# pulling to one side



## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

hi,just bought a seven year old driving stallion,had him out today for a few hours.he is sound as a pound,nothing bothered him,the only dodge is he was permanently pulling to the right,which in England is towards oncoming traffic,anyone had this problem?and found a cure for getting them out of it


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Have you checked all of his driving equipment to make sure its perfectly balanced evenly? He might be responding to pressure put on him from one piece or another, or he may have build up more muscle on that side than the other so he 'tends' towards that side. Also, you might get a chiro out if nothing else is wrong to see if he's sore or tight somewhere. Does he travel towards the right when at liberty?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Check the wheel bearings on the side he's pulling toward.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

yes checked the harness,had his mouth checked today no problems or sores,the cart is a full size working dray(I use him for collecting scrap)and it runs like a pram,I think maybe it's a habit he has got into which i,m going to have to find a way to break,I could suffer it for an hour ,but when your driving all day,it gets tiring pulling him across all the time,sometimes he has three quarters of the bit pulled across to straighten him up,and I still have to keep the tension on,Yesterday he was in a snaffle ,today I tried a straight bit,no difference ,he,s not fighting the bit to go forward he knows his job and plods on ,he goes when he,s bid to go,and he stands no problem if you have to walk away from him when there's no where to tie him


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

It definitely seems like it might be a skeletal or muscular problem for him then. Try having a chiropractor out before you assume that he's just being a pain.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

Endiku said:


> It definitely seems like it might be a skeletal or muscular problem for him then. Try having a chiropractor out before you assume that he's just being a pain.


sorry endiku I should have said,he doesn't do it when any of the kids are riding him just had a thought,if I can sort it this weekend I will get another horse and driver in front of him and see if he will follow straight then


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Use the whip and perhaps give him a tap on the neck to see if that would move him over. Or repetitious taps until he straightens and stop the tapping immediately. Are you sure the collar doesn't need readjusting? If he's getting a tender area he may be trying to relieve the pressure.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

Saddlebag said:


> Use the whip and perhaps give him a tap on the neck to see if that would move him over. Or repetitious taps until he straightens and stop the tapping immediately. Are you sure the collar doesn't need readjusting? If he's getting a tender area he may be trying to relieve the pressure.


it's not the collar ,it's a soft lined working collar I,m using ,I thought it might be that the traces weren't pulling straight but when I checked them they are pulling even,I have tried a sharp yank which he answers to but then starts veering again,I will try the whip idea and see how he goes,I had a horse years ago that did the same thing and I don't know why she stopped but she did I put that down th bad driving at previous homes,so I suppose I,m hoping this is the same thing


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Surely he was not doing this prior to buying him or you'd have your answer. What is different now from than? 

If you are pulling the bit through his mouth, the bridle need adjusting or you need a different bit. That's a train wreck waiting to happen. Was he driven in pair (team)? He sounds like a left hand horse. He looking for support of the right horse to keep him straight.

I'd go back to some basics and find out where the problem is. Harness him up and ground drive him around the yard. If he's good, head out down the road on foot. The horses I've seen do that kind of work are on autopilot. The driver barely uses the lines and they work mostly off of voice commands and they just know the route.

Once he passes that test, when you get back to the yard, hook him up just the singletree. Is he still walking a straight line? Hook a big tire to the singletree. Is he still walking a straight line? Do you have something other than the dray to put him in? It needs to roll effortlessly, be balanced. Still walking straight? Head down the road again. Is he good and a pleasure to drive? Now put him in the dray. When it's empty can he walk a straight line? How heavy is it loaded? Is he fit? On that note, is there any asymetry to him? Take good pictures of both sides standing square with his head in it's natural position.

My suspicion would be the harness specifically the collar. The point of draught is wrong on him for some reason. There's impingement of the muscles or range of motion that's making him not tract straight. Is there too much weight on the saddle or tugs? 

One trick is for you to stand or sit to the far left. Pictures both standing still and at a working pace would be more helpful. Make sure they include you.

I really don't think it's just a training issue and you are going to end up with a sore unfit to work horse quickly.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

Left Hand Percherons said:


> Surely he was not doing this prior to buying him or you'd have your answer. What is different now from than?
> 
> If you are pulling the bit through his mouth, the bridle need adjusting or you need a different bit. That's a train wreck waiting to happen. Was he driven in pair (team)? He sounds like a left hand horse. He looking for support of the right horse to keep him straight.
> 
> ...


 will try him in another collar,will try anything really,he never drove in pairs ,he has pulled a scrap cart ever since he was broke in but I don't know yet if he did this previously or not,but I am going to a drive in the next couple of weeks ,and there will be men there who will know his history and his mothers and fathers before him,if its the collar I can cure that in a minute ,I,ve ten or eleven different collars and a couple of breast ones so that's a small problem,I bought him from a dealing man ,but I have seen the horse in a scrapyard with the crane lifting scrap off the dray at a yard in hull,thanks for the suggestions


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Those would be some cool pictures of him and the crane. He's obviously broke to death if he can put up with that. It's always interesting to see how different cultures use their horses.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

Left Hand Percherons said:


> Those would be some cool pictures of him and the crane. He's obviously broke to death if he can put up with that. It's always interesting to see how different cultures use
> I. have a couple of pics of him resting ,but I can't. upload them


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

jimmy said:


> Left Hand Percherons said:
> 
> 
> > Those would be some cool pictures of him and the crane. He's obviously broke to death if he can put up with that. It's always interesting to see how different cultures use
> > I. have a couple of pics of him resting ,but I can't. upload them


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

sorry practising that's. the dray he works in will try again to upload a. pic of him


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

trying to put another one up


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*leaning habbit*

it it is a habbit your horse has picked up you could use what thay use on a race horse a pricker brush bit guard that might help and also correct the problem.
mine leans like that at times but its just him so if he is happy im ok with that.
unless he is bossing in that direction.


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*london trolley.*

i had one and i was doing it up and had it painted and i ended up puting a box seat made for it and a frend kept pestering me for it.
so i swapped it with another,
also went with it was pair of axles and 2 other sets of dray wheels.
it was all scolloped out on the body and the axles and had an ornmentle back with small wooden spindles it was a beautiful london trolley.
i got it from maidstone kent and cost me £500.
i swaped it for the exercise 4 wheeler i have for quincy and £200.
he converted it in to a bow top and i think he eventurley took it to appleby fair.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

michaelvanessa said:


> i had one and i was doing it up and had it painted and i ended up puting a box seat made for it and a frend kept pestering me for it.
> so i swapped it with another,
> also went with it was pair of axles and 2 other sets of dray wheels.
> it was all scolloped out on the body and the axles and had an ornmentle back with small wooden spindles it was a beautiful london trolley.
> ...


 London trolleys seem to be making the money at the minute,I find them a bit small for the scrap job did yours have the foot brake on?


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*london trolley.*

yes it had the foot brake and also i fitted a crome foot rest as well.
it was about 8-10 foot long.
and had newmatic tyres.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

michaelvanessa said:


> yes it had the foot brake and also i fitted a crome foot rest as well.
> it was about 8-10 foot long.
> and had newmatic tyres.


you did ent sell it dear then


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*my swapp*

heres quincy and my waggonett swapp for a london trolley.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

Quincy looks a sensible horse and it's a nice Waggon ,if you look on my other thread you will see the gelding I am on about.hhis hair is filthy because I downed his feather in pig oil and every bit of dirt and dust from the road has stuck to it


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## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*ride and drive.*









quincy ready to go out for a hack.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

just thought I,d give you an update on the stallion(beano) I have only not drove him for two days since my last post,and his side pulling has all but stopped,and the odd time he pulls now you can just notice it slightly,so i think it was because he had ent been driven for a while,or who ever had him before me had let him get away with it


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