# Driving instead of riding for a horse with possible back issue?



## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

My mare was diagnosed with navicular in fed of this year. after better trimming and Ground Controle shoes she is now 100% sund. x rays from june showed no bone damage in the navicular shyline so we caught it before bone damage occured. Now that being said my mare (we suspect but are 99% positive) was used for horse tripping in mexican rodeos. besides a constantly popping neck, scared hoof and prominent hunters bump she came out ok. BUT she bunny hopps at a lope and drags her back feet alot. i think her back was one of the reasons she started bolting undersaddle as well. the hunters bump looks bad and her spine seams to dissapear under it in an unatural way. she also cannot clench her tail because of how her pelvis has rotated. there is a 4-5inch gap.

Since i think i will never be able to sit on her back i thought i could have her trained to drive. less stress on her back and horses are built more for pulling. would it be worth training her to drive? do you think she could do it with her back?


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I'm not really seeing it but I'm not an expert. Most of her issues are still in effect and she's not a "strong" looking mare.

I really just wanted to comment on the fact that you always say what a spaz she is etc etc. Even up above you're talking about bolting (though if there's a back issue that makes more sense but the point is it's ongoing stuff). You even said you have trouble leading her sometimes.

All of that screams stay far far away from driving!! Have you ever driven? You have far less control than you do under saddle and things can very very easily go wrong even with the best trained and most quiet horse. Just my two pence.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

the leading issue i think was from her navicular before i kew what was wrong. once i got that under controle any issues she had on the ground vanished. and the bolting was a more recent issue that im thinking was pain too. but yes im aware that is a huge potential issue and why i would have her send off to a trainer for a while for that. my issue is haveing a sound horse that i still cant ride because og her back. she is 19 and not old yet and i wuld like to do something with her. and i have driven before though it was a long time ago, i would be going for lessons as well as her training. if the trainer says she is not safe for driving ill drop it. i do ground drive her a bit ad she is solid with that. and she stops 100% better ground driving than she ever did undersaddle. she is also better with kids riding her (of corse with her on the lead line but still).

my question was more of would she physicaly be able to do it with the back issue. if its even aa physical possability i would have a trainer work with her, if the trainer says she is a nut job then ill say ok i tried.


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## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

I would vote no. If she hurts, she hurts.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

even if the pain/disconfort is cause form weight on her back? just curious as this horse likes a job but if i cant ride her id like to find something for her to do. worst case i can work on some liberty and inhand stuff.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Who is going to train her for you? You may want to have that trainer evaluate her. They are usually brutally honest, because it takes a perceptive person to know the right time to put their own life into a horse's hands. Would YOU put your life in HER hands? You know her. If you don't know how to drove, get some lessons. You may not even like it.....lots of riders don't.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

i have driven before but the plan would be to take lessons. and there are a cuple of trainers in the area who i would talk to. This has been an idea i have been mulling around in my head for a cuple of years now. i would have her in training for longer then the average person would to insure she is 100% with the cart. 

And yes with the trainer evaluating her. i plan on ground driving her more and around the area where she curently is untill im ready to send her off. ill keep the lead line on her JUST incase she acts up. she is more solid though with me driving her. she carries herself better, she slows down her gut busting trot to a nice showy arab trot thats nice and slow. she will side pass, back stop, and even trot diagnaly with me driving her. i cant get her to do most of that under saddle and her stop is a nice responsive one while driving. under saddle its like trying to stop a truck with bad brakes and 3 tires in the bed.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

She will probably be wonderful, then, if pushing against the breast collar doesn't bother her. Start collecting some harness parts, breast collar first, and put some short lengths of chain(like the chains on a lead shank), hooked with caribeeners, on the ends of the traces. Drag these around the dirt until she is oblivious, then move to gravel, then over pieces of Wood, then PVC, for the surprise factor. 

Long line her to be certain you have contact on both lines, and that when you say whoa, you get a stop. Every time. A straight stop. 

If you can find an old set of shafts, they are good for training, but hard to handle. You can use small PVC pipe, to get her used to shafts. You do not nEED to do this, but it is something cheap to do until you can get a carriage and training.

Be sure to let her make mistakes.....she needs to learn that these things HaPPEN, and YOU will rescue her. Don't be afraid to really move the harness around. 

I always have them take a step or two with something that makes noise, or has weight, then WHOA, because the learn that STOPPING makes the noise STOP, instead of bolting.

I never tie my horses to do anything to them. They learn the "STAND" command early. I usually hitch a single horse by myself, in the barn aisle or even outside, and need them to just stand there. 

Good luck! Keep us updated on her progress!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I'm a little concerned because part of her soundness issues are her feet which are obviously effected whether she's being ridden or not.

Did the vet clear her for this?


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

this wont happen untill/if she gets the all clear from the vet. this post was more assuming her feet wont be an issue kind of thing. if her feet are fine and can handle it, i wanted to know if driving would be less hard on her physicaly than riding and if it would be better for her with her back. i have no vet varified proof that she has a back issue and persenaly its not in my budget or on the priority list at the moment to find out. 

IF this was to happen it would not be for a year or two that she would even see a trainer.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Can you long line her now? If you work on teaching her to lengthen her neck into the bit, it will help her back immensely. 

If you don't want to buy long lines, make them out of cotton rope, and use your saddle as a surcingle. Run the lines through the stirrups.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

I have long lines and a circingle i have been wirking with her with. I have not con mg enected them to a bit yet but she is responding extreamly well to the sidepull halter. Need to dig me english bridle out of the tack room and use that.


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*long lineing reining.*

with your english bridle see if you can get hold of a set of race blinkers thay are ideal for long reining.
i use them on my boy i have all different colour ones red blue green yellow black.
there great.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

i go to the track for alot of our horsie suplies so i could pick up blinders there.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

I knew a horse that unfortunately had to retire from his dressage career due to kissing spine. 

I believe he also had some feet problems, but I may be wrong.

He competed in carriage driving, and he had no problems with his back what so ever, and enjoyed the work again.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Sure hope it works out for you. It would be nice to give that pretty girl a job.

I have suggestions as to what should happen to those tripping guys but I would be banned. Makes me sick.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

You and me both. the guy who had her was going to use her as a riding horse. that included practicing the not so nice sliding stops... on hard ground... im not surprised her brakes are less than steller under saddle. 

i have an old vid of me driving her. not the best and it was my first time driving her by my self with less than stellar lead lines (one was a lung line and one was a paracord rope). i have since learned to NOT trot with her since its not needed and she stops better with no head tossing. the head tossing was something i was still working on as you can see in the beginning of the vid. teaching her to bend down at pressure instead of up. the opposite of what she was trained. i will get a better one soon. i need to bring my driving stuff down to where she is this week and somehow get vid. and remove boisterous colt from pasture lol!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKFr2Hnkpb4


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

found the vid of the first time my friend put her on drive lines. and you can see how well she did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rb3z6On5jY


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