Going Solo, er Double!

Monday was a busy day at the office. Some time between all of the phone calls, emails, data entry, and gazing at the lovely green trees, blue sky and sunshine out my office window, an idea popped into my head: "It would be a great day to take Charlie for a drive."

In the past, I've been a little leery of hitching a horse by myself.What if I can't get someone to help me? What if I don't connect all the harness straps together correctly? What if the horse won't stand still while I'm trying to get on to the cart? What if I can't get the harness or bridle on the horse? (Charlie's good about being harnessed and bridled, but he is 6 feet tall at his withers while I'm only 5'6").

Yesterday was the day to get over all those excuses. My driving mentor was out of town and my husband was in the house (albeit in earshot in case something went wrong). I've been driving for 2 1/2 years now so I sure as heck ought to know how a harness goes together and gets hooked up to the cart. Not to mention I've been hauling hay bales and 50 lbs. bags of feed around for the last year, so I'm certainly strong enough to throw the harness over his back.

Charlie handled everything as the calm draft horse that he is. He was really patient while I checked, double checked, and triple checked that everything was correct on his harness. The biggest obstacle I faced was the cart-- the one I have is really heavy and hard for me to maneuver on my own. Charlie got poked in the rear end a few times, but eventually we got everything connected. He stood perfectly still after I untied the lead rope from the fence and got settled in the driver's seat. When I asked, he  strolled away from the hitch rail like a perfect gentleman.

Since Charlie hadn't been driven since February, we mostly walked around the hay field and arena for about 30 minutes. We did some figure eights, stopping, turning, backing, plus a little trotting. He will probably end up pulling the wagon at the corn maze this fall, so he needs to get into shape. My goal is to work with him at least 2-3 times a week over the summer to get him in better condition.