With the palm of your hand on the horse’s poll, gently encourage it to drop its nose and head into the halter. This is also a good time to teach the horse to lower its head for bridling. Introduce young horses to a halter and teach them to stand patiently while the halter is put on and taken off. Photos courtesy of Tamara Healy unless otherwise noted. Teaching a young horse to pick up its feet will establish a sound foundation while it is still “small” that will carry over as it grows and maturesBefore it’s time to hook to a wagon and drive, teach your horse to accept a harness. Raising and lowering a young horse’s tail gets it ready for the day it will wear a harness. Rubbing and petting young horses teaches them to accept a handler’s touch. “I start on day one with imprinting,” she added. If you’re raising draft horses from the time they are born, begin handling them as soon as possible. “It’s most important to start with ground work and establish good ground manners,” said Tamara Healy, owner of Classic Carriage Service in Johnstown, New York. A well-trained horse is safer and more pleasurable to work with. While specific uses require varying degrees of conditioning and advanced training, the fundamentals of good training are the same for any draft horse. Regardless of their intended use, be it working on the farm, towing decorative carriages, pulling heavy loads or ridden under saddle, solid ground manners, respect and patience are as necessary for draft horses as they are for lighter breeds. Pulling horses, considered the “weight lifters,” are bulkier and require additional conditioning to be fit enough to pull logs from the woods or to pull weights in competitions. Horses bred to be hitch horses can be seen in driving competitions and pulling carriages in parades or for special occasions. These drafts are bred with longer legs and are more lean and high-headed.
Like workhorses of decades ago, drafts used for farmwork are responsible for helping farmers complete any task around the farm, from pulling wagons to tilling fields to operating horse-drawn equipment. Today’s draft horses are categorized as farm horses, hitch horses, pulling horses or riding horses. Though beloved for their easygoing nature, draft horses, like horses of any size or breed, require training. Often referred to as “gentle giants,” draft horse breeds are known for being docile and easy to handle.
0 kommentar(er)
