rail.

4/12/08 Nugget and Ray. I took them out on the road in the forecart for about 2 hrs. When I was hitching Ray stood very well, but Nugget was taking that testing step he does. He didn’t walk off however, and once hitched both horses stood well. I drove them for about 1.5 hr stopping intermittently and both stood well (85 degrees and humid, I might add). When I got home I had them stand and re-hitched them to the cart several times before quitting. Both horses stood well.

4/14/08 after a few minutes of basic groundwork, I drove Nugget out to where we have a new sow. He’s never seen a pig so he was really checking it out. I approached until the sow had his attention the stood for a while. Before he wanted to move out, I kissed him up and drove him away from the pig several yards and had him stand. Then I repeated this several times, each time going closer to the sow. After I was within about 20 ft, I was satisfied and went on to do other training lessons.

4/15/08 Finally, the ground was just dry enough to do a bit of fieldwork. After a few minutes of groundwork, I did about two hours of spring tooth work in our annual crop area. He worked, stood, and walked well. Kris hitched Ray single to a forecart and rolled the harrowed areas afterwards. I led Nugget behind, beside, and in front of the roller to desensitize him to it.

4/16/08 Nugget. Ground drove in stormy weather.

4/17/08 Nugget. Ground drive tire, garbage can etc.

4/20/08 Nugget. Kris and I cultivated several 150x20ft plastic covered hoop houses with a single row cultivator, using Nugget. I did an initial short groundwork session and then we hitched him and went to work. It was a day of fast changing weather, with sudden 20 mph wind, sun, and then and hail/heavy rain. The horse tolerated the noise and plastic blowing about fairly well. I did half the work with a twisted wire snaffle and half the work with his usual leverage bit. In comparing the two, I used fairly light pressure release with both bits. Both Kris and I thought that the horse was quieter with the bar leverage bit. He tossed his head more with the twisted wire bit and was less responsive to turn or whoa cues. I wonder if Doug would care to comment on this.

4/23/08 Nugget. Basic groundwork

4/24/08 Doug Hammill visits. We had a great opportunity to have Doug visit our farm and give us help with our horses. We spent the morning working with nugget then Nugget and Ray. Carrie Jones was here as well. I showed Doug what I had been working on with Nugget then we went on to challenge him with new stimuli and challenges, including pulling the ring roller and lime spreader behind the forecart. Here is a summary of the things I took away from the day.
Having an experienced teamster such as Doug look over what you are doing is extremely educational and beneficial.

Doug confirmed that some of the techniques I had been doing were correct and working. This is a huge boost in my confidence, especially since I often train alone or with Kris. There is no comparison to an on site real time consult.
I learned some finer techniques in handling the lines. For example, I had been using pressure release equally firmly with each line. Doug taught me to use the direct line with longer strokes compared to the crosscheck line when ‘checking’ the faster jiggy horse back. I had also not generally been using as much pressure release stroke length as Doug suggested. We also used early indicators that we were going to stop, by pumping the lines together a few times before giving the whoa. Using this technique, when I could remember to, had the horses about stopped when I gave the command. On starting horses, Doug suggested I gain more bit contact than I was using; Doug demonstrated by gathering in equal tension about to the amount that the horses would be thinking about backing then give the command to go. After a few times the horses had the association and were ready to start together.
We exposed Nugget to new sounds in a novel way that had not occurred to me but after doing, it makes perfect sense. Doug suggested we associate a new sound or noise with one the horse is accustomed to. So, first we pulled the garbage can behind the forecart, and then we hitched the ring roller to the forecart and tied the garbage can behind the roller. In my mind, the change in his response was remarkable. The last time Nugget and Ray were on the ring roller, he never stopped jigging. This time both horses walked out as if it were nothing! The next step was to just pull the roller without the garbage can and they did well except for some barn-sour behavior.
I think the biggest behavior problem in Nugget that day would actually be that he was ‘barn sour.’ He was more likely to bunch up in the rear and jig when we were headed towards the barn. (In retrospect, when I had the run last fall, he only ran towards the barn). With Doug, we used line pressure release to work him down to a walk, then immediately stop them and let them stand until they showed signs of a relaxed composure, such as dropping their heads, less fidgeting around, taking deep breaths, relaxed muscle tone, etc. Then we would drive them further along. If they exhibited barn sour behavior, Doug suggested some other options to deal with the problem including turning away from the barn, backing up, creating work for the horses back at the barn, and encouraging ‘standing sites’ away from the barn where the horses are used to standing for long periods of time. A hitch rail near equipment shed would be a good example of this.

After we finished up at my place we headed up to watch Doug work with Carrie Jones’ team and Lise Hube’s horses.

Thanks for a great day Doug!

Mare having trouble standing during chores

2009-01-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Doc,

I met you and Tom at Horse Progress Days last year in Illinois; I hope you are recovering from the fire. I have a 7-year-old Clydesdale mare that was broke as a 2 year old. I used her double for 3 years doing chores -- mostly on the manure spreader. I recently lost the gelding, so have used the mare as a single for hauling out manure on a stone boat. She she stands great in the barn and at the shed but not good in the woods or the garden when I'm dumping the load or hooking to the harrow.

I have your fundamental tapes, but was wondering if I should go back to the round pen training or teaching the horse to drive. Any suggestions on which video would help?

Regards,

CA in Missouri

Doc's answer

Good to hear from you.

Are you aware of my new 3 disc video set, “Gentle Training – The Round Pen”? I believe there is a lot in it that would help with your mare.

My short answer to your question below is to start teaching her to stand in all those different places that she is having difficulty doing so by taking her there in the halter and doing it with her on a long lead.

Start where she will stand well (in barn and at shed) then go a few feet and work on it there, gradually increasing the distance into new adjacent areas. Because of her experience in harness I suggest doing it with the harness and bridle but on a lead not with lines from behind just yet.

Mix up the standing with short walks, asking her to back up, picking up feet, petting and scratching her (no patting or slapping), asking her to put her head down, rubbing her with a stick all over the body, etc. This will keep her from getting bored and break up asking for one thing too long at first. Try to ask her to move before she tries to move, but if she does move make her go in a circle on the long lead just like she was in a round pen until she becomes more cooperative.

Practice standing on the halter in front of the equipment you will be using but not hitched to it. Move the equipment to new locations from time to time to give her practice in front of it in different locations.

As she gets good about standing in a given location gradually increase the distance you are from her to teach her to stand when you are farther away, and eventually out of sight behind the blinders.

If she gets her head too far to the side or looks to the side too long she will move so when you are asking her to stand keep her head relatively straight forward without being too militant about it. Pet her and talk nice when she is doing well and reposition her or make her do some circles when she isn’t. Better to take a small success, reward it and move her a ways so as to not ask too much.

If she moves one of her feet, make her put it back where it was. If she steps forward and you put her feet back a time or two you should increase the message the next time by not just putting her feet back where they were but by making her back up a few steps and then stand there – she will be getting farther away from where she really wants to be and it will have a greater effect (in time).

Eventually, you can do all of this with the lines from behind her, reward her with a calm hand and petting on the rump, drive her in circles (but not in a direction she wants to go) as needed as a consequence of moving when not asked to do so, etc.

She may have stood well with a partner in various locations but she needs to learn that she must do so alone as well. Teaching even the simplest things in many different places and circumstances is called generalizing training and is very important.

The long version and much more detail can be found in my new DVDs.

You can see them on my website. If you decide to order them just email me and I will get them right off to you and you can send a check at your convenience.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions along the way.

With appreciation,

Doc