From: hannah@pomponio.ai.sri.com (Marsha Jo Hannah)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Re: Driving (was: Yippee! It's Spring!)
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:24:03 GMT
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
In-reply-to: broy@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu's message of 10 Apr 92 19:00:00 GMT

In article <10APR199213001555@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu> broy@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu (Barbara Roy) writes:

   I've decided to break Nigt to drive as well, because he'd look
   gorgeous in front of a cart and he's totally bomb-proof. Any
   suggestions on types of carts and harness that would be best or tips
   on suppliers would be helpful. Also would appreciate hints on best way
   to train a saddle-broke horse to harness.

Driving a horse can be a lot of fun, but it's not for every horse.
The first thing to do whether buying or deciding to drive your own
horse is to evaluate the horse carefully.  A driving horse must be
calm and willing, with a forward-going attitude and a great deal of
trust in his driver.  Horses that show even the slightest tendency
toward kicking, rearing, or running back as evasions are probably
unsuitable for driving, as is any horse who is uncomfortable in
traffic.  The perfect driving horse is one that, when frightened,
stops and stares at the scarey object, then accepts his driver's
reassurance that it's really OK, and continues.

The next step is to decide what type of driving you want to do---
pleasure driving, breed ring showing, antique carriage competitions,
Combined Driving, parades, coaching, etc.  I would suggest that you
buy a copy of "Driving the Light Horse: Training for Pleasure and
Competition" by Charlene Roth (1984, Arco Publishing Inc, 215 Park
Avenue South, New York, NY, 10003, $19.95---all prices and addresses
given are from the books, with no guarantee as to their being
current).  This book gives the best overall introduction that I have
found to all the different types of driving, how to drive, the steps
in training, etc.  It will allow you to make intelligent choices about
what your goals should be, and will get you started along the right
roads.

You should also order a copy of "Breaking a Horse to Harness: A
Step-by-Step Guide" by Sally Walrond (1981, Pelham Books Ltd, 44
Bedford Square, London WC1B-3DU, L7.50).  The easiest way that I have
found to get British books is to write to J.A. Allen & Co (The
Horseman's Bookshop) Ltd, 1, Lower Grosvenor Place, Buckingham Palace
Road, London, SW1W-0EL; they will accept most major credit cards,
which frees you from all the hassles of figuring shipping, currency
conversions, etc; it does not take much longer to get a book from them
than from most U.S. publishers.  This book is the absolute best that I
have seen, in that it breaks everything down into simple lessons,
tells what to do and what NOT to do, explains why and why not to do it
(a real rarity!), and illustrates everything with a big clear photo of
it being done right.

Of less use to me (although I might have learned from it without
realizing it) was "Breaking and Training the Driving Horse" by Doris
Ganton (1978, Wilshire Book Company, 12015 Sherman Road, N. Hollywood,
CA 91605, $2.00 cover price).  Likewise, I bought but don't frequently
refer to "Training Your Colt to Ride and Drive" by Marilyn Carlson
Childs (1969, Arco, $8.95).

If you want a regular "fix" for your driving habit, subscribe to
"Driving Digest Magazine", P.O. Box 467, Brooklyn, CT 06234, $18 per
year (6 issues), $30 for 2 years.  It has lots of lovely pictures of
people driving a great variety of turnouts, frequently has good
articles on driving or training techniques, as well as ads from just
about every carriage-related supplier there is; I liked it so much
that I immediately bought all the available back issues.

I would strongly suggest that you find and join a local carriage
driving club.  Local clubs are the ultimate sources for supplies,
advice, things to do, shoulders to cry on, etc.  Members will know who
is teaching drivers, who is teaching driving horses, when the clinics
are, where the good driving trails are, and can give you opinions
about (and chances to see and maybe even drive) a variety of vehicles
before you buy.  Sometimes, these clubs advertize in other horsey
publications.  Or, you can get a list of clubs from the American
Driving Society, P.O. Box 160, Metamora, MI 48455, 800-233-9806.

If you're thinking of training your horse yourself, you really need to
take some driving lessons first.  It is very difficult to do a
reasonable job of teaching driving to a horse if you don't understand
it yourself.  There are many little differences between riding and
driving, and you will be much better off if you learn them with an
experienced horse in front of you and a trainer at your elbow.
Finding a teacher was difficult for me, but there may be more of them
in your area; also time has made driving more popular, so there are
probably more people teaching driving now.

As you read the books I've mentioned above (and any others you may
find), you will see that no two writers agree on how to train a horse
to drive, yet, each manages to turn out a usable driving horse via his
techniques.  The variety of books mentioned above will provide you
with a fairly broad menu of techniques.  Compare them, evaluate them
in the light of the riding you have been doing, pick what sounds
reasonable to you, and try it.  If it works, great; if it doesn't,
fall back, reconsider, and try something else until you and your horse
figure it out.

No matter what technique you follow, GO SLOWLY.  Make sure you and
your horse thoroughly understand each lesson before going on to the
next.  If something isn't going right, fall back to something that the
two of you do well, and don't leap ahead to new material until the old
is well learned.  The Walrond book stresses the point of never letting
the horse make the wrong moves (easier said than done, I know), but
you want to keep one point firmly in mind---you can ruin your horse
for driving forever if he ever manages to get away from you while
pulling a vehicle (or a log, tire, or other training device, for that
matter), as a horse rarely gets over the fright of having an object
"chase" him for miles.  I would suggest lots of practice in the arena
at each stage (ground driving, pulling a log, tire, or poles, and with
the cart); doing obstacles is particularly valuable, as it teaches you
how to aim this wierd contraption, gives the horse something to think
about (instead of just doing meaningless figures in an empty arena),
and gives you some feedback about how well the two of you are
communicating (if the traffic cones fell over, one of you blew it, and
it's usually the driver).

Marsha Jo Hannah		Murphy must have been a horseman--
La Honda, CA			anything that can go wrong, will!