Rough Draft

This was THE week!  Lucy and Joy were finally going to Bill Long to be trained to drive.  To be driven, that is.  They've each worn the driving harness without protest, including the crupper--a loop that goes under the tail to keep the harness in place--and the bridle wth blinders.  Very encouraging.

But first, they needed to look like respectable driving horses.  Sunday, I brought them up to the cross ties and clipped the bridle path behind their ears--that gets their mane out from underneath the the bridle, obviously.  And I trimmed their whiskers so they'd look nice and ladylike.  So far, so good.

Monday was bath day.  I soaped Lucy's mane heavily, to whiten it, then went to wash the rest of her--not a small task.  Unfortunately, Lucy lost patience fairly quickly.  The rinsing process became a battle, especially regarding her mane.  Lucy DOES NOT want water on her head. 

Joy's bath was less combative, but left her in a really bad mood.  We all parted that evening on rather distant terms.

Next morning...Tuesday...I set about conveying the girls to their new school.  Lucy has recovered her equilibrium, and except for the blue black dirty soap scum in the mane behind her ears, we're back to normal.  Of course, she changes her mind when she's standing in the trailer and starts backing out before I can latch the bar behind her.  A butt bar, we call it.  Now there's one draft horse running around loose.  Great.

I get Joy, who's still mad, and coax her into the other side of the trailer with treats, which I--clever human!--leave on the floor just beyond her reach, so she can smell them and focus forward till I get the butt bar closed.

Then I go to fetch Lucy, who decides she needs some exercise before boarding the trailer again.  She gallops three full laps around the outside of the field, with Abby and TBone running along the inside of the fence.  I managed to divert her through the open gate into the paddock, which works well except for the fact that Abby escapes at the same time. 

Time out while I go fetch Abby.

Okay.  Abby's back where she belongs.  And Lucy's finally calm enough to stand still for a halter.  The treats I left for Joy work their magic on Lucy, too, and I get the butt bar latched.  Whew!  Everything else will be a piece of cake, right?

To my surprise, the girls traveled well, disembarked easily, and walked pretty quietly into their stalls.  I stood around babbling to Bill about them...until I realized I sounded like a kindergartener's mother on the first day of school.  I made myself shut up.  Then I went home to my three regular horses.

Wednesday evening, I saw Bill at the driving club meeting.  "How are my girls doing?"

He grinned, and I started to worry.  "Lucy wouldn't go forward pulling the tire," he said.  Training to drive starts with something light to pull, like a tire on the ground.

"And..."

"She ran backward,"  Bill said, still grinning.  "And dented the fender of my truck with her butt."

Thus endeth the first lesson!

Cheryl