by Karen Briggs
Few aspects of equestrian sport have enjoyed such a visible resurgence as the sport of driving. As more and more people rediscover the pleasures of horse and buggy, competitions for ambitious “whips” are increasing at an astonishing pace.
All across North America, pleasure driving shows are multiplying and attracting record numbers of entries, not to mention the burgeoning triathlon sport of combined driving, which is now recognized as a Team discipline by both the Canadian and American equestrian teams.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to the world of driving and show you, step-by-step, how to break your green youngster or experienced riding horse to harness and carriage. From this basic preparation, you will be able to explore the competitive opportunities of pleasure driving, or just enjoy a safe and pleasant jaunt down a country lane.
Our guide is Kirsten Brunner, of Beaverwoods Farm in Hillsburgh, Ontario, who breaks and trains driving horses and has campaigned her pony mare, Beaverwoods Freckles (among many others) to many prestigious victories in international driving competition.
The Raw Material
Almost any horse can be suitable for driving, providing he is reasonably sensible and reasonably sound. Before you begin, though, you should make sure your horse’s teeth have been recently attended to, and that his feet, if shod, have a little road caulk or spot of borium added to provide extra traction.
Your candidate for a driving career should also be well broken to lead, easy to groom, and accustomed to being handled all over.
Although horses can be introduced to driving at any time, Brunner says that there are several advantages to training a horse to drive before he is broken to ride. At the age of two, most horses are too young for strenuous work under saddle, yet they are very capable of pulling a carriage without undue stress on their backs or limbs.
A horse who is trained to ride must make several adjustments in order to be a successful driving horse. He must become accustomed to restricted movement within the shafts, to reduced vision from a blinker bridle, to total obedience (which is essential for safety), and to crossing his legs on turns rather than bending around them.
This doesn’t preclude your riding horse from a career in driving, however. Although many riding horses are a little “spoiled” about spooky objects and obedience to voice commands, Brunner says that most of them adapt quickly once they learn what is expected of them in harness.
In order to break your horse to harness, you must buy or borrow some equipment, including a light pleasure carriage of some sort, and a driving bridle with an appropriate bit. A rubber snaffle, loose-ring snaffle, or half-cheek are three popular choices, while the more severe Liverpool driving bit should be reserved for an experienced horse.
Although she has been known to use a Standardbred jog cart for breaking, Brunner recommends that if you invest in one vehicle, it should be a Meadowbrook cart, a good, safe type of pleasure driving carriage. Meadowbrooks are made of oak, and have a solid and durable frame, yet because they have only two wheels, they are fairly light and portable.
If you have access to one, a cross-country cart (the type used in the endurance phase of a combined driving event) is also an excellent everyday vehicle.
You will also need to acquire a pleasure harness with a breastplate. Collars are not required, as a general rule, for lightweight pleasure vehicles with only one or two passengers and can be difficult to fit correctly, in any case.
A cart such as a Meadowbrook or cross-country cart will cost in the range of $2,000, new, but you might also be able to borrow a carriage, or find a bargain in a good used vehicle. The rule here, though, is “caveat emptor.” Bring an expert with you when considering buying a used vehicle, as many used rigs are in unsafe condition, and sometimes these flaws can be hard for the untrained eye to detect.
A good, solid leather pleasure driving harness will cost between $400 and $1,000. Nylon harnesses can also be considered. They are strong, durable, and low-maintenance, but don’t have as much give as leather, and become worn-looking after a few years.
In addition, nylon harnesses are often less adjustable in terms of fit, but they may be a serviceable option if you are on a budget, as they can be picked up for $200 to $500.
Getting Started
The first step is introducing the harness to your driving prospect. Brunner begins by putting the surcingle (belly-band) and crupper (which loops around the base of the tail and keeps the harness from sliding forward) on the horse and letting him wear it for an hour a day, in his stall.
Water and feed buckets should be removed during this time, so that the horse cannot catch himself on anything.
Experienced horses will be familiar with the feel of a girth, but all horses seem to find that the crupper (pronounced crouper) takes some getting used to. While most horses do accept it in short order, Brunner warns that the occasional animal will take exception and explode!
She stresses, therefore, that you should always have with you a knowledgeable helper at the horse’s head, when you first introduce this equipment.
When you and your helper exit the stall, never turn your back on the horse. Instead, back out of the door. Generally, after three or four daily sessions, the horse will accept the surcingle and crupper. But if he doesn’t, do not continue until he reaches that point of acceptance. Safety, Brunner stresses, is the strongest consideration in a driving prospect, so his training should never be rushed.
Similar sessions introduce the horse to the driving bridle and bit. If your prospect is a young horse who has never before worn a bridle, Brunner recommends at least three hourly sessions, once a day, before you proceed.
A horse who has already been ridden may only need one day to get used to the restricted vision he has with blinkers. Blinkers, incidentally, are not an essential, though they do keep the horse’s mind on his work and away from the carriage, which will eventually “chase” him wherever he goes!
Brunner remarks that most drivers, or whips, use blinkers, but about 10 per cent of the horses seen in competition go better in an “open” bridle. When the horse is comfortable with the driving bridle, Brunner suggests reinforcing the training by putting on both bridle and partial harness for up to an hour a day in the stall.
Moving Out
When you are sure your horse is completely at ease with his new equipment, you can begin to longe. Tacked in the surcingle and an open bridle at first, a young horse should be introduced to longeing with the help of an assistant at his head to show him the way.
A round pen, if available, will help, but any enclosed area can be used. Run the longe line through the inside bit ring, up over the horse’s poll, and snap it to the outside bit ring in order to keep the bit from being pulled through his mouth.
The objective of longeing is to familiarize your horse with voice commands and to become absolutely obedient to them. This work is valuable even if your horse is experienced on the longe line.
Practice walk, trot, and halt (but not canter, which is rarely, if ever, used in harness) in both directions for a week to two weeks, until your horse not only knows the voice commands but responds immediately and consistently to them.
Then add the rest of the harness — the breeching, which drapes over the hindquarters (and often is not well-liked at first!) and the breastplate, and the driving bridle in place of the open one. Longe every day until your horse is comfortable with all of this paraphernalia.
The next step is long-lining (or “double longeing,” as Brunner calls it), which introduces your horse to the feel of the reins contacting his mouth, and to lines touching his hindquarters and his hocks as he moves.
Equip your horse in a driving bridle and pleasure harness, and then, for the first time, attach one longe line directly to each bit ring. Run the lines through the terrets of the surcingle and let the far-side line curve around your horse’s rump to your hand. Make sure, if possible, that it doesn’t droop below the hocks.
Recruit two helpers, one on each side of the horse’s head, as you begin to establish a longeing circle. Many horses get a little “goosey,” according to Brunner, when they first feel the line around their hind legs, so it is important that your helpers are knowledgeable and that they fully expect to be jumped on. Work patiently at the walk until your horse relaxes.
Using the same voice commands as you did in your earlier work, in a consistent tone of voice, will help him understand what is expected of him.
When your horse is comfortable “double-longeing” in the long lines, you can begin to ask for transitions and turns, using your voice commands and touching his mouth for the first time through the reins.
Again, a helper is useful for the initial turning work. Brunner likes to use the command, “come,” when asking for a turn in either direction.
Carry a buggy whip in one hand, and introduce him to the feel of it, gently at first. The idea is to get him to respect it, but not fear it. Once your horse has the basic idea of turning, touch him on the rump with the whip, and speak sharply to him if he doesn’t respond promptly to your voice cues.
Gradually, you can begin to walk behind your horse, steering him in front of you as you walk and trot around your ring, across your lawn, and up and down gentle hills.
Spend some time “spook-proofing” your horse. Introduce him to flapping clotheslines, barking dogs, rocks, ditches, mailboxes, and tractors, always asking him to walk quietly past. Take him down the driveway to watch the cars go by, and eventually (with a helper at first) long line him along the side of a quiet road. Traffic acceptance is an unavoidable necessity in today’s driving horse.
Take him down to a local playground to see and hear running, shouting children (keeping your distance for safety’s sake, of course). “You can’t do too much of this kind of work,” says Brunner.
“Since a horse that spooks in harness is much more difficult to control than one who spooks under saddle, it’s imperative that a driving horse be absolutely reliable and safe under all conditions. Taking a helper, who can go to his head if there’s trouble, can be a godsend.”
Introducing a Vehicle
When you first introduce your light cart, you will again need at least one helper. For several days before you consider actually hitching up, you must literally put the cart before the horse. Ask your helper to pull the cart in front of your horse while you long-line him around.
In this way, your horse can both hear all the squeaks and rattles of his vehicle, and see it rumbling around. Once he no longer reacts to this, then ask your long-suffering friend to follow behind with the cart. Only when your horse is completely blasé to all this is he ready to be hitched for the first time.
Two nimble helpers at your horse’s head are essential for this part. Do not try to introduce the cart without help, and stay in an enclosed ring or arena when you do this for the first time, advises Brunner.
When you first bring the cart up behind your horse, raise the shafts high so you do not poke him in the hindquarters. Then slowly bring the shafts down and gently touch him on the rump with them.
Don’t attempt to hitch him until he accepts this calmly, which may take five minutes or several days. Then gently inch the cart up until the shafts are over his back. If he accepts the feel of the shafts on his sides, proceed quietly with hitching him up, while your helpers distract with praise and perhaps a treat.
Don’t think that you are going to do a lot of driving on the first day, cautions Brunner. To begin with, you’re not even going to sit in the vehicle. Instead, stand next to the cart and ask your horse to walk on.
“Six calm steps is wonderful,” she says. “A major accomplishment.” Having managed a few such steps without any casualties of horse, helpers, or vehicle, call it a day.
Repeat the next time you bring your horse out, and don’t be tempted to rush the process. “Even standing still with the cart hitched up is great progress. Work your way up to thirty or forty steps.”
Brunner stresses, “Never be alone when you’re doing this. There’s just too much that can go wrong.”
Eventually, you and your horse should be confident enough for you to slip into your carriage while a helper leads you around. Practice very gradual turns and transitions. Your horse will find your consistent voice commands a great confidence builder.
If he’s the sensible sort, your horse should be dependable enough to drive around with your helper in the cart (poised to hop out and go to his head at the first sign of trouble) within a week or two.
Then you can begin to take little drives down quiet roads, first making sure that you have somewhere to turn around gradually. From this point, all your horse needs is consistent practice to make him a pleasure to drive.
