It snowed all night. So....my husband and I tried sled-jouring with Dolly this evening! I had no camera on me, unfortunately.
When Dolly and the other horses saw us pull into the driveway, they ran around, playing and kicking at each other. I wondered if Dolly would be able to settle enough to try the sled-jouring. We took her out and my husband walked and trotted her around (the ground is a little slick beneath the snow in places, so we had to take it easy) while I tried to figure out the equipment (a harness for pulling carts) I'd borrowed from someone just five minutes earlier.
Dolly was respectful and attentive. So I put the harness on her, including the tail strap (incorrect terminology, sorry) and walked her around again. She didn't even kick or give it strange looks (several years back, I had hooked her up to this harness and walked her around with driving lines, and she had offered a few kicks to the under-tail strap).
So I introduced Dolly to the sled. It was just a cheapo plastic sled. She gave it some weird looks. I did desensitizing work with her. It took about five minutes before she didn't care when I rubbed it all over her body and pulled it all around her on the ground. I hooked it up to her and my husband walked her forward in a straight line. She didn't care that she was now dragging something behind her. We did this for a minute, and then added a small weight to the sled. She didn't care. We did that for a couple of minutes. I got in the sled and my husband walked Dolly forward. I saw her ears flick in my direction, but she just dug in and pulled me right along. That was that. We went all around, walking, trotting, up and down some tiny hills, and along the driveway. When the sled hit some ice and made a different sound, she tensed up for a moment, but then relaxed again and kept on going. We switched and I led Dolly and we pulled my husband, who weighs more than me. She dug right in again. In fact, when I asked her to trot she started prancing a little bit and tossing her head playfully. She was enjoying herself!
It was fun! Then one of the leather straps broke... oops. It was pretty old and cracked so it wasn't a huge surprise, but now I need to find a replacement strap since I was borrowing this equipment...
The RAC began in 2007 and continued until 2015. It was created to unite all curly horse owners to encourage and motivate each other and to promoting the breed. Participating riders earn points to win amazing prizes. This blog was created to share with others their personal journey with each other and the public. *This blog is not a training blog and any techniques or methods shown here are not necessarily enforced by the RAC. Consult your trainer for advice. http://curlyhorsecountry.com
Good for you, Amber! Isn't it amazing that these horses just know what to do? My friend's QH sort of just stood there at first, like "ah..I can't move...you want me to do what?!" lol. What a good girl Dolly was - it sounds like you had fun --- I love this because it desensitizes them, gives them an idea of what driving is all about and you enjoy yourself too. A great winter sport...and in AK I imagine you have alot of winter left! ;-)
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