Projects and Progress
Today marked yet another milestone for our HaflingerxBelgian filly Tru-D. This summer I acquired some more harness bits so I could advance her driving training without having to buy a full one before she has finished growing. She'll be three in April so she has close to a year to grow height wise and then another two to three to fully fill out.
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Her breeder is a wonderful trainer and is well regarded in the driving community, so I'm sure she'd get Addy up and running in no time flat. Not wanting to send her off is 100% a me thing. I got a weanling to know that I was starting with a blank slate- and that all the successes were mine, and any holes were mine too. I'm not quite ready to give up that dream.
My overall goal for my baby is Eventing. Several of her siblings are already competing and winning, so I'm not overly concerned about her ability there. She also jumps beautifully of her own accord in her pasture and has four lovely gaits. I've seen her intentionally go over things when it would have been easier to go around. One of my concerns with driving is that I've read that starting a horse in harness can make them stiff/less willing to bend under saddle. Also "sticky" to canter occasionally. While I would like to drive for the fact she could do it slightly earlier I don't want to mess up my future event pony. I'm almost considering saddle breaking her first to get her nice and soft in the bridle THEN harness training. What do you think?
I chose her as she has 11 full or half sibs of the same cross. They're athletic, smart, and good natured. I visited one of her brothers today who currently events Training level and gives lessons to little kids on his 'off' time.
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No match, her breeder checks in on occasion and mentions that he still has her half brother, but he's more blond and doesn't have as nice of a rump (he got his dam's hip, which was long, but almost vertical) so she'll probably be single when showing, though I see occasionally hitching her with one of our more experienced horses and having her capable of going in a team.
She is about 15.1 right now and probably has another inch or so to go (sire was 15 hh Haflinger, dam around 16.3hh Belgian). I need to measure again, but I suspect she's 1100-1200lbs if not more.
There's definitely some pride and deep satisfaction in being able to say you did everything. With our Friesian/Perch cross filly I did all the work on from birth forward, just had some help hitching her to the cart the first few times and that's a time when the more hands the better and easier! I wonder where we'd be now had we not lost her to heart failure at four and a half. Very proud of where she was and what we had accomplished to that point.
So far as the "issues" with starting them driving first I think it really depends on who is doing it and how! Zetahra was very soft and light before we lost her, not that she didn't occasionally have distracted moments where she lost her suppleness as any young horse does! Tru-D is getting there on the long lines, but is definitely light as a feather in-hand with a lead. I haven't had the time to work her much more than once most weeks so her progress is all the more impressive.
While the horse doesn't have to bend well to move the cart around, true bend through the curves makes the movement more efficient and powerful! I have a client's Haflinger that I restarted in harness and he's at the point where you're working off of finger squeezes and the occasional touch of the whip to remind him to lift his shoulders through the turn or a touch at the hip to keep him in proper alignment.
There's no reason a driving horse shouldn't be as supple and easy to bend as a riding horse and honestly, a bendy, flexible horse is a whole lot more fun to run cones with! Yes they are required to "sidepass" through the tight turn because they have to pivot on a point behind the hip, especially with a two-wheeled cart, though one might consider it similar to a working pirouette too, which requires suppleness in order to be done well. If you have really narrow shafts that don't allow for much movement within them I could see some issue with bending occuring, but in a properly fitting cart or carriage it shouldn't be a problem.
The canter "issue" also depends on who is doing the training. Traditionally people didn't want their horses cantering in harness. Amish-broke horses will generally be greatly discouraged from ever cantering in harness and the same goes for most "roadsters" or "park" harness horses (i.e the fine harness horses, most often Hackneys, Saddlebreds, Dutch Harness Horses, and Morgans), and harness racers because they are penalized if they break to canter.
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With Zetahra I had her cantering on the long lines and while pulling the tire in short bursts. I didn't get the chance to do it in the cart, but it would have been next.
I believe that done properly driving and riding compliment each other. Driving is more mentally demanding than riding, but riding has greater physical demands (outside of heavy pulling!) with the rider placed on the horse's back. If a horse accepts all the things asked of a driving horse, from the harness on the body, both passively sitting on the horse and active through the weight in the (breast)collar or breeching, the feel of the traces and shafts against the body, to calmly responding to touches from the whip and accepting the noises and movement of the cart or whatever the horse may be dragging, the sounds and sensations of riding should be no problem! It also gives the horse a chance to learn how to use its body without the disruption of the rider's weight.
In short: I don't see any reason not to pursue driving training as part of your preparation for her riding, especially if it is a skill you would ultimately like her to have.
P.S. Mind if I add you as a friend? We apparently have a few mutual friends already!
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Thanks for such a detailed response. My goal for this winter was to get ground driving installed. I haven't gotten around to doing much of it with her yet, but I do have a nylon harness I picked up that should be fitting her soonish. I do think that for the first hitching/basic training I'll swallow my pride and send her off. I want her to get the best foundation, and I guess I can still say I did all her under saddle training myself. Her breeder has several BIG shire geldings that teach the ropes to the youngsters, that way if they spook or do something silly the big fellow keeps anyone from getting hurt. I don't think I'll drive her that often, but as long as it won't impede her under saddle progress I believe a well rounded horse is a safe horse. I don't intend to ever sell her, but just in case having more skills can't hurt.
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Happy to oblige! I could ramble on endlessly!
I start mine singly partially out of necessity and also because it's good for them to have that confidence and reliance on their driver rather than the horse next to them. That said, if you're getting a horse started in a team you 100% want the other horse to be experienced and solid!
Definitely! The more things they can experience and accept the better off they will be! We took one of our mares down tonthe horse park to drive and set off a lady's warmblood just being outside of the arena and some 40 or so feet away! As soon as I noticed trouble I stopped Charm-N immediately and waited until she had her horse back together and asked before even thinking of walking off again. I felt so bad, but the rider was gracious about it and there were no further troubles!
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