Standard Driving proceedures...

[Boinky]

Ok I figured i'd like to do a post on this and see if perhaps maybe we couldn't get some sort of standard procedure/awareness for driving classes. I decided to post this because I saw this video on Youtube and thought "you know that could have very easily have happend in my situation at nationals".... It could happen to anyone infact.

At AMHR nationals I had a mare wig out on me and take off.... she just wasn't prepaired for all the commotion and horses and the ring with the high bleachers and things going on above her. The show's in the area's she was shown at never had many other horses and certainly not the type of ring like nationals.... so no way to prepare her for a nationals type of show other than to just do it. I will tell you in my many years driving and training horses I've been in several "take offs" and typically i'm able to "guide" the horse but not stop it or do anything DRASTIC with it (which guiding usually is a good thing and the horse will come back at some point as long as your level headed and guide them in safe directions). Anyways this was the situation at nationals with this mare. She started to take off in the far corner of the ring and this all only lasted one whole side HOWEVER.... When she was obviously out of control and not "stopping" Mark made the announcement to "ALL STOP/TIME OUT". I think he did say after that "we have a run away". In my eyes this was a really big mistake because instantly everyone stopped and I had major obstacles to have to contend with and i'm sure most of the people had no idea WHY they were stopping at that moment putting everyone in a very unsafe situation..... Infact several people stopped almost infront of me and quite frankly almost got run over! ( I think this mare was still conscious enough that that was what stopped her sooner than she may have otherwise because she was either going to have to come back or crash......) hence they had no idea to be "looking out" for a runaway horse. I have thought about this many many times since nationals and felt that under the circumstances an announcement should be made in this manner or something similar. The FIRST thing that should be said is 1. "we have a run away horse" to make everyone aware of the circumstances. 2.) please look around you FIRST and proceed to the center of the ring (or someplace safe fairly announced by the announcer)if you are in the clear.

Coming from both perspectives as someone in a take off..and being another driver in a ring with a take off.... i think this would be a excellent universal driving standard procedure to help keep everyone aware of the situation so everyone can try to do safe things to try to avoid a similar situation as this video! I also think perhaps it might be a good idea if a horse isn't in control soon to advise people to exit carts and unhitch them from their carts in real extreme cases such as this possibly!

driving video

 

[~Lisa~]

Wow how scary. I am not sure there is just one way to deal with a runaway in a crowded driving arena. I am not sure how safe unhitching would be in a ring with a runaway and 20+ other horses/drivers trying to unhitch at the same time.

I guess it all depends on the circumstances at the time

 

[Boinky]

well i do agree with you there lisa..it's hard to say what is the RIGHT THING in any situation like this BUT i do think it would never be wrong to say "we have a run away" first to make everyone aware of what is happening to be MORE cautious.....and I can say I certainly would be driving differently if i Knew there was a loose horse (ie. looking around more and ready for defensive maneuvers). It's NEVER a good situation but i do think things could be made better if people knew what was happening.

also after thinking it over..in a LARGE class it might be bad to unhitch because then you have a bunch of carts sitting around..however you wouldn't have a bunch of loose horses attached to carts should something like the link ever happen!

 

[midnight star stables]

Video didn't work

 

[Boinky]

HUMM i just went to the video and apparently it's been removed? it said "this video is no longer available"....... Odd

just started working again........ dunno what's up with it..but this is the link

 

[~Lisa~]

Yes I agree with you there stating the reason for a time out as in a runaway as opposed to something else is always a good idea.

TImely post as Raven is driving green horses and we have been going over every day what to do in case of a runaway.

I have not yet had it happen to me in cart but have had it happen while riding. I had a 17 hand T/B 3 yr old run away and I did what I was was always taught steer first and then deal with the speed but let me tell you after about 10 minutes that sucker showed no signs of slowing down it was scary and he did finally tire himself out - at least I had more control being on his back then in a cart

 

[dreaminmini]

What was the video link of? The Arabian driving class that got out of hand? It is still there.



Sorry must have been posting at the same time

 

[tagalong]

I've announced at shows too - and saying we have a runaway is not the first thing that would come to mind. First - HEADS UP! - as in pay attention - there is trouble... then lower the gait - so WALK if they are trotting... then I might say calmly what was going on while doing a quick assessment of the situation and maybe call a TO or HALT. You can ask them to move off the rail IF POSSIBLE. Every situation is different and I am not sure it would be possible to have a standardized way of dealing with it. You have to deal with whatever is happening in the best way possible.

At one show we had a rider get dumped at the far end of the ring while at the canter in a big class - and as the horse took off bucking and spinning I had everyone drop to a walk immediately and then halt on the rail. All was going well - the loose horse had slowed down and was about to stop - when the guy at the gate decided to OPEN it. If I could have reached down there and choked him I would have. And even using my Darth Vader I Am Going To Kill You voice - SHUT THE GATE IMMEDIATELY he just stood there and chirped at that horse - who launched nto a gallop and tore out the gate past that moron... who turned and ran after him, leaving the gate open. The horse fell trying to charge around the corner to the barns at top speed - fortunately he was only scraped up a bit. And I asked the Show Manager to speak firmly to the gate person - or better yet, replace him.

She did - and that was a good thing as the next morning in a driving class there was a runaway and I am sure that guy would have just opened the gate. In this case the other drivers carefully edged off the rail at a walk as requested - and the runaway's driver managed to get him under control after a couple of hair-raising laps...

I think every episode is unique - and in the end everyone needs to do whatever works at the time to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I HATE the way that announcer handled that Arabian Class - as well as all the idiots flapping their arms at the original horse and just making things worse. If they had let that original horse just run on the rail and not egged him on or tried to grab him - the outcome would have been different. But everyone lunging at him and yelling - including headers who should know better - just made it worse. All the unnecessary yelling and the tension in the announcer's voice did not help - and opening the gate in that middle of that??!! Yikes....

that would only work if you had the loose horse contained at the far end...

Rule number one - stay calm, cool and collected. No matter what is happening...

 

[Boinky]

I can tell you in MY situation it would have been best if they had all kept moving at the speed they were, given warning of what was going on, and then asked to come down to a walk when/if it looked like everyone else was in a safe spot to be able to move and to be moved off the rail (or whichever direction the announcer announced). this coming to a halt/walk is NOT good it's a sudden speed decrease that causes problems for all involved....... Seriously if this mare hadn't had that last little thread of sanity i think she WOULD HAVE run over the person that was infront of me and it could have been terrible!.... I've SEEN what happens (cart, ridden or loose) when a horses looses all sense of sanity and just "flights" and things could get horrible!

I've never been an announcer and i'm sure in a fast pace situation it can be hard to think of the right things to say and do but if it was part of a "standard" saying for a runaway it would come easier and if it was kind of a "standard" in the driving ring people would have a clue what was going on and then each individual can use their own common sense in how to deal with it instead of being crashed into blindly without knowing what's going on. When a horse gets loose at a show everyone always says "loose horse"..it means HEADS UP... LOOK WHATS GOING ON" it's not only for someone to catch the horse.

Tag along..lol i'd want to throttle him too!! sometimes you really have to wonder what the heck people are/were thinking to do stuff like that!

 

[tagalong]

I can tell you in MY situation it would have been best if they had all kept moving at the speed they were, given warning of what was going on, and then asked to come down to a walk when/if it looked like everyone else was in a safe spot to be able to move and to be moved off the rail (or whichever direction the announcer announced).

As I said, Boinky - it is a "lowering" or de-escalating process. First HEADS UP - everyone is still at the original gait and aware of trouble - then lower the gait - and you lower the stimulus for a scared or unruly horse... and then ease off the rail as safety permits. NO chasing of a loose horse - just calmly try to keep him out on the rail... and the guy in the Arabian video who thought he could get in front of a scared runaway and just reach up and stop him, must have gotten badly hurt for his lack of horse sense and common sense.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I actually posted that same video over in the photo/video board a few days ago. SCARY stuff. Actually had me crying since we just recently purchased our first driving horse. Needless to say im not quite so eager to learn to drive anymore.

 

[wantminimore]

Wow, that's one scary :Cold-Scared video!!

 

[Annabellarose]

Terrifying. I had not seen this video yet. An Arabian friend of mine and a leading professional trainer in the Arabian horse industry, Chuck Siemon, posted this video. He said: "All the horses were okay, no serious injuries...the last horse running loose was National Champion (driving) that same year." I would love to know where that happened, probably somewhere in Arabian Region 14 (which is where he spends most of his time showing).

I didn't think the announcer did a poor job. I do wish that she had started intructions and warnings quite a bit sooner though. I respect her very much, she announces a lot of Arabian shows.

Edited to add: I was incorrect, this was an Arabian Region 11 Championship show ("Regionals").

 

[MiLo Minis]

Please don't let this video scare anyone off of driving! Driving is a lot of fun and can be a reasonably safe sport if you prepare yourself and your horse well for it. Like any sport there are risks - that is part of the appeal of sports to some people - but you can lower the risk with good preparation and training. Instead of scaring you let this video help you realize the risks and think about what you can do to minimize them.

"Heads UP!! We have a runaway!!!" should be announced. Then "come to the center of the ring as quickly and safely as you can please" and it should be left to each exhibitor to decide whether they can trot or walk there. Calling for a walk or halt can put the immediate persons in danger.

There should be a minimum ring crew of 4 in a smaller ring and more in a larger ring. At least one person on each 'corner' of center ring. They should be instructed prior to the class as to how to react in a bad situation such as a runaway. These people need to be horse people so they will know how to deal with the horse to help catch him rather than escalate the situation.

Show management needs to be aware that these kinds of things can happen at a driving show and take it into consideration when setting up their ring and crew. Too many times I have seen horses crash through those rope barriers that are often used to make a ring. If the standards used don't allow the rope to come off them easily they are of course gathered up and dragged along.

Spectators are often allowed to crowd all the way around the ring rather than be seated in a grandstand or specified area. This can easily put them in harm's way of a runaway horse and carriage. It has been my experience that horses that react by bolting seem to zone out and all that is in their head is RUN and they will plow through anything but at least if they have a clear path you give them the opportunity to NOT run anyone over. Horses that react by bolting should really make you think twice at the training stage as to whether they should actually BE a driving horse.

I know this is going to be an unpopular idea but it is my feeling that young children should NEVER be allowed to drive in a show ring by themselves - they should always be accompanied by an adult or older person. You can have the utmost confidance in your horse and your child's ability to handle them but you can't have that same confidance that others out in the ring are the same. As long as all is going well, everything is great, but will your child know how to react, without getting themselves, or someone else, killed or injured, in a situation such as seen in this video? The fancy dress classes are really cute and the turnouts are often quite beautiful but they are also incredibly dangerous and I, for one, would never allow my wee girl to enter one without me in the cart with her.

After all the experiences I have had with training horses to drive I see an awful lot in the show ring that just makes me cringe.

 

[Aristocratic Minis]

I saw that same video about a week ago and it scared me to death! There you are, minding your own business and your own horse, and something like that happens. OH! OH! OH!

Scared me because I'm driving in my first show this weekend and I keep imagining the worst!

So, all the horses and people were all right? I was scared that the last horse who went down had broken a leg. At the end the horse had disappeared and I was afraid, with the ambulance, it had been put down.

I was shocked at how people kept running at the horse. If they had kept the horse on the outside, he might have slowed down, but the way everyone was chasing the loose horses, I think it made it worse. Those drivers who had taken the horses to the middle were not safe either. Didn't three of them get crashed as the horses cut across the middle?

This really scared me a lot.

MiLO, have you ever been in the ring with a train wreck like this, or do you think the mini people are more competent?

 

[wildoak]

Having been behind a runaway once, the video gives me chills LOL. Mine fortunately was in a small class of only two or three horses at a local show, but it was still terrifying and I'm sure I said a few unrepeatable things before I got him stopped! Saving grace with minis is that they are small enough to physically overpower eventually.

What has been your experience, after a runaway situation, with the horse? I quit driving my guy - actually tried a few times and he was so rattled even ground driving that I just gave up. Do they ever get over it? Mine was a horse who had initially been quiet in harness, had shown him once at World (and thank God it didn't happen there!)

Jan

 

[MiLo Minis]

MiLO, have you ever been in the ring with a train wreck like this, or do you think the mini people are more competent?

I have never seen a wreck like this one in a Mini only show. I don't think it is because "mini people are more competent" but rather Minis are easier to stop because they aren't quite so big or strong as a full size horse. I have been in the ring at Pleasure shows when bad wrecks, worse than in the video, have occurred but never when a situation was as badly handled as this one in the video. People at Pleasure Driving shows tend to be more aware of the danger and have more knowledge and experience at preventing or stopping such a situation I think. Accidents like this are NOT an every day occurrence in any ring but you do need to know how to deal with it when it happens.

When you go to your show this weekend obliterate this video from your mind. From now till then envision yourself and your horse going through the steps of a class in perfect harmony and not missing a step. Breathe deeply before entering the ring and during your class. Clear your mind and think only about this class. If you are confidant in yourself and your horse you will do fine!!!

 

[Versatility Farm & Training]

"Heads UP!! We have a runaway!!!" should be announced. Then "come to the center of the ring as quickly and safely as you can please" and it should be left to each exhibitor to decide whether they can trot or walk there. Calling for a walk or halt can put the immediate persons in danger.

I totally agree with this. I could not watch the video you posted fro some reason, but I have been in a runaway situation at AMHR nationals before, and if my horses wasn't so responsive to the bit it would have been awful. I was a youth, and some kids in the stands through something and it hit my horse and he took off. It was during versatility so there were a ton of horses in the class. The announcer said time out everyone stay on the rail, and a judge even tried to tell me to do small circles.... obviouslty came from a riding background not driving, I did not listen to him because i know small circles in a fast cart means you turn over the cart. Everyone stayed around the rail, and I ended up weaving through other horses scraping the wheels of some carts as there would be 2 drivers that were 3 drivers wide on the rail and my only choice was to go between them or over them. My horse steered where ever I told him to go, but would not stop, already being scared and then the commotion of the other drivers. Then a trainer ran into the ring with my mom thank god and ordered everyone to the center of the ring. When people started getting out of the way and into the center my horse calmed down, stayed on the rail, and then stopped.

If you have a runaway horse you need the rail to safely let them run and calm down themselves, or if that isn't working the rail to run them into to get them to stop. Either way the other exhibitors need to be away from the rail. I agree that they need to look before they move to the center so that they don't turn into the path of the runaway.

WildOak,

Most horses in my experience do get over it with time and work. They need to be put back in cart imediately to end on a good note (as long as they are not injured). You dont' want their last memory of driving to be a bad one. Most of the time if you can do that successfully the horse will recover. I have gotten several horses in training from people that had horses run off or flip a cart, for me to see if I can get them driving again. Most of them had run off because off poor judgement from the owner though. SO far I have gotten all of them back driving again. I have one in the barn right now that is like that, haven't got a cart back on him yet, but do have shafts on him. He used to jump all 4 feet off the ground judt buckling the girth, and touching his flanks. Now he trots along with the shafts on and bouncing around. It took a while to get to that point, but it works and I plan to put the cart on him soon.

 

[JourneysEnd]

"Heads UP!! We have a runaway!!!" should be announced. Then "come to the center of the ring as quickly and safely as you can please" and it should be left to each exhibitor to decide whether they can trot or walk there. Calling for a walk or halt can put the immediate persons in danger.

This needs to be the universal call when a horse takes off in a driving class. If you can get everybody else off the rail, the driver in trouble can just stay with the horse until it wears out/calms down. But by all means tell us what's happening. I've had the call to "stop" in the arena without being told why. You never know if somebody's come out of a cart, tack has broken, or if you're about to get run down.

 

[kaykay]

omg that was horrible!