Harness Training Odelia the Donkey

 

Odelia in her custom pulling / work collar

Quite some time ago, I began training Odelia, my BLM burro, to harness. Despite not having any wheeled horse-drawn vehicles at hand, I nonetheless began training in the usual manner: bitting and ground driving. I then ordered a custom collar and hames for her along with a work singletree. Donkeys require a different fit to collars and hames than horses or ponies, and it's critical to properly measure and order the right fit for their safety and comfort. Once Odelia's collar set arrived, I began driving her in full harness, letting her learn resistance by initially putting my own pressure on the traces using a string to pull back, then adding the singletree, and finally letting her drag a tire. She was an absolute ace throughout all of the training and, consistent with her happy, willing nature, never showed the least resistance.

I worked her in the poles (meaning, a PVC pipe to simulate the shaft of a cart) as well, so she could become accustomed to a shaft-like object pushing against her side. Doing such work also helps the driver by familiarizing them with the turning radius, the need to keep distance from obstacles that might catch upon the ends of the "shafts," and the like. Once she was coming along well, I was ready to add a wheeled vehicle. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to get a proper cart right away. I wasn't pleased with the more affordable options on Amazon. I did my research on carriage shops, picked one out, and went into a  holding pattern. Last month, though, my other half was making a sudden road trip to Pennsylvania. Aha! Opportunity! The savings on shipping enticed me to act. I asked him if he'd be willing to pick up a cart from the heart of Amish country, and he agreed to do so. With just days to arrange it, I ordered a beautiful wooden cart from the good folks at Pequea Carriage Shop, put down a deposit, and sent him along his way with directions to Narvon, Pennsylvania. I was just about giddy with anticipation.

I followed along the journey by phone and email as eagerly as a child follows Santa's path on the NASA site on Christmas Eve. R. gave me updates: "I picked up your thing." "I'm backed into the parking space at the motel so I am only a few feet from your thing." "Your thing is still fine!" And on one glorious morning, R. and My Thing arrived ... and it is a Thing of Beauty.

The cart is an easy-entry cart from Pequea, in the proper size for both Odelia and my sweet pony, Gracie, with upgraded puncture-proof tires because just about everything out here is stabby as hell. Here's a link to  Pequea Carriage Shop. Melvin Beiler is a pleasure to do business with, and I'm just thrilled with the cart.

Now, Odelia has her beautiful collar, but collars aren't as comfortable for light loads with a higher line of draft as a breast-collar style harness is. In addition, the breast-collar harness that would fit Odelia would also fit Gracie the pony, whereas Gracie can't use the same collar. I opted to order a harness from Chimacum Tack (where I'd previously purchased Odelia's collar, hames, and singletree). I chose Chimacum's Pleasure Harness for Donkeys, Ponies, and Mules. Mindy at Chimacum is terrific to work with and, given proper measurements, always ensures that harnesses fit your animal and the job you'll be doing with it. Here's a link for Chimacum Tack. Note that Chimacum does not carry leather harnesses. As a die-hard leather traditionalist and leather-crafter, I must admit the Biothane / Brahma Web harnesses are just outstanding. They're durable, easy to clean, and have several benefits over leather. I can't believe I said that, but there you are.

My beautiful new harness arrived a week ago. Thanks to medical appointments, monsoon storms, and trips to the veterinarian, it wasn't until yesterday I was finally able to get out there and introduce Odelia to it. This pleasure harness is a complete set, including everything from half-cheek snaffle driving bit to overcheck, traces, breeching, and crupper. Best of all, it is entirely custom and fit for the unique proportions of a donkey. I chose Royal Blue for the padded breast collar and saddle.

Yesterday's session was lengthier than is ideal in training, but it included fitting the harness to Odelia (the initial fitting takes quite a while - there are a lot of buckles and Conways to attend to!) Please note that I snapped these pictures throughout the process and they are in no way a depiction of proper fit. I was also careful to trim the whiskers beneath Odelia's eyes to avoid the irritation of her blinkers continually bumping them.  Odelia was perfectly happy being fitted, soaking up the attention, and stood like a champ despite the temptation of having green weeds nearby.

After fitting the harness, we proceeded through the initial phases of harness training to re-orient Odelia. She has been a lady of leisure for a few months so I need to assess her attitude and emotional state at each step of the way. I harnessed her, then walked her in the round pen for a while before moving to ground-driving. (She's so well-behaved it's hard to take things in small increments, but I am forcing myself.) I had already brought the cart into the round pen and stood it up (shafts upward) in a safe position so she could see it and become visually accustomed to it. After some ground-driving, I attached a piece of baling twine to the traces and applied pressure to them as I ground-drove. She was fine with this slight resistance, so I attached a small (ATV) tire she could drag. She was perfectly happy. Onto the poles! It was as if we'd just been working in them last week. She aced it. Sweet, willing Odelia. 

Please note that while ground-driving - or, for that matter, even when actually pulling a cart - at this stage of training, you do NOT want your draft animal to know how to back up in harness. Actively discourage it! This is all new to them and should they be frightened or resistant at any part of training or external activity, they may back up to try to avoid the pressure of pulling and they will quickly learn a very, very bad habit. Work them in a forward-only direction for at least a couple of months before you add the reverse gear. They need to learn to pull, not evade. (This is also one reason I prefer to teach them to use a pulling collar and to drag items - a sledge or tire won't easily roll backward! Instead, they get consistent work in pulling weight against a collar.)

Odelia with PVC training poles attached through the shaft loops. Please note that I have not used shaft wraps on the poles, nor are they necessary for this exercise. The holdback strap is not attached, either; it is looped and tucked into the back strap to keep it out of the way.

After refreshing Odelia's memory in the poles, I removed them and led her up to the new cart several times and walked her around it. She is a brave little donkey and unphased by it. I had already pulled the cart around in her presence so she could hear and see it in motion. I then positioned her in front of it and slowly lowered the shafts onto either side of her. I did not hitch her to it but repeated the lowering and raising of the shafts a few times. I then inserted the shafts into the shaft loops very briefly, but did not attach the traces to the singletree. She wore her blinkers throughout. (This is an essential safety element.)

After that brief, positive, initial introduction to the cart, I quit for the day. We'd covered a lot of ground. I ground-drove Odelia back to her stall and into it, and only then removed her bridle and switched to the halter.

I'd hoped to do further today, but although Odelia is up to it, I managed to get upper back spasms from yesterday's effort. Gah! I am pretty much laid up today. When I have recovered and made further progress with Odelia, I will make an effort to post updates. 

For further reading: 

I highly, highly recommend this book on harness and hitch by Marlen Steward and the late Steve Bowers. (This is an affiliate link and I may receive commissions on your purchase - for which I thank you for the support!) Driving Horses: How to Harness, Align, and Hitch Your Horse for Work or Play. I just can't rave about this book enough; it covers harness types, line of draft, driving techniques for teams, trouble-shooting, harness storage, and so much more, and all of it with top-drawer photographs and easily understandable instructions. I bought this book when I was briefly driving a two-in-hand stagecoach in Tombstone and it helped me tremendously with heavy-harness and team harness elements. Driving and harnessing (particularly team driving) is far more technical than today's typical horseman might recognize; this book is a bible for the modern teamster. It focuses more on harness and hitch than on actual driving and training of stock, though - for a great all-around guide to basic harness training, you'll want this book by Doris Ganton (another affiliate link): Breaking & Training the Driving Horse. It's an easy-to-understand, well-illustrated guide to starting your driving horse, and includes the "how-to" goods on ground-driving, making and using poles, accustoming your horse to cart and buggy, and onward. I've relied on it for many years and still dust it off to refresh my memory every time I start a horse between lines.

Questions or comments?  I am experiencing technical issues in promptly seeing / replying to comments (probably operator error, but anyway!) but I welcome you to leave them. If you need to reach me directly, please email me through my website Marcy's Website. While you're at it, please check out my donkey and equine art! Here's a sample: Olivia Painting.

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