[drivingpairs] Re: Two wheelers and pairs (was Poles)

Thanks again for your input. I'll start looking for a mini 4-wheel
cart/carriage. Those little guys deserve all the help they can get. - carol


At 07:55 PM 5/2/2005 EDT, you wrote:
> >I have 2 small minis (31") and
>> they just pull a cart (easy entry) with the traditional pole. But I've
>> noticed that they are uncomforatble with the weight of the pole hanging on
>> their necks. We just do parades and demos - nothing competative - but if we
>> did, I can see I need to do more research before buying a carriage. Thanks
>> again for taking the time to explain the differences in the poles. 
>You are very welcome. I know that we all often need to make due with what we 
>have and what is within our means, and I too have driven a pair (close to 15 
>hand Arab mares) with a pole cart over 20 years ago, but it's really not
good, 
>and especially not with an easy entry cart, as with those even more the
weight 
>of it hangs on the necks of the poor minis, and so you noticed!  Most easy 
>entry carts that I have seens are even less well balanced than many other
two 
>wheelers, since the step up and room for it in front of the axle adds more 
>weight there in front of the axle. So most of them are really very front
heavy. But 
>for all two wheelers a well balanced cart is one of the priorities, even for 
>a single horse! And a single horse carries the weight of the shafts on his 
>back via his saddle. Two wheelers for single horses require WIDE saddles for 
>exactly that reason, even with carrying the weight on the back!  There
were some 
>traditional two wheelers made for pairs in the old days to also carry that 
>weight on their backs. Two types come to mind: The Cape Carts or Curricles
with a 
>curricle bar (like a big yoke) going over their backs and holding the weight 
>of the pole. But those  were very special set-up, and we don't see them used 
>these days anymore, other than in old pictures, or perhaps by somebody
doing a 
>demonstration on unusual turnouts. So I am pretty sure, you don't use such a 
>curricle bar over their backs, so in your case, all that weight hangs on
their 
>necks, and that's really not good, as you also noticed. In that respect it 
>really doesn't matter that you don't do competitions, but "only" parades
or demos. 
>To your horses it's the same, and there is a good reason too, that in CDE 
>competitions, two wheelers are not allowed for pairs. And it's also
something 
>else if a draft horse pair with a fore cart carries the pole weight on their 
>necks, they are a lot stronger and bigger and usually have the proper
harness with 
>wide collars for that too, but for a pair of minis, I don't think it's a
good 
>situation.  So at the very least try to get your cart balanced enough so
that 
>as little weight as possible hangs on their necks. Perhaps you can move your 
>seat back accordingly. But then again, don't overdo it either, as we can't 
>risk the cart to flip over backwards either with the pole coming up and
the yoke 
>hitting the horses underneath the necks. So we see, a two wheeler really is 
>not good for a pair. Yes, I can see that it's an inexpensive solution to
start 
>some pair driving (and have done so myself, but we had a very well balanced 
>pole cart), but other than with draft horses and fore carts, let's try to
get a 
>four wheeler if at all possible (I did too after seeing the problems with
the 
>two wheeler :-).
>Hardy   
>
>
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