https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHc9LXdzKCw
Antics in the aftermath aside, how on earth did both the whip and the shotgun get ejected like that???
And, how adorable is a team of ponies hitched to a mini chuckwagon.
Glad relatively unscathed, despite the hilarity up until the very end (video is just as eyepopping at the end as the beginning)
Wow. I can’t tell how that happened, either. Luckily, in all my driving years, I only got ejected once. That was when my car rolled down the driveway and hit me. Luckily, my very sane pony headed for the back yard and was calmly grazing when my husband went up to catch him.
Rebecca
Appears one person got slung left in the turn and went out of the wagon, maybe from centrifugal force? Then the second person appeared to jump out after him. Perhaps second person also was sliding across the seat, jumped because he could not stay on the wagon, trying to miss landing on first person. Kind of a “crack-the-whip” effect with speed and sharp turn. Reins may have been jerked as people went out, changing right circle to left turn, then ponies doing a left turn back on the rail.
The other driver and ponies were really safe in the corner, first Team avoiding him. Then he decided to do “Roy Rogers” in running the other Team down, could easily have wrecked both wagons and hurt animals and people. Luckily he was not able to do that, so no wreck. Would have been easy to just let the loose Team go around until they tired, let them come to a halt without chasing them. Leaders appeared to know to avoid things, just really confused with no hands on the reins.
But in a crisis, there are always people who make bad choices, keep chasing the contained animals and making it worse. Comedy remarks were fine, but quit trying to grab the ponies! They just ran faster!! Hope it ended well, video ended too soon to tell.
Watched video again and it ran longer with this 4th viewing! Very happy to see the good ending!! Still think the second driver was dangerous in trying those methods to slow or stop the second Team, who were thinking for themselves.
Why do people run after runaways? Generally speaking, horses are faster than humans. And yet, somehow the human believes he/she catch the running horse. Magical thinking?
Yes, goodhors, I agree–sooner or later the loose team would have tired and stopped. Energetic little guys though!
If it was my horses, i would want all the people out of the arena. A bucket of grain would do the rest. My horses never fail to come to a stop when they see grain! Even if they are galloping in the field.
Yep, looks like the second guy slid across the bench and was popped out when he hit the board. Speaking as someone who has been ejected out of a carriage, and lucky not to be seriously hurt, it does happen awfully quick!
I’ll never understand why people run after runaways either, especially with waving arms, like their hair is on fire. They should watch more youtube videos, just about anyone who manages to get near a runaway gets mowed down.
Those ponies are an adorable, lovely looking team, and stamina for days apparently!
WTFruitbat was up with the maroons in the stands laughing! :mad:
And from some comments, sounded like they may have been Drivers.
Asshats Supreme.
Agree with @goodhors - Driver of the 2nd wagon had no business going after them.
Should have stopped his 4, got out and gotten help heading them until the runaways were stopped.
Talk about pouring gas on a fire… Running after the loose team only encouraged them to keep going & put his ponies in danger, not to mention his stooopid self!
Loose, scared ponies followed by a projectile :eek:
Yesterday I went to a Draft Horse Pull & every one of those teams was ready to take off the second they heard the link attach them to the sled.
The guys driving had to be damned quick to avoid going waterskiing behind 3 tons of Belgian!
Fortunately most of the Big Guys knew when they felt only the weight of Puny Humans behind them to stop. :winkgrin:
Compare to this from Royal Winter Fair (next up on YouTube from fiasco posted above):
PSA: horse is okay, watch from 3:37 to the end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEVQWN3Q32Y
Looks like everyone from Announcer to spectators did it Right :encouragement:
Those chuckwagon ponies are trained to go-go-GO! It may have been a while before they wound down. I do agree they would have been better served to town down the energy in the ring rather than running around waving their arms.
I wonder if the first person off the vehicle didn’t hook the second one’s foot, but just the same, surprised both went!
As for the draft horse they often have those guys checked up so much that they can’t breathe properly so on occasion one goes down after losing their air. I’ve heard some explain it as the horse “getting too excited” but I’m reasonably certain it is the use of the equipment and possibly “medications” involved.
@CERT I just reviewed the dozen or so videos I took of the Pull (seated in the first row, so close we practically had Draft heads in our laps).
Not a single team was checked tightly, plenty bounce in Every.Single.SideorOvercheck.
And I joke that I pack Overcheck Shears in my bag to snipsnip offenders 
While there was certainly some flared-nostril breathing when pulling, every horse was breathing normally on their return trip to the sled.
Within minutes of their previous pull.
Considering the prices some of the Pulling-bred went for - a 6yo mare went for
​$12,500 - it sure seemed like they were well cared-for.
I drove both my ponies without overchecks. I wasn’t showing, and felt they served no purpose. I lived on a very steep hill and I wanted my guys to get their heads down as much as they needed to.
Rebecca
I was referring to the video posted above of the horse in the six-up hitch that went down. Some of those horses in the hitches go for $40-80,000 and while I imagine they are well cared for, some of the practices used to get “the look” are questionable.
The pulling horses are doing hard work! They would be shooting themselves in the foot with too tight of checks on their horses. You also see more overchecks on the hitch horses and side checks on working and pulling horses.
@CERT Totally agree about the Hitch Drafts.
Did you see the thread about the Scotched shoes?
I hate those & defy anyone to tell me how they are not torquing their horses’ legs by using them just to get more lift in front.
At least those ridiculous shoes/epoxy come off after show season, but Sheesh! :mad:
Are you thinking of the presentation classes? Because if you want to pull the most amount of weight (and WIN) there’s probably no value in checking up a horse pulling a sled with a couple tons on it.
(oops sorry, didn’t see your 2nd post!)
I am not seeing the drafts checked to keep noses down, so they actually are getting plenty of air. What we hear is they are getting pinched nerves, which cause the stumbling and a fall. Noses are stuck out ahead when checked up, not folded at the throatlatch to pinch the windpipe in driving classes. In those big Multiples hitches, only the Wheeler’s are actually pulling the wagon. Empty wagon really does not weigh that much. The other Pairs would only actually pull if they had a long straight stretch of road. Too small in even that big arena to use any Pair except Wheeler’s to pull with. Think of the extra horses as “hood ornaments” out front. Pretty, but non-essential to moving the wagon.
Weight pulling horses on the machine or sled are not checked at all locally. When they pull that much weight, heads are down between their knees as they claw for grip to move forward! Any check rein is counter productive, limits the horse’s ability to use his head and neck to balance body in pulling his load forward.
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