# How much weight is safe??



## mini horse mania (Nov 14, 2011)

OK- Im new to driving and My new breeding stallion is coming home next weekend...and he is broke to drive...yay!!! It has been a while, and he has been out to pasture. he is 32 inches tall. I was wondering "safely"-how much can he pull?? I dont want to put anymore on him than I have to- with me and the cart- Im 200 pounds, and no inclines--how long should a outing last without wearing him out?? Thanks


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## Matthijs (Nov 15, 2011)

If he is in good condition he should be able to pull you around all day long.

(He should be able to pull close to 500# but I would never put that much weight behind any horse without knowing it and building up to that.)

But naturally it is all about conditioning and finding out where he is at.

I f you look close at the horse during a drive he will show you.

We take three hour drives with our horses that are not used nearly enough to maintain top condition, so we need to keep an eye out and not wear them out in the beginning of a drive so we have some energy left in them as the drive gets on.

Clipping may be another consideration, if the horse is not clipped and gets very sweaty it will take long to dry and that can do a lot of damage by getting him under cooled.

In my opinion it is smart to start easy and build up, same as you would do for yourself in the gym. When we first got our horses our rides were less then an hour.

Weather and climate are all factors to take in account too.

My horse is rather hot and would run itself into the ground in no time, so I have to hold her back to add some duration to a drive.

Enjoy and observe,

ME


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## targetsmom (Nov 15, 2011)

I am no expert on this but I would think it would have a lot to do with how well balanced the cart is, in addition to conditioning, etc. The other thing that matters is your horse's conformation - the better the conformation (legs especially), the better he will be able to pull without injuring himself. To check cart balance, have someone sit in the cart while someone else holds the shafts and see 1) how easy it is to hold the cart up when it is BALANCED. and 2) note where that is so that when you hook the horse, the shafts are at that level. That way there will be little weight on his back so less chance of a back injury. Enjoy!


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## Sandee (Nov 15, 2011)

mini horse mania said:


> OK- Im new to driving and My new breeding stallion is coming home next weekend...and he is broke to drive...yay!!! It has been a while, and he has been out to pasture. he is 32 inches tall. I was wondering "safely"-how much can he pull?? I dont want to put anymore on him than I have to- with me and the cart- Im 200 pounds, and no inclines--how long should a outing last without wearing him out?? Thanks


My x-stallion is 32" and he drives. He easily pulls me or my daughter (around 160-175) in our show cart. As mentioned if the cart is well balanced it adds almost no weight. So basicly it's just the getting that first tug and after the cart is moving it's nothing. Hope your stallion isn't as lazy as mine. He can drive around forever but he just hates moving - period!

Added: We have a road cart with a bench seat that was made for our 34" old guy (when he was younger) My husband and I have used it - together. The gelding use to pull us in parades...however one of us did get out it it was up hill.


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## mini horse mania (Nov 15, 2011)

Thanks everyone- we will start out slow- I just wanted to make sure i didnt hurt him!!!


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## Becky Horat (Nov 15, 2011)

Also new to driving Minis. We are starting to drive our 33 inch Mini out on trails. They are mostly flat but have a few little hills....nothing too steep. She has never been out of an arena and I am getting her in condition gradually and figuring she has to "learn" to pull up little hills. My husband is worried it's too much for her. Other experienced drivers say it's fine. Anyone else have experience driving the Minis out on trails and what's your opinion? We have a well balanced cart (Mini Crown) and she is very mellow and seems to enjoy being out.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Nov 15, 2011)

I drive my mare on rough gravel roads, up and down many long steep hills and across fields and pastures with no issues at all. She is about 33.5" and I am not tiny. My husband has a 30.5" gelding that he drives over the same terrain, he is a big guy, weighs around 230lbs and the little gelding never misses a beat once he has been driven some. We do keep it to short 1/2 hour to an hour drives initially and start by refreshing in the arena every spring for a week or two but really these horses are made for harness work. They can't carry much weight but they can sure pull an average adult in a cart with out any problems.


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## mini horse mania (Nov 16, 2011)

Reignmaker Miniatures said:


> I drive my mare on rough gravel roads, up and down many long steep hills and across fields and pastures with no issues at all. She is about 33.5" and I am not tiny. My husband has a 30.5" gelding that he drives over the same terrain, he is a big guy, weighs around 230lbs and the little gelding never misses a beat once he has been driven some. We do keep it to short 1/2 hour to an hour drives initially and start by refreshing in the arena every spring for a week or two but really these horses are made for harness work. They can't carry much weight but they can sure pull an average adult in a cart with out any problems.



Thanks for the info!! Well- i sent rest of the money off for him- so he is paid for- was told he was a driving machine before buying him....now im told he was ground broke without a cart- just the harness- i guess i cant do anything now....im still gonna try him though


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## Shastataz11 (Nov 16, 2011)

I think you will be surprised. Just start out ground driving and gradually get him used to the cart and pulling weight, you will be sitting in the cart in no time. Find someone to help guide you, it always helps to have a mentor or a trainer. Driving is a blast!


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## Matthijs (Nov 16, 2011)

With his confirmation he should be an awesome driver and I am not even talking about his color and presence, man he is flashy.

Even if he is not broke to drive, find a good couch or trainer looks like he is worth paying for the training.

May have to geld him if he has to much attitude though. I have no experience with stallions, they say some are good, I am sure you will figure that out soon enough.

Keep us posted, would love to hear how he goes!!

ME.


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## mini horse mania (Nov 18, 2011)

Matthijs said:


> With his confirmation he should be an awesome driver and I am not even talking about his color and presence, man he is flashy.
> 
> Even if he is not broke to drive, find a good couch or trainer looks like he is worth paying for the training.
> 
> ...


he is 17 years old and has sired many show horses (maybe a few more for me-fingers crossed!). Hopefully he is a gentleman-but if not-he can just make babies ...lol.... I did have one stallion that was a nut case- gelding him still didnt help- he thought he was macho man... I could not for the life of me get him used to a cart-


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## paintponylvr (Nov 21, 2011)

mini horse mania said:


> OK- Im new to driving and My new breeding stallion is coming home next weekend...and he is broke to drive...yay!!! It has been a while, and he has been out to pasture. he is 32 inches tall. I was wondering "safely"-how much can he pull?? I dont want to put anymore on him than I have to- with me and the cart- Im 200 pounds, and no inclines--how long should a outing last without wearing him out?? Thanks


OMG - I just realized I saw your new boy!! He was in my barn (very well mannered!!!) while we unloaded a mare and foal here! Wow, what a little man he is!



:wub





Just 1/2 the size I'm used to, LOL. Well, that's not completely true, but... Hope he arrived OK! and I need to get up with you sometime. I'll try to PM you.


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## AmyLynnFox (Nov 22, 2011)

I'd like to thank you all for the info. I am new to the forum and sort of renewing my mini passion and driving passion. I am learning alot from you all and can't wait til my little guy is ond enough to teach to drive! I also have a mare I just bought who is very overweight, gonna work on that, but was told she was worked a little with the harness on and also the cart pulled behind her but no weight in the cart. I wish it were spring!!! Thank you all and I love the pics of everyones horses, they are just beautiful!!!! Any other info on teaching my little one to drive, in the future, is much appreciated!


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## hobbyhorse23 (Nov 25, 2011)

I think you're on the right track with taking it easy and working up to things slowly. I personally would never ask a single 32" mini to pull 500lbs (my 33.5" gelding had a heck of a time hauling more than 250lbs cross-country) but then again my gelding was not built very well either. Still, start out ground-driving and build his fitness then watch him and let him tell you how long he can go and how much he can haul. They're all different!



targetsmom said:


> To check cart balance, have someone sit in the cart while someone else holds the shafts and see 1) how easy it is to hold the cart up when it is BALANCED. and 2) note where that is so that when you hook the horse, the shafts are at that level. That way there will be little weight on his back so less chance of a back injury. Enjoy!


On a cart with adjustable balance, I prefer to start with the shafts at the correct height for the horse and type of cart then change the balance until it's correct at that height.



Only for a show cart or jog cart would you change the shaft height to change the balance.



Becky Horat said:


> Also new to driving Minis. We are starting to drive our 33 inch Mini out on trails. They are mostly flat but have a few little hills....nothing too steep. She has never been out of an arena and I am getting her in condition gradually and figuring she has to "learn" to pull up little hills. My husband is worried it's too much for her. Other experienced drivers say it's fine. Anyone else have experience driving the Minis out on trails and what's your opinion? We have a well balanced cart (Mini Crown) and she is very mellow and seems to enjoy being out.


It might be a bit much for her right now if she's finely built and has never been out of an arena, but if you keep building her up slowly she'll be fine. They usually love going cross-country! My boys are both 33.5" and once Kody was conditioned for the MiniCrown he had no trouble pulling it up even very steep hills. Turbo is a baby (3 years old) and has only been hitched a few times and right now he thinks even the Frontier is a heavy monster and "impossible" to trot with when he's tired.



Funny thing though, when I hitch him with the other gelding as a pair he can go all day with great enthusiasm! Sometimes they don't know what they're capable of until you show them. Once he's conditioned Turbo will be the more powerful of the two geldings by far; he just doesn't know it yet.

Leia


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## Becky Horat (Nov 25, 2011)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> I think you're on the right track with taking it easy and working up to things slowly. I personally would never ask a single 32" mini to pull 500lbs (my 33.5" gelding had a heck of a time hauling more than 250lbs cross-country) but then again my gelding was not built very well either. Still, start out ground-driving and build his fitness then watch him and let him tell you how long he can go and how much he can haul. They're all different!
> 
> On a cart with adjustable balance, I prefer to start with the shafts at the correct height for the horse and type of cart then change the balance until it's correct at that height.
> 
> ...


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