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I had the best intentions today. Got up, got my son fed and ready to go, got down to the barn, hogged Major's mane and clipped Clem's belly (the only part of her that doesn't shed out...) and then went to get my harness to tack up. OH WAIT! I took it home to clean it and it's still sitting at home.
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So instead of a drive this morning I trimmed hooves. I work tomorrow and Thursday but my Friday morning is free and clear and hubby will be off work so he can take care of getting DS breakfast and whatnot then come down and video Clem and I. I'll need to drive first thing in the morning since it's supposed to get up to 90F in the afternoon.

@ dalvers63 : Enjoy your truck shopping. It's hard not having your own transportation. I finally made hubby buy me an old (and really cheap) Explorer for those days when I need to throw hay bales, dogs, tack in the car and he has the truck. Best thing I ever did! I look forward to seeing video of you and Mikey.
 
Yes, it's hot here too. Not the temp so much, but the humidity is really high. Even in the morning when it's still cool I can get wringing wet. Tomorrow I plan to get Rowdy out early. Parade is Saturday and I want to get one more good drive in. One thing I am noticing, now that he has settled down, is that he does not know he has a job to do yet. The light has not come on. When I hitch Dapper Dan, he knows he is doing a job. Rowdy is just going along dumb and happy; I wonder when the light will come on for him.
 
Rowdy's first parade today. We stopped by the air brush folks to have some stars painted on him. They made a special stencil for him. He stood pretty well for that and I even had to back him into a tight spot so they could get the sprayer on one side. My sister helped, as a header. Whew.

He did best when he could keep moving. When the parade stopped he didn't do so well. I tried to keep him going in a circle then, but sometimes there wasn't room for that. The motorcycles and tractors were fine. Bicycles and 4 wheelers were okay. I couldn't let anyone pet him; he didn't like standing still for that. All in all, he did all right for a first parade.

Two people approached us, interested in miniatures.

Can you tell what I mean about him having a long back?

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He looks great! Congrats on a successful/safe first parade! You both look fantastic. I love the airbrush stars.

It sounds a lot like Clem's first parade. She just wanted to keep moving. The sirens, motorcycles, crowd didn't bother her much. Stopping was her biggest issue and I didn't want to do circles because they throw candy at our parades and the kids were running out into the road. I didn't want a running kid to spook her into the crowd. The thing that DID bother her a LOT was a drone. They buzzed it right over her head by the announcer booth and she scattered! Lucky for me she's pretty easy to get a handle on so after a scatter and a 3-4 stride bolt forward she was back under control. However, it did make her anxious for the rest of parade. I've been desensitizing her with my brothers drone since then. She doesn't love it but at least now she only does a small spook then realizes she is okay with it.
 
Marsha Cassada said:
Mmm! A drone! I'm glad we didn't experience one today. And nice to know someone else had trouble with standing still.
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The worst part for us was the 30 minute stand still in the lineup. The parade started 20 minutes late and my husband got called into work so I didn't have a header. I had my 4 year old son with me so he couldn't really take the lines... But we were able to do some circles and walks up and down the parade line so that helped.

Drones and balloons. Those seem to be the hardest things for even seasoned horses. They are two things I'm working on desensitizing all my horses to. That and the every scary, super deadly, surely out to get you.... plastic bags
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Rowdy looks great! I'm glad your first parade was a success. I love the stars, too :)

I'd love to do a parade and will have to check them out around me. We have one in the town closest to me plus with Seafair coming up there are parades everywhere.

I sadly did not get any driving in this weekend. Saturday I volunteered in the morning as a ring steward for a big dressage show nearby (boy those horses are HUGE!) and then went to look at trucks. Didn't intend to buy the first one I saw but it really was everything I was looking for in a truck. That took all day plus we had horrible heavy rain all afternoon so driving would have been out anyhow.

Sunday Mikey got more body work done so no driving then though it was a beautiful day and would have been wonderful for it. I got to see a couple of the other boarders drive their Friesians so that helped.

After this week the serious driving will start to happen. I'm sure my husband will wonder where I am since I anticipate spending most of the next few weeks at the barn. Have to get in shape and practice for our first CDE in August!
 
The parade looked like fun and Rowdy looked very handsome in his stars.

I have been driving Peanut about every other day. He is so much calmer and easier to work around which is a relief! We took him to a show Saturday, his second one of the year, but we went in more classes and stayed the day and I could see it "click" with him that it wasn't so bad and could even be fun :). I did not drive him but I might at the next show, if it is a nice day and I get brave. I have never driven in a class and I assume it is entirely different than riding in one, lol.

I have been long lining the new guy and he is doing well. He is stiff to the right so we are slowly working on getting a little bit more flexible. We hitched him twice and I walked behind the cart and my hubby led him, then I walked him off the lead line and he was good. Not going to push him as I do not know the extent of his knowledge. I would like to get someone with more experience to help.
 
Marsha Cassada said:
If he is stiff to the right, you might consider a chiropractor. My horses always are more flexible after the chiro visit.
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Thanks, good idea! We are going to have his teeth done too. My vet said they needed to be done but could wait (?!) and seeing how he is I don't want to wait. I think it's just something he needs to work through, but if he has a few sharp points, that's not going to help. I put a different bridle with the same type of bit, just a different one on him today and he was better and happier. I was using Peanuts old bridle and Peanut did not like it either, so that might be part of the issue. He may never make a driving pony,lol but we are going to give it our best try. Trainer is coming to see him Saturday. It should be interesting.
 
I managed to get out and work with Mikey on Saturday this last weekend. I wanted to do more but had to admit that the slight cold I have brewing was just wearing me out.

We did arena work and I think by the end we were doing ok. Had a couple of "fun" moments though. The first was when a fledgling swallow (they nest in the arena) flew up in front of Mikey when we went by. I never knew he could leap that high and get all 4 feet off the ground. It was over as soon as it started though we had to spend a few laps getting through the "scary arena" area. Of course it was a while after that the bird moved farther down the arena and spooked him again. At least this time it flew out the door so we didn't have to worry about it anymore.

After that it was the scary spot of sunlight - ponies can be really silly sometimes!

I also decided to go ahead and purchase a new Frey Rebel cart. I've been going back and forth about it but in the end I wanted something easier to get into and better suited to doing a marathon. I just kept worrying about the wood cart getting damaged

There will be pictures once it arrives!
 
Looked up your Frey Rebel cart. I like it. I had to browse their website while I was there and I really want their miniray marathon cart they are working on. How much fun!!! If it's light enough I think Clem is big enough to pull it comfortably on her own.

In unrelated news, I was at my brothers wedding all week (I'm exhausted) so no driving for me. While I was gone my SIL managed to impale my riding horse on a piece of rebar. It went 4" into is ribcage barely missing piercing his chest cavity!!! I'm just glad he's alive and on his feet still.

I have 2 extra kids all week next week then youth camp the next week. I'm getting my driving fix by reading all of everyone's posts on this thread. Thank you for getting me my fix
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I drove on Saturday, just a quick little drive, and then let a student of mine drive Hercules. She loved it and he was awesome for her. I drove out yesterday, went to hook him up and looked down, the cart that I borrow (and a lot of the others in the barn do as well) had a flat tire and I had nothing to pump it up with, so I unhooked him and we did some ground driving. I was bummed as I am far away from the barn right now and I don't get out there as often as I would like so that was a bummer but we got some stuff accomplished.
 
Flat tire! I hate when that happens. It is usually the valve stem, too, which is the worst. My sister got solid wheels for her cart, as the flat tires were such a problem. But I am lucky that my husband keeps mine on the road. We keep spare inner tubes on the shelf. I did get a bicycle pump to carry in my tool box on the cart, in case I have to add a few psi while away from home. Haven't had to use it yet, but it's nice knowing it's there.

I looked up the Frey Rebel also, and have some questions. Doesn't it seem like the driver is too far above the center of gravity? It seems designed to keep the reins up off of horse, but it looks tipsy to me. The seat looks comfortable. Let us know how you like it, Dalvers63!
 
Ive just started my boy Cat and hes coming along great!! I do need new tires for the cart as these are to small. Any good places to shop?

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Saddleseat08, what type of cart do you have and what type of tires are you looking for? There are lots of styles and colors out there so knowing what you want will help with shopping.

Cat is beautiful! Can't wait to see him hooked up and driving. Are you looking to just drive for fun or do you plan to compete? I love driving Mikey and can't wait for our first competition next month!
 
Today a lady I met at the recent parade brought her Downs daughter over to drive. She used to drive at a place they lived before, but it has been several months. She didn't feel comfortable on her own in the cart, so I put her mom in the sulky with Dapper Dan and took the daughter in the cart with my green Rowdy. The daughter, who is 36, was timid at first but then held the reins for a while. I was not quite sure about Rowdy, but he did very well with the full load. They want me to give her a lesson once a month, but I do not feel adequate for that; I drive for pleasure and don't know the correct way to teach. I gave them Pat Elder's contact (we are in Oklahoma). They have a big horse that could easily be trained to drive; I think the daughter is more comfortable with the little horses in the cart. I did invite them back to drive again, and offered to haul my boys to their place sometime. The daughter was so excited to be in a cart again. A delightful morning driving and sharing miniature horses!
 
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