Do horses get over cart accidents?

[longhorngal]

Hi all,

I inquired about a gelding via email. It said in the ad that he is cart trained. He had been shown as a baby and did quite well. Never shown in driving but had 30 days professional training. The owner wrote me back and said he'd had a cart accident (didn't elaborate) and was now afraid of the cart. I would not try to retrain this horse myself but am wondering if I did get him and sent him to a trainer what the likelyhood would be that he would make a safe cart horse?

 

[Davie]

It depends upon the type of accident, the mentality of the horse and the trainer. I know Pat is working on a horse that got spooked ran away and got in an accident when out trail driving. She has taken him back to basics and is not sure she will ever get him to be a safe driver outside a ring environment again. She says it going to take lots of time and confidence building on the horse's part. Each horse is different, this horse still become rattle when the cart is put behind him.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Personally I would rather start a green, untouched horse than retrain one that had had an accident.

I commend the person selling the animal for telling you honestly that it had been in an accident but I would no longer consider this animal "harness trained"

 

[Shari]

I have never personally seen a horse, even when retrained properly, get over a cart accident. These horses are "Ify" at best.

And like Jane said, it is great they are being honest about it.

 

[krissy3]

Ditto on Rabbitfizz... Its better to get a young horse and train it yourself then to pick one up with an accident unnder its belt and terrified of driving. If the owner says its had only 30 days of training , and then hooked up to a cart

, it makes sense to me that it was in an accident..thats just not enough time . I would suggest you put this horse in a big pasture to be free for a few months to UNLEARN what it has learned , clear its head , and start SLOWELY from scratch... like ground manners, then standing for the Farrier, then some obsticals poles etc , then if the legs are in good shape round pen it , then lunge it then start driving ...That should fill up the next year or 2 before you even put a harness on him. I dont know if i read how old the horse was. Saying it was shown at a young age , probably means it tagged along with the rest of the horses to a show, and thats all it means.

If you want this horse to have a safe , fun , future in driving please take it very slow , and start all over with a good trainer that will train the horse right. IMO it takes a lot more then 30 days to train a horse to drive confidently, and for the owner to learn as well. I would ground drive until you could do it with your eyes closed before I would hook any animal to a cart. good luck , take the horse for a walk and get to know the personality of the horse first before you buy, lift his legs , and touch him all over to see how he reacts to different areas of his body, thats a good way to figure out if he has any issues going on in his body from the accident. At least the owner was honest.... mine wasnt.good luck

 

[longhorngal]

Thanks very much for all the advice. This was my gut feeling but I was curious as to other's thoughts. No, I haven't bought this horse-just in the very initial communications and thinking about going to see him. I have already written and thanked her for her honesty but will pass on him.

 

[disneyhorse]

While I HAVE seen horses "get over" cart accidents like they've never happened, I've seen MORE that can't "get over it."

Horses that CAN get over it usually are very mellow to start with, usually have plenty of "miles" on them, and the horseman/trainer is careful about quickly and quietly reintroducing the horse to the cart so there is no time to dwell and obsess and develop a fear.

Andrea

 

[End Level Farms]

I have seen horses get over accidents and never look twice at the cart.

But it has to be dont by a professional and in a slow safe manor.

I have also seen one horse NEVER get over it.

But I would not suggest such a horse at anytime for a green driver. As there is always that thought back there.

 

[Jill]

I think so much depends on the individual horse and the accident circumstances and depth (like, how bad an accident was it?). Personally, I don't think horses ever forget anything. I also feel it's a lot harder / more dangerous to try an control a horse you are driving vs. one you are riding if things get out of hand -- and with horses, that can and does happen in the blink of an eye.

 

[Katiean]

I think it depends on how the horse is handled after the accident. The owner of a little guy I was training wanted to take him out for a drive. He was actually to the point that he just needed road hours. I gave her some pointers and off she went. Later that night she called me. She had allowed a dog to approch the horse and he actually bit the horse. Well, you can guess what happened then. He was taken out of harness and cart and walked home. Not that putting him back into the cart would have done any good. I worked with him for a month after the accident and you could not even walk him down the road with barking dogs with out a stud chain to control him. Can't blame him. She is the one that didn't keep him safe. She re-homed him as she could not trust him with her daughter any more.

 

[MiLo Minis]

I don't agree that you can't get a horse safely driving a cart in 30 days, I have done it many times BUT a horse that has had an accident will take MUCH longer than that to retrain and I have done that several times as well. The amount of success definitely hinges on the temperament of the horse involved and how serious the accident was. I suggest that, unless you are a very experienced driver that could deal with the possible outcome of driving a horse that has been retrained, you are wise not to take this horse on. Horses don't ever forget but can be taught to get past a major fear in some circumstances.

 

[Genie]

I don't agree that you can't get a horse safely driving a cart in 30 days, I have done it many times BUT a horse that has had an accident will take MUCH longer than that to retrain and I have done that several times as well. The amount of success definitely hinges on the temperament of the horse involved and how serious the accident was. I suggest that, unless you are a very experienced driver that could deal with the possible outcome of driving a horse that has been retrained, you are wise not to take this horse on. Horses don't ever forget but can be taught to get past a major fear in some circumstances.

I totally agree with Milo. Any experience I have had with horse who has had a bad experience goes back to the temperment of the horse prior to the incident.

If the horse was sane and easily managed prior to the accident I believe you can take them back there with a lot of patience and kindness.

If you don't know the "prior" horse then it might be "iffy"

It was very good of the seller to be so forthright.

 

[krissy3]

Sorry but I disagree with the time it takes to train a horse to drive...sure you can force it on a horse and hook him up in 30 days, if he is an exceptional horse, But I have seen horses later that were trained too fast.. they drive in reverse , they rear, and they are unpredictable..I dont think its safe or healthy for the horse and driver. Last year a 14 year old driving -show horse started to rear in the cart before going into the arena... fortunatly the owner had the sense to not go in... I took the horse and tried to ground drive him to see where the problem was....the problem was he couldnt ground drive

... there is an example of a week or two of training and then hook him to a cart... he went from A to C without learning how to ground drive in a light , smooth , and controled manner. bad idea....carts are dangerious, for you and the horse ... why rush it ?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Well, I am between the two on this one.

I have had a horse hitched up and driving within half an hour of meeting a cart, I am sure other, experienced, driving trainers have too.

Now, would I describe that horse as a driving horse after half an hour, or even 30 days? No, no way.

So I see both sides of the argument and I am always happy to err on the side of discretion!

A lot also depends on the age of the horse, I had Bert working happily in the cart all winter but, because he was only three this spring, he has not yet gone any further, he was just not mentally ready and yes, we did have a couple of potential situations that could easily have resulted in a runaway or an accident.

Because I chose to throw him back out for a few months and let him mature I will have avoided that, he has the perfect temperament for a driving horse (!).

It is possible to retrain a horse that has had an accident (depending of course on knowing ALL the circumstances, and the horse.) but it is not something I would be interested in doing nowadays and, I have to say, I do not believe I should ever completely trust the horse.

 

[Keri]

Well, I don't have an answer one way or another. But here's my story. My riding gelding I bought as a 2 year old at an auction. He was suppose to be a race horse, but wouldn't load in the racing chute. So instead of taking the time to train him, the guy would beat him with whatever was at hand (included pitch forks which he still has scars from to this day). I got him because he was a pretty appy and wanted my own horse to start. Didn't know his history at the time until I started digging and talking to people who knew the guy. And I literally bought a horse that was "nuts." He wouldn't stall good, load in any type of chute and would flip out an any sudden movements. I worked with him daily and we built up a trust factor. From then on, I would ask him to do something (like loading into the chutes they have at the vets, etc.), he would balk, but I would talk him down. Eventually he would load into anything as long as I was leading him. Then after a few years, I got married. Had to work with him and my husband (as he was beat by a man). But he's now 12 and you wouldn't think that he had a horrible history. I give riding lessons off of him and love him to death. He was "cured" by taking baby steps, building a relationship, and praise. So yeah, I think any horse can come out of an "accident" of any sort. But it will not be overnight. It was years with my horse. So its definately a commitment relationship.