couple of driving questions

[H & Bailey]

Hi ive just bought a driving pony-shetland,Im a total novice in this field and the pony hasnt been driven properly for at least a year,they have had him in harness and long reined him about but nothing more and only once or twice.the bit they have given me with his tack is a loose ring snaffle,is this ok to drive in for now? how should i re start him-i was thinking to put him in his harness and long rein him in the field then out on the road then put his gig on? and take it from there?any other ideas?
any hints or tips about harness etc?how much weight can he pull?

[Esther.D]

loose ring snaffle fine to drive in if he is happy in it.

play it very cautious, longrein him in harness a few times, have something noisy (eg a chain or a plastic pop bottle full of stones) to rattle behind him, and then gradually reintroduce the vehicle. Act as if he has never been driven before if you have never seen proof of him driving.

my single shetlands happily take me (over 11 stone now fairly pregnant) and o/h (14 and a half stone) for short drives with no problem, and they are not very fit at the moment and one of them is 25 but still pulls us over rough tracks and uphill no bother. My shetlands are stocky and 39" (9.3hh), it varies a bit with build, height and fitness. When they are fit they will happily do 7 or 8 miles and I'm sure a lot more as singles with that weight up, the pair when fit used to take the whole of my family (4 fairly light people at the time) for 14 mile drives in trot without any bother at all.

Have fun!

[H & Bailey]

thanks ive seen a video phone clip of him in his harness being long reined by the old owners friend who drives,he is supposed to be 11hh but i think more like 10hh,and his age was advertised as 9 years,but his dental records state 6 years so he is fairly young on shetland terms.thanks about the weight thing i was going to lead him with the kids in the trap(but the sides are a bit shallow so need to adapt it a bit first) but thought it may be fun for me to take him out by myself and im not the lightest chick on the farm ;)I probably wont go far anyway just to the next village and back..
oh i cant wait :D

[Wally]

Shetlands cannot be 11hh, 10.2hh is the biggest registerable pedigree.

Be carefull about leading a cart full of kids, remember that if the pony gets away from you, (the leader) he can tank off with a cart full of people who have no chance at all of stopping him.

The basic rule of driving is, you NEVER let anyone mount the vehicle until the driver is mounted, ready, settled with the rains and whip. Only then can you let other foulk mount up.

Andy is a well built 41.5 inch Shetland, of Island type, he regulary makes my arms ache with another passenger of about 14 stone (2X 14 stone) there is no way he is going to plod, he can go like stink for about 14 miles puling the cart plus 30 stone or so.

Charlie is 39 inches and can do similar, but he's only 4 so we don't go so far.

A Shetland pony would be expected to pull far, far more than that and carry at least 12 stone to market, 12 miles away and back in the afternoon.

They are not ornaments, they are small horses with far more courage than the average big horse.

Second what Esther says, take it slow and make sure he is remembering his driving.

Have fun, once you get a good Shetland (and Esther wil agree) you have a very faithful, sensible, loyal friend who will move heaven and Earth to please you. They can have as muh Mettle as any TB.

[Miriam]

Have fun, once you get a good Shetland (and Esther wil agree) you have a very faithful, sensible, loyal friend who will move heaven and Earth to please you. They can have as muh Mettle as any TB.


and if she does not I will. Kit has become a fabulous shetland. Will play and follow you everywhere. :D he can also do fantastic rears outside shops :eek:

[hackedoff]

Another Shetland fan here- my 10.2 mare is the cream in my coffee- brave and unscareable, strong and enthusiastic she teaches kids to ride in the morning and scurries in the woods with me in the aftenoon. She will pull me and another adult with ease (and I am no skinny minnie).
Long-reining is great for assessing your pony's temperament and ability before you put to and enables you to work on voice commands and steering without having to worry about getting the vehicle around corners etc. As for the bit my girl came with an eggbutt snaffle but I found she would evade it and it would end up through her mouth, switched to a fulmer snaffle much better steering (tried a liverpool and she threw a fit, if anyone wants a 4" one let me know :rolleyes: )
Good luck and welcome to the Shetland Driving crew! Just realised I am no longer the new girl!
Hackedoff

[H & Bailey]

well i put all his harness on this afternoon and had a little long rein round the field and he was fine when he got going so thought id brave up the lane and back.
he was great so we ended up going along the high street to my house and to the smallholding/stables behind my house.The man that owns it has a conermarax driving pony,so i went to get him to give me a quick lesson.
he checked all the tack and talked me through the fitting side of things and how to hold the reins properly-as i was long reining with 2 :o he gave me a lesson round the field and tips on steering and turning etc,then he drove him back up the road home to give me an assessment on much work he will need to fetch him up to speed.by he can really trot on and is really cute,he really arches his neck and lifts his little legs up.
The bloke has said he has a really good mouth and was listening and doing as told,not spooky at all and never hesitated-which i think is good as ive only had him home a couple of days!he says he really doesnt need alot of bringing back into things and when i want to put his trap on to give him a shout and he will help.he thinks ive a good little driving pony that seems to know its job inside and out :D so i am pleased.
now we have to get bailey to like him as he tried to take a chunk out of brunos butt over the fence!

[Gill]

Well done, sounds like things are going well.

I am a very inexperienced driver and like you wanted the harness all checked over for fit before we started.

We have had some good help (thank you Esther, being one of the helpers) but no formal lessons as yet. I am concentrating on ridden schooling at the mo though so not driving much. My pony is very good though and well trained to drive so looks after me.

There is never time to do it all!