Here it is what I promised you, the first of the free lessons in how to train a horse for bit-less Dressage.
I chose Honey as the horse to use to show the steps in making a bit-less horse. He is naturally heavy to the aids for he had no breaks and was unwilling to take direction. I think much more is gained in seeing the method being used on a horse that needs training rather than a horse that already knows the method.
I chose Honey as the horse to use to show the steps in making a bit-less horse. He is naturally heavy to the aids for he had no breaks and was unwilling to take direction. I think much more is gained in seeing the method being used on a horse that needs training rather than a horse that already knows the method.
Honey is a Morgan Arabian cross and he came to me with some behavior problems under saddle, so I am starting over with him. The problem that people were experiencing was that Honey wanted to be in a hurry when being ridden and if you tried to slow him down, he would rear. Many times Honey would rear for no apparent reason or just because you were on his back. He was a horse with a great big “NO” attitude. However, I saw something in him that was greater than the “NO” he was putting forth towards humans.
I saw a look in his eyes that drew me to him. He appeared to have a great sense of self and was wide open to life even though life had not been good to him. He had scars on his body and in his mouth, but in his eyes I could see that his soul had not been damaged. Behind the “NO”, I could see that his openness was greater than the grudge he was holding onto. When I saw him, it was an instant connection for me. I liked him completely and wanted to know him better. Honey was not an affectionate horse when I started out with him, but that changed in a month’s time. When Honey came to me he was clearly stressed, being nervous and pessimistic. This was less than a year ago. All in all he has had about three months or less of training in the Waterhole Rituals. You will see in the video what he has learned in the Method. He still has a lot more to learn, but the basics are on him.
I now feel he is ready to begin with bit-less riding. I am taking him really slowly. I will develop his Liberty Training further as I train him in bit-less riding. I will make videos of his journey to be a guide in how I train a horse to perform under saddle for bit-less dressage and pleasure riding. If you like what you see on what I am sharing with you on the blog, you might be interested in taking my online course. It is open to 15 riders and their horses that qualify for the prerequisites of the course. The video below will show you the quality of performance at liberty and the connection you will need with your horse to qualify for the course. Video of Prerequisites |
This new program will be very exciting for my students ready for the next level. You will have my full support and can check in with me daily, weekly and monthly. As usual in my classes, you will go at your own pace. We will be covering all aspects of my Method to develop a bit-less Dressage horse using Uberstriechen Exercises, Single Lining, Double Lining, training in a round pen and schooling from the saddle in walk, trot and canter. I will personally coach you on how to apply these methods to your own horse for the purpose of creating a bit-less dressage or pleasure horse.
In this course you will receive monthly group conference calls and monthly private coaching calls. I will respond to you once a week, or daily when needed, in the classroom and on your journal writing. You will receive hours of videos showing Honey’s journey and each step to take along the way. This program is designed so that every step prepares you and your horse to be able to perform the next step of your personal program with grace and ease.
In short, I will coach you on the bi-weekly videos that you send me in the classroom, on the group conference calls and on your private coaching calls. This means that every two weeks you will be on a group conference call or private coaching call with me.
You will be able to reach me at any time by phone using your free time allotment, above and beyond the regular curriculum of the course.
In this program, you will see Honey transformed from “no stop” to “whoa” and “go”, in self carriage, collection and long and low from light aids in walk, trot and canter, with an attitude that is happy, willing and optimistic.
The free lessons on the blog will be an overview and outline of Honey’s Training Program. There are two videos in this blog. The first video is what Honey knows of the Waterhole Rituals that qualifies him to start with his bit-less riding lessons. This video will help you to decide if you and your horse are also ready to start with bit-less riding. The second video is a lesson on how to teach a horse to accept a rider on his back.
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If you signup for the program and after the first class you decide theprogram is not for you, you may drop out and your tuition minus $350 admin fee will be refunded.
Free Lesson Video #1
Written lesson to accompany the free lesson video #1
The fist thing to get your horse used to doing, is standing quietly with you next to a fence. I like to teach my horse from the ground to stand parallel to the fence. This is easy to accomplish. All you need to do is walk along the fence and then ask your horse to stop. At first your horse might not want to be close to the fence, but if you keep walking along a fence line your horse will eventually stop next to it when you ask him to halt. This can be done with a lead and halter.
When your horse likes the idea of standing with you next to the fence, you can then climb up on the fence. If he gets concerned, climb back down. When your horse is relaxed, you can climb up again. Once the horses will allow this, you then can stand up on the fence like in the video.
Follow the next stages as the video shows. It is very important not to try and stop your horse when he is in the mounting position. When your horse walks off just gently guide him back. In a short time you will be able to maneuver him left and right around you, turning him when he gets far enough away that you need to bring him back. Many times a horse will prefer to let his head be close to you, but not his body. After a while, your horse will get comfortable standing next to the fence in a mounting position.
The next step is to scratch him in all the places he enjoys being scratched, only scratching him in places you can safely reach from your position on the fence. When you have done this exercise for a week, you then can start sitting on his back like the video shows. Always, when your horse walks off or when you feel that your horse is loosing his willingness and relaxation, step back onto the fence and wait for the relaxation to return.
Take as long as you wish on this exercise. Spend a lot of time in the “Pause” doing nothing, when you are sitting on the fence. Even if your horse accepts being mounted, practice this exercise anyway in order to find any resistance that you may not know about. Honey has been ridden before and he is good about being mounted, but he needs more practice to help him really get comfortable having someone over his head and that he could stand still on his own. What usually happens when a person gets on a horse is that the horse is held still in a mounted position. So the horse, in essence, had a problem with wanting to be mounted.
By using this fence work, you work out all the objections by allowing the horse to move on and then when the horse is completely relaxed, try again. This way lots of practice is given to mounting and from this practice, more relaxation is realized between you and your horse. In bit-less riding a horse needs to be relaxed and willing. To achieve this willingness many steps are needed with plenty of practice to develop a horse that is truly light to the aids.
The next lesson will be on Single Lining and how the reins are used in dressage.
Be on the look out for new horse and human sightings and may the horse be with you.
Asad Hameed Khan
CERTIFIED TRAINERS
You can also listen an interview with Stina on Horseconscious to learn more about this amazing story.
SUGGESTED TRAINERS
At the moment, I am not running any group certification programs. However, if you are interested in becoming a Carolyn Resnick Certified Trainer, the first step would be to take The Dance With Horses Clinic and I can discuss your requirements further with you then. Here are 2 videos featuring Certified Trainers: Robin Gates and Alessandra Deerinck.
Asad Hameed Khan
Succeed in Show-Jumping Warm-Up
By SHOAIB KHAN:
Eventer Sinead Halpin shares tips on preparing your horse for a winning show-jumping phase of eventing.
How many times have you seen an eventer come into the stadium phase of eventing leading the pack, only to leave behind a ring punctuated by fallen rails as the victory goes to someone else?
While knockdowns can drop you in the final standings, a clear round means you’ll at least keep your Sunday-morning ranking and even have a shot at moving up on someone else’s error.
That’s what happened at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event last spring when Sinead Halpin finished her four-star debut with a perfect show-jumping trip riding Manoir de Carneville. She advanced from fourth to third as former Rolex winner Clayton Fredericks of Australia toppled a pole with Be My Guest.
Sinead, who gained instant celebrity and the US Equestrian Team Foundation’s Pinnacle Cup as the top-placing American at Rolex, gives credit to a well-produced warm-up for enabling her to put in a memorable show-jumping round. Many riders don’t realize that a competition preamble planned with thought can make the difference between winning and being an also-ran.
“The pressure of a show is already so great with its competitive nature, that added to the excitement of a change of scenery and a change of jumps, you really need to set yourself up to succeed,” explains Sinead, whose business, Sinead Halpin Equestrian, is based out of Fieldstone Farm in Pittstown, New Jersey. “That starts in the warm-up, the one thing as event riders we tend to overlook.”
Do Your Homework
Sinead’s eyes were opened after attending jumper shows and seeing that show jumpers always seemed to have two staffers on the ground. At first, she figured it was overkill, “but the more I thought about it, how professional and seriously they were taking the warm-up, I knew that was something I could learn from,” she recalls.
“When you go to an event warm-up, it’s sort of every man for himself. Everyone’s running into everyone else, and it’s not perfect preparation for success in the arena,” she says. “For the show jumping, you really have to do your homework.”
A big part of that homework is developing and practicing a warm-up plan with the help of your trainer, who can objectively assess you and your horse. You can tweak your plan at the event, but it will provide a solid base from which to work.
As you start working on your plan, begin looking for a savvy ground person who can help you during the stadium warm-up, setting jumps and being your eyes on the ground. This doesn’t have to be your trainer. He or she can be a friend, a groom or another competitor. Ask the person to watch at least one of your lessons at home to get a feel for your comfort level and your plan. This way, he or she can offer input at the competition about whether you should jump one more fence or look ready to go.
With your trainer and ground person in the loop, the next part of your homework is spending some time figuring out what your horse needs the day of stadium jumping from beginning to end. Is he usually tired or stiff the day after cross-country? If so, plan to take him for a short hack to loosen him up several hours before the formal warm-up.
An early morning hack also is a good idea if your horse is tense or high strung. You also might want to jump a few practice fences at that time, when the atmosphere is calmer. This can take the edge off horses who exhaust themselves mentally with nerves. A morning outing likely will lessen the need to jump a lot of fences later, Sinead says.
Next, think about how much time you’ll need for the formal warm-up to prepare for the stadium phase. A 30-minute warm-up usually works for most horses, but tailor it for your horse’s temperament and attitude, Sinead says. If he’s spooky at competitions, in addition to an early-morning hack, you might need to plan a longer warm-up to get him more focused on you and his job. If he’s a mellow type who knows his job, plan a shorter one.
During the warm-up, Sinead says she usually aims for about 10 minutes of flatwork and about 15 minutes of jumping, with a few breaks.
If you get nervous during the warm-up, build in a little more time for yourself. Sinead has some of her amateur riders arrive early, practice their flatwork, then jump a few fences to get into a rhythm with their horses and build confidence. Then they watch a few rounds and finish by jumping a few more practice fences tailored to the course. (More on this later.)
You also want to map out a general strategy for the flatwork and jumping portions of your warm-up.
Adjustability on the Flat
“As you start your flatwork in the warm-up, don’t get caught up in the nitty-gritty details of your dressage work,” Sinead says. “Go after efficiency and smoothness.”
“As you start your flatwork in the warm-up, don’t get caught up in the nitty-gritty details of your dressage work,” Sinead says. “Go after efficiency and smoothness.”
Start at the trot, asking your horse to stretch to warm up, but spend most of your warm-up time in the canter. “The jumping phases are all done out of canter. Don’t tire your horse perfecting the medium trot—you won’t be rewarded for it.”
From the start, ask your horse to accept your aids at the pace you set. You need to be able to take contact with his mouth and put your leg on. “You want him to be able to go forward, back, laterally—as many ways as possible—so that he can cope with jumps, the terrain and the thing that will happen more often than not—a mistake made by the rider,” Sinead says.
If you don’t practice adjustability in the warm-up arena, your horse will be completely surprised when you go into the ring, and his reaction probably won’t be a soft one, Sinead explains.
To test how your horse is accepting your leg and rein aids, practice transitions within the gaits and especially at the canter, “lengthening and shortening, getting his mouth supple and soft so he’s willing to accept your opening right or left rein.
“If I take the inside rein and he answers my question about whether he’s going to bend by sticking his head straight up in the air, I know I need to spend five more minutes making sure he’s listening. In the arena, when I’m going to make a left- or right-handed turn, if he reacts this way, he’s not going to have a clean jump.”
In the Warm-Up |
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Dallying with Clay O’Brien Cooper
By BADAR KHAN.
Dallying is an art that if taken for granted could cost you a lot – from blown paychecks to lost fingers.
Dallying is such a critical part of heading and heeling, especially heeling. Your odds of having a dallying-related accident are probably greater when you're heeling vs. heading. Thats because your horse is stopping and all the weight of that steer is still moving away from you. As youre going to the horn, the rope is starting to run away from you and is taking rope away from you. You need to do things right at that moment and have a good pattern of doing the right thing at that critical point in a run to ensure safety.
What I teach people to do is bring their slack up, learn to let the rope slide through their hand and move slowly through the dallying process. They need to learn to manage how the coils come out of their left hand one at a time. It really doesn't matter how many times you lose your rope in the practice pen. What matters is that you start not to be fearful of dallying. Learning to manage your rope as it's coming through your hand, and going to the horn slowly, teaches you to dally without so much fear and you can start to develop a good working pattern for getting your dally properly and safely.
Another problem I see a lot is that ropers have the misconception that they have to lift their slack really high. In doing so, they pull that first coil out of their left hand, which leaves too much room between their left and right hands. Then they hurry down to the horn and that extra slack between their hands can actually end up on the wrong side of the horn. So they're dallying over the top of that rope that's on the wrong side. You don't want to lift your slack so high that you have to pull a coil out. Lift your left and right hands up a little bit, basically the same height, then as you come down to the horn with your right hand, your left hand is up away from the saddle horn and the right hand is coming down to the horn. There's less rope between your two hands and you can dally in a safe position, with everything in the right place.
A lot of times I'll use that first coil that comes out of my hand, and as I'm coming down to the horn the main thing I have to pay attention to is that my right hand leaves my left hand coming down. That's when I let the coil come out of my left hand. The rope is starting to feed through my hand and is sliding, and I dally using the measurement of that coil, with it sliding slightly through my hand. I'm always accounting for how that coil comes out, and making sure that coil doesn't have a kink in it when I go to the horn.
The next thing I see people do is get the coils in their left hand too close to the saddle horn. They basically have a big wad and a mess, and they don't really have control over where all the parts of the rope are. It's like a big spaghetti bowl, and you don't know where everything is, which is obviously dangerous. It's important to keep your coils up away from your horn, so you keep the dally horn clear for your dally.
The next thing I see people do is get the coils in their left hand too close to the saddle horn. They basically have a big wad and a mess, and they don't really have control over where all the parts of the rope are. It's like a big spaghetti bowl, and you don't know where everything is, which is obviously dangerous. It's important to keep your coils up away from your horn, so you keep the dally horn clear for your dally.
Every now and then, if I feel like when that coil comes out that it's twisted or has somehow gotten fouled with the second coil in line, I will get away from the horn and abandon my dally because I know there's a kink in it or that it's bringing the second coil with it as it's coming through my hand. That's what can get me in trouble. I also have to make sure my rope is fairly tight between my right hand and my catch on the steer's feet. Dallying on a very loose, slack rope can also result in the mistake of dallying underneath the rope that's going to the feet, which traps my hand in-between (between that part of the rope and the saddle horn).Dressage Training Exercises to Calm Your Hot Horse
By SHOAIB KHAN.
How to calm your sensitive, high-energy partner with straightforward dressage exercises for the hot horse at every dressage level.
The best Grand Prix dressage horses make the work look effortless. They can coil and release their energy from the lightest touch, make seamless transitions from neat, crisp collection to breathtaking extension. That kind of power often comes at a price—many top upper-level dressage horses are hot horses, sensitive rides.
And that’s not just the case at Grand Prix. Many dressage horses, from green to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) levels, have a more high-energy nature that can, at times, be a challenge to channel for dressage riders. Pushing the limits of control with a hot horse can result in big scores in your dressage tests, but it can also be a big risk. Here are a few tips and dressage training exercises that can help you manage this type of hot horse.
Turn up the Heat
“Hot” can mean different things to different dressage riders. Some hot horses carry tension and energy, but they do it consistently, unlike a spooky horse who can be sensible one moment and explosive the next. Some hot horses internalize their energy and shut down, getting balky or behind the leg; others take over, overpowering their riders or themselves and getting fast. Identifying what type of “hot” your horse is dictates how you, as a dressage rider, manage it.
“Hot” can mean different things to different dressage riders. Some hot horses carry tension and energy, but they do it consistently, unlike a spooky horse who can be sensible one moment and explosive the next. Some hot horses internalize their energy and shut down, getting balky or behind the leg; others take over, overpowering their riders or themselves and getting fast. Identifying what type of “hot” your horse is dictates how you, as a dressage rider, manage it.
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I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the hotties and have had lots of them. My first successful FEI horse was a Trakehner gelding named Bellinger, who could be spectacular, assuming you could keep him in the ring. Billy wasn’t spooky by nature. Certainly, there were things he’d give the hairy eyeball to, but he always had a little too much go and it manifested itself in great tension in his back.
For Billy, I had two forces to deal with: the physical tension he carried through his back and neck and the mental tension that showed up in all three gaits, but especially the walk. Suppling work taught him to let go in his body. I dealt with his mental nerve by always keeping my leg on, not only so he’d stay in front of it, but because he liked the pressure and knowing I was there. Billy also did best schooling with a low neck. If I could put his neck down, it freed his back and kept him from bracing.
Ellegria, my current Grand Prix horse, is different. She has the same mental tension as Billy, maybe even more, but in a claustrophobic kind of way. Ella gets tight and builds, but if I keep my aids too close, she panics and backs off. She also needs to keep her neck up—a low neck makes her feel closed in. She needs to feel my aids, of course, but for her, a light touch and a more open, free neck have been the solution to keeping her confident and relaxed in the ring.
My Dutch Harness Horse, Victorious, is different still. Midgey hates the leg– it’s like he’s ticklish—and he’s a little explosive. Plus, his breed type makes riding his body a challenge since his conformation is bred for pulling with the neck up and the back down, instead of the more traditional thrusting-from-the-hindlegs dressage-type.
Riding Midgey when he was young required a bit of courage. At the beginning of every ride, I had to take a big deep breath and put my leg on, come hell or high water, and leave it there until he relaxed into it, all without getting run away with.
Forward, Not Fast
The one thing all horses, hot or not, have in common is that they must stay in front of the rider’s leg. Implusion is different from speed, though, and as some hot horses prefer “go” to “whoa,” it’s easy to forget that the horse still needs to feel the leg aid and move forward from it.
The one thing all horses, hot or not, have in common is that they must stay in front of the rider’s leg. Implusion is different from speed, though, and as some hot horses prefer “go” to “whoa,” it’s easy to forget that the horse still needs to feel the leg aid and move forward from it.
When dealing with a hot horse who’s behind the leg, first you have to ask yourself: Is he behind the aids because he doesn’t respond to the aids or because he has a bad response to the aids like getting quicker instead of bigger? Or is he behind the aids because I can’t apply the aids without getting an explosion? If your horse is ticklish like Midgey, the first step is teaching him to accept that your leg is going to be there no matter what.
Exercise One—Spiral in on the circle: Moving in and out on the circle can help teach your horse to accept the leg. You can perform this movement in trot or canter and will find you prefer one over the other, depending on how your horse responds.
- On a 20-meter circle, pick up the canter or trot.
- With your outside leg, move the circle in to 18 meters. Then, with your inside leg, press it back out to 20.
- If the horse gets tight or runs, use the circle lines to control the speed; perhaps you have to bring the circle in to 15 meters or even 12.
The young or unbalanced horse might struggle with those tighter lines and fall out of the canter. If he does, don’t be in a rush to get him back to the canter. Take time. And it’s always best to fix a tight, on-the-forehand, running canter by going back to the trot and starting over. It’s easier to pick up a good canter than to fix a bad one.
Exercise Two—Leg yield on the diagonal: Once you can put your leg on, it’s time to make sure your horse is in front of it.
- Start a leg yield or half pass on the diagonal from the corner. Begin in normal working trot.
- Slowly build it to finish the line in medium trot.
- Keep the rhythm and tempo as your first priorities. Your horse is not to get quicker, merely bigger in his movement.
Using the sideways movement helps regulate that tempo. Georg Theodorescu once told me, “A horse can’t run away when he’s crossing his legs!”
Letting Go
The hot horse is often a tight horse, and freeing his back is crucial for both his physical and mental relaxation. “Sideways” is your friend here, too.
The hot horse is often a tight horse, and freeing his back is crucial for both his physical and mental relaxation. “Sideways” is your friend here, too.
Exercise Three—head-to-the-wall leg yield: One of my absolute favorite exercises is the head-to-the-wall leg yield.
- Trotting down the long side, turn your horse’s head to the rail as you leg yield him alongside it—haunches to the inside, shoulders on the rail. It should look like a haunches-in with no bend, on at least three tracks if not four, and there should be the tiniest suggestion of outside flexion.
- Ride your horse straight before the corner. If you’re schooling in an indoor, be careful of your arena walls—you don’t want him to hit his head.
The rail does your “whoa” for you. Your horse shouldn’t want to exit the arena, so as you apply more driving leg, he should take bigger steps sideways. And crossing the hind legs loosens and lifts the low back.
Exercise Four—leg yield on a circle: If your horse is uncomfortable doing this exercise on the rail, you can leg yield around a circle line, too.
- Imagine he is a carousel horse with a pole through his belly button.
- Put that pole on the circle line, and, keeping his body quite straight, ride his shoulders to the inside of the line, haunches to
- the outside.
- Make sure the circle stays 20 meters and that he doesn’t cut in to decrease the angle of leg yield you’re asking for.
In both of these exercises, tempo is crucial. Just like in the leg-yield crescendo, you want your horse to build his length of stride, not get quick or hurried. Take your time.
The Brain Game
Keeping your hot horse mentally cool is as big a challenge as working with his body, if not more so. You can’t tell your horse, “Hey, you dummy, relax!” But you can find what he likes and what sets him off and manage him accordingly, both at home and away from the farm.
Keeping your hot horse mentally cool is as big a challenge as working with his body, if not more so. You can’t tell your horse, “Hey, you dummy, relax!” But you can find what he likes and what sets him off and manage him accordingly, both at home and away from the farm.
Some horses go stir crazy from a lack of exercise. Turnout is a blessing for so many reasons, but if it’s not an option for your horse, maybe he needs to be worked twice a day, one normal workout session, followed by a hack or some light work in the afternoon. Billy always liked being longed in Vienna reins. When he was in peak competition fitness, he’d work in those a few afternoons a week, but not for long.
Silly as it may seem, some horses like having a toy. Midgey has a Jolly Ball that I hang from the barn ceiling on an old lead rope. When he’s happy and relaxed, he cuddles with it; when he’s stressed out, he bites it or throws it around. Having an outlet helps reduce his stress.
Knowing your horse away from home helps keep horse shows from becoming a stressful event. I always do my best to get all my horses into the competition rings before the show starts because even the most reasonable and experienced show horse can find something scary. With my tight horses, I make the rounds to the show rings the last thing I do in schooling. I work them first so they’re already relaxed and supple by the time I get to the competition arena. I want them to associate that dressage ring with calm, relaxed confidence.
At shows, I often see people hand-walking their horses. I’ve never found this helpful. I have more control from the saddle, and my horse needs to be relaxed under saddle, not merely in-hand. I haven’t found a positive correlation between the two. Billy, as an example, was the king of the CDI vet jog. He happily floated along, quiet and docile as can be, then would proceed to be an absolute lunatic under saddle. The two were totally different things.
Cool and Confident Together
Ultimately, horses are herd animals and read the emotional status of their herdmates to know when there’s danger lurking ahead. When you set foot in the irons, you become a part of your horse’s herd. When you tense, he expects trouble. When you keep cool, he takes confidence from you.
Ultimately, horses are herd animals and read the emotional status of their herdmates to know when there’s danger lurking ahead. When you set foot in the irons, you become a part of your horse’s herd. When you tense, he expects trouble. When you keep cool, he takes confidence from you.
It’s easy to let your own emotions get in the way when working with a hot horse. Just relax already, you want to shout at him. Keep your frustrations in check and be relaxed for him. He’ll follow your lead. And when the going gets tough, when it’s hot and humid, or on the final day of a long dressage show, you know that your horse will still be hot to trot.
Other Horse Sports
Make Mine a Draft: The Appeal of Draft Horses
By SAIF KHAN.
Learn more about the history of draft horses and meet some of the draft horses who live at the Kentucky Horse Park.
They're the strongmen of the horse world, blending both power and patience in one gargantuan package. But there's a lot more to draft horses than meets the eye.
Once the preferred mounts of medieval knights, these "super-sized" equines have a long and colorful history of service to humankind. That service continues to this day, thanks to a renewed appreciation of their beauty and versatility.
The word "draft" (or "draught") refers to an animal's ability to pull heavy loads. Draft horses come in a range of sizes, depending on the job for which they are bred. But it is the massive heavy drafts that have captivated the imagination for centuries. These noble beasts tower up to 20 hands high and weigh 2000 pounds or more. Considering that an average saddle horse stands between 15 and 16 hands, and tips the scales at about 1000 pounds, the difference is very impressive!
But don't let their size intimidate you; most drafts are good-natured family animals. "Most of our visitors are really impressed by them," said the Kentucky Horse Park's Horse Drawn Tour Manager Tracy Walker, who has worked with the big horses for over 20 years. "I tell people it's just like petting a really big teddy bear...most of these horses are very gentle.
"We've even had folks come here from the local rehabilitation center, patients who were practically non-responsive. And a couple of our big draft horses will lay their heads right down on their laps, and they'll pet the horses, and feel a kinship...it's really neat to see.
Draft Horses--A History of Service
"Great horses" of the draft type emerged in Europe during the Ice Age, and were known to exist at the time of Caesar. By the early medieval period (500-1000 A.D.), the father of modern drafts--the so-called "Black Horse of Flanders"--was cultivated for his strength and endurance, qualities necessary for toting armor-clad knights into battle.
"Great horses" of the draft type emerged in Europe during the Ice Age, and were known to exist at the time of Caesar. By the early medieval period (500-1000 A.D.), the father of modern drafts--the so-called "Black Horse of Flanders"--was cultivated for his strength and endurance, qualities necessary for toting armor-clad knights into battle.
During times of peace, those same traits rendered drafts indispensable in both town and country--whether pulling a plow, a wagon, a carriage, or heavy logs in the forest.
Indeed, they helped settle the New World, hauling families across the frontier, tilling their land, clearing forests, and carting ore from mines. They proved useful in the cities, as well, and by the late 19th century, were towing everything from coaches and fire trucks to circus wagons and canal boats.
Yet the advent of the truck and the tractor nearly put an end to these amazing equines. After World War I--in which many drafts played a role--the heavy horse population fell into decline.
Today, drafts are making a powerful comeback thanks to a renewed interest in farming and logging practices that are both economical and environmentally conscious. Equipped with natural traction control, they're more satisfying to work with than cold steel and rubber--and, in many cases, more efficient. Nor do they pollute the air.
Drafts have also been re-discovered in the recreational sector. There's no more magnificent sight than a draft team in full regalia at a major horse show, where the "big hitches" are now welcome attractions. State and county fairs have resurrected the draft harness, conformation and pulling classes, with the various breed associations hosting national shows and even world congresses. Clinics in draft showmanship and horsemanship abound. Even the medieval spectacle of jousting has enjoyed a revival.
Thanks to meticulous breeding programs, the future of the draft horse now seems secure. And the current trend towards "sport horses" bodes well for these behemoths, with draft crosses in particular demand for many equestrian pursuits.
Draft Horses at the Kentucky Horse Park
The Kentucky Horse Park is home to about 27 draft horses. You can see them during the "Beginnings" and "Exodus" presentations, meet them in the Parade of Breeds, and enjoy a tour of the park aboard a draft-drawn trolley.
The Kentucky Horse Park is home to about 27 draft horses. You can see them during the "Beginnings" and "Exodus" presentations, meet them in the Parade of Breeds, and enjoy a tour of the park aboard a draft-drawn trolley.
All of the major breeds are represented, with a preponderance of Percherons and a few lesser-known breeds like the Suffolk Punch and Mammoth Mule. "We've got all kinds of interesting personalities here," said Tracy Walker.
To many people, the term "draft horse" means one thing: the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales. Introduced by Anheuser-Busch after the repeal of Prohibition, this flashy eight-horse hitch has been the breed's best advertisement for nearly 70 years. The Clydesdale was first bred by 19th century farmers in the Lanarkshire (formerly Clydesdale) district of Scotland. Blessed with a huge hoof, a long stride, and an abundance of protective hair (or "feathers") around the legs, he was perfect for working rugged terrain, not to mention coalfields and forests