# How to "pair" driving horses



## JRoyalimage

Hi guys. I'm very new to driving so excuse me if I sound like I have no idea what I mean talking about lol. I have 2 horses that I want to teach to pull a cart. One is a saddlebred and the other is a TWH. My saddlebred is just a standard 3-gaited horse but my TWH is obviously gaited. I noticed that when I take them both on the trail my TWH walks just a tad bit faster and my gelding this really awkward (but surprisingly comfortable) trot walk. It's faster and bumpier than a walk but not quite a full trot. He usually does this the whole time we ride and we've gone on for hours like this. 
I guess my question is how do you pair a driving team? (If that's even what you call it lol). Would they be able to drive together or do horses have to be the same breed/size? 
Also as a novice driver, would you recommend driving one horse at a time until I get a little more experience?


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## greentree

Also as a novice driver, would you recommend driving one horse at a time until I get a little more experience?

No doubt about it!!!

Are these horses trained to drive (single) now?

Do you have a pair harness, and a pair carriage to hitch them? 

Two different horses can be teamed up, but it is VERY difficult to drive two unmatched horses. These horses are connected to each other AT THE MOUTH, so what one does affects the other's bit. You cannot slow one horse down separately.

The team, with practice, will usually sync themselves up, because moving together is MUCH easier. When the horses are out of step, there is a lot of movement of the harness, and the pole will swing, and they bump into it. Usually when they are out of step, one horse is pulling the entire carriage, and the other is getting a free ride. A pair carriage is usually a LOT heavier than a single, and more than most light breeds can comfortably pull by themselves.
A pair should also NEVER be driven with only one person in the carriage, because IF some malfunction of equipment should occur, someone must mind the team while it is remedied!!


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## Southern Grace

I would definitely recommend both horses and you learning to drive as singles (with professional instruction) before venturing into pairs. When I learned to drive pairs (after about 6 years with singles) the guy teaching me explained it basically that driving teams was exponentially harder than driving single. You're not just working two horses at once, they can, and will, react off of each other and can cause issues that neither had in singles. I've known many teams where one horse has a bit of a better work ethic than the other. If they've worked together long enough they can learn to adjust together, but if you've got one rather lazy, he'll not be likely to volunteer to do the work. 

When looking to make a pair, you want horses with the same speeds and work ethic who get along. In the competition world they should do the same paces in the same style and be of similar height and color (except greys, which can be paired with any other color). But if you're just looking to have a functional driving pair the aesthetics of a match aren't as big of a deal, but the speed at both of the lower two paces needs to match.

I would love to compete with a pair, but for now, just getting my single horse to work correctly and properly and navigate obstacles smoothly is enough of a challenge.


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## QtrBel

I learned with a pair and went up from there before going to a single. I wasn't ever given the option for anything else. It really depends on where you are at and who you are starting under. On your own you need to learn on a single BTDT as it is simply much easier and less likely to end badly. Then once you have that down your first team should be as well matched as possible but any horse you start to drive with (single, pair or more) should be a BTDT horse. I know a few old teamsters that for grins and giggles would hook a pony with a draft but that took talent in both the hooking and leveling out everything as well as the driving. Not something I'd try.


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