Heaven help us, our team of wagon horses is patient and there isn’t a day that goes by I’m not grateful to them for their generosity.
Seriously.
They are so kind and tolerant as we learn to drive.
The first time I harnessed them it took me about 2 hours. I had to keep consulting Google on my phone to make sure I had everything in exactly the right place. (We’ve since hired experts to help us of course!) Wish and Sis stood patiently, probably wondering what was taking so dang long.
When we harness them we take them into a small corral and just let them wander freely. Jeff and I dedicate quite a bit of time to harnessing each horse — grooming them completely, even their thick, comb-busting manes.
Then, together, we bridle them and hoist their harnesses on them – it’s no small feat to lift 75 to 80 pounds of leather up over your head and try to do it gently.
The entire time, Wish and Sis stand quietly. You’d almost think they are enjoying themselves. Actually, I believe they really do. As we harness one, the other horse comes over to us and pretty much just waits for its turn.
It says a lot about the team and their experience. It tells us that they’ve been handled well and kindly, and that they enjoy their job. It tells us that while we might be pretty clumsy at harnessing them, we’ve managed not to be too offensive to them. It also tells us that the team is willing to overlook a lot of our shenanigans as we learn.
Who could ask for better teachers?
Thanks Wishbone and Sis.
