Breaking to ride/drive or just ride??

[tikkitti]

Having acquired a pony for my daughter recently that has been broken to ride and drive it's unflappable nature is fantastic, she still is green but doesn't even look at vehicles my horse shudders at. Infact she has such a can do attitude I wonder if her been a ride and drive is what's made her different to many ponies her age. My question being, is it worth having youngster broke to drive and ride even if you don't drive? I'm guessing you'd brake to drive before backing to ride? Does it cause any issues in the horses ridden career? Just interested in others opinions. x

 

[newforest]

A driving horse should have a willing but unflappable nature.

Mine is from a ride and drive x drive. She was bred with the intention of being part of a driving pair.
She's got the conformation best suited to driving, she just has the wrong attitude for it. As in she has one!

To answer the question is it worth having a youngster broken to ride and drive, no not if they are unsuitable.

 

[Jessey]

I rode out with my friends on Saturday, one of the horses is now ride/drive, I rode him a bit last year and he was a typical ploddy cob, nothing much fased him after he initially got used to what ever it was.
He went to learn to drive early this year and they aparently had quite a job getting him to settle in blinkers with traffic but he did eventually.
On Saturday he was spooking and flinging himself all over the show, I convinced my friend to take him to the back of the ride and low and behold he settled, he's so used to having blinkers on he was being upset by the horse and person walking behind him.
I think like newforest says attitude does play into it, but also with smaller ponies driving can allow an adult to school them and give them confidence so it can be a good way of getting little ones going but with bigger ones I don't see why its any different when the adult could ride, you should be equally able to instill discipline and confidence from on board to produce an equally well behaved horse.

 

[tikkitti]

TBH it's just the fact she so unflappable, maybe it's just her temperament but anything I've ever broken to ride has still had at the very least the odd look, spook, this pony just marches on regardless yet is still fairly green when schooling etc. Thought it was maybes me and the fact I don't break to ride and drive ( fairly clueless about driving TBH) and maybes mine were somehow missing out by only been broken to ride. x

 

[Jessey]

I think you tend to 'put miles on the clock' when they learn to drive, which a lot of young ridden horses just don't get, hacking so often isn't seen as educational so young ridden horses are schooled more.
Hank is pretty solid now, not much spooks him, i think he's only schooled in the paddock half a dozen times, all other work has been out in the world

 

[Wally]

Training a horse to drive does not alter its nature or temperament. I have driven some fairly scatty driving horses.

I have found 7 out of 10 horses will acept driving without too much bother and be reasonably safe. 2 out of ten will make driving horses but not ones anyone but an experienced person should drive and one will not accept driving in any shape or form .

 

[domane]

Agree with Wally....breaking to drive doesn't make them better in traffic. They have to have the right disposition in the first place.

 

[chunky monkey]

I broke my 19 year old last year for driving. I had been playing with long reins and pulling tyre and harrows for the previous 2 years but final got the cart last year. I knew nothing about driving before that. But thought as my lad was so calm that it might be worth giving it a go. I had some advice from going to functions and talking to people, the rest has been gleaned from asking on here. He seems to have accepted the driving and will now do both.
At the end of last year I brought a youngster, recently broken to ride and drive. More driving than riding.
It soon became obvious that he wasn't comfortable in traffic being ridden. Shying, kicking out and bucking. I have therefore decided that I would not drive him till he was calmer in traffic. I feel that if he has a carriage on and decides not to like something he could do alot more damage than me riding.
The other week I did think I would start doing some long reining as he had come on alot. Then I did an all road ride. Mostly been on quiet country lanes over summer with the odd car. Anyway, lets just say he starts spooking at things. So he's still not matured enough for my liking for me to drive him on the road.
I'm hoping that I will be able to drive him next year. I will be doing more road work over the winter so hopefully I will get to a point where he is settled an safe in traffic.

 

[newforest]

Are you longreining in blinkers? If he's been driven more he might have heard traffic but not seen it passing.

 

[tikkitti]

No I don't long rein in blinkers although have used then in the past when a particularly nervy youngster has had issues when first ridden and has had too much interest in me rather than working, but it's only been short term. The horse I have that shudders at certain things has always had issues in traffic and has never quite got rid of his nervyness despite been desensitised and lots of miles added to his clock. It's maybes just that the ponies/horses I buy are generally more forward/sharper than this little pony and do not possess such a chilled temperament. I suppose the only thing I thought may of explained her carefree attitude was maybes she's seen a lot more with been driven than most her age that have only been ridden. I just hope her calmness in scared situations rubs off on mine, it would be lovely to ride out without at least one horse eating monster lurking in the bushes. xx