hackney driving harness
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Esther please don't behave it's so boring ............. stir stir stir heh heh
I can just picture a lovely little team of shetland cross hackney ponies with their flashy little hooves strutting their stuff
I can just picture a lovely little team of shetland cross hackney ponies with their flashy little hooves strutting their stuff
now both of you go and sit on the naughty step!
How much action, in general , does a hackney pass down, does it vary hugely like the gaites in an Icelandic X (you etiher get them or you don't, no half measures) or can you always see the stamp of a Hackney on the gaits?
One of the most wonderful horses I ever drove was a Hackney horse X Welsh D. He was no slouch, second slot on a Liverpool, but was responsive and willing and the power....... it as obvious there was hackney in him.
The Hackney strikes me as being very much like the Iberian horses. Very, very reliable, gentle and biddable in the right hands, huge amount of mettle and presence, but easy to mess up as they are so sensetive and willing.
How much action, in general , does a hackney pass down, does it vary hugely like the gaites in an Icelandic X (you etiher get them or you don't, no half measures) or can you always see the stamp of a Hackney on the gaits?
One of the most wonderful horses I ever drove was a Hackney horse X Welsh D. He was no slouch, second slot on a Liverpool, but was responsive and willing and the power....... it as obvious there was hackney in him.
The Hackney strikes me as being very much like the Iberian horses. Very, very reliable, gentle and biddable in the right hands, huge amount of mettle and presence, but easy to mess up as they are so sensetive and willing.
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It's hard to say until the foal is on the ground and you see him move, there action progresses as they get older and stronger. Some won't show you any until you work them some don't know how not to step. I've had full bred ponies with good blood lines daisy cut. I can see if an animal has hackney in it but I'm sure that's just from looking as so very many over the years.
Your spot on there
Can a daisy cutter be taught to step high with work, or will they always be medeocre horses and not cut out for high level show stuff.
Some Icelandics can show very little for years, then suddenly, with training, strength and maturity turn tölt on from nowhere, and in some cases Pace can develope in their teens!
Some Icelandics can show very little for years, then suddenly, with training, strength and maturity turn tölt on from nowhere, and in some cases Pace can develope in their teens!
If the daisy cutter in question had hackney blood then yes, but I couldn't teach a horse or pony to step if say it were a throroughbred.
I've had hackneys just like this one that springs to mind was a dutch horse all his offspring showed you absolutely nothing in hand and you'd swear they had no hackney blood in them (their father was the dutch national champion many times over) Once you started working them and they got fitter they'd show you what they'd got in the tank. There's no set fast rule with how they will perform until you get your hands on them as it were. I've seen many a champion in the field but the minute you put tack on him he stops, some go better in hand than harness and visa versa.
You have to stop now, stop telling me about them, because they are showing all the major traits that I love in the Icelandic and the Iberian breeds.
This is amazing, as this is how I have found both types, some in hand are nothing, never a second glance, and that is Iberian and Icelandic. Get them under saddle, and they come alive.
The two Shetlands that I enjoy driving the most are not the easiest. Both are highly sensetive and would have to find the right home if I were to sell them.
Esther knows who I mean and I know she loves driving him....imagine his blood lines crossed with hackney??????
This is understood, but if a pony in question had Icelandic blood it is not always true that they could be taught to tölt. We have pure Shetlands who show more tölt than X Icelandics!....we have yet to see whether the judge likes to see tölt, twinkling out in front of a tandem!
This is amazing, as this is how I have found both types, some in hand are nothing, never a second glance, and that is Iberian and Icelandic. Get them under saddle, and they come alive.
The two Shetlands that I enjoy driving the most are not the easiest. Both are highly sensetive and would have to find the right home if I were to sell them.
Esther knows who I mean and I know she loves driving him....imagine his blood lines crossed with hackney??????
This is understood, but if a pony in question had Icelandic blood it is not always true that they could be taught to tölt. We have pure Shetlands who show more tölt than X Icelandics!....we have yet to see whether the judge likes to see tölt, twinkling out in front of a tandem!
I have the mental picture of a cross Icelandic/Hackney "tolting" (is there such a word ???)
As long as the blood is there you have a platform to work from, I've never worked with Icelandics but have with Iberian horses whom I love too. If you have hackney blood in there then there will be action it's just whether you have the key to open the door. We trained a hackney to do dressage now this horse had previous won the novice championship at Smiths Lawn in a gig and had been trained to step, we totally changed his routine and to be honest unless you knew he was a hackney you wouldn't of believed us. We took him to do dressage at Towerlands where he came 4th, one of the comments was that he had slightly too much knee action, if you had seen him four months prior to the test he was knocking his teeth with his knees. You can train them to step and not to, though say foreinstance something made them jump they would show you some knee action.
I really really want to see a part bred hackney whether it was crossed with a shetland or icelandic tolt.
As long as the blood is there you have a platform to work from, I've never worked with Icelandics but have with Iberian horses whom I love too. If you have hackney blood in there then there will be action it's just whether you have the key to open the door. We trained a hackney to do dressage now this horse had previous won the novice championship at Smiths Lawn in a gig and had been trained to step, we totally changed his routine and to be honest unless you knew he was a hackney you wouldn't of believed us. We took him to do dressage at Towerlands where he came 4th, one of the comments was that he had slightly too much knee action, if you had seen him four months prior to the test he was knocking his teeth with his knees. You can train them to step and not to, though say foreinstance something made them jump they would show you some knee action.
I really really want to see a part bred hackney whether it was crossed with a shetland or icelandic tolt.
dynamite (in a good way)! He already has amazing presence and action.
I almost succumbed years ago to a Hackney pony X Welsh C (I think it was a C) straight off the moors, halter broken but nothing else, 3 years old, from the same breeder as the stallion I mentioned earlier, I had met mum and driven dad (Welsh stallion, lovely pony) and was offered this chap for £250 as he had been basically forgotten about and she suddenly realised he was 3 and hardly handled. I was deeply tempted but resisted as I was at university at the time and didn't have the time/money but I often wonder how he turned out, he was a lovely pony.
forgot i had made this.
we did have a hackney mare, but she was used as a broodmare and nothing else tbh she was a bit of a witch, a bugger to catch but once you had her she would lead, stand and tie up.
i *think* her name was skelton cobweb- dont know if it was a registered name or just a passport name.
we put her to a welsh stallion and she had a colt foal (we named him ken in the height of barbie mania oh the shame) sadly she died when he was 6 weeks old.
it was a heart attack we think, she was knocking on (late teens) but in good health otherwise we wouldnt have put her in foal.
we hand raised him and sold him as a 3 year old after he had played out for a few years learning to be a pony and he was a sec C x Hackney.
he is now driven by his owners and goes really well- his dad was a mover and with his mums hackney blood, movement and temperament (fire breathing dragon!)
havent seen him for a while, but we got a pencil sketch of him for christmas from his new owners and he looked smashing.
we did have a hackney mare, but she was used as a broodmare and nothing else tbh she was a bit of a witch, a bugger to catch but once you had her she would lead, stand and tie up.
i *think* her name was skelton cobweb- dont know if it was a registered name or just a passport name.
we put her to a welsh stallion and she had a colt foal (we named him ken in the height of barbie mania
oh the shame) sadly she died when he was 6 weeks old. it was a heart attack we think, she was knocking on (late teens) but in good health otherwise we wouldnt have put her in foal.
we hand raised him and sold him as a 3 year old after he had played out for a few years learning to be a pony and he was a sec C x Hackney.
he is now driven by his owners and goes really well- his dad was a mover and with his mums hackney blood, movement and temperament (fire breathing dragon!)
havent seen him for a while, but we got a pencil sketch of him for christmas from his new owners and he looked smashing.
So when judging a hackney in the show ring, what are you looking for in the action, does it have to be equal flexion front and rear, or higher in the front, is the degree of tracking up important, how do you show different gaits, ie collection, medium and extension, or does that not come into it?
Firstly Esther hackneys x welsh are a great cross whether you want to ride or drive. Hackneys are incredibly good jumpers too, you should see some of mine clearing the field fences ...............
If it is for the wagon class then unless they've changed the rules it's 60% action 40% conformation and turnout. This may have changed as I haven't shown for about 2 years due to an injury. Your looking for forward movement not up and down on the spot but going somewhere but not at light speed. You want to see freedom through the shoulder into the forearm and holding the foot in question still before placing it back on the floor not in the same place (you don't want to see a foot wobbling or uneven compaired with the other foot) They should be lifting the legs at even heights e.g one front leg should be getting the same height as the other front leg same with the back) It would be lovely if they could step as high behind as the do infront but their belly gets in the way but saying that I had an old stallion that had shivers and stringhalt which could. The carriage of the body is equally important as if the animal isn't in the correct shape you will not get the desired action. Ears pricked and forward, sitting up in the bridle, you would like his back nicely bending which encourages more freedom through the shoulders and hips thus more action. The centre of gravity is further back on a hackney infact the further back the better which makes the front end light, you shouldn't be able to hear his feet thud to the ground just carefully placing them on the floor.
It's desired for them to track up but not over track or under, as for collection and extension it depends on the judge really. Some judges will ask you to come in at "Park Pace" which is just a bit faster than a jog showing you some action and togetherness, you are then either asked to "Trot On" or to "Show Your Ponies" whuich then you go up a gear not neccesarily faster but you ask for more energy impulsion if you like. This is where people come unstuck training hackneys you don't want more speed for them to step they need to go up as it were not forwards more. An individual hackney will have his own way of going some have tremendous extension some don't it does come down to the blood lines, a hackney wouldn't be marked down if he didn't have the same extension as the next he would be judged on his over all action. When looking for the winner you'd be looking for the one stepping the highest with consistency, the one that looks like his hearts going to explode and putting the most into it, correctly smartly turned out. The classes aren't judged on manners like say private driving so a certain amount of plunging through the air will be seen although in my opinion it's not down to bad manners but adrenaline and usuall the horse wanting to get on with his job.
If you've got to the end I'll clean your show harness for you and well done, I hope this answers your questions if not I'd be more than happy to add to what I've posted I love hackneys more than anything and they have given me more than any other breed.
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Hmmm, park pace in a Hackney! I thought I was doing park pace with a couple of Orlov trotters!
I thought we were bimbling along, they were well within their capabilities and seemed to be bimbling!
I should imagine the Hackney and the Orlov have a similar deceptive speed! When you feel you are bimbling nicely, but in comparison to other horses you are flying round, then when you think you are shifting, you really are shifting!
I wouldn't mind driving a Hackney, the closest I have was Welsh D X Hackney, and I came back with a silly grin with him!
I like to learn about different styles of driving and the reasons behind it.
I thought I was doing park pace with a couple of Orlov trotters! I thought we were bimbling along, they were well within their capabilities and seemed to be bimbling!
I should imagine the Hackney and the Orlov have a similar deceptive speed! When you feel you are bimbling nicely, but in comparison to other horses you are flying round, then when you think you are shifting, you really are shifting!
I wouldn't mind driving a Hackney, the closest I have was Welsh D X Hackney, and I came back with a silly grin with him!
I like to learn about different styles of driving and the reasons behind it.
HorseWhisp3r3r
There are a couple of photos I'd like you to look at and explain to me. Two other competitors at the RHS. Bits and bobs about the shoes and feet and way of going, can I PM you with them so you can tell me what it is I am looking at.
Is it trad for Hackneys always to be plaited or can they be correct with a lattice?
One had fantastic action, but at the last phase of the flight of the hoof it turned in drastically. Would this be marked down in an in hand class where the judge was directly in front?
There are a couple of photos I'd like you to look at and explain to me. Two other competitors at the RHS. Bits and bobs about the shoes and feet and way of going, can I PM you with them so you can tell me what it is I am looking at.
Is it trad for Hackneys always to be plaited or can they be correct with a lattice?
One had fantastic action, but at the last phase of the flight of the hoof it turned in drastically. Would this be marked down in an in hand class where the judge was directly in front?
Please do send them, I will try from the pictures but videos are fairer to make a comment on but I may well know the competitors and animals concerned as the hackney world in this country is quite a small one.
Very well done with your results at the show you have a mini marathon just to get to a show let alone all the work once you get there.
Hackneys should be plaited and their tales left no lattices etc. It all depends if the show was affliated to the Hackney Horse Society which I would of thought it was as it's a Royal Show.
Turning the foot in or out is undesirable but you will see it and again it depends on the individual judge.
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