Day in the Life of a HorseDriver, From the Customer
A HorseDriver Story: Never too Small
Oct
We just love sharing stories from our HorseDriver community. Today, our friend Heather shares her story of helping to preserve the dying art of ploughing with horses in Wales, and her incredible Shetland and Shire pair!
Hello my name is Heather and I am a 29-year-old beef farmer from Monmouthshire, South Wales, UK. I have a passion for anything to do with heavy horses, especially the Shire horse and learning how to plough. Very recently I have opened up my heart and mind to working Shetland ponies. Currently myself and my family have three horses; 8-year-old Shire horse, Joe, 3-year-old Shetland pony, Latina, and 3-year-old American Paint cross Cob, Dollar.
Joe lives with a team I have known for 10 years; the only downside is that they are 100 miles away from where I live (although the 3-hour drive on the scenic route is worth it and it’s a nice way of getting off the family farm from time to time).
Gentle Giants Shire Horse team is pretty awesome team to be with and are great ambassadors for the Shire horse breed. They have proven how versatile the Shire horse is. They do a range of jobs with their Shires from weddings, funerals, show demonstrations, chain harrowing, riding and ploughing. (This is one of the reasons why Joe has been living with the team for the last 5 years. Joe simply wouldn’t have had the variety of jobs and certainly wouldn’t be the amazing horse he is today if it wasn’t for the team) Although it has meant that we have missed out on having a bond with Joe and really getting to know him and each other, the situation has balanced itself out. Joe helps the team and I have learnt a great deal on how to handle work and what goes into training the Shires to be safe working partners. Most importantly, I have been a part of some amazing once in a lifetime events with Joe and other horses of the team, which I shall cherish for the rest of my life!
One of my favourite things I love is learning how to plough with the Shires. Here in Wales not many people actually plough with horses and it’s now a dying art. There are only two teams who compete in matches and sadly I am the only youngster (to my knowledge) giving it a go and documenting it before the skill and knowledge is lost forever in Wales. There are quite a few people who think I am mad as I am quite small, the plough is heavy, and the horses are “too big” for me to handle. No matter what people think — you’re never too small to learn!
I have always been a customer of Chimacum tack and I cannot thank them enough for their knowledge of their products, especially when I was training my Shetland, Latina, to work. I needed a harness practical for work and yet smart enough to match Joe’s parade harness. The Farm/Work Harness with the spots was the ideal harness to choose! This year Joe and Latina have demonstrated how big and little can work together as a unique team in harmony.
My advice to anyone is to not let others get you down and like Joe and Latina, anything can be achieved with the right help and advice and from those who supply the best equipment.
— Heather Robertson
You can follow along with Heather, Joe, and Latina on Instagram here: @ploughhorsejoe
