I am going to train this welsh mountain pony to drive. I am not stupid so I am enlisting the help of a trainer.I am going to start by ground driving, then just putting a harness on, then a drag,and eventually a cart. I ride but don’t drive any tips or past experiences?
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It sounds like you already know what your game plan is. Welsh ponies take to driving like a fish to water, so you’ll have a good student! I taught our pony to drive using the steps you mentioned. Always good to have a helper at all times. I followed the advice of author, Doris Ganton:" Breaking and Training the Driving Horse". I found this book to be very straight forward and helpful. It’s older but the lessons are timeless. I hope this is helpful.
well don’t start with a manual cause they really screw up the clutch…
get some driving lessons with an experienced horse and trainer as well as enlisting your trainer to help you break yours to harness.
Just like you wouldnt buy a green horse for a novice to ride untill the person had more riding experience -the same goes for driving….
you may also want to speak with your farrier regarding road studs – they need a little extra to help them stay on their feet when they are pulling.
i started mine out doing the ground work using a surcingle and long reins…get some long reins about 15 ft long…long rein drive him from the ground…start him out at walk and left and right turns after he is doing good at that start trotting then backing him…when he’s doing good at that start putting the harness on him and let him wear it while your ground driving him…after mine was used to the noise of the i started putting bags of cement in a sled and letting him get used to the pulling..then after a few weeks of that i hooked him to a harness and long reined him from behind the harness…it took about 60 days training to get him ready to pull the cart with a person in it that’s from ground training…
It helps enormously if you have a pony that will lunge. Mine would not, but he was fairly attentive to voice aids.
You sound as though you are going to be starting the right way, give it time seeing as your pony is a bit older, they will learn but could take a little longer for the messages to get through.
You will need several assistants. One to lead – or at least walk with the horse and two more to pull and be dragged on the traces, and another two to make the breeching work – the pony needs to get used to something pressing her bum from behind. This is what upsets horses the most and not being able to turn so easily since the driven horse can only turn with a straight body where as ridden they are trained to bend around the rider’s inside leg.
You should ideally hold a driving bridle with the bit against your shin and the curb chain done up. Have someone pull the reins from behind you, first from near to as if riding. You will get a feel of how the horse feels when you pull on the reins.
Then get them to move back and pull again and you will find that the further back you are the leverage is such that you can find it painful. This is a useful exercise when learning to drive (or ride) and hopefully will make you a more considerate driver in terms of your hands.
When you put the cart to the pony the first couple of times, do not do up the traces but rather have a couple of people holding the shafts in the tugs and follow allong as the pony pulls in case he or she spooks and then they can just drop back and unhitch the pony – far better that than having to invest in a new cart.
If you can get some practise with an experienced horse that would be reallly good so that you can learn with a safe horse how to handle the whip and reins, how to turn and start and stop etc. The two of you learning together, a @green pony and a green driver could spell disaster!
Good luck. E:mail me if you have any more queries.
You got it!! One of the big things is that your pony learn he can’t round at his rib cage, he has to step over. I built a harness out of pvc pipe, put it on the horse then ground drove them, it got them used to something touching them, and helped them learn to turn. It also teaches you that you can only make wide turns. You are already on the right track , just take your time, and your horse will let you know when he is ready for the next step.