Billy update & the Hyperbike

[Kellie in OR]

Last weekend I had a (ground) driving lesson with a Connected Riding instructor (Diane Sept). I used my big horse since I had him there for the riding clinic, but I was able to take the information home and apply it with Billy. More outside rein and inside shoulder up....funny how riding and driving really are much the same and bad habits transfer. But things are slowly coming around. I am getting Billy to release over the topline little by little. He is getting stronger, and he is much quieter in the mouth.

I received my Hyperbike on Wednesday. I managed to get it put together fairly easy and have driven three times now. Right away I noticed how much easier Bill could walk out than with the EZ entry breaking cart. His little barrel is swinging and he striding under rather than bracing to pull. I am still making adjustments to get the foot pegs just right for me. But the initial feel is really good, just a little awkward getting in and out. Fun FUN!

Now if someone could tell me how/if there is "Quick & Easy" way to do britching/breeching. I seem to spend entirely too long doing then undoing and adjusting trying to get it just right. I know after a couple thousand times it will come to me quick. But until then it is getting darker earlier and the time change is just around the corner. Soon I will be on very limited daylight minutes after work and would rather spend them driving than fiddling with the harness. Thanks for any ideas... links and/or pictures would be great!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

What are you finding hard???

 

[streaker]

Last weekend I had a (ground) driving lesson with a Connected Riding instructor (Diane Sept). I used my big horse since I had him there for the riding clinic, but I was able to take the information home and apply it with Billy. More outside rein and inside shoulder up....funny how riding and driving really are much the same and bad habits transfer. But things are slowly coming around. I am getting Billy to release over the topline little by little. He is getting stronger, and he is much quieter in the mouth.
I received my Hyperbike on Wednesday. I managed to get it put together fairly easy and have driven three times now. Right away I noticed how much easier Bill could walk out than with the EZ entry breaking cart. His little barrel is swinging and he striding under rather than bracing to pull. I am still making adjustments to get the foot pegs just right for me. But the initial feel is really good, just a little awkward getting in and out. Fun FUN!

Now if someone could tell me how/if there is "Quick & Easy" way to do britching/breeching. I seem to spend entirely too long doing then undoing and adjusting trying to get it just right. I know after a couple thousand times it will come to me quick. But until then it is getting darker earlier and the time change is just around the corner. Soon I will be on very limited daylight minutes after work and would rather spend them driving than fiddling with the harness. Thanks for any ideas... links and/or pictures would be great!

Do you have anymore pictures of the hyperbike... it looks awesome!!!

 

[Kellie in OR]

What are you finding hard???

figuring out how to do it so the tug is secure, but not pinned down by the loops. Rembering if I go over from the inside, or under, and how to run it through and getting the amount of loops correct, and then how ro run the ends back under the loops. And then when I do get it figured out it is too tight and I have to loosen it to back it all up. I'm sure it is not THIS complicated, but it seems like it. It would be easier for me to put on a full double rig pack saddle! It's all about what you know and are used to.

So I am thinking I could take the breeching wrap off the harness ring, put a snap on that end, then wrap it unto the cart. Then I could leave it on the cart and just snap it onto the harness ring when needed. So I am off to the leather shop after work to get a couple snaps. Then it will be experimenting time.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Hi Kellie! Thanks for the picture, it really helps. For one thing if you've got the 'Bike sitting up that high it's no wonder you're having trouble getting your breeching on. I would too!

There should (from the look of things) be another wheel callout above the one you're on, is that right? If so, put the wheels on that highest callout to lower the seat and shafts. If it can't go any lower, talk to Bob. You apparently have the new shaft assembly and I'm sure there's something he could do about it so it would fit Billy better. It'll probably be perfect on Hondo the way it is now.

Don't lose hope- it's not only experience that will speed up your hitching. The first time you put your horse to a new cart it always seems to take forever to get it right. After you work out the bugs hitching will become much faster.

Fitting guidelines:

1) When the horse is in draught (the traces tight) you should be able to get about three stacked fingers between the breeching and his rump. The response time on the Hyperbike is so fast that Bob recommends there be a little less play between the breeching and breastcollar than usual and I've found he's right, so maybe two fingers.

2) Do not tighten the breeching so much that it restricts hind leg extension. With the 'Bike the hind leg will usually fill up the slack in the breeching as it extends backwards, but it should not be restricted by it.

3) Ground-drive the horse in the cart to see what it's doing. The shafts should not swing forward or back if it is correctly harnessed but again, don't strap the horse in so tight he can't move. Juuuuust shy of that is right.

4) When first trying to get the harness fitted, put the horse on an uphill slope so the traces are tight and buckle in one side so the breeching is lying in it's natural position on the rump and the holdback strap is not drooping. Go around to the other side and buckle it into the same hole. Now test the breeching. Can you get at least two fingers in there? If it's too tight, loosen each side one hole and test again. If it's way loose, obviously you should tighten each side a notch. Walk the horse around and observe the shafts. Keep in mind rules 1 and 3 above.

5) Have someone take pictures of you in the cart starting forward from a halt, trotting out, turning and stopping. Observe where the shaft tips are and better yet, post them here for us to check out!

Make adjustments as necessary.

6) MEMORIZE the settings that finally work. For Kody's Bellcrown it's three wraps and then the second loosest hole, for the Hyperbike it's two wraps and the second tightest hole on one side, the third tightest on the other. I alternate which side is which since no matter what the second hole on both is always too tight and the third too loose.

Go figure.

Hope that helps!

Leia

 

[hobbyhorse23]

What are you finding hard???

figuring out how to do it so the tug is secure, but not pinned down by the loops. Rembering if I go over from the inside, or under, and how to run it through and getting the amount of loops correct, and then how ro run the ends back under the loops. And then when I do get it figured out it is too tight and I have to loosen it to back it all up. I'm sure it is not THIS complicated, but it seems like it. It would be easier for me to put on a full double rig pack saddle! It's all about what you know and are used to.

So I am thinking I could take the breeching wrap off the harness ring, put a snap on that end, then wrap it unto the cart. Then I could leave it on the cart and just snap it onto the harness ring when needed. So I am off to the leather shop after work to get a couple snaps. Then it will be experimenting time.

Okay, I wrote my first reply last night and forgot to hit send before falling asleep. Now I see your real questions so here I go again.

By the way, you can use a snap and some people do but make sure you use a heavy duty snap rated for that sort of weight load. If the metal holding your breeching together fatigues and breaks at the wrong moment...

You really aren't going to be able to run your traces through your holdbacks in a lowered draft setup like this without breaking the line of draft. The solution is easy- buy or have made a set of trace holders. They are a piece of leather that buckles onto the breeching ring and hangs down with a slot you run the traces through. They work great and look quite tidy! I've got ones for Kody, they're five inches long from ring to bottom. You can see them in these photos:

Then the only thing you have to worry about is wrapping the holdbacks themselves and that's not so bad. You start by having the holdback on the inside of the shaft and running it outward through the metal footman's loop. Take that wrap and bring it UP and IN, wrapping forwards along the shaft. Two wraps is the norm, one is okay if necessary and three is fine if you need to take up slack. When you've got your wraps, you'll take the end of the strap up under the shaft (coming out of the last wrap, towards the outside) and back towards the buckle and the footman's loop. Tuck it under only the first wrap, the one closest to the footman's loop, then up over the outside of the shaft and to the buckle. Voila! If your draft line was horizontal the trace would be running through the open space the shaft creates between where the holdback strap starts out and where it buckles in but you won't be able to do that here. Just start with two wraps and see how that fits, following my previous suggestions in the first reply. It does take awhile to play with wraps and holes but you'll get it! And it will get faster with each new cart you adjust. I promise! I was slower than molasses for the first two years, now I can hitch as fast as anyone and have it right without much fuss.

Leia

 

[shorthorsemom]

Wow too cute, love the photos, thanks for sharing. I can hardly wait to get my guys driving. We are ground driving now. I love the look of those hyperbikes, look like fun.

 

[Kellie in OR]

Yes Leia, I have the cart in the middle adjustmend and am going from there. I'm headed out to move it up to lower it now. Your time, descriptions and photo's are most helpful. THANK YOU!!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

You're welcome...now if only they help! *LOL* You can rig temporary trace holders with baling twine loops real easy, you might try that for now. I used my kicking strap (also seen in the pictures I posted) before I got the trace holders made but the one time I drove without anything supporting the traces Kody happened to buck and got a leg over one.

Lord that was scary- thank God he was sensible and cantered to an immediate halt on three legs then let me get him loose. Have I mentioned the importance of desensitization training and Whoa??

Keep us updated!

Leia

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I LOVE the fitting of that colllar...it is brilliant!!!!

 

[Kellie in OR]

I got a little drive in tonight. Here are pictures for thought and idea's.

I have lowered the Hyperbike as low as it will go. I could raise the shaft with the tugs if needed, I have one hole up. The breeching looks tight in this picture, but I can get my hand under it, I think his hair getting squished is deceiving. I did take it down to one wrap, but more holes. This left us with a feeling of "slop" when we came to a quick halt. I will have to take Leia's suggestion and go up to the hill to experiment...ran out of time and daylight tonight. I don't like how the saddle and breast collar overlap, or how close the saddle is to his elbow. But until he looses his belly this is where it sits even with the girth loose and the crupper snug.

What could I adjust for everything/anything to work better? Thanks!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

He looks so much happier driving now!!

:love All the work you've been doing on his back, his mouth, the harness, etc. is obviously paying off.

I agree that we need to get that saddle back but understand why you can't for now. Have you experimented with tightening the backstrap another hole? It looks like it might have some slack we could take up and that would at least discourage the saddle from pressing forward into the withers even if it can't actually hold the saddle back.

I would not raise the shafts at all, they're fine where they are and if anything might be a little too high although they look good in the driving photos. Let out his traces one hole in the front to put the shaft tips back a little; I think you'll find that makes turning more comfortable for him and will take out that tiny bit of tension from the tug stop being slightly too far forward.

Let's continue to play with the breeching a little bit. The way it is shown in the photo has two wraps but you say you took it down to one later, is that right? It actually looks pretty good the way you had it and I suspect one wrap will be hard to fit without slop. The only change I'd make to the two-wrap setup is to have you tuck the end under only the last wrap, not under both. That allows it to adjust more easily but still forms a sort of knot to keep it from slithering loose immediately if something breaks. Given the height of your horse and the angle of the shaft I'm also going to suggest you try another way of threading the breeching. I don't like the second method as well but use it on my Frontier where the shaft sits higher on the horse and at least it keeps the breeching at the right angle even if the buckle does sometimes rub on the underside of the shaft.

Regency Performance Miniatures- breeching

I find it a pain to do this way and impossible with a narrow horizontal slot but you should be okay with the Hyperbike's more triangular footman's loop. Give it a try and see what you think; it should at least keep the holdbacks from being pulled up over the shaft. With Hondo you can use the regular method and it should fit correctly as he'll be higher in the shafts.

I love the angle of your traces, that's going to be great for pulling. Just make sure you rig some sort of carrier loop! We don't want them able to drop down around the hocks.

You're doing great Kellie, Billy tells the truth of that.

I look forward to driving with you sometime soon.

Leia