A harness!
There are plans being hatched to acquire a cart for Marley too.
Marley has been a pretty good riding pony this summer. But we suspect his real forte is pulling a cart. He looks handsome in harness, don't you think?
Marley in June 2008
fall vacation hike
2 weeks ago
He does look handsome in his harness. I'll bet he'd be a blast to have pulling a cart. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteHandsome & talented - Marley looks good. Driving is SO fun! Can't wait to hear all about it.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Marley looks like he enjoys that. I've never trained a horse to drive, is it hard to get them used to it?
ReplyDeleteDriving is a blast! My gelding is cart trained(and draft and trail and dressage and...) It is not safe to drive around here on the roads anymore but we still do in the pasture. I looove driving! Fjords are so good at it. As for training, it is way easier than riding. Find a good trainer or some good books. Try the Driving Society website. I have read in the mustang blogs that they use long-lining to start out the youn'uns before the saddle. It is also a good way to rehab a horse that has had soundness issues and cannot be ridden but need something to do to keep them from becoming sour during recovery.
ReplyDeleteYes he does, a very handsome boy!
ReplyDeleteHow fun, Once Upon!
And what nice entertainment in wintertime, you shold aquire a sleigh too!
Marley would look cute and handsome doing anything!!! He is wonderful. Oh what fun you all will have.
ReplyDeleteMarley looks great in harness - what a fun idea! Our pony Norman drives, but he's retired now so we don't do that anymore.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I am looking forward to driving.
ReplyDeleteHorseOfCourse, I do want a sleigh, but I'm told it won't be any good here. Even though we get frequent snow, it doesn't stay cold enough, long enough and gets too slushy for a sleigh.
phaedra96, good info. I think Marley will be easy to train; I think he had some training a long time ago and my driving trainer worked with him a year ago and thought he was pretty easy.
Ruckussutt, I don't know, I think it depends on the horse. Marley is pretty easy going about it, but Misty has been difficult because she spooks so easily and is sensitive to noise. It takes a lot of ground work. I might try again with her next year as she matures and becomes used to all the worldly & scary things in modern life. A runaway carriage horse can be much more difficult to recover from than a runaway under saddle. Not as much room for error or correction when driving...and no 1-rein stop!
Thanks again All. I'm hoping to get my new(used) harness repaired next week and start ground driving Marley. The harness came from Marley's previous stable and they think it might have been his to begin with. But it appears to have been in a mishap (hopefully not with Marley) and needs some hardware replaced. Otherwise in good shape.
What a dapper boy! And that looks like loads of fun!
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