Safe way to have some winter fun?

[Littlegoesalongway]

So I'm trying to figure out a safe way to have more fun driving Rowdy this winter. I have runners for my easy-entry but they only work well in certain conditions (not too much or too little snow otherwise it pulls pretty heavy for a single)

Rowdy is very well broke so I'm looking for other options (ie: toboggan, skis, ect). Would love to hear what others are doing and see pictures of how you rig up the harness & lines. How do you have your winter fun?

 

[ksoomekh]

I, too, would like to know how to have fun with Pepper, my new driving mini, in the snow. Does anyone have a nice sleigh for sale?

Winter is fast approaching here in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Karen

 

[dreamlandnh]

Sleigh runners are ok but as you know the conditions have to be right. This is a picture of Lizzie and Roger a few years ago. We have modified it a bit more and she has a ball in the snow with her boys.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I wonder how you keep from running into the horse's back legs (and possibly being kicked rather forcefully) with no shafts? Do you have a way to keep this safe and fun for both horse and driver/tobogganer?

 

[dreamlandnh]

We have yet to be kicked. We have modified it by adding the breeching on and running the tracers though that to hold them up higher so that they don't step over them (not sure if I have pictures of that but will go look). To help prevent getting kicked (as that is one of our concerns) we extend the tracers back. As you can see in that picture we had used hay twine, we now use a set of cross ties. You do have to get longer reins once you start putting the sled back further so she uses her drawreins or a set of lunge lines.

She will also work the boys a bit before hooking them up to get some of the spunk out of them.

Few times when she goes down the little hill out back she slides right past the boys and they just stop and watch her go by.

 

[Minimor]

We used to hitch a sled behind the Morgans--but we never hitched it solid. We sat on a bale and held onto a rope that, if things went wrong, we could let go of and it would pull through the rings on the traces and come loose. A sled is just too easy to tip, and then it would be a disaster if the horse took off with a sled bouncing at his heels.

We used a rope long enough that we were well back from the horse. When he stopped or slowed down I would put a foot out and slow the sled or direct it to the side away from his heels. With a quiet horse it worked well.

We did not use a single tree so once in awhile had to straighten the breast collar.

The same thing would work with the Minis (and I actually have a better sled now!) but I just don't bother. I dislike winter too much now!!

 

[dreamlandnh]

Granted not the safest but it is fun. As you can see from these pictures Lizzie is a good distant back. I wouldn't hook a big horse up like this, but the mini's seem fine. She does alot of sound proofing before she will get in the sled behind them. I also stand out with her while she is sledding. The 2nd horse in the picture it was his first year learning to drive and he went along like he had been doing it all the time. She does have to carry a longer whip too, to help reach them.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Man, if it only snowed here in Texas, that looks like fun!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Man, if it only snowed here in Texas, that looks like fun!

I was thinking the same thing!!

 

[chandab]

My FIL rigged up a winter drag the year he trained two mini geldings. I don't know all the details, but it was just a runner (2x4's on edge I think) sled with a single tree. I'll post a pic, when and if I can find it; I thought I had a copy, but can't find it in my files, so I'm tracking it down.

 

[Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance]

I did the same thing dreamlandnh did last year. It isn't the safest...but If you have the right horse it is a lot of fun. I started with my younger gelding at first since I knew he wouldn't mind. We took a lap around and had to make a few adjustments. I ended up attaching the traces to the crupper because they started hitting the ground and I didn't want him to step on or over it.

I put my other gelding in it and the sled sliding on the ground scared him at first so I had to walk him around in it a bit.

It is a different feeling from driving and its harder haha but its more fun.

I took a video from last year.. I wasn't sure how close or far away the sled had to be so it is a little close in the video.

[/media]

 

[Jill]

I have runners for one of our EE carts, but haven't used them yet. I hope we get LOTS of snow this winter, though

 

[chandab]

Asked my MIL, the pics aren't great, but here are a couple showing his winter training rig.

 

[MiLo Minis]

Just a word of advice: breastcollars are not meant for anything other than horizontal draft. That means that when you attach the traces down low such as directly to the front of a sleigh on the ground you are making it a lot of work for your horse and possibly painful for him if the collar slips down over his shoulder or you are working without a singletree to allow his shoulders to move. Sleighs are a vehicle you can pretty cheaply make yourself and have a ton of fun with but please make sure it is fun for your horse too. You need to be somewhat careful that you don't cause trouble for your horse possibly leaving him ruined for any future driving. It isn't that hard to fasten a set of shafts to some type of sleigh and make use of a single tree to make his work easier. Snowmobile skis make great sleigh runners or even those little plastic kids sleds on runners can be bolted on in place of wheels.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Dang

I may have to get over my disgust with this season and try that with a couple of mine. It would be a great way to keep them from getting too fat and lazy (and me too) Those of you who want LOTS of snow this winter please feel free to take any of mine you would like. I'm sure anyone of us from more northerly locations would be happy to send you all you want and more. In fact in my house hold 'winter' is a bad word and snow...well that is the worst 4 letter word of all.

 

[targetsmom]

I have done this very similar to the way dreamlandnh and Indian Rain Dance have done and think it is a blast! I am a senior citizen and about as safety conscious as you can get and think it is pretty safe. I drive a well-trained mare in the pasture, wear a helmet, avoid trees, and limit the time. Princess seems to have fun too! I attach the traces with baling string with quick releases so that I am far away from hooves. You can whip around corners pretty fast so you can fall off the sled pretty easily, but snow is soft. Princess is sane enough not to panic and take off and even if she did, she has nowhere to go. So I think it can be relatively safe and still a ton of fun.

 

[Lloydyne]

Sleigh runners are ok but as you know the conditions have to be right. This is a picture of Lizzie and Roger a few years ago. We have modified it a bit more and she has a ball in the snow with her boys.

dreamland.... there is not even a bit in this pony's mouth..this is one nice pony

 

[dreamlandnh]

Dloydyne - yup this boy gives his heart/soul to Lizzie and will do anything she asks of him.

In the winter she likes to just have fun with her boys and not have them wear the bridle to play if possible. His breastplate isn't even on straight I see in this picture but it was fixed once she got back up around me. If anyone knows Lizzie her boys come first and she will NEVER push them into something that they don't want to do or have a fear of doing. She has pulled herself out of classes/shows for their safety and possibly safety of others, she has sense of when the smallest thing is wrong. Her other boy is still learning so does wear the bridle.

 

[KellyAlaska]

I was so happy to find this posting this year. I Alaska we have 8 months of winter and I have been searching the internet to try to find a ski joering harness like the style they use in France. I have even gone so far as to reach out via email in hopes of finding a harness and semi rigid set up for my pony. I am going to contact a welder in a few weeks to help me develop a semi rigid harness for a mini IF I don't hear back from the international contact. I will post photos and a video once I find something safe that works.