Your Drive Day

[Marsha Cassada]

Marsha,
Hope the new meds do the job! What a pain. Literally!

I've never ponied my horses with my golf cart. Afraid I'd run them over. Do you have any how-to tips?

I try to keep a steady speed so she is trotting briskly. The first time I sat in the back while my husband drove so I could monitor how they did. but they know the drill now. Also, he got me a rear view mirror for the cart and I can adjust it to keep an eye on them. If they look as though they are moving up beside, I speed up because obviously the speed is too slow for their pace.
Yesterday, a noisy vehicle came up behind and I could see she was agitated. I did stop the cart until the vehicle went by. If DD had been with us she wouldn't have noticed, but she was in a miff because she was out alone.
They are used to being ponied behind the cart when I go driving, so they figure it out.

 

[MajorClementine]

Marsha how are you feeling? Is the new medicine helping?

I need a golf cart...Seriously, I think I'm going to start looking for one. I can take the baby with me on the back roads here and keep my horses in better shape. You, my dear, are a genius!

 

[Willow Flats]

My little buddy came over today. I drove Rocko before she got here because I've decided I am the only one who will be driving him until he is fully trained. Then I hitched Annie and drove her for a half hour and she drove her for over half an hour. We were going to put her away and my husband decided to drive her.

We share a long gravel road with one other home in front of us which connects with the main road. We are at the end of the road. They have a fence line that runs parallel to the road and two dogs that always rush their wire fence barking and baring teeth whenever we drive the horses by. We have worked on going past the fence for the past few months and they have been taking it in stride.
Well, today after we were done driving my husband decided to drive Annie down the road and unknown to us those two dogs were out, came out of nowhere and both charged Annie barking their heads off. She whipped around and bolted as they chased her up the road and followed her through our front gate. Annie was FLYING! The neighbors were running after them. I was able to chase the dogs off and my poor husband had to ride out the scary bolt which went all the way to our back pasture and around and around 3 to 4 times full speed cantering before he could get her to stop. There were scary turns he had to make not to hit anything before she got back to the end of our property. He was able to steer her but couldn't stop her. When I got back there she slowed down.

Then after our heartbeats got back to normal he said he wanted to bring her back down the road past the dogs. I walked down to the neighbors and explained that we wanted to bring the horse back by and would they please keep them contained. They said they would and then turned on their leaf blower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really? He drove her down while I walked alongside her and she did fine.

Really glad nobody got hurt and glad it wasn't me in the cart!

 

[Dragon Hill]

I'm so glad no one was hurt! And that your husband was driving and not your young friend! Your neighbors sound like real gems, wow, they probably thought it was funny.

 

[Willow Flats]

They are pretty clueless. It might be because they just see ponies they don't think there could be danger.
Their dogs are insane though. No training at all. What concerns me is that they often get out when the neighbor's aren't home.

 

[Dragon Hill]

That's a shame about your neighbors' dogs. I hope they don't get on your property and harass your animals or you. Where I live there are "leash laws", although they are not enforced much. Have you spoken to them about their dogs getting out on a regular basis? If you have already, maybe the law talking to them would convince them to better secure their dogs? Where I live it's legal to shoot trespassing dogs. As horrible as that sounds, seeing a mini attacked by dogs is worse!

 

[MajorClementine]

Glad everyone is okay. That is my main reason for carrying a whip every time I drive. It's not as effective if you don't see the dogs coming but otherwise dogs are sure surprised when you can hit them from that far away. And those whips can cause some pain.

On the up side... Eventually you'll have bomb proof horses with neighbors like that

 

[Willow Flats]

Exactly!!! My husband tried to hit one of the dogs with the whip but missed. He only had a split second to connect before hanging on to the reins and half halting poor Annie with the dogs chasing and barking at her heels! I wonder if she would have stopped the bolt sooner if I was driving since I'm the one that drives her primarily. But I don't really want to find out. Lol

This morning at 8:30 there were 2 coyotes cruising around my training area. We don't normally see any in daylight. Always something going on around here!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

That is the scariest scenario! There is something that animals know to be predatory. Annie surely knew those dogs were dangerous. What can you do in the future?
I have been in the cart with a bolting horse twice. The fact that he was able to turn her shows, I think, that she was not truly bolting but fleeing. In a bolt, the muscles are rigid and the horse only runs in a straight line. He will run into a barrier without turning. Fleeing instead of bolting is a good thing.

 

[Willow Flats]

You are so right Marsha. My husband said "she was running for her life!" She was in no way being disobedient. I guess runaway is a better term.

I'm not sure what to do about the dogs. Not just me, but many people have brought their dogs home when they have been out. They suggested I check to see if they are home before I drive my horses down the road but they work so that's not very convienent. They were home and right there when this happened so not sure that's the answer since they couldn't call their dogs off and the dogs chased Annie all the way up the road, through our gate and on to our property.
They never even said sorry! They have cameras all around, probably couldn't wait to watch it and have a good laugh.

 

[MajorClementine]

Sadly if their dogs continue to be at large you may need to have animal control get involved. I hate doing this but if the dogs are indeed off of their property and you and other neighbors are bringing the dogs home it's time to do something more. I would talk to the other neighbors and see if they agree to not take the dogs back home but allow you to call animal control to pick the dogs up. They will make contact with the owners and it usually only takes a time of two of having their dogs picked up by animal control (and possibly having to pay a fine to get them back) for people to keep their dogs home. Like I said, it's usually a last resort with me but if Annie gets spooked by them coming at her like that more often she may become a problem every time you drive because now putting on a harness means being chased by dogs. That's a sure fire way to ruin a driving horse.

 

[Pitter Patter]

You are so right Marsha. My husband said "she was running for her life!" She was in no way being disobedient. I guess runaway is a better term.

I'm not sure what to do about the dogs. Not just me, but many people have brought their dogs home when they have been out. They suggested I check to see if they are home before I drive my horses down the road but they work so that's not very convienent. They were home and right there when this happened so not sure that's the answer since they couldn't call their dogs off and the dogs chased Annie all the way up the road, through our gate and on to our property.
They never even said sorry! They have cameras all around, probably couldn't wait to watch it and have a good laugh.

Maybe you could get a dash cam or something similar so you can get your own evidence, or a helmet cam if you wear a helmet?

 

[Willow Flats]

Thank you guys for encouraging me to take some action. My farrier was here today and he advised me to call animal control and report the incident so it would be on record. All of the neighbors are tired of bringing the dogs back home when we see them out in traffic on the surrounding roads and think the owners are irresponsible. We all bring their dogs home and put them away and when we let them know they say. "I know we saw it on the camera." One of my neighbors happened to see the dogs on our towns lost and found website last week and had to call them to let them know who had them. This has been going on for at least a year. Since they haven't taken steps to ensure their dog's safety by good containment, and my safety (or anyone driving my horses safety) is at stake I went ahead and called animal control and reported the situation. Hopefully they will get notified that they need to keep their animals contained.

We just started driving Annie down our road and across the main road to my neighbors who have 10 acres they let us drive on. I don't want to worry about those dogs and it is so good for Annie to get out and see new things. They have their house up for sale so it's one of those things where I'll be happy for them if they get an offer, but sure sad to see them go because they are really nice and it's fun to drive there too!

 

[Willow Flats]

My thought now is to install security cameras on the posts at my front gates pointing down the road so I can get notified if the neighbors dogs are out. I went on-line to look at security systems and got overwhelmed pretty quickly! Our gate and view of the road is quite far from our house so hardwiring is out. If there is anyone out there reading this, and you have a system that works well for your rural property please let me know what it is. Thanks!

 

[Dragon Hill]

I don't have one but they make cameras that operate like a cell phone (has to have a sim card) and sends notifications and pictures/video to your cell phone.

 

[Deb_D]

Hello Willow Flats,

We have a wireless security system that broadcasts video back to a large monitor in the house. Cameras are installed in the stalls, in the front and back of the property, and in several rooms in the house. We can see the images of all cameras at once and can click on an image to enlarge it. The broadcast system is UniFi, a professional system that helps in broadcasting over larger areas. It's a great system and we've been very happy. It's a bit pricy but well worth it.

 

[Willow Flats]

Deb,

Thanks for the information! I will check out the system. Do you have really good wifi where you are? That is a concern here as we have pretty spotty service and only one provider available.

 

[Deb_D]

It's not great, but we have subscribed to get the fastest service our carrier offers. We're a bit in the country...40-50 miles from Sacramento, CA, however, there are hops in between.

 

[charlottein]

Had a short drive Chaos today before it gets cold again, for the first time in a month (got Covid, snow/ice, new harness). He did so well and the new harness was great! He did not like the little dog barking and lunging at him that a neighbor was walking but the second time we passed her he did very well. I bought some snaps to add to the holdbacks, but I need to figure out how to do that. Hopefully I can drive with someone more experienced out soon to take a look at the way I have everything fitted, but the cold weather rolls in tomorrow. Thinking of putting a check on him because he def. wants to try and dive when he sees grass, but he hasn't worn one and I thought it better to train him to not need it - how do you all handle that?

Willow Flats - man that sounds like my nightmare situation! So sorry you are having to deal with that so much.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Had a short drive Chaos today before it gets cold again, for the first time in a month (got Covid, snow/ice, new harness). He did so well and the new harness was great! He did not like the little dog barking and lunging at him that a neighbor was walking but the second time we passed her he did very well. I bought some snaps to add to the holdbacks, but I need to figure out how to do that. Hopefully I can drive with someone more experienced out soon to take a look at the way I have everything fitted, but the cold weather rolls in tomorrow. Thinking of putting a check on him because he def. wants to try and dive when he sees grass, but he hasn't worn one and I thought it better to train him to not need it - how do you all handle that?

Willow Flats - man that sounds like my nightmare situation! So sorry you are having to deal with that so much.

I would do the overcheck. They don't really even notice it, unless they dive. A trainer I know, who had multiple wins, always uses the check. She said it connects the bit to the saddle to the crupper, and helps the horse keep straight and know where his body is. After you use it few times, he will probably give up diving; he disciplines himself.