Horses and wagons don't always mix well. On the Great Florida Cattle Drive, Jan. 26-31, riders took turns following the wagons.
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![OKEECHOBEE COUNTY -- The Great Florida Cattle Drive included covered wagons. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]](/uploads/original/20260127-194159-29f-cattle drive wagons 1.jpg)
![Many horses are nervous around covered wagons. They may be unfamiliar with mules used to pull a wagon. The noises a wagon makes or the flapping of canvas may spook them. [Photo by Katrina Elsken/Lake Okeechobee News]](/uploads/original/20260127-194143-6ae-cattle drive wagons 2.jpg)
Horses and wagons don't always mix well. On the Great Florida Cattle Drive, Jan. 26-31, riders took turns following the wagons.
The drive participants were divided into "circles" designated by colors of the bandanas they wore: Navy, Rust, Green, Buckskin, Brown, Camo (veterans group), Purple (cow hunters) and white (media.)
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, it was the Rust Circle's turn to follow the four covered wagons on the drive. Rust Circle Boss Wayne Wall explained that many horses that have not spent a lot of time around wagons may be spooked by the sounds wagons make, or the mules that pull them, the flap of the canvas covering or something that might fall off a wagon.
Exposing horses to the wagons helps desensitize them. Wall said if a horse is nervous around the wagons, start that horse at the back of the group. As they travel, the horse will become more accustomed to the wagons and be willing to get closer. A few miles down the trail, the horse may even be comfortable walking directly behind the wagon or even beside the wagon.
