Driving Your Gaited Horse
by Lonnie Kuehn
I have heard many old wives' tales about driving the gaited horse. Here are just a few that have proven to be false. "If you drive a gaited horse you will ruin their gait, a gaited horse doesn't have the balance to handle the weight of the cart or buggy, why drive a gaited horse - they are meant for riding, gaited horses do not have the flexibility or lateral motion that is needed to handle a cart or buggy.."
I believe in driving my gaited horses! It is really an excellent way of teaching the young horse the basics and how to use their body, while learning to be balanced. It teaches the older horse a new way of working, while maintaining their interest and giving them a fresh new outlook on their training.
Whether you are driving for pleasure, or in obstacle driving, combined driving, progressive, dressage, show driving or just for touring the back roads, teaching your gaited horse to drive is a GREAT plus for you and your horse.
Is Driving For You?
WHEN IT COMES TO COMPETING in driving events with gaited horses I would have to say that my horses are the ones you are going to have to beat . And that doesn't happen very often.
I like to start all my young colts to drive before I start them under saddle. This teaches them the basics and begins the foundation of trust and understanding that will be needed in the continuing of the horse's training. It also helps the colt to develop muscle tone and strength that will be needed when he starts under saddle.
Driving is done with direct reining (pressure on the left side to turn left, pressure on the right side to turn right, and pressure on both at once to stop, slow down or collect) so when it is time to ride the young horse he will already understand all the commands, such as stop, back, turn left, turn right, go forward, yield to pressure, and to listen and feel with their bodies for direction. I could go on and on about the benefits to driving the young horse before riding, but this is to be a short article and not an epic saga.
There are a few things you must consider when you decide that you want to teach your horse to drive.
Do you have the knowledge it takes to teach your horse in a safe and secure manner?
Do you have the right and correct equipment, including harness and cart?
Do you know how to teach the basic ground driving maneuvers that will be needed before you hook up?
Do you know how to put on the harness and do you know what each piece does?
Do you know how to hook up the cart and does the horse understand what it is he is supposed to do?
If you cannot do the above, then get in touch with someone who does, who can teach you and your horse together. Driving can be very dangerous for both the horse and driver when done incorrectly. Make sure that you are safe and armed with the correct knowledge. If you are properly prepared then you and your horse will have an excellent adventure and another avenue to teach a whole new way of working.
Pros And Cons
DRIVING CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR GAIT! I have found driving to be an excellent tool when needed to break a horse free, or to square one up. I have found that there is a big difference in driving the gaited horse for pleasure or performance. The driver needs to know the difference in the gaits that the horse is capable of doing, so the horse is not allowed to cheat in the performance of the gait while driving. The horse should move and gait as if he were under saddle. This is your job, you must maintain the frame, cadence, and balance of the gait.
Driving can be a wonderful tool when used correctly, but it is a two-edged sword. Done incorrectly it can cause enormous fear and distrust, not to mention ruining the gait.
Driving can be a wonderful tool when used correctly, but it is a two-edged sword. Done incorrectly it can cause enormous fear and distrust, not to mention ruining the gait. Incorrect training or practice with gaited horses may be the source of many of those old wives' tales. Driving slowly allows the horse to pull and push its way along. This is great for developing the horse's shoulders and stifles. By driving slowly and in different terrain you can build your horse's gait into a powerful stride with self carriage and grace.
I have found that if your horse has a lot of stride behind, using breeching (the strap that falls behind the horse's stifles) can hinder and shorten the gait. I know what you're thinking, "without breeching how do I maintain the cart/buggy from running up onto my horses hind quarters?" Simple, I just add another strap and secure it from the surcingle, then I wrap it in front and behind the shaft rings. This stabilizes the cart/buggy while maintaining the position of the horse in the shafts. However, I would not go without breeching if I were driving double or pulling a large buggy without breaks.
How to Start
TO BEGIN TEACHING YOUR HORSE TO DRIVE you must first instruct your horse in the art of long lining. I start by teaching my horse to lead, back, move laterally, forward, longe, and most importantly to stop. When my horse can do all of this, I put on the surcingle and crupper.
Be careful when applying the crupper, most horses do not like this procedure at first. Be sure to work with your horse's tail, picking it up, bending it left and right, up and down. Start with the crupper loose, and let the horse get used to it before tightening. Round pen or longe your horse. You may see some unexpected action coming when he first clamps his tail down on the crupper, horses tend to bow up and hop, buck or even kick out. Keep him moving so he can work it out, and get used to wearing the crupper. This is very important! When horses seem to understand that they are not getting an enema, they relax their topline and move forward in the desired manner. After this, tighten up the crupper a little and stand back for another show.
Once your horse is used to wearing the crupper you can put on the bridle and over-check. Make sure that the over-check is not adjusted too tightly. Like the crupper, it can overwhelm a horse, work it like you did the crupper, loose at first. Remember when the over-check is adjusted correctly, if the horse puts his head down too low it will pull on the crupper, so the horse will get a double pull, one on the mouth and one on the underside of his tail. BE CAREFUL. Longe or round pen your horse and allow him to work this out. Let him get used to the feel of the pull along his topline. Give the horse all the time he needs to wear the surcingle, over-check, and crupper before you begin long lining.
When the horse has become comfortable wearing the surcingle, crupper and over-check, you are ready to apply the long lines. There is an art to long lining, you must first understand the mechanics of using the lines. The long lines allow you to steer the horse from a safe distance, while maintaining control and direction of the horse. Once you have your horse turning left, then right, backing, stopping, and moving forward, you put on the half-blinders. Then continue with long lining and teaching your horse to trust you and listen to your voice and the direction given him through the lines. Once this has been accomplished and the horse seems relaxed, and you feel the horse understands the concepts you have taught, then you are ready to hook up the cart/buggy.
Play it Safe!
People don't often realize that driving can be much more dangerous than riding. Working with a green horse that is unfamiliar with all the new sights, sounds, and feels of a harness and cart requires exceptional care.
Check to be sure all harness fits appropriately and that nothing drags, sags or can get caught.
Give your horse plenty of time to get use to each step along the way.
Reinforce ground manners, if necessary, before you begin. The last thing you need is a horse that jumps in your lap if he gets rattled.
Dragging weights, pulling a travois or other object before the cart is hitched, helps some horses to understand that the thing behind them is not going to catch up and eat them.
Goin' Buggy
THIS NEXT STEP IS A BIG ONE, so be prepared and be safe. Never do this alone! Make sure someone is there with you and you both have talked through and understand what you are going to be doing and what you can expect. Make sure to have an emergency procedure in place, or course of action, should the horse become scared and wants to bolt.
If the groundwork has been done correctly and the horse has a good concept of the idea, the horse will usually just walk off with out any incident. However, you may want to get your horse use to seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting the cart/buggy. Place the cart/buggy in the area where you are long lining your horse. Let the horse go up to the cart. Then have someone pull the cart ahead of you, as you are leading your horse behind the cart. Then switch places and have the cart pulled behind you as you lead your horse. Get your horse used to the cart/buggy as much as you can before you hook up.
One thing that I have found is the sound of different surfaces are obvious to the horse, even if you're not paying attention. Carts and buggies make lots of spooky and scary noises when driven across surfaces such as rocks, gravel, roadways, concrete, sand, water, and just about anything else that your horse my walk over. When they are being driven they seem to forget that they have been ridden or walked across these surfaces before. Be sure in acquainting your horse to the buggy you include as many different "surface sounds" as you can.
When I begin to hook up for the first time I have my ground person standing at the head of the horse, talking and reassuring the horse that things are all normal. I snap a longe line on the left side of my horse's bridle. Once I get into the cart and have everything in order, I ask my ground person to step to the left side of the horse, pick up the longe line and stay back out of the horse's line of vision.
Then I ask the horse to move forward.
This is a VERY important moment! This is the first time the horse will feel any drag or pull. He may hesitate or try and stop, drive the horse forward and keep him moving. Do not go too fast, or the horse may get spooked and think he is being chased by a big ugly cart monster. If the horse doesn't spook proceed at a nice even walk and just start driving around and getting your horse used to being driven.
If the horse does get scared and starts to bolt, then your ground person can pull the horse's head around to the left and bring him to a stop. Allow the horse to calm, and proceed again. It will not take long for the horse to relax and understand that all is ok and he is safe. I have found that nervous or flighty horses tend to be the ones who overreact, so be prepared to go slowly with such horse. Other horses may get confused and panic if they have not been properly ground driven. Another exception is when an accident occurs while driving, instilling fear and giving you a major issue to overcome.
Drive On!
I FIND THAT HORSES LIKE TO DRIVE and enjoy the difference in alternating between being worked under harness then under saddle. It is a great change in the on-going training of your horse. Driving can be a very relaxing therapy for both horse and driver. It can teach the horse much about their body and about listening to instructions given in another way from the standard seat and legs.
Like any other discipline, driving takes time, patience, knowledge and energy. Driving is fun, exhilarating, challenging, and worth the effort it takes for you and your horse to learn. As we always say at Pleasure Gait Farm, "See Ya! On the Trail or at the Show!"
For more information on driving contact the American Driving Society at (810) 664-8666 or via email at www.americandrivingsociety.org.
About the Author:
Lonnie Kuehn has been a horse crazy all her life. She has ridden and show many different breeds and in many different disciplines. Lonnie is an Internationally known trainer, judge, and clinician. She specializes in training the gaited horse for trail, show and versatility and in educating people how to achieve that smooth, sensible, and safe ride.
Lonnie is well know for her "Solving Gaiting Problems Video training tapes" that have helped so many people. Lonnie owns Pleasure Gait Farm and lives in Cookeville, TN.
