Driving Me Buggy 2019 Hours!!!

[MindySchroder]

I forgot to record my minutes yesterday... Zorro and I did 120 minutes driving with the bike We did lots of walking, some trotting and some cantering. He is such a rock star! We managed to find the only 2 hours that it wasn't raining or snowing. About 30 minutes after we got home a big old blizzard blew in!

The view on our drive:

 

[Marsha Cassada]

60 minutes ground driving for Midnight today out on the road. We spent about 15 of it going 5 feet--in circles. Started off great and I'm congratulating myself, then we get half a mile out and she realizes that she is alone. I finally had to walk beside her head for a while as she seemed to be like a stuck record there. Stopped a few times after that and stood for about a minute until she relaxed. By the time we got home she was doing pretty well. First time I've had her out of the property ground driving. Looked at the time when I got unhooked and was surprised we were gone so long.
She startled a few times but it was just a sideways jump, no bolting. A semi went by us loaded with cotton bales, but that didn't bother her as much as a little pile of dirt by the road.

 

[MindySchroder]

Zorro had a short drive today. He was feeling grumpy so we kept it short and sweet we were trying our new shorter shafts and LOVE them! Driving 30 minutes.

 

[Minidreamz0581]

4/10 — 50 min of ground driving for my sassy little boy...

Today, 50 minutes of driving with much better manners...so glad I ground drove him the other day before hooking him today. He was far more polite than with the previous drives this year. Depending on the weather I’m hoping to trailer him out to the barn that my TWH is boarded at so I can drive him in the arena and out on some of the trails.

 

[Cayuse]

45 minutes ground driving Peanut. We had a lesson. Finagled with the new harness and the traces are a wee bit too short for his cart, so I did not drive. Maybe tomorrow with the old breast plate.
I can't get used to not having wrap straps. Can't teach and old dawg new tricks, I want my wrap straps back!

 

[Cayuse]

Drove Peanut this afternoon. Still tweaking the harness. Used the breast collar from his old harness. I have to let the shaft carriers down a wee bit, the shafts aren't quite level. Breeching maybe a wee bit high. All in all, he seemed happy.

20 minutes ground driving and 15 driving. Thanks!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Is the bridle new with the harness? I like the looks of it.

 

[Minidreamz0581]

I was able to take Coady out to the barn where my TWH is boarded and we had 105 minutes of awesome driving we warmed up in the indoor arena, tried to work on something that sort of resembled dressage if you tried to do dressage with one of those big exercise balls instead of a pony (he was VERY excited and quite bouncy! I don’t think his trot has ever been that springy!), went around the hay field alone and had a lovely canter, had some fun barrel racing in the indoor (ok, so it was cone racing...it’s a mostly English barn and they don’t have barrels...) then went around the hayfield again with my friend and her horse and finally cooled out in the outdoor arena as it started to rain. All and all my little man and I had a great day! The picture is my 39” boy in the crossties after our drive next to his 16.1hh Thoroughbred new friend Mirage! His little legs kept up well with the OTTB’s long ones!

 

[Cayuse]

Yes, the bridle is new. I really like it and "Peanut the Picky" approves of it, too. It has very wide blinker stays that are quite substantial and stay put. The crown is shaped behind the ears so it does not cramp the ear area and he seems to like that a lot. I wish it was a bit smaller, If I have to adjust it it will be from the bottom or I can add maybe one hole at the top. If we went to a smaller size, it would've been way too small. He has a short but wide head.
The over check does not want to stay on the waterhook, so I made a loop out of bailing twine, lol. I think a black shoe lace would look better. Anybody have another remedy?

Is the bridle new with the harness? I like the looks of it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Looks like Coady could be added to the Clipping topic! Peanut is looking sleek and svelte.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

60 minutes ground driving Midnight today. That included a stop to chat with the neighbor. Their 3 dogs visited with Midnight also.

 

[Peggy Porter]

Beautiful spring day today! I’m teaching my second stolen granddaughter to drive! That’s my first stolen granddaughter on the haflinger and the girls’ mom on the drumhorse.


Butch Cassidy
60 mins

 

[MindySchroder]

120 minutes of driving today! Finally. It's been cold and rainy here for several boring days....

 

[Willow Flats]

Like the matching shoes and harness!

 

[MindySchroder]

80 minutes of driving Zorro today! It was a beautiful sun shiny day for a drive...

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Zorro always appears to enjoy his outings. Look at those ears.

 

[MindySchroder]

Zorro always appears to enjoy his outings. Look at those ears.

He absolutely LOVES to get out. When he hears me rummaging around in the garage he runs to the gate and waits for me to come get him. I always get the cart and the harness out before I go catch my ponies as their reaction is what tells me if they had a good time the last time we were out. If they meet me at the gate then I know we did well!! Zorro always always meets me at the gate.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

50 minutes driving for Dapper Dan today. We ponied Midnight. Still working on that extra weight. I think she looks a little better but it's a challenge. I'm trying to get a picture of her, but she is black and very hard to photograph. I will need some help, I think...

 

[Cayuse]

Is that a blue hair extension I see in DD's tail ?
Peanut is difficult to photograph, too. The lighting and background has to be just right or there is no contrast anywhere.

35 minutes ground driving Peanut, we had a lesson today.

MajorClem, have you brought your horses home yet?

 

[Minidreamz0581]

Coady’s minutes for the week so far!
4/15 — 20 min
4/17 — 40 min
4/18 — 40 min
4/19 — 40 min



Marsha, I hope adding Coady to the clipping topic means his mane looks good, not because his owner needs to learn how to use the dang clippers I’m sort of getting the hang of it...if I had better clippers it would probably help. I’m still so glad that I decided to roach it last year. For some reason I could never get his mane to look nice. Long, short, in between, braided...it just never looked nice. It was also very hot and heavy on his neck. I was so nervous and looked up any and all pictures I could find of roached horses before I did it. I wish I would’ve found Mindy’s blog in my search! Her little guys (and gal) look so great with their cute little Mohawks and I wouldn’t have been so nervous. My clipping skills leave a lot to be desired though maybe I can post before and after pics when he gets a trim

On a different note, I’m so jealous of those of you who have nice flat places to drive! I decided to include a pic of us going up our driveway. He was a little tired today so I walked up behind the cart. Usually I only walk the steepest parts.