Quote:
Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok
Yikes. Those certainly weren't well enough behaved to be in harness. The driver didn't think so either, or there wouldn't have been grooms hanging on their heads, or running along nervously ready to grab them.
The lead horse was pulling and the 3 in the very back at least had their traces taught and the rest of them were just along for the outing and not in the harness at all.
A very dangerous and foolish stunt that could have turned into a real disaster. My guess is that only 4 of the horses were properly trained to harness and the lead horse behaved badly enough that he shouldn't have been driven in public at all.
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I respectfully disagree with most of what you said above.
While the animals were certainly quite high-spirited, I didn't think they were out-of-control. I can see why they would have headers while navigating the crowd on the way to the field, particularly at the beginning where the driver's field of vision was poor. I think a fair amount of the initial fussing-about was due to the fact that the horses were getting mixed signals from the driver and the header before everything was lined-out. The lead animal was clearly frustrated initially, but he looked to me to be a good horse.
Now, watch it again. When the driver makes an arc, pick a static point on the ground and watch how each horse passes that point, maintaining the arc rather than the horses simply cutting the corner or fanning. Maintaining that arc is hard enough with TWO horses... I cannot fathom the skill required to do it with 14.
In order to make that arc, the lines that go to the side of the horse that corresponds to the inside of the arc must be tightened in sequence. As each horse reaches the begining of the curve of the arc, his line must be shortened to get him to begin the turn. If each horse was merely following the one ahead of him, each horse would be cutting the corner just a hair sooner than the one ahead of him. The flow of the arc demonstrates the skill that the driver posesses.
Also, notice that the fellow is driving coach style... all the lines held in the left hand, the whip held in the right. The right hand will pluck and adjust the lines held in the left.
When driving a tandem in show or demonstration, the lead horse is not supposed to be in draft. I don't know why that is, but there you have it. The only animal that is in draft is the one between the shafts. The lead horse should be out on the lines, of course, but his traces should not be taut.
As for it being dangerous and foolish, I don't know if I can argue with that. There are times when I feel it might be nearly negligent for a person to take any team out in public, regardless of how well-behaved and well-trained they are. They aren't robots and stuff happens, particularly in harness.
