Comment

Comment by Alison Plumbtree on July 24, 2009 at 6:04pm

That great that you want to continue with your mare as she gets older and teaching her to drive can be very rewarding.
The only thing I must say is that she needs to be quiet. Not all horses like to drive (I think its one of the hardest jobs for a horse to do as they are quite restricted in how they move). I have found out this the hard way! I have trained a few ponies to drive and found that some take it much better then othersl As long as she is quiet and doesnt mind being alone it will not be too hard to teach her to drive. I always start my ponies under saddle first, which she is broke so you already have step 1 down! I suggest lots of line driving and getting her used to wearing blinkers (it might take a few times for her to get used to the bridle).
If you have any other questions on where to start feel free to ask and I will gladly help out as much as I can.
Alison

Comment by Karen T on July 24, 2009 at 5:53pm

Just joined your wonderful group - I have a wonderful willing 20 year old mare who carrys my husband around. As she gets older she won't be able to comfortably hold his weight and was wondering how difficult it would be to teach her to drive..... Anyone have any comments? Thanks, Karen

Comment by Barbara Sky Horse on July 7, 2009 at 7:19pm

You're a doll Alison, Thanks so much!!
I'm VERY VERY Certain I'm going to have LOADS of questions about Combined Driving ... just as soon as I know enough about it to have an intelligent question to ask ;-)
~ Barby

Comment by Alison Plumbtree on July 6, 2009 at 7:54am

Welcome Barbara! That's great that you are getting back into driving. I'm on the Ontario Combined Driving board so if you have any questions about our shows let me know...We have one coming up in a couple of weeks that has dressage and cones in the morning and a mini marathon (about 5km) in the afternoon. Its out by Guelph (I dont know where you come from, but hopefully its not too far for you to come).
I also really beleive in ground driving and basic ground work before you start to drive. I have seen many accidents that could have possible been avoided if there was a little more training done on the ground first. Driving is great, but it can also be a little scarey if your horse isnt ready yet. I have a 3 year old cob that I'm training that I cant wait to drive but I'm not pushing him because I dont want to have any major problems with him. I've done a lot of ridden dressage shows and line shows with him so he gets to see many places before I start his driving career. I've also done a ton of line driving and he's pulled a tire and I've tied poles on him so he gets used to thing rubbing his sides (like the shafts will be when he's driving).
If you have any questions about combined driving let me kjnow and I will try to answer them as best as I can.
Alison

Comment by Barbara Sky Horse on June 30, 2009 at 5:24pm

HelloOOOOOooo???
Anyone here???
...*laughing* ... Ok .. well I'll just talk to myself until someone arrives!!

Long story made short ... I'm just getting back to horses after a long break to pursue a serious business career ... I'm back!!
I started shopping for an Andalusian or Lusitano ... that led me to become interested in the Spanish Norman breed ... that led me to research Percherons .. they led me to look at other Draft breeds, which got me to looking at Driving ... which brought back wonderful memories of the light horse driving I USED to do ... That got me looking into driving in general … which introduced me to Combination Driving ... But I LOVE Any and ALL Driving ... Soooo ... HERE I AM!!! ;-)

I Really Would Love To Learn More about Combination Driving, and maybe Even get competitively involved!!
I Definitely LOVE looking at the pictures I find online of the competitions and ALL that’s involved!! … How Exciting!!! ... WOW!!!

But whether I ever actually go down the “Combination Driving” road …
I've always been a firm believer in "ground driving” and "work in long lines" as a part of the foundation training I do with ANY young horse.
And I honestly think that if it’s at all possible … Every 2-3 year old should do some work in harness, being driven in a light training cart of some kind.

Anyone else have an opinion about this??
~ Barby

Comment by Julia on April 28, 2009 at 7:53am

Great to see thisgroup here! I am a beginner driver and often have trouble finding advice. I drive my Gypsy Vanner mare single and recently purchased double harness....I have no idea how to hitch them together. Can anyone recommend a book or video?

Comment by Alison Plumbtree on January 5, 2009 at 8:54pm

I'm on the board for OCDA (Ontario Combined Driving Association). I can keep you guys in touch with all the shows coming up in the GTA area. So get out there and drive!

Comment by Barnmice Admin on October 7, 2008 at 8:09pm

Thanks for creating this group, Roxy! Now, maybe I can learn about driving! :)

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