as I sit here wishing I had one or two! I’ve intended to get one for the ponies, but now I find that my drafts mare (perch/tb) was trained to drive, so I need one for her! She’s a nice mare and would be easy and fun.
What should I look for in a sleigh for her or for the poines (12.2 and 13.1)?
A solid, well built construction. If you find an antique (they are pretty easy to find and not expensive if they haven’t been restored) you want to make sure the wood framing and curl is not rotted or weak. Strong runners with good steel not rusted or gaping away from the wooden frame. The sleigh is a fairly simple piece - not much can go wrong with it except for the runners, so make sure they get the lion’s share of your attention before you buy.
A nice Portland cutter would be perfect for either horse or pony. You will need two sets of shafts -one for the horse, one for the ponies - and a pole for the ponies if you feel like driving them as a pair. Shaft couplings on a sleigh are generally fitted to a horse, so you probably don’t have much to worry about regarding the shafts being wide enough to accommodate the horse. But with your pony shafts have them made to be squeezed in tighter so they aren’t gaping at the side when the pony is put to.
Thanks. I should be able to drive the ponies as an unmatched pair (pinto and bay, different style, but are best friends). I didn’t think about being able to use the same sleigh for both the ponies and the perchx - that makes it very attractive. A Portland cutter - I’ll look at those.
I had a sleigh once for my Belgian. It was a two seat cutter. I found it was just too heavy for one horse to pull, even a stout Belgian. Be sure you get the appropriate size sleigh for your horse and/or ponies.
Sleighs should be light, almost able to be picked up by one person. I can’t imagine the construction of a sleigh that would be too heavy for a Belgain!!
You might have had a sledge, constructed heavily for moving weighty things, very wide, runners. Some folks think that building a wagon or vehicle like a sled/sleigh needs to be built of thick, heavy wood to stay together.
The antique sleighs were like furniture, many pieces fitted together, of light woods bent into shape. The ones I have seen seldom have the floors tightly fitted edge-to-edge and not glued firmly. This “loose fitting” construction lets sleighs move over uneven surfaces, frozen rough ground, by flexing. Flexing prevents sleigh from breaking apart when the parts move to go over the ruts and lumps. Ours was sort of like riding in a candy wrapper that someone was constantly twisting! Took a bit to get used to all that movement while driving, so unlike a wheeled vehicle. Never did have any parts break or come apart with lots of miles under the runners!
Steel on runners can get worn out. However the steel CAN be replaced, not a hard job. Farrier or local metal worker can probably make and fit the steel barstock to the sleigh for you, then you screw it on the runners yourself. So while you can point out thin or broken steel on runners to get a price break if you are buying, steel is MADE to be replacable. Make sure the WOOD of runners and “legs” holding the runners onto body, is solid to take the loaded weight of sleigh going down the road.
We gave up our sleigh when we got tall horses because we had to lean sideways to see ahead. Had to switch sides to come home, to prevent getting stiff necks. Cutter was way more fun with short horses we could see over, to look ahead. To see ahead on our tall horses, we need a sleigh with a raised driver’s seat, probably one of those 6 passenger models. The cutters just are low built, no high seats which would wreck the usability of the smaller type sleighs.
Good information. I don’t want anything heavy really. The idea about not being able to see over the horse is something I tend to forget. It sounds like focusing on the ponies for this is better. They have fewer jobs. The perchx has too many jobs anyway - she’s so versatile.
Thanks.
I know this is the time of year NOT to be talking of sleighs, but a friend and I are considering going in on one for our two horses, both Paints, one 14.2 and the other 15 hh… The 15 hh is a very experienced driving horse and has been hooked to sleighs like once a year, but no problem. The 15 hh is wider, call it a 'mature figure" as opposed to the other one that still has her youth figure!!! We are looking at a cutter, still have to inquire etc, but aside from above info, any additional that would help us. If it fits the 15, it maybe slightly big on the 14.2 and vise versa. Thank you for any info in advance. Do I hear a rendition of Jingle bells? Already got some of them, they laughed at me when I drove my cart around the arena with the bells jingling!!!
Most (pre-this-past-century) sleighs are built all the same size - as in “one size fits all”. Over the many, many years, I have driven a pair of 13h ponies, a 14.1h pony and a 16.1h Thoroughbred to the same Portland. Aside from different shafts, the sleigh fit all the various sizes just fine.
Portland cutters were generally more “boxy” and a touch bigger than the more streamlined, sweaping lines Albany cutters. If you are buying one for two horses, I would suggest you aim for a Portland.
So whatever you buy will fit both horses, but you might want to have different shafts made to fit the shapes of each horse. 
Most (pre-this-past-century) sleighs are built all the same size - as in “one size fits all”. Over the many, many years, I have driven a 12.3 Welsh Cob pony, a pair of 13h Welsh Section B ponies, including separately as singles, a 14.1h Thoroughbred pony and a 16.1h Thoroughbred to the same Portland. Aside from different shafts, the sleigh fit all the various sizes just fine. Here the sleigh is put to the 12.3h Welsh Cob pony:
Portland cutters were generally more “boxy” and a touch bigger than the more streamlined, sweaping lines Albany cutters. If you are buying one for two horses, I would suggest you aim for a Portland.
So whatever you buy will fit both horses, but you might want to have different shafts made to fit the shapes of each horse.
We have a cutter for 13 h ponies and it is a lot of fun. The wood does flex and it creaks and makes a lot of noise for sure. It does take a little getting used to and of course you have to make wider turns as it skiffs over the ground (does not turn like wheels would).
We live in Ontario, in a snowy area but I do find that we never seem to use it much…its fun and nice to drive, but we rarely use it. But when we do, its a lot of fun!
Goodhors is right about the weight as well. Our cutter is super light and I can pick it up myself. It slides along the snow like it weighs nothing, but I do notice a difference when the snow is sticky. Then the pony has to work hard! We drive a pair but do not have a pole for the cutter. We just have cob sized shafts that just work for our Section B ponies. It works for 13h to 15h no problem. Weight is not an issue at all if its nice and cold out. With our smaller guys, its easy to see over them but I guess it would be an issue with bigger guys…
Here are a few pics of my mother in laws cutter that she had restored. You can get an idea of the size of it hooked to 13h ponies.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/75016_10152380831525046_599711149_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/207784_10152374632415046_761483273_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/551599_10152374629185046_690174737_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/484047_10152374628095046_1214611315_n.jpg
