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Ok I am trying to let the horses spread out with a set of spreaders. Question here is about adjusting the lines I noticed today with or without the spreaders when I pull right it's my left horse pushing my right one over the right horse never gets a tight outside line I've never noticed it before yes long line is inside both lines are adjusted the same amount etc what's some good base rules here this line adjustment confuses me.. move one in 1 inch other one out etc. I don't know what I've changed but it's wrong and we won't even talk about trying to back with screwed up lines that's just embarrassing. OK let me have it!!

Klaus Karbaumer says 2015-12-07 08:40:16 (CST)



Michael, I don't know what you mean by " the long line is inside". You certainly know, that the outside lines must be the ones that are in one piece, so as to speak, whereas the inside lines, the so-called stub lines are those that are buckled onto the former ones. In order to get the right spread now you have to either buckle these stub-lines forward or backwards on the long, uninterrupted lines. The size of your horses, to be exact, their neck lengths and the width of your neckyoke (which needs to correspond to the width of your evener) determines then the scope of adjustment. The best way to try this out is to put your team with the forecart or wagon at the hitchrail, get your lines in place in the described way and then see if you have connection with each horse's mouth, actually the corners of the mouths, when picking up the lines. Sometimes one horse has a longer neck than the other and therefore needs to have the lines adjusted slightly differently. There shouldn't be any slack in the outside or inside lines when you pick them up, meaning from the buckle on forward as well as into your hand.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Michael Sills says 2015-12-07 21:04:18 (CST)



Ya Klaus I'm not getting that.. yes my full length line is outside the inside stub line hangs "longer" where I get confused is my left reign seems to hold both horses left mouths nicely my right rein is only tight on the stub line so only my left horse is getting cued to turn right. So my guess is I need to lengthen the stub line to him and punch a new hole so it gets both corners at the same time. I just think there's somethin I'm missing I never used to have this problem and they backed great I haven't changed any hardware so I'm just trying to figure out what rookie mistake I've missed


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Todd NE WY says 2015-12-08 17:02:06 (CST)



Michael,

If you haven't made any hardware changes or adjustments. Maybe just hitch the team up and step back and look them over. Maybe you have a line caught on a strap or something or you missed a hame ring when you threaded them thru. Sometimes we overlook the simple things thinking it must me more serious than that.

Todd


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

kellyintx says 2015-12-15 18:27:16 (CST)



Michael, with a red face, I admit once I forgot to run one of my inside (check) lines through one of the hame rings. That did (and would) cause the type of line adjustment problem you're describing. I hope that isn't your problem, but it once was a dumb thing I did. kelly


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

So. Oh. Bill says 2015-12-15 19:50:59 (CST)



Michael, Just for the sake of checking, Lay the lines out on the ground side by side and make sure that they match perfectly. Match the holes on the long lines, they should be exactly the same when you start at the bit end and the checks and the Conway buckles should also match. I have seen the hole placement not match on a brand new set of lines . Remember that most lines are made one at a time and mistakes can happen.
Bill


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Michael Sills says 2015-12-15 21:13:17 (CST)



I haven't drove my team since last post, and I did double check at the time that I went through the hame ring just to make sure. I'm sure it's my fault like I said is a new problem with all old hardware so nothings changed but what's weird is I pulled the lines off and layer them out and I don't have 4-6 inches max between my line and check line lengths and I'd venture to say closer to 4 inch difference and that's on the last hole the holes the other way only make it closer to even it only takes 2 or 3 holes to make them same length then my long line stays getting shorter than my check lines? I'm not afraid to punch new holes I'm just so sure it's a self induced new problem that I don't know that that's necessary. I dunno I drove another team Friday and Saturday for a local business giving Christmas rides and never had a problem lines were just right. I only seem to be screwing up my own team


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Klaus Karbaumer says 2015-12-16 08:52:44 (CST)



To make it quite clear, Michael, when you lay down your lines side by side , your stub lines, these are the inside ones, are they longer, sticking forward, than your outside ones ? They need to be on the average team 6 to 8 inches longer than the outside ones, depending on the size of the horses and the width of the evener/neck yoke. Like I wrote before, put the horses on the hitch rail, then thread the lines through, have someone hold the horses' heads so that they are aligned, parallel to the tongue, and then adjust the length of the stub lines. As you have noticed. when you put the stub line buckle forward, you'll make the stub lines longer, when you adjust the buckle backwards, you'll make them shorter. You want to make sure that you reach both horses the same way. For horses with different lengths of necks the lines need to be adjusted, so it might very well be, that one horse has the stub line buckled one hole different from the other.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Klaus Karbaumer says 2015-12-16 09:07:46 (CST)



I forgot to mention that Steve Bowers' book " Farming with Horses" or the newer version " Driving Horses" has excellent depictions . There are also other books, for example by Barb Lee or Lynn Miller. One of my former driving students several times made the mistake that he put the stub lines through the rings of the opposing horse, for example till I made him aware of that.
In your case, if I understood you correctly, since you say that the left horse responds to the right line earlier than the right horse, I suspect that the stub line on the right horse leading to the left one is set back a hole or so too much, thereby making the outside line to the right horse a little bit too long, which means there is a slack in it, and that's why the left horse feels the pull to the right earlier than the right one.


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

wally b says 2015-12-16 09:47:39 (CST)



Some horses are more sensitive than others. This might explain it. So for the situation you describe I have a horse that when it is on the left as you are driving and you have the right line over the outside of the right horses rump, he will move over to the right without the right horse feeling anything. Also I see some running lines thru the hame ring and then the spreader which will not move the horses apart.

A good way to check youR line adjustment is at the hitch rail. You back them up slightly and look at the set up.

Get Steve Bowers book. There is a great section in there on line adjustment.

Wally


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Michael Sills says 2015-12-16 11:32:36 (CST)



I'm hooking them again tonight to take a look and pull out a round bale so we shall see. And yes my wife showed up last night with that book and gave it to me as an early Christmas present she said she was saving it till Christmas but it looked like I could use it a little before...hmmm. First time in 7 years I can say I think she is honestly right!!


8 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum


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