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Nov. 16th, 2010 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickI've been considering getting some resources to help me teach my horse to drive. However, the available literature appears to be aimed at people who are not me. The reason I am feeling the need for some literature to guide my teaching hand is that carriage and buggy wrecks have the potential to be astonishingly bad. See here. And, y'know, I've already wrecked the horse with a tire. Twice, back in October.
Anyway, the horse-driving books that I have seen split neatly into several classes of thing.
Class 1: I would like to teach my quiet, sane horse to drive nicely around the ring in a pretty, largely ceremonial buggy.
Class 2: I would like to teach my quiet, sane draft horse to plow, harrow, rake, and pull logs because I am either a Gentleman Farmer with a lot of free time, a Peak Oil believer, or an historical re-enactor. Or Amish. (Actually, the Amish probably do not need to buy books about working horses in harness. They may *write* books on the subject...)
Class 3: I have bought a quiet, sane horse who is already broke to drive and I want to be more able to drive him more betterer.
Class 4: I don't think riding 3-day-event allows me the opportunity to spend a sufficiently hideous amount of money on my horse gear and turnout, so I'm taking up Combined Driving. My horses are not quiet or entirely sane but I have lots of money, good health insurance, and several carts, including one with disc brakes and an off-road suspension.
I need literature aimed at Class 5: I would like to teach my fretful, impatient, less-than-sane horse to drive even though absolutely everything I've ever seen relating to the training of driving horses suggests that success depends on picking a properly calm and steady horse to start with. Halp!
I expect I'll wind up getting a book or two at some point, but so far I'm not even remotely to where a book would be helpful. *sigh* Rained out today anyway.
Anyway, the horse-driving books that I have seen split neatly into several classes of thing.
Class 1: I would like to teach my quiet, sane horse to drive nicely around the ring in a pretty, largely ceremonial buggy.
Class 2: I would like to teach my quiet, sane draft horse to plow, harrow, rake, and pull logs because I am either a Gentleman Farmer with a lot of free time, a Peak Oil believer, or an historical re-enactor. Or Amish. (Actually, the Amish probably do not need to buy books about working horses in harness. They may *write* books on the subject...)
Class 3: I have bought a quiet, sane horse who is already broke to drive and I want to be more able to drive him more betterer.
Class 4: I don't think riding 3-day-event allows me the opportunity to spend a sufficiently hideous amount of money on my horse gear and turnout, so I'm taking up Combined Driving. My horses are not quiet or entirely sane but I have lots of money, good health insurance, and several carts, including one with disc brakes and an off-road suspension.
I need literature aimed at Class 5: I would like to teach my fretful, impatient, less-than-sane horse to drive even though absolutely everything I've ever seen relating to the training of driving horses suggests that success depends on picking a properly calm and steady horse to start with. Halp!
I expect I'll wind up getting a book or two at some point, but so far I'm not even remotely to where a book would be helpful. *sigh* Rained out today anyway.
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Date: 2010-11-17 01:07 pm (UTC)I once saw an Amishman plowing a field over on the road between Centre Hall and Potter's Mills with a half-dozen horses in harness & a flying plow. I swear it looked like he was doing fifteen miles an hour, bouncing along in a crouch on the plow. Looked crazy, but kind of fun.