Glad you had a nice drive, Star sounds quite sensible.
Is it a Kingston cart that you have? I found that when I raised the seat on mine my back was more comfortable. I have pretty long legs though so it might be different for you.
Keep having fun!
Drive On!
Lucky you (& Star) having weather fit to drive!
We had snow yesterday :eek:
Not even an inch, and melting in todayâs 40s, but the ground is too soggy 
Weâll need a nice, long stretch of dry weather before I can hitch Bugs :no:
For your back, make an effort to remind yourself to sit back & make use of the backrest on your cart. I found I was tending to drive in a âforward seatâ and that put too much strain on my back.
You may need to lengthen your lines to keep a bend in your elbow, but sitting up straight should help your back from getting fatigued.
So, the world situation and the weather combine against me to limit my barn time to basic care and getting him turned out for a few to keep him from going stir crazy. The sun should be out tomorrow and hopefully I will get a chance to drive.
The big news is that the April pleasure show has been rescheduled for November. I laughed when my friend suggested I go to the show when it was in April. There would have been no way I would have been ready, performance wise OR gear/clothing/trailer wise. But November! Thatâs months away, and even with all the crazy going on there is a chance I could be ready. It is a laid back local show, and I donât need to be competitive, just need to go and have fun. I have a goal to work towards now, and itâs both exciting and nerve racking. Like most goals. The driving trial was also rescheduled for November, but that seems like a bigger hurdle to get over. I think it is something I would really like to observe before jumping into.
You got the neoprene bit guards didnât you? You might try some smooth rubber ones instead, less friction than neoprene. Do you mean latex wrap not silicone? I have never heard of silicone bit wrap, but they come up with new stuff all the time. We use latex bit wrap on some horses. My experience is that I need to cut it in strips to wrap where the bit lays on the bars of the mouth. I pull ot very hard during wrapping to insure good sticking to itself and a smooth layer on the bars. You donât need much strip length because latex stretches so much, easily allowing 3-4 thin wraps. You do not want to thick of a latex layer. He has a small mouth, might not be able to close it comfortably! Our big horse bit mouthpieces are 1/2 to 9/16 inch thich, on 6 inch wide bits. Comfortably thick, not ever cutting into the bars. I seldom wrap the bit middle so horse has more tongue room.
We find horses foam up A LOT during the first few uses of newly wrapped bit, but that goes away with use. Guess they react to the new âflavorâ. Does make you look like you have great âDressageâ type contact with all that white lipstick! Ha ha
This is going back to basics, but you might put on a broken mouth, ring snaffle and a strap headstall, while he eats or stands tied for a while. We find doing this with our young horses teaches them to be quiet with their mouths. The eating part lets him learn to manage the bit with his tongue. Never had any problems with any equine eating, drinking while wearing a snaffle bit in their stall. This was just a training step we did/do, with all the horses since I was a child. No one likes a horse chomping on his bit during use, they are not paying attention! Being bridled is NOT a reason to get excited. Horse learns how to be comfortable in his proper sized bit for hours at a time while you enjoy using him
Not many folks do bitting like this anymore. But as mentioned, we find it extremely helpful to any horse. Wearing the bit for a period of time, regularly, fixes a number of issues on older horses and is a real help on the young horses just starting training. Easy, painless, needs no extra training/handling time when done in their stall. You can then do other things around the barn, groom, etc, while horse is âdressedâ putting in his bitting time. Yep, real old fashioned. But they used their horses daily, did not want them having annoying issues during the hours they spent in work together.
I had the smooth rubber ones, not the neoprene. Heâs just a bit of a hot house flower when it comes to his skin I think. The wrap may be latex, a friend gave it to me and it didnât come in a box.
He isnât super mouthy with the bit most of the time, and even when he is gaping itâs not mouthing itâs just straight mouth hanging open. Heâs fine at the walk, but it comes into play when moving at the trot or increasing pressure on the bit, such as when turning or stopping. Itâs actually hard for me to see, since I am behind him, but I can tell on the turns. I need to set up my camera to record us one of these days so I can get a better idea of what is going on.
I have been contemplating going to a broken snaffle, but I am hesitant to develop a 4.5 inch bit collection to go with my 5.5 inch bit collection.
Sorry, guess I did not remember correctly. Latex bit wrap is funny, the roll has a blue paper layer to keep the latex from touching until you put it on. When latex starts browning, we replace it on the bit. Not as cushioned by then, brown parts may get hard, cut the horse gums.
So glad you started posting pictures.
He looks happy with his nice new door. If your cart is not gone yet, i think you should keep it. Then at least you can drive if you want to. Even if you donât feel like it, having the option do so is a nice thing. Plus custom carts are like customs saddles, they take longer than you think sometimes.
I am sorry to hear about your health issues on your other thread. Hang in there.
I already agreed to sell the cart, so itâs too late on that front. It also makes the husband happy, I had a saddle collecting habit, and heâs anxious to see that not translate into a cart collecting habit. He is otherwise super supportive of my hobbies and itâs a small price to pay for his peace of mind. I could also use the extra walking from ground driving. The Quarantine 15 is a thing.
I agree with selling the cart now, buyers are not always there when you want to get rid of things! I had a saddle collecting habit too!! Getting rid of them slowly, 2 consigned at a tack store that is closed for Covid, one was âsupposedâ to get sold at the tack sales that got canceled! With no shows or Fairs, not much of a buying market here! I have kept 3 western saddles, two that fit all my horses and a 12"seat on a kid saddle with a full QH tree, fits all equines, for the grandchildren. 3 English saddles, which fit the horses. No more, done buying saddles! Not going to even talk about carriages we have!!
On your ground driving, try to walk to one side, so you can see the rein contact, not be hanging on his mouth. Means you will probably be pep-stepping right along to have light contact, sometimes no contact as his reward for giving to the bit. If you are directly behind him, you canât see the rein contact and feel is VERY distorted by line length, lines bent around him interrupting give and take to his mouth.
Practice carrying the whip to get comfortable with it and the handful of reins. Touch his sides lightly with whip lash to aid him in bending, not being surprised with odd touching. Whip SHOULD be comfortable in your hand, not twisting wrist to keep the tip up. That is very tiring if done very long. Not all whips are equal in comfort, you have to find one that works for you. Find the balance point, cutomize it to be comfortable in use. Might need a couple whips, one for the cart, a longer lashed one for long-lining and ground driving. They do NOT have to cost a mint, though the expensive, fancy ones ARE pretty! There are light, attractive whips for under $30. Doesnât hurt so much when you accidently damage that one! Ha ha
Star and I have been using our cartless time to focus on fitness. Lots of lunging, which he dislikes, lots of ground driving up hills, which he also dislikes and a decent amount of turn out in what is basically a dry lot, which he is okay with so long as his hay net goes with him. The exercise combined with his diet has him looking far trimmer. Now to work on building up a bit of muscle and uping our cardio game. He is a pretty sporty looking little pony when he isnât carrying around 40 extra pounds.
A friend commented that it was a shame he hates kids because he would make the cutest little hunter pony. Flat knees with a decent stride. For a tiny pony. She also offered to let me use her jump shoot poles in the round pen if I wanted to do a little cross training. I donât know that I want to make the poor guy do a ton of jumping, but some ground pole work would be great
i did try to do a bit of work moving off the whip, but that is going to be a long term project. Me thinks someone may have gone a bit overboard with the sacking out in his past. He stands like a rock when I use the whip. Light taps, firm taps, flicking the lash at him, nothing really gets much of a response. I do praise the responses I get. However tiny, even if I am pretty sure he was just shifting his feet.
Surgery next week, so he gets a bit of a vacation. With any luck by the time I am recovered my cart will be on its way here. Oh, his tiny pony polo wraps arrived today. I will try to get picture of the new slimmed down pony sporting his pretty polos tomorrow.
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Oh, boy. I fear I resemble this remark. My saddle collecting habit HAS turned into a harness and carriage collecting habitâŠbut I might one day NEED the cob-sized work harness to, I donât know, move logs around? Storage space for table saws and tools is highly overrated.
Hee hee hee hubby put up not enough saddle racks. His comment was that he needed to put up more. Not that we had too many saddles!.
It worries me that you say he hates lunging and ground driving. It sounds like you need to change how you train. You want him to work happily, not hating it.
Why do you think he hates it?
Oh that was mostly tongue in cheek. He doesnât hate it per say, just that if he were the one in charge of our training schedule it would contain more things like âeat all the grassâ and âstuff pony with cookiesâ and fewer things like âincrease our daily cardioâ and âhills make your butt look cuteâ. He still marches right along, I just have to occasionally remind him that he is supposed to be traversing the field, not landscaping it with his face.
He is a 15 year old shetland who was mostly turned loose with small children. He has many years of ingrained habits and his instinct to try to get away with mischief is strong. He is generally a good egg though, and his sass just gives him character.
Oh phew, thank you for clearing that up for me.
So, setbacks.
First, the Bellcrown wonât be ready for an additional 6 weeks, on top of the ten it normally takes. Carriage Machine Shop has been making IV poles and other medical equipment in support of the COVID-19 response, which has delayed their production. Iâm okay with that. Small sacrifices for the greater good and all. It does mean our chances of being ready for the event in November are slim. I am slightly regretting selling my old cart, but the logical part of my brain tells me it was the right thing to do. I did see a reasonably priced, basically brand new Frey cart that was the perfect size for my guy for sale on Facebook. It was only a 30 minute drive away from me too! Of course this occurred the day AFTER I sent in the final payment on the Bellcrown. I do not need more than one cart. I do not need more than one cart. I do not need more than one cart!
Second. The first surgery didnât get all the cancer. My doctor wants to use the surgical ânuclear optionâ and do a mastectomy and reconstruction. He already took out more than normal for these things, and it is still more extensive (though not invasive). That will have me out of action for quite some time. The folks at my self care barn have been absolutely amazing in their support of me through this, and have already told me that theyâve got Star handled. Horse people can be awesome.
Summer in South Texas is too hot to do anything anyway. So maybe it is all for the best.
If you can fund the Frey without too much peril, and its a good price then go for it then resell when the Bellcrown arrives. Then you have something to enjoy in early mornings or evenings when its not so steamy outside. In the Ohio market, good quality used is rare and doesnât last long for VSE size.
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I agree with sunnytrails, you can always resell the Frey. Nice carts go fast.
Sorry to hear about your surgery. Hope you can get this behind you soon.
If I wasnât looking at a 6 week recovery time from my next surgery I might consider your advice to get the Frey. However the two situations combined make it a wiser choice to just hang tight.
Another cartless month gone by. COVID is ramping up here in Texas, so my surgery was put on hold until things settle down. This puts me in COVID limbo. I canât afford to get sick, as this thing can take over 60 days to recover from, and I want to be able to have my second surgery as soon as possible. So no going to all the fun things that are starting to open up again for me.
Star pony is doing well, I found a nice bit that he likes. A half cheek with a comfort mouth. Double jointed but limited movement. Nice and narrow so it doesnât take up too much room in his mouth. He seems to really appreciate the thin mouthpiece and slight give it has. Finding it in a 4 inch mouthpiece wasnât much fun, but I managed.
Iâve been doing some free lunging work with him to really get him listening to me and sharped up his responses. It was rough at first. We had to have some conversations about how âaaand walkâ meant walk and keep walking, not stop and eat the grass that grows at the edge of the round pen. We have come to an understanding now, and heâll move softly through all his gait transitions with nothing but voice. Itâs just a lovely feeling when you can talk to them and they understand. Next step is getting the transitions within the gaits down off just voice. Itâs too hot here in Texas, even early in the morning, to do any real fitting up work, hence why we are focusing on the mental side of training.
