HELP - Driving Question

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Mini Oaks

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I have my horse driving with the cart. We are working on the extented trot. When I use the whip she bucks. I am afraid she gets hung up in the cart and we have an accident. How do I get the extented trot without using the whip?
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I'm not an expert, but I would take her back out of the cart and ask for an extended trot ground driving. When she gets used to that then try it in the cart again. Also, if you want to move away from the whip I personally cluck to trot and kiss to extend.

Others may have better advice though.
 
Is she green broke and not understanding what you are asking for or is she acting up and just not wanting to listen to you? Most of our own driving horses would buck or spook too if I hit them with a whip while they were trotting.
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She may think you are punishing her for doing something wrong or you may just be making her mad.

I only have one driving horse that I ever use a whip on while trotting and it is because he is lazy and will poke along if I let him.
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(no, I don't actually beat him,
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but I love the chance to use that icon when I get a chance) Unlike our other driving horses it doesn't faze him one bit to get a little pop with the whip once in a while but he is an exception. I could be wrong but I think most people don't use the whip to ask their horse for an extended trot. I personally just use a kiss noise to get ours to speed up and extend their trot and then I collect them more and tell them "easy" when I want to bring them back down to a pleasure trot.

If you are in the process of training the horse and she just isn't getting it, maybe you could try slowing the horse down to a very slow trot and then give her the kiss noise and let her out a bit when asking for speed and extension. Doing that might help her understand what you want.

I got a GREAT book about driving that you may want to look into buying. I think Heike Bean's "Carriage Driving: A Logical Approach through Dressage Training” is very, very helpful. I've read different sections in it many times. There are quite a few good chapters on starting the young driving horse including all the groundwork, teaching whoa, and the things the horse should be desensitized to before being hitched.
 
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LOL (I like that icon too)

I use a cluck for a regular trot and a kiss for the extended one- they learn the difference quickly. I agree with more ground work also, so the horse knows there are 'two' trots...
 
Go back to some basic groundwork. Teach her to listen to your voice and cues, whatever they may be.

I always use my whip as a LAST resort.
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[SIZE=12pt]Have you used the whip when she isn't hitched?[/SIZE]

If not she might not even understand what's touching her.

Also you might want to get a longer whip that reaches her shoulder.

I generally don't use the whip on the hindquarters.

Let us know how she does!

Ash

p.s. I also agree with the book Sammy suggested it's a very good book, & a reference I keep going back to.
 
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I am by no means an expert, but I was taught that you never "whip, smack or hit" a horse with the whip, but instead, you sweep or brush it along in one movement from the lower buttock to the top of the hip.

With my mini, once all the tack is set, I mark the reins with a sharpie marker so that I know I hold them in the exact same place as always whenever I drive. Then he knows the difference when I give him some room and then again when I give him more room to extend. Since he always feels the same amount of resistance in those degrees, he know what to do. His head carriage sucks, but there have been more compliments on his variety of noticed speeds. I have one shot that makes him look like a weather vane, all stretched out.
 
She is green broke to the cart. I have showed her about 3 times in shows, not placing or placing last. She is a nice mover but I just can't get out of her when hooked to the cart. I use the cluck and kiss but she is not understanding me. I ground drive her but I can't run very far or far enough to get my point across. ( my age is holding me back).
 
[SIZE=12pt]She might just need to gain the strentgh to perform her movement in the cart too.[/SIZE]

goodluck.
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Ash
 
I'm far from an expert, but...

Getting hung up on the shafts is indeed a danger to your horse and to you, so in addition to what others have mentioned, I would get a kicking strap. This is a simple strap that goes from shaft up over the croup to the other shaft. If the horse behaves it does not come into play, yet it makes it impossible to buck without lifting you and the cart.

Heike Bean (my driving guru), highly recommends a kicking strap for all green horses.

I would also make certain your horse sees the whip as a cue -- more like an arm rather than something scary. Rub it all over her (while not hitched, of course) and get her used to feeling and seeing it move all around her.

If you read dressage books and websites, or do a Google search on extended trot, you'll see that a true extended trot (not merely a faster trot) takes strength and balance, and that horses have to work to develop it.

Be patient with her, read everything you can get your hands on, and consider consulting with a trainer.
 
You don't use a whip on your horses behind at all - it will make most horses buck! Touch them on or just behind the saddle. Do take your horse back to the round pen and desensitize it to the whip though. You don't actually give your horse more rein when asking for an extended trot or you will just get a faster one. The easiest way I have found to teach a horse to extend is to take them out on the road and while they are still reasonably fresh turn them around for home and kiss. I teach my horses that kiss means to move faster. If I am at a halt I kiss once and they walk. Kiss again they walk faster, kiss twice and they move into a trot. Kiss at a trot and they move into an extended trot! What you are looking for is not a faster movement but a longer stride so if you keep contact and ask for more speed you will get compressed energy and longer length of stride as they will rock back on their haunches and drive.
 
You don't use a whip on your horses behind at all - it will make most horses buck! Touch them on or just behind the saddle. Do take your horse back to the round pen and desensitize it to the whip though. You don't actually give your horse more rein when asking for an extended trot or you will just get a faster one. The easiest way I have found to teach a horse to extend is to take them out on the road and while they are still reasonably fresh turn them around for home and kiss. I teach my horses that kiss means to move faster. If I am at a halt I kiss once and they walk. Kiss again they walk faster, kiss twice and they move into a trot. Kiss at a trot and they move into an extended trot! What you are looking for is not a faster movement but a longer stride so if you keep contact and ask for more speed you will get compressed energy and longer length of stride as they will rock back on their haunches and drive.
Can Peek do that? LOL

Good luck with your horse! These guys have very good advice. Let us know how you are making out.
 
Can Peek do that? LOL

Good luck with your horse! These guys have very good advice. Let us know how you are making out.

Not quite yet!
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It takes quite a while for a horse in harness to develop the muscle and self carriage needed to achieve true extension - as much as a couple of years of consistant driving. Some never get there. Others that have natural extension arrive at it much sooner. It is quite the feeling when you ask for extension and you feel your horse's butt hunker down, his shoulders lift, he gets light in your hands and begins to fly!!!
 
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It takes quite a while for a horse in harness to develop the muscle and self carriage needed to achieve true extension - as much as a couple of years of consistant driving. Some never get there. Others that have natural extension arrive at it much sooner. It is quite the feeling when you ask for extension and you feel your horse's butt hunker down, his shoulders lift, he gets light in your hands and begins to fly!

Lori is so right and is much better at explaining or describing it than I am. It is amazing when you work and work at something and you think you are not getting anywhere and all of a sudden you know the horse got it. I have a horse - our over pleasure horse, Dutch - that when he is driving well and really focused has very distinctive gait changes. He doesn't just speed up when asked for the extended trot his butt also drops. shoulders lift and he actually collects a little more but stretches his legs out and just flies. Some of it is just natural talent for him though he got better at gait changes after I started driving him in roadster and a lot of it is the excellent start in driving training he got from a good trainer.

I drive a lot and have several horses that are just starting driving but the one thing I know is that I have a LOT to learn and I don't want to screw my horses up so I am always reading books, watching videos, researching online and I get help from someone else (trainers) whenever I can. If possible I would suggest taking a few lessons with youir horse at a trainer if you have one in your area because they will see things you can't when you are in the cart. They may also drive your horse and couild work him while you watch which would also be helpful. You may need equipment adjusted or they may suggest a different bit. They may have other suggestions as well. We drive 90 minutes each way to a driving trainer and spend 2-3 hours working horses with them doing everything from basic driving lessons to harness adjustments to ground work. It is well worth the time and money and for us, unless her price has changed I think it is $25 an hour and we usually have kids along and they participate and we work more than one horse at once while we are there. We don't have time to do that a lot, but always do it a couple of times before the show season for a tune up and will probably do it again before nationals.

I ground drive her but I can't run very far or far enough to get my point across. ( my age is holding me back).

I hear you on this!! With all the running around I already do chasing kids and horses and doing housework and barn chores the last thing I want to do is ground drive my horse for miles, especially at the trot. Do you have a round pen where you could put her in a bitting rig and work on the gaits basically in a circle. Maybe someone else can explain it better than I. Sort of like lunging your horse but with the bitting rig on and using the long lines and driving her in circles around you while working on collection, extension and the different gaits..
 
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