# How to start



## lucky seven (Apr 20, 2014)

I read every post on teaching your mini to drive but I do have these questions. How do you go about introducing the harness? Do you start with the headstall with bit? Do you use a rubber starting bit or right to the you would use. How long do you let your mini wear a new part when introducing the harness?


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## lucky seven (Apr 20, 2014)

Correction, I meant to say to the bit you would be using.


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## BSharpRanch (Apr 20, 2014)

I do a lot of leading and longing a newbie until they know whoa, walk-on, trot,easy. Then I will add the surcingle and repeat the lessons. I'll add the breast collar and breeching and repeat. Then add the bridle under the halter and repeat. Once everything seems good I will start ground driving and usually use a broken mouth snaffle or a mullen mouth snaffle (depends on the horse.). Then I add componants as the horse progresses, always in the horse's time, not mine.


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## MiniNHF (Apr 21, 2014)

When I started my boy, I introduced the surcingle first for a few weeks of his lunge work, then incorporated the bridle into his lunge work. I worked him with just the combination for a few months before I even introduced the side reins. I worked with this combination for a few months before I started introducing long lining and working on bending etc.

With all this I taught alot of voice commands, walk, trot, canter, easy, halt, and also turn. 

I think it has been a total of 7 months before I even introduced anything to do with the harness components. With that I just used the harness bridle and the crupper and incorporated the surcingle with it. Some horses had the crupper and mine is one of them. 

He is still flighty about the carriage and doesn’t like the fact of the blinkers. So our plan is to work him on the long lines outside while someone else drives another horse in the same area as him so he gets use to it. He will be going to shows this summer and I will also be taking him up to the rings when those classes are going on so he can get us to the noises etc. 

We have noticed with my boy that he has a "on off switch" once he understands something it’s like someone flipped a switch and it never bothers him again and it can be within 5 mins or a month all depends what it is. Every horse is different with different things, just because mine took the surcingle the first try with no problem doesnt mean the next one will etc.


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## Foxhaven (Apr 21, 2014)

I actually started with the bridle and short reigns. After some initial "Wow, what the heck is THIS?!" reaction, he settled right into it. I did ground driving work for about 7 months, adding harness components, until I even had a cart. I ground drove him in public situations, around the lake in Evergreen, exposing him to all kinds of people, dogs, bouncing balls, new situations, and even hockey (which he REALLY got excited about... something about it fascinates him).

My guy settles well and habituates to things quickly; I would take things slower with his son, but then, his son is quite bright and is picking up ground work cues very quickly.


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## Foxhaven (Apr 21, 2014)

Oh, and I should hasten to add, I put molasses on the bit. Most of the "Wow, what the heck is THIS?!" was followed immediately by mmmmmmmmm yum mmmmm lick lick lick. He was quite happy to see me next time. I just led him around a bit and let him get used to things. Gently and slowly.

One of my favorite sayings: "You can't afford the time it takes to hurry up."


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## paintponylvr (Apr 22, 2014)

Well, let's see.... Your horse tells you! You can follow what seems "right" to you. Develop a plan so that you introduce every part of your harness, learn to fit it correctly (but it doesn't hurt to also leave it loose and floppy for part of your training).

I have varied. If you've read any of my other posts, you know that I have often introduced bits on "hangers" or real headstalls as early as suckling and weanling ages to keep mouths busy and fast little minds working. You also may know that I've taken some heat from others who have felt that that's much too early and "bad" for the little ones I've done it with (not all of ours have been introduced to harness/bridles/bits as weanlings or yearlings!). But those ponies (and full size horses) have gone on to being driving and riding ponies and working, riding horses into their mid-20s, so for me this has worked. Other ponies/horses haven't been introduced to bits, harness or saddles until their mid-teens - and some of those were much harder to deal with.

In the past, our foals have often worn sheets and blankets. That introduces the feel of the surcingle, a breast plate and breeching (if it has the tie behind the haunches)! When introducing our foals to leading and being tied up, I use a belly or girth rope and/or a "butt rope". Again, that introduces "bits" of harness early yet you build on it from that time forward. I often add other parts - as weanlings if they've fit and they've accepted the parts. It takes very different amounts of time for different horses - I still have some that don't like working with open bridles and others who don't seem to like/accept blinders - after years of ground and hitched driving. When working a horse on the ground - lounging - I often added a rope around the hind quarters. It will help to teach a horse to driving up under himself with his hind quarters - a beginning step to collection AND a simple intro to loosely fitted breeching.

Voice commands - use what you want and start incorporating them when you groom your horse, when you lead your horse, when lounging and then finally when you ground drive and when hitched. The most important one is "whoa". Over the years, I've used different terms - some I've completely dropped from my vocabulary BUT if I have a horse that I know uses that word or word group, I use it too! Until just 4 years ago, when I started driving "draft style", I'd never used step or step up. Nor step over. Nor ez as a command to slow down the gait or shorten stride. For a lot of my original handling, I never used voice commands at all. I REALLY started using them when I started working with the smaller ponies that I put our precious daughters on. I wanted to KNOW that that pony would respond to MY voice regardless of little legs bouncing on their sides or butts a foot off of the saddle with each stride. Some ponies wouldn't accept that - they didn't become beginner riding ponies. There were ponies I didn't put my middle daughter on (she spent the least amount of time working with any "green mounts") and several more sensitive larger horses that my youngest daughter's more "busy" body never sat either.

As to bits, I started with what I had. The 2 first bits I had in the 70s and again in the mid-90s are simple snaffles w/ 2" rings & 4" mouth pieces- I used them on our first small shetland of 37" and on a 14 hh arab mare. They were slightly rounder mouthpieces w/ larger rings. They were inexpensive and I had to watch for the "plating" to wear off and make what was left sharp. The ponies and I worked with it. Later, as I found different bits I bought them when I could afford them and started playing - if needed. Most of those first bits were riding style bits (eggbutts, d-rings, full check snaffles). Some had larger diameter mouthpieces, some had smaller ones. One had a triangular mouthpiece (& one of our ponies LOVED it while I owned her) - very small diameter. Most of mine, I've found they like smaller diameter bits. Then I found copper and french link bits - in sizes that fit a lot of our ponies. YAY! Others told me to try different Myler style bits - the "real ones" are beyond my budget in most cases and the "knock offs" are too thick in diameter. The ones I borrowed and tried with my more experienced ponies didn't do well with any of the styles I tried... Not long ago, I had not one but TWO ponies that just weren't accepting any bits I owned or any that I borrowed. Teeth checked - no caps, no wolf teeth, no sharp edges, no scarring along the cheeks. I bought a mullen mouth bit, but it wasn't wide enough from ring to ring. SO - I braided up my own bits and the one worked for one (thicker haystring) and the other worked with the 2nd (thinner haystring). The one graduated to a regular driving snaffle now, the other never graduated out of the haystring, home made snaffle before I sold her.... after a 18 months of ground driving and hitched driving.

As you work with each horse, you will find that each is different. Even as you learn more - you will find that how you work with the same horse will change. The basics will remain the same - but you will develop more indepth understanding. You will develop a lighter "feel". You develop a "dance". It's not the same with every horse - training is not a cookie cutter project - they are all different and you keep doing different things if one thing doesn't get the response you want - until you and your horse are working as one, together.

Sorry, not a recipe for training. Even when I was in my teens, I found that not all training times nor training techniques worked for every horse OR even every rider... There isn't a timeline. AND yes, I DO HAVE/HAVE HAD a couple of ponies and/or horses that I was able to start in less then 30 days - very green, but happily trotting along while either under saddle or in harness. Then we've developed the rest of the program to bring the pony/horse to a higher degree of learning/moving. Others spent months in ground driving and lounging before ever being hitched or ridden and still may have shown a tendency to be "broncy" - in my younger years that was quite exhilarating. Not so much now ...

"It takes the time it takes..." and one of my favorite sayings - "Eat an elephant one bite at a time."

And I'm still learning!!!! I figure the day that I completely quit learning or accepting that there may be a different way to "skin a cat", that's the day my ashes better be spread.

And with all these "books" I write for posts, I should put them together into a real book!


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## crisco41 (Apr 23, 2014)

I just got my horse trained to cart. Last fall i started her long driving with just her halter and a homemade surcingle I had made. . We went thru town. down highways and just anyplace there was activity. She did great so after about a dozen lessons that way..I put a bridle on her and did the same with a bit.. Maybe did that 2 or 3 times and then we took the winter off. A few weeks ago put a real harness on her and her driving gear including blinders. Spent about 15 miinutes 2 times long driving her. few days later hooked up some pvc poles and had her pull them 2 times for about 10 minutes. spent 10 minutes pulling the cart behind her a few days later and then hooked her up and off we went. She has been wonderful!


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## lucky seven (Apr 23, 2014)

Thanks for all the input. I really think Seven is going to be okay, his feet aren't bothering him anymore so I thought I would start slowly training him to pull a cart. Some people in my area have them trained in a week but after reading posts on training here I felt that was rushing thing way too fast. Seven is going to be 7 this year so it's way beyond time that he started looking for work. The problem will be his buddy, I may have to find another mini to keep him busy while I have fun with Seven.


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## melgray97 (Apr 24, 2014)

I highly recommend the book "Breaking and Training the Driving Horse" by Doris Ganton. It is a great book in that it presents a very step-by-step approach in a clear and very easy to follow format. The book and her video were an invaluable resource, along with regular lessons with a fantastic instructor and experienced driving horse, while I was teaching my big horse to drive.


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## lucky seven (Apr 24, 2014)

lol, my only driving experience was sitting behind a jogging standardbred as a passenger! Lessons are needed.


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## crisco41 (Apr 24, 2014)

I have had quite a bit of backyard big horse riding experience. No lessons or anything like that, NO experience on driving..but the principles seem to me pretty much the same. When I wanted to start drivibg everyone on the boards were concerned with no mentor and no lessons. Neither were available so we did muddle thru. It all turned out well..mostly because my lil mare is a gem I suppose. And partly because if you have big horse experience it can be applied. Goodluck to you. It is a lot of fun


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## MiniNHF (Apr 24, 2014)

I have been "big horse" riding since I was 6 (competing etc) and from what ive been told the principles with driving are the same as crisco41 said. I have been offered, by the barn I board at, to drive their gelding who one of their youths use in shows and I believe did worlds with because he is quieter then obviously mine in training right now so I can just get comfortable with the feel etc; she doesnt believe I will have any trouble honestly.


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## melgray97 (Apr 24, 2014)

It is great to get some experience driving an experienced horse. There are lots of moments where the horse will step in to help you out. My first driving experience was with a great instructor and her off-the-track Standardbred. That helped me when I started working on training my big horse, with extensive riding training, to drive. Now that I am working with a mini that has NO riding experience, I am finding that I really have to step up my game because none of the cues are familiar to her. It is great to have a horse who knows their job that can help you get the feel of things!


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## lucky seven (Apr 25, 2014)

_My one time behind a standardbred was on a training track with other horses being trained. My son wanted me to take over but I was so afraid that I would cause a jam-up and be in the way that I stayed a passenger. _


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## Marsha Cassada (Apr 26, 2014)

My first miniature and I learned together. I did have someone who had minimal driving experience show me what all those straps and buckles on a harness and bridle were.

I'm sure I did lots of things wrong and lots of dangerous things out of ignorance. But somehow we managed to learn to drive together. We are still learning together after 12 years. He is a very resistant horse; if he weighed 1100# I could not manage him.

Sometimes one just has to jump in and do things.

I start mine in the bridle and bit. He wears it around while I am working around the pen. I ask him to accept the bit, then ask him to drop the bit several times during each session. After he is comfortable with the bit, I put the saddle on him and we work on ground driving. Usually he wants to go in circles at first, but picks it up pretty quickly. We ground drive as long as I feel he needs to. Sometimes for a year. Sometimes a few weeks. If he is a little unstable, I use pvc "shafts" at first to accustom him to things bumping his sides and dragging behind him. Sometimes I have a helper with a lead rope when I get into the cart the first time. Just whatever works; only you know your horse.

I do not round pen or lunge; I believe lunging is an art and can do damage if not done properly. I do not feel I understand its art, so I don't do it. My strategy is long walks seeking out obstacles and various ways to maneuver.

I have had two horses that defeated me. One went absolutely wild when any type of harness was put on him. A raging rodeo broncho. I'd owned him as a weanling and he had been extensively worked with; I could even walk through culverts with him. But he totally lost his mind when anything was attached to him. He went to a pet home. The other was a pony that had the potential, but I did not feel capable of working through her skittishness. She went to a professional driver.

Know yourself, your horse, take your time, use proper equipment, make sure horse's teeth, mind and body are suited to the job. And if you try and it doesn't work out with that horse, move on.


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