Boork or Video Recommendations?

[Shes My Style]

I'm sure I'm missing it somehow but I couldn't find a thread on this. I'm looking for good book or video recommendations for harnessing and driving minis. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[targetsmom]

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=131757&hl=book

 

[Shes My Style]

http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?showtopic=131757&hl=book

Thanks for the link! Unfortunately that looks like mostly team driving and I'm just looking for a good introductory on single driving.

 

[chandab]

Its not mini specific, but for the most part driving is driving; "Breaking & Training the Driving Horse" by Doris Ganton was recommended to me. I've read it, but haven't put the information to use yet.

And, there is a small book put out specifically for minis, I just finished reading it (it got lost on my desk for several months), I'll have find it to get you the title (don't know where I put it when I finished it.

 

[targetsmom]

Carriage Driving by Heike Bean is a great basic book, taking you through all the steps. My copy is well book-marked! You don't need anything specific to minis but if you are going to show in AMHA (or even AMHR) the DVD that AMHA puts out on the various show classes is very helpful. Contact AMHA for that one. It gives several examples of horses in each of the classes - single pleasure, country pleasure and classic pleasure. Can't remember if it included roadster or not.

 

[Shes My Style]

Excellent! Thank you. I will go look those up.

 

[targetsmom]

Another place you might look is the 4-H section of our website! See link below. We are teaching the kids to ground drive so there is information on harness parts, harnessing and especially ground driving. We use ground driving as an end in itself and two shows in this area - including our County 4-H Fair - offer a class in ground driving. I haven't done a program on "driving" yet, but we do use a second set of reins on a HALTER to teach driving, like they do in therapeutic driving. Plus another thing I do is hand the trainee ONE rein (in enclosed area with a safe driving horse!) while I take the other to teach them about contact. I find contact to be one of the hardest things for a driver or rider to master and this usually creates a light bulb moment when they find the correct amount of contact and the horse goes straight! Then we practice circles...

 

[paintponylvr]

Its not mini specific, but for the most part driving is driving; "Breaking & Training the Driving Horse" by Doris Ganton was recommended to me. I've read it, but haven't put the information to use yet.

And, there is a small book put out specifically for minis, I just finished reading it (it got lost on my desk for several months), I'll have find it to get you the title (don't know where I put it when I finished it.

That might be the one by Pat Elder. I liked it - called "Train Your Miniature Horse To Drive". I have three copies and got them from Star Lake Tack - advertised above...

 

[Shes My Style]

Thank you!

 

[paintponylvr]

I keep saying that I'm going to put a list together of books and videos - but just don't seem to have the time to get it done!

While some of the links and books recommended ARE about/for pairs (and heavy Drafters, no less) - they do have GREAT bits about handling the lines and different types of harness that are relevant to driving single... With good pictures. That's why, in one of my posts, I recommended that they check those books out.

Also, you can join some other forums to get more info (or just go out and read their info) - Pony Driving, Recreational Equine Driving. There are others that are multiple specific. A lot of the drivers on RED swear that Heike Bean's book is the worst you can get (I haven't found documentation as to why yet...)... That was a surprise after having so many folks recommend it to me. I have it and I found the pictures with descriptions to be very educational - haven't had the chance to actually read the book cover to cover yet!

And then again, I've found a couple of books and DVDs that don't work for me - either they are too simple (and what is left out could get you seriously injured, IMO) or they use methods that don't work with the type of training/work that I do with my horses.

None of the books or DVDs I've got really gives any parameters as to how long it takes to teach your horse or pony to drive. They are all very vague - I found this frustrating to the max when I started working with my own. BUT as I worked with different horses and ponies and also started working with different people who all had different levels of abilities - I found why most of them are so vague. It's pretty simple - IT DEPENDS: On how much you want to do (do you want to do upper levels of competition that means you & your horse has to be accomplished in at least very basic dressage to get started, do you want to show in AMHR/AMHA or ASPC, or just go safely down the road and know that he will stop when you ask?), on the temperament/personality of your horse, on your temperament/fitness for training your horse and how much work your horse has had before you start training to drive...

DRIVING IS FUN!!

 

[chandab]

Nope, the one I have is: "Step by Step Guide to Training a Miniature Horse to Drive" by Mindy Schroder. I believe it is self-published, as its listed as Ladybug Farm Enterprises, and she was LadyBug Farm miniature horses. Its a small book, but quite nice.

[FYI, I found it under the pile and have now added it to the book shelf.]

 

[paintponylvr]

O - A NEW BOOK (to me!). I need to order that one, now... THANKS, Chandab.

I also find that I'm a bit of a collector... It won't be long and I will have all of the driving books that seem to be currently available (excluding how to build the equipment - don't need/want those right now...).

 

[chandab]

Paula,

She's a MT native, from somewhere west of the divide, will have to look it up (or at least a current MT resident, and a long time one at that).

 

[paintponylvr]

I think I saw it in Amazon, too... Could be wrong...

 

[Relic]

l have a lot of books on driving but by far the most used and ratty eared is Carriage Driving by Bean & Blanchard..from start to finish it has everything you need to know with lots of photos and diagrams...