Rural Heritage October/November 2025

Training Duke to Drive PART ONE

by Donn Hewes T here is an age-old adage,“Beginning teamsters and green horses should not mix.” There are a lot of good reasons for this admonishment, but I think it is time we took it apart just a little. While a teamster that just met work horses for the first time last week still should not be training their first horse; there are lots of beginning teamsters with two or three years of progressive responsible experience that could.

But why encourage someone to take this path you might ask? Good, affordable horses are getting harder to find. It’s not just that the price has gone up, but in some areas, there are just not that many to choose from. Combine that with the exceptional quality and trainability of some young stock available today, and I think it becomes a genuine opportunity for some young farmers. This still won’t be for everyone, as the trade off in money saved will be made up in time spent in doing the care and training of the young horse.

Duke is being led by intern Jazmine Albin.

Rural Heritage

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