This is Buddy, a 3yo cob
who has come to us to be broken to drive.
Here, he is in his 4th week of training with us after coming here entirely unbroken.
We've got Sian on the reins who has not previously driven Buddy
We always like to get different people on the reins
before the horse is due to go home to ensure that they will still behave regardless
of who is on the reins.
This also shows that it is not just Barry, myself or Fletcher who can drive
the horses
but that other people can too. It is also a fairly windy day today
we're taking Buddy out on a day like this because we believe it is best that
the horses learn to
cope with adverse weather conditions. Horses can be very spooky in the wind
also cars can appear to sneak up on them; the noise
of a hedge can mask an approaching motor car, which they then see
only as it goes past their blinkers. We always like to take young horses out
even on windy days. We believe that they should be able to be driven
in any type of weather conditions even during the first stages
of their harness training. They still need to listen to the driver
even with all the other noise going on around them. You can see here
that we are walking and trotting Buddy
you can see the leaves on the hedges and trees rustling yet Sian is still
controlling him
and he is only being driven just in a soft piece of rubber. Many horses
lack confidence in windy conditions
which can also be exacerbated by the driver or the rider that
also does not have confidence. Sian does not know Buddy
so therefore one would expect her to be slightly less confident than if she was
driving a horse that she knew.
However he is still behaving even though
a different person is on the reins and it is windy.
We've now got Dai on the reins. Again you can see the debris on the roads which has blown off the trees
due to the windy weather.
You can see that Buddy will trot happily over anything in his path
You can also see coming up to this branch here which has fallen out into the road
but he does not spook and refuse to get past it. This branch wasn't here the
last time Buddy came down this route
but again even though it is a new and potentially frightening object
he does not spook. It's important that horses learn to trot over things that are
in front of them on the roads
such as twigs and leaves and other debris
because you do not want them shying out into the middle of the road,
especially important if a car is trying to overtake or come past you in the
opposite direction.
On the route we're going around today
we also have flagpoles with flags blowing on them.
This can also spook a horse; the chain makes a noise against the flagpole
and the fluttering appearance of the flag can be quite frightening
however you can see here that Buddy is still happily going past
the flags, both when they're flying above his head and alongside him.
Many of the problems we see in driving horses are caused by lack of confidence
which can be a failure to prepare the horse for the big wide world during training.
So many people focus solely on getting a horse in the carriage
without taking the time to think about whether he would go in the carriage
happily
regardless of things like weather conditions.
Indeed, many of the published books on horse breaking say you are better off making
sure there are no distractions
such as dogs barking, wind or it being bin day
on the days you are training your horse. This is merely an avoidance strategy
and does nothing to help the horse increase his confidence, get over his fears
and become a safer, happier driving animal.
After all, a drive can start off in calm weather and halfway round suddenly
turn windy. As we show here it might be sheltered in the valley
but when you get on top of the hill the wind noise increases which can therefore
spook your horse.
In fact we are now driving past a kennels where there are dogs that have started barking
as well as having to go past a tractor; proof that you never know what you're going to encounter
and that
it is better to be safe and prepared, rather than sorry.
Seeing as we cannot control the weather
and weather reports are not a hundred percent accurate, thereby preventing you
from planning a drive
we feel it is better to train horses to remain relaxed and sensible
even in windy conditions. This also applies
to things like lorries, dogs barking and other strange and frightening things.
The more your horse is prepared for these things during training
the better driving animal he is going to be. And surely that is what we should be
aiming for - both for the horses' sake and for the future
of carriage driving in general.