merlin84
Well-Known Member
And I am hooked! I do not need another equestrian hobby!!
Oh dear first driving lesson
- Thread starter merlin84
- Start date
katastrophykat
Well-Known Member
😂 welcome to wheels... if you think horses are expensive, try driving...!
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
I started thinking I might do the odd drive out, maybe to the pub or something, but I wasnt particularly fussed about it. Until the first time I drove and that was it! I much prefer it to riding. It is expensive but if you are careful it can be done for the same sort of money it would cost you to kit out a riding horse with tack. I've had to do it all on a shoe string. I started out with a £200 carriage and slowly upgraded until I got my beloved Bennington.
Whereabouts are you? I'm sure there will be someone local who will take you under their wing to get some experience.
Whereabouts are you? I'm sure there will be someone local who will take you under their wing to get some experience.
Hack4fun
Well-Known Member
Oh yes you do!
Goldenstar
Well-Known Member
It’s fun isn’t it.
merlin84
Well-Known Member
I wasn’t expecting to find it exhilarating in the same way as riding! Also it is more similar to riding than I realised although I think I kept twitching my leg thinking I needed to put some leg on!
Am in SE London just off the A2 but my share horse is kept in Kent
Am in SE London just off the A2 but my share horse is kept in Kent
scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
Another shoestring driver here. It doesn't have to be horrific on your purse.
My most frequently used harness is a foreign leather pony set - it cost me £30 twenty years ago. It has needed repairs from time to time. Learn to repair bits of stitching etc; it will save you a fortune.
Cheapest carriage I ever owned cost £50 (breaking cart at auction). Most expensive is my current 4-wheeler at £800, which I can drive to a single or pair 12hh to 15hh. It came with two sets of harness.
Over the years I have owned, enjoyed and sold on a number of vehicles. Generally they hold their value, and if you're a careful buyer and/or handy you won't lose money.
I don't see driving stuff as 'spending' so much as 'alternative investments'.
Also remember that all the time you're trotting around a field / country lane, you are nowhere near the shops... so it's saving money really
My most frequently used harness is a foreign leather pony set - it cost me £30 twenty years ago. It has needed repairs from time to time. Learn to repair bits of stitching etc; it will save you a fortune.
Cheapest carriage I ever owned cost £50 (breaking cart at auction). Most expensive is my current 4-wheeler at £800, which I can drive to a single or pair 12hh to 15hh. It came with two sets of harness.
Over the years I have owned, enjoyed and sold on a number of vehicles. Generally they hold their value, and if you're a careful buyer and/or handy you won't lose money.
I don't see driving stuff as 'spending' so much as 'alternative investments'.
Also remember that all the time you're trotting around a field / country lane, you are nowhere near the shops... so it's saving money really
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
I don't see driving stuff as 'spending' so much as 'alternative investments'.
Also remember that all the time you're trotting around a field / country lane, you are nowhere near the shops... so it's saving money really
I must remember that the next time the OH queries what I'm buying this time!
SatansLittleHelper
Well-Known Member
I had 6 driving lessons about 20 years ago with a pair of Fell ponies...I enjoyed it alot. I have nowhere really to drive around here and I feel I would be to vulnerable on the roads otherwise I'd love a little pony and cart ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
merlin84
Well-Known Member
Would love to progress to driving a pair although it was enough work to maintain correct position and contact on the lines even with just the one horse!
scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
I had to be a bit fly getting the camera out and taking that shot, if I'm honest.
Driving is such an amazing experience. A good driving pony is almost telepathic, and responds like part of the driver. Still working on getting 3 of us to work together perfectly, as that's a bit more tricky.
Driving is such an amazing experience. A good driving pony is almost telepathic, and responds like part of the driver. Still working on getting 3 of us to work together perfectly, as that's a bit more tricky.
Leo Walker
Well-Known Member
That's a huge part of it for me. When it all comes together that's exactly what it feels like. I am useless with my left and right and will quite often say left but mean right, yet my pony always goes the way I mean. I have no idea how other than telepathy!