This could have been bad, not pretty, but wow, the handlers were on it.
I think they blindfolded the downed horse to keep him calm
Duh, edited to add link:
5 Likes
I have seen this video posted all over Facebook and it is amusing how in one group the reaction is âthank goodness for great horses and great handles who know how to deal with things when they go sidewaysâ and the next group is âoh my gawd, this is just so horrible that this happened, this should never ever ever ever happenâ.
I feel like this is a great example of how even though everything is done right, that things can go sideways and how having horses with a good temperament, extensive training, and a great crew can make one of those sideways moments end positively.
I had chills the whole time I watched (because at that point the only comments I had read was how horrible this was so I expected a bad ending).
It looks like the whole crew knew their job and just did it. The horses knew their job and they did it too.
17 Likes
It so impressive to watch how everyone stays calm and sorts out the puzzle.
I donât understand what went wrong in the first place, did the leaders just decide to turn in, or was he asking for something and it went wrong?
4 Likes
Disclaimer, I was not there, so I have no real idea.
What I read (driving group) was that it looks like one of the lead horses spooked or reacted to something and then mayhem.
4 Likes
That is why I put âall okâ in the title of the thread. I got the video and was expecting the worst, especially when the downed horse had trouble getting up at first. (I think his leg probably âfell asleepâ he was on it so long and so awkwardly.)
6 Likes
Yes, I think your âall OKâ is a great thing to have in the title.
I just assumed that some of his rigging was still tangled in a way that he struggled enough that he said âcanât do itâ so they had him stop and took more stuff off him.
I can imagine that their collar gets in the way of them getting their front legs in a position to pull themselves up well.
4 Likes
I did see some âmaybeâ teamsters, online who knows, saying that they should have taken his collar and everything off before letting him try and get up. It makes sense to me, but with a knowledge of zero about this, I dint know.
I hope the downed horse is OK. He was really walking gingerly behind.
I am glad they got them all sorted out.
Susan
3 Likes
There is a video (wish I could find it) that was very shaky and long distance, but it seemed to show that one of the swing horses on the rail side, who was tossing his head, caught the line that connected to the outer side of the bit of the leader on the rail side. Thereby giving the signal for the leaders to turn inexplicably into the rail and around, which they did quite âcorrectlyâ. If the line was tangled that way, the driver would have had zero control. Not an unheard of tangle, but not usually something that happens.
Very well handled it seemed to me. As for leaving the harness on/taking it offâŠI suppose that is always going to be a matter of case by case, horse by horse whether none, some, or all has to taken off before they either physically can, or feel they can, get back up.
7 Likes
Found the link. Something else may have happened, but this seems plausible
https://www.facebook.com/neil.dimmock.7/posts/pfbid0FNvasB8gob4jrUkrUNh1ZGFCbUJ6phXiBv6faX72ejyT9VrazVxJPjfk7HEZ5g2Ml
3 Likes
Awesome job by everyone. Someone send me the link this weekend and told me it was horrific, but when I watched it, yes it was bad but it couldâve been SO much worse. My first instinct was that they should get the harness off him, he may have felt trapped by it. But they know their team and it all worked out. I also hope heâs ok, he looked sore behind to me, too.
I was amazed at how steady the wheelers remained throughout the incident.
2 Likes
This does seem plausible. There does not seem to be spooking by the leaders, just, âOh, you want me to turn around, OKâ.
So glad it turned out OK. The downed horse did seem to be walking stiffly but not too badly.
3 Likes
I agree that there was a harness problem, rein snagged on something. Leader was NOT spooked! He just kept turning like the rein told him to. Helper jumped down as quick as they saw the problrm, but it was a ways to run to hand stop the Leaders.
This is not a situation where you can just start unbuckling things to have a good ending!!
The ground crew did EVERYTHING perfectly!! The horses are extremely well trained, did not panic with people heading them, downed horse stayed down with eyes covered, person sitting on his neck, not struggling.
To clear a multiple horse driving wreck, things have to be done calmly, in the correct order to prevent making things MUCH worse. All those horses are tied together with reins. Each pair is tied together with their own reins as well, so just getting traces loose will NOT allow horses to move apart! Pulling 40 plus feet of reins thru harness rings takes some time!! Then length needs to be secured, hung on collar hames to prevent dragging for further trouble, unfastened traces, then unbuckle crossed reins to partner horse to allow separation. Get Leader bars off the ground, out of the way, pick up broken swing pole pieces, move them away. Then repeat again with downed horse and partner.
The downed horse did appear restricted by his harness in getting up. Once harness and collar were removed, he was able to get up with one heave upward.
Stuff happens with horses. The best preparations do not prevent âincidents.â I do think most driving horses can be more accepting of weirdness after their (usually) extensive driving training. âGuess I will wait for the people to tell me what to do.â
Do not EVER jump in to help a driving wreck with your sharp implement!! You WILL make things MUCH WORSE cutting random harness parts!! Kneel on the horse neck, keep him down and quiet as situation is assessed. There is an order to follow to untangle things SAFELY for every one involved.
14 Likes
Hereâs an example of what they were going to do, with a 6-horse team.
4 Likes
The video did show the handlers running up and trying to grab the horses before the horses fell over.
1 Like
Are you sure. If you watch it frame by frame. The second swing pair bobs his head BUT there is a bar under his bit so that would not have hung up the rein. He also does this while everyone is still facing forward.
The leaders drive into the swingle trees between swing pairs two and three like they were being chased by a demon.
That drive between the two pairs is MORE that a rein being pulled. How the leaders were even able to PULL that much rein from the driver as they spun is a feat.
I wonder if the leaders throught they were supposed to do the docking move to the left and not the right and got caught with no where to go?
3 Likes
Wow. My heart was in my throat watching this. Iâm thankful the title of this thread said âall okâ - for a moment there I was seriously concerned about the downed horse. Iâve spent quite a bit of time around driving horses, and when things go wrong, it can get ugly fast. Thank goodness this situation was handled so well here!! Phew.
1 Like
Thanks @goodhors - great explanation from someone whoâs driven multiples.
Thereâs a ton of equipment to sort even if all goes well!
Leaders - for whatever reason - caused that tangle.
My thought was:
TG theyâre Drafts and a supremely well-trained 8.
@quietann I have a video of a Draft Mule 8 doing the Docking maneuver center ring.
But COTH wonât let me upload it.
It was very impressive 
3 Likes
The quoted part is probably not relevant, but can you watch the first few seconds, the blurry bit and the bit after that and explain what the driver is doing with the lines? I almost wonder (and I am probably WRONG!) if the driver had a really bad dyslexic moment. Like I said probably wrong, but Iâd be interested to know if any of what he was doing looked weird/different.
@MunchingonHay I am not sure where the rein hung up. Second pair horse bobbing head could have pulled the Leader rein with rein ring supporting length. Could have been many things, a twist in a rein hung on a terret for an extra moment. I am sure it will come out later. I do not seem able to look frame-by-frame, to pinpoint the snag. Could have hung rein on some other thing on Leader harness or horse behind. Could have been the coupling rein hung up, not the right hand rein. Driver was probably trying to regain rein control, pull the left side Leader back left, before horse passed the point of no-return. Didnât happen, then reins are not much use as Leaders went into the Swing horses. That is a LOT of leather to handle in good times, trying to separate 4 front horse reins in less than 2 seconds is about impossible.
Leaders, the GOOD ones, go where aimed, are FORWARD, even if he has not faced this item before. He/they, were probably going to KEEP GOING, but the handler got him stopped. Thank goodness! Driving multiples, draft or light horses, means there is only ONE âCaptain of the shipâ making decisions. That needs to be the Driver at all times! The horses need to just do as told, not allowed to think for themselves because that is extremely dangerous!! They make bad choices!
I would NOT be pointing at the driver as the cause. No one could have stopped the Leader with a rein hung up.
7 Likes
