This is Tilly. For those of you who aren't interested in driving a big horse, this is more fun than a ferrari sports car. Tilly lives to drive, and will go as far and as fast as you will let her. They come in small packages, but they think they are really big horses, and they are so easy to travel with. So there is no excuse that you can't drive. Get yourself a sports car pony and have a great time.

Winter visitor

Thought you might like to see one of our winter visitors this morning. He obviously found a mouse in the carriage house. If you look closely you can see the little mouse tail hanging down by his feet. We're not sure what he is. He is about 9 inches from head to tail. Haven't heard his call. He thinks the carriage house is quite a good place to be, as there is chicken feed and mice. We would love for him to stay, to help keep the mice away.

Exciting times

Well, colder today, and thought I would share some of the happenings here at Sisters Creek over this winter. Technically it isn't winter yet, but at -10 C, let me tell you, it's winter. So work is going on inside now. Fred is shaping the timbers for the upstairs master suite. This is quite the undertaking. Posts and beams, gunstock braces, all need to be cut and treated. They are almost finished now, the plan is to put up the main posts and beams down the centre of the room on Saturday. Thought you might like to see what they looked like before they were put in place. It will be cold on Saturday, but the beam work shouldn't be too long. I guess we'll see.

Lots of new things happening

Well, Christmas is coming, and with it the prospects of sleigh rides on Christmas Eve. We are biting our fingernails, because the weather is very mild and yesterday and today the snow is melting. Everyone who is coming is so excited about the sleigh rides, so I hope we will be able to meet their expectations, if not, maybe carriage rides, we will see.

Working on some art, or trying to, and thinking about the garden in the spring and putting up a small hoop house to extend our seasons, we will see. Thinking about it doesn't really take a lot of effort, but actually doing it is something else. Eliot Coleman's books and ideas about year round gardening really look interesting. Also the zero mile diet books from Victoria. We are putting on an agricultural gardening workshop on January 22nd in Quesnel at the College to put forth some of these ideas.

Our newest nephew was born on December 10th, in Saskatoon to Carey and Josh. Congratulations little one. Welcome to the world.

Carriage driving this weekend

I probably shouldn't call it carriage driving, since I was driving my cross country cart, but we did go out and have fun at the local show, with dressage, cones, and a mini marathon. Artist was such a good horse, and we came home happy and tired. Did a few driving classes as well, and won the reinsmanship class which is important, since Rose won the last one we entered, so we kept it in the Sisters Creek family.

Not many posts this summer, so here is the up date. Hot, fires, smoke, more smoke, more smoke from forest fires in the area for the last half of the summer. Put concrete foundations under the horse waterers, went to a few driving activities including a combined driving competition in 70 Mile house which was a blast. We had two entries from sisters creek, the team and my single horse. We both got eliminated but it was an honor to show under Muffy Seaton. She was just great, and gave us extra help and was so concerned when we got eliminated. We weren't able to complete hazard one in the marathon phase. Artist just didn't like the cut out moose and we had to be excused from that hazard.

So now we are working to renovate our house, to create a master suite at one end of the house, and put new windows in that area. Actually they are new to us windows, as a friend of ours was replacing what we consider to be beautiful, perfectly good windows, so we got the windows. Our old windows will go into our green house, so we will be going on with our philosophy of recycle when ever possible. Hopefully will start replacing the windows this week, as the frames for the greenhouse walls are ready. Unfortunately gh strained his back on the carriage with the team this weekend, so we will see how he does tomorrow.

Got most of the potatoes up today, tried two new varieties this year, Blush and Ptarmigan. Haven't got the Ptarmigan up yet, but the Blush potatoes got a good yield. We should have hilled them a little better, and one row got water and the other didn't, but not too much difference in the rows. It was a very dry year. The red burbanks were the star of the potato patch though; bright, bright red and huge with no scabs. The russet burbanks were smaller than we would like, although a good yield. The Shepody did well. All in all, the potatoes were very good this year with the dry weather. The red burbanks were planted at the edge of the garden, in a row that gets planted with potatoes every year, so I was surprised that they did so well. We try to edge our garden with potato plants as it seems to keep the weeds at bay just a little.

A rest day for the horses, although the six pack of standardbreds; Nron, Gerry, Buckley, Outlaw Rob, and the other two did manage to get out and wander around. Max is in with them now so he probably got the fence panel down. We found him in his favorite place this morning, outside the west side of the house, munching on the lawn. He was happy to go back in though, and for the most part they stayed in their pasture, so we just left them. They can't get anywhere as long as the gates are shut.

Rose drove Buckley(Pump Handle) this weekend and had a good time in the dressage. We were going to pair him up with Outlaw Rob, but Outlaw Rob seems to be a roarer when he is exercised, so Buckley will go back to being a single driving horse. I think he would prefer that, although he does like Rob.

Rained this afternoon, so no more potato digging. Managed to get all we dug today into the basement to dry. Put a fan on down there to circulate the air so hopefully will dry any moisture off them. We have a very good yield. Only one more row to dig, and I think some carrots still to get out of the ground. Our corn did well this year as well. Most cobs manged to mature.

Will try to keep up with the renovating so people can see what we are up to.

Prance and Pleasure Driving Classes

We entered our first driving classes this weekend. We finished the cross country cart just before the event, so we had the team driving, and two standardbreds harnessed in carts. What a blast. There were mini's in their own classes, then ponies, and then the 14'3 and over class. There were six horses in most of our classes which was great, a little competition. This was the first time our horses had to compete against so many carts in the ring, but we all were well prepared. All the clinics and driving times we have arranged in the last few years really came together for all the competitors so we had a wonderful safe driving event.

The new cart is working out well. At first the air shocks were set too hard and the ride was a real jaw rattler, but with them adjusted down a little it worked really well over the weekend. We tried our hand at pleasure driving, command class, reinsmanship and then pole bending and barrels. I really shouldn't have taken Artist in the pole bending and barrels, too much turning for a "green to pleasure driving" horse, but I think in the end it was okay, as he was able to get out there and blast and that seemed to calm him down.

One funny thing was that he was a little agitated by the applause. I had to laugh, as this is a horse that has raced on many of the top standardbred tracks on the west coast, and here he couldn't quite understand the applause. I guess when the crowd roars in the race tracks the horses are going so fast they just run right through all that noise, of course, many of them have ear plugs as well. He wasn't very good at standing, but we will work on that. Next event for the team and Artist is the combined driving event at 70 mile on July 9th. Hope we are ready for that.

Combined driving clinic

We had a clinic with Elisa Marocchi two weekends ago and really enoyed it.
What I learned: (not in any particular order)
1. Plan your cones course from outside line to outside line. Sometimes it is better and faster to go the long way.
2. There are always many different ways to plot your path in a Hazard. The shortest isn't always the fastest. When you change directions it is like adding in five or six extra strides.
3. Half halts should be timed to co-ordinate with the picking up the the inside hind leg. (I am still working on when to squeeze and when to release on the half halt)
4. check your harness carefully for safety. Even if you think the blinkers are not rubbing on your horse's eyes, they may be. Have someone else look at them to see what is happening.
5. The breeching strap (the brake) should be wide - usually much wider than comes with most harness.
6. Be careful in your selection of bits. A loose cheek liverpool can really pinch a horse's lips, and a straight bar is more severe than you might think because there is no tongue release.
7. Try to use release rather than pull in steering your horse. Release the outside line to turn. (Half halt, release, half halt release)
8. A 40 metre circle has four points on the rail or at centre. Drive to each point to make a proper circle.
9. You have to have a nose band on a bridle - or caveson.
10. Wear gloves and carry your whip so that you can get used to the feel of it. The whip should be carried at a 45 degree angle across your body and should be long enough to be able to touch the shoulder of your horse.
11. Presentation dress should be conservative and coordinated. Women's hats should not be floppy. A small brim is appropriate.
12. Under your apron you can wear dark pans and black boots, or a skirt, if you are a woman.
13. I'll add to this as I check my notes.

What is it about the weather

Spring is a difficult time of year. One minute it is hot and your muscles all relax and you want to get out and do things; then, like yesterday, it was blowing and snowing and it made my body crunch up and get tight again, like it was December, instead of Easter. We now have nine new standardbreds, with sleek coats and expectations of warm weather.
Last night we used our tie stalls for the first time, putting Max, Jaxon, Kiki, Pacing Artist, and Herbie in the tie stalls. I was pretty sure this morning we would have a mess, but the only thing that happened was Pacing Artist had got himself unsnapped and was turned around in his stall greeting us this morning. There is a chain across the back end of the stall, so he hadn't left the tie stall, but just turned around to see what was going on. Everyone else was happy to be fed their oats this morning in the tie stalls, and this afternoon, they all lined up at the gate to be put in again. However, the weather is a little better, so they are out for the night with a new round bale in their feeder.

We put DD Zilch in a box stall, as he is a little more high strung than the rest, and I was worried about his being in a tie stall. Nron and Crackers decided they would rather stay outside than have a halter put on, so they were happy to see the rest of the herd this morning.
Compromize was in a box stall as well because she was a little stiff yesterday, but has improved today and seems fine.

We had the opportunity to unite a local breeder with a horse that had been hers and was being apprehended down in the States for neglect. Hope something comes of it. Her horses are so nice and it is a shame that one of hers or maybe two have got into this problem.

Still working on the bending problem for the sleigh dash. We tried steaming the baltic birch, but it wasn't really working. Too little steam and there was no bend, too much steam and the dash delaminated. The delaminations may not be such a bad thing, as we could rebuild the plywood to the form we want if we can get it to lay flat. Wish us luck.

The Standardbreds

We had the opportunity to bring home some standardbreds from the coast today. It was a long trip, eight hours, but they were very good. There's Daffy, a huge three year old, who is called Daffy because his upper and lower lip are always flapping and wanting to be on you; only today, his lips were tight, and his eyes were worried. After all this is the third home for him in a week, and even though he is such a big guy he really still is just a baby. He walked right into his stall, though, and attacked his hay after examining his water bucket. We will spend some time with him tomorrow so he can connect a little better. It will take time. Then there is Kiki, a lovely, fine three year old mare. Both Daffy and Kiki are just off the track, just too slow, and Daffy really liked to sightsee as he went around, not great for racing. Kiki is a beautiful seal brown bay, and should make a lovely lady's driving pony. I will measure her tomorrow, but she looks about 15hands. We also brought Louie and Peaches home. Louie is an old gentleman, 23 years old, a been there, done that kind of horse. Not too much reaction from him, will have to see what the personality comes out when he has relaxed a bit. Peaches is about eight, has had a few owners, and is just tired and run down. We'll feed her up and see how she does. She is thin and her coat is dull, but she travelled well, and seems to trust Louie. None of these horses have a mean bone in their bodies; they jumped on the trailer without a concern, and after eight hours with just a few short stops, came off quietly and did exactly as they were asked.

We were going to the track to see if there were others there that we could look at, but unfortunately the meat buyer had been there the day before. It is such a tragedy that these wonderful horses end up on the meat truck, but we can't think about that, just try to do the best we can for those we have. All six stalls were filled with standardbreds tonight, and one, Jaxon, was still outside and very incenced that he didn't get in tonight. For those of you looking for a good horse, really consider the standardbred. There are many good rescue farms working hard to place these wonderful horses, so it shouldn't be hard to find one. They are so much fun, often have very smooth gaits, and make wonderful riding horses as well as such fun driving horses. They are just a little like a luxury sports car; beautiful, elegant, but boy can they go when you ask them to.

The swans

I think we live in the wrong century. We are restoring a piano box sleigh and are looking for the metal parts at the top of the runners that connect the runners to the dash. They are cast metal and look like swans. I am sure in the 19th century they were freely available, but today, ah no, can't find them. And there are many different types, Portland cutters often have a small cast swan at the top of the runners, but they don't connect to the dash itself. Albany cutters often have a flat metal strip that carries up from the metal runners on the sleigh and are screwed into the dash. So now we are investigating casting our own. We tried to fabricate them, but it would take much too much time to make them as beautiful as the originals are. They are truly beautiful. Pictures to follow.

Building the hearse

We bought an older market wagon last fall. We bought it for the steel wheels that we thought we would build cross country combined driving carts over. When we got it home, we realized that it was quite a nice little wagon with a good undercarriage. It has a few problems that we will have to work with, but on the whole it is solid and well built. We have some lovely wooden wheels that we can put on the wagon when we take off the steel wheels. So what to do with it.

Well, a number of people have asked if we had a wagon that could be used as a hearse, because there are many people who would like a quieter, more natural way to be buried. Actually I would love to have my coffin taken to the graveyard behind two or four nice high stepping horses.

One of the old venerated horsemen in our town was buried in Barkerville and his coffin was carried to the old cemetary by a wagon pulled by his driving horses. When the final prayer was said, the horses stood so quietly and seemed to bow their heads to say goodbye to their long time friend.

So we may be building a hearse in the next while. It will be a Cariboo hearse, but with nice trappings, not as fancy as some that I have seen, but respectful, showing reverence for the person it is honored to carry. We will probably pull it with a good team of standardbreds. I need to make the side drapes for the horses and the curtains for the inside of the glass windows in the body of the hearse. To see a beautiful hearse, follow this lead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJYnqBtDGGo&NR=1 . Ours will not be quite that fancy, but it will be well built and have a Cariboo stamp. We will keep you up to date with our plans and work.

The olympic flame

Had the opportunity to celebrate the olympic flame coming through our little hamlet the other day. What a procession. Lots of sponsors trucks and organization. Just one picture, though. I began to understand why it took so much money to have the flame go across Canada. It was here for about half an hour, and then everyone was gone.


Working on the metal parts now. There are some difficult parts to fitting up the pole for the bob sleigh. Will have to research the different labels, when is it a tongue and when is it a pole???? More on that later. Over the years, the metal parts have worn, been refitted, twisted and generally well used. After all, this is a sleigh that was actually used, not just sitting as a lawn ornament.

As I was writing this, I realized I didn't know the correct terminology for most of the sleigh and carriage bits that I was trying to write about, so here is the beginning of a short glossary



the hammer strap on the new pole



the yoke strap or pole iron on the new pole Apparently it really doesn't matter whether you call it a pole or a tongue, the terms are interchangeable.



Pictures of the old roller and new oak roller



This is why you don't use red cedar for a roller. Keep in mind that this sleigh was totally restored five years ago. It wasn't that the cedar rotted, but it did crack, and then because of the numbers of holes drilled in it and the cracking, it just came apart.





I put these pictures in to show the difference. This is the end of an old oak shaft. Looking at the hardware we took off this shaft it could be a hundred years old or possibly more. The oak is relatively un damaged with very little wear or rot. The shafts were broken close to where they attach to the horse, and we picked it up for the hardware, but the oak is still strong after all that time.


This is the hold down for the tugs that came off that old oak set of sleigh shafts. Unfortunately, there was only one on the singletree.

Working on the bob sleigh

We had an unfortunate accident at Christmas time. The standardbred team was hitched to the big bob sleigh for the first time. Ted, the left hand horse on the team was used to being hitched without a free moving double tree so he could just ride along and let June carry the load. With the true doubletree, when June hit the tugs his collar pulled back into his shoulders and he was forced to carry the bigger part of the load. It was interesting watching him try to figure out how to get those tugs loose, but the harder he tried, the heavier was the pull. Being the good natured standardbred that he is, he soon was pulling right up there with June. Coming home from the ride though, there was a sharp left hand turn into the drive way and Ted hates it when the pole comes towards him. June, being the eager one, turned sharp into the driveway and the pole came over onto Ted and he kicked out at it. It was mounted too low on that sleigh and Ted got his right rear leg over the pole and went down. Fortunately, June, being the perfect horse that she is, stood very still and waited while we tried to extricate Ted. Right about that time, June stepped into a coil of plumbers pipe that was hidden in the snow. That black snake rose up out of the snow, coiled around her back legs and Fred shouted WHOA, and she just stood there, trapped by the snake with Ted half under her. Ted finally was able to get up. It's a good think too, because with that heavy sleigh behind him and his harness jammed between the single tree and the neck yoke we really couldn't get him loose. They both then started moving fast and Fred was able to turn them into the side of the barn where they came to a halt. Ted was a little sore in the right hind for a day or two, but neither of them were injured seriously.

Ted and June on the light sleigh


Ted and June in the summer on the combined driving carriage

The sleigh was a different matter. The tongue was actually separated from the sleigh body. There is a risk when you buy an old painted sleigh. On further inspection, the tongue was made out of treated fir and the roller that attached it to the runners was actually a piece of cedar, not the strongest wood for sleigh construction. We were lucky that the accident happened when it did because it could have been much worse if we had been moving fast and that roller had come away from the sleigh. It was an old work sled when we bought it, so we knew that there would need to be some restoration, but the metal was good, so now we get to work on the restoration. The runners are fir, but they seem to be in good shape so we will work on it as it needs it. I will post pictures of the work as we go along. Fred is working on the new oak tongue and rollers, so this will be one high class working sleigh when it is finished, a far cry from its Chilcotin past as a hay feeding sled.

The projects for the next while after we get the sleigh back in working order include changing the wheels from the metal ones to nice big wood wheels on the market show wagon, building the body for the piano box buggy, and the body for the Quebec sleigh. Lots of work to do.