Well, another busy week here at Peetree Stables. I had Katrina out on Thursday to put winter tires on the boys. They weren't due to be trimmed for another 3 weeks but we have lots of ice at the moment and I didn't want to take a chance on them slipping and hurting themselves. It was the first time that Skipper's feet had been done here. He was very well behaved (as usual).
Katrina and Skipper
Skipper looking back to ensure Katrina is doing a good job.
I think this was just before Katrina told me where to put my camera! (bad girl!)
And of course Fronie had to give Skipper a new hairdo while his "nails" were being done. She is having loads of fun with the abundance of mane!
The next day Cliff came out to show me how to put Skipper's work harness on. I've never dealt with a collar and hames before - let alone the traditional Newfoundland hooking up. He arrived on Friday afternoon with a cart on the back of his truck. It's called a "Mutrey Special". There is an older fellow in Harbour Grace NL who makes these carts. They are basically car parts with a bus seat and some logs for shafts. VERY UNIQUE! They certainly don't look fancy but they go over any terrain and are quite comfortable because of the high seat back.
Cliff is a well known artist in NL who has done alot to preserve the Newfoundland pony. He has been in Skipper's life for a very long time. Sort of an ambassador. He always knew who had Skipper and there was always a condition that if a person was selling Skipper, Cliff had first right of refusal. Now that Skipper is in our barn Cliff has become a part of our lives. And what an addition he is! Lots of old knowledge - most of which I'm trying to get out of him.
Both Cliff and Skipper are now white!
The first thing we did that afternoon was to adjust the cart to Skipper. First we had to attach the single tree. There's another name for it but I can't remember what it is. We used a length of chain and a D-ring for that. Then we had to adjust the traces (they were too long). So Cliff took the comb out of his pocket and lined it up with the end of the shaft, pulled the trace up and told me to splice the other end onto the single tree. I must say he was quite impressed with my splicing ability. The next step was to move the clips that the breeching attaches to. I didn't have any spare brass clips or fencing staples (I'm SERIOUS!) so we had to rob them from the shafts of the winter slide that Cliff has leant me. Off we marched to Lord Gord's garage to remove what we needed from the shafts. When we pulled out what we thought was the fencing staple, it was actually a 4" nail with the head chopped of it, bent into a U shape and pounded into the shaft. The next step was to figure out the right measurement for where to put the snaps. Cliff's comb wasn't long enough for that so we had to bring Skipper out (complete with harness) and put him between the shafts so we could see the proper place. I was holding Skipper while Cliff was figuring out the distance and he said to me, "hand me the hammer". Huh? But the pony was still between the shafts! But who was I to question the pro ... so I handed him the hammer and sure enough he pounded the old nails into the shaft, in just the right spot. Skipper didn't even take any notice of him!
The best part about working on the cart and harness with Cliff was listening to the stories he told about all this things that his father had taught him.
Now I was ready for my maiden voyage. I was pretty excited but Cliff wouldn't let me get on the cart yet. He told me to go into the barn and put some hay into an empty grain bag. So I did and came out with it. He said it was to sit on to keep my bum warm. Back in the day this is what they would do, and then when they reached their destination they would remove some of the hay for the horse to eat until it was time to go back home. And I'll tell you one thing - I probably had the warmest buns in the bay!
Skipper sure knows his stuff - that's for sure. When we were ready to go (and our driveway was icy) I was going to walk Skipper to the end of the driveway and then trot him when I reached the road. Cliff had other ideas though. He told Skipper to "get up", and Skipper did! We have a short video of it (that I've had trouble uploading) and you can hear me say, "but there's ice". Well Skipper's shoes and studs sure did the trick. He was surefooted and just stepped right out. He LOVES to pull. We only went down our road and then headed back because I knew that everyone else was waiting to go for a drive with me.
Fronie came first (of course). She said that next time she was going to wear a sports bra because it was a wee bit bouncy. I'm just thankful that neither of us got a black eye!
My next passengers were Kayla and her friend Torie. They were very impressed with the cart because they can stand up in it and hold the front railing - apparently just like a chariot!
And there endeth the "test drive" day. I'll have to start another post about the parade because this one is getting pretty long!
Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:44 am
