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"Snigging" is a working performance class. It is seen most often in Miniature Donkey or Draft Mule Classes. When a log or pole is used, the event is known as snigging. When a sled or stone boat is used, then it becomes known as "Skill Driving." It is technically a harness type event, but one that requires no wheeled vehicle. It is also timed in which teams or single animals compete against the clock as well as one another.

Origin:

"Snigging" (or "skidding") developed from years of practical applications in the woods and fields. Old time loggers and rural farmers used mules to snig (drag) logs from the woods, as well as skid large stones from a pasture clearing. An although a little of that still occurs on farms and ranches throughout this country, today snigging is most often done for show, to demonstrate skill and ability between man and beast.

Tack Requirements:

For miniature donkeys, the animal wears a breast type full harness setup, complete with bridle and reins. Among draft horses and mules, a collar type arrangement harness is more appropriate, complete with bridle (open or blinders) and long reins. Any acceptable driving bit (pelham, snaffle, spoon, full cheek, half cheek) rounds out the picture. The animal's tug straps are hooked onto chains with snaps, pins, or clips, and attached to a log/pole (miniatures or draft) or a flat skid sled or stone boat (draft only) using a singletree.

Dress Requirements:

Dress for drivers is usually western attire or overalls, a striped shirt, heavy boots, topped with a western hat or baseball cap. Absolutely no whips of any kind are allowed in snigging or skill driving classes.

Event:

Hitching must be done behind the starting line. Once the animal begins the course, there are no stops allowed for tack adjustments. In simple snigging, the driver walks behind the donkey or mule, reins in hand, driving them and moving side to side of the log/pole as it's being drug in a weaving pattern behind the animal. (For Miniatures, the log or pole should be 6 to 8 feet in length).
Comparably, in skill driving, draft mules are hooked to a skidding sled (a row of planks on skids) or a stone boat. The driver then rides the sled standing (or in the case of seniors, sitting in a lawn chair atop the sled), and drives the team, using only a single rein and his voice to guide the animals through the course.

At some shows, the competition is so stiff that sometimes additional tennis balls are balanced atop each cone for added complexity. A brush may displace the cone but not cause the ball to fall. One point may be deducted for a brush, 2 for a fallen ball. If two logs are used to speed the contest (meaning, running two of these events concurrently), then each log must be of uniform size and length.

Course:

The pattern is usually set by the show committee or judge, so room for variations exist. A typical course for a snigging class consists of 5 orange cones set out in a straight line, approximately 12 feet apart, with 2 additional cones (or vertical posts) set apart at one end, marking the start/finish line. Similar in some respects to Pole Bending (an popular Gymkhana event), the donkey or mule must negotiate weaving between the cones, circling around the last one, then repeating the pattern weave back to the start/finish line.

In "skill driving," pole bending type poles generally take the place of orange cones, with the draft mule weaving between the poles, pulling the sled behind. At the 5th pole, they have the additional task of performing a figure-8 loop using one of the poles placed to the right or left of the 5th one, before completing the main weave back through to the start/finish line.

The animals perform at a walk or slow jog. Due to the distance and necessary precision, trotting is not encouraged. Hesitation, excessive maneuvering by the driver, and touches or knockovers by animal or sled/pole cost as faults. Missing a cone/pole or going off course are grounds for disqualification.

In the end, the one with the fastest time and least amount of faults wins!

(This Page last updated: July 25, 2000)