cantering a driving horse on the lunge?

[NewToMini's]

Is it true that you're not supposed to canter a horse on the lunge line if you plan to use it for driving? I'm teaching my mare to lunge (it's going really well), and I was wondering if I shouldn't teach her to canter. I plan to teach her to drive, and will start her driving training soon.

Also, are nylon harnesses any good? I was looking on ozark's mini horse store, and I think their cheapest leather harness was about $500, but they have a nylon one (with leather on some parts) for $225.

 

[Barefootin]

There are quite a few driving horses that never canter while in harness. Some of us drive at every gait available. I'm not sure why cantering on the lunge line would have much if anything to do with what you do under harness. So I guess it is up to you what you want to teach your horse.

There are other places to get a harness. We use either leather or Beta/Biothane depending on what we are doing for the day and which horse we're using. Wrecks can and do happen so keep safety in mind when buying. Beta/Bio is nice for easy clean up but leather is so versatile and yet still traditional. Once again it comes down to personal preference.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I horse needs to know how to canter in harness, whether he does it often or not.

I'm impressed that your lungeing is going well! That's great!

To me, the important thing about a harness is a good bridle. If the blinders don't fit right or are not adjustable it is worthless. Maybe invest in a good bridle and good bit and don't worry about a high end harness for now. After you drive a little, you will have a better idea of what you need in a harness. I doubt anyone who has driven for a few years is still using the all-original harness he started with! We are always tweaking...

 

[paintponylvr]

All of ours learn to do different gaits (including cantering and galloping) and different speeds/forms of collection on the lounge line. I honestly think it's better to teach a horse to canter both on the the lounge line and again while driving - so that he/she can also learn that it's ok, the equipment isn't chasing him to kill him and he CAN indeed STOP when asked...

Plus, it's great fun for both you and your horse to canter/gallop in harness at times!

Ozark is a wonderful company to deal with, but I haven't seen their nylon harness. I do have a basic, entry level show leather harness from them. I LOVE the beta/bio harness (I don't have the one from Ozark) and have it in both the pleasure type (and got a breast collar that is shaped for one of my pleasure harness's) and in the work types...

This is one that I got a part of (got the "saddle"/surcingle and backstrap) from a "horsey" yardsale and then got other parts as I could, when I could from a harness making company... It's betathane with brass hardware.

Marsha & I are typing at the same time - ditto a lot of what she said on harness!! Lots of tweaking. I've even made 2 sets of pleasure type harness that we use for training (have a lot of up and coming youngsters to train, yet)...

What I don't recommend is getting the leather harness's on Ebay. They have a tendency not to fit properly and aren't usually adjustable (enough). And because you purchased it as a set, you can't call the company and get different sized parts that will fit better.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Cantering is no big deal, and honestly if your horse gets scared or just feels good and canters and they aren't used to it you may have a runaway on your hands.

Also nylon is just not the route to go. Get leather or betathane.

 

[MiniNHF]

Nylon in my opinion is not safe to use just incase something happens and that horse needs to break out of the harness, nylon would have to be cut somehow. If something breaks on the leather its always can be replaced. Star Lake Tack has some reasonable priced leather/betathane harnesses and I think they have one around 300ish; I have two from them and I like them a lot.

As far as teaching a horse to canter when its going to drive is not a bad thing and in my opinion a horse should know how to do all gaits. When my boys have to much energy I let them canter it out on the lunge line but I teach them voice commands so they know when its the appropriate time to do it and when it is not. Also if you ever plan on doing CDE they have to canter/gallop across the open courses.

 

[Kendra]

Teach the canter on the lunge and then you'll have a nice downward transition developed for when it comes up in harness. Also, why wouldn't you canter in harness? It's fun! I believe that by having the canter as another gait, they're less likely to break in the show ring as it's not a big deal. Also, pretty sure most break in gaits that you see in the show ring are due to a lack of balance rather than a desire to canter or be naughty but that's a discussion for another time ....

 

[NewToMini's]

Thanks guys

 

[paintponylvr]

Kendra -

WEEEEEEE!!!!

I don't have any pics of us cantering any of our ponies...