Some people!

I don't use a halter when hitching??? I am getting confused by this thread as it goes on.

Here is what I do when hitching ALONE:

First, put on saddle and crupper. Then breastcollar/traces (traces either tied up or looped across/through backstrap).

Cart is somewhere out in the open, on level ground, where I will hitch (not in an aisle or near a fence where it could get caught on something if horse panics).

Then, halter is put around neck and bridle is put on, lines run through terrets.

Horse is ground driven to where the cart is. Horse is driven up to the ends of the shafts and asked to stand.

On the driver's side of the horse (with lines still in my hand) I pick up the shafts high above rump and run through shaft loop on my side. (Easiest with minis and ponies, you can lean over the horse and fix the other shaft loop...). Drape lines into seat of cart, so they run the whole length of the horse and are never out of reach. Go around front of horse (always next to lines) and fix other side of shaft loop if shaft not through.

If possible, for safety, it is BEST to have a header for your horse while hitching, particularly if it's a green/young horse. My horses are first taught to stand still, they should stand absolutely still while hitching. They should know WHOA.

I am not one for hitching a tied horse. It creates a false sense of security and can get yourself into trouble should the horse panic. I always hitch and drive with the assumption that my horse (no matter how broke) is going to panic and flail around... and wonder what precautions I have taken just in case.

That said... If you want to leave a bridle on and tie the horse up (unhitched) without a halter, here is a trick:

Take a small metal ring (about the size of a keyring) and buckle it through the noseband/cavesson. You then have a ring to tie to. This only works with sturdy cavessons, not those tiny little show ones that could break easily. This also works for lunging and leading, without lines on the bridle.

Andrea

Andrea, you have described pretty much exactly how I hitch up too. I work alone for 99% of the time, and tend to take shortcuts where I feel I safely can. :

However, whenever anyone else is around, I tell them they should fully harness (bridle included) then tie up their horse, before putting the cart on. All our halters down this end of the world have buckle on noses - it's just standard.

Here's a question for everyone:

When attaching the cart, what do you do up first? Recently, someone told me it was correct to attach the traces to the cart first, so that if the horse takes off, the cart is attached. But I don't see it that way at all. If my horse is going to take off in the middle of putting to, I don't want it to be charging about with the cart attached, I'd rather the cart was able to fall off, especially if it hit something at speed... :new_shocked:

I am not one for hitching a tied horse. It creates a false sense of security and can get yourself into trouble should the horse panic.

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I sometimes tie my horses, sometimes not. When they are tied, it is with a quickrelease, and parallel to the fence...not into it. This way, if something does go wrong, I can simply pull-release-and walk the horse and cart AWAY from the fence. If I hitch untied, I will hitch at the centre of the ring, if possible.

No matter whether you tie when you hitch, or not; it should be done, AFTER THE BRIDLE IS ON.

I have seen some of the dumbest things done...it really makes me wonder if and when it will be my turn. As we do all make mistakes... : : At a show just recently was a hitched horse runaway that was sooooo preventable. Apparently the driver had gotten out of the cart, gathered his reins, and slipped them under the crupper strap...as I do myself, as I slip a halter over the bridle and stand with the horse if there is another class in a moment or two. Then he walked back and sat in the seat, (in a roadster cart) with his legs on the ground in front of him. What WAS HE THINKING? :new_shocked: :new_shocked: The horse spooked at "whatever", and a corner was torn from the metal building as the horse tore around the corner half dragging the "driver", causing him to fall out of the cart...the driverless horse and cart tore around the building several times, coming inches from many others of us, before he was stopped. Amazingly...no one was seriously injured...including the horse.

Me three, Disneyhorse! That's exactly how I do it most times except my CDE carts do not have enclosed baskets so I use a quick-release knot to secure the reins through the backstrap instead. (I don't want them to possibly wriggle off of the floorboards and get caught in the wheel spokes. BAD! :new_shocked: For the same reason you don't drive with your reins dangling in an open basket.)

Edited to add: Just make sure either you or your header has a hand physically on the reins at an ADS event, otherwise you are in violation of the rules. I don't hold them at home but that's one of those weighed risks I take for the sake of practicality. It would be very easy for the horse to startle forward faster than I could let go of whatever strap I was attaching and grasp the reins.

wiccanz said:

Here's a question for everyone:
When attaching the cart, what do you do up first? Recently, someone told me it was correct to attach the traces to the cart first, so that if the horse takes off, the cart is attached. But I don't see it that way at all. If my horse is going to take off in the middle of putting to, I don't want it to be charging about with the cart attached, I'd rather the cart was able to fall off, especially if it hit something at speed... :new_shocked:

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And THAT is why you make sure the horse is bridled and the reins are in-hand, so they don't have a chance to take off with the cart attached and no driver! ::grin::

In answer to your question though, think about it this way. If you are partway through hitching then by definition something is attached. You are going to drag that cart with you no matter what. So why not do up the traces first? The wrap straps will attach the cart just as surely.

The generally accepted correct order for putting to as I was taught is as follows:

1) Traces first. This is because if the horse steps forward, many carts will not roll lightly along with them and will instead fall out of the tug loops backwards, crashing to the ground where the blinkered horse cannot see them and causing quite a scare. The spooking horse can then step on the shafts, possibly splintering them and causing leg injury.

2) If your harness has it, the next thing to attach is the breeching. This is so if a fussy horse starts to back up the cart will be pushed away from their hind legs and they will not hit the basket and startle forward. (You can get some really spectacular wrecks by incorrect hitching. The horse tries backing up and hits the basket, leaps forward. The cart falls out of the tugs and hits the ground, the horse takes off with reins trailing. Fun! Not. : )

3) The last thing, or second thing if you don't have breeching, is the wrap straps or overgirth. Wrap straps on a carriage-style harness are kept fairly loose and would not hold the cart back by themselves if the horse were to go backwards. Neither will the overgirth of a harness with open tugs as in that style the shafts merely rest in the tugs and are not wrapped at all. On a harness with breeching the only purposes of the wrap straps are to keep the shafts from flipping up (not an issue until someone gets in the cart) and to keep them close to the horse's side during sharp turns (again, not an issue until you are ready to move off.) Given that, it makes sense that they would be the last thing you attach as they are the least essential for safety when standing.

On a harness with no breeching of course wraps also serve to hold the cart back, so they should probably be done up as early as possible for the same reason you do the breeching first on a harness that has it. I admit with a show harness setup where you will snug the wraps it really doesn't seem to matter which one you fasten first as far as traces vs. wraps, but I like to follow tradition for the sake of versatility. I.E., if I switch to a harness with breeching or to a different style of driving later I will still know how to harness safely and correctly. Plus it's so fast to do up the traces! It's an easy step that gives me time to fuss with my wrap straps without having to worry if my horse steps forward.

Leia

Hmmmm Leia... I hook OPPOSITE the way you do:

1. Wrap straps

2. Hold back straps

3. Traces

This way I was taught... if a horse gets caught on something or pulls forward the shafts should slide out or back. With the traces first, the cart can roll up and hit the horse in the rear, making them leap forward and causes a rubber band effect.

Andrea

Andrea, I guess I can see that but what if the horse takes off, does manage to lose the shafts out of the tugs and wrap straps as you mention that allows them to do, and the breeching is still attached? They'll be dragging the cart along at their heels by the inside-out breeching with the shafts on the ground and around their hind legs! :new_shocked: : There is risk to every part of driving from the moment you start to attach that cart, I think the best we can do is try to minimize it. Your reasoning is sound but for me the risk of a cart attached only by breeching if the horse goes forward outweighs the risk of them managing to back up between when I attach the traces and immediately move to the holdback straps. Plus if they do go back and hit the cart, the first thing they will do is leap forward and hopefully I'll have had time to grab a rein while they were still going back! Plus since I'm standing right there I can try to grab a shaft and shove the cart back before they can hit it.

I don't think any of us can emphasize enough the importance of WHOA in a driving horse. It can absolutely save you in a situation like that by short-circuiting the startle reaction before the horse truly panics. Either of my horses will freeze in an escalating situation if I either yell "Whoa!" or can lay a hand on their heads. I also use a soft rope and tarp to desensitize them to things bumping their hind legs before I ever put them to a cart so they don't overreact.

Leia

Edited to add: Has anyone noticed that hitching a horse is starting to sound more and more like trying to outrun a disaster? : I swear this sport really is fun! LOL. You just have to think hard to make sure you aren't taking any unnecessary risks.

Interesting...EVERY source, either 'live' or written, that I've ever consulted, said traces should be the first to 'do up', and LAST to 'undo'. This always from sources that routinely presume the use of breeching-and relative to driving of light horses in general, not just miniature horses. The logic is that, Heaven forbid the horse get loose, the traces would keep the cart with the horse, whereas the wrap OR holddowns, and for that matter, the breeching holdback straps, would be considerably less likely to--and more likely to allow the shafts to come loose from the tug loops,possibly breaking/splintering and more likely to cause serious injury to both horse and any bystanders...Made sense to me to begin with, still does--I'll continue to hook/ unhook in that order, and advocate that others do the same. I understand the thinking behind the theory of a 'rubber band' effect, but believe that overall, it is still likely to be safer to A)attach traces first and unhook them last, and B)train to, and use, breeching, EVERYWHERE except the breed show ring(and even then, in Country, and now, the newer 'Western" Pleasure driving classes, breeching would be PERFECTLY appropriate!)

As for tying to hitch(and I ALWAYS work alone)--I put on all the harness(no dangling straps, including the traces-such are always 'looped back' or loosely 'tied' to keep that from occurring), then the bridle, then the reins, looping them under the backstrap while I go to get the cart, a few steps away-I have substantial nosebands, and can snap to a ring on them(here is where a gullet strap, for everyday driving, can be VERY useful in another way: though it's primary use is to vastly lessen the likelihood that a [small-eared] horse can shake, or rub, off its bridle, which can happen in a heartbeat!!)--OR, I put a larger halter on OVER the bridle--OR-before I appeared in the 'kickoff' to the Albuq. Tricentennial in my 'homesteader' outfit and my buckboard with my pair, I bought a couple of tied rope halters. They can be put on and LEFT on underneath the bridle, as long as you are careful about adjustment/fit of both halter and bridle--for everyday driving, and work quite well. My horses also know WHOA and STAND, and I frequently hitch/unhitch them in familiar surroundings w/o tying; however, I wouldn't count on being able to do that in a distracting, active 'away-from-home' situation.

I have to say--if I had a horse that was uneasy enough with being hooked that it was stepping around much at all, I'd be doing more ground driving/long lining BEFORE hooking! I want a horse pretty darn 'solid' before I attach a vehicle to it! Just me... and I know that standing quietly to be hitched does NOT necessarily guarantee that a horse will maintain that aplomb when in draft-but it IS an indicator, I believe--and I want ALL the safety 'what if's' slanted in MY favor!!

Margo

The major rule at our house is IF IT DOESN'T STAND TO GET ON DON'T RIDE IT AND IF IT DOESN'T STAND TO HOOK IT, DON'T HOOK IT! Ground manners are so essential and they should be first and foremost. I never hook a green horse alone ever. Most of my guys are very well trained but freak things happen and the horse that will hurt you the most is the most trained horse. The reason being you tend to let your guard down. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS adhere to the safety rules, driving is so much more dangerous than riding and I think because these are minis most people tend to think this little thing can't hurt me. WRONG! By the way I do hook most of mine totally by myself and I NEVER let go of the reins. I also never tie them when I hook and I only hook alone in an enclosed area. If at a show ASK for help thats what we are all there for!

I should just take pictures the next time I take Maggie out.

I do have help for now.

Always put the saddle and breeching first, then the breast collar...halter is removed and the driving bridle is put on, then lunging strap clipped on to the bit rings, picture below so you get the idea..the lead line clipped to that..then reins.

I can do this because Chris is my head man. But it is easier for me to do this, instead of a halter.



He holds her why I get the cart. But I harness right in front of the garage, so it is not far at all.

I would not tie her with the lunge strap but it works for how I do things for now.

As for the scary things... have seen a few preventable accidents in my time..from cart to Log drags. One Reason I try to be safe as possible.

I loudly 2nd the voice commands!! With a well trained horse it can be a life saver!!

I agree about being safe, and I guess I think that this doesn't apply strictly to cart horses. If you have a "headcase", unsafe horse, be smart about it and don't put others at risk unnecessarily.....that's just common sense for all. That said, like with anything, there will be people that have none.

JMHO

Jodi

EVERY source, either 'live' or written, that I've ever consulted, said traces should be the first to 'do up', and LAST to 'undo'.

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Exactly how I was taught...and how I teach it.

lunging strap clipped on to the bit rings, picture below so you get the idea..the lead line clipped to that..then reins.

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What I do not like about this...is that if the horse does jump or spook...it is the same as being tied by the reins. The bars of the mouth can be injured very easily.

We too follow the rule that traces get done up first, and undone last when unhitching. That's the way I was taught, and seems to me the safest way. Our horses are expected to stand still for hitching/unhitching but if for some reason something spooked one during hitching I'd rather have only the traces attached than only the wrap straps (or breeching) attached. The last thing I need is for the horse to jump forward, and the wrap straps hold enough that the cart pulls backward & drags the saddle/girth backward with it. I don't honestly know how easily the girth would slide back, but the vision I have is the back pad on the horse's loins & the girth under his flank like a bucking strap!! :lol: Not pretty. Neither is the image of the horse out in front of the shafts, which are still attached to the inside out breeching, which is still attached to the backstrap, which is still attached to the saddle, which is still on the horse...

I prefer to have a header while hitching, but once the horse has some experience at being hitched & driven I will hitch alone if I must--I prefer not to tie, but stand the horse in an open area on level ground (or facing a bit uphill if ground is not level) and then hitch while always keeping one hand on the lines.

As an added note--when you have a header holding the horse, make sure that person stands to the side of the horse, not directly in front. (Regardless of what you might see in the showring when the headers come in & tend to stand in front of the horse trying to get his attention so he'll put his ears up!) Ever seen what happens to a person that might be right in front of a horse when that horse, cart attached, decides to leap forward? I haven't seen it in person but have heard tales of it, and it's not pretty when the header take a shaft tip to the chest. Or lower, I guess, with Minis?

We harness with our guys tied to the hitching rail, halter about their neck. These are our well broke fellas... the greenies always have someone holding them. We learned the hard way:

We have a 31" mare who moves SPECTACULARLY- I mean, she's awesome! Bay with white socks... but she's not wrapped too tight in the head.... we had been ground driving her and she was doing great. Harnessed her to the cart, she was fine for a while, then decided to run away. No big deal, we stopped her up the driveway. Let me state right here she was NOT scared, she just decided to go. That's Rizzi for you. The next lesson she was absolutely fine. Until we unharnessed her from the cart. She was just standing there, I undid the tie-down for the tugs, and she blew- took off. Jane couldn't hold her, neither of us had a hand on the reins. Stupid on our part- we got complacent. She ran around the house, came back the other side. Then took off down the driveway AFTER blasting through the CLOSED gate. She hit the end of the drive and turned left- right towards the highway. We jumped in the truck and took off after her. Fortunately our neighbor saw her go blasting past as he was getting in his truck, got ahead of her and turned her, with his truck, into an empty field. Less than 100 yards from the highway. Then he caught her, which can be tough on a good day. We led her back to the house, finished unharnessing her. The ONLY thing that broke was the little keeper on the girth that holds the tie-down strap. The cart had a few rubs. She was untouched. And never hitched again. That was almost three years ago.

We learned our lesson- NEVER, EVER take anything for granted. We were lucky. She could have been hurt or killed, or worse, she could have made it to the highway and taken out a person.

Lucy

WOW this is an awesome thread! Thanks so much for all of you who are so much more experienced than some of us out in the boonie who can not find someone to teach us to drive. I just read books and on here. I had always tied my horse in cross tie fashion while I did everything up and then hitched him to the cart, while he wore a halter around his neck. I think I am going back to ground work with him and teach him to whoa while being hitched. It may be awhile before we are ready to drive again, but it dangerous I guess.

Minis do allow use in to a sense of false security because of there small size.