I have come into a lovely 11.3 - 12 hand welsh shetland cross. Cute as a button but not much use to me as is. (rather small) So, I am sending her off to driving boot camp… I have always wanted a driving pony. Where can I buy what I need for her? Good quality, not crap, harness (hopefully without breaking the bank). When she is ready, what is the best cart to get? So I can keep my ears open. We will be driving on trails through the woods. Driving trails. that is.
Thanks for any advice…
For such a small pony you need a very light weight well balanced 2 wheel gig or trap with decent size wheels.
What is your available spend for both cart and harness?
Having no frame of reference for this I am going to fathom a guess. Would $500 buy me a harness and $1000 or so a suitable cart? Close?
Not even ;). I don’t know. I want something very safe and long lasting.
If you were in the UK I’d suggest you’d be best advise to treble that as a minimum
Do harness and rigs cost more in the UK or does that pricing hold true everywhere? I am happy to buy what is needed, price is not too much of a limiting factor.
You can get decent pony harness around here for $500-800 and decent carts for $800-1500. Not necessarily “show quality” but safe and well-made. We have a large local Mennonite community, perhaps that helps?
Claudette Robinson at Country Carriages in Columbus, Tryon area of NC. She will help you get everything you need and ofter knows of used vehicles for a good price. Her Deluxe Beta Bi is show quality but she also has everyday harness for less. And she is close enough to go look at everything.
We have a Horse Driving Trial May 31-June 1 so come then and see what combined driving is all about.
[QUOTE=In the Air;3175339]
Do harness and rigs cost more in the UK or does that pricing hold true everywhere? I am happy to buy what is needed, price is not too much of a limiting factor.[/QUOTE] From what I’ve seen they’re comparable.
However obviously I can’t communicate effectively nor do conversions £ to $!!! duhhhh :no:
Sorry!!!
You’re likely to get a decent singles harness for that price but for the carriage I’d say to double it. Particularly for a small pony, you’re best advised to get something purpose built, light weight and well balanced.
If you’re not limited by price, then I always think good advice is to buy the best you can afford. You’ll also find that higher end tends to hold its price better should you decide to sell later and will last you a lifetime.
The 2 wheeler carriage I do the majority of lessons and driving in was built by me 30 years ago and just requires repainting to make it look smart every 3 years or so. Its in VERY heavy use too and NOT particularly well looked after! Often just left standing outside because its in such frequent use that I can’t be bothered to put it away!
So little miss pony is going to Aiken to driving boot camp for at least the next two months. Hopefully she will not be a drop out ;).
[QUOTE=Good quality, not crap, harness (hopefully without breaking the bank). …[/QUOTE]
Just had a driving clinic here. Recommended was biothane harness for ease of use, long lasting, easier to clean than leather, and best of all… lighter! Even leather pony harness is heavy. The one thing mentioned by the clinicians, and agreed upon, was… stay away from eBay for harness unless you KNOW harness and can tell what’s a bargain and what isn’t.
There is a harness shop at www.shipshewanaharness.com . They do the bigs mostly, but are fully equipped all the way down to the mini’s that come in at 5 hh. There’s a downloadable sheet, I believe, that tells how to measure for harness, and they make the harness there. You can also call them to ask questions. Their prices are quite reasonable and fair.
Candace Brown-Conrad
Bristol, IN
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There is a harness shop at www.shipshewanaharness.com . They do the bigs mostly, but are fully equipped all the way down to the mini’s that come in at 5 hh. There’s a downloadable sheet, I believe, that tells how to measure for harness, and they make the harness there. You can also call them to ask questions. Their prices are quite reasonable and fair.
Candace Brown-Conrad
Bristol, IN[/QUOTE]
The Shipse folks tend to think Draft and Standardbred in styling. They probably would not think to suggest a wider saddle on a harness, to spread the weight for a cart. Just the way things are normally done in that area. Amish driving is the norm for light horses, ponies. Makers do not see a lot of stylish pleasure horse use locally. They just don’t have as much Pleasure thinking, the modern updates to fitting changes as you may find in more East Coast, pleasure driving, harness makers. Many Amish makers equate quality with thick and heavy strapping. Can be just too heavy or clunky to use, inflexible to being changed. NEVER will wear out though!!
Get a harness that fits pony well. Send his sizing in when you order. Buckles should fall into middle hole, when fitting. This leaves some room to take up when he is very fit, or let out the strap, when he is more plump. Should not be regularly used in the last hole, no room for changes, wears out the strap with no extra hole to go if it breaks.
I would agree with getting a synthetic harness for everyday use. Make sure all the hardware is quality, good steel tongues on all buckles. Strapping in the harness is pretty much all the same quality. Care in assembly, fitting, good stainless hardware, is what often decides the pricing. Synthetic is much easier to care for than leather, but also has to be checked regularly. ALL harness gets worn, needs checking to prevent accidents.
We always order the rein width to fit. Often children or ladies have much smaller hands. Wide reins may be very uncomfortable to use, cramp up your hands on longer drives.
If pony is going to Aiken for “boot camp” then pony will be in good hands
there aer several trainers based out of there who can give pony a good base
and if you have chosen to work with Muffy S - then you’ve made a great decision (IMO)
Your trainer can give you suggestions on where to look for a harness and cart, but you wont go wrong working with Claudette at Country Carriages
$500 is adequate to spend on a nice quality harness (especially small pony size). It will be Amish made but that does not have to mean poor quality or clunky. There are some very good makers out there
$1000 is a bit low for a vehicle but it can be done - depending on your ultimate use of said vehicle. You can have a safe vehicle but get away with a lot less (more)((whichever))
IF you are not going to show - either pleasure or CDE
CDE has the highest demands placed on vehicles, and you will pay for that
Pleasure adds the need for good lines and good looks, so you will pay for that too
I know Claudette has similar models, but her website does not show them as readily
a good place to look for styles is Running Brook Farm or Greenall Carriage House
Both of these show what is currently being built by most Amish makers and give basic prices
Another option is something like this:
https://jeraldsulky.com/cart/agora.cgi?product=The_Jerald_Runabout_Standard_Pony
It is a better built version of the classic "EazyEntry cart (Frontier)
If you are going trail diriving, I’d recommend getting wooden or metal wheels which will up the price about $200.
There is also an Amish version of a wooden EZ entry cart that many people like (I’m not a real fan of them - personal choice)
If someday my daughter wanted to show her at some type of pleasure show. I’m not even sure what shows are out there, perhaps welsh? What type of cart would be suitable?
Biothane sounds like the way to go for the harness…
Personally speak
Or this one is much less fancy but totally acceptable for showing in pleasure driving classes. Excuse the fact its dirty … we’d just been cross country!:
[IMG]http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa178/classic-carriages/Driving/DSCF0039.jpg)
[IMG]http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa178/classic-carriages/Driving/DSCF0011.jpg)
For your sized pony I would look for a used Jerald or Houghton pleasure driving cart. Houghton is now out of business so you will only be able to get used ones of that brand. These carts are very popular with Shetland and hackney people. They are well built carts that will last for years used in arenas, on bridlepaths, and on decent trails. If you intend on off roading and doing extreme type of stuff you will needa whole different kind of cart that will likely cost more, even used, that a used pleasure cart. If you deceide you don’t like wire spoke wheels with inner tube tires you can order wooden wheels to replace them (I have never had problems with wire spoked wheels and inner tube tires for use in areas and on decent trails). This kind of cart is suitable for breed shows and open shows, and with wooden wheels can be used as an entry level cart for pleasure driving shows. This is the kind of cart I am talking about https://jeraldsulky.com/cart/agora.cgi?product=Pony_Roadmaster_AP_Cart You may be able to get a used one form one of these tack shops:
http://www.bennettstack.com/
http://ehorseequipment.com/
http://www.4showhorsetack.com/
Southern Sulky & Harness catmark@aol.com
You may also notice that Jerald sells an easy entry cart called the Runabout. It is better made than the majority of easy entry type carts. But the basket is lower to the ground and wider than on their Roadmaster pleasure cart. I don’t like this fact about the Runabout cart, it is not as good on terrain that is not smooth and level and you MUST make sure not to hook too deep in the Runabout carts as i have more than once seen horses spook when they were hooked too deep in these carts and they hit the basket while trotting. If I had my choice between a used Jerald or Houghton Roadmster type pleasure cart or an easy entry cart of any brand it would be the first hands down.
Just to add- you may be able to get a used Jerald or Houghton pleasure cart that perhaps needs the paint refinished but is otherwsi in good working condition for as litle as $500. I would expect to pay $800-$2500 for one in decent shape.
I have lots of ponies the same size as yours and I have a “Mini Sport Harness” in pony size from Chimacum Tack. www.horsedriver.com it’s great! everyone comments on it. It was 650 shipped.
the owner of the company, janie, is amazingly sweet. she can make anything in any size. the harnesses are made as you need them, mostly, so they’re completely customizable!
Beauiful harness.
Here in Iowa, single harness for pony in bio-thane starts at around 325 for well made by the Amish. Carts for same do not bring close to 1000, by anybody.
chimacum tack and camptown harness both have their things made in iowa.
I’m sure they buy them for 325 and sell them for the $695 listed on their sites.
