I have been very interested in this conversation about Rosie and her learning to drive, as I too am learning to drive (along with one of my horses). I have gleaned a great deal of information from this thread and do appreciate the links that you have provided. They will be useful to me as well. What I am having trouble believing is that you have to spend $4000 on a harness! I did just purchased 2 leather harnesses on line for about $400 each. The leather looks good and strong, all the stitching looks great and the brass hardware looks sturdy as well. I purchased 1 harness first and when it arrived, I had my trainer look it over. She said it looked great, safe and had all the necessary parts. After hearing that, I ordered a 2nd one. I have used them several times ground driving, but now I'm a little nervous. Do you really have to purchase a harness for $4000 to get a safe harness?@thathorsecrazychick unfortunately neither your vehicle nor harness are going to safely work for your pony.
Getting into driving can be so frustrating, speaking from experience! Our rational thought is to get inexpensive equipment at the beginning for training and upgrade later. That's logical, but it's not practical or realistic. The majority of catalog-available harnesses in nylon or leather are not well made, flat out dangerous or terribly ill fitting. As you've found - yours is missing the overgirth and may not allow adjustments needed to fit your little well. The most practical advice is to purchase the best quality equipment you can afford right off the hop. For myself, I don't even bother anymore when I get a new pony - it's custom harness and custom-sized vehicle right away. In Canada, that's about $4000... It's possible to do it for half that, but then the quality and fit is questionable.
Your vehicle looks to be more of a dog or goat cart. You'd asked about attaching traces. Your traces are slotted so are better suited to a sabre-end or hook-style single tree. The type you have on your cart is designed for either roller bolts or, better yet, shackles. Shackles are not double-sided snaps. I would not use those, they are not safe. Quick-release shackles are what's safe and appropriate.
Fortunately there are wonderful resources available online. IVC Carriages has LOADS of articles written about fitting and driving: Learn about Horse Carriage Driving | IVC Carriage
And Chimicum tack has a blog that is especially geared towards experience with minis: Blog | Chimacum Tack
I'm not sure what area you're in, but joining a carriage driving organization was the best resource for myself for learning. Hopefully there's one that's fairly local to you.
Please don't be discouraged! You can still absolutely be long lining and even dragging a tire while you work on getting more suitable and safe equipment.
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There is so much information that I have yet to learn and I’m definitely going to look into the links that have posted for sure. I kind of knew the cart was narrow because it kind of squeezed her sides and I wanted to see if that was a definite problem. It seems like I have so much to learn and I really appreciate everyone’s help.horsecrazychick, your little cutie looks very relaxed and willing to try whatever you ask of her, and that is huge! 😍
One the big pluses of this forum is getting lots of information on almost any horse related issue. One the cons is, you guessed it, getting lots of information on horse issues. 😂
When I began to drive, about 20 years ago (😲), we were able to learn from a professional show/driving facility in northern Iowa. They were wonderful and we all learned a lot. My harness at that time was a used one ($100) and the trainer found it sturdy, appropriate, and adjustable to the best size for my mare.
My cart was (and still is) an easy entry cart crafted in Minnesota. My experience with my cart has been very good but that may be in large part to how well it was made. (I sent you a pm).
Don’t get discouraged and keep asking questions! We all want to help you and your little buddy be safe and have fun!
That sounds really fun… and know I never thought about itHave you ever considered sledding with Rosie? Chimicum Tack has a great article on their website titled, “Winter Fun, sledding safely”. I believe different members here have used sleds and even roller skates.
We had at one time a horse drawn flat bottom sled called a stone boat, that was used in the summer months to pull up wood for winter.
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