Ponying another horse

[michele80906]

Anyone out there ever pony another mini behind the cart while you are driving? How does that work for you if you do? Thank you. Michele, Colorado

 

[Jill]

I bet people have done this, but I never would. In my opinion, it's enough to pay attention to the horse you are driving and be on the look out for things in the enviroment that he/she may react to. I wouldn't want to factor in another horse at the back of the cart. If something went wrong, how could both horses, one in front bridled / harnessed and one in back haltered, be safely handled?

 

[normajeanbaker]

I do it. I have one who doesn't drive and doesn't do much biting rig work, so I started ponying her behind the cart. I have a driving Mini that no longer shows, so I use her as my "pony horse". It gives her a job and gets the other horse worked. This is this mares favorite way to be worked. She loves it. I do NOT tie her to the cart. And I always do it in the ring, never an open field...just incase. I sit on the lead, so if anything happens, it's quick and easy to release the lead. I also make her stay behind me and the cart, not off to the side. I don't want her getting her legs hung up in the tires, so it's safer for her to be behind me. She knows the routine and stays right behind me and doesn't lag behind or pull on the lead. For the most part, I never have to touch the lead. She keeps up when we are going and knows the voice commands, so she is as quick to respond to whatever gait I ask for as the driving horse is, and she stands patiently next to the driving horse while I hook to the cart.

I guess it depends on the horse on if it'll work. I have another mare I tried to pony. She wanted no part of it. And I have a few who find it very boring. But, the one mare I do it with all the time loves it.

~Jen~

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I do that frequently with my older, experienced horse in harness. I tie the other horse behind with a lead rope to both sides of the back rest, so he cannot get up beside the cart. The first time they are frequently silly, but my experienced horse just tows them right along. After a short trot, they usually settle right down and stretch out.

It doesn't work very well if the pony is a nipper.

I have done this for years without any incident, but that isn't to say nothing COULD happen.

 

[RhineStone]

We pony our 2 yr. old Arab/DHH behind our Half-Arab with me driving and my husband holding the 2 yr. old. He is on the back step of the Marathon vehicle. If there would be a problem with the filly, my husband would just have to step off the vehicle. He isn't "trapped" in. Our filly has learned all the voice commands this way because when we do a slow trot and say "jog" she slows down, too, etc.

I would never pony another horse by myself and never tie them to the vehicle. Like has been said, I can't "be in two places at once" and watch both horses effectively. And tying them to the vehicle is just asking for trouble.

If you want to work two minis at once, learn to drive tandem. That way, they are both in front of you. I am working on getting a 32" tandem together this year, not for show, but for fun and exercise.

JMHO,

Myrna

 

[BannerBrat]

I do it. I have a few in for training and I usually start taking them with me once I get a feel for the horse. I only pony horses off my personal gelding who I know inside and out, and he knows what he's doing. Yes there's a risk and that's something you'd have to weigh out, I do it, it works for me, but you can't do it with every horse.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I have yet to try this but am seriously considering it as my baby is too young to drive tandem yet. As he is both a nipper and a silly stud colt with a tendency to go up, I would not only be tying him to each side of the cart so he couldn't come alongside but probably sliding a couple of pieces of PVC over the leads so he couldn't approach too closely. I have no idea how well this would work and understand the risks (as others have stated, having a horse tied to the cart is asking for trouble if he spooked) but it's one I'm willing to try in order to exercise both. Obviously I would start in an enclosed arena but it seems like a good way to get a young horse used to the sights and sounds of driving. Foals used to follow along with their mothers as they plowed or pulled the milk wagon- this seems much the same.

Leia

 

[Kendra]

When I was away at college, my mom and brothers were getting our four show horses ready and fit to go to Worlds. My mom would alternate days, driving her horse and my horse and ponying the other. Worked fine when she was driving her 'slow and steady' type and leading my speed demon roadster horse, but when she was driving Image, she'd look back to see poor little Dude's eyes wide in surprise as he hurried along for all he was worth! ;-)

They were both very experienced driving horses, which made the whole procedure pretty straight forward. I think it'd be a much larger undertaking (with more potential for incident) with a youngster involved.

 

[RhineStone]

They were both very experienced driving horses, which made the whole procedure pretty straight forward. I think it'd be a much larger undertaking (with more potential for incident) with a youngster involved.

I also think it would be a pretty big undertaking with a inexperienced driver involved! There are lots of people out there that know just enough to be dangerous!

Myrna

 

[love_casper]

There used to be a trainer in our area who had a bunch of horses, and she would drive one with usually another 2 tied to the back, sometimes a couple weanlings. This was in the city so she didn't have an arena, driving around was her form of exercise. They all looked so cute with the group of them going around town.

 

[PetVetCanuck]

When I was in high school and had just started as a groom at the local standardbred track, I used to jog six horses at a time - one in the jogger, two tied to the cart on each side and usually a young one ponied along behind (ie. too wild to tie to the jogger). I didn't realise there was anything wrong with doing this (although I know they didn't allow it on the main racetrack, just on the backtrack, which should have been my first clue!

) until the day my father came to pick me up after work and said he had just noticed 'some idiot' jogging six horses on the backtrack... Yep! The idiot was me!

I must say, I never had a problem with any of the standardbreds I ponied at racetracks, fairs, breeding farms, etc in the ten plus years I worked with them. But now, as an older, fatter, middle aged mum with a brain injury, I'll leave it to the younger, quicker, better balanced drivers!

Cathy

 

[jegray21]

There is a polo farm down the road and I saw one of their riders riding one and had four on each side in the field...Amazing..not something I would be doing! I can't imagine ponying with out one more person...though when I rode we did it all the time for conditioning the young horses not ready to be ridden yet...definitely think tying them to the cart is not safe. makes a lot of sense to have someone sit in the back and hold the horse..seems like good time management when there are a lot of horses to work

 

[disneyhorse]

Have done it with two very experienced driving horses. I would say it is NOT the safest thing to do, and I would never do it with a green horse in either spot.

Andrea

 

[susanne]

I would only do this in an arena or enclosed field, with two people: the driver, focusing on the driving horse, and the "groom," focusing on the ponied horse. The line would be wrapped once around the seat back brace and held by the groom. This way they cannot be jerked off the seat, but could release the ponied horse easily should problems arise.

My viewpoint comes from having a very strong mini. We discussed doing this on our beach drives before Mingus was driving. I was concerned that he was MUCH stronger than a small mini and could pull the cart wherever HE wanted. We ended up deciding it was too risky on the open beach.

As with so many horse-related activities, people need to use their common sense, listen to their instincts, and err on the side of caution. Prepare for the worst and allow for the best.

 

[wiccanz]

I do .. my very experienced boy goes between the shafts, the other 3 on the cart, 1 either side and 1 behind. All four horses have been taught to lead off the cart in all 3 positions, so I can swap and change them without trouble, and thus far I have had no issues, indeed they seem to enjoy all going out as a team.

There is danger involved in whatever we do in this world, including crossing the street .... with a little common sense, sound training and the knowledge that things can and do go wrong, I think the benefits can outweigh the risks.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I have done it, but only under specific circumstances, including: only in my fully enclosed arena, with gates shut; never with very young or horses that hadn't already had plenty of handling and manners established; never with a much larger horse as the 'ponied' one. I did tie to the cart; or actually, to a leather strap that I wound around the backrest a couple of times; the backrest on my first Frontier got a bit 'chewed up' by tying directly to the backrest, not to mention when my 29 3/4" stallion liked to bite it!(I solved that by having him wear a muzzle while being ponied.)I always tied short, in the center of the backrest, and with a 'quick release' knot, with a lead long enough that I could sit on the end of it.I also drove only my most seasoned driving horses when ponying another.

I would NOT do this w/ full-sized horses, BTW...at least,not at the age I am now. Nor would I recommend it for anyone who doesn't have a good many years of solid horse/driving experience.

Margo

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, after several years of ponying I had my first bad experience. I had Dusty on behind Dapper Dan and he managed to tear my cart material in several places. So now I will have to recover the backrest. I guess I need to invest in a muzzle for the ponied horse. Thanks for that tip, Margo!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I am boarding a wee stallion named Sureshot temporarily. He is rather chubby, so I want to give him some workouts. We've been walking 2 miles every other day, but I decided to try and pony him behind the cart and Dapper Dan. He is 14, so not a silly like Dusty. I asked my dil to ride her bicycle along with us, so she could keep an eye on Sureshot.

He ponied perfectly. His little legs were so short that he had to hustle! We stopped at 1 mile to check his breathing. He was a little sweaty, but not breathing too hard (it was 90 degrees today).

I did the two leads, one on either side of the seat, but it was never an issue for him to try and run up beside the cart.

Rinsed him off with the hose when we got home--should have waited till he had finished rolling before hosing!

I feel comfortable taking him by myself now, he is such a sensible little man.