Article and photos by Pam Gamble
Tom O’ Carroll returned to Bob Martin’s Split Tree Farm April 15-17 to teach his “Good Hands” approach of driving to the Memphis area and the Nashoba Carriage Association.
Tom’s soft voice and wry smile were immediately engaging during his initial lecture. Tom talked about his childhood memories of farm life in Ireland and the team work between man and horse that was so necessary for a life close to the earth. One of his earliest memories is the before school, early morning milking of the cows and delivery of that milk in a wagon which was pulled by Irish Draughts. Even today the Irish Draught remains one of Tom’s favorite breeds to work with. “There is no horse greater than the Irish Draught. The breed has a great temperament, great work ethic, and is willing and easy to work with.”
Early in Tom’s childhood he realized that he was able to communicate with horses in a way that most other people could not. Even the most difficult or problem horses became gentle around Tom. His reputation grew after he convinced a horse that normally could not be shod to stand quietly for the farrier. People began to challenge him with increasingly difficult horses, and it took Tom only, “a short time to straighten out a bad horse.” Tom became convinced that most horse problems were really people problems. Through the years, his reputation as a master horseman was cemented.
In 1960, Tom moved to the United States, where he earned recognition driving everything from singles to six-horse hitches, including teams of mules. Tom now calls Navasota, Texas his home, and he has been happy to introduce Combined Driving Events to many people in that great state. He has been on TV and been a horse expert in several movies.
Tom’s school nameis “Good Hands” and his philosophy with a horse is to ask once softly, ask again, and then tell. An example of this would be to use a couple of half halts leading to a full stop. The half halts communicate a nice easy downward transition. Tom then expects the horse to stand quietly, and he gave several ways to discourage a “wiggler”. A driving horse that won’t stand still is even more dangerous than a riding horse. If a horse backs unasked or twists his body in the shafts, a wreck may occur. Tom explained how to make good behavior easy and bad behavior hard work.
Tom’s knowledge was shown in his uncanny ability to look at a horse in the clinic and know almost immediately what that horse needed. One young horse needed a different bit; a stiff pony needed more circular work; another needed to go forward more.
Clinic participants ranged from beginner to novice, and also included seasoned competitors. Tom made it clear that he is no less proud of one of his students who only drives on a Sunday afternoon, than he is of a nationally ranked competitor, as long as they are safe drivers. Many types and sizes of horses showed up for the clinic’s 24 lessons, but Welsh ponies were the most plentiful with Morgan Horse’s coming in second. Driving shows have classes for any horse from the VSE (Minis) to Draft size.
Nashoba Carriage Association member Ann Ince was all smiles after her lesson with Tom. “I am so happy that I did this. What a teacher-he takes the driver and the horse at their current skill level and advances their understanding of each other. The end product is not a horse and driver and a carriage, but a unit. Hope he comes back soon!”
Each clinic participant shared Tom’s knowledge in reaching their equine training goals. The most important thing that this reporter learned from the clinic is the reminder to approach your horse with gentleness, but don’t be afraid to ask for more. Make the instructions very clear and driver and horse will succeed. More information may be obtained from Tom’s website at www.tocarroll.com.
Tom O’ Carroll returned to Bob Martin’s Split Tree Farm April 15-17 to teach his “Good Hands” approach of driving to the Memphis area and the Nashoba Carriage Association.
Tom’s soft voice and wry smile were immediately engaging during his initial lecture. Tom talked about his childhood memories of farm life in Ireland and the team work between man and horse that was so necessary for a life close to the earth. One of his earliest memories is the before school, early morning milking of the cows and delivery of that milk in a wagon which was pulled by Irish Draughts. Even today the Irish Draught remains one of Tom’s favorite breeds to work with. “There is no horse greater than the Irish Draught. The breed has a great temperament, great work ethic, and is willing and easy to work with.”
Early in Tom’s childhood he realized that he was able to communicate with horses in a way that most other people could not. Even the most difficult or problem horses became gentle around Tom. His reputation grew after he convinced a horse that normally could not be shod to stand quietly for the farrier. People began to challenge him with increasingly difficult horses, and it took Tom only, “a short time to straighten out a bad horse.” Tom became convinced that most horse problems were really people problems. Through the years, his reputation as a master horseman was cemented.
In 1960, Tom moved to the United States, where he earned recognition driving everything from singles to six-horse hitches, including teams of mules. Tom now calls Navasota, Texas his home, and he has been happy to introduce Combined Driving Events to many people in that great state. He has been on TV and been a horse expert in several movies.
Tom’s school nameis “Good Hands” and his philosophy with a horse is to ask once softly, ask again, and then tell. An example of this would be to use a couple of half halts leading to a full stop. The half halts communicate a nice easy downward transition. Tom then expects the horse to stand quietly, and he gave several ways to discourage a “wiggler”. A driving horse that won’t stand still is even more dangerous than a riding horse. If a horse backs unasked or twists his body in the shafts, a wreck may occur. Tom explained how to make good behavior easy and bad behavior hard work.
Tom’s knowledge was shown in his uncanny ability to look at a horse in the clinic and know almost immediately what that horse needed. One young horse needed a different bit; a stiff pony needed more circular work; another needed to go forward more.
Clinic participants ranged from beginner to novice, and also included seasoned competitors. Tom made it clear that he is no less proud of one of his students who only drives on a Sunday afternoon, than he is of a nationally ranked competitor, as long as they are safe drivers. Many types and sizes of horses showed up for the clinic’s 24 lessons, but Welsh ponies were the most plentiful with Morgan Horse’s coming in second. Driving shows have classes for any horse from the VSE (Minis) to Draft size.
Nashoba Carriage Association member Ann Ince was all smiles after her lesson with Tom. “I am so happy that I did this. What a teacher-he takes the driver and the horse at their current skill level and advances their understanding of each other. The end product is not a horse and driver and a carriage, but a unit. Hope he comes back soon!”
Each clinic participant shared Tom’s knowledge in reaching their equine training goals. The most important thing that this reporter learned from the clinic is the reminder to approach your horse with gentleness, but don’t be afraid to ask for more. Make the instructions very clear and driver and horse will succeed. More information may be obtained from Tom’s website at www.tocarroll.com.
