Carts here, ponys pulled it

Dannii5691

Dannii5691

Owned by Ponies!
Nov 16, 2009
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Right tonight junes cart came, Im not an expert but we put it on and after an initial wtf is this thing omg i cant turn oh wait i have to cross my front legs and push against it, ah i see - lets go moment she was absoloutly fab i was so proud

so driving experts what do u think about the cart, i adjusted it so the floor sat level, also the breeching is loose, i have adjusted it the best i can also any tips for making the breeching straps (i think) a bit tighter.

I did take some videos but pc is being :banghead: and wont upload them but i will add them later.

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once she started pulling traces tightened up, but i need some advice!!
 
AWWWW! June looks fantastic with the cart! :biggrin:

So glad you got it in the end, and the fact she pulled it is great too (All that long reining paid off eh? :wink:)

Really pleased for you danni :biggrin: x
 
I don't know anything about traces etc so not much help - just wanted to say she looks lovely with the cart!
I'm thinking of trying to teach my welshie to pull a cart but I don't really know where to start....
 
happy_bunny said:
I don't know anything about traces etc so not much help - just wanted to say she looks lovely with the cart!
I'm thinking of trying to teach my welshie to pull a cart but I don't really know where to start....
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LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF LONGREINING haha!!

thn pulling a tyre over as many different surfaces - deep mud, sand, gravel, concrete, grass, through water etc and teach them to stand still as a rock (we havent got this lesson quite figured out yet!!)
 
I hate to say, but the cart is way too small for the pony,

The best advice I can give is go and find a copy of Jane MacInne's DVD "Between the Shafts" It's got lots of hints and tips on how to get things to fit and little safe tricks of the trade. It has sections on harness fit and harnessing up and adjusting everything.

If you sit in that cart and go along you will never get it to balance and you and the pony will get sore backs.
 
Safety tip. never long rein with the cart on the pony. Only do up the traces when you are sure the horse will accept the cart then get in. Long reins with a tyre, but not with the cart.

You have 100 times more control in the cart than out of it and you are more likely to bring a pony back under control in the cart if anything happens. On the ground, if the pony bolts he bolts until the cart is trashed. If you are in the cart you get keep control.

Okay to get the harness right in the cart.

First the big buckle on the loops that the shafts go through must always be in the centre of the pad. Pulling up hill and it is allowed to go to the front edge of the pad going down steep hills.

Put the shafts in the tugs (loops) and do up the traces and the breeching. Now push the cart back and make the traces go tight as if the horse is pulling. The tug stop on the shaft must be almost touching the tug and the buckle in the middle of the pad. At the same time you ought to be able to get 4 fingers between the breeching and the horse's bum.

Now pull the cart forwards, the breeching ought to go tight before the tug buckle reaches the front edge of the pad and the traces ought to be just a bit loose, not hanging in big loops.

Either get some bale string and make some loops to put the traces through, or take them up in your breeching straps so the pony cannot get a leg over them.
 
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thanks wally, im glad u replied, i wouldnt want to drive her with it if it was going to do her any harm. i am still going to do it up and sell it as it is a nice little cart. would it be ok just to long rein her in to get her used to turning etc or is it a no go??
 
Wally said:
Safety tip. never long rein with the cart on the pony. Only do up the traces when you are sure the horse will accept the cart then get in. Long reins with a tyre, but not with the cart.

You have 100 times more control on the cart than out of it and you are more likely to bring a pony back under control in the cart if anything happens. On the ground, if the pony bolts he bolts until the cart is trashed. If you are in the cart you get keep control.
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ah that answers my below question aswell!!
 
Here's a pic where the traces are way too long and the buckle is rubbing on the pony's ribs and the breeching is through the wrong breeching D on the shaft, it needs to go through the one farther forward so the breeching will actually work when the pony goes down hill, but you can see the trace being taken up in the breeching strap.
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Haivng said that, if the traces were the right length, the breeching might work on that D. If you make one strap longer on harness you will have to make others shorter to compensate elsewhere.
 
Again traces a mile too long and the breeching won't work as it is, The cart actually hit the long suffering pony up the backside when he did a rein back! but you can see how the traces are taken up out the way.

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The big buckle on the left ought to be in the middle of the pad, no excuse there's loads of holes in the traces to go up!
 
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Here's a load of different carts and harness so you can see what you are aiming for. But I'd get Jane's DVD, it's really very good.
 
Wally said:
The best advice I can give is go and find a copy of Jane MacInne's DVD "Between the Shafts" It's got lots of hints and tips on how to get things to fit and little safe tricks of the trade. It has sections on harness fit and harnessing up and adjusting everything.
Click to expand...

i know nothing about driving but Jane is AWESOME!! if her dvd is even an iota of how good she is in real life it will be worth getting. My mum had a taster driving lesson with her last year and i'm looking to book more lessons for her this year. She communicates and explains things very clearly :)
 
We love Jane, she is such a good teacher, you learn from Jane just being in the same room as her.

She gives me her Orlov Trotters to play with and lets me put me foot down! :D :D It's like being given a Ferrari to play with!

Jane has so many ways of sorting something out safely, if one thing down't work she's got 20 more tricks up her sleeve.
 
Ahhh I see!! Very helpful!! Pics make it alot clearer!! What are your opinions on the robbies carts? My budget will be around 350-400 at a push once I have sold this on (hopefully for a small profit after I have done it up)

P.s will be looking for janes DVD - can you get it of amazon?
 
How annoying. I was just finishing typing up a long reply and it suddenly disappeared :banghead:

My Fibro brain is not allowing me to remember much - but I was saying that I have the same harness and it really was too big for my Sec A. I invested in a Shetland size Tedex harness, more expensive, but wonderful quality and fitted him so much better (he was 11.2hh).

Shame about the cart - it looks lovely. Haven't seen a Robinsons cart, but there have been mixed reviews. For your budget you do see plenty of second-hand carts on Dragon Driving and Ebay - but obviously then there may be long distances to travel and you need to make sure they are safe and solid.

It is lovely seeing your progress. Gives me hope that one day I will get my Exxie mare going in harness (we are just starting to pull scary stuff around the yard and she longreins well).

Ali xx
 
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