no pressure driving

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  • January 24, 2013 at 10:48 pm #44449
    back-forty
    Participant

    Hello All,
    After reading Don’s article on driving with no pressure I am seeking guidance from the group.

    By applying pressure to slow my team and releasing the pressure as soon as they make even a small change in speed I am able to maintain fairly good speed control with minimal to no line pressure however maintaining a straight line is another matter. For a few weeks after the oats came up this spring, revealing gaps and overlaps in our seeding, I was reminded daily of just much we tend to wander from a straight line.

    My team of 9and 10 year old percheron mares who I have had for two years seem to rely on a certain amount of tension in the lines to maintain a straight line. It is not typically a lot of tension but non the same if I release to what I would call no tension but with mininal slack in the lines we begin to wander. It is a liitle better with tasks like raking hay were the one mare will tend to follow windrow but even going down the road were we have a shoulder to follow they tend to wander both to the left and the right.

    Maybe I am just struggling to find the fine line between maintaining contact and yet eliminating tension in the lines. Any guidance would be appreciated as the impact on the small grains is one thing but I would sure hate to try and cultivate corn!

    January 29, 2013 at 9:09 pm #77092
    wally b
    Participant

    Nobody has responded yet so I add my cents. I like horses that drive both no pressure and with pressure release driving. The more control I need I will use mor pressure release driving. So Mowing or Plowing where the horses really know where to walk, after learning (like the furrow hores)–they need is a little help, then I let them just do their job. If I’m cultivating or doing some precise work then I use the pressure release, like drilling grain without a marking disc, or dragging a harrow over a pasture. It is truely amazing how small a ‘mark’ a team can pick up on to guide the way. This works for me.

    wally

    January 29, 2013 at 11:59 pm #77091
    J-L
    Participant

    Wally B and I are on the same page.

    When I am having to do some tight manuevering, the slack comes out of my lines.

    As Wally says, the horses will pick up on the routine and little to no guidance will be needed for some jobs. This is the beauty of working animals in my book. Usually your mower team will only need to be held out on the corners as most will want to turn a tad early.
    When feeding cattle by myself I have to have animals that can handle slack lines without getting nervous. Many horse that have been taught to drive ‘in the bit’ get extremely nervous when there is no contact. It is quite a chore to get them over this problem. Most all of my animals will get started with light contact and encouraged to work on slack lines. It is easier to get them up in the bit when you need them to be so (just a little in the bit works for me) than the reverse in my experience.

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