A carriage drawn by a comet

[glenatron]

Yesterday was the appointed date for my birthday present from herecirm which was a Shire Experience day with Waldburgs Shires. I hadn't realised when I read my promisory note but she had gone the extra mile and got me a day of my own, this is because she is awesome.

Comments

[joycemocha]

Sounds like much fun. My horse-training pedigree goes back through working horses, and my mother's youthful horse of her heart was Ranger, a big draft colt that she broke herself as a pre-teen. I have pictures of her getting him used to surcingle and pad with ropes and pulling stuff around the yard; much the same technique she and my father used with my first Shetland and taught me to do

[glenatron]

I find the history of it fascinating- I think in a few generations we have lost so much knowledge regarding draft horses and the working thereof. I suppose it was inevitable but it makes me wish there had been more collection of the oral history of the people in our grandparents' generation whose draft horses were their livelihood.

[puddleshark]

Oh, that looks like a wonderful day!

I've always regarded anyone who can drive a horse with something like awe... Horses are complicated enough without adding a wagon or cart into the equation. Congratulations on how composed you look while manoeuvring over that narrow bridge (ie. not screaming & covering your eyes).

[glenatron]

Dave's quite reassuring to have on hand at times like that- they start a lot of horses under harness so he's been through many scary situations and if he says a horse is solid for driving, you know that they will be.

[clevortrevor]

Happy birthday! That looks like so much fun! If you're not supposed to straighten the mane and feathers, what DO you do with them?

[herecirm]

I'd just told him that we don't normally comb the feathers - it can pull the hair out, so if they don't actually need to be brushed through then there's no real reason to do so. It's not a proper rule or anything!

[dreamswept]

Looks like awesome fun. But then, driving is pretty darned right cool to begin with, especially with a level-headed horse who knows the drill.

I think hames and collar working harness is pretty cool. I've never really have a reason to use it with my little EE cart since the breastcollar works fine, but I did once joke about getting a neck collar and short hames to hook Mitch up to the arena drag.

It's a different perspective, it is. Looking at the horse from the rear like that.

I think today's gonna be a driving day for me. I've not been driving (or riding) since Jet launched me. Hurt too much! But I rode Mitch yesterday and I think today I want to hook up and go.

[glenatron]

The whole thing was so different but the principles were very much the same. It's amazing how much stuff that is completely counter to their nature these horses learn to accept and work with.

Ben's Shire Horse Experience Day.

[livejournal]

User herecirm referenced to your post from Ben's Shire Horse Experience Day. saying: [...] new skills - especially in regards to horses. He's made a detailed write-up in his journal [...]