This is the story of 12 Months After I started Driving – My Experience
It has now been just over 12 months since I put first put Shadow between the shafts and ventured into the world of harness driving. In a word, it has been fun. The best part is just participating, it doesn’t matter whether it is at home in the afternoon, or at a large horse event, just sitting behind my horse is great. I have met some great people who have helped me learn a lot. I would like to share some of the things I discovered. Some things I did wrong and some important things I learnt. I am no expert by a long way, but please take my thoughts on board.
Most would have read my story on my first show, well I am glad to say that I had many more after that one, that were a much more pleasant experience. But as they say, there is only ever one first time (thank goodness). The first bit of advice I could give to anybody is to take every opportunity to get out there and give it a go. Any school going, pay the money and go and attend. Please don’t think these are only for the really experienced people, often they can give you advice that will save you a lot of heartache in the future. Stop bad practices before they become habit; this includes both you and your horse. Sometimes someone can say something in a totally different way to people you normally get advice from and it just sinks in or makes sense. They are also a great way to meet new people with similar interests without the stresses that come on competition days bring. Often they are much happier to share with you some of their knowledge as well. Even if you only learn one thing, it may be the missing link to a lot of your troubles as well. Sometimes you will receive unsolicited advice, always try and be polite and never bite their head off. You don’t have to try it anyway, but remember to keep an open mind. I have been shown about ten different ways to keep my horse on the bit, they don’t all work for my horse but you learn a little from each person. I have even tried four different bits, working out which works best for us.
Since we began, I have rolled my vehicle once, well Shadow stepped off the footpath into a foot and a half deep, open drain; we were only going at a slow walk. But still over we went. At Christmas time, Shadow bolted, all harnessed up and with the vehicle put to, but no me. I was holding the reins, in a place where we harness up about four times a week. Something spooked him, I’m not sure what and away he went, we me kissing the driveway. Well, he did a bit of repairable damage to my vehicle and no permanent harm was done. So, I have learnt that never, ever relax, as accidents can happen in the most common or laid back places. I feel lucky that Shadow or I never got hurt. These incidents would have been magnified with a bit more horsepower to burn. In reading all these, please don’t be discouraged, but be careful and alert to every possibility. I have had many hours of enjoyment.
I have also learnt that the best events to go to are those dedicated purely to Harness, they normally have more space to get around, cater for most people and have less time waiting for your events to come up. This includes Ag. Shows with dedicated harness rings. Often unofficial events are more fun then official events, as people are more relaxed.
I am glad I brought a synthetic harness for every day use. It is so easy to care for, just wash it off and inspect regularly. A leather harness would be nice for good day outs, but for my busy lifestyle the other is fantastic and super strong. I am also glad I have my jogger for everyday use, as I am not worried about where I take it: beach, sand, mud or rough terrain. It is nice to have a nice show vehicle as well.
As for driving, I have learnt plenty. Most of all I have learnt to appreciate my horse, praise him for his efforts and encourage him so as to try and get his best effort. The first 12 months has seen him develop physically and mentally, a process that cannot be rushed but can be aided by getting him out there and exposing him to as many new experiences, sights and sounds. A spell helps as well; especially if bad habits have started, when you bring them back, ensure the habit is not allowed to recommence. Read plenty of books, driver with other people and ask questions. Some ideas may not be suited exactly, but you should be the one who knows your horse best and adapt the ideas to suit. Spend time on the ground to help your horse develop flexibility. I taught Shadow to move his head from side to side, he physically could not do it to start with, the more he tried, the more movement he achieved. If he couldn’t do it on the ground, he wasn’t going to miraculously do it with a bit in his mouth.
Boredom can be a big issue, keep training varied and interesting, if you are bored you can only imagine how bored your poor horse would be, especially noting the fact that everything you see, your horse only sees a portion of because of his winkers. Be aware of things that may spook your horse and try and expose him to them on the ground. He will be free to move around and investigate, including moving your vehicle near him. Shadow used to spook at strollers, compounded by the fact they were nearly always thrust at him containing noisy children with arms flinging about at eye height. I borrowed one, a stroller that is, not a child, and left it in the back yard and lunged Shadow past it. At first he kicked out at it, then once this subsided, I had David push it around while he was trotting in the opposite direction. I let him stop and sniff it often. Now we have no worried with them, which is good as they often get thrust at him while in harness.
One of the more interesting things I discovered was that my vehicle was actually too light for my horse. He weighs 130kg (on a good day) and together my vehicle and I weighed about 90kg. He did not need to use his rear end to do any of the work; he sort of just fell into his breast collar. To rectify this, I drove him in long grass, up hills, anything that made it harder for him to pull. I gave him plenty of praise for this renewed effort. It was (and still is) a matter of transferring to easier terrain whilst maintaining the same action. If the action fades, we return to the long grass. I suppose I could have tried adding more weight to the vehicle, but balance can be a problem, so I opted not to.
As far as showing goes, always try and look the part. Even if you both don’t do so well, it is good from a spectator point of view and will help you feel more confident around other “Showies”. No matter what sort of equipment you have, try and have it in a clean, serviceable condition. My thoughts are that it is better to go and participate then to stay home. If you are nervous, staying home is not a step to making them go away.
I would love to have a horse with more endurance, but I love the convenience and economy of my little fellow. For my busy lifestyle, the latter is the most important. Shadow lives in a paddock that measures approx. 40m x 40m and eats about 6 bales of lucerne a year. His paddock is in my back yard. The vet charged me a small animal consult last time I took him. I guess you can’t have everything.