NorthWolf it's good to have you back! I looked into running with my minis last year when I was training (I'm not a runner so it was all new to me). I might try it this spring.... I think my colt, Perry, would love it. That little guy lives for running and none of the other horses will run with him.
Thanks MajorClementine
If you're not yet in a good running condition, I suggest to start running without horses first, and add the horsey later. It's a lot of fun to run with miniature horses! They definitely love it and it's very good for their shape.
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We did only a few drives last time. Not very much time...
here's a video with Moony on a fast sulky drive:
He's such a good boy, it's a lot of fun to drive him! He loves running fast, but he's always under control. Even when he's getting scared. When outside temperature is low, he's going nut too, but we made it to turn his energy into positive engagement. We will start his trot racing training soon for the new trotting season. His first race this year will be in May.
If you ever have a horse who's unsure, don't loose your mind, keep going on and just go for walks, do not try to enforce something. I think the best training is to walk or run with your horse, preferably long distances
We take our minis to hikes from time to time. That is a great option to show them how exciting the world is and that they don't have to fear anything.
I successfully introduced him to the treadmill last summer. That was a mess! He don't wanted to climb on the treadmill first. It needed some weeks of patience to persuade him to climb the treadmill AND leave it safely backwards. Then we started the mill. That was the bigger part! He got panic and tried to jump over.
So we did very, very small steps. Tried to start the mill only for one step and stop it, then two, and so on. I remember I was soooo proud of him as he did a full 5 steps in a row on the treadmill without getting scared! Always stopped the mill after a few seconds. Then he did half a minute, not perfect, but without having an accident. As we reached one minute, it was almost done. I increased the time, always very carefully.
He's now a Pro
can go over a half an hour, very relaxed but diligent, can handle speed differences (only walk, we do no trotting on the treadmill) and the most important: he LOVES it! He even climb on the machine when I do not ask for, when he has the opportunity.
I think every new thing we add to our horses experience, make them stronger and gives them more trust to us, and that's what we need when we are driving our horses!
