OK, don't shoot me

[Roxane Martin]

OK, I'm rather new to driving minis--I have a metal easy entry cart. Because I'm not that bodily flexible, and they weigh less, I thought it safer/easier for me to enter/exit the cart (I harness and drive alone) to use that type rather than a Meadowbrook. I only have available yards, rocky fields and gravel driveways for driving, no arenas. Mini is B-sized.

1. One complaint I have heard about easy entry carts is that they are easy for the driver to be thrown out of them. In some ways that might be a good thing, but would it be smart or stupid to then use a seat belt? The seats are a bit slippery and I could see that it would be easy to slide out unintentionally.

2. Since my cart has those wire wheels, is it hard to put on solid wooden wheels which would withstand the punishment of the rocky roads rather than the pneumatic tires?

3. Suggestions for conditioning a "soft" mini in the Northeast US, which are stabled in a run-in type situation (so left unclipped in winter). Would like to be able to do 10+ mile trail drives, but can't really start driving until April. Summer this year was brutal in 90s and high humidity.

There is much useful information on this forum, for which I am appreciative.

Thanks.

Roxane Martin

 

[Shastataz11]

Hmmm well for starters I would never recommend a seat belt in a cart, no you dont want to be thrown from the cart but you also dont want to be attached and not be able to get out when you need to. I found that if I balance myself in the center of the seat and spread my feet out it helps when you are going over rough terrain. I drive my minis every where and yes I was bounced out one time(lol), but not since I changed my way of sitting. I love my easy entry cart for trail driving. As far as conditioning just get out and drive as much as you can! If I dont have time to hitch I will free lounge them and work on verbal commands, it gives them a change of pace too.

 

[shelterwood]

Hi Roxane,

Great questions! I too am fairly new to driving minis, and this forum is a wealth of knowledge. I think you are absolutely right that an Easy Entry cart affords you a much safer in and out, as the name implies, than a Meadowbrook or sulky style cart. I have the latter, and my one young, green mare took me on a little trip in between her and the cart the other day! I would love an EE cart, but haven't found one to fit my 40" mares without ordering it new/custom, which I can't afford to do right now. My sulky is the best I have at the moment, so I try to spend as little time as possible actually standing in between horse and cart, opting instead to hop into seat ASAP, which limits the seconds in which I am very unsafe. However, having this style cart has made me really firm on a good whoa and stand from my mares, which is something they all should do no matter the cart style, but still.

In terms of a seatbelt, I think that is probably not a good idea. I know at the higher levels of marathon driving they seem to wear belts, but I'm not totally sure. One thing I have done on a cart is attach grip tape, or basically a rough surfaced tape with adhesive on one side so the seat sticks to the bum a bit better. This may not be an option though if you have a really nice cart, I'm not sure how well it peels off. Maybe the more experienced folks will chime in on this, but my gut says you don't want to stuck fumbling with a lap belt if all heck breaks loose!

I have no idea how hard it is to attach wooden wheels to an EE cart, but good for you for considering getting flats far from home. I know some places I have seen non-pneumatic wheels that are plastic and rubber, not wooden. Perhaps someone knows where one could get something like this. Look at Graham Carriage Works, home of the Hyperbike, for an example.

I too live in the Northeast, and have "semi-soft" mares. My thoughts on conditioning have ranged from hand walking and jogging on trails, ground driving, free lunging, skijoring behind them, and of course driving. Probably the best way is just to get out and drive whenever possible, slowly building up your miles and speed, lots of transitions, and slight uphill grades help too. In the winter I try to hand walk and ground drive as much as possible, and this year I am going to trial the skijoring, if I can adapt my equipment, either on skis or on a sled, in an enclosed space like my pasture. Eventually I would like to hit the snowmobile trails, but that's a long way off and a whole lot of desensitization to snowmobiles later!!

 

[targetsmom]

Hi Roxanne-

All great questions but I am not sure I will be much help. I would not advise using a seatbelt but can't give a good reason except it doesn't sound like a good idea. Yes they do use seatbelts in carriage driving but I think only when there is a groom on board??? What I might suggest is to cover your plastic seats with some type of material that isn't slippery (corduroy, suede, fleece?) and perhaps wear full seat breeches for added "traction".

For the tire issue, try a bike shop and see what they have for "no-flat" bike tires that will fit your EE cart. They are bound to be cheaper and lighter weight than wooden wheels and easier for the mini to pull.

I am also in the Northeast and just drive or ground drive whenever I can. Good luck!

 

[susanne]

If you put wooden (or steel) wheels on an easy entry, your ride will be MUCH rougher, due to the minimal suspension in that style of cart.

We have No-Mor-Flats innertubes on our EE. We've driven on all manner of terrain and footing, including our favorite trail which is surrounded by blackberries. We've never had a flat, and while the ride is slightly rougher, it's perfectly comfortable.

As for slippage, I found the biggest problem to be with my feet rather than my seat. The grip tapeon the seat is a great idea. Some use shelf liner (the rubber, grippy kind), which is great until you bounce. If you wanted to spend the money, you could always get a CDE-style wedge seat to hold yourself in place.

I'd love to put a grippy surface on the expanded metal basket. I plan to use vinyl paint on the seat, so perhaps I'll experiment to see if it sticks to metal.

Shelterwood, to fit a CTM to your 40 inch mare, you need a lift kit, longer shafts, and 26 inch wheels. This is NOT a special order through CTM, whose carts are on par with Frontier and very reasonably priced.

 

[Poodlepill]

I always listen and pick up tips here and there over the years for driving and one of them was to spread out your legs and brace them against the basket to help keep you solid in the cart. For some reason unless someone told me that tip it just didn't occur to me.......very valuable tip as mentioned in another post.

 

[Margo_C-T]

In ADS CDEs, 'seatbelts' can be and are sometimes used, BUT, they are NOT allowed to be attached solidly. Instead, the navigator(required for all but single-hitch VSEs)HOLDS the 'free' end, so that it can be released by them if necessary.

I have driven more miles in a Frontier EE cart than in any other of my vehicles! Like Susanne, I had puncture-resistant tubes and 'green goop' put into my tires at a bicycle shop, am careful about what I drive over, and have never had a problem. There ARE places you can get either wooden OR steel wheels that will fit one of this kind of EE carts...but it WILL add considerable weight, and yes, make the ride a lot rougher.

I put one foot flat on the bottom of the basket, 'brace' the other on the 'angle' of the basket...have never had an issue w/ 'slippage' on the seat unless I was loping and turning sharply. Both suggestions...marathon style seat, 'grippy' seat covering...might help--though I've never tried either.

Believe it or not, you can do a lot of 'conditioning' by simply leading your horse 30 min. every day! I do so on vet's orders once(trying to manage a 'swelling' issue, not related to lameness or any such); after a couple of months of this, the horse was unbelievably fit! I wouldn't have thought it, but it was so.

Good luck,

Margo

 

[shelterwood]

Margo,

I appreciate that tip on conditioning! I do a lot of hand walking in the winter because it is sometimes the only thing TO do, especially once the roads get slippery and the snow gets deep. I have always wondered if this simple act has a whole lot of benefit overall for conditioning. I do know it is where my girls learned their manners, voice commands, and get a break from the boring 4 corners of their pasture. I am going to try to make a point this winter of doing more. It would be interesting to keep a log of heart rate and respiratory rates, just to see if it makes an appreciable difference in the numbers.

Katie

 

[LazyRanch]

Please don't use a seat belt! If the worst of the worst happens, your cart and horse will be on their sides - or worse yet, upside down. If the horse is struggling and thrashing, it will be enough of a mess without having to deal with trying to get your seat belt open. And if the absolute worst happens: cart on it's side and horse running away with it still attached, you will get dragged with it. If you get ejected, at least it isn't as bad as being dragged.

If the seat is too slippery, you can "reseat" it. I have a friend who felt his seat was too slippery. When he looked at the underside of the seat, he found the upholstery was merely stapled on. So he stapled on a bath towel over the regular upholstery (yes, I know, a man-fix). You might come up with something a little more subtle.

The carts do come that way. We ordered our first cart - also an EE - with solid tyres. We have terrible goatheads, and I compete combined driving which doesn't allow pneumatic tyres beyond training level. I am not really sure that wooden wheels are a good option for a simple EE cart. Possibly for an EZ Rider or above. I did look up steel wheels for our EE cart - about $300 a pair. Someone might know a better price. You can take the wheels you have to a bike shop and he may have solid rubber cores that you put under the rubber tyre, where the pneumatic inner tube is now.

On conditioning, I live in AZ - but not the southern area; we are a mile high: snow, sleet, freezing winds. Like you, I have a run-in situation. Our first competition is in February, and down in the desert. I keep my horses fit by driving at least a 3-mile loop, mostly at a walk, which includes rolling hills. This keeps their legs conditioned, their wind somewhat conditioned, and I try not to sweat them. If I see an area that sweats too much, I clip it - usually under their neck, chest, belly, flanks - and blanket them. You are going to have a tough time doing 10 mile trail rides if they aren't fit.

I drive a HyperBike. I can pretty much guarantee his wheels will NOT go on your EE, because they are a pin lock, not a bolt on. BUT Bob has been working on longer shafts, which might fit your horse. I don't recommend the HyperBike if you have not trained your horse to stand. That is a must. I harness and hitch by myself also, so my guys stand for that, and for me to get in the 'Bike. I CAN recommend the HyperBike as the best, and safest, cart to trail ride, road drive, and condition in. Bar none. We do have an EE cart. It mostly gathers dust in the tackroom; where we drive, it simply isn't safe.

OK, I'm rather new to driving minis--I have a metal easy entry cart. Because I'm not that bodily flexible, and they weigh less, I thought it safer/easier for me to enter/exit the cart (I harness and drive alone) to use that type rather than a Meadowbrook. I only have available yards, rocky fields and gravel driveways for driving, no arenas. Mini is B-sized.

1. One complaint I have heard about easy entry carts is that they are easy for the driver to be thrown out of them. In some ways that might be a good thing, but would it be smart or stupid to then use a seat belt? The seats are a bit slippery and I could see that it would be easy to slide out unintentionally.

2. Since my cart has those wire wheels, is it hard to put on solid wooden wheels which would withstand the punishment of the rocky roads rather than the pneumatic tires?

3. Suggestions for conditioning a "soft" mini in the Northeast US, which are stabled in a run-in type situation (so left unclipped in winter). Would like to be able to do 10+ mile trail drives, but can't really start driving until April. Summer this year was brutal in 90s and high humidity.

There is much useful information on this forum, for which I am appreciative.

Thanks.

Roxane Martin

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Just think what would have happened here if they had had seat belts.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=plgTwZ6GZBw

 

[Roxane Martin]

Point made regarding seat belts....

A picture (or video) is worth a thousand words.

Thanks.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The only experience I've had with an EE exit was a friend recently. Her dog ran under the horse and her horse swerved, getting on the edge of a ditch. The cart tipped my friend out. Once her weight was out of the cart, the cart righted and the horse trotted off and calmly waited for someone to fetch him. If she had been attached to the cart, I am not sure if he wouldn't have panicked with the dragging weight of the tipped cart on the edge of a ditch. She dusted herself off and no one was the worse for wear.

As far as where to keep one's weight in the EE cart, I am finding that settling my behind firmly and evenly in the seat with my weight back, both feet under me, has really worked. For trail driving and excercise circles it is working great. I notice my horse responds to this posture, as the balance is over the axle and helps him lift his hind end.

My two cents.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

You've already gotten excellent answers so I will simply add that yes, using a square of non-skid shelf liner under your rear then bracing one foot forward on the floorboards will work well to hold you in the vehicle during routine work. Seatbelts are used in combined driving but only to help keep the driver from sliding across the seat; they are only secured on one end and the other is held by the navigator. That's a great example video Rabbit posted!

The Hyperbike's wheels are neat (I have both the pneumatic and non-pneumatic ones for competition) but are not rated for a heavier vehicle. Sorry! I'm another who sticks with pneumatic tires for my EE due to the ride but uses puncture-resistant tubes and green slime to keep them inflated. It isn't hard to fit wooden or steel wheels, just expensive and you may need a new axle to accommodate the different hubs and bearing sizes. (Yet more $$!)

Leia