How much weight can he pull?

[brasstackminis]

I have a 42" shetland. I have a 4 wheeled carriage I was thinking about hitching him to. So how much can he pull with no weight on his back out on my roads. The carriage has breaks. Any thoughts? My cart needs new springs and he needs to work!

 

[Jules]

I think it comes down to weight ratios and his individual ability, if you do a search there are some threads with recommended weight ratios.

I could be wrong but I *think* (could be waaaay off- don't shoot me lol) the general idea is 1:3 on flat,firmish ground would be okay, but on hills, soft footing 1:1 might be more reasonable. I do remember 1:2 coming into it somewhere..but I just can't seem to haul that info from the cob-webbed recesses of my memory.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

It's one of those things that really depends on your individual horse. I know a lot of people whose 33" minis can easily haul two adults on level ground but Kody notices and goes "ooof" if I add a small child! He's not built for power. I generally ask him to haul no more than about 180lbs, i.e. the weight of our EE cart and myself, as that's what he's proven he can easily handle over all terrain. The Minicrown brings us up to a total weight of about 220lbs which he can certainly move but must be conditioned for and you can see it's harder on him; I can't ask him to haul it anymore with his back injury as he lets me know it hurts. He weighed about 230lbs most the time I was competing him so was hauling almost his own weight successfully.

A lot of it also depends on the particular carriage. A light weight may be totally unmanageable if the equipment is set up wrong but a heavy weight can be easy with proper ergonomics and conditioning slowly up to the load. A vehicle with brakes greatly increases the manageability for the horse, and driving only on pavement allows them to move much more difficult loads than they can cross-country. Frankly I'd try him out and see how he does. If it's too heavy for him he'll let you know!

Leia

 

[brasstackminis]

Ok so here is my confession...I was thinking of hooking him to my PJ but I couldn't get the traces to fit so he lucked out on that one. I just used my broken spring cart...I wish the people I was going to buy the new frame from would call me back! I wish I could have figured out if he could pull it...I think he could. I would order longer traces for him if I could try it out.

I drove him for a long time mostly at a walk. I realized how smart the little hot-head is too. He reminds me of training my arabs...he is like "OH I know what to do...and then, for example, instead of moving over he starts turning donuts in the road!" I am glad he is smart...but I spend so much time getting him to listen instead of thinking so much!

Karen

 

[Sandee]

Yep, some shetlands surprise me. I didn't think I'd find a horse smarter than the minis but my shetland does sort of the same thing. "Want me to back--ok......in front of a judge--HA, HA no." Put him in a 4 wheel which he's not supposed to back and the first thing he does........you got. Judge comes along and he backs on his own. Gotta love those ponies!

He's the same way in the obstacle. Once he "gets" what you are asking he anticipates all the moves.