Who all is starting to train a mini to drive???

[SkipsMom]

I've just begun ground driving my 2 1/2 year old mini and wow, he sure makes me look good!!! He has had the required standing tied training and harness fitted to him. He did longing "101" the past few weeks like the President of Harness University!! This weekend I went ahead and ground drove him and again, he took right to it. By the end of Sundays session, his second one, he clearly understood which way to turn with a light pull on the rein and that whoa meant whoa. I took him down to the road so that he could begin to get proofed on auto's coming. We live rural so it was a bit of wait but worth it and he only slightly flinched when one came from behind.

Who else is starting to train their mini to drive?? What excercises are you doing?

 

[countryrose]

Yes, isn't it so great to see how fast they pick it up.

I also have a 2 1/2 year old. He was a stallion until October when he was gelded.

First we got lunging down pat and the whoa. Then we went for a lot of walks and did obstacle with ditches, water, side passing etc. to earn his trust.

I started some ground driving with circingle and long lines on his halter in August. We leave in a residential area so lots of cars and moving items to have him around. Also water puddles in the trucker lot across the street. After a few times he was walking on, learning left and right and whoa.

Weather has been so wet here plus I wanted him to heal from gelding so did nothing till last weekend.

We went to my trainers indoor arena for her opinion. After he got over the shock of other horses and strange surroundings he did great. We ground drove, then added cart and ground drove. My trainer felt he was relaxed and doing well so in the cart she goes. Patches walked out, then trotted, did fairly well on left and right turns, stopped with a whoa and backed a few steps.

I was so thrilled to be able to cart him two times around the arena!

The ground driving is the basics and so glad I was able to do that but I am really not comfortable the first few times in hooking them to cart without extra help for safetys sake.

So now I have my first over 34 horse to drive and is going to be a nice country pleasure boy.

 

[Feather1414]

I am training both of my boys to drive!

Right now I have been just ground driving Dealer everywhere. We do figure 8's, and we go left ((which he has a slight issue with at a trot, I don't know what it is. I have been working on it. I say turn, and pull on the left side, and sometimes he will start sidepassing. Any ideas?))

Then we ground drive some more. We stop, and we stand there for a while. Then we go again. No backing just yet. Some, but its nowhere NEAR perfect. I just tied a laundry basket to the tugs to see how he would react to something coming behind him, and he pretty much didnt care. Next he gets to carry around some PVC pipe to simulate cart shafts. Then when I get the loop that broke onmy harness sewn, we will start putting on the cart.

 

[countryrose]

It has been explained to me that horses tend to turn better on one side only. Just takes a lot of extra work with the side they don't like to turn to.

Make sure you are giving him enough room to turn in when starting out. You may also want to work on it at a stop. Stand behind like ground driving, pull slight left and release when he gives, then do the right side.

 

[MiniHGal]

Jamie, it sounds like you have a problem with bending--ie: he is stiffer to that side, so he resists turning and instead sidepasses. Go back to walking and practice bending and stretching. Stretching down to the bit is very effective for working on proper bend(as well as myriad other things). If they have a stiff neck, you are never going to have good bend or very good turns. A stiff neck is very effective in helping the horse to resist rein cues. You also then work on down to the back, and use the outside rein to prevent the horse from sidling out with his shoulder on the turns.

Currently, I am not training any horses, but I did do a few lessons with Gabriel, our now 3 yr old Draft X gelding. He has lungeing down pat, so we started groundriving. Pretty crazy stuff! He was actually quite excellent(will be an easy train), just had a few problems with having someone behind him out of vision, and reacting rather explosively to the whip taps(until he figured out that was really not a good idea and they are there for a reason and he should listen to them). He was doing great when I left, walking down the street, through gutters, up and down curbs, over manhole covers, by cars. Just starting to get the basics of stretching down to the bit and relaxing.

That is him and Shog standing during the last session, in my avatar. Shog drove and introduced Gabriel to the marathon carriage. Gabriel had no problems with it! I was so proud of him!

 

[Al B]

My just turned 3 project for 2006. I am hoping to have him ready for the March show.

 

[gibsongrrl]

I am training my 3 1/2 year old mare, Sugar, to drive. We are both kind of learning as we go. I've been getting some good advice, too, from Amy/PocketPonies. Right now I'm ground driving her in a halter and surcingle. She is REALLY smart and picks everything up so easy. I have a bit ordered, I need a headstall and I guess soon an actual harness. I hope to have her pulling a cart by summer. This is just for fun, she is not registered so I don't show a lot.

-Kristie

 

[Ashley]

I am not currently training anybody to drive. I however would love to train one of my aunts mares. Except she is a one person only horse and that is my aunt. She is kind of a flake around everybody else. BUt she is awsome moveing and looking.

I will be starting to ground drive, and getting used to the harness my yearling this summer. I find the earlier I start them the easier they take to the cart. I also have a few mares I would love to drive.

 

[Shari]

Theia will be trained to drive this spring when my leg finally heals and it stops raining. She will be almost 4 years old.

 

[whitney]

Dusty is my 2006 project (the one in my avatar). He is already longeing, knows all the verbal commands, and has been worked wearing his harness. He is 2 1/2. We are suppose to get some mid 40's so we maybe hooking this week.

 

[Trish]

I started training my 4 yr old filly. We have been working on ground driving on the weekends when the weather is decent. This last weekend my hubby helped me :aktion033: . He build a practice hitch using pvc poles. We made progress with Pearl, she finally accepted having the pvc poles in the loops of the harness. We got her to walk a little bit pulling the hitch. Practice makes progress.

:

 


I bought a book on Drive Training, and am trying to follow the book step by step.

 

[Tammie-C_Spots]

I am! I am having a blast bringing my favorite mini Calita to work with me. The place I work has an indoor arena and I'm teaching her to jump and do obsticles as well

Tammie

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I shall start Leo in the Spring, he will be three then, and is a big strong boy, so I am going to have fun with him!! My approach to training is a little different, so maybe this time I shall actually chronicle it as I go along. Suffice it to say that the bit is the last thing that gets added, and Blinders, overchecks, martingales, and side reins never happen!!

I still manage to get good head carriage and a horse that is happy on the bit

:

 

[Lauralee]

I'm currently in the process of training a lovely B filly to drive. She's lungeing in the bitting rig and learning her voice commands at this time. I expect to have her introduced to the cart in a couple of weeks. She's doing extremely well! It also helps that this filly has been hauled and shown as a yearling so she's not afraid of much.

 

[MyLittlePita]

My goal was to train my mini, PITA, to drive by the spring, but it's way harder than I thought.

: I've read all the replies on this topic and it looks like I have a LOT MORE ground work to do with her based on the steps people have taken to get their mini to the cart. I guess I better start reading my book on teaching a horse to drive and really get to it!!

 

[disneyhorse]

Yay! I absolutely LOVE breaking green horses... they are so willing in general and pick it up very quickly. It is much more rewarding than breaking older horses' bad habits

:

Here is the three year old, Buck Ons Citihawk his fourth time in the cart...

Here is my four year old stallion "Graham's the Big Picture", he has been in the cart a couple times but no one was there to take a picture...

We will all have fun in the show ring this year for sure!

Andrea