Teaching a horse to drive

[jemstone]

I am wanting to teach my Welsh D to drive as its been a life time ambition of mine and he would be an ideal breed for that.

Does anyone have any experience of breaking a horse to harness? How do i go about it apart from the obvious that i know about i.e. long reining, pulling a tyre and then a cart.

Thanks for your help and i hope this was in the right place!

 

[parsley]

Do you know how to drive?

 

[jemstone]

No i dont know how to drive yet. That is the plan to learn and then teach him, hopefully!!

 

[parsley]

When you are learning to drive, ask for advice. I got my son's pony going in harness by having driving lessons, talking to the instructors, watched a video etc.

I spent a lot of time leading her out in hand to make sure she was really safe on the roads.
then I got her longreining in her harness in the school and then on the roads
then I spent quite a while longreining her while making noises (I used things like a football clacker, rattling saucepans, running my whip along railings and bushes etc), I also desenthtised her to having stuff touching her while I was longreining - the whip, reins etc.
Then I got her used to having stuff flapping around her legs (I was told I should get her used to walking along with the equivalent of traces inside her legs incase she ever got her legs the wrong side of them)
I got a couple of people to pull at the traces when she was walking along to get her used to it
When she was ready I got a couple of helpers and one of use longreined her while the other two pulled the carriage for her (she was between the shafts but not attached - this was in a field)
when she was happy with this we put the shafts through the tug stops and let her take some of the weight
the next step was attaching her to the carriadge - I drove her and the passenger was in the carriadge with a lung line attached to her bit in case of emergencies
we then had a go on the lanes with a leader and me driving - she needed more help learning to push the carriadge over when cornering
finally the leader progressed to riding in the carriadge and we were away!

 

[Ferdinase514]

BSM?!

 

[serena2005]

i taught my cob to drive and i didnt know how. to be honest if the horse is quite chilled its pretty easy, the hardest thing is teaching them to turn properly.

i spent months long reining in harness 1st just because i didnt have a cart, then when i got it i spent months drive him out in the field on my own, teaching him to go and stop to my voice commands.

hes 100% bomb proof and was no different in harness.

but just make sure you get someone to check the harness is on correctly, espically if you get a heavy cart, i tried one out with out doing the breching (brakes) up properly and it pushed him down a hill!

need any more advice? just ask

 

[pocket]

Hi, I wanted to break my pony to drive and did not have the first clue as to what to do, so I got in touch with my local driving club in Kent and was given the numbers for professional instructors.

I would not attempt to try and do this on my own as I have seen it end in disaster and the loss of confidence of both horse and driver. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to sell my baby and did not get to fulfill my ambition of driving. But please do seek experienced instructors to assist you with this

 

[Prudence]

[ QUOTE ]
BSM?!

[/ QUOTE ]

RAOFLMFAO!!!!!

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
I would not attempt to try and do this on my own as I have seen it end in disaster and the loss of confidence of both horse and driver.

[/ QUOTE ] Echo Pocket. Whilst you can do a lot of the preparatory work yourself, like long-reining, it would be best to have someone knowledgeable to help you when the horse is put to the carriage for the first few times. Driving can be very dangerous when things go wrong - I've witnessed it

.

 

[jacks_mum]

WE Bought a little cart and a harness, put Pepper in the harness a couple of times so she knew what it was with the cart stood in the school and then attached her to the cart. She just kind of said OK and off she went good as gold!! we haven't taken her on the road yet just round the farm but she's taken to it like a duck to water.

 

[eohippus]

I am in the process of breaking mine and have foiund it really rewarding. We have spent a while getting him used to the harness and the long reining, up and down the roads and round the feild, trotting and walking and halting to establish good manners and obedience before he goes in a cart, we have practised asking him to stand verry still for periods of time and whilst getting him harnessed up ect. This is very important I feel and should be the first priority before introducing anything to pull. We are now using a pallet board rigged up for him to pull, we have used it on the field but also on the gravel track to get him used to the sound and feeling, we have now introduced a bale of hay to this for extra pull.
We are in the process of introducing him to the cart so will keep you posted.
Mainly we have took our time, been consistent with the voice aids and acclimatized him to everything.
Wish us luck for the next stage.
There are instructors who will come and give you a lesson.
best of luck
regards
Dawn

 

[jemstone]

Thanks for all the help. Will get long reining!!

 

[muffinino]

Whereabouts in the country are you? I might know someone who can help. I worked for a scurry driver who has broken scurries and his own carriage horses (mostly Gelderlanders) and we broke lots of ponies, as single and pairs. Get in touch with your local driving club, through the BDS. As others have said start long reining, then drag something along the ground behind the horse to get him used to the noise and lean on the traces to get him used to the weight. We had lightweight frames that weere easy to lift if the horse spooked, then moved on to a heavier, wheeled frame. This attached to a vehicle so that when the horse was comfy with the frame we could attach the vehicle without taking the horse out. Whenever we introduced a new element we would have at least one person driving the horse and one leading in front, to guide and help stop running away. The leader would have one pony on a long rope attached in the same way as if lunging ie throught the bit&over the head. Gradually the leader would drop back to the side of the horse, talking and patting it to get it used to walking on its own and noises by its side. Eventually they would get on the vehicle with the rope still attached.

 

[MillionDollar]

I started driving 18 months ago and have just broken my 3rd pony to drive.

1st- long rein horse in riding tack
2nd- introduce harness to horse- not the bridle- and long rein in this
3rd- introduce bridle, then long rein again in full harness. Long rein past scary objects such as cones and then along the road.
4th- when horse is happy and relaxed long reining in full harness and going along road past scary things introduce the cart.
Do NOT have him pulling tyres or logs around this just scares them and is just a waste of time, don't do it.

This may take around 6 weeks or a lot shorter. My 2nd pony took 3 days, yes 3 days from long reining in harness to driving a long the road and off we went. 3rd pony took 4 weeks as hes a youngster.

I got a brand new harness off ebay for £54 which is perfect for your first harness. I then got an exercise cart which cost £180. I of course then went and brought a 4 wheeler which i love as it seats 4 people and more and more harness, lol. But all you need is a 2 wheeler and cheap harness to start with.

If you'd like anymore advice PM me, and good luck, its soooo much fun, i love it!!!

 

[Vey]

I am not usually one to say: 'Do this the traditional way!' but honestly, Milliondollar, I do think it is taking a VERY big risk to put a horse or pony into a vehicle without its pulling something smaller and lighter first. I have not found them scared by pulling a non wheeled vehicle and it has this huge advantage. You have somebody else controling the link to the tyre or whatever, and if the horse gets scared, the link can be dropped at once, and the pony walked on to calm down, before it is done again. If the horse is trapped in a vehicle the most horrible accident could happen if they really freaked, and you would not have the tiem, even with quick release traces, to do anything. Yes, they can still get upset even if they have pulled something, but they are not nearly so likely to. I have used a slightly simplified version of Muffinino's method - not the frame, but mock shafts instead.

 

[MillionDollar]

Well if you break a horse into harness that way then thats fine, but i have broken 3 ponies, all completely different, including a youngster and have had no problems at all. The youngster never even battered an eyelid and i can tell you he normally does, lol. Also I was taught how to drive and break ponies into harness by a neighbour of ours who has been breaking and driving horses for nearly 50 years and he never ever gets the horse to pull a tyre or anything. He breaks at least 10 horses in a year and never has problems.
If you think about it what really does it teach the horse??
It is also dangerous as the horse an get caught up in the traces, etc.
I teach my horse the sound of the cart by making noises myself, such as shuffling along and making noises.
But this is how i do it, and always will.

 

[eohippus]

I suppose people do it different ways to get the final result, I find pulling something less invasive than shafts first allows the horse to acclimatise to the new way of using himeself, without the added danger of panic of restriction. Others however think that by just getting on with what is expected in the long run is also acceptable.
I suppose at the end of the day it depends on the horse and knowledge of the trainer. I have taken the pallet board way because it is my first time in this discipline and I have gained a great amount of satisfaction out of doing it virtually on my own. However, that is not saying that further trainings will be more relaxed and experienced and I might take another route, who is to say. Personally I wanted to take my time and enjoy the experience. not saying that you did not.
I would advise to get someone knowledgable and ask as many questions as possible, If in doubt ask, do not take chances.
best of luck with your driving
regards
Dawn