Draft Turkeys. The New Fad.

Okay, so the title is a little tongue-in-cheek. But I was laughing SO hard when I saw this image below!!

Granted, these turkeys probably never actually pulled the cart; it's most likely just a photo prop, which was highly fashionable back in the old days. But seriously. Turkeys?? Hooked to a cart??? Tickled my funny bone, it did. :)

I'm also pleased to report that you can get reindeer harnesses for the bargain price of $170 via THIS website. How nice to know that... I won't have to stress about where to get my driving equipment, come the day that I buy myself a cart reindeer. ;) 

And to top it off, I have just learned that I've been training my draft goat all wrong by using incorrect terms. For most folks, the normal driving terms are:

Get up = Walk

Whoa = Stop

Haw = Turn left

Gee = Turn right

It seems that the "more refined" terms to use for a draft animal are:

Anchors away! = Walk

Drop anchor! = Stop

Port! = Turn left

Starboard! = Turn Right

And when you have to make a sharp turn into the wind you shout: "Helms-a-lee!"

My sense of humor absolutely will not allow me to NOT try the terms out. ;) So now I have to get a new goat to train, so that when we go trotting down the road together, the neighbors can listen to me calling out nautical terms. 

Life is short. Have fun while you can. :) And if that means belting out pirate terms whilst driving a goat on a country road, or casually steering a decked out reindeer through town, then so be it. 

Here's to the crazy ones. :)

Gettin' Somewhere

Heidi is making progress in her training! It's slow going, but we do seem to be gettin' somewhere! Today was her first time wearing her full practice rig, as well as it being her first time to experience pressure on her face. She did surprisingly well, although there were a couple moments of near mutiny, as she huffed about having to work while the other goats watched on. The hard part is that she's stubborn. And I'm stubborn. So we're a stubborn pair of Left Brain extroverts who each have an agenda of our own!

 But I was pleased with today's workout. She never once stopped chewing her cud during the entire training session! LOL.

Stylin'

Heidi's rope halter came in the mail today! Made by a friend, who's website you can view HERE. :)

Heidi seems to like the vibrant yellow and orange colors that she now gets to sport during training sessions. Sure wish I could look that good in yellows and oranges... ;)

Another bit of today's news, is that I'm eyeing a nice, albeit used, cart for Heidi to pull!! Not sure if I'll get it, but if I do, it'll probably happen sometime next week. [big smile]

Training Day #6

I don't know how often I'll do training updates, but I thought I would at least do today's session. :) Today, Heidi and I did a really simple obstacle course while on the line (as in lead rope). She did really well, although she got bored with it before I grabbed the camera (we did it twice around, and then filmed on the third round), so next time I'll have to amp up the difficulty level.

You can see in the video, that I'm not kidding when I say a "simple" course. I wasn't sure how Heidi would react, so I kept everything really simple, and non-threatening. The bells and whistles can come later. ;)

Getting Closer To The Goal

Yet another surprise arrived today...

Only this time, it was found in the mailbox. ;)

It's a.... Hmm, come to think of it, what exactly is that jumble of straps supposed to be? ;)

Okay, for reals this time. It's a harness for Heidi!

When put together it looks like this:

This is just a practice rig; not meant to actually pull anything. Just so Heidi and I can practice our "gee's", "haw's", and "whoas", before getting some serious leather on. :) But it's exciting to see that we're actually getting somewhere!! Next up is Heidi's special, handmade rope halter, which should come on Saturday! Hurrah!

Training Day #4

Today is day #4 in training Heidi. Day #1 was terrible... She pulled against the rope, and fought me at every turn. Day #2 was better, as I started the Parelli methods that day, and started gently teaching her to yield. Day #3 was a flop, as I was pushing her too hard, and we were both getting frustrated. So I backed up, and made sure that I made myself clear on what I wanted today, and more importantly, I relaxed and just had fun with my big goat. These videos show our small bit of progress that we accomplished today. :) We played for about 20 minutes outside. And I really mean it when I say "played". We both had a ton of fun, ended the session sweating, and Heidi didn't want me to leave. In this first video, Heidi has a 12' lead rope on, but I never once had to put pressure on it. All that was needed was to keep it off the ground, so she wouldn't step on it. :)

 This second video shows Heidi and me playing without the lead rope (known as "Liberty") . She had the freedom to go back to her pasture buddies if she wanted, but she was having too much fun playing! I was very surprised at how well Heidi responded to today's lesson. She has never been a goat that would follow anyone; so this was a huge breakthrough!

 Next steps are to continue to gain her trust and respect. I am excitedly waiting for the arrival of a rope halter for Heidi, as I think that is going to help things immensely, and I'll soon introduce the "carrot stick", which is a 4' long stick used as an arm extension when training. One thing that Heidi struggles with, is that she is head shy. If you reach for her head, she flinches, and sometimes jerks back. I'm assuming this must have started when back at her old "home" (if one can call it that). She's come a long way since I got her (used to not be able to even go near her head), but she's still hesitant about letting that fear go.