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A great number of new hitch exhibitors appear at the shows each year, many of them coming from backgrounds other than the heavy horse industry. Consequently, they are entering a strange new world and, not surprisingly, many of them have questions about how to improve their outfits, how to become more competitive and how those hitches placing at the top do things. Sounds like a wonderful topic for a Horsemen's Round Table, so let's meet our panel of experts:
     
Mr. Brad Schreiber, Plainview, Minnesota; Brad grew up a farm kid and has been showing horses for over 25 years, including driving gelding 6 and 8-horse hitches, exhibiting halter horses and raising colts. The family operation currently consists of some 30 head of Percherons, and, occasionally, a Belgian. Schreibers participate in up to five parades and 12 shows annually.
     
Mr. Ross Honsberger, Sagola, Michigan, is the youngest on our panel at 23, but he is not lacking for experience. The son of Larry and Joyce Honsberger, Ross attended his first horse show at just two months of age, and his mother says he hasn't stopped for 23 years. With the family hitting around 20 shows each year, Ross had plenty of opportunities and good teachers in his parents and big brother, Jason. He started driving the family's six-up at age 14, drove his first eight-up at 15 and started shoeing horses at 16.
     
While attending Ohio State University, Ross spent his summers working for the Lor-Rob Dairy hitch, Hammersmith Belgians and managed the All-Star Farms Percheron mare hitch for two years. He then went to work for Maple Row Dairy and currently works for Wilderness Ridge Farms, Bob and Judy Gunville.
     
P.S. Ross did receive that college degree and he is engaged to Nicole Dingman (daughter of Doyle and Renee Dingman of Michigan). Ross and Nicole were pictured on the cover of our Autumn 2006 issue.
     
Mr. Jim Westbrook grew up on a dairy farm in Ohio, complete with a large breeding herd of Percherons and an assortment of other livestock. After marrying Jill, a Belgian gal no less, the couple bred and showed their own Percherons, milked and farmed until 1985, when they went to work managing Soder Farms, Three Lakes, Wisconsin.
     
From there, they worked briefly for the Southern States Percheron Hitch, Roxboro, North Carolina, before accepting the Clyde manager position(s) at Live Oak Plantation, Ocala, Florida. After nine years there, the Clyde hitch was sold to Highland Farms, Paris, Kentucky, and Jim and Jill took jobs there. In 2000, they went to work at Ames Percheron Farm, Jordan, Minnesota, stayed there as managers for seven years, then took yet another position in 2007. This time, it was to Schulenberg, Texas, home of 2S Clydesdales.
     
All but the latter job involved fielding a six-horse hitch and Jim has been very successful at it, winning the North American Classic Series twice with the Live Oak Clydes and twice with the greys of Ames Construction.
     
Brian and Colleen Coleman own and operate Coleman Ranch, a horse training and fitting facility west of Didsbury, Alberta, Canada. They train mostly driving horses including heavy horses, light horses and warmbloods. Here they also keep their Eaglesfield Percherons breeding operation. They have one daughter, Taylor.
     
Brian grew up farming with Belgians. In 1986, he began showing Percherons for Audrey Turner (Stony Creek Percherons) of Water Valley, Alberta. In 1988, he showed his first 6-horse hitch.
     
Brian and Colleen have trained, shown, fitted, and shod champion driving and halter horses for themselves and clients all over North America, including Belgians, Percherons, Shires and Clydesdales. They have had up to one eight, three sixes, and one four-horse hitch in training at one time. They have fielded hitches for many stables including: RRJ Belgians, Pattersons Percheron Farm, Black Hollow Percherons, Cedarfarm Percherons, Chula Vista Belgians, Rainbow Lake Percherons, Heart Mt. Shires and Strawberry Lane Percherons.
     

They enjoy finding the right horse for people–whatever the breed. Also active in the Alberta 4-H program, they have hosted several camps and clinics for youth over the past decade. They teach driving clinics each year for all audiences that emphasize safety, psychology, and form to function.
     
With that, let's get to it ... [Read More]

On The Edge of Common Sense
O.B. Chain Marathon
© Baxter Black, DVM
published in The Draft Horse Journal, Winter 2007 - 2008

Charlie survived and is now a member of that elite group of cowmen who have run the O.B. Chain Marathon.

“O.B. chain” for you readers who are poultry producers and might think this refers to manacles worn by Over the Border illegals or a delicate veterinary instrument used to spay heifers by Ovary Burglars, it is not. O.B. stands for Obstetrical. Obstetrics, obstetricians … refers to pregnancy, labor and birth.

During a calving … well, let me tell you Charlie’s story. He and his brother run a modest-sized cow ranch in the pretty rolling country north of Lewistown, Montana. It was a wet spring and the brothers were in the midst of calving outside. They had bought one hundred bred heifers. They worked together during the day and took turns each night so the other could get some sleep.
     
The night of the marathon, Charlie drove out through the calving pasture shining his headlights and spotlighting the group. An experienced hand in the calving can detect the subtle differences in a resting cow and one in the process of parturition. It is a developed skill.
     
The heifer in question was obviously engaged. He parked the pickup so the lights shone upon her. Taking a rubber bucket with his O.B. chains and handles, he snuck around behind her. She never moved as he lathered up, reached in and felt a hoof presenting itself into the birth canal. Charlie deftly built a loop in the O.B. chain, a slipknot if you will, and placed it around the protruding fetlock. He pulled to snug it tight. It was at that moment she came out of her trance. The other end of the chain pulled tight around his wrist, where he had temporarily hung the other slipknot.
     
Jerked to his feet as she sprang up, he had a fleeting thought of being launched in orbit! The ruckus roused the other cows! Through the coulees, up the bank, across the grass, down the slope, along the manure-covered hay feeding trail alternately running, skating, slewing, bouncing, dragging and plowing, in her wake in the moonlight, he accompanied her for three hours. Soggy, sweating and gasping for breath he finally pulled loose and collapsed.
     
Depending on how fast a pregnant heifer can run dragging 180 pounds of cowboy, including five pounds of mud, I’m guessing they covered 12 to 15 miles in that three hours.
     
That might make the record book in the O.B. Chain Marathon for both time and distance!