Ask Andy

Most people us the Hungarian Rein Position for the single handed movements because it is the most intuitive, and provides good leverage over both reins, especially in the upper levels when there are changes in direction within the single handed movements.
There aren’t rules about which handling position you use for those movements, so using the Coachman’s position, which is the base position used in the Achenbach method works well too.
The key is to practice those positions for more than is simply required for the test at hand (pardon the pun.) Developing the ability to handle the reins in multiple positions gives you more tools in your reinsmanship toolbox. That boils down to greater communication!
I migrate between all of the rein positions throughout the course of a drive regardless of the type of driving I am doing.

Uh, I’m a little confused by the question, but I’ll take a stab at it.
If you needed to bring an extra horse along, you could easily pony the horse from the carriage. If he was similar size and shape as the horse in the shafts, you could use the same harness for either horse. Then again, if you had two horses, you’d likely drive them as a pair.
On the other hand, there was a time when driving tandem to the hunt allowed the hunt horse to travel unencumbered to the hunt as the leader in the tandem, since the wheeler is the one to do all the work. That was, in actual fact, more of a short lived fashion statement as anything else.
250 years ago, travel by carriage was quite the exception to the rule. By far, the majority of people traveled by foot. A few traveled by horseback, and the rarer few aristocrats traveled by servant driven carriages.
150 years ago, the family horse & carriage was more common among the middle class. If there were a longer road trip, you simply traveled in stages, resting yourself and your horse in between.

There’s no specific, ideal distance from a carriage, and in most circumstances, the distance in front of the carriage wouldn’t make it harder or easier to pull. I suppose if the singletree were very, very low, it might make a small difference.

Your pony needs some withers (teasing, of course!)

Some surcingles have pads with a channel in the middle that help the surcingle stay in place on either side of the withers. Most good driving saddles have those pads as well.

Even with those pads, you have to cinch up the girth just about as tight as you can to resist the rotational force applied by the long lines, especially if the contact is heavy.

If the surcingle you’re using doesn’t have those pads, it may not matter how much you tighten the girth. It will almost always rotate.

Try your driving saddle with the tunback & breeching removed.

Also, I don’t remember if you’ve signed up for the Long Lining 101 class, but I cover long lining equipment suggestions in that class.

It seems these days most people are using social media classified ads for these types of things. That’s the most efficient way to get photos and descriptions in front of the most people interested in the sport. Look up carriage driving classified groups on your favorite social media site. I think Facebook probably has the most carriage drivers out of all the options.

Hi Mara,
As I’ve mentioned in an answer to a similar question on the “Blinders or Not” post, blinders can be useful in helping a horse focus on their work. That said, you really have to choose on a horse by horse, and sometimes circumstance basis.

From the limited context of your question, it sounds like you’ve given the answer to your question in the second sentence:
“I think I have one of those horses who prefers driving without blinders.”
It’s a little difficult to guess how much time over which the experiences you relate have taken. If, as they sound, they are individual experiences here and there, I’d say your horse is doing great!
Driving “off campus” through obstacles, your horse should look at things with calm interest. It shows a thoughtful, confident horse. You really couldn’t ask for a much better result than that!
Time and experience is what your horse needs more than a tack change.
If, you find over the course a full season, you are having difficulty keeping your horse’s attention where you want it, then perhaps, half-blinders may be worth trying. That said, working on lesson plans that encourage your horse to focus, such as “The Training Dial“, or “Transitions on the 8“, may be all your horse needs to learn how to focus on the task at hand.
Finally, if you decide you want to try half blinders:
I have gotten half blinders from IdealHarness.com in the past. Most other harness dealers or manufacturers will likely offer them as well, such as IVC Carriage, Driving Essentials, or where ever you purchased your harness.
Hopefully that helps!

Take care,

Andy

Hi Sheila,

The head bobbing is just a way for him to do something while he’s being asked to do nothing. It’s kind of a release of energy on his part. It’s actually a good sign, since he knows he has to be still, but he just can’t stand the idea of being completely still. He’s figured out that there’s a place where he can do everything you’re asking him to, but still have his fidget.

I’d say a bob or two, and you can let it go. If gets really repetitive, you can give him a verbal correction accompanied by a sharp tug on the lead rope. Be consistent with what you use for a verbal, like “be still”, or “stop!”

In the carriage you can use the same verbal with a quick tug on the rein or touch with the whip. As long as he understands that he’s being asked to stand at the moment, he won’t take either of those as an indication
to move. If he does move, correct him. He’ll eventually learn that it’s a correction rather than a request.

Over time you’ll be able to limit, or eliminate the behavior. It’s just time, patience, and persistence!

I hope that helps!

Andy

Hi Patricia,
It sounds like you have a great base started with your mini. It certainly sounds like you’ve found out pretty clearly that she does not like having any restriction of her vision.
Personally, if she’s going as well as you say, I’d just keep going with her training in the open bridle. Not only is there nothing to be gained by introducing the blinders, but it sounds like you may end up losing ground in her training.
Of course, you should be extra careful when it comes to hitching in the open bridle. Give a few extra sessions of false hitching with the help of a friend managing the carriage while you lead, then ground drive her. Provided that all goes as planned, it may just be that she far prefers to be in an open bridle.
In American Driving Society, and U.S.E.F carriage driving competitions, blinders are not required. Rules in other venues may be different.
If you are obligated to use blinders by some rulebook, then yes, you may have to start from the ground up. It may be worth it to continue putting more miles on her in the open bridle first to continue to build her confidence. As she becomes more comfortable with all of her work, introducing something new will be less disruptive.
Finally, see what you can do to find blinders that provide the widest field of view possible. If you go from an open bridle, to blinders that rest very close to the eyes with significant restrictions on her vision, it can be very unsettling.
Take a look at “Blinders on Not?” for more discussion on this subject.

Hi Anya,

It sounds like you have a fun project there!

Since all three of the horse are green to driving, I personally would focus most of my attention on getting each of them going as really solid single horses first. Getting them all comfortable, confident, and fit as individuals will make any combination of them as pairs more successful.

For the slightly hyper Joan Jet, I’d spend quite a bit of quality time on her Stand Training. In fact, all three of the horses will benefit greatly from that training. It really helps the horses understand how to focus on you when they’re in work mode.

With that in mind, I’d be looking for a reliable single carriage first. A single carriage will always have utility in your barn for as long as you have driving horses.
4-wheel carriages are more versatile than 2-wheel carriages, since they can be hitched to horses and ponies of varying sizes. That said, they tend to be more expensive.
If you really know you’re going to spend most of your time driving pairs, then you could go for a good 2-wheeler like the Frey Sprint, or similar.

Of course, you can find carriages that can be used both as single and pair carriage. Carriages like that tend to slightly on the heavy side for singles, and light for the pair.
As a single carriage, you probably wouldn’t want to attack the super-steep grades, especially when the horse is green. Work on moderate terrain would be fine.
As a pair carriage, a green pair hitched to what is essentially a single carriage, can over-power the carriage and driver easily (thus the notes on single driving first!) However, that lighter weight would be nice for going up those steep grades.
For most carriages like this, changing the hardware from single to pair takes about 10-15 minutes. That’s handy, but not super handy. So driving one horse single in the morning, and the pair in the afternoon is definitely doable, but kind of a pain. Thus, having a “single only” carriage is much more convenient.

In your situation, it sounds like pneumatics would be handy for the mud and terrain. Many of the modern carriages from Poland come with option to be used both with hard tires, and pneumatics, so switching from one to the other is similar to changing a car tire.
I’d look for smooth-tread tires for less rolling resistance. The enduro style knobby tires are great for traction, but they make the carriage harder to pull in deep footing, and sometime can get “grabby” with their traction in fast work. Believe it or not, there times when you rather those wheels slide!

The carriage that I’ve used over the years often that fits this bill is the Max I. It’s a pretty good “all arounder” type carriage. It’s only downside is that the pair adapter may not come with a live evener, something I consider critical for training pairs. Of course, many trainers do not, so… (well that’s another article to write!)

There are lots of other carriage options out there. You’ll just have to shop around.

Don’t obsess over weight too much! The horse in the equation is quite literally the “horse power.” With good training and proper conditioning, horses can comfortably pull carriages that are close to or equal their own body weight. Don’t forget, they are drawing that weight on roller bearings, not carrying the weight.

I have to admit, I’m completely amused by the idea of using a golf cart as a wagon! Practically speaking, horses don’t need assistance pulling a carriage.
Hopefully this helps more than it confuses!
~Andy

The only thing that comes to mind right away is in the book “The Art of Driving” by Max Pape (chapter 17, page 81-86.) Unfortunately that book is out of print, so it may be hard to get your hands on a copy.
I’ll put it on my to-do list for videos to make.

Counter-bending is in indication of a loss of the horse’s balance through a turn. So the antidote to counter-bending is correct balance.
You can help your horse establish better neutral balance by improving your Half Halt. That will set your horse up for more successful turns before he enters the turn. For that, take a look at https://coachmansdelight.com/half-halt-class/
The next thing to do is improve your horse’s balance through the turn by improving your use of The Outside Rein. https://coachmansdelight.com/outside-rein-class/

There’s a handy little chart on American Driving Society website that has a decent guide for Driving Vehicle Measurements.
I would use that as “guide” rather than a fixed formula. Ponies and horses come in all shapes and sizes, so you can’t really say A+B will always equal C exactly.
There’s more latitude with 4-wheel carriages than there is on 2-wheel carriages. In other words, you can get “close enough” with a 4-wheeler, where most 2-wheelers have to be a better fit for the horse.

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the note. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath-water on this one. If you have verbals that your horses understand, there’s no reason to change that communication. Remember that your verbals are there to communicate your intention to your horses. It sounds like you have established that in the verbals that you’ve developed.
You can leverage that quite effectively. For example, if you find that your horses are slowing and losing energy through their downward transitions, you can use your upward rising verbal for the downward transition. This is a tool I use frequently.
Instead of asking the horse to go from the trot to the walk in a descending tone “AND Walk,” I’ll use the more forward acting rising tone “walk UP!.” That communicates that I want to walk transition, but I want it to be forward and energetic.
Of course, as you say, it’s tricky to retrain yourself to ask for something forward while at the same time asking for a gait change that we often associate with a slowing of the action. It takes time, patience, and practice.

Hey there, All the online classes are available in the online learning tab. Here’s the direct link to the Runaway Class

There isn’t necessarily a specific order that lesson plans and classes would designed to be taken in. Most of them will simply be applied slightly differently at different levels. I try to make each class or lesson plan accessible enough for beginner drivers, and yet still valuable for advanced drivers.
That said, Developing the Walk is a great fundamental lesson plan, and the lessons in the Stand class carry through to all of the horse’s training.
I’ll be offering a class on the Half Halt in the next couple weeks that everyone should take (even if they’ve taken it before!)
So, go with what strikes your fancy, or with my suggestions. They all tie together really well.

Great news Cheryl!
I’m glad it worked out for you. I love to hear when people are having success with what they’ve learned here. It makes the hard work and long nights of writing, editing, and producing feel so much more worth while.
Send me a plane ticket to Pheonix!! 😉

These are also known as “French” collars. They’ve been around for a long time. They are quite adjustable for the horse’s changing physique.
I’ve used them. In fact there is a picture of my horse wearing one on the front page. I just used it for a year or two to see what I and my horse thought of it.
I didn’t see any great advantage for him in particular. There was nothing wrong with it, but there was no advantage to it for him.
They can be useful for horses that have very “boxy” square shoulders that might be difficult to fit with a traditional breast collar.
The one thing that I’m concern about is the fact that some harness makers are not using a tree in the cap (the top of the collar.) Without the tree, the collar does not distribute the weight evenly on the shoulders.

Answering your questions on Facebook Live tonight!

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I’d been searching for photos of using rein clamps, but I couldn’t find any. I’ll have to work on getting that for you.

Run the leader reins outside of the wheelers bridles. Things may stay a bit more together for you that way. It’s how most “English” drivers run the reins for that reason.

Many CDE drivers do not have the buckle in the coupling reins on the leaders these days. Instead they have very long billets at the bit end with many holes. The theory is that they can adjust the reins at the bit, and then there’s no buckle to get caught up in a saddle terret or bridle roger ring.

I had one student with a similar issue on her Trekhenner. She used quarter straps (aka, belly backers or belly breeching) connected to the girth to keep it from riding forward. Might be worth a try.

Tough to cover this in a short answer, but I’ll do my best.
I’d shoot for the low 300# mark if it can be achieved.
I prefer steel carriages.
Best suspension is 4 spring elliptical or semi-elliptical.
Wheels as large as you can get while still suiting the pony’s size and keeping the weight reasonable.
I recently saw a very nice Bennington carriage for that size pony. Maybe check them out?

That’s a really great question to Ann. I’ll be certain to put that on the topics I cover tonight.

Hi Margie,
It’s a common issue. When I have a pair that’s being obnoxious like that, I usually keep the reins a little less slack when we’re standing. When one reaches over to rub, I draw both reins back quickly and firmly. By the nature of the pair reins, they will pick up the offender’s bit first, since if he’s rubbing, he’s got his head way off center. Drawing both reins of the pair back evenly has nice weathervane effect to straighten the horses in the harness. The non-offender doesn’t usually get too much of a jolt because the offender’s rein has been pulled out much longer. The reins only pick up both bits at the end of the draw when both horse’s heads are in the neutral position.
As you mention, the verbal aid along with this goes a long way. Any horse in training with me for a reasonable period of time knows that “Head up!” means standing with his head in the neutral position. That’s a natural carry-over from the stand training.
Also, be certain that you have gullet straps on the bridles adjusted so the bridles are snugly fitting. Rubbing is the most common way to loose a bridle with a pair. Test the fit of the gullet strap by trying to take the bridle off with everything done up (not hitched to the carriage!) If you can take the bridle off without unbuckling the throat latch, it’s too loose.

This is a good question, but it’s not really equipment related. I decided to answer the question in long-form in a post called “What’s the Bucking Point?”
Take a look there for the full answer.

The bucking straps from Ideal harness have the crupper slots in them. I believe Iowa Valley Carriage has them as well. There are a few other harness brands that offer them, but I’m having trouble remembering which ones.
The difficult thing about finding this stuff online is that we are a “low tech” industry. Most sellers of harness and carriage driving equipment don’t have the time and resources to create comprehensive websites. When you’re looking for something specific, a phone call goes a lot further than an internet search.

It’s always a challenge when we have the “keen” horse, no matter what the reason. Personally, I won’t hitch a horse that won’t stand still in full tack, hands-free. So the walking thing is an absolute pre-requisite to driving in my training. That said, I understand what it’s like to have that horse that settles in after some trot work. Perhaps working with some long lining where you can do some regular walk/trot transitions, incrementally increasing the duration of the walk components of the workouts over many sessions may be the right approach.
Taking a step back to the stand training will help tremendously as well. I have not yet met a horse that hasn’t been improved by teaching him to stand through my technique. In fact, the whole training method came from working with difficult horses. When you can get him to stand reliably in the barn, in the ring, out in the yard by complying with your request, rather than managing and restraining, his compliance will be much better with every other activity. I feel a bit like an evangelist why I say that, because it’s rather hard to believe until you’ve experienced it with even the most difficult horses.

Hi Mary,
Great to hear from you! Sorry to take so long to reply. I’d suggest doing a search on carriage driving classifieds on Facebook. It seems that’s where everyone is buying and selling things these days. Of course, people will be interested in measurements, so see what you can get on the harness. Usually breast collar length, breeching length, approximate barrel size with the girth hitched on the medium holes. Also, people will want pictures.

Hi Sheri,
Great to hear from you.
I think that it’s important to remember that “impulsion” does not just mean “energy” alone. It is also made up of engagement of the hind quarters and the relaxation of the back. So your pony may have plenty of energy, and even relaxation, but not much engagement.
More often than not at your level this is often a matter of managing your contact. Your contact is critical in recycling energy and putting it to it’s best and highest use.
I think the next place to put your energy would be in creating a nice, reliable half halt. The half halt will allow you to catch your pony’s forward energy, and shape it into engagement.
Take a look at the links I just mentioned above, and I think you and your pony will be on your way!

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I did an article for Driving Digest this summer on the reinback. I believe it was in the July/August issue #214 .
I may put together a class on that sometime soon, since I’ve had a few requests for coaching on that. Stay tuned! 😉

If you start the turn as your horse’s nose arrives at the letter, your wheel will follow and pass by the letter. However, if you were to wait until the wheel is next to the letter, the turn would end up being late, since it takes a moment for the initiation of the turn to actually create a turn. Especially on a short diagonal, you’d be well past the line between the two letters.
Technically speaking, the rulebook states “Art. 522.7 – A movement which must be carried out at a certain point of the arena should be done at the moment when the horse’s nose is above this point.”
So on a short diagonal from E to M, that’s pretty easy to accomplish. In the other direction (from M to E), it’s a little more challenging because the turn collapses from a 10m radius to about an 8m radius. On the upside, you’re usually at a walk when that comes up on a test.
In the big picture, judges are not out there looking at your drive with a sexton and compass in hand. Do your best to get your horse on the line between the letters, and focus on maintaining a good rhythm at the gait you’re in. If you’re off by a foot or two here or there, it’s not going to be worth noting. If it does come up in the comments, you were probably well off the mark. Go back and look at a video of the test.

Certainly! Take a look at Reinsmanship Through Muscle Memory.

Interesting hypothetical dilemma! I think if I were presented with that situation, I’d try to get the horse still and calm first. Often when a horse is down and is compelled to stay down, they become resigned to it. You’d surprised how quietly a horse will lie in place after being convinced that it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes you actually have to convince the horse that it’s safe to get up once you’ve untangled the mess.
Of course, as I said in the class, every situation is unique, so you just have to use your best judgment when you find yourself in that circumstance.

Treat the lesson plan (any lesson plan really), as a continuum. Each time you return to the lesson plan, you build upon the skills from the last workout. You don’t have to approach the lesson plan as if driving it for the first time each time you drive it. Each time you drive it, the skills will become more confirmed. So go ahead and use your half halts when you return to the lesson plan. With each workout, they will become more defined with lesson effort.