Snow! We got some.. nothing like the folks down around Cheyenne and Colorado. We might have had 4 inches. Wet! Good stuff! I feel for those who were calving thru’ this where they got hit harder. It is kind of muddy around here, but I much prefer mud over frozen hard dirt and snow!
We hooked up the team and have been feeding grain with them. The younger of the two hasn’t
had much training so it has been interesting. Seems like I could never get anyone to go along with me when ever I wanted to drive her, before. But Chance got interested and has been helping and learning. These maybe ain’t the best to learn on, but it is kind of like learning to cowboy, kind of sink or swim!
Years ago when I got my first team, my Dad had a fit. “I spent my whole life switching my fathers equipment over from teams to tractors and your switching them all back!”, he said. But he was sure right there when I hooked and drove them and told me what I was doing wrong. I started the first one alongside an older saddle horse I had driven. Just used a stone boat at first. Got her going pretty good one winter and then the next winter started her mate.. she was kind of snotty so I put a set of trip ropes on her and let her loose in the corral and taught her what the word Whoa, meant. Never had to spill her, just stopped her when I said it. Then Dad and I hooked her to my other mare who had some experience and had a set of trip on her. Dad sat on the corner of the hay wagon and held the rope to the trips.. away we went! Got pretty wild and pretty rapid a few times, but he never touched her trips.
After awhile she settled down and things went pretty smooth. He then told me when I asked why he’d never took ahold of her feet with them trips, that he didn’t like to trip them, as then they got to where they were afraid to get out and pull. Kind of glad he didn’t, explain that until afterwards! I sure would have been more nervous!
As to runaways he would say, “Where they gonna run? Let them run. They will stop after awhile!”
Wow!
He sure din’t have as much imagination as I did!
I find myself looking back to those times with my son and this less trained mare… and I agree more with him now. As long as you can kind of point them, let them run. If they want to keep it up.. maybe encourage them until they don’t want to then go some more.. they soon learn running isn’t all that much fun.
I like teams. The best part about teams? I have never had one buck me off! I can’t say that for saddle horses! The price that fuel is getting, I am thinking more people are going to get interested in teams, to save some fuel.If you decide you want a team, let me know. I might be able to find you one. Can’t say how well trained they will be, tho’!
Dennisranch 
Love this story!
Glad you did!