Would a draft horsebe easyer to train

It is not an easy task to train a horse to drive for the first time. This goes for a light horse and a draft horse. I do think that drafts tend to be less reactive, which is helpful, but there is alot of variation within all breeds. If someone gives up on training an animal because they are having troubles, they will likely end up giving up on animal after animal without learning how to address problems and, more importantly, that they CAN address problems. It could be that your particular horses are not suited to what you want to do, but I don’t think this is because of breed. If you think that your horses aren’t making progress, or you feel unsafe, I would recommend hiring or befriending someone experianced and open minded who might be able to help. This is a lot faster, cheaper, etc compared to selling your pair and buying a good draft or pair. Perhaps this is what you were doing with this friend. I am sorry to be blunt, but I would say that if your friend says your horses can’t drive or work because they are light horses, than they are simply not going to be a qualified mentor. My opinion: keep your horses and find a different friend to help.

Did something bad happen when you got her in the cart? Anything we can help with?

My feeling is that I would first make sure the harness, breeching, shafts, etc fit well and are adjusted properly when your horse is in the cart. If you can’t fine anyone to evaluate this, post some pics and we might be able to see something. If the setup is not adjusted properly, you might be asking for things that are difficult. If everything looks good, I would ground drive her with the cart hitched up. Act like you are pulling anything else, and let her get used to the shafts. Tight turns take some practice and its OK to go straight and make gentle turns until your horse gets used to the shafts. Tight turns are kinda a sidepass and kinda a pivot on the haunches, but done at the same time. Hard to duplicate in a saddle completely. I know it might not seem like it, but having a horse be disciplined and well behaved pulling a light two wheeled cart or sled at a walk is one of the hardest tasks I have done. Real work pulling “horse sized” loads tires a horse out, whcih goes a long way towards making them compliant and relaxed. If you are making strong progress with your light cart/sled, you are doing a good job.

Hi Eli, Your questions are tricky as there are many variables and unknowns. In my limited experience, drafts are different than saddle horses and generally easier to put to work, but I also agree with what Andy said that there are more variations with in each breed than there are between. So really I think it comes down to two things. How do YOU assess the temperament of your own horses; and what temperament would you like in a driving animal. To me there is nothing more important than the temperament of the animals that I am working with. Too flighty or uptight, there out of here. Mean or sour, or lazy, I don’t want them. There is a wide degree of conformation and sizes I can make work, but I want the best temperaments I can find.

“One more question when she stops should I get after her with the buggy whip I haven’t but see others use them? Thank you and any pointers are welcome”

I think this quote speaks to what I am saying. If I had just hooked a single horse to shafts and skis I would be more worried about the moment when she runs than when she stops. She runs because she is frightened or nervous. I certainly would not be letting her run unless she was calm and relaxed and ready for this next step. She stops because you asked her to? or because she is nervous and unsure what is expected. In either case, say “whoa” take it as a good thing. When she is calm and relaxed (or as calm and relaxed as she will be given the current situation) ask her to go again. At a walk! You won’t need a buggy whip. A buggy whip is neither good or bad and is just another tool that we can use; however because it is a tool that extends our ability to apply pressure it also demands more skill and precision in order to send the desired message. In the case of an animal that we want to relax we need to utilize as little pressure as we can for each thing we ask for. Patience is the name of the game.

Well, it sounds like she’s had a great start then. How was she in the pvc shafts? Was she listening to the walk on cue at that point? If she was okay with that, then it’s not the shafts.

If you have a very low traffic dirt road, or even better a large field with no obstacles that you can drive a truck in, this is what I would do. I saw this on youtube being done by a professional driving trainer in the UK. I used this method on my pony that had some abuse/trust issues. I did this I think 4 times before driving him without aid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw3vCvRmhTQ

Hook the horse up to the cart behind a truck (I would do some ground work first, to get horse’s mind) with a person holding lead rope attached to halter (use a rope halter) in bed of truck so horse can’t get her nose past the truck and SLOWLY drive the truck around while you are in the cart driving the horse. The truck will slow the horse down so that she can’t run and you are still in control. If she should try and start running, let the truck slow her down and the person in the bed of the truck must keep her head as close to the middle of the truck as possible. Drive around and around until she calms down with plenty of Whoas and Walk Ons. Don’t stop until she is walking calmly and listening to you.

Also are you using a bucking strap on your cart? I would highly reccomend using one until you have confidence that she isn’t going to do any bucking.

Bucking straps go over the top of the rump. Attached on both sides of the shaft so that it won’t slide back. I usually loop it where the hold backs attach. It should be adjusted loose enough that it will only come into play should she decide to buck/kick. The middle of the strap goes in the ring on the top of the britchen on top of the rump.

Why is she rearing? What kind of bit are you using? Is it properly adjusted? Keep her moving forward.