Your Drive Day

[Cayuse]

If you are hesitant you can always wait on having him gelded! His "parts" will always be there if you decide to geld in the future, but once they are gone...

If he is good to handle and well bred and you think you might regret it, maybe it's just not the right time?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My sister came out to drive with me. We had both had a bad day so I said "come out to drive and we'll let the wind blow through us". She drove Rowdy and I drove Dapper Dan. We had a very nice drive and both felt much better!

 

[Cayuse]

I got the ok from the doctor to do activities as tolerated so I took advantage of a beautiful day yesterday and drove Cappy. We worked on walk/halt/walk transitions and he is smoothing out. He is getting his fall fuzzies and his coloring reminds me of a "wooly bear" caterpillar, the fat black and orangey ones that are around in the fall.

 

[MajorClementine]

So gad to hear you are released from medical house arrest. I hope things continue to go well. I am in love with your Cappy! He just makes you smile. Especially with his winter woolies making him look so fluffy. Clementine is getting wooly as well and since I don't drive much in the winter I just let it all grow. I call her a Yak in the winter. And she grows a full beard. It's amazing.

Can I just say how much I love this thread! I don't have any friends around here who drive and with my father across the country for another year it gets kind of lonely. Without sounding like a total sap I just wanted to say how much fun it is to "get to know" everyone and their horses and hear about drives and life.

@Marsha : Nothing like a good drive to forget a bad day. And how fun to have your sister to drive with!

 

[Cayuse]

MajorClem, nothing sappy about it! I feel the same way about this thread. I wish we all lived close to each other so we could meet up some day.

 

[MajorClementine]

So I debated sharing this pic since I'm one of those people who don't like posting pictures of my family online. However, this was such a "proud mom" moment for me. I already shared about my Sunday drive when my son drove Clem but here's the picture I took. Please note, the left rein is really slack but it's because she turned her head as I took the photo. I made sure he had a good hold of the lines before I stepped out of the cart.

Also, I know its really hard to see good in this photo but how does her breast collar look? You can see it sits right over the top of her shoulder but since I'm used to that straight breast collar this one looks so high to me. With her head turned it looks like it's cutting into her neck and I really should have gotten a pic from the front. If anyone has concerns about the way it's fitting I can take more pics on Friday. This is the size "C" collar so it's the biggest of the little ones.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Love those bays!

 

[Strangeaddiction]

Love this thread too! Even though I board at a barn that is 1/2 full of mini's and ponies that show, it seems like no one is ever around to bounce ideas off of. Patty is retired and busy enjoying life (as she should be), so I don't often get to ask her opinion on things. I love seeing all the pictures and hearing people's driving stories, even if they are short and sweet.

Now that I am moved I can get out and drive and work my boy more! My goal is to get to either the AMHA world or Ptha World show next year. The competition is deep at AMHA but hopefully if we work hard we might do ok. I have heard politics (like at any other breed horse show) can affect some things, especially if you aren't with a big trainer, but I have shown my whole life (AQHA/APHA and NRHA) without a big trainer and have done fine ignoring the neigh-sayers.

Today is the day, I think I am going to geld him. He is an amazing boy but I think for an all-around horse, it will be easier to have a gelding. He is proving to be quite talented in the Obstacle work, as well as hunter so I think he is a great candidate for the all-around.

 

[MajorClementine]

Today is the day, I think I am going to geld him. He is an amazing boy but I think for an all-around horse, it will be easier to have a gelding. He is proving to be quite talented in the Obstacle work, as well as hunter so I think he is a great candidate for the all-around.

Good for you for making the decision that will work best for you. There are a few things that are certainly made more simple by having a gelding rather than a stallion.

Now that I am moved I can get out and drive and work my boy more! My goal is to get to either the AMHA world or Ptha World show next year. The competition is deep at AMHA but hopefully if we work hard we might do ok. I have heard politics (like at any other breed horse show) can affect some things, especially if you aren't with a big trainer, but I have shown my whole life (AQHA/APHA and NRHA) without a big trainer and have done fine ignoring the neigh-sayers.

Politics seem to be an issue you run into no matter what you are showing or where you are showing. We've run into it running bird dogs in field trials for crying out loud. But does it ever stop us? Nope. It will just make it that much better when you place well at a show. Having something to work towards like AMHA or Worlds will be a really fun challenge.

 

[Cayuse]

Strangeaddiction, how did the gelding go? Hope he is on his way to an uneventful recovery.

Don't worry about the politics, just go and have fun!

 

[Strangeaddiction]

It went great! Super easy, he is sore today though. While he was down the vet was able to get hes pesky wolf tooth that no other vet has been able to get out, so unfortunately the poor guy got it from both ends yesterday

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Glad they checked for the wolf teeth. Whew! It's over. Decision made. Now you can both move on.

 

[Cayuse]

Well my new harness came and it does not fit either mini. Since it was custom, I'm stuck with it. I hope to consign it.

Raining here today! And that's a good thing. But no driving this weekend.

My new paddock is half done. It will be finished monday. The guys setting the posts ran in to ledge, so it's taking forever. But it will be worth it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well my new harness came and it does not fit either mini. Since it was custom, I'm stuck with it. I hope to consign it.

Raining here today! And that's a good thing. But no driving this weekend.

My new paddock is half done. It will be finished monday. The guys setting the posts ran in to ledge, so it's taking forever. But it will be worth it.

Well, darn!! Surely there are some adjustments to be made on it? Too big? Too small? That is a severe disappointment.

 

[Cayuse]

Marsha, I was bummed! The headstall is too big. If I adjust the blinkers so they are at the proper level, the bit is too low with no room to adjust up. If I fix it so the bit is hanging correctly, the way I have to adjust it puts the blinkers a little too high and really jams the browband into the ears. And this is on both minis. I gave them the measurements and double checked twice. :-( It's a custom order so I'm stuck.

The rest of the harness fits ok, so I could get a different bridle, but it won't match. I dunno. The bridle is just weird, or maybe my minis heads are peculiarly shaped, lol!

It did not come with the holdbacks either, I guess I was supposed to order those seperately. My mom said I should just order a biothane bridle somewhere and swap out the browbands so it sorta matches. I've got myself confused!

 

[MajorClementine]

Well my new harness came and it does not fit either mini. Since it was custom, I'm stuck with it. I hope to consign it.

Raining here today! And that's a good thing. But no driving this weekend.

My new paddock is half done. It will be finished monday. The guys setting the posts ran in to ledge, so it's taking forever. But it will be worth it.

Gah!!! How frustrating! Bridles are hard sometimes especially for minis it would seem. Do you have anyone in your area that could maybe help you fix the bridle? Did you measure the bridle against the measurements you gave the harness maker to be sure it was made to your measurements? That would be one of my first moves.

Nothing worse than getting all excited for new tack then it doesn't fit. I've gone through it with several different things. Back band, tugs, bridle... You'll get it sorted out

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think you should contact the company/individual and see if they/he will work with you on the bridle. The bridle is so important. Take pictures of the bridle on the horse and ask for suggestions on fit.

 

[Cayuse]

I did send them an message last night and they requested pictures, which I sent. But unless they want to replace the entire bridle, I think I'm stuck. I tried it on again today and lowered the blinkers from the buckle at the poll, but I still have to have it so it is on the tightest hole at the bit end and up high at top (ear squishingly high) and it is still too big. And that is on Cappy who has the "fatter" head.

Maybe shorter cheek peices might work, we'll see. My husband has been very patient in helping with all the adjustments, poor guy! Glad he likes horses.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I went with my sister yesterday to look at a driving horse (she lost hers this summer to collapsed esophagus). She brought home a very nice little horse from Wilma Bouska of Teacup Stables. His barn name is Fred, but I can't remember his registered name. He was trained by Pat Elder. My sister brought him out today to drive in our rural area. Took us about an hour to get his harness adjusted down from her other horse. Still need to tweak the headstall. And I am thinking the tugs need to be raised a hole--any opinions on that? She ground drove him first around cones and various obstacles, then we hitched up and went out on the road for about 1 1/2 miles. He saw some strange things, but reacted sensibly and has a beautiful working trot.

I was sort of embarrassed about Rowdy; he seemed like such a hairy oaf next to that polished Fred. Fred had been to Nationals and still had his show look.

 

[MajorClementine]

You could try the tug loops one higher and see how the seat of the cart looks. It looks level to me right now...

Nice looking horse she's got there. Glad he did well for her. New driving horses are fun!

As for your wooly Rowdy, I'm driving what looks like a tiny ugly yak right now. If you weren't clear across the country we could drive together and you'd think your guy was the most sleek and handsome animal on the planet. I was looking at pics of Clem after she came back from training and being worked every day for a month. She was sleek, slim, and beautiful. Totally different beastie from what she looks like now. Maybe I'll put a trunk and tusks on her and enter her as a baby wooly mammoth for the Halloween Costume contest..... actually.... that's not a bad idea.... I'll post pics!!!