Filed under: July 2022 | Tags: draft horses, education, learning, Small Farming, speltz, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses, teaching
July 20, 2022
Two years ago this past April, this little filly was born. We have worked with her and welcomed her into our daily routine. She is a sweetie. Today was her first time being driven. She walked off like a professional. She has a long way to go, but we overcame leaving the barn by herself, starting, stopping and turning on command. We kept her lesson short and positive.
Her training begins to get serious now. She will be driven like this a few more times. The next step is for her to pull a light but noisy weight of some kind. We switch the weight up often. Sometimes the weight is just a log chain dragging behind, sometimes a small wooden sled, perhaps a tarp or child’s plastic sled. Then a tire will be dragged around. Finally, she will be worked alongside one of our broke horses and used on the wagon or other light implement. She is a big girl now and by next summer will be a valuable part of our horsepower here at the farm.
Today, Abby and Amee and I clipped a small piece of second cutting hay. The area we mowed is an odd shaped field, that needs some attention. We will take this little bit of hay off, then plow this area. We will use this little field as a “playground” for a couple of months.
The young horses being trained (except Bree above) will learn to use all sorts of equipment here. We will plow, disc, harrow, use cultivators, spread manure etc. Then in mid-September, this small field will be planted to speltz and reseeded to hay. There will be much education here for both teams and teamsters. We will also be introducing a few interns to draft horse field work. This area will teach and build confidence in both the horse and the person.
Having a training ground should work out very well. If our youngsters learn to be as good as Abby and Amee, I will be one very pleased farmer! These two are my main team. They get better every time I drive them. I enjoy this small farming life. Working and driving such calm, smart animals increases my pleasure. So, yes, I’ll put the time into our “new drivers” and smile big as I walk and work behind them.
Filed under: July 2022 | Tags: job shadowing, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses, training
July 19, 2022
Maggee, our 2022 little filly, went to work with mom last week. She is learning all about farm work. Mom Amee and her teammate Abby, had to rake the straw from our recent speltz harvest. Maggee, is tied to mom and gets to walk along while mom works. This is a great way to introduce the youngster to noises and situations that she hasn’t seen or heard before.
The key is to tie the young horse where she is safe. She is tied short enough so that she can’t get out in front or behind her mother. She can walk alongside safely watching and listening to everything. She has done this before today, but only while line driving the team or when hitched to a wagon. On this day we did about 2 acres of actual work.
It was a nice day. The humidity was low and the flies were mostly absent. The straw makes a swishing sound as the rake flips it over. The baby settled in quickly, walking along with no fear. She even learned to key off voice commands given to her mother while she worked. It was a great day.
Here they are at the end of the job. The baby seems to be saying… “We did good, didn’t we mom?”
Filed under: July 2022 | Tags: contentment, draft horses, Horse manners, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch horses, Suffolk stallion
July 10, 2022
The sun shines on our stunning herd sire Hank. This picture was snapped by our daughter Lisa. He is growing into a real workhorse. His qualities of mind and body are excellent. He is a gentleman both in the field and in the barn. He watches over his herd and all the goings on around the farm.
In the barn, he watches all the visitors, but greets them with a confident, quiet attitude. We are proud of this guy. He will have babies of his own next spring. All of us are looking forward to see just what he puts into his progeny. I expect good things and if he is any example, I know that we won’t be disappointed.
These gals are both expecting babies next April. Currently, they are doing farm work, greeting and hauling children and making me smile often. I cannot say enough good things about these Suffolk Punch horses! It may seem a bit strong, but I love them!
Filed under: July 2022 | Tags: farm tour, horse drawn, school children, socialization, Suffolk Horses, Suffolk Punch foal, Suffolk Punch horses
July 7, 2022
This past week has been a blur. We celebrated the birth of our country on Monday after a busy weekend that included a fast trip to Indiana to Horse Progress Days.
On Wednesday, we hosted another group of school children here on the farm. We introduce them to farm animals and give them a glimpse of farm life. Many of these kids are from the “city”. Most have never stepped foot on a farm or interacted with animals other than a few pet cats and dogs.
So, once again, our baby got to meet 20 squealing, wide eyed youngsters. The socialization is good for both the horses and the children. They had a fun couple hours that included petting chickens, goats, a pony, a donkey, cattle and our farm dogs and cats. We give them a horse drawn wagon ride around the farm, pulled by our Suffolk mares Amee and Abby.
This is our third such tour this year. We have more scheduled too. It is my hope that the young people have a favorable experience. Perhaps, I will plant a seed that will start a dream in a young life. I hope that as we share our lifestyle, hearts are opened and God is glorified. I will do my best to teach the little ones and they in turn will help train our animals too. It is a win win, as they say :o)
RicelandMeadows 