Took our new mini to the indoor to see what he knows

rabbitsfizz · Mar 5, 2013

I realised you were horse savvy, without pointing any fingers, it is a pity that you have been sold this horse in the first place though, I am not a salesperson of any sort, I have always preferred to give my horses to a good home than sell them to a "bad" (or incorrect) one- but I did pay my way through Uni by "flipping" kids ponies (I am tiny so could do it all) and I made all ponies for kids go on a weeks trial (insured, obviously) I just could not have borne it if something went wrong- of course it is only possible to drive for six- eight hours here before you run out of land, so it is not quite the same scenario!

Edited for spelling.....AGAIN

HavingFun · Mar 7, 2013

Oh I see what you are saying. I bought this guy from a friend of mine who bought him at an auction about a year and a half ago. She had told me how great his personality is and she had all of the photos of him driving so I took a chance. Just didn't turn out how I had hoped.

I actually am looking at another mini I hope. A quieter kid mini that we can drive before we would buy her. The lady that has her wasn't out to sell her it's someone I had talked to about minis before. She got it touch to ask about how I was doing with the new guy. The mini she has reminds me of the Quarter horse mare I have for my kids. She really only wants to walk but will trot with a lot of encouragment. lol

I'm hoping we can get a more experienced quiet driving mini and I can spend my good old time working with the one I have now. My kids love him and he will make an awesome lead line pony. I wouldn't turn my 6 year old lose on him by herself but he is the perfect size for her to use for a year or so while we are working on his driving.

I ordered an easy entry cart that should be here soon. So..he will get used to seeing it around. Still need to get a harness but I'm kind of waiting because funds are limited at the moment and I would want to make sure the harness we buy is for the mini we can actually drive at the moment. Our guy, is 42 inches and the mini I'm going to look at is only 35.

Field-of-Dreams · Mar 7, 2013

HavingFun said:
I will work on this, thank you. I think I'm going to order a cart today...we don't even have one here.

I keep finding minis that "were" driven. I have yet to find one around here who is actually driving right now. The ads all say things like "previous owner used to drive" "haven't driven in years" and more of the same. That is why I ended up taking a chance on this guy..he at least has a nice personality and was handled by kids. He is also the only one where I actually had pictures of him driving. There are pictures in an indoor, in an outside arena, and on the road..both fall and summer. However they are from 2007 and 2008...

I have two driving horses, a mare and gelding. Both can lounge for weeks- MONTHS- in the field, I can go grab them and hook them up and away I go! I don't need to lunge them or anything. Pinkie even had 18 months off when she was bred, the year she foaled we snagged her out of the field and drove her in the Christmas parades and she was fine! I did drive her at home the day before, to be safe. She never flicked an ear.

HavingFun · Mar 16, 2013

I think we may have found another mini!

I met some really nice people that are only about 15 minutes from me. I had talked to this women before when I was first looking for a mini and she told me about a great kid mini she had that wasn't for sale.

A few weeks after we bought our guy she e-mailed me to ask how it was going and I told her. She said that we were more then welcome to come over to their house and go for some cart rides, maybe learn a few things. So..we did. We got to ride in the cart and drive their mini. She hasn't been used since last summer but she was great. My 9 year old even drove her (with the womens husband in the cart of course)

I asked her if she ever decided to sell this mini to let me know. She told me she might consider selling her for a certain price with a buy back option and as long as I never sent her for slaughter or took her to auction. So..as long as they don't change their mind we are going over Sunday and will bring her home with us!

They are going to let us drive her more for more practice and guide us through the harnessing process a few times. The great thing is that they are so close I can always ask if I have any questions and they can give me a hand. I think maybe when we get a new harness I will take her back over and have them help make sure everything fits.

As for Oreo we are going to keep working with him and use him for a leadline pony this summer for my daughter. I have a lot of wonderful people to help me with him too. Aside from my other friends I have mentioned the new people have offered to help with him as well. I have amazing neighbors, friends, and great online support here so I think we will be just fine!

Çan't wait to really be driving!