Draft horses Central Oregon style; photo by D"Bing" Bingham
Ross had decided this was the year his horses, Nip and Tuck, would learn to work as a team and pull a load together.
Norwegian Fjord Horses were bred in Norway as a dual-purpose draft and saddle animal. They aren’t as tall as the more commonly known draft horses, but they have a reputation for hard work no matter what they’re doing.
Ross and his wife were wintering on a ranch deep in the high desert. The snow was belly deep on a tall cow.
First, he put each horse in a single harness and practiced walking behind him rather than riding. As they became more comfortable with this new style of work, Ross connected their harnesses and put them through their paces as a team in a corral. Soon Nip and Tuck graduated to working together in larger circles outside the corral.
Training horses equals repetition—over and over. Ross was walking many miles behind his horses and professional cowboys, like him, are more comfortable riding a horse than, just about, anything else.
He built a wooden platform, called a stone boat, with skids that are used to haul large rocks out of farm fields. Then, he cobbled together a tall seat so he could see over the horses’ rumps.
“I admit the stone boat was a little top heavy,” he smiles.
When training draft horses, the first time they are hooked to a load is always an interesting moment. Even the most skilled horse trainer doesn’t know how a horse will react to feeling a heavy load behind him.
On the big day, Ross’ wife was holding Nip and Tuck while he hooked his brand new team to the stone boat. Neither of the horses had ever had anything like this happen to them before.
Ross spoke gently to the horses and, as usual, they started forward—until their harness lines came tight against the stone boat.
Panicked, they took off at a dead run with Ross and the stone boat streaming along behind like a pair of underwear on a windy clothesline.
To regain control, Ross circled the horses. Each time they turned around the circle, the stone boat would skitter sideways across the snow like a water skier in a tight corner.
Ross hung on—Nip and Tuck kept running at full speed.
“I was beginning to get a little worried,” Ross admits.
Nip and Tuck were strong and in good shape. Ross wasn’t sure who would wear out first, him or the horses. Each time they came around the circle, the stone boat would clear away more snow and they began to dig into the frozen dirt.
When the stone boat hit a patch of dirt, it would lean crazily toward the outside of the circle. Ross compensated by leaning to the inside, like a sailor tacking in a sailboat, to keep it from turning over.
Fortunately, not long afterwards, Nip and Tuck exhausted themselves and stopped. Slowly, gently, he let the horses catch their breath.
“I wasn’t sure who was more tired, me or them,” he says.
Most times, training working horses is best done with a series of patiently repeated commands. Other times, it’s an exciting contest of who will wear out whom.
Nip and Tuck have worked as a team with Ross for many years.
Bing Bingham is a writer, rancher and storyteller. If you have a story to pass along, contact him at www.bing@bingbingham.com.
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