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9/30/09, Bentonville, IN - After a four month hiatus, Doc is back! Lauren gave Doc the very best care, but decided that she needed something a little more laid back to drive. As the old wagon lead horse, he has a tendency to pick them up and lay them down. So, I now own Doc again. Thank you Lauren for the wonderful care you’ve given Doc,
Now, the only good thing to do with a lead horse, is put him back in the lead. When I pull out of here in about five weeks, Doc will be out front of the two Belgians. One in the lead and two on the wheel is called a Unicorn hitch. It’s a hard hitch to drive and calls for a really good lead horse, but that’s exactly what I have.
Since I’m headed west, I’ll be pulling a trailer for supplies behind the wagon. Having a third horse will allow me to pull up about any hill, so I can stay on back roads as much as possible.
Before I introduced Doc to the two Belgians, I pulled everybody’s shoes, incase they did a little kicking. I shouldn’t have bothered. There wasn’t even a snort or an aggressive posture. He settled in with them like they were three bachelors sharing a pad for the last four years. Right after I put them together, they walked around in a perfect Unicorn for about five minutes - just like I would drive them.
In a couple of weeks, I’ll start training for the new hitch. Before I hitch them up in a unicorn, I’ll drive Doc separately with each of the Belgians. Between now and then, the only equipment I have to buy is a set of 30 foot long driving lines for the lead horse. I have a good Biothane harness and a collar for him. As far as I can tell, all of his injuries have completely healed.
This has been a great day and I’m real excited to have Doc back as part of the team.
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