breaking a horse to pull a trap

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vickyconnolly

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i own a 15.3 sec d cross thoroughbred mare, stocky build. she is about 7 now and is broken to ride (obviously) she long reins very well, good intraffic etc. i just want to know wat is the nx stage after long reining, do u just stick a trap behind the horse and hope for the best or somthing else. Also is pulling a trap bad for horses legs,
any info appriciated. thanx
 
i think that pulling of any sort is bad for horses as it put so much strain on the horses legs and they jst drag themselves along with there shoulders and loose all muscle in there 1/4's
 
Im not sure I agree with you there. My driving pony works in an outline when in harness and his engine is most certainly in his back end - there's no dragging himself along by his shoulders!

I don't understand how it puts strain on their legs, please can you explain?
 
Woah! No, don't just put her to - that's an accident waiting to happen!

The next stage is to get her to accept the blinkers. You need to get her long reining in full harness with blinkers before you can even think about the cart! Good luck, you will have a lot of fun!
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Northeventer - i think you should look into what your talking about before you make comments like that! How many hundreds of years have horses been driven! and you could say that riding is no good for a horses back!

veloceraptor - i think the next stage is to get some proper help! It's not something to be taken on lightly,you can ruin a horse very easily by making mistakes. I have broken many horses into drive and you should be aiming to take them back to basics as if they were not even broken to ride and it should take about 6 weeks depending on the horse. once he's accepted the long reining in full harness including blinkers you want to get him pulling a tyre, but the tyre shouldn't be attached at first incase he panics. You also want to make as much noise behind him, scuffling the ground with your feet etc. The you want to get him pulling a light cart like a scurry vehicle before you attempt a proper carraige! Even if you decide not to get experienced help it is not something that can be done on your own anyway! Good look and keep us posted. Also bare in mind yes some horses take to it like a duck to water but some just won't full stop no questions asked and they shouldn't be pushed!
 
Aha a turf surfer! Our section A pulls a conventional carriage but those things always looks so much FUN!

Mind you the advantage of the carriage is that we can take her, with us if we hack to shows and she brings along the water, extra kit, lunch, hay etc! And takes she takes home shattered riders as well!
 
In theory a horse dosent "pull" a cart/trap it pushes it with its hind quarters.The quarters do most of the work for stopping starting.When we used to brake them to harness we sarted of with long reining then pulling tyres round them something heavier like water containers half filled then full.They have to also get used to the noises behind them so we used to pull noisy things around like tin cans.Then and only when the horse dosent bat an eyeld at any of this we used to put them in a lightweight cart/trap with some one at the head at all times leading them around.then the person at the head would slowly start to lag behind untill the horse was comfy with no one beside them.If you just bung them in a trap and let them get on with it you will be asking for trouble.Good luck it is a lovely way to travel.
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i have broken ponies to ride and drive-i groom at scurry driving events and can drive myself.

whatever you do, don't just put him to a trap.

you need to get him used to blinkers. you have to also be very aware of the fcat that when wearing blinkers they cannot see behind them and are more likely to spook, so the way you manouveor them has to be different-if they bump into things they are more likely to shoot forward and not want to do the same thing again.
once used to blinkers, you need to put them in a chariot (like pictured in jinglejoys avatar (the one we used we didn't stand on, we walked behind it). you should have someone with a rope on the horse walking beside them as well as someone behind the chariot with the reins and whip, gettin them used to the noise and the vocal commands-driving is very different in that your horse will rely on vocal commands, you have no physical contact. as they get better with the chariot, gradually take the person leading by their head away.
around this time we used to progress to putting the ponies in the vehicle and again put someone at their head just in case, then gradually taking them away. the key thing is to take it slowly and also to make sure that the horse is pulling up into the collar and traces when pulling.

i know a scurry pony that doesn't have blinkers as she hates them and drives a lot better without them, but generally most driving horses/ponies will wear blinkers.

and as for the bad bum thing....im yet to see one and i see loads and loads of private drive, scurry driving and pleasure driving ponies-there are loads over 20 who have been driven for years and do not have bad bums.

if you want more info go to www.scurrydrivers.co.uk
 
thats brill thanx alot.

"you need to get him used to blinkers. you have to also be very aware of the fcat that when wearing blinkers they cannot see behind them and are more likely to spook"

What exactly are the point in blinkers? i know it prevents them from looking behind, but isnt that natural for them for the whole predator prey thing. when i am out long reining or riding, i always see her looking behind. Is it better for them, should i just give her chance to get used to them.

also what do you mean by "make sure she traces when pulling"
thanx again
 
Some very good advice here, driving horses do work from behind and I have never heard of or seen one with week quarters.

I have always been taught that there is less strain on the horses legs when driving than riding as they are not carrying the extra weight of a rider.

There is some debate about the use of blinkers but on the whole it is considered much safer to use them. I believe you would not be able to take part in driving club activities/competitions without them.

I would also recommend going to an instructor approved by the British Driving Society as you will not only be taught how to drive but also about all the safety issues, harness fitting etc.

Charisl
 
horses when being driven do push from behind. what i mean by pulling through the traces and into the collar is that you have to make sure (especially with 2 ponies being driven) are working properly-it also means that if you are going uphill the horse/pony can work properly and there is less chance of losing momentum!

blinkers are meant tostop the horse from looking behind or to the side of themselves. as well as helping them focus on what is ahead of them and an aid to their concentration, they also stop the pony at freaking out at something "following them" (the vehicle!)

as i said earlier, within scurrying there is one pony who does not use blinkers as it hinders her and she is better without them, so you don't have to (as a rule) have them in scurrying, but i think for most other driving disciplines you do.

with regard to the price of harnesses...how long is a piece of string?! it completely depends on what you go for-i.e. whether you go for synthetic or leather harness, whether yo uhave full breaching or just the collar, pad, crupper bridles and reins and also the size you need.

i used to scurry with someone who makes his own harness and makes it for others for scurry - he's been driving for donkey's years and was lucky enough to learn from him!

if you are not sure what to do and are sort of teaching yourself to drive as you do your horse, you can search for a BDS instructor or log onto the scurry site i gave you-whereabouts are you based? scurries are a friendly lot and if you need a hand will usually let you meet them and show you how things are done! alternatively you could send her to be broken and have lessons as well.

PM if you need any more help
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horses and ponies when driven do not carry the weight on their backs, it is through their back ends-where all the power is! so trotting on roads is probably less of a problem on their legs.

you will also need a groom-someone to drive with you. it is a safety aspect more than anything, a competent groom will have to be able to hold the horse when you are putting in the vehicle, they are there if things get out of hand. shoud always have 2 people when driving.
 
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let us know how it goes - I'm keen to break my horse to drive and would appreciate knowing how you get on

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same here

xx
 
Hi there, just read briefly through this thread so forgive me if someone has already said somthing similar. I have done some work with schooling youngsters, not only for riding but driving also. What we would have done is after longreigning attach harness, blinkers etc and walk around sand school with one leading and another behind holding the traces pulling slightly to mimick a bit of weight. Once settled with this then attach a sand bag to the traces and walk around with that. Once happy with the extra pull then attach trap.
I will agree always have someone else with you especialy out on the roads.

This method has always worked for me and i have had four 5year olds and pulling together very happily down a very busy dual carraigeway with no dramas.
 
I set of harness can cost x amount! Webbing sets which have become very popular espesially for eeryday exercise and cross country as they are hard wearing and easy to care for. The you have plastic coated webbing and obviously leather. Leather can be very expensive for english or you can get very cheap indian leather but be very careful with the later as it can be poorly made and dangerous. Your probably looking at at least £150-£300 for a decent set of second hand, maybe new webbing depending on size etc. Where abouts are you? I old friend of mine sells new and second hand, she also breaks them, and teaches for the british driving society, we're in worcestershire. There is also reading carraige sale, funnily enough in Reading, which is a brilliant sale on horse harness and carraiges. Try the british driving society for more advise, they are nice people. Good luck and keep me posted!
 
Thanks to u all for the advise. I am deffinatly going to break her to drive, it sounds so fun. my sis is into horses aswel so she can help me.
to welshies i live in runcorn, cheshire near liverpool. so if anybody knows a good place to get the tack i would love to know, unless has robbies got any good stuff.
thanx again x
 
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