# Driving a team that pushes on each other?



## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

I know there are a few people who drive teams on this forum, so I thought maybe I'd ask my question here. What do you do when your team leans inward and pushes on each other? The gelding in my father's team does this when we drive on the road. Never anywhere else. He is on the right hand side, and the mare is on the left. She pushes back, but is much smaller than him. We took them to give rides in town once, and he pushed her so hard she slipped and fell several times, one of the times she smashed her nose on the pole and started bleeding. We use them for farm work, which they had never done when we got them, but the never do it then. Only ever on the road, but even then they are usually fine. If you are on a dirt road, or in a field, they are fine. We have tried giving him a flick with the whip on the inside, and it sorted him out for a while but my father started doing all the wrong things and it confused him more. (Abruptly dragging them to a stop without saying woah, holding him back and giving him a tap, tapping on the outside, giving them lots of slack in lines when starting out, so they jump forward and hit into it. ETC.) I took the reins for a while and they were pretty good on the road. Then again, I had them trotting. When I made them walk up the driveway they started again, and I rhythmically see sawed with the reins, and they would pull apart. I kept them moving through it, which I think was better than stopping them every time. I am going out on a bit of a limb on this forum, but has anyone else had this problem and had a way to fix it? They are an amazing team, but this is there only vice. I don't want to see them completely sour because their training is being undone for just one problem.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

My first thought would be a line adjustment problem.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Add to that if there is a good size difference between the two it takes someone that really knows what they are doing to adjust the big picture so the load is fair and equitably distributed. We have a biter that will reach over and snap at her teammate and a swift pop between the ears with the whip when it happened cured it unless she has long vacations. She's in blinders and hasn't ever realized what hit her. Retribution has to be swift. I'm better at catching her in the committed but hasn't yet while DH gets her just as she bites and releases.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Do you switch them out? Change sides and see if it is better. My mares will lean on a gelding if they are in heat. I would yell QUIT at him and use the whip. Or make as swift a turn as you can to make him balance.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

When he's pushing is this on pavement/asphalt and/or gravel roads, right? My first thought was he's uncomfortable with the footing as it is painful for him on gravel or he's not getting good traction on pavement. Either way, under these scenarios, correct through boots/shoes and the problem may go away.


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## Diamond S (Aug 6, 2014)

It sounds like they only do this on pavement? Other than the obvious harness fitting, etc, which doesn't seem to be an issue other than pavement, I would say that your right hand horse doesn't like what he sees on his right and is trying to get as far away form it as possible. This is probably something you wouldn't even notice - like a yellow line, a ditch, etc. Just a guess from your description, as I have had horse do this to me because of a line of tar on the road. Good luck.


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