"the" driving clinic.

Trying to cram all that we did today into one little blog posting is going to be difficult at best....so I will begin by telling you that my camera took 186 pictures today... hopefully I pulled out some of the "more interesting ones" to share with all of you. It was a picture perfect day... we began with everyone taking a little time to get to know each other over coffee and donuts, and Butch telling us about his training methods and basic manners of the driving horse.

Next he "borrowed" Alice, Deb's mini mare to show some round penning exercises and talk about ground manners. For as he explained, it doesn't matter if you drive a 200 pound mini or a 2200 pound Belgian, your horse has to know who is the "boss" and who he can trust if things should go wrong.

He also explained how to "spook proof" your horse with all sorts of funny items... like this blue tarp for example. Horses are "flight" animals, which means... when frighten or threaten, their first instinct is to run from danger. Course, if they are in a cart... the last thing you need is a horse that will run if he is scared. It is unlikely that you can ever totally teach a horse never to be afraid, but you can work with a horse to teach it to be more tolerant of strange things, and to trust the person that is at end of the rein.

He also worked with Tonka, showing the "obedience" and softness of a horse... like dropping his head when you need to.... aside from the horse showing "respect".. a horse that will lower his head, makes it much easier to put a bridle on him... if Tonka raises his head as high as he can.. I can't reach the top of his head!!!!

This was a real "hands on" clinic... the students had the opportunity to work all the horses that they felt comfortable handling. This is one of Becky and Butch's big Belgians.... looking at the size of this boy.. you can see why things like... "stay out of my space", "lower your head", "stand quietly".. are some real important "rules" for a horse to know. This all begins with ground work and manners!!!

the students had a grand time working with all the horses....which included the two big Belgians, two minis and our Tonka....the morning flew by, and after we took a lunch break, it was onto harnessing....

And ground driving!!! This part was really fun, and some of the students found themselves driving horses that they never thought they would be able to handle!!!!










here I am with Tonka... but he was driven by a number of different people!!! good for him and good for them!!!











Butch had great fun driving Alice... quite a difference from what he is used to being behind!!!












And here is our Mocha, out for a little drive with Becky and Belinda.....it doesn't matter the size... driving is driving... all the same rules apply....











this is Rick... he was comfortable handling the team (Rick has horse experience)... He had a wonderful time handling the two big boys together....











Sadly, my camera battery "died" before I got to take some pictures of CARTS!!! after all the ground driving, we got Tonka into his cart and Mocha into her's.... and the students got to do some driving in the carts and not just from the ground....

but, that is where the clinic will pick up tomorrow, and my battery in in the charger..so with any luck.. there will be cart pictures tomorrow. The thing about a clinic is you are trying to get so much into one short weekend... this is only the beginning of real driving work. But the good thing is, it gives folks a "taste" of driving, and the opportunity to see if they wish to pursue it for themselves...

As Rick so brilliantly said this evening... driving horses is a dying art... the days of the horse and carriage are long gone, so it's wonderful to have Becky and Butch who are so willing to share their knowledge and to see so many great people who are interested in keeping this wonderful "hobby" alive....

the day before the clinic...

Even though we have been planning this driving clinic for months and we have been preparing for weeks, there was still much to do today with lots of last minute things. We were all up bright and early.. Ed headed to the barn to begin chores, and Sadie and I went to work in the kitchen. I pre made supper for this evening, and she got to work making salads (fruit in this photo). The morning was grey and rainy... it poured in the night... but there is a promise of a good weekend..... what a blessing!!!!

I headed to the barn, leaving Sadie to do the picking up around the house.... and took the guinea pigs with me. I have been wanting to move them to the barn for the past week, we need to be out of this house just after the clinic and the "poor piggies" haven't gotten much attention lately.... I kept them in the cellar of this house, and just didn't handle them as much as I used to. I figured that living in the tack room, they will get a lot more attention, and it's a good place to have them until we move into the house.

They were a bit shy at first in the new surroundings, and not too sure of all the "traffic" back and forth in front of their cage. But after a couple of hours, (along with some nice hay and some sprigs of fresh grass) they were out and about, squeaking their little sounds. I wonder what Annabelle will think of with her new roommates!!!! Just so you know, the Mama pig is the one on the left, and her two babies... Curly and Penny. It will certainly be easy to care for them at the barn... everything I need is right there!!!







We began to set things up for the clinic... brother Bill arrived with the first run of food stuffs.... I did the stalls while waiting for the port a potty to arrive. Ed ran to get Alice (Deb's mini... Mocha's baby) who will be participating in the clinic). These are the "thank you bags" that all the students will be taking home with them... the hats were Betty's idea (they say Sweetgrass Farm... driving clinic 2009)

Later in the afternoon, Becky and Butch arrived with Belgians in tow!!! They looked pretty happy when they saw the weekend accommodations!!! Tonka and Duke didn't quite know what to make of our guests!!!!

We are all ready to go......

she'll never ask again.....

Betty popped over yesterday to see "if I had anything she could do" to help get ready for our clinic next weekend. Since Ed had gotten most of the cleaning done the day before, about all that was left, was to finish up the tack room.... and tackle the tack!!!

Tonka's harness is leather and brass, and though I absolutely love it .... it is a lot of work to keep clean. I said to Betty that I wanted to "run over Tonka's tack" and she jumped right in and said, "show me how"....

A few HOURS later.... she had it gleaming!!! I almost hated to put it on him for fear of getting it dirty again!!!!

She is such a good sport, and got a mini lesson in the "parts and pieces" of harness!!!! I wouldn't blame her one bit if she never asks again "what would you like me to do?"

but if Tonka weren't handsome enough...

A clean harness makes him look even better....

Both Mocha's and Duke's harnesses are the bio thane (not too sure of the spelling).. but either way, to clean them... you simply run water over them, and then dry.... "everyone" told me, back when I ordered Tonka's harness, that I should go with the bio thane... but I wanted to be traditional.... guess that meant traditional work as well.

I am sorry that I didn't get a picture... for bright and early yesterday morning... Rick was on the farm with his dump truck and tractor!!! He offered to take the manure pile away for us!!!! I was thrilled... I don't like where we chose to have the pile (we are in the process of changing that) and if I can, I would like to keep that pile under control and get rid of it whenever possible. Some year we make take the time and begin our own compost pile, but right now there is enough going on without having to "make dirt"... the nice thing is.. Rick left a small pile which turns out to be a good thing..since my little fly predators will be arriving again within the next couple of days....

things are looking good on the farm....

ask a man to clean the barn!!!!!

With the driving clinic just days away... I had it in my mind that the barn has to be in A1 order!!! NOT that it's in bad shape... our horses haven't even lived there for a year.. and I'm in it everyday, fussing over one thing or another...

But it is a barn.. and they do get dusty, have cobwebs.. and well... Mr. Guinea hen isn't the neatest creature in the world... so there were some things that needed some attention. I also figure that if you really stay on it, then it will never be a huge job to do.

And true to his nature... my hubby never does anything "half well"... Ed fired up his presser washer and began to go over the entire barn!!!!

He did an amazing job, and this evening when we brought the horses in.. the barn looks as good as it did the very first night that they lived there.....

I spent the better part of the day in the tack room.. sorting thru things... weeding out!!! (I am determined NOT to be a pack rat in this new home!!!) I still have some things to finish up tomorrow, but now I feel like everything is really in it's place, and even came across some of those items that "I know I have that...but where is it?" I re-arranged some things, and feel that the "flow" of the room is better....got to live with it a bit and see if I really do like it.

Sadie was gone this morning, helping out the dog club with their little dog show. When she returned, she said she would give Mocha (who is still shedding up a storm!!!) a good grooming...

ya, Sadie... it really looks like you're grooming here

Ah... Tatter... you might need to watch your butt!!!!!

OK... so she did help tonite bedding down the nice clean stalls!!!! (note, the bare feet!!!)

I hate to think that next Saturday evening we will be half way thru our weekend... so, I won't... and will just concentrate on the "before".....

one thing... leads to another...

Have you ever had one of "those projects" that leads from one thing to another?? well, such was the case with Ed and I today. I woke this morning with all good intentions of staining our "electrical shed" ... I want to get it done before the wood ages any more, and have it done for the driving clinic next weekend. But when I arrived on the farm this am... Ed had another project in mind.

At the edge of our driveway is our outdoor wood furnace, at some point in time, we need to take the pine trees down that are around the furnace. We also need to make room around the drive to have a place to push the snow next winter, as well as a place to put the wood that will feed the furnace. This project is on our "to do" list... but the "to do" happened today.

We noticed that the "town" has been working on clearing out the ditches at the road edge, digging out the sand and gravel that over the years, has begun to clog up the ditch. Ed spoke with the road commissioner and said he would take some of the "fill" that they were pulling out of the ditches. This "fill" is perfect for the area around the furnace and the drive. Well, this morning the road commissioner came to the farm and said, if we wanted the "fill" he would be happy to bring it to us. It saves him hauling and dumping time, especially where they are now working on the road that passes right by the farm.

So, in order to get the fill where it needed to go... Ed and I had to get some trees down and the area cleared....

Almost before we could start, the first dump truck arrived. Since we really were not ready for it, they just dumped it in the driveway.

The easiest and most efficient way to do this project, was to have Ed cutting trees, and me running the chipper that is on the back of the tractor. I wasn't too excited about running this thing, it's loud and strong, and I wasn't so sure that I could do it.

But, Ed showed me how to run it, and I just decided that I needed to do it. I figured I would go slow and careful, and do the best job that I could.

So, he got to work, taking down trees, chunking up the big pieces that we can use in the furnace next winter... and then piling the brush up for me to put thru the chipper......

Once I got used to running it, it wasn't such a bad thing at all. I did take my time, and carefully put the brush thru it. Wood chips were flying everywhere, and I had to put the hood up on my sweatshirt to keep them from running down the back of my neck.

We work well together, and I was able to keep up with Ed, which was nice, because as he got a tree down, it was all clean up and gone before the next one went down.

Hard work, but well worth it.

After we had a good area cleared, Ed got on the tractor and pushed the pile of dirt into it.

By the end of the day, all the fill that had been brought to us, was evened out and the area is flat. We still have to make it bigger, but that can be done on Monday when they bring us more dump trucks of dirt.

It wasn't exactly the way that I had planned to spend the day, but, when good things come your way... you need to take advantage of them. If we had to buy this fill, it would have been quite costly... (they don't say "dirt poor" for no reason!!!).. the road crew was happy to have a place to put it, and we were happy to take it off their hands... all that was needed was a bit of work. So, job well done, and another thing that can be checked off the "to do" list!!!!

"inspector gadget"

Our guinea hen has a new job!!! He is now a vehicle inspector for the state!!! Think those other guys don't miss anything... well you haven't seen the work that Mr. Guinea does. He doesn't miss anything, and being at his "low height" he sees it all....

"and around to the other side"

course, there is a chance that he is just looking for "that handsome fellow" again!!!!

or maybe just picking the dead bugs off... hey... there's another job.....

bug detailing.........

Can't say that our animals aren't multi-talented!!!

We have new neighbors in the barn... the swallows have found the overhang and are beginning to make new homes. I don't know how many pair we have, since they dart in and out so fast. But what a racket when one bird chooses the wrong the "cubby"..... the Blue Indigo's are not so happy with the new neighbors... I think they like the peace and quiet... and then the swallows arrived. I am happy to have them all... they're all bug eaters!!!!

Next weekend, we are having a driving clinic here on the farm. Our friend, Butch will be running the seminar, and we have seven "students" coming to learn about driving. Butch is bringing two of his Belgians with him, and then Tonka and Duke will also be "used", as well as Mocha. This will give the students a wide variety of horses to work with.

So, with that in mind, I have been trying to work the boys in harness as much as possible. Can't have them "rusty" when they are going to be teachers!!!

Pulled Duke out last evening.... now, the "rule" is, when there are big (very big) horse feet on the floor... cocker spaniels must be in a safe place!!! Sadie's little dog, Tatter, took refuge on a few bales of hay!!! and we got this cute photo of them!!! It's so nice to have horses that like dogs and dogs that can behave around horses... makes for a peaceful kingdom!!!!

Betty came over to work with Mocha... my goodness, was she a "twit" last night!!! She gave Betty a real run for her money, and finally, I asked Betty if I could step in and fix this little attitude.

Mocha wasn't too happy when "Mommy" got behind the reins, and finally decided that she should "just go with it"..... mares!!!!!!

Then Betty took over once again, and they had a fine lesson together....

think we better do a little more work with Miss Mocha before this clinic!!!!!!

Annabelle was in rare form last night... being silly and doing all sorts of crazy things for the camera. She has turned out to be the best kitty....next month will be her one year anniversary as our barn kitty....

"all this horse training make me tired!!!!"

stairs and doors....

It's funny in that, when you use something all the time, you hardly even notice it... until... you don't have it!!! Case in point, cellar stairs!!! All winter long, whenever we have needed to get into the cellar, it has meant, going outside and walking around to the back of the house. Not bad if the weather is good, but if it were snowing or raining... that also meant putting your coat on!!!

Well... as of today.... this "big hole" that looks into the upstairs....

is gone!!!!!

Because Ken has completed the stairs!!! And all we have to do (when wanting to get into the cellar) is head down the steps!!!

how grand!!!!!!

Another "all done" project is the set of doors in the cellar that leads out to the back yard. One of the neat things in the design of this house is the walk out basement!!! It's going to be so handy when it comes to muddy puppy paws... and guests dogs, and (hopefully) the doggie daycare that we plan to start up. With this door in place... all "outside" openings are now closed in!!!





This is the "kennel area"... when you come in thru the garage, it's down another (competed) staircase, into this area. We will build a wall here between what is the cellar area and the kennel area.... and then the dogs will just go from here thru the door into the fenced back yard.

Things are progressing well.... Ed is finishing up the wiring, we're getting decisions made about the outside covering on the house (vinyl)... and then it will be sheetrock... kitchen work.. bathrooms... floors.... hugh... think I'll stop here!!!!!

a weekend of horses!!!!

It's late, and I haven't been home very long..... but I know that some of my loyal readers will be looking for a new blog... so, I am taking the time to get it posted. What a wonderful weekend!!! and there is so much to tell, that I know I won't get half of it printed in the blog... but, at least I can give you a report.

I spent the weekend at the farm of our friends, Becky and Butch. They were the hosts to a training seminar with Patrick Benson (www.patrickbenson.com) . As most seminars go, you come home happy, excited, tired and overwhelmed with information, but all in all, great fun!!! Tonka was a great boy and not because he is my horse, but he turned out to be quite the favorite with the other riders and with Patrick himself. Tonka doesn't look like your typical dressage horse, but he has talent, and it didn't take too long for him to show that off. Course, he and I have been working on it for the past few years, so he does know his work... but being a "draft type", you don't know it when you look at him.

Patrick rode him a few times over the weekend, and Tonka proved to him how athletic he really is. He has a nice bend to him, and can be very light on his feet. It was fun to "show off " with him.

Beside the fact that I had 11 hours of riding this weekend (and NO I am not sore in case you are wondering!!!) the whole idea of traveling with your horse, being away from "home" for the entire weekend (sleep overs with your friends).... proved to be a wonderful experience.( and certainly way different from travleing with your dog over a weekend of dog shows!!!!) We also learned some new riding moves and made some new friends!!!

This is my friend Becky on her horse, Major....

It was a small clinic in that there were only five riders, but that was nice in a way, because we got a lot of personal attention. The arena was very nice, but smaller that some, but, for the five of us, there was just enough room. That was also another good experience for Tonka... to ride in an arena with other horses. I have done it in the past with another horse, but not with him. It's a different experience in riding, when you need to keep an eye open for someone else, pay attention to where you are going, and be polite to the other riders in the ring. Our group got along quite well, and we really had a good time riding together.


Course, a visit to Becky's and Butch's is always the best when you get a chance to be behind the Belgians. On Saturday, when we were done riding, Butch hitched the team and took us for a ride thru the woods. It was just a perfect way to end a day of riding and training work!!!! We pretty much crashed after that.

Today was more riding, answering questions, and just tweaking our new work.... then it was packing up and heading home once again. I know that my own bed will look really good tonite, and Tonka seemed pretty happy to see his own stall again. I'll give him the day off tomorrow, but we'll be "back at work" before the end of the week, working on some new things Patrick taught us, and then going to see Laura for our weekly lesson.......

I hope this blog makes sense... I am quite tired and probably will read it tomorrow and think.."why did I say that?" so.. it's off to bed.... and I may change this blog around tomorrow......