ADS vehicles

[Kawgirl]

I've noticed that equines larger than VSE are driven in four wheel vehicles in the marathon phase at ADS events. Are they not allowed to be driven in two wheel carts in the phase?

 

[Jetiki]

With the larger horses, you have to have a navigator. You can go faster and have better turns etc in a 4 wheel. You need that 2nd person to really help balance a 4 wheel vehicle. You can use a 2 wheeler, but its really not very practical above training level. Its all about balance and weight and speed.

Karen

 

[RhineStone]

You can drive a two-wheeler at Combined Driving Events (CDEs), but as Karen said, they are not that practical. Once you get above training level, you have more than likely made the committment to the sport to have the equipment that is most appropriate. (That is one reason I am not a big fan of drivers getting cheap equipment "for now", because eventually "for now" equipment won't work for what they want to do.)

Two-wheeled vehicles for a big horse are much "longer" than a four-wheeled marathon vehicle, because there is no break in the middle. Yes, the shafts are still the same length, but because of how they are attached to the cart, it makes the whole turnout harder to get through the turns. It is wild to have your horse's nose at your hip facing the other way with nothing but the ground in front of you! You can spin a marathon vehicle in places that a two-wheeler has to stop and back up to get out of. Once you have driven a four-wheeler, you don't want to go back to a cart. My husband HATES carts, and only tolerates them for certain applications (like he has to use one on our Welsh at the show coming up because we haven't built a four-wheeler for her yet. That is this winter's project!

). He hardly ever drives a single mini anymore because he can put the mini pair to the marathon vehicle, which is generally too heavy for all but the biggest single minis.

Myrna

 

[Kawgirl]

I thought that was the reason for using the four wheel vehicles. Do any of you that compete with single minis have any trouble making the turns in your carts?

 

[RhineStone]

No, because the hazards (pc - "obstacles") are generally made for bigger horses. There are a few places around the country that have VSE-sized obstacles, but they still aren't truly VSE-sized compared to the clearances of big horse hazards. When I went to WEG and Iron Horse CDE and watched those Four-in-Hands of 17 hand Warmbloods squeeze through some of those spaces, whew, I couldn't believe they could get all that turnout through there!

At that level (and even lower levels), you have to teach your horse to trust you enough that you can practically put their nose on the post or rail of some fence before turning....at full speed....and not second guess you.

Shortening the length of the vehicle also helps, like the Hyperbike. That is probably the version of a marathon vehicle for single minis. If you want to go fast and keep your turning radius short, you get a Hyperbike.

Myrna (who doesn't have a Hyperbike because we are having too much fun with the VSE pair and the Welsh mare put to our marathon vehicle!)

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I thought that was the reason for using the four wheel vehicles. Do any of you that compete with single minis have any trouble making the turns in your carts?

No, for the reason Myrna mentioned. Smaller horses are generally more nimble than their larger counterparts anyway so even when the obstacles are completely scaled down the minis still thread their way through like greased pigs.

The longer and narrower the shafts are however, the harder it is on your horse. Kody HATES straight wooden shafts and won't turn into them- it's a mental thing with him. He likes a shaft that narrows at the tugs but has lots of room behind that for him to move his hip over and bend correctly and also one that has the shaft tips turned down and away from his shoulders. I think he'd be happiest in marathon shafts which stop at the saddle! That's the compromise many of the VSE competitors make- since we're stuck with two-wheel vehicles for our A-sized minis, we get marathon shafts so the rig is "shorter" in turns and the horses are better able to spin them without getting a shaft tip hung up on a fence or something.

Shortening the length of the vehicle also helps, like the Hyperbike. That is probably the version of a marathon vehicle for single minis. If you want to go fast and keep your turning radius short, you get a Hyperbike.
Myrna (who doesn't have a Hyperbike because we are having too much fun with the VSE pair and the Welsh mare put to our marathon vehicle!)

:BigGrin

You should get one- you'd discover you can have almost as much fun with a single VSE as with a four-wheeler! I LOVE my Hyperbike for marathon. Having one means I can tackle slopes other rigs don't dare go across sideways for fear of overturning, make a hair-pin turn at the bottom at full speed and then bolt back up the hill without losing any momentum. Kody loves his! The harder you push a Hyperbike, the better it performs. They turn so easily and so tightly you don't need marathon shafts- Kody says so!

Leia

 

[LazyRanch]

I also drive a HyperBike. I have two horses, two different types of harness:

1) leather, saddle with no tree but very stiff and well padded (and will be replaced next year with a treed saddle) that belongs to a former Pleasure horse, currently converting to an obstacles and combined driving horse

2) betathane marathon harness with quick release tugs, backstrap and holdback straps, belonging to my "never did anything before, generally back of the barn" horse

Horse #1 is a full speed ahead, get out of my face, dang the torpedos and let her rip kinda guy

Horse #2 is green, more needing to be pushed but never refuses, or spooks and is completely unafraid to try anything

Both horses will put a wheel on a spot and spin. Now, both know you never touch a cone, so either will get to within an inch of the cone base and draw a square around it - same with pieces of obstacles. Horse #1 has learned to do a demi-pirouette at the canter, #2 at the trot (still green, yet). We can come into any obstacle, get the wheels just past the line of entry, 180 on the spot and freight out - without ever changing gait. Or we can bend around a pole, barrel, gate, wall or anything else.

Last month we went to a Darby. The woman who owns the place walked with me. She has a big ol' galoot of a horse, and just shakes her head when I tell her where we are going - she's driven for at least 40 years, so has opinions. I take them seriously, really, I do. Then I take my own lines. She tells me all the time: "button hooks, and hairpins take time, go around the box." etc. Horse #1 had fastest time of the day - by 11 SECONDS. Horse #2 won his division (trotting only, his first Darby). Last year's Darby, horse #1 trotted only and was second fastest time of the day, fastest time horse was galloping! Only 7 seconds between them. This year, HER horse had second fastest time of the day.

The point is that there is no problem turning with a HyperBike. Drive one! Then learn, teach your horse to take total advantage of it!

I thought that was the reason for using the four wheel vehicles. Do any of you that compete with single minis have any trouble making the turns in your carts?