I have a friend that recently purchased a sassy 13h driving pony. So CUTE! she is having hard time finding a cart. She has a harness… does anyone know where she could get one without spending a fortune
Lots of sale advertising on Facebook driving sites. Also ads in the driving magazines. Is friend a member of the local driving clubs? Often other members have carriages to sell. Sara Schmitt in the New England area often has various vehicles to sell. A search should locate her, she also trains driving horses.
I am guessing pony already drives well? Does your friend have driving experience? If “no” to either question, finding a driving trainer to get lessons with is well worth the money!! Four wheeled carriages take a bit more skill than the 2-wheelers because of the hinge point of front axle. Carts are the common term for 2-wheeled vehicles, but some folks call any carriage a “horse cart.”
A good harness will also be needed, which can also be found used on Facebook or purchased new from a dealer.
If friend can take time off work, Martin’s Carriage Auction is coming up on Oct. 20th at the Lancaster PA, Lebanon County Fairgrounds. Only selling on Friday, several auctioneers doing various selling most of the day. Get there Thursday or early Friday to look at the offerings, pick out what you want bid on. You never know what will show up to be sold! We have seen amazing things there, brought some home!! There should be carriages in all styles, sizes and condition, along with harness and things remotely related to horse uses. Do bring a tape measure to size things with. There might be some preview photos at the Martin’s Auction home site.
If your friend can get to Martin’s on Friday, Go!. I’ve gotten some good deals on pony vehicles there, they don’t seem to sell as high as the larger ones. I’m on a cart diet and not allowed to go this year. Besides, I spent last week off at a horse show, so another long weekend is a non-starter at work.
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I had to laugh at your cart diet. When I was still driving my ponies, I started thinking about getting a marathon carriage for my bigger pony. DH made his feelings on the matter known very quickly. I understood his point, as I already owned two harnesses, two carts, lots of bits, several saddles and way too much stuff that never got used. Plus my small pony was already retired, and for the big one, it was just a matter of time when he’d need to be retired. Sure enough, I had to retire him very suddenly, and I was glad I hadn’t put more money into driving stuff.
Rebecca
We just moved barns again…and had to move carts. Yikes. Between the trainer & I there’s 10 I think. The owner of the new barn is also a cart addict; he’s got 8 or 9 I think. In a couple weeks, I have to drive out to Mom’s house and pick up one out of her garage - strangely with 20 vehicles on site, we don’t have one small enough for the mini donk & Shetland. My excuse is that we drive everything from a 17h horse to a 12h ponies, so one work cart won’t work. 
I actually only have one set of pony harness.
My two ponies were very different sizes–one was an elegant 12.2 Hackney pony, the other 13.2, very stocky, and probably a Welsh cross. It gave me an excuse to buy more stuff!
Rebecca
