Modifying/ figuring out how my harness works

[thathorsecrazychick]

Ok so my harness I notice is going to hold the cart to low and I still need to figure how I’m going attach the traces and I would love any advice/ how to modify or figure it out.

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

And no I’m not actually hooking her up. She is completely chill with being behind her

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

Do you guys think a double ended snap would work to attach the traces? If I maybe modified or if it just attach to the trace holes/ gaps

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Maybe i am not understanding exactly but it looks like you need to buy a girth with wrap straps.

 

[LostandFound]

I'm not sure what the issue is with attaching the traces. And I'm not very knowledgeable about driving in general. But from the picture it looks like your shafts are too short for your mini. When you move them further towards her chest they are going to rise a little bit, but it doesn't look like they are long enough to go where they need to without hitting her in the butt. Maybe it's just the picture.

 

[Dragon Hill]

Ok, well, that isn't going to work in it's present form. The shafts can't be that low or that far back. It looks like it would hit her elbow with every step. From what I've been told, the shaft loop should hang straight down, and the shaft tips should be past the saddle/girth but not past the point of shoulder. From the picture, your saddle/girth looks too big for Rosie, and the cart too small/shafts too short. You will have to judge for yourself on the cart. If the tips of the shafts are between her elbow and tip of shoulder, will she have enough room to fully extend hers legs while moving without hitting the cart? Also important is width, will she have enough room to swing her rump while turning?

 

[Edelweiss]

I agree with @Dragon Hill. The cart is just too small. Shafts of that type should reach her shoulder and still have sufficient spacing between her hip and the cart. The shafts are level on a properly fitting and balanced cart.
On your girth, you are missing the overgirth/wrap straps. It would be dangerous to drive without them as they prevent the cart from flipping up. Or you could swap out your current tugs for French tugs.
Also, it's hard to tell with all the fluff, but the breeching should never be tight unless it is engaged, i.e. when the horse is stopping the cart. You should be able to slip your hand underneath it when it is properly fitted.
Hope this helps!

 

[Standards Equine]

@thathorsecrazychick unfortunately neither your vehicle nor harness are going to safely work for your pony.
Getting into driving can be so frustrating, speaking from experience! Our rational thought is to get inexpensive equipment at the beginning for training and upgrade later. That's logical, but it's not practical or realistic. The majority of catalog-available harnesses in nylon or leather are not well made, flat out dangerous or terribly ill fitting. As you've found - yours is missing the overgirth and may not allow adjustments needed to fit your little well. The most practical advice is to purchase the best quality equipment you can afford right off the hop. For myself, I don't even bother anymore when I get a new pony - it's custom harness and custom-sized vehicle right away. In Canada, that's about $4000... It's possible to do it for half that, but then the quality and fit is questionable.
Your vehicle looks to be more of a dog or goat cart. You'd asked about attaching traces. Your traces are slotted so are better suited to a sabre-end or hook-style single tree. The type you have on your cart is designed for either roller bolts or, better yet, shackles. Shackles are not double-sided snaps. I would not use those, they are not safe. Quick-release shackles are what's safe and appropriate.

Fortunately there are wonderful resources available online. IVC Carriages has LOADS of articles written about fitting and driving: Learn about Horse Carriage Driving | IVC Carriage
And Chimicum tack has a blog that is especially geared towards experience with minis: Blog | Chimacum Tack

I'm not sure what area you're in, but joining a carriage driving organization was the best resource for myself for learning. Hopefully there's one that's fairly local to you.

Please don't be discouraged! You can still absolutely be long lining and even dragging a tire while you work on getting more suitable and safe equipment.

 

[Dragon Hill]

Those are great links, Standards Equine!

 

[1roadtoad]

@thathorsecrazychick unfortunately neither your vehicle nor harness are going to safely work for your pony.
Getting into driving can be so frustrating, speaking from experience! Our rational thought is to get inexpensive equipment at the beginning for training and upgrade later. That's logical, but it's not practical or realistic. The majority of catalog-available harnesses in nylon or leather are not well made, flat out dangerous or terribly ill fitting. As you've found - yours is missing the overgirth and may not allow adjustments needed to fit your little well. The most practical advice is to purchase the best quality equipment you can afford right off the hop. For myself, I don't even bother anymore when I get a new pony - it's custom harness and custom-sized vehicle right away. In Canada, that's about $4000... It's possible to do it for half that, but then the quality and fit is questionable.
Your vehicle looks to be more of a dog or goat cart. You'd asked about attaching traces. Your traces are slotted so are better suited to a sabre-end or hook-style single tree. The type you have on your cart is designed for either roller bolts or, better yet, shackles. Shackles are not double-sided snaps. I would not use those, they are not safe. Quick-release shackles are what's safe and appropriate.

Fortunately there are wonderful resources available online. IVC Carriages has LOADS of articles written about fitting and driving: Learn about Horse Carriage Driving | IVC Carriage
And Chimicum tack has a blog that is especially geared towards experience with minis: Blog | Chimacum Tack

I'm not sure what area you're in, but joining a carriage driving organization was the best resource for myself for learning. Hopefully there's one that's fairly local to you.

Please don't be discouraged! You can still absolutely be long lining and even dragging a tire while you work on getting more suitable and safe equipment.

View attachment 50987

I have been very interested in this conversation about Rosie and her learning to drive, as I too am learning to drive (along with one of my horses). I have gleaned a great deal of information from this thread and do appreciate the links that you have provided. They will be useful to me as well. What I am having trouble believing is that you have to spend $4000 on a harness! I did just purchased 2 leather harnesses on line for about $400 each. The leather looks good and strong, all the stitching looks great and the brass hardware looks sturdy as well. I purchased 1 harness first and when it arrived, I had my trainer look it over. She said it looked great, safe and had all the necessary parts. After hearing that, I ordered a 2nd one. I have used them several times ground driving, but now I'm a little nervous. Do you really have to purchase a harness for $4000 to get a safe harness?

 

[MaryFlora]

horsecrazychick, your little cutie looks very relaxed and willing to try whatever you ask of her, and that is huge!

One the big pluses of this forum is getting lots of information on almost any horse related issue. One the cons is, you guessed it, getting lots of information on horse issues.

When I began to drive, about 20 years ago (), we were able to learn from a professional show/driving facility in northern Iowa. They were wonderful and we all learned a lot. My harness at that time was a used one ($100) and the trainer found it sturdy, appropriate, and adjustable to the best size for my mare.

My cart was (and still is) an easy entry cart crafted in Minnesota. My experience with my cart has been very good but that may be in large part to how well it was made. (I sent you a pm).

Don’t get discouraged and keep asking questions! We all want to help you and your little buddy be safe and have fun!

 

[Dragon Hill]

1roadtoad, I believe it was $4000 for the cart and harness.

 

[LostandFound]

It's going to depend on what you are doing, as well as the size and shape of your mini. You can get very frustrated buying multiple cheap harnesses and finding out they don't fit right, or don't last. Or you can spend the money and get everything perfect the first time. Sometimes you get lucky the first time though, and if your harness is a good quality, approved by someone who knows what they are doing and fits well you should be fine.

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

horsecrazychick, your little cutie looks very relaxed and willing to try whatever you ask of her, and that is huge!

One the big pluses of this forum is getting lots of information on almost any horse related issue. One the cons is, you guessed it, getting lots of information on horse issues.

When I began to drive, about 20 years ago (), we were able to learn from a professional show/driving facility in northern Iowa. They were wonderful and we all learned a lot. My harness at that time was a used one ($100) and the trainer found it sturdy, appropriate, and adjustable to the best size for my mare.

My cart was (and still is) an easy entry cart crafted in Minnesota. My experience with my cart has been very good but that may be in large part to how well it was made. (I sent you a pm).

Don’t get discouraged and keep asking questions! We all want to help you and your little buddy be safe and have fun!

There is so much information that I have yet to learn and I’m definitely going to look into the links that have posted for sure. I kind of knew the cart was narrow because it kind of squeezed her sides and I wanted to see if that was a definite problem. It seems like I have so much to learn and I really appreciate everyone’s help.

 

[Becmar]

I work with Yonie's and have designed a nice all around harness. I have several people who do CDE driving. These are safe snd comfortable for the horse. They run between $950 to $1100 for minis depending on you size and needs. I love my harness.

 

[MaryFlora]

I can see why you love it! Your horse is lovely too!

 

[MaryFlora]

Have you ever considered sledding with Rosie? Chimicum Tack has a great article on their website titled, “Winter Fun, sledding safely”. I believe different members here have used sleds and even roller skates.

We had at one time a horse drawn flat bottom sled called a stone boat, that was used in the summer months to pull up wood for winter.

 

[thathorsecrazychick]

Have you ever considered sledding with Rosie? Chimicum Tack has a great article on their website titled, “Winter Fun, sledding safely”. I believe different members here have used sleds and even roller skates.

We had at one time a horse drawn flat bottom sled called a stone boat, that was used in the summer months to pull up wood for winter.

That sounds really fun… and know I never thought about it

 

[MaryFlora]

Hopefully one of the members who have used a sled more recently than I will add their experience.

There is an interesting youtube video: “Building a horse drawn work sled for your working donkey” by Donkey Listener. The sled is very similar to what we had for our horse. The donkey in the video is larger, I believe, than Rosie, so the sled is probably a bit larger than would be comfortable for Rosie. The sled, of course, could be made smaller.

If you have any draft horse people in your area they would be a rich resource and probably love to help out with info. In our area many draft horse owners also have smaller equines they enjoy so are very knowledgeable about weights etc.

 

[MaryFlora]

Kelly just posted a video of her sledding and a link for the sled. It is in the Wheee! Driving Hours 2023.