Fore cart...

[rabbitsfizz]

Has anyone built one of these? I am in a position now where one would be very handy but there is no chance of finding one ready built....

 

[Rhondaalaska]

What is a fore cart? I haven't heard of this before.

 

[paintponylvr]

Rhonda - a fore cart is a cart that Draft horse folk use to pull farm equipment. There are now several companies that make them small enough for mini's and shetlands as well as the folk here in the US that have made their own...

I have a Hafflinger sized forecart with a pony sized pole - made by Pioneer. So far, I've used it for training my pairs - but haven't hooked any farm equipment to it. My reasoning for getting the larger sized forecart is that I also have larger ponies that are only 1/2 shetland and I wanted to be able to use it for them as well w/o the expense of two carts. I have the shafts for a Hafflinger - which will work perfectly if I ever get the larger single pony trained to drive and the xbred pair willuse the same pony tongue when they are ready (they will be a full yearling and 2 yr ld in April). I'm thinking of checking with Pioneer to see if they have a mini sized pole that will work for my guys better than this one? It may not have been the best reasoning, though. AND I've been told by everyone - other than farmer folk - that it is balanced all wrong and should never be used for training or trail driving w/o farm equipment on the back of it to "balance" it (to keep from putting to much weight on the pony's necks). It is sometimes balanced wrong for these girls' and I try to compensate by moving back and forth on my seat as well as sliding left to right. I LOVE the ride (pretty darn COMFY for a FARM vehicle) and the brakes. i have used it extensively for "cross country driving" - while training the 4 shetland mares that I now have driving as pairs. Three of them are driving as a 3 abreast now (total of 5 hitches that way including two cross country drives that included water crossing, hills - up and down, and galloping across some flat areas). My goal is to do a 4 abreast hitch - for actual farm "work".

Here's a pic of my girls' on their first hitch to it:

A pic of the same pair at a farm event - again w/o equipment but this time with Bell's filly with us. Classy was just 3 weeks old during this pic.

Here is a pic of my "latest" pair - Bell (her filly was weaned before this) and Cassie (her 2 month old colt is being held by a freind - by their 3rd hitch, he was tied alonside his dam just like Classy was):

AND here are some pics of what my pony driving girlfriend is having hers do so far. The "palomino" (I had him color tested - he is a silver buckskin) is Bell's 2009 son - Vicki purchased him from me when he was 2. He's 3 in these pics. Vicki has the pony sized forecart with a pony sized tongue. The cart itself is smaller than mine, uses slightly smaller wheels and weighs about 50 lbs less if I remember right.... I can't attach the pics, so I will just do a link -

https://picasaweb.google.com/103622225470430126127/EclipseAndKreature?noredirect=1#5753963871437208498 pulling the disk

https://picasaweb.google.com/103622225470430126127/EclipseAndKreature?noredirect=1#5753964087673790018 pulling a home made drag (chainlink).

https://picasaweb.google.com/103622225470430126127/EclipseAndKreature?noredirect=1#5752980523944387714 a load of broken up cement in "Gorilla" wagon

Neither she nor I have a flexible tine harrow yet - but this will pull it handily when we do get one. We both now have Cyclone rakes - neither of us has hooked our ponies up to it with it's gas powered engine yet either. Figure that's a project for this year. Usually it's used in conjunction with w riding lawn mower but it has it's own motor and can be used seperately to "vacuum" leaves when the mower can't get into the area - so we figured touse it wi/ our forecarts - eventually! She can hook her sprayer to the forecart, too.

 

[paintponylvr]

Pioneer Manufacturing (OH), White Horse (PA) and i think NU-Trail make forecarts. These are all Amish companies with no actual websites (however there are now a coupleof dealers for Pioneer that have websites. If you google Pioneer Forecarts you can find them). I can get phone number s for you later...out of the Rural Heritage magazine.

Here is a link to a mini forecart made for Nikkis - http://www.nikkisponyexpress.com/Specials.html

I thought that Silver Penney offered one as well, but cna't find it now if they did.

http://www.buggy.com/miniforecart.html Justin Carriages version...

Also, a company that I deal with for my harness makes one. Fairview Country Sales - out of Millersburg, OH. They are Amish and don't have a website - they do have catalogs and their phone number is - 330-359-1501. I haven't seen thiers in person - but it looks nice in the catalog. I went the one from Pioneer for a variety of reasons - mainly because they already had the parts to do everything I wanted to do w/o having to do prototypes... and they were in stock -just had to be assembled while I put the money together...LOL.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks paintponylvr .

I love the pictures of your horses.

Thank you for explaining it to me.

 

[paintponylvr]

Rabbitsfizz - are you looking for specs to have one built over there?

 

[paintponylvr]

Thanks paintponylvr .

I love the pictures of your horses.

Thank you for explaining it to me.

Not a problem. I've had a blast getting to this point (and we aren't all the way "there" yet)! And I like sharing what we've done thus far. I've learned a lot - but have more to learn. and a whole pasture full of young ponies that are getting trained to drive in the future to be added into various hitches. I now have put together 4 mini harness (either singles or pairs) and 4 small pony harness(s). Just a matter of getting them all working, LOL. TIME... where does he go?

I don't, however, plan on doing this type of hitch - too "much horsepower", LOL...

a homemade forecart w/ a plow attached. They are using the rope pulley system of hitching the 4 up to it...

thought I had a pic of an 8 up hitch - but can't find it...

I'm not sure when I will do the 4 abreast - still need to get lines for it and then need to practice the hitch. It gets "sticky" - definitely need help with that and 3 of those mares are foaling this year... hmmm. Plan on it sometime this year, though! Loaned out my 3 abreast lines in December and haven't gotten them back yet. (may sell them - they are too large) and the ones I got in mini size are meant for the smaller minis (too short for my larger ponies who are too small for the Hafflinger lines - LOL) so not sure what my next steps will be... sigh. Always something!!

in the meantime - getting several going single now. At least one of those can join a multiple hitch - the other - she has different action and different mindset and not sure it will work (tho might help to calm her down and keep her that way??!!).

My goal - for the last 10 years - has been to put together working "farm" equipment that would allow the ponies and I to care for the land that cares for them... We are getting there.

 

[horsenarounnd]

I had a mini sized forecart that we used to train a pair of minis. I worked quite well for training, but ours had no suspension and rode very rough. We didn't notice a problem with the weight on the horses, although we did have it put to some pretty strong minis. I've seen some used with ponies that put a single swivel wheel under the ftont of the cart and it carried the weight of the pole so the horses didn't have to carry it.

Ours was a very simple frame with a floor, and seat which was a tractor seat. There was a square frame on the front as shown on most of the pictures here, just to give the driver something to brace on and hold on to mainly. Ours used wheelbarrow wheels so it was very simple. I wish I had pictures of it. If I can find some I'll send them or put them on here.

Just for to do something different, a group of us do a plow and plant days every year in our neighborhood, and one year we had 18 Percherons put to a forecart with a 12 foot disk attached to it. Quite a sight to see. Problem was, the disk was set too deep and the 18 horses bent the forecart pulling it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Thanks everyone, those are exactly what I want! Unfortunately no-one over here has the faintest idea about them except a couple of Foresters who use Suffolks and Belgians to pull trees out of the forest- we do actually have someone using a team not far from me but they brought their cart in from - I think they said- Romania! I am going to need to get one made- it does not look like it would be too hard, so long as I can find someone who knows how to weld....