Road driving

[Fanch]

Be warned, I have to share a story prior to my question.

My arena is about a mile up the road and for 5-6 years I have been driving from my house to it when I want to do driving work. It is a busy road, espeically in the summer, but I have ever only had minor incidence in the past.

However, today has changed my mind on this. We incountered two ridden horse and two loose dogs. I went to duffy's head and yelled to them asking for them to keep their dogs away and tried to keep my only horse, Duffy, calm and work past them. One dog came at he and he bolted into the field to our left. Long story shot, it was terrifying but he came towards me after making a big loop and stopped at the sight of me and I was able to catch him. My joined reins were caught in the wheel and after I had soothed him I worked to get them free. We made our way slowly home with the help of my brother who was thankfully home and immediatly we drove back up the road and back to my house where I spent more time driving him; he has so much potential and I was going to make sure he was okay. He calmed down and could have cared less except he was a little jittry on the road.

Now, this is a horse that has pasted numerous dogs before, but on leashes, which I know I cant always expect as I could past a house with a dog loose in the yard. However, I saw the people pass my house as they were heading home and talked to them about how it was irrisponsable of them to have loose dogs, long story. I checked with the pound and they were totally in the wrong; all dogs on public roads should be on leash or the owner should be able to grab them at all times

What I learnt:

-reins that are bolted togeather are not a good idea, personally

-That I would like to spend some time socializing him with unframiliar dogs in a safe environment

-Despite the bolting, I really do have a good horse; he calmed down quicker than I thought he would and was patient with me in helping us get home safely and was willing to leave the incident behind him

-That I no longer think it is safe for me to drive to and from my ring on this particular road, considering that all the obstacles (cars, motorbikes, rvs, bikes, animals, etc) are only going to get worse

What I really want from the lovely people on this forum, is reasurance that I'm not chickening out. Hes a show horse and has a lot of potential and I dont want something stupid to ruin that, or kill him for that matter. Im planning to leave the cart at the arena (in the barn) from now on and just ground drive up, or maybe even leave my harness up there and just walk him up. I just want to do what is safest for me and the horse, but I also dont want to be frightened of road driving or what I may encounter. There is a lovely back road that I would still like to have the confidence to use!

If you made it to the end, thank you!

 

[brasstackminis]

My only place to drive, besides my 1/4 mile driveway, is the road. I have no choice. So I have had to train my horses to deal out of necessity. I would start ground driving the daylights out of your guy...anywhere and everywhere. I ignore dogs. If I am passing dogs and they are contained, I just keep driving and treat it as a training experiance. I have lots of paths I drive where my horse can hear but not see the dogs and we start there. Then I take them out where there are a few loose dogs. If they make their apperance and begin to chase, I walk and keep walking. It seems to be less exciting so they are not as inclined to run, my horse keeps moving so he has something to do and the dogs seem to feel like they are succeeding in chasing us out of their area. If I can, I will hit a dog I can reach with my whip if they don't quit. I have not had any trouble.

The cars are a similar thing. I start off ground driving and on the quiet road. I start out by stopping as a car passes, then we walk as the car passes and finally I hitch up and do the same. Then off to busier roads. I have actually driven my horses on the access roads of the freeway and after all of the training, they are totally calm. I would think of it as a training situation and if it is too overwhelming, then go somewhere to practice where it is not as exciting. I not only drive my minis on the road, but my QH/Welsh pony that is almost 14hh! You can do it and do it safely. Just approch it like you would any other training....start off slow and small and build up as it becomes apparent that all is well. If the dogs on the road to the arena are too much, find less intimidating dogs to drive past somewhere else. I am a firm believer in teaching my horses to deal with their fears. My half warmblood gelding pretends not to be afraid, because he knows that if he shys, he has to touch the scary thing...it is really funny. Hope that helps. I guess my answer is to train up to the ability to drive past the dogs...even if that means not driving past those dogs for awhile.

 

[Fanch]

Thanks and yes, I do think I need to work on the dog issue. He really is a good road horse in other aspects; I've taken this horse past a steamroller without issue. I guess its the whole "what could happen" situation.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sounds like you handled it pretty well! I wouldn't give up on the road. I bought a fluourescent safety vest to make us more visible on the road. I have smacked dogs with my whip. If those horse riders had seen you smack their dog, they would have had a lot more respect for your rights on the road.

Next time you go, perhaps you could have someone follow you in a car to make sure you arrive at the arena safely. Once you get your confidence back, you should be fine.

Sounds like you have a very good driving horse!

 

[Katiean]

I drive on the road. My horses allow Semi Trucks, busses and heavy equipment to pass and even had some cars honk and motercycles "pop" their engines behind my horse. I am truley belssed with good horses. I would not quit driving on the road because you had one problem. I do really hate it when people allow their dogs to roam free. Keep your whip handy when the dogs start to bark.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

What I learnt:-reins that are bolted togeather are not a good idea, personally

-That I no longer think it is safe for me to drive to and from my ring on this particular road, considering that all the obstacles (cars, motorbikes, rvs, bikes, animals, etc) are only going to get worse

What I really want from the lovely people on this forum, is reasurance that I'm not chickening out. Hes a show horse and has a lot of potential and I dont want something stupid to ruin that, or kill him for that matter. Im planning to leave the cart at the arena (in the barn) from now on and just ground drive up, or maybe even leave my harness up there and just walk him up. I just want to do what is safest for me and the horse, but I also dont want to be frightened of road driving or what I may encounter.

Hey Fanch, glad you and your horse are okay! Things like that are scary and can really do a number on your confidence. There's nothing wrong with ground-driving him to the arena and it can be a safer way to do things as you and the horse can leap across ditches to get away from crazy cars or do all sorts of things you can't with the cart. It's also safe to go to his head in that circumstance, which honestly it really isn't when he's hitched for the reasons you discovered. =^( I'd agree with the advice Brasstackminis gave you as far as desensitizing in a gradual manner and introducing them to all the insanity they're going to meet on the road. I started both my horses simply leading on the road when I got them, and went from doing so during low traffic hours to the evening rush hour with all the semis and such whizzing by in the dark with their brights on. The boys learned to graze quietly while they went by and stand still whether the vehicle was coming up behind them or approaching head-on. I used clicker-training on my colt as he was a bit more overwhelmed by the unceasing onslaught of car-after-car-after-car than Kody ever was and taught him to hold his ground when frightened. Eventually when he was used to that I expanded how far we went, what we did while the cars went by, the number of neighbor dogs we passed, etc., and I started ponying him behind Kody on our drives so he saw what the experienced horse did. That really helped! When he was old enough to ground-drive I started all over again during the quiet part of the day and went through the same lessons. When he was calm and accepting of having vehicles rush up behind him after dark I figured he was okay to start actually driving on the road during the day. We just layer our lessons so it's always doing something they're familiar with but with one single new twist like doing it with blinkers instead of an open bridle. I think introducing him to unfamiliar dogs in a controlled environment is a great idea, and so is ground-driving him on the road.

I'm a little concerned that it sounds like you didn't work him on the road after this incident as that means in his mind it may continue to be "that scary place something bad happened" even though you made sure driving itself was not by working him when you got home. Get him out there as soon as possible and go down the road like nothing happened.

On the subject of joined reins being unsafe, I'm of mixed opinions. One reason they make buckling reins is so that one side can't slip out of your hand and leave you with only one rein to control the horse. The second reason is because dangling rein ends can easily slip out of the basket and get tangled in the wheel just like your joined reins did. Pinky loops to hold up the excess are GOOD! You can compromise if you'd prefer and rather than actually buckling your reins, simply slide the end through the keeper on the other rein. That holds them together and out of your wheels but in an emergency they would come apart.

Anyway, I'm really glad you're both okay and you do whatever you feel you need to to remain safe. That said, there are many of us who routinely road-drive and while it is neither fun nor predictable, it CAN be trained for and I wouldn't let one bad incident stop you. =^)

(BTW Karen, you think you have it bad! I only have a 1/4 mile of ROAD to drive on! LOL. My driveway isn't even a blip on the map.)

Leia

 

[Fanch]

Leia, are you as rained out on the west coast as I am right now

Anyways, I dont want to sound like Im arguing, I just do want to say that this is a very road safe horse; he has been driving this road for 3+ years he has met everything from steamrollers,rvs, semmys, motorbikes, bikes, people, other horses, AND people walking their dogs (however, these dogs were always on leash) so yes, I do plan to work with him on getting use to loose dogs gradually over time.

And yes Leia, I immediatly worked him on that stretch of road, and I hitched and drove him on the road again the following day with no issues, hes one of those horses that is very good at bouncing back! I knew that going back up the road whether I was worried or not was the most important thing to do. I however was very glad my brother was with me in case of another emergancy.

I dont think I'll give up on road driving, however, im going to save it for the 2 nice, quiet roads I have acess to and ground drive up to the arena (its been working out great the past week) along the busier road. Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

That's great, Paige, no problem. And as of yesterday, yes, our awesome streak of sunshine is officially over and we are back to drowning. Boo!! And just as Kody's feet are starting to get better, too. =^(

Leia

 

[sea horses]

Leia, what is a "pinky loop" I'm pretty sure it is a loop that goes on your pinky to hold the reins, but is it something you add, or something that comes with the reins. thanks, Mary

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Leia, what is a "pinky loop" I'm pretty sure it is a loop that goes on your pinky to hold the reins, but is it something you add, or something that comes with the reins.

Yep, that's what it is! My first set of reins from Ozark Mtn. Mini Tack came with a leather pinky loop stitched in and I love it so much I've used the reins with every other harness I own instead of the ones that came with them. My synthetic reins drive me nuts because I have to sit on the end or use a looped pony tail elastic which has a tendency to fall off every now and then. Guess I need to superglue it.

Here's a picture from the Ozark website.

Leia

 

[Sue_C.]

I second the safety of joined reins, and although I don't like that "tight" leather loop shown, do usually use a short length of round brown shoe lace on my pleasure reins, both beta and leather. However, on my trail/marathon reins, I use what I like even better, as I feel it is much safer, and less likely to rip my finger off if I get knocked out of the cart...yet still give me "control" of the reins, (with any luck LOL!) are the plastic coil bracelets used to keep car keys on. Pardon the colours...these are my cotton webbing marathon reins, and my barn colours are black and orange.

 

[Keri]

I road drive all over the place. I train my horses the "steady" command. So when I see something coming, I tell them steady and they'll be ready for it. Also carry a WHIP! Its not for your horse. A dog comes after you and onto the road, smack that dog with it and yell no. I can bet you next time you pass, that dog will go nowhere near that road. And I've used it on little dogs on up to big ones. Its a safety issue for everyone involved. All you have to do is hit the dog once with it. After I have done it, I have not had any repeats of dogs chasing me or my horses.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I second the safety of joined reins, and although I don't like that "tight" leather loop shown, do usually use a short length of round brown shoe lace on my pleasure reins, both beta and leather. However, on my trail/marathon reins, I use what I like even better, as I feel it is much safer, and less likely to rip my finger off if I get knocked out of the cart...yet still give me "control" of the reins, (with any luck LOL!) are the plastic coil bracelets used to keep car keys on.

I like the idea of a brown shoelace! I'll try that with my synthetic reins. I only hook the small leather pinky loop on the end of my finger at the last joint and hold it there by curling the finger so hopefully in an accident it should pull off easily or at the very least break, as I think the thin leather is meant to do.

I road drive all over the place. I train my horses the "steady" command. So when I see something coming, I tell them steady and they'll be ready for it. Also carry a WHIP! Its not for your horse. A dog comes after you and onto the road, smack that dog with it and yell no. I can bet you next time you pass, that dog will go nowhere near that road.

You bet it's for my horse. If he doesn't listen to "steady" (which I also use

) he's going to get a few sharp flicks to the outside ribcage to remind him not to arch or whirl away from scary things. THEN I'm going to use it on the dog! LOL

Leia