New mare, yay! + driving question

[Yankee Doodle Dandy]

Hi,

I just purchased a driving show mare named Angel. She does everything, hunter in hand,jumping, driving, trail, driving obstacle, showmanship and halter. I cannot wait to drive! I am picking her up on Saturday (hopefully, if the coggins get there before then), and I will take a few days for her to get accustomed to the new area and then I will probably drive her.

She came with all her stuff, including her harness. Which is good, because I was about to buy a new one anyway. Okay, so this harness is a really nice fine show harness, but it is breachless. She has never been driven with breeching, and I know they drive her outside, either in an arena or a pasture, Im not sure. But, I am going to drive her in my pasture, which is about 95% level ground. Do you think I will need breeching? Im not exactly sure how the breeching is put on, but I do know how to harness everything else. My cart is just a regular easy entry cart, nothing super fancy or anything, its safe. It doesnt have brakes. So, do you think I will be good without breeching? I do have another harness with breeching, by the way, if I needed it, I could take the breeching from that harness.

I am so excited! Especially for show season, now that I have another show horse. I'm going to be showing three horses this year! Two minis, one big horse. It is going to be busy, but fun!

(And the mare is super broke by the way, they said she never spooks or bolts, if she is unsure of something, the most she does is shy away from it. She pivots, backs up, trots, extended trots, and everything in the cart. I think she has been driving since she was about 4 and she is now 11. She went to Pinto Worlds, and she was unsure of the huge ring since she had never been anywhere so big, but she still did what she was asked, never shyed away or spooked.)

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

The breaching is easy enough to put on and connect. I drive pretty flat but I can definitely notice a difference with it on, as without it the neck strap pulls on the neck and the saddle on the wither. I'd always use one.

Also pics of the new mare please???

 

[Yankee Doodle Dandy]

This is her

I will try and figure out the breaching today. I don't know why it's so confusing for me, haha.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

Wow she's a stunner for sure!!!

 

[lucky seven]

Nice, have fun driving her!

 

[Yankee Doodle Dandy]

Nice, have fun driving her!

Thank you!

Wow she's a stunner for sure!!!

Thank you! ☺

 

[paintponylvr]

Your mare is a VERY pretty mare and wow, super well trained, which is awesome for you!

Personally, I feel that a horse should always be driven with breeching. I know that it's not done in the show ring (I've purchased breeching for my show harness but haven't shown in it yet). For work at home or for fun, I would use the harness w/ the breeching since you already have it. Save the show harness for just showing in - in the ring. Besides, a show harness is usually (not always) "lighter" or "finer" than a pleasure driving harness and could more easily break when using in pasture type or cross country driving.

Introduce her to the breeching first w/o the cart. Then, while handling her from the ground, pull on it to simulate it pulling tight when she stops. Make sure she accepts that pressure w/o kicking or bucking before you hitch her (sounds like she'd be fine, but you never know). The hitch her and go. You might also want to invest in a "kicking strap" - at the hips, it connects to the shaft, goes over the top of the hips/haunches and connects to the other shaft. This would prevent her from raising her hind qtrs to buck/kick at the cart. You may never need it...