got helen driving shalley

[thelwell]

hi there i got helen to drive shalley the other day she hadnt been in the exercise cart for a while she drives still with no blinkers and only in a snaffle and before any one jumps down my throat i adjusted the harness after the photo due to it slipping on the front because she hadnt had it on for a while it had to be adjusted a few times to get it right.
allso does any one kno where i can get a new exercise cart made or get one from in ireland would like the one thats narrow that you sort of stand and sit does any one have one or can they recomend one and how much ?

 

[Agent XXX999]

Sorry put I think that pony looks a bit poor?

 

[thelwell]

lol if you want come and see her feufolet you will find she has plenty of weight on and a nice crested neck full set of shoes on fed hamples of hayledge and has a hard feed a day. she dont have too much wieght on due to risk of lammie but apart from force feeding her i cant feed her any more
just to add as well the photos are a little streached and make her look slightly different than in real life

 

[Agent XXX999]

not poor as in weight, poor as in conditioin? could just be pics!

 

[thelwell]

oh no shes a bit dirty to rolling in the sand it has stained her main and tail cond wise she has a long coat and had a nice stable stain on her rump i had wiped most of it of but it was still a little wet and with the weather thats in i wont bath her as its so cold with the wind blowing

 

[HDT]

Two things I can see wrong, 1) Is the carriage, it does not fit the pony.

Your pony is too far away from the carriage and the shafts are too long

2) That harness is appalling, sorry if htis offends but you are not doing your pony any favours, if that breastplate got any lower yourpony would be stepping through it, your pony is struggling to walk because the breastplate is too restricting being far too low.
The breeching is also too loose, what isallthat leather underneath the girth.

Actually looking at the photo again the harness is completely too big all over.

You obviously either don't know how to fit harness or have no consideration for your pony or both.

I may sound harsh but I have seen too many accidents because of ill fitting harness and carriages all to the ponies or horses expense

 

[thelwell]

it had been refitted just after as i say it was a long time since she was last in it it now is properly adjusted and the cart is fitting better and more adjusted when my friend came down to the farm i was showed how to get it to fit better i had put a couple of straps in the wrong place and it had caused the straps to fit wrong on the back and the front ones had been fitted wrong by me i do hold my hands up and had been showed the correct way to fit it and adjust it.
allso the main carrying straps had been re adjusted to drop the shafts of the cart i am looking for a new harness and cart for her but allso finding it hard to find one that fits good as this harness even tho a pony was still a little big and had to have more holes made in it will a shetland one fit her as shes 11.1hh

 

[jinglejoys]

Is this what you are looking for? Its a Saddlechariot http://naturaldriving.co.uk/content_ieivr.php

 

[thelwell]

jinglejoys thats bang on where did you get yours from did you get the harness with it and how much did it break the bank by

 

[GTs]

I hate when users are picked on (I have been on the other end of it) - however I have to say the cart in the link looks incredibly dangerous! I do not think people realise that driving has it's risks! If anything sudden happens with that, you will almost certainly be unseated.

Compared to some here I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to carriage driving (even though I am commercially licensed), however I do ask you get some guidance.

As far as condition - it is tough this time of year, I had a picture on here where people said an old mare of mine looked bad, but in real life she appeared fine. I think what gives your pony that appearance is her head seems down in both pictures, giving her a depressed look - probably more to do with the way the carriage is fitted, and having to work then being in poor condition.

 

[jinglejoys]

[ QUOTE ]
jinglejoys thats bang on where did you get yours from did you get the harness with it and how much did it break the bank by

[/ QUOTE ]
It is about the same price as some of the posh excersize carts but comes complete with harness and set up.Mine was second hand (very rare) but Simon has still been incredably helpful with me.
I always felt unsafe and trapped in the conventional type so much so that I stopped driving Blue 10yrs ago.
When I saw the Saddlechariot I knew that was just what I was looking for (And that was before Simon added the ejectiont ser up)
Blue went in straight away with a bitless bridle I bought her off e-bay and she took to it like a duck to water.She is so much calmer.
Next step is the cart for the back and maybe a mini hay tedder and mini muckspreader and............

 

[tazet]

hi i've been carriage driving now for quite a while now and you would not catch me on one of those saddlechariot things it looks far to unstable if your horse spooked and took off you've had it. i don't think thelwel's pony looks that bad you ought to see mine at the moment you wouldn't think they were event fit 1 & 1/2 months ago.
i would however recomend you get someone experienced in at least once a week co give you lesons and keep a check on that harness which i'm glad you got sorted and although the cart looks big i would be happy using it as if the pony was to buck then he would not hit the front of it andscare himself more. personaly all that i have broken in i have used blinker but so many people i know don't and the pony obviously is not bothered by it. i just say get help (you should not be on your own with a novice) and enjoy it its great fun

 

[jinglejoys]

Fair enough Tazet if that is your opinion but if you haven't tried one then you can't know.
I've driven both types and I feel a lot safer in my Saddlechariiot than bouncing around on a slidy seat of an excersize cart with no exit. GT not sure from what you say if you think I am just standing up on a base to drive I am actually on a bycicle type seat,bit like riding a horse you grip with your knees

All animals need training so you work on the trust and training bit.Mind you I do drive a mule which thinks then acts unlike shortears that tend to act then think (occasiionally)