Backing while driving - tips?

[Lori W]

Hi! While I've had horses nearly all my life, I'm new to miniatures. My sweet little mare, Sally, is 9 years old and an experienced driving pony (she came from an Amish family). I love driving her and she's teaching me much more than I'm teaching her! I'm working with other long time mini owners as I learn/practice driving, but I'm still having problems backing up - it doesn't seem to work in the cart like it does on my riding horses!

Can you provide some tips and things I can do as I work to get better at this? I've been reading posts in this forum and would really appreciate the expertise I've seen here. Thanks!

 

[RhineStone]

Welcome, Lori W!

In order for a mini to back up a cart properly, they need to learn to push the cart with their meaty haunches. This means that the breeching needs to be adjusted properly. There is also some back muscle development necessary as well. I find that if I "help" the mini by putting my reins in one and hand grabbing a wheel with the other hand and pulling it backwards as I pull back gently on the reins, it helps the horse understand what I want them to do. They also need to know what the back cue is through line driving. I don't know if the Amish spend a lot of time teaching their horses to back up. If the horse doesn't know the cue in line driving, it definitely won't with the cart on.

It also helps if you make sure that the surface you are trying to back in isn't too deep (or deep at all), and that the horse isn't trying to push the cart "uphill". If you line up the cart so that the horse is actually pushing the cart downhill, this helps TREMENDOUSLY. We even do the same thing in the show ring, where we are usually on grass. We always make sure that we are parked on top of a "hill" instead of a "depression" in the lawn.

Myrna

 

[MiLo Minis]

Once a horse is fit, understanding and capable of backing in harness the important thing for the driver to realize is that backing is actually a FORWARD movement. If you just pull back on the reins the horse's head will come up cementing his back end to the ground. In order to be able to push that heavy cart and driver back, your horse needs to be able to use his haunches as Rhinestone pointed out. To do this you ask the horse with a kiss to step forward into an ungiving hand/bit while giving the command to back. This will bring the horse's nose down and in, putting his weight forward and rounding his back, opening up the back end allowing it to move and use those powerful haunch and back muscles to push the cart. You can try it yourself: If you tip your head and body forward your heels come off the floor and it is very easy to back up. If you tip your head and body back your weight is on your heels and it is more difficult to back up.

 

[disneyhorse]

Backing in the cart is a little different than when riding, because you don't have your weight shift to cue the horse (sitting more deeply in the saddle generally cues a riding horse to stop, even without any rein pressure).

It's kind of hard to describe some techniques in a post, but here is my method:

You want your horse to drop it's head, round the back a little, and push back into the breeching (or if in a show cart, stay relaxed as the barrel crunches up a little bit and swells into the belly band, which is used for backing).

I halt my horse, let it settle, and then prepare the horse for backing by gathering up the lines and slowly/gently seesawing the bit, massaging the bit until the nose starts to tip towards the chest. My horses are usually used to this exercise to encourage them to set their heads vertically. However, the horse may be waiting for a cue to go forward (with the head set) but instead I ask the horse to "Step Back", increasing the massaging until the horse takes a step backwards. As soon as one step backwards is accomplished, I gently release pressure. Until the horse is clear on the concept, I only ask for one step at a time. This allows my horse to get used to my cues/process. As they get more willing to respond to the cue, I will ask for more steps backwards, ensuring that the horse is backing straight.

RhineStone offers good advise also: make sure you practice this during ground driving sessions first, so the horse can concentrate on the cues and line pressure. Adding the cart will add weight and a different thing for the horse to think about, so introduce the cart after the horse already clearly understands the process without having to worry about the weight of the cart as well.

Andrea

 

[Lori W]

Thank you all for your great advice! I'll certainly work at this when ground driving. I never looked at a back as a forward motion, but it makes sense. I so love to work (read: play!) with this little equine - Sally has a wonderful and kind attitude and really tries to please.

Just to brag a little, a lovely young 4-H girl worked with my Sally her over the summer with the goal of attending our county fair in August, as part of our local Mini Whinnies 4-H club. Sally won the pleasure driving class in the 4-H driver's age group and then took reserve champion in the pleasure driving class against all the other first and second place winners. She went on to take a first in trail class (I think it's called halter obstacle) and first in jumping. To think she had never done either of these types of things in her entire life! What a sweetie - I'm totally in love!

Thanks again for providing this wonderful forum for asking questions - and letting me brag on my little one's accomplishments!

 

[tifflunn]

Does anyone have a video they can share of the back up- we are working on it too- here- I need a better look at someone doing it properly.

Tiffany

 

[MiLo Minis]

Does anyone have a video they can share of the back up- we are working on it too- here- I need a better look at someone doing it properly.

Tiffany

Pictures wouldn't really show much Tiffany because if you are doing it right no one should really see you hands move. I am not far away

 

[tifflunn]

Pictures wouldn't really show much Tiffany because if you are doing it right no one should really see you hands move. I am not far away

Hi Lori- just realized there was a reply- I am not looking for the hand movement- but the movemnt of the horse- I was trying to see - how he engaged?- I know I am not explaining that right- but non the less- I had Amy hitch up Roy and watched - what I was looking for still not helpful for my original backing issue- but answered my question. Who know - might be by for a visit