Support Group For Equestrians Overcoming Rider Fear

kynagirl 107 posts Jul 02, 2008 10:59 AM	I have a young 4yrs gelding, Morgan. He is short but large and compact. He is also lame probably for the rest of his life (birth defect, will know more soon). My question would be, it is harder on a horse to pull a cart then riding with a rider? also, would a person feel safer on a cart? is it hard to learn and to teach the horse? Actually, I am at this point rite now. My fears are still to grand. I am looking at other option to play with my 4 boys!! they are getting fat! thanks!
Izabella 90 posts Jul 02, 2008 12:29 PM	Cart work puts a different type of pressure on a horse, depending on what its pulling and the terrain you can certainly vary the intensity, if you're talking light driving harness and a 1-2 person sulky that you can pull around its not that much work for them to pull it across flat or slightly hilly areas. Talk to your vet to decide what they think your horse can handle, uphill usually isn't too bad with light weight but downhill can be brutal, especially on a sore leg and you don't EVER want your horse to stumble downhill in harness. Slow and easy is the trick. As far as training that also depends on the personality of the horse. "They" say (and it worked for my husband when he trained our belgian gelding) if you harness and ground drive a horse for 40 days they'll remember it forever. Don't know if that is true but it worked with Jackson. But again, it depends on your horse, if your horse learns quickly and is pretty ok with new stuff, should be fine... I'd buy a harness and start putting pieces of it on him, as long as he seems ok I'd just let him get used to the harness, then start ground driving, work with voice commands (really useful). Pick a "go" command that isn't cluck or kiss... we use a loud "Team" and off they go. Once you've got them ground driving, turning, backing well then try out some pvc pipes in the place where shafts would be to get them used to the idea of things bumping their sides. Then when you're feeling REALLY comfortable hook them up to a cart and ground drive them from behind the cart until you are 100% confident that the horse won't freak when you're in the cart, they can be weird about that... but its a trust thing, they can't see you, they've got blinders on so I get it... for your first in the cart drive, try to be in an area that is safely enclosed with someone else nearby to keep an eye out. Also have a knife handy, in case something happens and you need to cut harness quick. Our neighbors saved one of their horses from kicking the other to death when it got caught up in the harness after a fall. Not to scare you but its a good precaution when you've got that much leather. Speaking for myself I am much more confident driving than riding. You can wreck in a buggy just as easy as riding but there is something about it that just makes me feel safer. Plus I have 2 well trained mares who know their stuff to work with. I'd see if you could find someone nearby to drive with a couple times to see how its done, just to get a feel for it. Its really fun and relaxing, totally worthwhile! When I DO buy my next horse I have a driving harness ready to be broken in! :) Good luck and I'd love to hear what you decide to do and how it goes!!!
kynagirl 108 posts Jul 02, 2008 12:39 PM	thank you so much for your infos! How much money am I looking at to buy all the equipments? Sounds like I would feel a little better than on top of the horse! Me and him have a very good relationship, he is a mama pleaser... I guess I should try to find some books on that matter! thank you again!
Izabella 91 posts Jul 02, 2008 6:20 PM	We paid about $120 for the harness, and carts can go for a range of prices depending on what you want... fancy meadowbrooks like they use for showing can cost quite a bit but check around... I saw a small horse/pony cart listed at my local tack shop for about $500
Izabella 92 posts Jul 02, 2008 6:41 PM	Oh another thing... I don't recommend a cart with very skinny wheels if you buy something used... they break really easy if you turn quickly or hit a lot of bumps... and wooden shafts are also a risk for breaking... that is NOT fun. I poked around on another post and we have both the biothane and leather, for a draft horse the leather is REALLY heavy and hard to work with because they're so tall. My saddle horse harness is leather, I prefer the biothane but since a saddle horse isn't so big and the harness is MUCH lighter it should be workable. You won't need a big collar and all that stuff unless you're planning to have him drag heavy stuff around or pull a lot of weight. I'd work on getting him used to having things behind him, and definitely try that funky bridle on him with the blinders, that can take some getting used to! Definitely have someone knowledgeable around when you harness your horse and get him set up, there are lots of parts and they need to be adjusted correctly for the harness to work properly (and for your baby to be comfy!). Driving is really fun, so worth it. I haven't driven a saddle horse yet but our drafts are a blast, when they're pulling and trotting for all they're worth up a hill and you can just feel the power in the reins... its amazing! And they LOVE it! We've got 3 so one always gets left behind and if we take the wagon alongside the paddock the poor lonely one will actually trot along beside the other 2 along the fence line just to be a part of it. They really like the work and it definitely can take the pressure off if you're nervous riding. There is still a lot that can go wrong but if you've already got a good relationship with your horse and he knows your voice... you've already got a good start! Oh try working on voice commands as well... you can practically drive a horse by voice alone if you work on it! Pretty cool! Where are you located? Last Edited on 2-Jul-2008 6:42 PM
dog-shrink 287 posts Jul 03, 2008 3:09 AM	I too have considered driving. Iroquois has already been trained to pull a one or two horse cart but hasn't done it since we got him. Emerique the Fjord would be fantastic at it but hasn't been trained. I have long reined him in the BB, no blinkers, and he's great. We would like a two person cart one day. There is another thing which I also want. It's called a saddle chariot. You are like a Roman charioteer but it has superb safety releases. If the horse takes off or panics you can release the chariot really qickly. We spoke to the guy who makes them on the phone and one day if we have some money will get one (or two). See the site: http://naturaldriving.co.uk/content_1front.php I think that driving can be as much fun as riding especially if you have issues or are just getting older! You still need a good relationship with the horse and have to work at it. ---------- Bitless - not witless!
LC 72 posts Jul 03, 2008 4:44 AM	Hi Dog-Shrink, I really must have a moan!! (only joking!) That website about the saddle-chariots was brilliant :0) I have just spent about an hour when I should have been working, looking at it, splitting my sides and generaly wasting time. It is absolutely brilliant isn't it?. I even feel that if I could, I would go out and buy a pony just to pull one of those things. How much do they cost? because I couldn't find any reference to prices on there. Bye for now Megan
PB 658 posts Jul 03, 2008 5:25 AM	I looked at those saddle chariots too! They are so cool! I like the fact of no bit, crupper, blinkers. Just the pony and human having FUN! How much are they? PB
kynagirl 110 posts Jul 03, 2008 7:05 AM	WOW! I think I am in love! I HAVE TOO look in too this some more! I really like the idea. More compact, and it seems that I would feel safer, because it seem that you would be getting out easier if the horse decide to go nuts. thank you so much for the sharing! Chantal
dog-shrink 288 posts Jul 04, 2008 12:12 AM	I think he quoted £1500 for the small size for a shetland.We'd need a bigger one. One day when we're visiting the UK I'll fix up to visit him. It really does look fun doesn't it? He only builds a few, not a big production outfit. ---------- Bitless - not witless!