[TBigLug]

@Robert MoonShadow 13586 wrote:

To wish everyone in the DraftAnimalPower family

Happy Yuletide, a Merry Christmas & a joyful Winter Soltice!!
{for my Christian friends}

x2 From the Walling family!

[TBigLug]

I’ll give ya’ my thought on the whole Coggins testing as far as the “Can be infected after the test is taken…” Like I told Heather, it’s better than nothing. I’d rather take 5 minutes out of my day to find out my horse doesn’t have it than worry. What’s worse, a horse that travels 363 days while infected or a horse that travels 10 years while being infected? I’ve always said, if someone can come up with a better solution, I’m all ears. For now, it’s a low hassle preventative measure for me.

[TBigLug]

I’m a horse man. No problem with mules, almost bought a mommoth jack the day I bought Dottie. I just prefer horses. That and the mule song at 5:00 AM from the neighbors farm is enough to make me wanna drive a spike through my temple! 😀

[TBigLug]

@Wes Gustafson 13490 wrote:

In my viewpoint, the horse without blinders in the same situation, could monitor the dog during the same attack, and make a decision when to apply his hoof to the dog’s face with a bit of force if things got out of hand, which they did in the case we’re talking about.

I saw this post and it got me thinking about the “What could have happened…” in my head. This in particular is an excellant example of why I want the blinders on my horse. It’s hard to explain where everyone’s body position was but what I can tell you is had that horse kicked the dog, there’s no way she would have been able to hit the dog alone and not the man given he was tangled up with the dog. His head was right at the level of the dog as he was wrestling to get him away. Now envision this, horse sees dog coming with man on top of it, kicks as hard as it can at that dog, connects with man in face breaking man’s neck, now I have a dead man and a scared horse on my hands. Dog biting horse is bad but there is no animal life worth more than a human life. With the blinders on she was forced to go with her training and that is to listen to my commands. No kick, no hurt dog, no hurt horse, no hurt dude and an interesting story to tell.

[TBigLug]

I agree. We get alot of lurkers here that are shy to come out and share their opinions. I’m starting to see more and more come out of the shadows to play. What draws alot of people here is a Google search will bring up posts about whatever topic they’re looking for. Keep the newbies coming and all you lurkers don’t be afraid to get out in the limelight and ask questions. I like winding down my day by helping out people and sharing what kernals of knowledge I’ve managed to scrape together.

[TBigLug]

Not to detract form the blinders issue but I just wanted to give an update. I never got to take Dottie back over to the tree farm this year. Weather was too bad on the one day I wasn’t working and I just couldn’t pull it together. I think Dottie will be fine and the owner of the farm reiterated to me today that if I wanted to bring her out anytime for training purposes to feel free. Thanks again everybody for the best wishes and advice.

[TBigLug]

Something else to think of is food, maybe Oz got some of that Hoary Alyssum in a bale of hay. We had a neighbor who’s horse was highly reactive to it and caused his legs to stock up and make him lame. Not sure but something else to keep in mind.

No matter what, I hope everything goes well and it was just a slip on the ice and OZ gets back to normal soon!

[TBigLug]

It’s too bad. Seems as though there’s been alot of miscommunication and short tempers here lately. Must be the cabin fever hitting everyone early this year. That’s the problem I have with the internet, it’s harder to get your point and current context across without talking to the person face to face. Maybe we all just need to be more clear with what we’re trying to say to avoid confusion.

[TBigLug]

@lancek 12834 wrote:

And big lug i would have taken you for a little older

I get that alot. Even though I am the youngest in even my group of friends my age they refer to me as the old man since while they’re all out there bar hopping and whooping it up I’m at home cleaning harness and setting up the barn for the next morning’s chores. I got all of my wild (and buddy do I mean WILD) days out of my system by the time I was 21. I wasn’t always a good person but I learned alot of hard knock lessons early and it helped make me who I am today. Just the old guy in bibs on the front porch whittling a stick after dinner. 😀

[TBigLug]

Thanks for the kudos on my herd mark. Do oyu have any pics of your Perch doing what they do best?

[TBigLug]

While I have a much more limited knowledge base to draw from than most of the people here, I’d like to interject my two cents on the blinder vs. no blinder discussion. I prefer to use blinders for the same reason I do alot of things. That’s how my grand dad did it, how his dad did it and how his dad before him did it. Now, does that mean it’s the only way. No, as a matter of fact, all of the horses we ride ride in open bridles. I’ve never noticed a difference in how the horses reacted in either getup. I htink Carl is right on the point that if you train your team to follow your lead and trust you unconditionally it won’t matter whether they have no blinders, blinders or their eyes closed. Now, I do want to pick up a blinderless bridle for using in the woods. Not so much for the ability for them to see what’s behind them but we have alot of small twig branches in our woods and it would help a little bit in keeping the twigs from being deflected toward their eyes by the blinders. I think Carl’s original point was the hardware doesn’t make the horse, the relationship between the teamster and the horse, makes the horse. Once again, the two cents of a young man.

[TBigLug]

@Plowboy 13080 wrote:

Standing should be a part of every horses education so that when you need them to they will stand.

I think this is an important part of EVERY training program. When I first started working Dottie we spent most of our time standing rather than pulling. Big mistake I see new guys make is working the horses into the ground and not teaching them to stand. Now she will stand as quiet as any 10 y/o horse.

That being said, I never set down the lines for more than a second or two. Personal preference. My uncles horses are as quiet as the day is long but I’ve seen them walk off on him for no reason four or five times.

[TBigLug]

@Vand 13241 wrote:

Usually, we’re more traumatized than they are!

Ain’t that the truth!

DD- She did great on the stone boat. I believe she’ll be just fine. I’m hoping to get a break in the weather to get her out again this week.

[TBigLug]

I’d be game if you were in Northern Ohio. I know all about the generational gap problem. I’m 27 and the average age of my fellow horsemen is about 70! Keep plugging away man.

[TBigLug]

That’s neat. Same principle as the springs on the farm truck hitch to soften the blow of the wagons slopping back and forth.

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