The Thunder Rolls!

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You could try something like a training neck collar like they use for bridless training. (Though I was a bit taken aback when I looked at some online....and saw the sneaky metal spikelets inside them. Never entered my mind they'd be anything more than smooth leather.)

Chimacum Tack carries a trick harness set, and a support harness that has a handle, you might try them. Otherwise, it's some type of extra large dog harness.🥰
 
Patty's Pony Place has a harness designed for skijoring that might work too, if you can't find a dog harness to fit. Definitely need something that goes low enough to be below his windpipe!

I love that you're doing this and I eagerly await more videos!! 😍
 
Thanks Silver City! I can’t find the trick harness at Chimacum Tack, but did see the support harness and they are out of stock.

I LOVE the skijoring harness at Patty’s Pony Palace. Thanks Abby!! 🥳 That is so cool and I think it would work perfectly for what I am trying to do. I have sent her an email and am waiting for her reply…. Hopefully she can make one small enough to fit little Thunder.
 
Patty, from Patty’s Pony Palace, and I have been emailing back and forth. It looks like she will be able to make Thunder a tiny little harness, Woohoo!!

This is what she had to say about his measurements: “Those are for sure, the smallest measurements I have seen to date!!“

🤣🤣♥♥♥

She is designing and re-configuring the harness now, I’ll keep y’all updated 😍
 
Kelly, can you update when you have a chance on how it's working out? I'd love to see a pic in use to see how you're hooked up when you're rolling along. I'm getting the bug to get a pair of cross-country rollerblades and thinking about harnesses for it!
 
YES!!! Omg! Abby! It is so much fun!! Hubby promises to take a video of me tomorrow 🥳 (but he got a new toy himself so we’ll see 😘) The harness works perfectly for us. I hold on when I want and I can let go when I want or if he spokes. He spoked at something the other day and I let go, he stopped and I went flying by and he was like… oh I guess whatever wasn’t so scary after all and caught back up to me. I just have him on a halter because he is so small and easy to handle. I don’t think I am going to bridle him. When we were in the driveway headed for home the other day he started to canter and OMG that was so fun! Except I couldn’t get him to stop 🤣 I had to go in the grass to get him to stop and slow down….he just needs more training LOL LOL

I think I will probably start Breezy, my baby, this way!! It gets them use to pulling a little something, but not to heavy or for very long since I can skate on my own whenever I want.

We are having a blast!! I am not “riding“ him as much, but he is pulling me ever so beautifully!!! He only weighs 120 pounds!! Sometimes he pulls me from his left side, other times he pulls me from his right side.

Videos coming soon…. I hope 😘😍

Would you “ride” Rowen? Or just have him pull you?

The harness that Patty made fits him perfectly!! I sent her his measurements and the harness turned out great!!💕
 
Thanks, Kelly, this is awesome! It does look like it fits him really well and it also looks like he's having fun.

I think Rowan is a little too big for me to "ride"! He's 37" and I'm not very tall, he's just big enough that I would pretty much have to sit ON him. I also think I need to have him bridled and will need both hands for that so I was going to hitch myself to him skijoring-style, with a belt and a quick-release snap. I'm thinking to use a singletree to attach to the belt, and then use my driving harness and hook the traces to the singletree. Not sure though if the rollerblades might make me tall enough that some sort of dorsal attachment with a single line would work OK, or a setup like yours with the two lines just coming up over top of his rump. I don't think he's going to be doing a lot of heavy pulling with this, more just to help me along, and the rollerblades will let me keep up with him more easily and for longer than on my own feet. The ones I'm looking at have their own brakes so I won't need shafts to keep me from running up on his heels. I don't have any safe paved roads to go on near where I keep him so we'd be all on ATV tracks and fields. I'm going to ponder for a little longer and then maybe talk to Patty's Pony Place about harness options.

I may even just get the rollerblades and first try ground-driving him with me rollerblading behind him instead of walking and see how that works. I might not need to hitch myself to him at all. All depends on how much exercise I want to get, I suppose. ;)
 
Whether you are hitched or not, you will be getting exercise, trust me :) When Thunder pulls me, one would think that I am getting NO exercise, but let me tell you that I am! My legs muscles were shaking even more so than when I was actually skating next to him. I think my muscle will build up over time, but don’t think you are just gonna hang on for the ride especially since you will be off roading 🤣 The skijoring-style harness with the quick release sounds like fun! I practiced roller skating NEXT to Thunder before I had him pull me, so you could try that. Then I wonder if you could use the harness that you already have for your cart and somehow tie together the traces so you could hold onto them. Reins in one hand, traces in the other…. I don’t know if I’d be that coordinated though but will probably try that one of these days with Shadow or Stormy. Shadow is 35 inches tall and I would have to bridle him if I decided to do this with him, he would be too big and too powerful for me to just use his halter.

Whatever you decide you’ll have to keep us updated and post pics 😍
 
Yeah, after watching a bunch of videos of people off-roading with the "skikes", I definitely think I will be wanting his help getting up hills! Plus his little butt could use more of a workout too. ;) And probably starting just around my neighborhood paved streets by myself, to get in shape for it a bit and figure out what the heck I am doing. I have cross-country skied, ice skated, and rollerbladed, but all in the rather distant past so I'll definitely need some practice! If it ever happens for real then I will most certainly post about it!
 
This all looks like so much fun!! What age do you start with them? I'm wondering if someday I could try with Sodapop in a wheelchair? 🤔 I know assistance-pulls in wheelchairs are a thing with a harness similar to this in dogs. Custom wheelchairs are much easier to push than typical 'hospital' style wheelchairs too.
 
It’s a blast!! Everyone has a different opinion on what age to start cart training mini horses. I usually start ground driving when they are about 2 years old, then hook the cart at 2 and a half. I only do light short easy lessons until they are over 3 years old. Some people wait till they are 4 years old. This whole roller skating thing just happened on a whim thanks to Abby for posting a video a will back…

https://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/threads/fun-video.139714/
Thunder doesn’t have any ground driving training and is only 2. He does love roller skating though! He caught on to it very quick and being so tiny is a plus! I don’t have him pull me for very long or for very far at this point… i weigh less than him and he isn’t pulling a heavy cart. Depending on how much weight the wheelchair and yourself would be, would depend on when I would start her. But yes, I would eventually try having her pull a wheelchair, I mean why not!? I think that would be pretty awesome! Skys the limit!! 💕
 

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