Riding a Driving Horse!

[canteron]

Driving (and other knowledgeable) people please advise.

As I understand it driving ponies are encouraged to have quite fixed necks and lean into bit pressure - which is quite the opposite to what I am looking for in a riding horse. How easy is it to retrain an older driving horse and any tips?

 

[Chuffy99]

I drove our pony and daughter did HOYS on him, he was beautifully schooled both in harness and under saddle but if you have one that has only driven hard you may need to do lots of bending and lateral work to get him to go softly but not a lot different to any other unschooled horse, lots of top driving horses are ridden.

 

[Snowfilly]

As above, lots do both and are quite capable of changing their way of going.

Lots of lateral work to get them moving their back ends around.

Word of warning - a driving horse taken on the road may try and park itself muh nearer to the middle of the road than you're comfortable with! They try to leave room for their wheels.

 

[rara007]

I’ve not come across many (any?) encouraged to lean into bit pressure and fix the neck? Sounds quite lethal when that’s your only brake. All of these were mainly driving ponies other than the big horse who was only broken to drive at 6 and only did bits and the cob hasn’t driven for about 6 years but started life on caravans at Appleby.

 

[rabatsa]

The only ones that I have had that fixed the necks and leant into the bits were ones that came from the travelling community and had road raced. It took a couple of months for them all to adapt to my way of driving. Several years later and one still would speed up if turned in the road to the right but if taken over and turned left never did.

 

[Bojingles]

Word of warning - a driving horse taken on the road may try and park itself muh nearer to the middle of the road than you're comfortable with! They try to leave room for their wheels.

Ha ha my ride/drive does exactly this!!
I wouldn't worry about the lean thing; she's certainly never done that and is also a skilled dressage pony. The only thing she does do is a funny little hop into trot - a momentum thing I think, to get the trap going.

 

[canteron]

The only ones that I have had that fixed the necks and leant into the bits were ones that came from the travelling community and had road raced.

Yes I don’t know but I have a suspicion his history may be along these lines!!

 

[Nudibranch]

I have one who did logging as well as regular driving and she did tend to lean and set herself a bit, but I did a bit of basic reschooling and she is much lighter in the hand. I also totally "downgraded" her bit which helped regain a lot of sensitivity. I think she had developed some of it from being uncomfortable in the mouth. She does also do the occasional funny hop too, but is a super little ride, drive and lead rein pony, worth her weight in gold.

 

[MandyE]

Driving horses/pony's are not taught to have a fixed neck as standard. All driving horses are trained to push from behind, respond to voice. Yes travelling horses do have fixed necked, but these pony's are exactly the same when riden. My own Gypsy cob, was very let's say fixed. But with riding, change of shaft length. He soon became a very nice driving pony, for dressage cones and marathon. It will depend what kind of driving, the pony has done. It would never manage its job, as a combined driving pony, or even a show driver, if it had a fixed neck, or leaned into the bit.

 

[canteron]

Thanks MandyE - good information - and you are so right compared to those fluid warmbloods the neck is always going to be relatively ‘fixed’!

 

[MandyE]

Thanks MandyE - good information - and you are so right compared to those fluid warmbloods the neck is always going to be relatively ‘fixed’!

 

[meleeka]

As above, lots do both and are quite capable of changing their way of going.

Lots of lateral work to get them moving their back ends around.

Word of warning - a driving horse taken on the road may try and park itself muh nearer to the middle of the road than you're comfortable with! They try to leave room for their wheels.

Mine does this too!

 

[MandyE]

What makes you think a driving horse would be less fixed that a warm blood riden horse? A combined driving horse would never manage to turn tight around Obstacles, and perform circles in a dressage test, if they there fixed. It will depend what kind of driving they have done. Travelling horses, can't flex, as the shafts dig into there necks when they turn, as the carriage is not made for the horse, on fits all. Because of this they stop moving there necks, and cross there legs to turn. In showing, a driving horse would never manage to perform traditional driving coachman style, which when performing circles, the driver have there reins in one hand, they have to be so flexible as it's the slight of one hand that supports both sides. UOTE="MandyE, post: 14166218, member: 142575"][/QUOTE]
A

 

[MandyE]

I have to ride out with a schooling whip, to remind my pony, he does not need space for is wheels that day ?

 

[MandyE]

I have to ride out with a schooling whip, to remind my pony, he does not need space for is wheels that day ?

 

[scruffyponies]

I like a pony to ride in the middle of the carriageway. Makes people brake and check that there's room to go past, instead of barrelling on past you like you're a lamp post.

 

[rara007]

I’m not sure they are comparatively ‘fixed’? Yes not many have the suppleness of a Grand Prix horse but then neither does the average RC horse. I don’t have easily accessible videos of Pip (the chestnut with blaze in the eventing dressage picture) but he was famously described as a bendy bus..! He was an unknown history from the market sort, we ‘only’ did up to elem as tbh that’s all I can ride at but he was a solid 65%er. The heavy coloured cob is a RC team specialist (ie I don’t school between events as he’s my dads happy hack!) and is rarely under 70% at elem.

Video of one of our obstacles back in the summer:

‘only’ mooching but shows quite a supple spine compared to the average horse I see at local BD.

If you have 3min of life to spare a dressage vid- bare in mind quite a few of the moves are 1 handed and it was our first show at that level and being a riding pony gets tense quicker than a WB. I think the lateral work is cut out of this too.

Obviously these are not off the track Standardbreds but it’s not the act of driving that ‘fixes’ them. Bad schooling is bad schooling regardless of how it’s done driven or ridden. There’s an on foot day mainly around driven schooling but with a fair few being presented ridden with some BD list 1 and 2 judges at the Unicorn trust if you’d be interested in the second week in Jan I’m sure you’d be welcome and would give an insight into driving.
https://facebook.com/events/1033277597025629/?ti=icl

 

[ester]

I've got scurry and trials vids of pip

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have had a number of r&d cobs and bigger horses and one Section A Welsh pony. They have all been very opinionated (and liked to march down the middle of the road regardless of being ridden or driven) but none had a fixed neck or leant into the bit, so long as they had the right, comfortable bit. The first one had been driven along Blackpool's Golden Mile every day in the summer season for a number of years, he came to us for an easier life but even he didn't lean.