# And the Adventure begins!



## ArabianGrace (Sep 11, 2011)

I finally got my cart! Hooked him up this evening and it went so well! The almost two years of ground work has payed off lol Didn't phase him at all and he LOVED it! He had his ears forward and was prancing along the whole time. No issues pulling it with weight either. Can't wait for more adventures =D Of course here are pics

(Also a question. These are 48" shafts. Do they look ok or should I try the 56"? I will hopfully get better pics tomorrow.)


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Your shafts appear to be okay, rule of thumb we try to keep is that the shaft end should be at the middle of the shoulder. If it goes further out, when the driving horse turns, it will get in the way of them turning, you could catch your lines on it, etc....

Looks good and good on you for how long you ground drove. I love to see mini's and ponies in harness, they are the ferrari's of the driving, so cute and many love what they do too. Just remember to never put too much weight in your cart for him to pull.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

You need to know that I am not trying to be ugly, but....

The # 1 RULE of driving is NEVER HOOK THE HORSE TO THE CART WITHOUT A BRIDLE AND LINES!!! 

THREE people cannot stop a mini if he bolts with a halter. He may look small, but he can pull a LOT of weight, and drag even more with his face. 

If you did that at an event of any driving caliber, you would be asked to leave, and not invited back.

The pony looks SO cute!!!

Nancy


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## ArabianGrace (Sep 11, 2011)

Thank you greentree for the advise. now i know =)

Here are some pics from today =D Got my nerd BF out there too! Cargo loves driving so much. He didn't want to stop lol


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

very nice


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## CaliforniaDreaming (May 8, 2011)

You need to fix your holdback straps. The way you have them now, they're clipped on to the footman's loop on the shaft and they're supposed to wrap around the shaft. As it is right now, it's very hard for the breaching to act as a brake system. 

Your holdbacks should look like this


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

Congrats for you! I know how hard you've been working for this. My only curtique (sp) is, from the the pics, it looks like he may be a bit close to the back of the cart. If he were to go into an extended trot or canter, would his back feet hit the cart?


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> You need to fix your holdback straps. The way you have them now, they're clipped on to the footman's loop on the shaft and they're supposed to wrap around the shaft. As it is right now, it's very hard for the breaching to act as a brake system.
> 
> Your holdbacks should look like this


Yes, please fix those. The way it is now, the cart could HIT him in the rear, and he will not like that!!!

While someone is holding him, try rolling the cart up (it will slide in the tugs) to see how close it comes. The breeching should just sit on his rear end when it is properly adjusted, and the cart should only slightly move when tugged.

Do the straps with the clips come off the breeching? If it does, turn it around and attach it to the cart, and use the clip on the ring of the breeching. This is how my marathon cart is done, and it is just a little quicker to hitch than doing all the wraps.

Adorable!! 

Nancy


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## ArabianGrace (Sep 11, 2011)

I fixed the breeching the way you said greentree. It works much better thanks =) The straps are not long enough to wrap, like shown.

Littrella no his feet won't hit the cart.


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