Wanting to send Clem for training

[MajorClementine]

Clementine will be 3 years old this April. My plan (originally) was to train her to drive myself. A friend of mine got a couple minis before me and "taught" their little stud to drive by hooking a cart to him then trying to do damage control with someone at his head while he pulled. The entered a parade 4 months after getting the little horse and he was a nervous sweaty wreck during the whole thing. He is still a nervous wreck anytime you tack him up. He has flipped himself over while hitched as well. After joining LB and reading about driving and training I have decided that what they have done is NOT what I want to do with my 2 horses. I would like them trained the right way to be as safe and confident as possible. I feel like I am a little out of my league here so I've decided that I'd like to send Clementine to training this spring. Any thoughts?

I've been saving up the money all winter (tips etc from grooming) so I have the cash in hand. Hubby says it's too much to spend and we should just do it ourselves but I feel a little out of my league here and the closest person to "mentor" me is over 2 hours away. Plus, when she gets out of training she won't be totally finished. She'll have some miles on her but I'll still have work to do with her. I really want her to learn the right way and I'd like to go and learn with her a couple of days while she is with the trainer since I need to learn the proper way to drive as well.

Has anyone else sent their mini to training or did you just do it yourself? Was it worth the money to you? Would you do it again?

 

[ksoomekh]

Your plan sounds like a good idea to me. I have always purchased finished horses because I don't have the experience to train.

Karen

 

[targetsmom]

I started my first one myself, but then I had about 50 years experience with horses, a college degree in Animal Science where i actually learned to drive a Morgan, and I felt pretty confident. Yet I still had a trainer come over to help with the all important first hitch and for a few times after that. After that one, I now do most work myself. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, then by all means, I recommend a trainer!!! But it is also important to work WITH the trainer as much as possible so that YOU get to drive the horse as soon as the trainer feels it is safe to do so. I have seen way too many horses sent to trainers (not necessarily for driving) that return and the owner has trouble handling them. The way I did it, I was always the one handling the horse, and we probably went a lot slower than a trainer would, but I always felt comfortable.

I was lucky to be able to find a Morgan horse trainer close enough to me to come to my house and work with both of us. Your trainer does NOT have to be a miniature horse trainer, so if there is a driving club in your area, I would start there first. You could possibly train your mini to GROUND drive (like I did) and just use a trainer for the actual hooking to cart. Our 4-Hers are all learning to ground drive now, using minis that have never been hooked to a cart. I just realized I haven't done the lesson on actual ground driving yet, but once I have, it will be posted on our farm website in the 4-H section. The basics of harnessing and aids are already posted. For some of the 4-Hers, ground driving may be as far as they get for awhile and we plan to add a class at this year's 4-H Fair in ground driving.

 

[Sandee]

The first mini we bought was 15 and already trained so he "taught" us to drive. Our second one was young and when he was old enough to drive, even though I've been around horses (big ones) most of my life, I felt like you. I wanted it done right and didn't want to "mess" him up. It was totally worth it. The guy who took him only had him 2 or 3 months and by the end of the season I drove that boy at Nationals and placed in the top ten. He was only 3 and since then we went back and won a National title (Western Pleasure 32" and under in 2008). The trainer put a "headset" on him (taught him to give to the bit and hold his head in place) but I was the one to drive him after that and we won the title without a trainer helping us. Yes, a trainer is a GOOD start.

Now to give you the other view. I got my filly when she was only 4 1/2 mo. old. We really bonded. By the time she was ready to drive, I knew a LOT more and also knew that she trusted me totally. I trained her. She has always been a good driving horse and won open show state title. Last year I sent her to a trainer for a short time before Nationals. She didn't even look like the same horse when he was done "tweeking" her. He had her coat darker and she carried he head perfectly. She placed in the top ten at Nationals last year. (hope it's ok to mention that "he" was Jason Prince)

So you have to know what you're doing and feel comfortable with what you decide. And YES trainers can make a BIG difference.

 

[Treciah]

I know how you feel, as about 20 yrs ago I decided to have my young miniature stallion broke to drive, had trained several riding horses over my life but never had driven. I looked up a local Arabian trainer who had driving experience and asked him if he would not only train my mini but train me and he took my stallion (who had been shown halter and halter obstacle) for 30 days and I came out and worked with them a couple days a week and then I went on and put the miles on him from there. Never took him in the ring myself as a driving horse but he was a kick to drive around home and a lot of non-horsey beginners had their first taste of driving behind him

After my divorce I had to sell him and I do think his new owner showed him in driving classes. So like the others have said perhaps you have someone locally you can work with to give you a good start

Best of luck to you.

 

[Elizabeth Pannill]

Having a horse trained to drive by a professional is cheap insurance . I guarantee 3 months of professional training is cheaper than one trip to the emergency room after a driving wreck !

 

[MajorClementine]

Having a horse trained to drive by a professional is cheap insurance . I guarantee 3 months of professional training is cheaper than one trip to the emergency room after a driving wreck !

I like this. It is how I feel about having her trained correctly.

I won't be showing her just driving her around my area here but I want her to be trained correctly either way. I wish we had a driving club around here but the closest one is 90-120 min away. There are some guys who drive teams and such around here but they are farmers and ranchers who's methods work for them but aren't how I want my Clementine trained. Don't get me wrong, they have great horses in the end but I'd rather not just "hitch her up" and "let her work it out".

I do need some training along with Clementine so I plan on going out and taking a lesson with her a couple of times while she is at the trainers. I wish I could go more but the cost of private lessons plus the cost of fuel and the time it takes to make a round trip will add up quickly.

 

[Jules]

you sound to me like you are approaching it with sensible consideration of your options.

I would say that the way that your friends approaached training was slap-happy at best, but more likely down-right dangerous. I can tell that you see what they did was far from optimal.

I would also say that if you research training to harness and ask lots of questions and take things sloooooowllllyyyyy then it is absolutey possible to start your own horse.

I looked into getting a professional to start my pony and it was going to cost around $1600+ for six weeks, I had started many horses under saddle when I was working in the horse industry so decided to start my guy myself despite never having driven a horse in my life. I found forum members an excellent source of information and support, trawling old threads was useful and also reading books/watching youtube (truly! lol) as there are some excellent instructional videos out there. I also made contact with my national carriage driving society and joined, many members who I had met in real life, or online where very useful sources of info.

I think if you take each step slowly that you could get at least some of the way yourself before sending her to the trainers if you wanted to and had the time.

Totally up to you though, if you have a reiable trainer than you know will handle your horse as you would want her handled then that option is good too

 

[studiowvw]

Jules says: "if you have a reiable trainer that you know will handle your horse as you would want her handled then that option is good too"

I agree with that!

I wanted my Lacey to have the best start possible, as I didn't feel confident or competent enough for those first few hitches.

Having her trained by Lori Rafter for 3 months and taking lessons when possible (it was a 10-hour round trip drive) made all the difference to me.

The first drive I felt like a total fool and Lacey didn't think much of me. The second and third time I began to get a better feel.

Then when I got her home and was able to put some time in, she tolerated my inexperience enough for me to become more competent.

We were able to ride out a couple of rough drives last summer (harness problems) and I feel like I've now gained enough experience to be able to be "in charge" of the whole driving thing, which I certainly wasn't 2 years ago!

I haven't decided whether I will start Diesel and Mustang myself next season. I will certainly do everything I can do to get them ready.

I was very impressed by Lori's consistency and the strength of her program.

 

[MajorClementine]

Having talked to this trainer I feel confident that she will teach both Clementine and I. She says she teaches a lot of beginning drivers so that is good for me since I have no experience.

I'm expect it to take a while for me to get the hang of it and I'm glad to hear that others have had similar experiences. I'm really excited and can't wait for the next few months to tick by so I can get her into her training. After owning her for 3 years I'm ready to get out and drive with her