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Veteran
Posts: 270
 
Location: Roanoke IL | Anyone have experience with driving horses? My Haflinger/Belgian would be perfect for it. She's very saddle broke...traffic safe....no spook no buck no fight. How hard do you think it would be to train a saddle horse to drive? I've ground driven her without issue. The reason I'm asking is because I just acquired the coolest cart/wagon. It has brakes on both axles, real tires, and lots of room for friends. It needs some elbow grease, but it looks like it would be so much fun. Right now it is set up for a team to pull, but my neighbor who I got it from says that I could have shafts made so one horse could pull it. If I could figure out how to post pics, I would post some. Where do you think I could get shafts made? Amish country? Amanda |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
 
Location: michigan | I have a small amount of driving experience. I haven't shown in driving classes but did a fair amount with a mare I used to have. Actually I enjoyed it over riding at the time since the kids were little and I could bring them along with me in the cart.\Much with a saddle horse, go alot of ground work, making sure the horse understands each element before going to the next step.I would ground driving without shafts,asking the horse to stop and stand ( make sure they can do this for a longer period of time each lesson) then back. They also need to learn to turn properly ( they can't bend)Then add shafts-do the samething- stopping,standing and backing into the shafts. The turns are harder with the shafts as they must learn to to bend around. more of a side pass. I also dragged stuff behind the horse to get them used to the sound of something they cannot see. Again- stopping,standing is a must. Add some distractions. With the cart attracted- repeat the process. each time to add something you start from the beginning. You can walk along side the cart until the time you feel the horse is stable. Then you can hop side saddle in the cart,repeat. Then get in. Try to remain in a secure area until the time you know the horse is comfortable. Add distraction such as noises,flag waving,dropping stuff and even cars or trucks driving by. Understand that the horse has limited vision and cannot feel your seat and legs. They must learn to trust your voice and hands for security.Saddle horses can get easily rattled not having you there. go slowly and you'll have a better driving horse for it |
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Veteran
Posts: 270
Location: Roanoke IL | Thanks for the advice! I've seen people use pvc pipe to simulate shafts to get the horse used to them. Daisy is bendy, which is what I guess I need to work on. Under saddle, she has a lot of bend around my leg, which is okay in that situation, but not for driving. Do you think that if I stick some pvc shafts alongside her, that might help straighten her out? She stops great, but I'm working on lengthening the time. She's good at the walk and trot. I started working with a sidepull, but I put her in a bit today. It didn't really seem to make much or a difference. She controls fine either way. I think I'll try dragging my little red metal wagon behind me as I'm ground driving her. That should make a lot of noise. Amanda |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | while you are ground driving, start asking her to turn to the right by tipping her nose to the left,tapping the lines on her left side and move her shoulders to the right. You could start on the ground like this-with either a halter or bridle ( snaffle bit) stand on the left at her shoulder,tip her nose into the left then using a lead rope.push her away from you and slap her side with the lead rope. She should start to move her shoulders away ( or to the right). repeat on the other side. you might have to ask her firmly and eventually you can be lighter with the slapping. You are trying to get her to move away from the lines at her side. The approach this while ground driving. Ask her to move forward while doing this then when she gets it, start asking her to actually turn.Yes use PVC pipe as shafts to train her. We used some wooden poles but remember to have something on the shaft to attache the harness to. |
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Expert
Posts: 1989
Location: South Central OK | As a driver, a bendy horse isn't a bad thing. A soft horse will usually respond well to the shafts and give to them. The problems arise when you encounter a horse that will not engage in the hips. When the shafts rub the hip in a turn the horse should respect the shaft and start to two track so as to stay inside the shafts and not rub. I'm not a fan of asking the horse to nose out of a turn, in my experiences with green horses this can cause confusion, especially with the every important hips. Another sticking point in training can be with the crouper, or breaching. I was driving at the 1993 or 1994 APHA world show in open driving (as a teenager) and the trainer next to me pulled into the line-up and proceeded to pick a fight with his horse. I asked him to stop and he cursed at me, then pulled out his whip...he was gonna "teach his ass a lesson", his words not mine. I pulled out and towards the rail while scores were tabulated. Just as I departed the line-up his horse kicked over the dash and got his leg caught. The horse flipped the cart over and destroyed it, I mean splinters. I'm sure he won the fight, I mean he did win the class. The picture that year showed him with the horse, no cart. Lesson, no mater what happens stay calm and know your equipment well enough to take it off in a hurry. I had my rig off my horse in under a minute on the rail with no assistance. My father jumped the wall and rickshaw-ed my cart back to the stall for me. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 434
Location: Brooksville, Fl | Amanda, I have shown extensively in combined driving and have trained all of my horses myself. You will probably have no problem but get a good book on teaching your horse to drive so you understand the harness and hitching. Then consult a professional or a forum such as the CD-List for help in your endeavor. Driving a horse is great fun but it can get dangerous fast and will often involve more than just you and your horse as there is a carriage involved. Good luck! Driving is great fun. |
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Location: KY | My preference is to use blinders at all times; and a liverpool bit. Also I make sure to unhitch the vehicle before removing the bridle with the blinders.
Good luck; driving is a lot of fun. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350
Location: Newton, NJ | Agree completely with Randemtam. I have also driven lots... pleasure and combined. It's lots of fun, but can get really dangerous in a hurry. I also recommend some professional "counselling". Try to find someone who knows a lot so they can check our what you are doing. Size, fit and condition of harness is very important as is vehicle safety. It can be very dangerous to be involved in a carriage wreck, not only for you , but for your animal and the people around you as well. Until it happens to you, you cannot imagine how scary it is. That said... welcome to a new "world" of horsemanship. You'll have a ball! |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | Oh yes, driving is great til you see a wreak then...not so much. Like riding a horse,things can go wrong so it important that the horse has the temperment to handle a variety of situations and is willing to listen to you when you really need it. So,get some professional help,check the fit and suitability of your equipment and start training slowly. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 447
Location: cedar rapids iowa | I am so excited I would like to share. I have been line driving my 2 yr old filly for a while and am ready for the drag. I live alone and was nervous to do this by myself so I hauled her to a stable for some lessons. We exposed her to the drag then hooked her up and she was wonderful. They usually suggest using the drag for a few weeks before hooking to the cart but she did so well that her second lesson we felt she was ready and hooked her to the cart. She was again very good and not scared. I must add that I have previously done alot of desensitizing on her like walking on a teeter totter, throwing metal garbage can lids under her, leaf blower noise, having things hanging and dangling on her legs, tarps, plastic bags ect. This made driving an easy and pleasurable experience. |
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Driving Horses
