Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Driving Journal July 1, 2008


I had my second lesson on how to drive a work horse. Zarran was present for this lesson and he was quickly brought up to speed. We were shown where all of the horse's gear is put away inside of the Sterling Farm barn, how to set the gear up so that it is efficiently put onto the horse and taken off of the horse, and we walked behind the horses while steering them through body pressure with
the driving lines. A lot of it was review from the first time , but I never remember things the first time unless its painful or traumatic. I need to become more confidant in directing animals where to go because the bigger they are the easier they can damage their surroundings, their selves, and other animals. I'm working hard and I'm hoping I can bring this semester to a more successful end than the last one. I am about one class day behind in my work now so I am hoping that this weekend will be a good chance to catch up, and maybe tell my family about what I am doing at school.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

William, I appreciate your sense of understanding when working with the horses, you are well on your way to becoming a solid teamster. I enjoyed watching you work with line management today, I believe learning how to manage a set of 14 foot driving lines is one of the most difficult things we have to do when working with a horse. During our next driving lesson, I would like you to revisit the technique of turning a horse with the "20 degree" rule. I believe you noticed what happens when we bend a horses' neck more than 20 degree as we ask them to move around a circle. Also, I would like you to take a breath and think through the command for which you are about to ask a horse; make sure the command makes sense and is precisely what you want to do. William, you are ready to hitch an implement or a log up to Pete! Good job. Rick