I suppose if you are out and something breaks and you are desperate this repair would work to get you home ā¦
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No one with any sense would hitch to this vehicle.
and certainly would not be out driving alone ( without a helper)
and would unhitch and long-line drive home if such break down occurred
- helper to drag vehicle home
People are NUTS !
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Well, if it was the 19th century and you Had to get thereā¦that repair might hold for the purpose, since the crack looks like a long diagonal split.
But today? No. Just No. That cart looks like it needs a fair bit of work all round!
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Which reminds meā¦if you think that is bad, I had somebody earnestly try to tell me that an evener and set of singletrees was just fine for heavy work, all ready to go! I replied that they were ready to go in the firepit. Which was unkind of me. But, my word, well over a century old based on the hardware, riddled with post hole beetles, and so soft I could get a knife deep into the wood. And you want me to use that! Hā No!
Whereās the duct tape??? No way would I drive that cart. Hospital bills are $.
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Duct tape appears on the (tattered) vinyl seat. 
To my mind, the only safe repair.
But, otherwise thanks for the confirmation that I am not just The Overboard Safety Nazi.
And for those who asked, cart is in use for ātrainingā, at least a couple days a week.
You should see the antique runabout cart owner uses for show ( show being County Fair) - so old the wheel washers are leather. Dryrotting leatherā¦ Not maintained any better than the cart.
Maybe this will be the year a wheel comes off?
Iāve seen that āwheel come offā in several settings - it slows things down quickly and can be drastically dangerous to all - horse - driver - spectators !
Safety should always be the main concern in driving activities as with all equine activities- IMHO
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Agree 1000%!
But this is truly a case of Canāt Fix Stupid.
Best I can do is avoid being in the same arena with Stupid.
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No points for creativity in repairs. Guess that is quality paint, which held it together for so long!
Wonder where the next āsurprise breakā will happen, crossbar holding shafts together?
You might want to have a safety inspection before carriages can enter, by the Fair folks. I bet the harness is not in any better shape. Our clubs have done that at some activities, eliminated some participants. One person had wood wheels missing spokes, parts of the felloes holding the iron tires on!! Others had shafts cracked this badly, heading out to do a parade! Horses did not appear to be real solid driving horses either.
Kind of like shoeing horses. How hard can it be?? Especially if all those old folks are Driving?? I must be rubbing safety thinking off on you 2Dogs! Ha ha
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The idea of that sort of damaged vehicle being out in public really crosses a line. I mean, if you want to be an idiot at home, in a fenced field, I guess that is between you, your family, and your health insurance. Though I donāt approve of dragging a horse into your idiocy. But, I canāt stand people who endanger other people, other horses, and the general public.
Iām definitely guilty of trusting my horses too much. But, equipment has to be safe. And there isnāt an excuse for it not to be. Not these days.
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You & my Club friend who freely admits she is not about Show-ready, but ALL about Safety.
@B_and_B TG, the cart is only used āat homeā < meaning the indoor arena where Stoopid boards.
Sadly, Fair does no inspection of harness or vehicles.
Yeah, that doesnāt qualify as āat homeā in my mind! Stoopid indeed.
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Ho, Boy 
Thatās not the half of it.
Stupid boards with a friend - part of a tight little sorority of varying degrees of DGI.
BO only recently started driving (a mini) & allows Stupid to spew her āexpertiseā.
Samples:
*BOās mini ādoesnāt likeā breeching,
Stupid drives w/o, so now BO does too. On trails.
*Driving whip can be used on the horseās butt to request a change of speed. Another boarder who also drives a mini does this (to no effect) on Stupidās advice.
When I corrected this notion, explaining #1-lash should reach horseās shoulder & #2-whipās intended use is to replace leg, Stupid chimed in that buttsmacking is fine.
I admit in an emergency, a whip applied elsewhere is useful, but for general (& showring)use? N-O.
I feel like you have several posts about major stupid in your local driving cohort. Is this one person popping up over and over or is it many different people?
I wonder if driving is particularly prone to this. After about the age of 18, idiot behavior among underskilled riders declines quickly 
and as one gets along in life, those underskilled folk are less likely to ride at all, more likely to drift into Parelli or liberty work or lead and feed, where their questionable training choices donāt have such dangerous consequences. Especially when they do all this with a mini.
But then thereās driving, which isnāt possible in many places. I can totally see how if it was possible, it would attract folks who are scared to ride, have physical limitations, and/or poor horsemanship skills or judgement.
The nice bumbling older lady who will get in no real trouble taking her mini for grass walks and teaching it to stand on a stump can easily get killed in a driving accident even with a mini.
All I can say is if the level of horsemanship in a given group is giving you chills and nightmares, stay away. Iāve always felt the biggest danger around horses is other people with bad horsemanship.
Iād also be encouraging the state fair to do a tack check for harness class which is normal in other disciplines and could save them a lawsuit.
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This is just a single individual, whose repeated idiocy keeps resurfacing.
As a self-proclaimed Expert, she just keeps setting my teeth on edge.
FWIW, she is not a Club member.
Members may not be ADS Stars, but by & large they practice Safety & have given me some valuable tips.
Her? Not so much 
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This reminded me of an incident I experienced many years ago. I was driving commercial carriages for a company that did not care well for their equipment, or horses. One night after a downtown shift (heavily populated downtown, metro area had 6+ million people, to give you an idea of the kind of downtown Iām talking about), when I was unhitched the horse, the shaft literally broke off the carriage. Looked like it was due to a poorly welded repair. I remember being completely in shock. I didnāt work for that company long, and quit shortly after that incident. Itās a miracle the shaft made it through the shift and there wasnāt an accident. I remember taking a picture, I wonder if I can dig it upā¦
Edited to add: Found it!
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Yikes! @firecracker 
TG that did not happen while you were driving in traffic.
Pls tell me it was not Noble Horse in Chgo.
Owner took great care of both his horses & fleet of antique carriages.
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Right?! I felt sick when it broke. We were always around so many people, small kids, trafficā¦ I will forever be thankful the weld held until we unhitched.
Nope, this was not Noble Horse!
This was my first and only commercial carriage job, so I didnāt know what I didnāt know until I was there long enough to learn and see how poorly things were being maintained. Lots of corners cut to save money, at the expense of safety and/or the horsesā well-being. I could say all sorts of things that would make your hair stand on end, but will refrain on a public forum.
Thank goodness there are many wonderful carriage companies out there that take excellent care of their horses, and maintain their equipment well!
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Wellā¦ As for things like that shaftā¦ Things break on carriages, itās why smart people have a decent spares kit on hand. Iāve been on back step when the shaft broke at the end and we were 15-20 minutes from home, so we just tied it up best as possible and drive the pony home at a walk. He was only a few weeks hitched and I was more worried than him or the driver/trainer!
A friend was on marathon when the telescoping tip broke, they got out of the hazard, tied it up as best as possible and finished marathon, although not at her normal blazing speed (this was WC level drivers so not stupid newbs).
My worst one could have been sooo bad but I got so lucky. My right telescoping tip holding washer came unscrewed inside the shaft and as I turned a sharp left, the tip and the shaft justā¦ parted company. And the freaking shaft dropped and stabbed the ground and almost lifted the front wheel up. Thank all the gods I had just started the drive and was still walking, and just walking right turns around some obstacles, it would have been super ugly if that had happened at any speed! Until that moment I didnāt even know it had a washer and a bolt inside the shaft. Now it has a healthy dose of thread locker on it as well as periodic tightness checks.
The point is that these things break, even with good welds and serious due diligence, even modern marathon vehicles that are part stainless steel and made for a beating. Driving isnāt a safe sport by any stretch! The fool with the wood shaft thoughā¦ #faceplant (although I wonder if it would be safe/more durable of all the cracks were thoroughly sealed up with a strong wood glue and then banded? Glue+wood is stronger than most people think (until it gets wet)ā¦ Probably not, too much stress on cart shafts compared to independent carriage shafts
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Right, things can certainly break on any vehicleā¦ but I can assure you there were serious maintenance issues at this company and this broken shaft was not an isolated incident. My point in bringing it up was to highlight the importance of properly maintaining driving equipment, because itās such a critical safety issue.
As Iāve become more involved with driving (primarily navigating at CDEs the past few years), I have become much more safety conscious, because when things go wrong, everything can go to h*ll in a hand basket so fast if you arenāt well-prepared.
So glad you and your horse were okay with your telescoping tip incident! That sounds scary enough at a walk, and thank goodness you werenāt going any faster!
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