17 February 2009

Newbie advice again... which horse? Which cart? so confused...

This thread caught my eye because initially I thought - newbie and 2 year old? Uh-oh!

But I agree of the three you are going to find the smaller pony easier to harness. So long as you remember that a 2 yr old is sometimes quiet because she doesn't know what's going on and may get sprightly once she begins to fitten up and muscle up and her brain kicks in ... Make haste slowly if you decide to stick with her.

Remember she's a baby and will be for another 4 years.

If you are a newbie to driving, make sure you know what you are doing when you work with her, because if you plan to keep her, you will be keeping whatever you teach her during her formative years - be it good or bad. Older horses that have seen more are able to forgive mistakes, but a young horse is learning what you ask and what you permit. So try hard to get it right.

Of the 2 vs 4 wheels argument, my personal choice is the 2 wheeler, using harness that gives balanced draft for that vehicle (You'll be sick of reading "go and get Barb's book on Understanding Harness"). Sliding backband, open tugs, adjustable balance. This is comfortable for pony and people.

I personally dislike the 4 wheeler over rough ground because you get two jolts for every bump (one for each axle). Riding in a two wheeler is akin to riding a horse, while riding in a 4 wheeler is more like riding in a car. You do need an "active seat" to assist the balance for 2 wheels, unless it is very heavy to begin with - and for the little 12.3 pony it won't be.

I have some safety reasons for my choice of a 2 wheeler:

A young horse can't jack-knife a 2 wheeler if it spooks or backs up.

It's easier to handle driving through gates if you drive alone (not recommended, but it is pretty well my only option and I have a good many gates to deal on narrow roads where the 4 wheeler doesn't make life easy.)

It's often easier to buy a vehicle with 2 wheels that has a well placed step for easy entry - 4 wheelers tend to challenge me! though it does depend on the build.

An old friend of mine, Fred Todd, now dead, alas, once told me that in his experience a two wheeled cart was superior to a four wheeled one for heavy work PROVIDED it was properly balanced (ie, loaded by somebody who understood what he was doing). As an example he cited a black Shire horse that he'd worked with, who could shift - say - a ton, on a 2 wheeled cart but jibbed at the same load on a four wheeler. He did give me an explanation of why, and sadly I am only hazily remembering - something about the line of draft of the 4 wheeler effectively requiring the horse to lift the forecarriage as well as pulling the load. Plus, I suspect, the larger wheel diameter of the 2 wheelers - always easier on the horse than small diameter wheels.

He was not a fan of 4 wheelers for competitive cross country work and when he was National Singles Champion way back in the early 80s he drove exclusively 2 wheelers (but then, everybody drove singles across country in 2 wheelers).

Some American 4 wheelers have no "cut under" for the front axle to turn. These I believe to be dangerous for a young horse and newbie driver, because in case of a spook or need to turn sharply the front wheels come up against the body and things can break.

So I'd stick with 2 wheels.