Driving In Public?

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

I am hoping to get Jazzy accustomed to anything, including the outside world. When I do parades, he will be my go to horse. He doesn't spook easy. The last clinic we went to, he walked over a bridge and a tarp in harness and cart for the first time just fine. I'm very confident in him.

But, I don't have any area suitable for road training or going to a park. So, I was thinking of taking him to a park near my best friends house. There is a grassy area across the street from the park, then the park itself. By park I mean its a track. A pink graveled track. People walk their dogs and take walks. It's a fairly long track in the neighborhood, and there aren't many cars driving in the neighborhood anyway. I just want him go get used to new surroundings

I am just planning to walk him at first, then maybe ground drive him, and eventually drive him there.

Has anyone ever done something like this? And should I ask the city if I could do this? I understand he isn't a dog, but he isn't a horse either

 

[Performancemini]

I would definitely check with your city on that. You wouldn't want to get yourself a fine or something. The first time we do parades we often hand walk the horses in them, just to see how they respond. Personally, when we drive them we like to have two people; in case of an emergency (which we likely have never had so far).

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I can't imagine anyone in a Texas town complaining about a horse in the park, unless it is actually posted restricting equines. Some formal pedestrian trails are off limits to equines.

I load all my green drivers up and take them to town. They don't mind dogs or cars, but they do have to become accustomed to strangers approaching. When you take yours to town, encourage people to approach and touch Jazz. I would not take any treats for people to feed him, however. Some people have no clue and will stick their fingers in a horse's mouth.

DO take along a plastic grocery bag to pick up after him, if need be. That is the only thing that bothers townfolk. Dog and cat poop okay, but a chicken or a horse or a cow and they can freak out.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I am just planning to walk him at first, then maybe ground drive him, and eventually drive him there.
Has anyone ever done something like this? And should I ask the city if I could do this?

With every horse I've ever ridden or driven.

I spent two years doing road desensitization with my yearling colt until he was three and old enough to drive there! LOL. I would only ask the city if it's specifically a pedestrian or bike trail or something like that. If it's posted "no horses," I personally feel you'll need to respect that even with a mini as we won't go making any friends for our breed and our chosen sport (driving) if we act like the rules don't apply to us and anger the neighbors. But generally if it's safe and not specifically posted against animals I will take them. It's easier to beg pardon than ask permission! Susanne will tell you that many park rangers say "no" automatically because they don't really have any idea what our carts are like and just how small our horses are. Once you show them and they see how much people love the minis, they're usually much more willing to allow it.

Leia

 

[susanne]

When we lived in the middle of Portland, OR, we walked our horses several times a week in one of our great city parks. I called the Park Bureau to see if this was okay, and they said that horses are very welcome so long as we cleaned up after them. I think this is a good practice (or using a driving diaper) anytime there are a lot of people, especially kids, around.

Our horses became accustomed to lots of people, dogs, bicycles, skateboards, go-carts, playground equipment, frisbees, ballgames, cars, and much more. One thing we quickly learned -- a half hour walk always took several hours, as everyone wanted to meet and pet the little horses.

Beware of grass in parks, as many use herbicides and chemical fertilizers, which can be deadly. We were fortunate that our park is also home to several open-air reservoirs that hold Portland's drinking water, so no chemicals are allowed. I now look for dandelions before letting any of our kids graze; a few weeds are a good sign.

And yes, as Leia mentioned, a lot of people, including park rangers, just don't get it. The City of Portland, oddly enough, was quicker to welcome our horses than many of the smaller, country towns and communities.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I got zapped by a part ranger last summer. There is a paved trail that goes for miles in a state park, including next to a golf course. There is a wonderful long wooden bridge to practice on. I've driven on it many times--until last summer when a park ranger did a Uy on the highway, pursued me on the path and ordered me off the trail. He said it was for bicycles and pedestrians. It was NOT marked No Horses, but I did not argue. The posted sign said no motorized vehicles. I presumed ignorance was no excuse. My cute little horse and little cart made no impression on his legal magisty.

It was a pretty place to drive and I miss it...

 

[horsenarounnd]

I'm compelled to weigh in on this topic, and first let me say that I am a long time horse owner from Wisconsin and a retired Park Ranger and Manager with over 35 years of experience. For many of those years I struggled with having to be on both sides of this same issue but I do feel that my experience gives me some insight. I hope I don't insult anyone by what I may say, but this is how I see it. First of all, you absolutely should ask permission from the Manager of the property before taking your horse on it. Even if it is not posted, you will save yourself a lot of problems if you get permission first. No, it is not easier to ask forgiveness than for permission. Many public areas simply have not had any experience with horses on their trails and their first reaction is going to be to say no. If you approach the Manager and explain your situation the answer may still be no, but you have made the first step and may be able to educate them about horses. Also remember that a mini is still a horse and by allowing minis on a trail the Manager must also then allow any horse on it. The Manager cannot discriminate with regard to the size of the animal. The rules probably also will apply to many trails in the Park system not only the one you are interested in using.

Many factors enter into the managment decision of allowing horses on the trails, not all obvious to the user. If there are areas where the trail is soft at times, the risk of damage is a concern. Depending on where the trail is, seasonal concerns are a major factor. In Wisconsin, we have to close trails in the Winter and Spring, and some trails are in remote areas that also may be open to hunting. A major concern is the type of users of the trail, too. Many hikers are grossed out by the mere thought of horse droppings on a trail, (and remember full size horses may be there too) and will complain even if none are actually there. And, unfortunatly, not all users of the trails are carefull and responible users. We had major problems from horses straying off the trails to see "what's on the other side of the hill". Granted, not many driviers are going to do this, let alone minis, but all horses are tarred with the same brush in this situation. There are many more, but you can see it's not a simple issue.

I don't want to go on forever with this, but I can only offer advice. Go see the the Manager with your hat in your hand, be prepared to make your case politely, and if the answer is no, try to find a way to make it yes in a positive way. Be prepared to offer to help in some way. Most parks have volunteer programs that you may be able to join and help maintain that trail. Once you get to know the folks that maintain the area you may be able to find a way to open it or improve access for horses. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

How do you find the manager of a public park? All the ones I'm familiar with in Washington State are owned by the government and the only representatives we ever saw of "management" were the rangers, who were usually very nice. Parks that were not open to horses were posted as such at the trailhead or online, anywhere else was fair game and if you weren't supposed to be there the worst they'd do was tell you so and ask you politely to leave. The Centennial Trail does ask that horses keep to the horse path off to the side rather than riding on the paved walking/biking trail except when necessary to cross bridges, but generally things are very well-marked.

Perhaps city parks are a whole 'nother ballgame. I admit I have no experience with those.

Leia

 

[susanne]

In our case, we called the Portland Parks Bureau. Most large cities have a similar department. Now that we live out in a rural area, we've called either our county for county parks or the state bureau for state parks, but with budget cuts it may be difficult to find anyone in the office.

With our nearby equestrian-oriented state park, the rangers had no idea what I meant when I said "horse cart." We figured if we couldn't drive we'd still have fun camping and walking Mingus on the trails, so we just went and talked to the first ranger we met when we arrived. Once they saw the cart, knew that it was nonmotorized, got our promise that we stick to appropriate trails, and met the always charming Mingus, they were extremely supportive and went out of their way to suggest the most level trails and otherwise help us, even allowing us to park temporarily in a handicapped zone while we offloaded horse and cart. Afterward, they asked us about our experience, both pros and cons, in case others came wanting to drive. In our case, as horsenaround has suggested, making an effort to be a good citizen went a long way.