[drivingpairs] Re: A pair with a cart

Thanks, Candice. I really enjoy driving the minis in the Christmas and 4th
of July parades. someone gave me a bigger mini/shetland cross so I might
use him in the parades instead of the pair. he is stocky, taller (34"), and
a lot stronger than my two little minis.

I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks again. - carol

At 09:01 PM 5/2/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>The recent messages have been truly fascinating since I drive a pair of 48
inch ponies with a cart.  This easy entry cart has an adjustable axle
position and I am able to adjust it to put about five pounds of weight on
the ponies while I am seated in the cart.  I use full collars and the
ponies seem quite comfortable.  
>    At first I had some trouble with the cart pushing the ponies on the
neck while going down hills.  By snugging up the breeching just a little
the collars stay in place better and hills are not much of a problem.  Most
of my driving is on rough grassy and rocky trails.  I've never had the pole
come up on a hill even though I can purposely rock back enough to raise it
a little.
>    I also have broken another rule by removing the yoke and replacing it
with a 12 inch 'T' crab (not the hook just the T) I found it difficult to
position the pole high enough with the yoke, and it added extra weight.
Now I use leather straps that give about four inches of space between the
collar and the 'T'.  That puts the ponies in a fairly straight position in
the center of the singletrees.  They usually position themselves so their
bellies are about four inches from the pole.
>    This is not my first experience with a pair  pulling a cart.  I used
to drive a pair of Tennessee Walkers to a Meadowbrook believe it or not.  I
was always concerned that if the pole were to break there would be nothing
to stop the cart from turning upside down on the axle.  To remedy that I
added  steel reinforcement to the bottom side of the wooden pole.  The
other problem was the horses tended to be heavy on the bit and the cart
would roll forward and tighten the breeching when I held the lines.  Yikes!
 The more I pulled the more the cart pushed!  Anyway, aside from that the
cart was always quite stable and the horses never appeared uncomfortable.  
>    Since I am mostly a recreational driver with a few parades thrown in I
can't comment on competitive driving, but I wouldn't completely write off
the idea of pairs with carts.  I love to drive pairs and loading up a two
wheel cart for an afternoon on the trails is a whole lot easier for me than
getting out the heavy four wheeler.  I also find it a good means for
training because it turns around so easily.  Adjustment and balance is
everything however, so if you are not sure, choose the four wheeler.  Or
how about a castor wheel under the pole...just kidding..... Candis
>_________________________________________________________
>To Unsubscribe, change to Digest or Vacation mode go to: 
>http://www.drivingpairs.com/dpmem.shtml
>`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
>
>
>


_________________________________________________________
To Unsubscribe, change to Digest or Vacation mode go to: 
http://www.drivingpairs.com/dpmem.shtml
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Other related posts: