Using horse to level school with a pallet

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Curries

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Can anyone advise what is the minimum equipment I need to use my horse to pull a pallet around my arena to level it? She is broken to drive but I don't have the equipment and was hoping not to have to buy too much. Thank you
 
I've always done it with a collar and traces, then hooked the pallet or whatever else I want pulled to the traces (we pull a lot of weird things!). You could probably make something similar out of a breastplate and rope for traces, but test it first and be sure you can remove the pallet in a hurry if anything goes wrong.
 
Talism4n said:
I've always done it with a collar and traces, then hooked the pallet or whatever else I want pulled to the traces (we pull a lot of weird things!). You could probably make something similar out of a breastplate and rope for traces, but test it first and be sure you can remove the pallet in a hurry if anything goes wrong.
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Thanks, Do you mean a specific driving breast plate? I've seen pictures of racing horses with the gig attached directly to the roller,is that a no no?
 
I'd happily do stuff like this with mine, but I would do it in full harness with a fake swingle tree on. Full collars are very expensive and even harder to fit properly, so thats not a good idea. Theres nothing stopping you using a driving breast collar and traces with a swingle tree attached, but you must do that or you will make the pony sore in the shoulders.

Have you driven the pony before? Theres a world of difference between broken to drive and drives well and will pull a pallet!
 
Curries said:
Thanks, Do you mean a specific driving breast plate? I've seen pictures of racing horses with the gig attached directly to the roller,is that a no no?
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The shafts hook onto the "roller" but the traces attach to the collar/breast plate and thats how the horses pull the carriage
 
I do it in breastcollar and pad (saddle) with my big lad, but he drives much more than rides and is bombproof, and doesn’t bother if something goes wrong, just waits to be sorted out, however when I use the younger ones to do it (which I do as part of breaking in), it’s in full harness with quick release clips onto baling twine just in case, and in full harness with trace carriers to ensure they don’t put a leg over the trace.
 
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katastrophykat said:
I do it in breastcollar and pad (saddle) with my big lad, but he drives much more than rides and is bombproof, and doesn’t bother if something goes wrong, just waits to be sorted out, however when I use the younger ones to do it (which I do as part of breaking in), it’s in full harness with quick release clips onto baling twine just in case, and in full harness with trace carriers to ensure they don’t put a leg over the trace.
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I’m pretty sure she will behave but just don’t want to do it wrong, I think I will try and get some professional help as I don’t understand all the equipment enough!
 
Curries said:
Thanks, Do you mean a specific driving breast plate? I've seen pictures of racing horses with the gig attached directly to the roller,is that a no no?
Click to expand...

Attaching directly to the roller makes it very difficult for them to pull and quite unstable, if I'm picturing this correctly. With a trap, the saddle (roller) balances the shafts and the traces connect to take the bulk of the weight so they're pulling from the chest with their full weight leaning into the collar/breastcollar. You may be able to make a suitable replacement for the breast collar out of things you already have, depending on how heavy your pallet is and how good you are at DIY-ing these sorts of things. Personally, I wouldn't though, as I'd rather not take the risk on a homemade job when picking up a basic nylon breast collar alone isn't that expensive, but I use my driving pony for chores like this as routine and hoard tack like there's no tomorrow.
 
Talism4n said:
Attaching directly to the roller makes it very difficult for them to pull and quite unstable, if I'm picturing this correctly. With a trap, the saddle (roller) balances the shafts and the traces connect to take the bulk of the weight so they're pulling from the chest with their full weight leaning into the collar/breastcollar. You may be able to make a suitable replacement for the breast collar out of things you already have, depending on how heavy your pallet is and how good you are at DIY-ing these sorts of things. Personally, I wouldn't though, as I'd rather not take the risk on a homemade job when picking up a basic nylon breast collar alone isn't that expensive, but I use my driving pony for chores like this as routine and hoard tack like there's no tomorrow.
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Thank you, I will try and pick up a breast collar, sounds like a plan.
 
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