# How do I fit horse to cart?



## crashandburn (Dec 16, 2012)

Hello there!

My name is Crash and I am very new to this forum!

I am looking to buy a pony that I will be sharing with my sister and we are going to learn to drive. We've looked at a bunch of ponies and I found one, but the owner does not know what size cart the mare will need. How would one find the right size cart for a horse? Thanks! :?


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## Lilley (Dec 13, 2011)

crashandburn said:


> Hello there!
> 
> My name is Crash and I am very new to this forum!
> 
> I am looking to buy a pony that I will be sharing with my sister and we are going to learn to drive. We've looked at a bunch of ponies and I found one, but the owner does not know what size cart the mare will need. How would one find the right size cart for a horse? Thanks! :?


 
measure your pony and contact a cart maker for help. there are quite a few makers and sellers on the web. I'm sure they would be happy to help you. Since you are new to driving, as am I, get a pony that is fully trained and know what she's doing. She'll help you learn without you having to worry about a green horse.


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## crashandburn (Dec 16, 2012)

Lilley said:


> measure your pony and contact a cart maker for help. there are quite a few makers and sellers on the web. I'm sure they would be happy to help you. Since you are new to driving, as am I, get a pony that is fully trained and know what she's doing. She'll help you learn without you having to worry about a green horse.


Thank you! We should discuss driving with one another sometime, seeing as we are both very new to it! We were planning on doing just that. We found a beautiful hackney pony, she was a beautiful BEAUTIFUL bay and as soon as I sent the seller an email the ad was gone, and I never heard from them again! There will be plenty others, as I have found one, but they do not know what size cart she would need! So that is why I came to horseforum for help! Thank you very much, Lilley!


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

I have been wanting to start a thread on the cart, sizes and fit and balance.
I will take some photos today as I hook up, and try and answer some of your questions.
I am a visual person so I like to tell with photos. This is spearheading me to get going!


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*size of cart*

hiya there is lots of different carts out there and it all depends on the size and the hight of your horse.
the main thing is when you know your hight you can serch for an apropate one the most important thing is balance of the 2 wheeler as it can force the belly band up under the horse or have the oppersit efect by placeing weight on the pad.
your harness will tell you if your in ballance as the tug buckles make a clicking sound as the cart slightley rises and falls in ballance.
the other thing is a 4 wheeler you can get away a little in size but there is no balance on the shafts at all as all the weight and balance is on the 4 wheels.
the cart should be light to pull in draft as if you have a heavy cart and a young horse you could upset him a little on as he would not be use to the weight to pull.
the modern carts have rolerbearings in the wheels for a less resistive draft
so it runs smooth and is light in weight to pull in draft.
and the new carts come with brakes so you can help your horse going down hill.
i hope this is some help.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Crash, go on youtube and google barryhook. He's in England and this guy is a real horseman. He helps horses get over issues. It's all about driving. Lots of videos. Some of his driving rigs range from fairly simple to great coaches pulled by a hammerhead of horses. What is a hammerhead of horses? I asked him that and he was gracious enough to answer me. It a five horse hitch with three in front. The middle horse is slightly forward of the other two. Lots of videos with singles and you'll get a chance to see how they are hooked up.


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