[AngelBunny]

I have a new activity to pursue with Mox--drafting. What a fun day!

I learned alot--not hard, tho, because I knew nothing about drafting going into the workshop!

First thing I learned--the activity is drafting, not carting.

A cart has two wheels, a wagon has four. Wagons are more stable than carts because of their 4 wheels.

Mox was the only non-Berner in our class of 9 dogs.

The instructors recommend a Siwash carting harness. They like the freedom of shoulder movement it provides and feel it distrbutes weight of the object being pulled more evenly than other types of harnesses.

We were paired with another student and an instructor and each pair worked one dog at a time. We were showen how to put on the harness. Each dog started off dragging a piece of 2x4 across a closely mown field, then a gravel driveway, then the street to get the dog used to something clattering behind him or her. Next a laundry detergent container filled with pebbles was hooked to the piece of wood and we all did the route again.

The wood and the container were removed and we were given a shaft from the cart. We walked our dog with the shaft between us. Then our partner and instructor put the shafts into the loop on the harness and we walked our dog around the field with our partner and instructor holding onto his or her shaft. Then we attached a cart.

The weather wasn't the best--it spat rain, the clouds blew away, the sun came out, the clouds blew in, it spat rain, the clouds blew away over and over.

Then in the afternoon after lunch when we were ready to attach a cart, it poured. I took my camera but it never left the car--Mox and I carted in POURING rain. I took plenty of towels so Mox had a dry ride home.

I've wanted to try drafting for a long time and was very pleased to get the opportunity to do so today.

I plan to do more.