Anatomy of a Workshop

by Lynn R. Miller of Singing Horse Ranch
photos by Kristi Gilman-Miller

Back in October we held a Work Horse Workshop and Horse Training Clinic in Sisters. They were two separate back to back clinics. Folks were encouraged to attend both but the choice was theirs.

It seems to have been a big success. I’d like to share some of the structure of that event with the thought that perhaps it may help others avoid our mistakes and perhaps benefit from our successes.

When Doug Hammill and I first conceived of doing this workshop together the idea was to offer, in an intense hands-on clinic, as much diversity of approach and philosophy as we possibly could. Just so long as that diversity did not create undue risk to animals and people.

Doug and I, lifelong friends, have both conducted workshops for decades. In 1979 Doug, Ray Drongeson and I did a work horse workshop together at our first Draft Horse Auction in Albany. Though we frequently share notes, we have not done a workshop together since 1980. It was past time, we felt, to see if a set of students could handle two old goat teachers with parallel philosophies and different tricks. And we wanted to add to that challenging confusion, so as additional instructors we brought together Tom Triplett, Doug’s step father, and Mike McIntosh from nearby Redmond to join Doug and I. (The last day Mike’s Dad Mac McIntosh also joined us.) Then, recognizing that horses are instructors as well, we brought together an interesting mix of animals from four different outfits. We had well-broke horses, we had green horses, we had spoiled horses, we had crippled horses, we had fast horses, we had slow horses, we had dumb horses and smart ones, we had confused orphan horses. And each and every one of them made heaps of important contributions to the learning process for ALL of us. As for the mix of horses and instructors, I can’t imagine having it any better.

Then we located the workshop at the local rodeo grounds with a large secure arena and nice surrounding facility. We sprinkled in chilly mornings and gorgeous sunny days. And to this mix we poured in thirty some odd people from all over the U.S. coming with everything from no experience to long lifetimes working with horses to in between.

The first clinic, the work horse workshop, was limited to thirty people with hopes that everyone would get plenty of time with each instructor and every animal. The second clinic, on training, was billed as demonstration. Doug and I did all the work while people watched and asked questions. For this second clinic we had no attendance limit and had hoped for a large group of spectators.

During the cold mornings we huddled in a rented tent around a loud propane heater reminiscent of a rocket launcher, and a bottomless donut box, talking about what makes horses tick. Soon’s the weather allowed, or we shut up, we moved out to harness and drive.

General consensus of participants was that the whole thing went fantastic. No complaints. A few suggestions for improvement.

Shortfalls?

a. Wasn’t enough driving time at each exercise for each participant.
b. Timid and/or polite folks got pushed aside for exercises and personal attention.
c. Ran out of time and couldn’t set up some of the larger hitches people were interested in.
d. No ground conducive to actual plowing.
e. Wrong time of year or wrong facility with no crop to mow, rake and bale.
f. Poor attendance for training clinic.

We never spoke of it, but my sense was that Doug and I were both using this workshop as a testing ground. We knew what it meant as a single instructor to take a handful of students and work with them. We knew how the teamster’s craft fit that model. We weren’t sure how a full blown school situation would work, a setup where there was a larger group of students with several instructors.

My own opinion, born in part from this experience, is that it can be made to work and work quite well BUT that safety issues must take first position. And a close second must be the careful selection of the instructors to avoid the lapses, holes, and difficulties that might invite accidents and confusion. Each instructor must be more than qualified as a teamster, he or she must be able to teach AND reach. By reach I mean, when some difficulty starts to happen with a horse or horses in exercise, the instructor must know when to reach for control and be willing to do just that. There are plenty of exceptional teamsters who, in just such a setting, would not make good instructors or security guards. We were fortunate that each one of us were ideally suited for the job.

This all might seem a bit nitpicky from the outside but I have witnessed workshop instructors in various parts of the country who have allowed tangles, mixups and even semi-controlled runaways to occur arguing that this all had lesson value to the students. I disagree with this position vehemently. Tom, Mike, Doug and I, and hundreds of other excellent teamster/teachers around the country, do this teaching work because we want people to have good, safe, strong, clear-headed beginnings for the students, for the horses and for the future of this way of work. And we know that it can be that way.

One of the challenges we discovered, which will need to be met if anyone is to take on the larger concept of a full-blown multiple instructor school of working horses, is that it takes a chunk of money to put one of these workshops together. And most folks either aren’t willing or are unable to afford what must be charged for such an experience. I hope that a formula can be found to get past this because I know first hand how valuable and important such a safe, controlled and various learning experience can be.

When I started out in the early 70’s there were no schools or workshops. I had many accidents hurting myself and horses sometimes seriously. I stuck with it and discovered, over a long arduous process, that it could be a safe, comfortable, reliable and exciting way of working. It fact I believe that it should be and can be. It needn’t be dangerous to learn. Working horses has been a cornerstone of my life. If I had been able to get the sort of instruction these workshops offer, thirty some odd years ago, I would have saved hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars and a few years of my life.

Following these words are a few letters we received from participants. LRM

Dear Lynn,

I’ve enjoyed Small Farmer’s Journal since a friend loaned a copy to my wife and I several years back. We’ve been subscribers ever since. We’ve given SFJ as a wedding gift twice – and received more heartfelt thanks for the subscription than any other gift I remember giving!

I returned home late Friday night after attending your SFJ Workhorse Workshop in Sisters, Oregon. I can’t thank you, Kristi and the SFJ Team enough for putting on such a fulfilling workhorse experience. You and the other teamsters (Doc, Tom and Mike) wove a wonderful fabric of varying perspectives, varying methods and varying generations which together made for an appreciation of the workhorse, horse drawn implements and for the generations of teamsters who have preserved the craft.

In addition to boosting my confidence working with horses, I’ve noticed two things: First, more and more people are sharing stories with me about their fathers and grandfathers who worked with horses. Second, I’m spending whatever free time I can find going through back issues of Small Farmer’s Journal. As much as I’ve gotten from them over the years – I’m finding that I’m getting even more out of them following the training you provided last week.

The service you and the SFJ Team provide is invaluable.

Sincerely,
Donald Hill
Springfield, New Hampshire

Dear Lynn,

Thank you so much for putting on the last Work Horse Workshop with Doug Hammill. I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend. The three days were a true vacation for me – doing what I love in a beautiful place, and learning new skills and ideas that I can put into use. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the Colt-Starting Seminar – I had to get back to my boys before they ran out of crackers to eat!

I also want to thank you for continually encouraging others to follow their dreams of having a small farm and a team.

Whenever I feel like that has become an impossible dream for me, I pick up a copy of SFJ and my enthusiasm and faith is renewed.

Yours truly,
Kathy Noble
Eugene, Oregon

Training Clinic

Doug and I worked together and separately with colts and young horses demonstrating our procedures for starting them towards a useful life in harness. The natures and level of training of each animal were unknown to us. We wanted it this way and it worked well because attendees were able to see exactly how we behaved in very different circumstances. In attendance, we had people of evey level of experience. Through their participation, Doug and I were able to learn a great deal and we feel good about having offered some good tips. LRM

Dear Lynn,

Just a quick note to say “thanks” for sharing your time, knowledge and expertise with us at the Colt Starting Seminar. You and Doug Hammill did an incredible job, in the work you did, and in your ability to share it with such a diverse group of observers. Doug and I came away with a huge amount of information, some of which supported and validated what we are already doing, and some of which provided new tools, guidance and direction, and a different way of approaching our training.

In the past year, since we purchased our “truckload” of Brabants at your 2001 SFJ Auction, Doug and I have spent a great deal of time and money in search of the “proper” way to bring these young horses along. We felt too ignorant to train them ourselves and searched for someone who knew more about it than us. We now know that there is an incredible amount of misinformation out there, and as many ways of working with horses as there are people doing it, and a lot of ways of working with draft horses that we do not agree with. So…we purchased every book and video we could find on starting and working draft horses. Taking a little from this source and a little from that source, we were able to get all but one of our colts into harness and ground driving this summer. You have now given us the tools and knowledge we need to move forward, safely and confidently, with hitching our young horses. You and Doug Hammill were also able to help us sort through some of the training methods advocated by other trainers. Your reasoning made sense and you were always able to offer one or more alternatives for us to try. We really appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and the time you took in making sure we received an answer.

Bottom line, Doug and I got what we needed from this seminar. We hope you will continue to offer these types of seminars and training in the coming years. You can be assured that we will participate as frequently as our income allows.

Sincerely,
Doug & Laurie Kroger
Coos Bay, Oregon