On the horse power pages we try to give those of you who are interested in the working side of things, a little insight into what it is really like for us to use the horses as a part of a working team, a lot of people think that using a horse on the farm consists of trotting around the sheep on a sunny day counting them or bringing a lost lamb back to its mother (I wish!) if that were the case then the horses would be nothing more than hacks.
In fact the horses have as much work put in to them as a collie in training, which is a lot, but it is done over a certain period of time, depending on how quickly they learn.
Even though Bucky has been sold now, these pictures of him show how we introduce them to work slowly.
This is a day in the life of Bucky,s training
In fact the horses have as much work put in to them as a collie in training, which is a lot, but it is done over a certain period of time, depending on how quickly they learn.
Even though Bucky has been sold now, these pictures of him show how we introduce them to work slowly.
This is a day in the life of Bucky,s training
 In the picture above, im just working down the side of the sheep, whilst Poppy is worked back and forth, driving them slowly down the field. Everything kept nice and calm. |
 Bucky is listening to everything, but he knows that i am not talking to him,as im giving Poppy commands, he waits calmly until given the cue to move off. |
 And they,re off!,.... these lambs take an opportunity to make a run for it, off to the left, and when asked Bucky stretched out into full swing and brought them back into a group, whilst Poppy works the back of the group |
This is a lot for an inexperienced horse to take in, Andrew is sitting (taking photos) on the ATV which is running, on his left, Poppy is working behind him, and he is having to work quite hard to keep those lambs going through the gateway to his right whilst practising his rollbacks, for a horse that hasnt been keen to work stock, he has exelled himself today. He has a lot to learn, but he,s made a brilliant effort, and thats all I ask. |
 Im just making sure that Poppy has got the last of the lambs, as Bucky slides down the bank, (a pair of eyes in the back of my head would be really handy right now) |
 Once the lambs were in the yard, Bucky,s girth is loosened,and he has to wait for us to finish what needs doing to the lambs. Notice the lambs dont give Bucky any eye contact at all, if one does, he promptly turns it around and bites it on its bum, just to show them who,s boss. |
 Poppy thoughrouly grubby and worn out, is glad of a dip at the end of a hard day! All the dogs are trained to jump into water tanks to cool down and drink, so it doesnt matter how far away we are from home, because there are a lot of tanks dotted around, especially in the summer they really appricieate a cooling off as and when they feel like it, It also helps to prevent heat stroke, its supprising how much they use the yard tank in the summer. |
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