Well, shucks! I posted on this thread yesteday,but it appears my post went off into the ozone?(and come to think of it, I believe another reply I made on another thread in the past couple of days isn't there, either....??)
Trying again--I have a couple of pairs I can drive, though I most often drive bay geldings(one is the horse in my avatar). My first pair vehicle was a custom-made-for-me English back-to-back trap(so described by its maker, the late Jack Stewart, of Golden, CO.-it is a VERY handsome vehicle, but I will likely sell it, as I simply never drive it anymore.) Then I got an oak buckboard-it is lots of fun! Most recently, I ordered and got a Glinkowski(from Poland) "Mini Mix" marathon vehicle,to have something to drive ANYWHERE I wish to be able to go, tough and suitable for other than smooth and level! Haven't even gotten to drive it yet-about the time it came, first one, then the other, of my bay pair had health issues and weren't up to being driven... and then 'life', and weed spraying, and mowing, and dirt/gravel moving/spreading, and training an outside horse, and giving lessons, and...., and...., and....!!-have 'gotten in the way'-but I am DETERMINED to get them hooked SOON! I must, as I am signed up with the pair for a lesson with nationally-renowned multiples driver/ADS judge Hardy Zantke, who will be here to give a clinic in late October- and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn from him!
The only type(s) of two-wheeled vehicle that are considered OK to seriously drive a pair to are either a Curricle or a Cape Cart(named for its origin in South Africa). Both require a very specific and uncommon type of harness and harness set-up-one which, as I understand it, includes a kind of "yoke" that rests up on TOP of the horses, to help support the weight of the pole. When properly configured, the Cape Cart is said to have been(they are not much in use nowadays, apparently?)a very fast and maneuverable vehicle, even over rough terrain. From what I have learned, either kind of vehicle,and the proper harness for same, is hard if not near impossible to find, at least in North America.
It is true that having the horses support the weight of the vehicle and its occupant(s) on the top of their necks, basically, by using a 'standard' pole with a two-wheeler, can be hard on the horses-not to even mention the low position of the pole, and subsequent risk of getting a leg over it! A four wheeled vehicle supports its own weight; the horses bear only the weight of the pole, even with a drop pole-with a sprung pole, even that weight is minimized, for the horses. The balance of a two wheeler is entirely different, and it would be much harder to minimize the weight on the horses by where the driver/any passengers sit-even with their weight well back, there would still be significant weight on the pole, and therefore, on the tops of the horse's necks, with just a 'standard' pair harness set-up. I found the pole one can get for a Frontier(and other brands offer them, too) EE pipe cart, to be useful to train my pair, but would not use it for an 'everyday' vehicle, nor would it be suitable for a CDE, even if it were allowed(and it wouldn't be, as the ADS rules state that for pairs, a 4 wheeled vehicle must be used.) In CDEs, a groom/navigator is a requirement, too, if driving a pair or tandem(means you have to have a competent and agile helper, basically!) This is one of the reasons why I will likely never do an 'official' CDE, at least not with the pair--I have no one to do this for me.
Margo
