Pair of mini's

[Sarah Poole]

Hi again all,

So I measured my little guy and he is actually 38" so not really a mini Shetland I believe?
However he isn't built like a standard Shetland. I think he is falabella cross.

His best friend is almost identical to him, infact I believe theyare related.
I've started his friend,Blue off with long reining and he used to come out on a leadrope when mine pulled the cart.
SO I am thinking to maybe start them as a pair.

How much weight roughly can a pair of 38" shetties pull on flat, good roads?

I've attached a photo of both ponies and the carriage I am thinking to get (please comment on that too!)
Carriage weighs around 60kg

Thankyou

 

[diamond c]

Looks to me that the carriage will role very easy so I'd say that they could pull all the weight you could put in it

 

[Sarah Poole]

And as one single Shetland pulling the carriage what do you think he could pull?

 

[Northwolf]

The standard rule is that they can pull:

On flat, good roads: 3x their own weight
on slight hilly roads: 2x their own weight
on muddy or very hilly roads: 1x their own weight

My recommendation is not to exceed 1,5x the weight of the horse. With this load, you can go faster and longer distances without having a bad conscience, but maybe your guests have to leave the cart if the road is going to be too steeply.
I think your pony is about 150 kg, so you can load this carriage with two adults or one adult and four smaller children.

 

[BSharpRanch]

I do the ADTs with a pair (sometimes 4) of 32"-33" miniatures. The carriage and two adults weighs around 500# and the horses have no issues at all pulling it. In fact my pair posted hazards times just a second or two behind a single mini that pulls a tiny person using a racing sulky!

 

[MajorClementine]

My team (okay I borrow one horse from a friend) pulls a 170# wagonette similar in style to the one you posted. Then I get on, my son, and 2-3 other kids. Or my dad and the friend get on. So They pull a wagon/load of 450-550# with ease.

My single 36" mare will pull the 170# wagon on roads and up low hills no problem. She'll also pull it in the sand of the arena with just my son (55#) in it. My 32" mare pulls it on the roads as well with myself and a kid and keeps up with the bigger horses all day. I wouldn't ask her to pull any more than that or ask her to pull up any hills however.