how do you know ur horse is a driver?

[MindyLee]

OK this is my 1st time on this part of the fourm and have a question that Im sure some of you can help me with.

I know nothing about driving so please bear with me and my ?s

How do you know your horse is a driving horse? I mean good enough to show and possibly win?

I have a 31.75" 10yr old stallion who I show in halter classes with beautiful confirmation and wow movment. I have been approched several times by several people at a number of shows that informs me that I really should consider training him to drive. I say its not for me and dont know anything about driving minis and really cant afford a show cart and harness.

I do how ever have a easy entry cart and cheap leather harness that I play with, with my fat little stallion in the back yard. I know that Im not correctly harnessing him up to the cart BUT it dose work.

What do you guys think?

What type of different driving classes are there and whats the differences between them?

Also what catagory would he fall best under?

THANKS!

also I have a couple of photos of my boy while moving if someone can help me post them. That way you guys can help with if he's worth doing anything with.

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[disneyhorse]

Well, you never really do know until you try. I had a mare once that I thought would be a great driving horse, but she ended up not really having the brain for it, but I didn't know until I started her and gave her a chance.

Trainers who have driven a lot of horses in the ring may be better able to evaluate a potential driving horse, but one that is truly competitive in the ring needs a lot of components (conformational soundness, temperament/mind, athletic ability) on top of good training to make sure they are solid and then polished.

Without video it would be hard to say what category he'd fall in, as a lot of horses don't move the same way under harness as they do at liberty.

Andrea

 

[targetsmom]

You might want to hang out on this driving forum for awhile and see how often questions like this come up! Especially popular is "which class should I show him/her in?". Here is a recent thread on that topic, where I posted some pics of my driving mare at liberty and driving so you can see how complicated it can be!

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=122274

We started our first mini ground driving and we never got him hooked as he is A) way too spooky for my comfort level and B) claustrophobic so he had a hard time dealing with the shafts against his side.

Now the other thing is that there are so many different styles and types of driving - just like there are for riding. And we drivers are all different too. You might want to send your mini to a driving trainer, but I chose to do all my training at home, with help from a "big horse" carriage driving trainer. I did not want to send any of ours off and have them come back trained, but me afraid to drive them. Also, I come from a dressage background, so I am very interested in American Driving Society events/carriage driving, which is about as different from show ring driving Saddle Seat is from western (OK, maybe not quite that different, but you get the idea).

Keep asking questions and good luck with whatever you decide. But I think YOU should get personally involved in the driving and get hooked like most of us are!

 

[RhineStone]

What has been said is true. You won't know if a horse will drive until you put the time in. We decided to work with an Egyptian Arabian (which might as well be a separate registry from some of the other Arabs, like Reining QHs are so different from WP ones....

) to teach him to drive. He was already broke under saddle. He line drove great, but when the time came to put him to, we figured out really quick that he wasn't going to tolerate it. There are a lot of horses in the whole driving world (not just minis) that are like that. You can get them to line drive, but can't get them between the shafts without a blow up.

I do how ever have a easy entry cart and cheap leather harness that I play with, with my fat little stallion in the back yard. I know that Im not correctly harnessing him up to the cart BUT it dose work.

This statement concerns me some. Below is a good reason why.....(I copied this from another recent thread) http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=122519

I said, "Actually, I had a student whose mother did put the pony to using the trace holders, so I thought that is what you might be doing, too. It isn't as uncommon a mistake as you might think."

Sue C. said, "I know of someone who did that as well...it was a hard lesson, as the horse bolted when the traces broke away from the whipple tree, and she was pulled right out over it, and onto the ground...still holding the reins. She broke BOTH wrists.

:shocked "

You REALLY need to get some educated driving help. Virtually every part of the harness has a specific purpose that is far more than decorative. Putting the horse to the cart incorrectly can be disastrous, as was illustrated with the above situation. Any kind of driving is not something you play with, even with a mini. Those here that know me know that I can't emphasize that enough. I have known really good drivers who have been put in the hospital with major life-threatening injuries from driving accidents, even with minis.

This forum is a good place to start for driving help, but it can't really replace someone helping you in person. Joining a local driving club can help you make connections with someone in your area that can help you.

And keep asking more questions, here!

"When you know better, you do better!"

Myrna