Riding the Runaway Plow
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Four Draft Horses in the Barn for Training. A look inside the trainer's experience.
What are the chances of having four feathered breeds in for training at the same time? I just say, “Girl, you big,” or “Dude, you huge!” whenever I open their stall doors. Naturally big, they have been man-enhanced into super-sized chubby wubbies. Always good to have reserves.
As cold blooded as they are, when I watch them run, they can be super light on their feet—which I like.
They are heavy to ride, however. Heavy on the forehand. Stuck in the mud to be exact. Lifting those shoulders makes me feel like Popeye before the spinach. “That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more.”
One of the drafts is a three year old Friesian Percheron cross—he big! His head, stuck waaaay out in front, takes time to contract to my hands for simple things like stopping and turning. ”Back off, I’m getting to it!” he seems to say. “These things take time!”
“Jaw, poll, neck and spine have all the limberness of riding a log,” I say, “mutter, mutter, mutter.”
It’s a little like a teeter-totter. A long one, with you sitting in the middle. One that can swivel side to side as it goes up and down. Can be fun, ‘cept my trails aren’t that wide for a reason. You got some narrow passes up them trails where trees grow closer —I’m not talkin’ sweet tart! Horses and their riders need to learn to ride. I mean, “Steer your horse!” That applies to me as I lumber up the trail. Here comes that tree to step around. It IS easier to just pivot around the tree using the rider’s leg as the pivot point, right? Scccrrraaape.
One of the simplest and most practical maneuver you can teach your horse is the turn on the haunches. He really has to get down, engage his haunches and lift his shoulders, while stepping to the side without stepping forward. Yeah, that tree becomes a “non-issue” once you’ve mastered lifting those shoulders. I spend some classroom time in the arena religiously everyday before I ride out. My legs and knees appreciated that too.
It’s a suppling issue when you begin to dig in and really teach your horse to turn correctly. By correctly I don’t mean he wanders left and then wanders right, but lifts the shoulders and steps left or right as a direct response to the rein. To do it
as it should be done, your horsey must become supple to your hand through his jaw and poll, as well as through his whole body. It’s Horsey 101. (It’s also balance, collection, looseness, connection, impulsion…)