[drivingpairs] Re: Four in Hand

OK, I've been lurking here for a long time, too. Tandems sound like an interesting challenge, but we went right from draft pairs (miniatures) to draft fours. We got first lessons from an older guy in the area who has been driving mini draft for over 30 years, everything up to 6 up. Then it was time to go it on our own. Trucked them over to our local church parking lot 3 miles away, and hitched up our Frontier Pony Wagon for the drive home (rubber pneumatic tires, 5/8 scale). Mama driving, me taking evidence photos. A mile down the road, she says her hands are cramping up from all the extra motion, and "you better come up and drive them awhile." I drove a mile, and my hands were getting cramped up. What to do......a mile from home, and we had to get there. My bright idea was "you drive the leaders, and I'll drive the wheelers". Luckily, no one who KNEW anything came by to witness the spectacle. From the tracks, it looked like some drunks on bicycles followed a herd of wild minis down the road. We DID get 'em home safe, but it caused us to spend extra time training US before we headed out to the horse expo for demo hitch drives. Bottom line.........I really love the 4, and my only experience with tandems was getting run over by a wheel in a narrow alley at a show.

Jim Walter

----- Original Message ----- From: "MUMBLIN MULE" <target@xxxxxxx>
To: <drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 10:44 AM
Subject: [drivingpairs] Four in Hand


I've been lurking along the edges of this TANDEM discussion.
Several years ago At the International Draft Horse show in Sandpoint, Idaho.
I was elected to fill in as the armature driver in the 4 up class. (I had driven 4 only one other time on a snow road with a feed sleigh in Jackson, Wyoming). I did okay even drove around the cones of the figure 8. I even made a perfect stop in alignment with the cone where I needed to back up the length of the wagon and then proceed.
As I pulled the lines I shortened the leaders instead of the wheelers and the leaders turned right back along side of the wheelers as we backed up.
I told everyone the leaders were just checking to see where we needed to back up to.

It was a good learning experience since no one was hurt and it was EXCITING to feel all that extra power.
BUT please practice line changes BEFORE you get in a show ring.

Dell M. Mangum
TARGET POLYPAYS
"pure bred sheep since 1978 and Shire Horses since last Saturday"
Blackfoot, Idaho


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