37.5" horse, can I use my "A" cart

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I have been admiring a 37.5" AMHR/ASPC( I don't have ANY this size at all, never thought I would, but this gelding is something else! Could he possibly fit into a 48" shaft easy entry cart? He is refined.

Thanks!

Robin

 

[Minimor]

Hard to say for sure without knowing the horse. Some people do drive their taller B's in the 48" shafts. Personally I do not--it doesn't have anything to do with refinement of the horse, though that could be an issue sometimes--a very big built 37-38" horse or one that is very overweight probably won't fit too well in the 48" shafts because they won't be wide enough.

What concerns me mostly is the length of the shafts--and I know that I don't want to be driving my 37" horses, even my 36" horses, in the 48" shafts. They are just too short for big moving horses--if my B's were to hit a full road trot they are almost certainly going to hit their heels on the basket of the cart. I don't want to have to be thinking of that & watching our speed (all right, I admit that having grown up riding and driving Morgans, I love a great big trot & Mom & I enjoy our trotting races--used to have a lot of under saddle trotting races when we'd ride the Morgans, and now it is trotting races in harness with the Minis!!) and so we got 54" shafts for our EE cart.

 

[End Level Farms]

I have two A sized mares (granted they are 33.50 and 33.75") And they are huge moving mares and hook their hocks on a 48" Shafted cart.

It really depends on the movement ect of the horse.

 

[Keri]

You can sit the cart back slightly to help with movement room. A lot of people use to do it back before 54" shafts were common. As far as roadster, sure! No basket for them to worry about kicking. And yes, it depends totally on the stride of the horse. I helped my friend drive her 37.5" ASPC/AMHR horse in a 48" cart. But we never extended the trot as he was just too big to get any good leg movement in that cart. Width wise it was just fine for him. You might want to look into shaft extensions too. As others said....it totally depends on the horse and their stride.

 

[susanne]

There is no way I could drive Mingus (38 inches) in 48 inch shafts, but don't let that keep you from getting a big B rocket ship! [star Trek theme swells in background]

Is your EE a Frontier or CTM (or similar)? CTM sells 61" shafts. (I imagine Frontier does, too,.they just don't list parts on their site.) You can always ask for pertinent measurements to be certain they would fit your cart. We take the shafts off for transport, so you could switch between the two...a bit of a pain, but worth the effort.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Thanks all!

Robin

 

[Margo_C-T]

Frontier does sell longer shafts...54", which I found to be perfect for my full 38" R mare-just email them. I personally think that 61" would be too long for a 37-38" mini; wouldn't go with that much additional length(over the standard 48" for minis, I mean.)

Margo

 

[susanne]

Oops...you're correct, Margo -- I have the CTM 54 inch shafts, not the 61.

My fault for not going outside and double-checking...I glanced at their website and was too quick to type in that number.