[drivingpairs] "Book Learning"
- From: kathy robertson <goodhors@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 09:07:46 -0700 (PDT)
I would strongly agree with Hardy, that you can't
learn to do as good a job driving horses from a book,
as you can by combining books and lessons. There are
just too many variables, adjustments, that you can not
mechanically figure. Light touch, half-halts? Not
the same for all horses and drivers.
Working with a live person, having them see you in
action, can help immensely. Even with good photos,
you can't learn ALL details of harnessing, releasing
of reins for turns. Couple of pointers from them, get
you on the right path to easier methods.
I have to believe almost every method of horse Pair
driving, adjustments, training, has been tried
someplace. Why have to stumble again thru such a long
road to learn? Speed things up with proven methods,
live trainers, so you don't have to unlearn bad
habits, unsafe methods.
Hardy's airplane pilot training post was very funny,
but really scary! My brother trains pilots. He makes
sure learners do a lot of other stuff WAY BEFORE they
get behind the wheels of the LITTLE planes!! They
have simulators, where the pilots practice many
situations in flying. Lots of them kill themselves on
the simulators!
Something not mentioned with the leaning pair, was
pole length. Maybe I missed that part. Traditional
vehicle poles are very long. MUST be long to ease the
work on horses. Modern vehicles, using metal yokes
and short poles, can not be measured the same way, to
correctly fit the horses. While a marathon pole, with
the yoke end is good for straight bodied horses, it
must also fit correctly, be wide enough, with harness
that is compatible. Evener and singletree width can
make a difference too. We see a lot of very short
poles with crabs, on wagons, carriages. It actually
FORCES animals into the pole, makes them travel
crooked. Very tiring to horse, hard on body. Then
the good horse is getting puked by his non-pulling
buddy, driver has not a clue. Just working him to
death, doing the whole job. Driver may hate that
horse, since he is "pulling on me" all the time!
Driver LOVES the "quiet" but lazy horse.
Small ponies that are driven, can be very one-sided.
Never ridden to flex both ways and often are always
used on "their favorite" side. My grampa had a right
and left side horse in his Pairs, never traded them.
Sometimes horses are trying to hold carriage back
while still going forward. Don't know how to hold a
load on hills, never learned well! You have to teach
downhill hold-the-carriage, as well as uphill PULL.
Flatlander horses just get confused. Maybe their
carriage had brakes before? Are ponies really going
forward? Or just staying ahead of carriage? There
are just so many things, you can't diagnose online!
I no longer care for fixed sided bits. Ridden or
driven. When you use fixed sides, you move the whole
piece with any signal. There is no finesse because
you have no legs to aid you, weight shifts in the
saddle, used all at once. Whip just doesn't cut it
here, can't do the same job signaling horse. If I
have a horse who went pretty good in a fixed side,
solid bit, I can improve him a LOT by going to swivel
sides, loose rings. Smaller tweaks, greater finesse
with reins, weight under saddle. Support one side,
leave other one alone, whole bit is not moving.
My old pony ran away with me in a fixed sided bit,
her riding bit!! Just tucked her head to her chest,
and went running down the road. I couldn't stop her
in the first two jumps. I also could not turn her,
could not get any side pull leverage at all, even
using a 4" shank. Good reins, but not enough angle to
bend her around. This was all started when she
spooked using an open bridle driving. I believed some
of those be kinder stories, leave off blinkers so she
could see!! She was an experienced driving pony, lots
of mileage, several years driving. Saw too much that
day.
Traditional old bits, riding or Coaching styles,
fixed sides, evolved for their time. Swivel sides
were expensive, wore out sooner. Didn't have metal
selection, tooling available now. People drove to
places, straight down the road, straight horses,
square corners. Few people did anything like dressage
when driving, didn't need bending, flex we demand now
of horses.
We have rubber bit rings on all the bits, riding and
driving, to prevent any accidental pinching, of bit
sides or curbstraps. Also on snaffles, to prevent
pinches in loose rings or hinges of D-sides. I see
lots of skin pinches between the upper side of curb
bit to bridle, and curbstrap tightening. Happens on
all kinds of curb bits, ridden and driven.
I like the swivel side that allows me to "lead"
horse around a circle. It only opens the side I want
to go in, so he is not guessing signals, especially
driven. Other side of bit is not jamming him in the
face with uneven pull or twist of bit in mouth,
pulling harder on one rein
Our horses go to bit school, are trained in what
responses we want over training time. I am NOT going
to hold them up during the drive or ride. They have
to hold themselves up, balance their bodies. If you
want to "hold them back" they will LET you hold them
up. That turns into WORK for you, weighs a ton, very
tiring. Horses get as hard-mouthed as you want to let
them be. Bigger, harder, nasty bit only works for a
while, pain responses get dull. No FUN in any of that
kind of driving. Education of the mouth is a better
solution, refuse to hold horse up.
Lot of great improvements in bit design, over the
last 10-15 years. Use them after studying how they
work. Don't just jump in buying poor designs. We do
not use copper or sweet iron in bits anymore. I would
not put either metal in my own mouth. A horse who is
slobbering foam is not necessesarily using the bit
correctly. Body reaction to metal, does not make him
soft mouthed. Name of trainer on bit is not a
warrenty of bit being good design. Do your homework
on mechanics of mouth and angles, leverage action of
bits. Make informed choices.
Kathy Robertson
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