teaching old boy to drive

[karminski]

i rescued a cob tpye pony when he was just coming up to 6 months old but he had already gone though hell now hes around 12 and is truly wonderfull and has a temperment to die for anyway i brought him on from the hell he went though and although my confidence was rocked badly i finally got to back him a few years ago all on my own a very long wait but although he walks slower then a slug and doesnt do fast beleive me it was worth the wait , but now i am in the process of breaking him to drive he long reins to perfection always has done schools lovely and listens to the voice really well and even took to the harness and blinkers within minutes but we have one big prob he doesnt like to stand at all while in the harness hes always so eager to just keep going and this worries me as i know he needs to stand to command etc when out on the road nothing scares him though he the kinda horse that just looks and seems to say 'oh thats it then ' attitude . today we tired him pulling the tyre again and this was his second time and he was brill yet again so a friend whos helping suggested we tie on a pallet and see if he pulls that but when we did that things went wrong badly he turned twisted the whole nine yards as the saying goes i got caught up as i got the wrong side of him but i was more concerned to grab his reins and stop him bolting thankfully we got though it and re long reined him to settle him down and to also know things dont ever finsih on a bad note , thing is hes the sort of horse that once you knock his trust then you can forget everything ;i know this as years ago when he was about 4 i wanted to break him for western riding so with the help of an instructor he was tacked up but as i was doing the girth up he freaked went up bolt upright and then flew around the field 5 times with the saddle underneath him safe to say it took me about 4 yrs to get a saddle near him even just getting it out the car was enough to give him heartattack but finally years on hes excepted it and hasnt looked back .
i know i should not let todays episode bother me and work though it but i am scared stiff that if hes bolts with the harness on or with something tied to the back of him { and i dont mean the cart } then thats his life over with he wont cope with anything i know that sounds silly but he really is an animal that lives on pure trust but he really does live to please and do his best and give everthing hes got part of me doesnt want to carry on and just go back to simple little pleasure rides butthe other part of me says no work though it and carry on ,
what would you guys say or suggest ?

 

[AengusOg]

There is a great deal of progressive training required in the making of a driving horse. During that process the horse is properly and systematically prepared for the job ahead, and the trainer is able to constantly assess the horse's suitability to be driven.

Get yourself a sound education in training a horse for driving.

 

[Goldenstar]

Driving horses must stand mine will stand on the yard tacked up for prolonged periods untied every time they move we move them back to spot they started on, standing can not be negotiated it a must have basic.
We spend a great deal of time reinforcing this command my present horse is thirteen sensible and experianced but we work on this all the time.
Driving does not suit all horses and I agree with the previous poster you need to get very experianced help on the ground.
When it went wrong because you don't have the stand command in place you could not save the situation you must go back and fix this before progressing.

 

[karminski]

when we do just normal schooling and i ask him to stand hes brill but when it comes to working him in full harness its as if he seems to think he just needs to keep on and just go an go , this afternoon i'm going to re work though what went wrong yesterday minus him attached to the tyre etc with plenty of standing work an see what hes like .
the guy whos helping me is a traveller but one of the good ones he doesnt want to push my horse or freak him out and keeps saying so what if it takes 6 months it will be worth it in the end ,i'm going to look for someone during the week or is fully qualified and get them to come out an help .i wont be missing out on driving as i took on a standardbred trotter who was dumped at our yard and the young guy who was looking after him didnt look after him properly or feed him from one month to the next so he got booted of and the horse was dumped out in the field i decided to have him either that or i watch him slowly starve hes a good well trianed horse as i have seen him drive etc .

 

[Gloi]

You need to put the time in teaching him to stand and that if things go wrong he needs to stand still until you sort him out.
We used to long rein our ponies with heavy chains on the traces to drag along first before fastening them to anything. This meant if something upset the horse it could easily be corrected without getting in a tangle.

 

[karminski]

i schooled with his normal bridle on today but had the harness on as well and each time i asked him to stand he was pretty much perfect so could it be the driving bridle and blinkers that are worrying him ??

 

[Gloi]

It could well be. Have patience and take your time getting him used to it. If he's quiet you could ride in the blinkers as well to help him get used to them. Don't be in a hurry to move on until you are 100% sure he has learnt the previous lesson.