Well, it's terribly muddy here - growing tired of doing so much outer-clothes laundry...

The girls have been doing pretty well all winter - but the right-hand mare has developed a bit of a hitch. She won't stand well to hitch, lurches forward/sideways/up as soon as she feels my weight in the wagon, and won't stand still when hitched up to something. I think it's stemming from the butt strap on the harness breaking and pinging her in the butt during one of our bale moving sessions. She's started flaring her butt out, so badly that she's rubbed the hair off her back outside leg at the traces. Won't back straight anymore, either. So - I got to thinking. I had a rope tied between the inside britchens, and that wasn't doing much, so I tried a long strap from hame to hame around both butts - like so many of you recommend. Well - I must not have tightened it enough and it didn't keep them close enough together to get her backing straight. I spent a lot of time "bracketing" them with the lines while backing - or just flipping the right line around her butt and telling her "over" as soon as she'd flare, and whenever we stopped. She'd move over, and back nicely when bracketed, but not without the bracket - so I need to work on that some more.

As luck has it - I found new shock things for the wagon at the motorcycle shop just 15 miles away. I went in there to price new shocks ($250 for one!!! YIKES!) Well, the owner had an old Honda 250 4-wheeler that has the same size of shocks on the front wheels (we measured them against the new 4-wheeler on the sales floor). He was parting out that 4-wheeler and sold the pair to me for $25. I was very happy - now to put them on. I digress - but when I went to pick them up - turns out the other guy in the store has Belgians! We chatted for a while and he suggested trying to switch sides. Might give her something else to think about and she'll forget about going sideways and lurching. So yesterday I did. Neither of them were too sure about it - so we ground drove a few circles, etc. They backed nicely, turned nicely, albeit a little unsure - so I thought - hmmmm, let's try the tires (partly because I was tired of slipping and sliding in the muck). Circled the tires, backed to the evener, stood in the open to be hitched, and then some, and walked off fairly nicely. So we made a couple circles on the perimeter of the 40 ac of cornstalks they live in. The solid (usually left mare) was a little pokey and I had to get after her quite a bit to keep up - but I was so happy! No western rodeos - no pinned ears - no major catastrophes. Not perfect, but not bad. Turned smoothly both directions. Stopped and stood very well (might have had something to do with the 2 passes around the 40 acres pulling Daphne and I atop 6 pickup tires in melting snow and cornstalk stubble....). I think I'll drive them this way a couple more times, then try switching them back and see how she does back on her "normal" side. I've wanted to switch their sides anyway - just needed a push, I guess. Plus his idea made sense to me. I think it worked.

Not quite up to speed with Will, and not as good a story teller as Heather - but plugging along. Will be several more weeks before I can think about being productive here - too much slop! Bonus though - there's not much rock on the roads, so it's easy going for them there. If only I could avoid the lawn to get to the road, so as not to put so many divots in it... Thanks to all for the inspiration and motivation!
Dionne

Great that you found a solution - aint' it a laugh that sometimes it's the simple things that you don't think of.

I would have never made the connection between the bad memory and being on one side.

I like to switch sides at least a year just to remember why that I swiched them before. Sometimes when I switch if they drive good I don't switch back until theres a problem. I like them to be so they drive eather side fun isent it