So excited

[Lil Eowyn]

Congrats ! =) I bet Diva'll do great =)

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks!

Sigh

the weather has been horrible lately. We have so much ice that we can't work Diva,

I am afraid she will slip and get hurt. Can't wait for April to get here so we can get back to playing with her.

We had our first lesson on doing her feet this week. A co worker of my husband is a farrier and she came out to teach us.

she said Divas feet were a bit long but looked realy good. She said we did well on our lesson and that she will come out again to watch us do her next month. I am so glad to find someone who will teach us. And what is even more amazing is she didn't charge me at all. I told her I would gladly pay her, she said no that that is what friends do.

She checked Diva out and said she was in pretty good weight as well , only a little over but it was winter and she needed that extra right now. Cassy was amazed at Divas condition. She told me most of the little minis and ponys she saw where so over weight you couldn't see where their hips, middle or shoulders were. They were just round. I am so glad to of met her. I feel confident now doing divas feet. And pleased to share my little Diva with someone else who loves horses.

 

[Renolizzie]

It is great to find someone to teach you.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

I just found a driving club an hour and a half from me.

Diva will be the only mini there, but there is a pony there. The others are full size horses.

They meet once a month and after club fees

I just have to pay use fee when I go to the stable to drive in their indoor arena.

My daugter and I are going to go meet them at thier next meeting to see how we like it.

Diva won't be able to go till I get a blood tests done for them and

Her other shots. It may be a month or two before I take her

because I may try to get her teeth done at the same time.

I do have a question though. The lady I talked to asked me what bit I had and I told her

That it was a snaffle driving bit. She said that was not a safe bit that I needed a bit with a lot more control..

What do you think. I will try to find the bit and post it

Weaver Snaffle Half Cheek Driving Mini Miniature Bit

I will have to try from my computer later

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I just found a driving club an hour and a half from me.

I do have a question though. The lady I talked to asked me what bit I had and I told her

That it was a snaffle driving bit. She said that was not a safe bit that I needed a bit with a lot more control..

What do you think. I will try to find the bit and post it

Weaver Snaffle Half Cheek Driving Mini Miniature Bit

Glad you found a driving club that you can attend once in a while!

And join the club in the Bit Maze!! It is challenging to find your way around in it.

My advice is to listen to them, observe them, and see what you are comfortable with. If there are 12 drivers in the club, you will likely get at least 6 opinions on bits. If your horse is working well with what you have, don't be in a hurry to change it, until you've been convinced of a good reason to.

A half cheek broken snaffle is pretty much standard for a driving bit, and that is what I started with. However, my horses are more comfortable with the less-severe french link. A broken snaffle works by levering the joint into the roof of the horse's mouth. The longer the shank on the bit, the greater the leverage the driver can exert. The horse is rewarded for positive response by release of the pressure. The least pressure one can use, the better, imo.

One can get quite an investment in bits while experimenting. There aren't enough miniature drivers for us to try their different bits out and see what works. And good bits are too expensive to buy casually. Big horse riders are common as leaves on a tree; they can freely exchange bits with each other to try out. It's not so easy for miniature drivers.

My first driving horse was my guinea pig, and yours will be a guinea pig also. Somehow they seem to survive our trial-and-error education! And learning from each other makes a great bond.

Keep us posted on how you like the club, and share any good information you learn, please!

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks Marsha cassada, I will keep you posted about the club.

Diva responds well to the bit I have when we ground drive.

The lady I talked to said that she was launched from her cart

when she had her mini because she couldn't control him with the snaffle.

She said that if she had a bit with more leverage it would never of happened .

If diva spooked I was just going to treat her like a big horse and circle her ,

If her head is turning she can't run. At least they can't when you ride.

What do all of you think? I have never driven before, I have ridden horses since before I could walk or talk.

My dad had me on my own pony at 18 months old. Riding by my self by 3

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I find myself feeling quite annoyed at the person who told you you need more leverage just because their horse was poorly trained! I know of many drivers and none of them use a leverage bit to drive regardless of the size of their horse. IMO her horse rather than needing a stronger bit, lacked training (and perhaps her as well)and being able to hurt them is not the same as training them. Most of my horses are happiest in a mullen mouth but agree with Marsha Cassada when she says stick with what works. If the horse is happy and responsive then you are using the right bit. I'm glad you found the club, its so fun to have people to share your horse interest with, but my advice (particularly in light of that individual's advice to you) is to go and observe. Meet the people, talk to them and see how their horses act. Then use your best judgement on how much stock to put into any advice the members share. Remember, belonging to a club does not make them experts in the subject and some who think they are are not the type of 'expert' you want to listen to. JMO

 

[Rhondaalaska]

I think I will stick with the bit I have for now, I realy can't afford to get another at this time. I need to save that money for the vet.

She used a Mullen as well. I will look for one later if I can find one I can afford. Everyone here seems to talk about them, when we had big horses I just had curb bits. But this was years ago. I havn't had my own horse for awhile just used the stables. They use snaffles.

I am going to keep in mind all they can teach me and do what I think works best with my little girl. She is realy responsive with the bit I have now. It doesn't take much to turn her or stop when we ground drive. I don't know how it will be once she is hooked up we havn't got that far yet.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

A mullen mouth is not a leverage bit, or rather a half cheek mullen is not. It is a snaffle (a snaffle is a bit that uses no leverage- the reins come from the rings not from a shank, even a short shank creates leverage.)and altho it does not have a broken mouth is still in the same category as the bit you are using. The fact that she uses a mullen (assuming it is not a pelham which while it has a mullen mouth - ie. unbroken bar - is definitely NOT a snaffle)suggests she is using a snaffle but does not perhaps know the correct name for it. Anyway good for you, trust your instincts and don't let anyone push you to do anything you feel is not right for you and your horse.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks

I am hoping to be able to work with Diva this weekend .

even if it is only going for a walk. I don't want her to fall on the ice.

Can't wait for spring to get here so we can train more.

Only three more months then it should get better

Break up in four. That means that in may is when our snow melts.

We call it break up , because that is what the ice does in the rivers

And all the snow melts then. That is our muddy time.

Then June is our spring/ summer.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Yes, I'm with you there. We perhaps see break up a bit earlier than you and by the end of may we've got dandelions in bloom (and mosquitoes in swarms

) I am so impatient for this snow to go and get back to driving. I could drive now I suppose but where I can go is very limited and I have to admit I don't care for winter driving at all, hate being cold/wet. In March I'll have my husband clear a path in the arena so I have the fence line to drive on as long as the weather and footing are Okay, if not there is the round pen to do in hand work and free lunging which is fun. I have a gelding who I play with, he will approach and retreat on body language, we're working on turns on his front and rear quarters so we can turn it into a dance. It fills in the time between drives lol. Today it is raining and +4 which is very strange for January here.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Ya us too. It has been warm this week, hence the ice. I am hoping for early spring.

Now that I have Diva winter is not as much fun. Lol

And I have eight months of it nine on bad years. Two months of so called summer.

Usually june and two weeks of July is our summer, last two weeks of July through end of September rain.

October on , snow and ice.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Yikes! I would loose my mind lol. Our summers are short enough, yours are even shorter.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Some times we are lucky And don't get rain till August. I hope that is this year.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Sounds just like England!

I would be very cross if someone told me, without looking at my horse and without seeing me drive, that my horse needed a stronger bit- it is just not on, if the horse is happy and you have no problems you stick with what suits you both!

I do start all my horses in a mullen mouth butterfly pelham, I have to say, but, once they are settled, they go into a mullen snaffle or, if it suits them better, a french link- just depends on the horse, as it always does, if you stick to that maxim you cannot go far wrong.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks, everyone, I will keep you posted on how we do. I think I am going to keep to the snaffle for now. She realy has a soft mouth I think. It realy doesn't take much.

I am doing her feet to day all by my self

the farrier will be out tomarrow to check how I am doing on it and correct anything.

I am hoping to start training with the practice poles today. Will have to see how it goes.

It is a nice warm day and as long as it is not slick and I keep her to a walk I think we will be ok.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I do have a question though. The lady I talked to asked me what bit I had and I told her That it was a snaffle driving bit. She said that was not a safe bit that I needed a bit with a lot more control..

What do you think. I will try to find the bit and post it

Weaver Snaffle Half Cheek Driving Mini Miniature Bit

The lady I talked to said that she was launched from her cart

when she had her mini because she couldn't control him with the snaffle.

She said that if she had a bit with more leverage it would never of happened.

Leverage bits are traditional for driving full-sized horses, but there are a lot of things which are traditional which frankly ought to be tossed out the window in modern times. Leverage bits are actually not allowed by any of the miniature breed associations and many minis (and full-sized horses) drive safely in snaffles every day. It's much more about how the horse is trained to respond and how the driver handles a situation, and my personal feeling is that a stronger piece of equipment is very rarely the answer.

The longer the shank on the bit, the greater the leverage the driver can exert.

This is absolutely true but as a point of clarity, refers to the leverage exerted on the curb chain and the horse's poll when the reins are attached further down the shank as on a western bit or the bottom slot of a Liverpool. A snaffle bit, by definition, is one where the reins are attached directly to the bit at the level of the mouthpiece and the pressure is one-to-one rather than magnified by leverage.

If diva spooked I was just going to treat her like a big horse and circle her, If her head is turning she can't run. At least they can't when you ride.

What do all of you think?

Unfortunately it doesn't work as well in a cart.

Make too small a diameter of circle and most vehicles will flip, forcing you to at best run very large circles which usually do little to stop the horse. You should still do it because it keeps them in a controlled area while they tire themselves out, but it's physically impossible to take a driving horse's hindquarters away by turning her head because the shafts keep the horse straight. The best bet is to take and release and calmly repeat "whoa, whoa" over and over while you steer her away from harm.

Leia

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

The best bet is to take and release and calmly repeat "whoa, whoa" over and over while you steer her away from harm.

Leia

This is excellent advice. Staying calm is the best thing you can do to avoid a disaster just like it is when you ride/handle any horse.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Thanks, I was reading about the different types of bits and it just made me more convinced to stick with my snaffle.

If I do get another bit I may try a three piece latter on. .

On a good note we got to take Diva out yesterday. We worked her for two hours.

And she still wanted to go. We worked on desensitizing her. Banged things, dropped cart 4 ft from her. Banged poles. Rubbed her with

PVC pole. She did well. We are going to keep working with this till she ignores it.

Slow and steady, I have to keep myself in check so I don't go to fast. Lol

I want to get cow bells to ring as well. I will have to look for some.