I am starting my first driving pony ever. I have always had horses and have never driven one yet except for ground driving all my colts. My queston is how much weight should be the max for a 40" 375 pound 15 year old shetland to pull (cart and humans total)
He was a rescue with terribly neglected hooves and is now sound enough for regular exercise. He does have a little wonky stiffness in one stifle . I believe he got kicked by a horse a long time ago in his hip but the vet has seen him and cleared him for driving. And recommended it for exercise to help maintain his condition.
I am ground driving him in the harness right now, all around the neighborhood and I do have some very experienced pony driving help arranged when it comes time to put him in the shafts. But my question is because my cart is homebuilt and a little heavier pipe frame than a store bought, and the fellow helping me is a pretty big man. (maybe 200 lbs ?) I weigh 165 clothed and in boots. Is it going to be Ok for both of us to ever be in the cart and if so for how long ?
If this was my situation, I would get the lightest weight cart to do the job. And only the lighter weighing person driving.
With your current situation of a 375lbs pony being asked to pull 375lbs plus harness & heavy cart (? lbs?) --Not fair to the pony.
Think we regularly ask horses to pull their own weight, plus. But, I drive light horses, and we work them up, starting with a wooden drag before the cart. We turn a large plant bucket over, and put a willing child on it, the work up to full size person, then cart. You could get in the cart with your helper at the pony’s head for security, and then eliminated the security person, then find a smaller person to put in the cart with you, then him.
Nacy
Ask your vet 
With your ponies issues, there may be a very different answer than the average pony.
i was always told that you don’t want to sour a horse by putting too much weight to begin pulling.
You want them to easily pull whatever it is they are pulling, because if they have to heave to pull, you ruin them. It defeats them, and they won’t want to pull after that.
That is what I have always been told.
It seems that pulling more than they weigh is asking a bit much.
If this was my situation, I would get the lightest weight cart to do the job. And only the lighter weighing person driving.
With your current situation of a 375lbs pony being asked to pull 375lbs plus harness & heavy cart (? lbs?) --Not fair to the pony.
That was my thinking as well, hence the question. The fellow who is going to help me drove welsh show ponies a lot and he said that my little pony could pull equal his weight. But it seems an awful lot, even for a brief time. Therefore I will consider the suggestions to only have the helper at his head when the time comes to actually hook him into the cart (and yes he will be doing drag poles before the cart. )
I haven’t weighed the cart yet because I am waiting for new wheels. It isn’t huge just simple open metal frame cart with bicycle type wheels and a wood seat. But it is is thicker guage pipe than a store bought cart . And it is the only one I have access to right now. I am saving to purchase a light one of my own later on. So I will be the driver at 165 plus the harness and cart I am guessing maybe 225-250 max?
PS I like the plant bucket idea but I dont think any of my friends will loan me a child to use . ha ha ha
I tried to borrow kids from a few friends to see of this pony was broke to ride (he saddles,longes and ground drives fine) …but no one wanted their kid to be a sacrificial test rider in case he wasn’t.
We used the helper’s granddaughter. I think she was 5. It was so cute, and when we got done she asked her grandmother if she knew what her favorite part of the day had been, and she said," Widing on the bucket behind the pony!" her grandfather was thrilled, since he trains horses…
Nancy
Could you put a sack of gravel in the planter instead of a kid? Use gravel and not feed or Chester will like the idea a little too much!
It’s OK to just pull a tire or fence post. You really don’t need the weight. It’s the drag and traces and noise. Pulling against a heavy stoneboat, heavy bucket full of gravel etc that drags does not simulate the experience of driving a vehicle with wheels. ANYTHING you drag has to be able to disconnect in a meltdown almost instantly. You don’t want the horse to be winging around the ring with a flying whatever behind.
Another suggestion would be to attach longish ropes to the traces with a person holding the other end. Said person can add pressure to give the feeling of pulling weight but can release pressure ASAP when needed.
Another thought… be careful when looking for that light cart. It IS possible to get a cart too light to be safe. 365 lbs in light cart bounces at speed over a rut or bump and cart bends or breaks… not good.
Remember if you are challenging with weight vs pony weight, make sure the footing is solid, not slippery and not deep. Pulling in deep footing amplifies the pull needed.
Happs, Inc., has done a great deal of research on how VSEs (minis) fare in CDE.
http://happs-inc.com/VSE_research.htm
A VSE is 99cm or less at the withers, so your pony is right around that height. Minis regularly pull their own weight and more, but I agree that you should be careful not to overface him while starting him – driving does take different muscles.
My small pony/maximini measures 38 inches as a mini (last mane hair) or close to 40 inches at the withers. He is pretty light-boned and weighs about 325 lbs. On level, smooth, hard surface he easily pulls my husband and me in an easy entry for about 4 miles without breaking a sweat or even breathing hard. However, he is well-conditioned and has never had the issues your pony has suffered.
The footing/terrain is of huge importance – arena footing is notoriously difficult for minis and small ponies, as the carts tend to bog down in the deep footing. I would opt for a reasonably hard-packed dirt footing for starting out.
With a properly balanced cart, there should be no more than 10-15 lbs resting on the mini or pony’s back (assuming a 2-wheeled cart). Naturally this varies if the driver or passenger move around. On level ground and solid footing, your combined weight will be felt primrily when starting and stopping. Hills are a whole 'nother story; we don’t ask even our well-conditioned pony to haul us both up or down more than a slight slope. (He could handle it for short distance, but why?)
If you have the cart now, put yourself in the shafts and have two people of the combined weight you’re considering climb in, then see how you do hauling them around. Notice the difference in drag between driving on solid, even ground vs. bumpy or deep footing. Your pony is much stronger than you, so if you can do it, he certainly can.
I take conditioning VERY seriously. They’ll tke longer to condition at 15, especially without previous work. In your situation I would keep a close eye on that stifle. Many little ones are prone to locking stifle due to conformation issues – no prior injury required.
As for cart weight, our EE cart weighs 85 lbs, which is fairly standard for commercial models. You might ask if your vet has a scale on which you could weigh your cart.
THANK YOU everyone for your advice and especially Suzanne for the long detailed post. All will be taken into consideration as I want little Chester to have a long and happy,useful and fit life after what he has been through already.
As soon as I get the wheels and new seat on the cart I will weigh it and weigh the pressure on the shafts with a person in the seat, etc and make decisions as whether this cart will be appropriate.
As for cart weight, our EE cart weighs 85 lbs, which is fairly standard for commercial models. You might ask if your vet has a scale on which you could weigh your cart.
Actully he does have a floor scale. We weighed Chester on it right in the vet’s lobby!
