Driving

[lippalee]

Just started trained my mini to drive....has anyone taken off the blinders and if so how is it. Also, anyone use a bitless bridle to drive....I want to keep it as natural and fun as possible, all I am going to do is pleasure driving...

Thanks, Lee

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[rabbitsfizz]

I have never used Blinders- never had a horse that needed them.

Never used a checkrein of any sort either.

Now bitless- no I have never driven bitless except with the first stallion- Rabbits sire- he was OK, just never had a bit that fitted him so did not use one and he was fine.

I have taken blinders off a horse driven in them for fifteen years- I did so very carefully but he actually was OK- I would never suggest just taking them off and hoping for the best- it has to be done with respect.

 

[HGFarm]

I started my first horse in a bridle with no blinders. He did great- until I decided to show him and had to use one with blinders. Then it was reteaching him not to freak out because he couldn't see what was coming up behind him. No bit? Have never done that, so couldnt tell how that would work.

 

[MagicTheMini]

My gelding has no problems driving with or without blinders. I drive on a regular basis with none, but then before the shows I have to add the required show gear like the blinders and the sidecheck. I started him without blinders and when I added them he didn't seem to care. I also have driven him in the halter. I don't like the bittless bridles so I would not drive him in one, but he does fine in the halter. Just like with the blinders, I started him in the halter. Your boy should have no problems driving without blinders or in a bitless bridle. Have fun! L

 

[Sue_C.]

anyone use a bitless bridle to drive....I want to keep it as natural and fun as possible

I have a bit of a peave about this one...

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: Sorry, but I just don't understand what is more "natural" about using the facial and jaw nerves to control a horse, rather than the tissues, and nerves of the mouth. Sounds less invasive pehaps?

I know you are happy with your horse and if you enjoy driving half as much as I, you are in for one heck of a great time. Sorry to intrude on it with this post...but I have just read so many similar...and feel that many people are lead astray somewhat by this "natural-thing". Being good to your horse, is always a good thing, but look into all aspects of horse-husbandry, not just the "new-n-improved-natural" methods.

And most importantly...love your horse, and love the moments you will share. It doesn't get any better.

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[MiLo Minis]

anyone use a bitless bridle to drive....I want to keep it as natural and fun as possible

I have a bit of a peave about this one...

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: Sorry, but I just don't understand what is more "natural" about using the facial and jaw nerves to control a horse, rather than the tissues, and nerves of the mouth. Sounds less invasive pehaps?

THANKYOU!!!! :aktion033: :aktion033: :aktion033: Finally someone who has actually looked at a bitless bridle and figured out how it works!!!! It sounds so sweet and soothing to the horse doesn't it? No bit = no pain HA!!! Those bitless bridles work on the nerves of the horses head particularly over the poll - a very sensitive part of the horse. They work on a pulley system. Now everyone knows that if you can't lift something you hook a pulley up to it and miraculously you can all of a sudden lift that tremendous weight BECAUSE you are creating a TREMENDOUS FORCE with that pulley just like in a bitless bridle!!!!! In the proper hands they could possibly be a very sensitive instrument but I have seen them touted as the answer to everyone's prayers and they are NOT!!! In the wrong hands they are a dangerous and painful instrument and I do NOT recommend them to anyone. I will take a bitted bridle over one of them any day!

Okay I am stepping down off my soapbox now and apologize if I have offended anyone but I do feel very strongly about this.

 

[outlaw]

I have friends that break their mini's to drive that way. They drive in a halter no blinders because they want the horse to see what is following them. Here is a picture of them skijoring. Enjoy.

outlaw

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Awesome, mini skijoring! Outlaw, if you have more and larger pictures of this please start another thread so we can see them!

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To be more on topic, I drive in an open bridle sometimes but would probably not drive bitless just because I feel it lacks the sensitivity and subtlety of communication possible with a kindly handled bit. I ride in a halter, but there my horse has my body weight, muscular tension, and a host of other things to help me communicate clearly with him. Driving you are cut off from everything but reins and voice except in the most subtle ways, and I want all the communication I can get off the lines.

Just my .02

Leia

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Just wanted to add I have NEVER used a "bitless bridle" when I drove bitless it was purely because at the time (thirty years ago) I could not get a bit to fit so I made a little sort of show halter thing (they were unheard of here) and attached the reins to the side rings- no pulleys or pressures.

A correctly trained , well behaved driving horse should be safe in all conditions and Fred was- once you start into higher levels of course you need more "stuff"- I did not, for instance even have a whip, let alone carry one, but I never needed it as all we were doing was driving a four wheel trolley (something like your buckboards) to fetch the feed, and the horse knew what to do.

I hate "contraptions" and agree there is nothing natural about them.

A correctly fitted, gentle bit is far better for the horse.

As I said I have never yet had a horse that actually needed blinkers- luckily for me I do not have to have them to show . They do NOT make things safer, IMO, they make it all a lot more difficult for the horse, and this opinion is based on an accident I had many years ago where the pony would never have allowed it to happen if he had been able to see- hence my promise to him never to put them on unless they were needed- someone needs to know what they are doing and nine times out of ten with Minis, it would seem, it is NOT the human!!! So why half blind the horse???

You know how I feel about check reins so I will not go through it all again.

Leave off the check and the blinders but, please, use a nice well fitting bit.

Much better for the horse.

 

[FairytailGlennMinis]

the word "natural" when describing any horse equipment makes me laugh. A wild horse isn't "naturally" going to throw itself into a saddle, bridle, halter, cart, or even into a farriers hands or a grooms! Nothing we do with horses is "natural" for them. That said, just about any equipment CAN be used gently. In light hands that are sensitive and giving on a horse well trained to it, even a harsh bit can be used without pain. Draw reins on a long line can be an instrument of communication and art. The flip side is that even a basic halter and lead can be used cruelly and be turned into a torture devise by a bully of a human. I ground drive ALL of my horses in just a halter and long lines so they know what it is all about long before adding anything else. I will be training my driving horses both with and without blinders and will be using a myler comfort snaffle. They will also be taught to accept and use a loose check even though I don't use it for driving around the farm. As for as I am concerned, the more we can expose the horses we are training to, the better they will be in the long run.

-Amy

 

[MiLo Minis]

I agree that a harsh bit can be cruel in the wrong hands or a subtle means of communication in the wrong ones but most green drivers would look at a harsh bit and think oh I couldn't put that in my horses mouth whereas the bitless bridle, that has come out recently and makes an appearance every so often over the years mascarading as a "new" and marvelous invention, looks harmless at first glance. The fact that it works on a pulley system is what makes it a fearsome thing. It allows the driver to put far more force on the horse than they realize. I would never recommend a hackamore for a green rider for the same reason and I sure wouldn't recommend a bitless bridle. Even a mild bit can be severe in the wrong hands but at least the horse stands a chance.