ClickMini said:
Thanks for sharing your pics! I think it looks pretty good, though I am sure you will get some good feedback from MiniHGal and HobbyHorse23 and Margo C-T. I like the lift you are getting in the last photo, though he is gaping his mouth showing a little discomfort. But you guys look great to me!
Okay, NOW I'm flattered.
As it is, for once I don't have too much to say! LOL. Margo nailed the things I was seeing (the breastcollar being too short around, the thing with the footman's loop that you already knew about, and your awkward leg position in the cart) and ClickMini caught your horse's unhappiness with the bit in that last shot. You plan to do ADS with this horse, correct? I might suggest (if you don't do it already) that you do a lot of suppling exercises with him where you get him to reach for the bit and the ground. There's a lot of tension in his topline right now and he's resisting the bit. Even in the second and fourth photos where he's not so inverted, he's still not reaching through his topline to your hands as he should be. He needs to forget about that new cart and pay attention to his mama!
And there's nothing like a lot of gentle give and take on one side and then the other during straight-line work to refocus them and get them to round up.
Each time he gives to the bit and rounds at the poll, immediately give a little back to him in the lines and let him move forward into that space you've created for him. You're getting him to lengthen that topline and reach
down first, then eventually you can bring him back into your hands by using more impulsion. A training level horse should demonstrate submission to the bit and willingness to always be reaching for it, reaching for that contact. When they ask you for a free walk he'd better know how to lengthen his frame and lower his head! I would love to see pictures of this horse at the end of a workout instead of the beginning because it looks like you're doing a really good job with him. Chances are these photos are a bad example showing how he goes when he's tense and distracted, not how he normally moves. You're doing too good a job with everything else to not be a good driver too.
As for the turnout: That's a very nice horse, and the picture of horse, cart, harness, and you is very pleasant. As a perfectionist on details I see little that is not perfectly correct in these photos. Your breeching is where it should be, blinders are good, everything is neat and tidy. Good job! If that were my breastcollar, I would probably go ahead and use a loop to connect that neckstrap to the waterhook as is done in breed shows. My reasoning being that with this particular harness, that strap is so thin that you are likely to sore your horse with it directly on his neck like that. And with his proportions it does sort of "chop up" his front end visually. Ideally with this boy you would get a double-strap breastcollar that matches your breeching, probably a contoured one so you could raise it up a little higher without cutting off his wind.
I would be interested to see a shot of your horse in the shafts taken from the driver's seat, or some other angle where we can see how much room there is on either side of the horse. It is important that they not be
toooo narrow- the horse does still need room to bend as you noted. All in all- great job!
Can't wait to see more pix.
Leia
Edited to add: Oh, I also meant to say "Kudos!" on the helmet! Good for you.