Are these acceptable training carts/harnesses?

[apachepony]

A friend has had me keep my eye open for a starter cart for her. The goal is to buy something inexpensive to start the horse, to see if he enjoys driving. The horse is 20 and broke to death, but she doesn’t want to sink a lot of initial money into a sport the horse doesn’t end up loving.

I found two carts that fit the right price range, both likely one step away from junk. That said, would either potentially fit the bill of seeing what the horse thinks before moving on to something more suitable?

https://picasaweb.google.com/114912962618883110208/Carts?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The sulky and harness is $500, and offers no additional info.

The next one’s description: $300 Horse Jog Cart in good condition. It would be best to use as a jog cart. With a little work could be used as a show cart. Have seat. It is green and hasn’t been damaged.

The harness is $250: Amish-made black biothane horse size harness. Stainless steel hardware. In excellent condition only used 5 times. Breast collar style with breeching and holdbacks. Easily cleans with a damp rag and is sharp enough to show in if you wanted.

If any are worth inquiring about, what type of size questions would you ask? Any other pertinent questions?

Thanks guys, you’re always so helpful!

[China_Doll]

It is really hard to tell what is there and the condition by those pictures but if it is 1 step away from junk, run fast. Safety is the most important thing in my opinion.

If it breaks and causes an accident then you could really be in trouble let alone traumatizing the horse. Depending on what kind of horse and what kind of showing the jog cart isn’t suitable.

[apachepony]

Not interested in showing (at least yet), and I’m just wondering if they could be junk based on used condition and price?

[Drive_NJ]

You want to make sure that the wood jog cart is not wood rotted or cracked etc

it will be more comfortable FOR YOU
while you are trying to sort out whether this is the game for you

the price is within range for that sort of thing - at least near me in NJ

the biothane harness price is close to new price for that level of biothane
so 1) make sure it really IS nearly new and 2) make sure it is complete with all the parts
there is a lot about it that will make you want to move up once you decide if this is a fun game for you and the horse

[red_mares]

The jog cart would be suitable for breed shows. It looks like a Jerald. They are safe & well made. There may be a small plate in the U & a serial number on the underside of the shafts (really hard to find). For $300, I might come get it. I could use a summer project. Looks like it has 88" shafts which would be suitable for a horse around 15h. Over 16h longer shafts work better.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the price - i.e. too cheap. These run $500 or less when they need a lot of cosmetic work. A used one, show quality can generally be had for $1000-$1500.

[ReSomething]

You can get a perfectly good working cart for cheap, but the leather loops tend to break off and you need those, the rat tails get lost, you have to decide if you want to use the extenders/EZ on harness or fuss with the rat tails every time, the wheels can go out of round and things like that.

You want to have your cart and harness in good working condition so you can focus on the work you are doing. It really helps to learn on one style and get familiar with it before you go buying one that might have parts missing.

We have the Jerald Roadmaster A, which that second cart might be, bought in bad condition for $200. And of course the seller lied, honestly I think she cleaned out an old barn because the harness she offered for sale was a dried up cracked death trap and she swore she’d used it not too long ago. HAH.
I would not have done that if I wasn’t familiar with the cart and didn’t have one to compare to. As it is, my trainer’s working cart is a monument to the many uses of electrical tape.

[red_mares]

My trainer’s work cart (Model A type) is held together with duct tape, vet wrap and electrical tape. My favorite part is the shafts- the end of one was caught on a corner & broke, so he just cut the other one off the same distance!

Jerald is great for parts, and they are accustomed to people calling and asking for “the leather thinging that goes here” or “the funny metal piece between this and that”

[equinedriver]

The harness in the first photos appears to be in very bad, dried out condition. I would not under ANY circumstances hitch that harness to a cart. It is an accident waiting to happen…

[Renae]

Both carts are decent carts provided nothing is rotten or broken on them.

I often “restore” the shaft loops with many wraps of electrical tape, leave enough room so that the trace can still slide.

The second cart would work for breed shows and local open shows, you would need to get a boot (cover) for the basket.

Neither of these carts is designed to use with a carriage type harness with breeching, you will only need a work harness or older fine show harness. I would contact this vendor http://www.bennettstack.com/work_harness.htm and ask if they have anything used or what type of lower end work harness they have that maybe isn’t listed on their website. The nice thing about a work harness is you can take the driving pieces off and just use it as a surcingle.

[Renae]

Oh and the bearings can go bad in the wheels. They should spin easily and not wobble side to side. They can be replaced if bad. Terry Bennett is a Jerald dealer and can also get you parts. He has helped us fix wheels. However make sure all the spokes are good and the rim is not bent. New wheels are expensive, about $200 a piece.

[Renae]

One of the jog cart’s wheels looks bent in the picture.

Do confirm the shaft length on the basket cart. 88" shafts are for typically sized Morgans and Arabs (cob size). You need 96" shafts on a basket cart for full sized horses to make sure they aren’t clipping the basket while trotting.

[apachepony]

Thanks to everyone for the input.

The jog cart sold in one day, but he suggested a friend with a similar one. Said it needs new tires and tubes. Haven’t called to find out price and details yet.

Why are the Jerald wheels $200 each!? I was under the impression they were just bike wheels. Are the different? Special? Gold plated?

[Renae]

They are not bike wheels! They are much more heavy duty, on some of the jog carts they are motorcycle wheels or racing sulky wheels, and the basket carts have their own special wheels. Sometimes you will come across a jog carts that someone has replaced the wheels with bicycle wheels or even plastic spoke wheelbarrow/yard cart wheels, stay clear of that, very dangerous!

[apachepony]

Thanks Renae, didn’t know that.

Looks like the tubes and tires aren’t too expensive. I’ll call and see what condition this new one is in.

On another note, Drive NJ said the biothane harness was a close to new price. After a cursory look, the cheapest ones I see are in the ~$600 range. Am I looking at the wrong things? I’m sure she would rather have new if a $250 used one isn’t far off that price.

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=apachepony;6158765]
The jog cart sold in one day, QUOTE]

I am so glad, I was considering a little road trip this weekend. I’ve driven lots farther than that to pick up a cheap bike.

[buck22]

I’m not exactly Captain Experienced over here, so take my comments with a grain of salt, but I’ve started 3 horses driving so far, all of them in a little Pennsbury aluminum jog cart. I REALLY liked it for starting, and actually found it to be a blast to drive. Except for always staring up at my horse’s rear end. The jog cart has been really great though, light for the horse and I to get used to, and light enough I can pick it up and move it with one hand if need be. I really like how free and open they are too, feels like you’re gliding along with the wind.

I constantly consider selling mine, but I’d really miss it for a future horses.

When you go to look at a cart, inspect it carefully, expect that its been abused. Hold up the shafts, as if you were the horse, and get a friend to get in and you pull it, jog with it, and wiggle the shafts good and hard (bounce it too, don’t be afraid to really bounce it with the force a horse would) with your friend seated. This little test will reveal any looseness, or squeaks from cracks, or a wonky wheel (you’ll feel a vibration in the shaft as you pull it), etc. Stuff your eyes would miss.

[Drive_NJ]

You can get some nice BETAthane harness for around $6-700 - maybe even a bit less

BIOthane is shiny and generally costs less. It is considered a lesser product than the BETA because it looks plastic and is usually somewhat stiffer than the BETA. BETA has a matte finish and looks a lot like leather
it is the more desired of synthetic harness at this time

and OK, the BIOthane harness are a bit more than last I looked - see below

http://www.bigdweb.com/prodinfo.asp?number=3563&CAWELAID=568723786

http://www.tackwholesale.com/biothane-harness-sets-p-915.html

http://www.buggynon.com/apps/webstore/products/show/402395

[apachepony]

Just called about jog cart #3. Available, close by, and $200. No pics, but “show quality”. We’re going to see it soon (Sat?). Cross your fingers that it’s not trash!

[apachepony]

We got a chance to go see cart #3 today. You guys will probably shoot it down, but we love it! :lol:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6BtR_GPiq1U/T0gU2cH5ThI/AAAAAAAAISE/WSRkU6kclSA/s778/P12396800.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AJQt3uEjSrI/T0gU54kWWlI/AAAAAAAAISM/IMO5_2wBwd4/s581/P12397001.jpg

I was totally expecting a hunk of junk for $200 that needs massive structural and cosmetic repair, but it’s quite a beautiful cart.

Besides having surface rust on the rims, and obviously needing new tubes and tires, we couldn’t fault it. One thing that made me scratch my head though were the “stirrups” (still don’t know all the correct terminology?). It looks like it originally may have been a sulky, and then had a wood slatted foot basket added at a later date?

I know the pictures aren’t great, but do you guys see any major red flags?

On a slightly more hilarious note, I wanted to measure/estimate shaft length yesterday, so knowing that Moon is the most awesome horse in the world, I used the pony’s cart to have a frame of reference to measure from. After putting the cart in position, I promptly decided she needn’t look any farther, that this one was perfect. Shafts are supposed to hit hock level, right? :lol:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YlDqYcHrg4Q/T0gkasYDpJI/AAAAAAAAISs/UN7uNrTElCo/s778/P12795003.jpg

[Renae]

That it has a basket and stirrups is original equipment. Jerald made a cart that could be used with the basket for pleasure classes or without the basket for roadster classes. At home use it whichever way suits you.