# Percheron team



## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

I started driving way back in the late 90's with a good friend of mine. I was her groom and assist when she did weddings, in exchange she started to teach me to drive. Once she realized she wanted to use draft horses, one day when I went out to her farm, where I then boarded my QH, I saw the prettiest dapple grey Percheron mare you ever did see and was in love! Several years past and my friend realized that Smoke was not suited for carriage work, she wanted to go and not stand still. When I was told she was for sale, I just couldn't let her go to just anyone, this mare was sensitive and shy so...my husband being in VA while I was in TX, I bought her! 

This mare has taught me so very much and built my confidence up. Here we are 2 years ago at an A rated fine driving show, which is well known here in our area, the Upperville Colt and Horse show:


There is nothing that Smoke and I can't do together. Her and I have a bond, I have never asked her to do anything I thought she couldn't do:


Not only can she do farm work and fine driving, she is a rather fine riding horse as well:


Three years ago I got a wild hair and wanted a team...call me crazy but the friends I got Smoke from had her team mate still and said they would sell her to me, along with ALL the harness and accessories...

Meet my other love, Trixie. A great laid back, been there done that Percheron mare. I actually worked with Trixie and her dam Alice when our friends had them. 


We did a lot of public events, sharing our knowledge with others, helping with harnessing and hitching demonstrations, all for free and on our own time. There is a need for people to realize that just because they are big they certainly are not dumb, nor do they need to be manhandled:


When both of us were a bit younger and I not so grey:


Trixie loves kids, this is our friends young son and he loves to come out to our farm and first thing he does is go to the horses:


And our mares together:


Thank you for letting me talk about them. If anyone has any harnessing or hitching questions or wagon an carriage, I will try to help if I can.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Thank you for sharing your pictures. Beautiful team!


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## galfriend (Nov 19, 2004)

Ditto onThanks for sharing your pictures and your story. Your horses are just totally gorgeous!


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

loved this post!!! thanks so much for sharing it!


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful mares! Please keep posting about your adventures.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

What a beautiful pair of horse's you have! And it is great, you show them!


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

Thank you all...Molly, currently we took the year off to just relax. My one mare Smoke is 20 years old and last August, she developed one of the worst abscess's that our vet and farrier have ever seen. It was about 4" long and an inch wide, took us about 5 months to clear up, stop packing and cleaning it and she is now back to solid hooves.


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

Your girls have the sweetest faces and so incredibly gorgeous! And you look in heaven in the pics with them. A wonderful tale to read and so glad you posted.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

Nice pics and an animal with the correct conformation for the breed IMO. I have a real strong affinity for the older style Percheron, the ones that aren't all LEGS!!!! That horse would be as at home in a field in front of a plow as going down the road in front of a cart. Darn show people ahve near ruined the breed!


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## 65284 (Sep 17, 2003)

Bret4207 said:


> Darn show people ahve near ruined the breed!


 
Nothing new about that. Show people have near ruined every breed that have become popular as show animals.

How stupid is it to breed an animal to be what some judge thinks is ideal, instead of breeding for a healthy useful animal?

Look at what they have done to Haflingers, Arabians, huge cattle, Collie dogs, and on and on. Just sickening!!


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

65284 said:


> Nothing new about that. Show people have near ruined every breed that have become popular as show animals.
> 
> How stupid is it to breed an animal to be what some judge thinks is ideal, instead of breeding for a healthy useful animal?
> 
> Look at what they have done to Haflingers, Arabians, huge cattle, Collie dogs, and on and on. Just sickening!!


I've wanted to post that many times, especially about dogs, but decided why invite the :lookout:

There's a good bit of people who enjoy show stuff on this board, and I respect everyone's opinion. But glad to see familiar thought in your post and Bret's.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2013)

Your girls are beautifulâ¦


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

Beautiful animals Grey Mare. Brings back sweet memories for me.

I learned to ride from a local family who were farmers and rodeo participants. There were 3 generations of family there on the property, and ole Mr. London had a team.. named Dot and Dan. They worked on the farm as well as entertained kids with hayrides and such. Many a day I saw the little ones plopped up there like that little sweetie in your picture.

They are gone now. There are probably less than 5 fellas around this town who can still drive a team. No percherons. But a few drafts around who get hauled into town to take kids down main street at Christmas on Friday evenings in December. 

It's kinda sad. Thanks for bringing my thoughts to the good memories of the 70's. :teehee:


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

Thanks for the post. I just adore Percherons.


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

Yes, the Percheron breed is being changed...I am a collector of old Percheron memorabilia, photo's, magazines, watch fobs, newspaper clippings, etc. My most prized possession right now are 5 original Percheron pedigree's I got off of Ebay of all places that we believe several of them are the original mare's who were imported over from France to help the Percheron in the USA. 

As for showing...I use to be very involved with all the A rated Percheron Congress Shows, mostly helping out behind the scene's, running errands, doing what others needed done. I see what is being done to a breed that is close to my heart, the shoes are what really send me into a lather. However, it is the fire breathing beasts that look like large hackney's on steroids that sell, unfortunately it is the money that talks. 

Not all people who show are bad, please know that. I would always let children come up to our horses, touch them, explain what we were doing or their history, letting them sit on our team, and we became the people to go to because they were that well trained and are always worked with. I would rather take time to make memories for children or someone who has never seen a draft up close than make money...but the biggest payment for my husband Mark and I are the smiles that come upon the childrens face when we do this:


If you look close, there is a 2 year old little boy in my lap, helping me "drive" the team. Life can't get any better than that.


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## Pigeon Lady (Apr 4, 2004)

I was listening to this today and thought of you and your beautiful horses. love your photos! Thank you for posting them.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiXw3OqhZxo[/ame]


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

Pigeon Lady, thank you! What a pretty song, it is old I think? I have never heard of them before 

One of my most cherished talks with my uncle before he past a few years ago, he told me how he could remember how his grandfather, my grt. grandfather, would work the fields in Massachusetts with a team of white horses, and sometimes he got to ride them. He couldn't remember their names, but I loved that he would tell me things like this. 

I find that working with them, doesn't matter what mood I am in or what worries, once I am behind those lines, I "forget" for a time what I was thinking about and concentrate on them. The clinking of the trace chains against the evener, smell of sweaty horses, creak of the harness as they move, their steady firm hoof beats on the ground, the occasional snorts that they issue, all of this and more is music and a salve to my soul. 

I have been around horses all my life, worked with many fine breeds and papered animals, but the draft horses, there is something special about them. It makes my heart hurt to see people abuse them, or use them hard and throw them away. Education is the key...


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## cedarcreekranch (Nov 24, 2010)

Thank you for sharing your lovely story and beautiful mares with us! My mom grew up in Newfoundland, Canada and talks of their work horses, Big Jerry and Little Jerry (what can I say? LOL). They used them for logging, plowing, haying, pulling the cart to town, and whatever else a horse was needed for. I've a picture of the cart and it was like the ones you see in old Irish pictures, straight shafts and sort of a flat bed 2 wheeled cart. She said they loved their horses and it was her and her sister's job to take them to the pond for water every evening. I can picture your horses in the same way - part of the family. So nice to see the art of using drafters isn't lost.


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## GoslingFever (Jan 31, 2006)

What gorgeous horses! I love to see working drafts. My best memories of wagon rides were thanks to Percheron teams in Michigan and WI.


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

These are the vehicles that we use with our team, either as a pair or single. 

This beauty is a 3 spring, auto top surrey, has the smoothest ride you ever will want to sit your tush on. In back his has a trunk where you can stash a nice picnic basket or small battery to operate the lights toward dusk should you need them. 




Here is the old farm wagon that my mentor and good friend has let me borrow in the past when I did antique wagon classes. He is seated next to me, I have his mare Rosie on the left and my mare Smoke to the right. 


Because I had so much fun driving a wagon without an undercut, my husband and I looked around for months for a wagon, then we found this one, what we believe to be a Thornhill freight wagon, made in Richmond, VA. We restored it and here is the hard work, time, effort, a bit of blood from scraped knuckles, and tears when it was done:
This is after:




And before the restoration work:





This is our fore cart, usually used to condition a broke team or to work young stock as it is heavy and harder to get into trouble with. When I want to work the mare's I hitch them to this and off we go, it is fun to drive on trails and back dirt roads.


This wagon my mentor built, put in all the time to cut the wood, prepare it and build what I am driving. I LOVE this wagon, it is so smooth for the mares to pull, though a bit heavy to move without the horses.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

Nothing like a grey!! I had a nice grey standardbred once. A grey horse with a nice black leather harness and a nice surry such as yours really looks sharp. Good to see another driver on here.


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

Any photo's you can share Rod? Would love to see...


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

Here is one from Photobucket. From this one you can go on to my entire library I think. There are many horse as well as other photos and videos. Let me know how you like them.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

I think you have to click on the image here and then it will open Photobucket. Some are videos so you have to start them on the bottom (you know how).


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