Re: RE: Endurance driving competitions

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> >>> Most endurance horses can be trained to pull a cart in a few days.<<
>
> This is the statement I feel is most deceiving. Yes, some horses can be
taught to somewhat pull a cart in a few days...IF they are very well broke
as a riding horse. But most horses, to be taught to drive SAFELY, take more
that a few days. It is NOT a case of put harness and cart on horse and head
out across


I'm glad Jonni added her two cents to this.  I have a friend in Wales who
drives competitively (not endurance) and she takes quite a long time to put
her horses to the shafts and doing exhaustive groundwork.  Once she was
driving down a lane and I don't remember the exact details, but somehow the
cart was overturned and she was caught underneath.  The horse was trained to
STAND like a statue and had it not had the ground training while she said
STANDSTANDSTAND until she extricated herself and walked to the horse's head,
somebody or everyone would have been badly injured.

I dearly love driving, but myself have never seen a horse, even a good
riding horse, taught to drive in less than a month to the point where I
would consider him even somewhat safe to take out on trails.  Our
Saddlebreds took about a month before we jogged them outside the arena, and
several months before we felt them ready to take into a showring.  But, my
experience is extremely limited, and non-existent when it comes to
cross-country driving.

Sure sounds like fun, though. :-)

Susan G