Cart Question

[New_Image]

Easy Entry with 48" shafts - What size horse should it fit?

 

[Mnmini]

Generally a "B" sized mini. I think some of the manufacturer's for marathon vehicles have their default set a little longer, to accomodate bigger strides/loping, but 48 is suitable for most 34-38 inchers..though I'd probably feel more comfortable with 49" for a 37-38 inch pony.

 

[dannigirl]

We find that 48" shafts look good with the A size minis and a few of the B size ones. If the B size horse is a little longer in the body, the front of the horse seems to stick out too far for us. We would prefer a longer shaft for the bigger minis. Just like the look better even though I have seen it both ways.

 

[Jill]

As far as I know, all of my carts have 48" shafts and I use them on my minis that range from 31" - 36.5". This would be for my Houghton show cart, frontier easy entry, wooden / patent easy entry, older metal easy entry -- a wide range of types and quality.

Keep in mind, it's about how long the minis is pretty much, and a lot of the shorter minis are also longer in the back. I'm thinking that 48" is pretty much the standard length for A size miniature horse carts. When I drive Lou, I feel like if she was much longer (not taller), then she would not fit real well. She is 36.5" (see below).

 

[Bluerocket]

Here is a useful website -- related to size of horse and measurements of shafts etc...

http://www.americandrivingsociety.org/Tabl..._Shaft_etc..htm

You do have to do a little math to get to the right numbers for the smaller minis - but it still works.

JJay

 

[Margo_C-T]

Jill has it right, IMO(and, with all due respect, about the fit of the cart to the mare in the photo...) In my experience, the largely standard 48" shafts of most of the EE carts are right for most larger A sized horses, and *might* work for small to mid-sized B's, depending on the individual horse's body build. Remember that the shaft tips should come just even with the point of the horse's shoulder, for proper fit-and that is dictated by both shaft length and proper trace length/adjustment. When the horse is actually"in draught"(draft)(-meaning actually engaging the vehicle via the breastcollar or neckcollar), the shafts tips may "end up" SLIGHTLY behind the point of the shoulder, but it should not be by much.) The Jerald show carts come in 46" and 49" shafts-the longer ones would likely also fit *some* B's, though I have seen people driving larger B's to them, and the shafts were simply too short. Frontier offers a longer(54")set of shafts,which can be easily interchanged with the standard-length ones(or, I imagine, could be ordered as the primary shafts, should you be planning to drive the taller, B, horses)-- I ordered a set several years ago, and now am using them for my 38" mare. My road cart has 48" shafts(wooden)-though I have driven the 38" mare to it, the shafts are truly too short for her, and I wouldn't hitch her to it again unless I decide to have the shafts replaced with longer ones. (As I am also pretty much out of showing, I *may* just sell the road cart-depends on how versatile the Bennington is).

Since I have the 54"ers on the Frontier, I have had occasion to also hook the cart to my 34""Melody", when she was being "teacher" to a driving student-it worked fine for the basic, in-the-level-arena work, but put the cart a bit further from the horse than is ideal(where it would be less manueverable, for one thing.)Currently, I am getting close to being ready to actually hook the cart to two horses I have in training-both are between 33-34"-and will need to change the shafts back to the 48"ers when I do so, for optimum correct fit for these green horses.