Sunday, January 16, 2011

Barnes Herd At Work! #5


Scan00000010174, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Recently someone asked me why elephant teams were worked from the port side.
It is written in the Scriptures that with the exception of Politics, "left" is
good. All hay eating animals are led from the left side, worked in the ring from the left side and mounted from the same.
As seen above the teamster is riding the "lead elephant" in a position
that allows him face and control the "off-lead" and at the same time
look back to check on the vehicle in tow.

Posted by Buckles at 1/16/2011 07:08:00 AM

12 comments:

Ole Whitey said...

I once heard an English lady explain why they drive on the left side of the road. She thought the custom originated in the buggy days so that the whip (usually held in the right hand) would be less likely to get caught in overhanging trees if the driver had that hand toward the middle of the road.

The question may really be: why do we drive on the right side?

16 January, 2011 07:53
Anonymous said...

All people and animals are right or left handed. Itis thought that how the fetal lies in the womb and that generally it would lay on the left side hence during gestation the right side would be active while the left dormant and that is why most people and animals are right handed as the new born would have an active right side. I know in training and especially with horses that their mouth with a bit would be strong on the right and would "lead off" on the cantor with left side in front leading but hind quarters would have the dominent push from the right hind. We refer to horses as the near side oroff side or inside or outside meaning generally more power from the right. Most horses and elephants, camels, oof stock in general prefer to move clockwise as a natural tendency and most training is done from the inside. Hope this makes sense. I take back the part of moving off to the right. I eant to the left or counter clockwise. Race horses with exception to British and Japan go counter clockwise with left fore leading and right hind pushing. Its the natural gait. Generally in working a new or green horse we would spend time with work to the right side. john h.

16 January, 2011 11:00
Anonymous said...

Dave,
Maybe it's a Republican thing.
Bob Kitto

16 January, 2011 11:11
Wade G. Burck said...

To add a bit handling animals on their left, historically warriors, from as far back as there were warriors were right handed which is the human dominant hand. Before "political correctness" it was wrongly assumed something was wrong with left handed people. There were not even any tools such as scissors made for them, until the mid 60's.
Horses were one of the earliest domesticated animals, and as the warriors carried their weapons in the dominant right, they mounted on the left, continuing through to the domestication of elephants, camels, etc. etc. An animal is lead and handled from the left from the day it is born, which is why they are more comfortable going counter clock wise, with the "trainer/handler on the left. Although they are worked on the right also, it is a very small percentage of time compared to their the dominant side, which is the left, our right.
Left handed trainers on foot in a ring are few, and they are either right handed or ambidextrous.
An animal coming into the ring is coming in to their right our left.
A right handed trainer turns the whip clock wise over his head, coming around from the nose to the tail of the animals moving counter clockwise animals, braking them back and pushing the should out. A left handed person turning the whip clockwise over his head, would come from the tail to the nose, chasing the animal forward instead of braking it back.
When they reverse, unless the right handed trainer changes hands(not recommended) with his lash whip, he is chasing them like a left handed trainer turning the whip clockwise, chasing from tail to nose. That is why a liberty horse is "rougher" going to their left, our right.
I learned most of that for which I am eternally grateful, from a fellow named John Milton Herriott in 1994. I also learned a whip would fit in a certain body cavity at this time.
Wade

16 January, 2011 14:22
Ole Whitey said...

If you're old enough to remember Bill Veeck, then you might remember that he once wrote his autobiography called "Veeck as in Wreck." In this fascinating book is a chapter on the perils of being left-handed.

16 January, 2011 15:17
Huh? said...

So, the bottom line in Wade's lengthy post appears to be that he had never lunged a horse until John showed him how? Surely that couldn't be true.

17 January, 2011 17:04
Wade G. Burck said...

Dear Huh,
Sorry if you are still confused after Johns 13 lines and my 19, if we remove the greeting to John, but it is hard to make it simpler.
I was taught in school that "what" or "I don't understand" was proper English, and that "huh" was guttural slang denoting illiteracy. I'll bet in your 3 lines of learned opinion you could have slipped a name in, kinda as a validation that you should even be discussing horses. Ole Whitey managed to get his name in in 9 lines, as well as 5. Consider Bob Kiddo managed in two, except he added it at the end to make 3.

Wade Burck(I skipped a line, does that count?)

17 January, 2011 17:35
Anonymous said...

I would note that a few times in teaching people work liberty horses that some were left handed and they have to make a serious adjustment to handling the whip, [predominately in the right haned] and body movements as well, as the horses immediately sense the lack of authority.[not whipping but in the overall cues]. Stevie Corona comes to mind with her freisians tmeans that anyonehat I trained. My good buddy Gaylord Maynard was a south paw as well and it would be a problem for a righty to work his well trained high school horses. Yes, in the saddle there is a difference and the hands on the reins to the mouth. johnny

18 January, 2011 08:37
Wade G. Burck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
18 January, 2011 14:39
Anonymous said...

Now,now, kids, play nice

18 January, 2011 21:02
Frank Ferrante said...

Wade -

No need to apologize. Your comments are often insightful, true and funny. Let the man come forward and identify himself as your accuser. You have earned the right to be here based on your professional background and experience. Know who your real friends are and Red Light the insensitive idiot who isn't man, or woman, enough to identify themselves. ~frank

18 January, 2011 22:39
OrMaggie77 said...

..With all humility, oh Wade that's funny.!!.LOL..

25 January, 2011 13:52

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