A Real Pickup Truck
Last time we were in Germany, where I’m from, we joked about the size of underground parking garages. They are built with the regular compact cars in mind and in many cases there are many narrow pathways and circles inside that only those cars can pass. Going back and forth between Europe and the U.S. keeps your sensitivity for these little differences alive. Out in the country in the U.S. there are many pickup trucks and it appears that basically every family has at least one of those, for Europeans, enormous vehicles. Well … I’ve got one now too :-)
This is a 2012 Ford F-150 EcoBoost with 360 HP and a big 36 gallon gasoline tank. It is made to tow about 11,000 lbs.
My intent is to use this vehicle to tow a gooseneck horse trailer so that our horses Max and Maximiliano can travel with us wherever we have to go. A gooseneck trailer is hitched to a ball located in the bed of the truck. That way the trailer sits on the rear axle of the vehicle, which provides more stability than pulling a trailer hitched to the rear bumper.
Besides towing, which isn’t something I have to do every week, this vehicle is also for daily driving. In contrast to Europe parking lots in the U.S. are quite large and even parking garages are made for vehicles such as this one. So there should be no problem with that. The gas mileage isn’t as bad as one might expect. When I drove it yesterday for the first 90 minutes on the highway at slightly more than 100 km/h the dashboard computer indicated an average of 14.2 l/100 km. That’s a lot but still acceptable.
Inside it has a lot of space to offer. The rear seats can be folded and that provides room for stowing a few boxes or suitcases in the back. Then of course there is the bed where a cover can be attached to and thus I have more than enough room to take all our stuff from place to place. However, once we have the horse trailer the bed is being used for the gooseneck and then the stuff goes into the trailer. Those horse trailers usually have a “dressing room” separated from the space for the horses and there is more than enough space to basically transport a whole household.
It’s going to be an interesting experience.
Peruvian Paso Maximiliano arrives and meets Max
Earlier this week our new Peruvian Paso Maximiliano arrived. He traveled from his birthplace in Virginia to Ohio more than 10 hours in a big semi trailer where about 12 horses fit in. Although he had company he was pretty scared when he came out of the trailer. That might also have been because of the running Diesel engine of the truck, the new surroundings or simply the fact that he has never traveled before. Probably a combination of all.
After calming him down a bit I walked him up the driveway very slowly. He was nervous and ready to flee but somehow he also trusted the human at his side (me) enough to stay. I took a while to get to the barn. We did several stops to look around while I was trying to talk to him in a calm voice. His stall has a small run outside. For the time being he prefers to stay outside looking over the adjoining hay field.
Maximiliano is black with a touch of chocolate in his mane. Right now he is wearing his winter coat. I’m expecting him to get very beautiful for the summer. He is also quite curious about other creatures like the barn cat.
And of course Maximiliano and Max, the Haflinger, made friends the same day they met. Here is Max nibbling his new friend.
Although I have ridden Maximiliano briefly I don’t intent to get up his back just yet. Instead I want to figure him out a bit more and do some groundwork first to establish our relationship and respect. I’ve also ordered a custom saddle all in black that has to arrive first.
The young not always do as told
Young humans and young horses are very similar in their way of treating things they are being told. Usually they try to ignore instructions and get away with it. So did Max, the Haflinger, this afternoon. I took him out of his stable and started to walk him towards the training area with the round pen. It’s a nice little walk down a long driveway and over some piece of township road.
Max is usually a nice and obedient little guy. He makes space when someone cleans out his stall. He waits until his hay is in the right place. When he first came to us he was a bit weak and since then has gained weight and strength. It appears that now step by step he is coming out of his shell and does show all the traits that one would expect from a two years old horse.
Right now it’s pretty cold and although Max is getting quite a lot of feed (grain and hay) he is always hungry. That’s quite normal for a horse. They basically like to eat all the time. We left the barn area and he started to look for grass under the snow. Of course that created a conflict. He wanted to eat grass and I wanted to walk down to the training area. What happened? He refused to continue walking and as soon as I pulled on the lead rope he started to buck and express his discontent. It went so far that he jumped really high and even did a few playful strides in the air with his front legs. Quite impressive and good to have a long lead rope ;-)
My reaction to him saying “no” in a horsy way was to have him run in circles around me with me not moving any feet. That’s the important part with horses. Who moves his feet looses. Who stands still while making the other run is the boss. Quite simple and effective.
So there he was running in a circle. That had some effect. After a few minutes he got the message and we were able to continue our walk to the round pen.
We arrived, I took off the lead rope and raised my arm. He immediately started to walk in the indicated direction and when I raised the same arm again he picked up speed. Just as he learned to do. I stepped in front of him and he stopped and gave me two eyes looking at me and waiting for more instructions. I sent him off in different directions a few times and everything was just perfect.
A little bit later in our training session I jumped up and down next to him while holding tight on to him with my arms. That’s the exercise to prepare him for a riding getting up on his back. Somehow he didn’t like me doing that. His mouth came to my boots and legs and he started to nibble. So I gave him a slap on the nose. Still he was repeating this a few more times and on both sides. He clearly wanted to let me know that he doesn’t like this exercise. That’s not ok. He has to learn to tolerate these things, because when a rider mounts him jumping up is part of the activity.
After we were done and when I stepped away he raised his head playing with his tongue and exposing his teeth. Not in an aggressive way but I feel that I got the message. He was still discontent and basically wanted to let me know that he does have teeth. So… That’s a big issue and totally not acceptable. I raised my arm to make him go in circles. He did but stopped after a few steps. He was testing me. To figure out whether I’m really sure about it. That’s a horses way to question one’s authority. No. Wrong answer. So I used the stick and the attached string to whip the ground. That made him go. Good answer. I raised my arm again and he went faster. He was still trying to test me but each time he slowed down I responded by raising my arm with the stick and string ready to hit the ground again to reinforce my command. I told him to change direction and he refused. By hitting the ground and clearly making him understand the new order I got him to comply. We did this a few times and after a while he was breathing hard and ready for some air. So he got to rest a while and think about how’s the boss.
The next exercise went right by the book without any questioning on his part.
Now that we had established our pecking order we were able to do a few more things and then ended the session with some desensitizing exercises and a lot of rubbing for good behavior.
The walk up to the stable was completely uneventful. No pulling on the lead rope. No searching for grass under the snow. He walked with the same speed as I and kept his relative position.
Good boy!
