# Beginning to Drive...



## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Daisy1128 said:


> Hey there,
> I have an 11-year-old quarter horse mare. She is very calm and easy going - great in the field, on trails, and other environments outside the arena. So, the barn she lives at is on a quiet dirt/gravel road. Cars do drive on it frequently, if that gives you an idea of the terrain. There is a horse at my barn learning to pull a sulky. Which got me into learning more about it for my horse as a riding alternative. I'm totally new at this, and don't plan to do anything without instruction - just starting research. Any tips on training? Best harnesses/gear suggestions? What would be a good kind of cart? Any suggestions are appreciated!


 The most important thing is your budget. So much depends on what kind of driving, breed? how many people you want to fit in it? Pleasure or show? are you lazy or will you take care of it.


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## Daisy1128 (Jul 10, 2013)

*Starting to Drive*

I was planning on not spending over $2000. I would just be taking it down the dirt road a mile or 2 occasionally. I really don't want anything fancy. Not for showing - just a fun riding alternative. Probably 2 people. I will definitely take care of it. What do you think about something like this?
Horse Drawn Buggy Cart Wagon Pony COB Horse 2 Seat Runabout Cut Under Style | eBay


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Daisy1128 said:


> I was planning on not spending over $2000. I would just be taking it down the dirt road a mile or 2 occasionally. I really don't want anything fancy. Not for showing - just a fun riding alternative. Probably 2 people. I will definitely take care of it. What do you think about something like this?
> Horse Drawn Buggy Cart Wagon Pony COB Horse 2 Seat Runabout Cut Under Style | eBay


That looks a little cobbled together. It also looks big and top heavy for that style of wheels. They have the wheels way spread out because it is probably top heavy.When I see that price for "new" that concerned me. It looks like someone had to much time on there hands and decided to build a people hauler.

Something user friendly and ride nice will be more money. I just bought a new Frey Sprint cart which is more than you want to spend but you can occaisionally find them used in the 2500.00 range and they hold there value.
. Also for 1000.00-1500.00 you can get a meadowbrook which should hold its value for resale and be a good cart for a QTR.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Presentation Pleasure Driving Carriage Rock Bottom Price Must Sell | eBay
If I were on a budget this looks like a bargain. I would need measurements and weight but it has some design to it, heavy wheels and full turn gear so you won't get in a bind and tip over. That said I think beginners start out with a 2 wheel cart first.


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## Daisy1128 (Jul 10, 2013)

Beautiful cart! So... like I said. I don't know much about driving. What is the difference between a 2 wheeled cart and a 4 wheeled cart? What would you recommend for my QH. Like I said, she is rather round and muscular. She is 14.2 hands. How does sizing like that work?


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## 80acorns (Sep 20, 2013)

First your horse needs to accept the feel of equipment, especially crupper and or breaching. I imagine a QH isn't typically trained w blinkers so it needs to learn that and accept a side or over check. Your horse needs to learn and accept the feel of shafts and turning into them. On young horses you use dummy fills made of pvc. After it is accepting of that, you hook a jog cart. Same thing, getting used to the shafts, noise behind, weight, etc. All of this is done from the ground with a helper. Then someone gets into the cart w a helper still in control w a lunge rope. Helper eventually is phased out. Jog carts are the easiest to bail out of if something goes wrong. 

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## 80acorns (Sep 20, 2013)

PS. 96" shafts are a typical horse length.

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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Daisy1128 said:


> Beautiful cart! So... like I said. I don't know much about driving. What is the difference between a 2 wheeled cart and a 4 wheeled cart? What would you recommend for my QH. Like I said, she is rather round and muscular. She is 14.2 hands. How does sizing like that work?


 As small as she is I would stick with something like a meadowbrook. 4 wheel carriages take a little more experience and you could get in a jam easier and they can be heavy. You need more space to maneuver and you can jack knife. You have a small horse so I would stay light and not burn her out on pulling a heavy cart. In my experience you will need shafts in the76- 80" range. 96" shafts sound more like a sulky where you sit low behind the horse.

When using a cart like I am discussing the shafts should sit level and be at about half of the horses barrel or point of shoulder. Guessing a 14.2 hand horse the shafts should be 36-38" off the ground. They could tip up a tad but not down. If she is round you need to make sure you have enough clearance on her sides also. She needs to be able to turn and bend and not be stuck straight. These shafts were 85" and the horse is 15 hands. They were plenty long and could have been shorter


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Your getting some very good advice from those who have experience with driving under their belt, with length, build, and what you need to do. I would like to add, because you are new to driving and want to start...get a cart first before you go into a 4 wheeled vehicle. 

A cart is much easier to drive and learn on. If your horse decides to shy, to bolt or to do something silly, as they sometimes are prone to do, and even the best trained horse has an off day, you can get yourself out of trouble in a cart quicker. It moves with the horse, your going to have to worry about tipping a 4 wheeled vehicle over as, even with an udercut, it can happen. 

Carts tend to be lighter, and this is my humble opinion, than 4 wheeled vehicles. You can find a nicely balanced one and just enjoy yourself. 

When you begin to look for someone to teach you, ensure that they have the experience and time behind the lines, get some driving books, learn what things are, know the difference between the traces for fine driving vs the traces with chain for work harness. Most of all, be alert and have fun.


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## Daisy1128 (Jul 10, 2013)

Thank y'all so much for all of your input! By the way... type-o. I wouldn't have my little QH pulling 2 people in a cart 
Thank y'all so much again!


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