Don't Look a Gift [Harness] in the Mouth

 When your barn mate asks you to play hooky to do horse stuff only a half hour away, you take the afternoon off and go do horse stuff! The National Drive takes place spring and fall at the Hoosier Horse Park, and recreational horse drivers gather from all over the country to socialize, attend clinics, take private lessons, and participate in the driving-centric tack swap (our reason for attending). 

This kind of invitation is kryptonite to horsewomen

We figured we'd go look for a show harness for her cobs and potentially a ground driving/training harness for Pyro. Little did we know what the beautiful day held in store!

Hint: It was epic.

We met up with our friend Lisa, a long time breeder of beautiful welsh cobs (including the one I tried to breed Missy to, as well as the two Jen owns), who introduced us to some of her friends there at the Drive. They were getting ready to take their welsh cross mare, Sophie, out on the cross country course and invited Jen and me to ride along! 

The dog copilot was the most badass of all of us riding, lol

It was Jen's first time riding in a carriage ever, and my first time hanging on the back of a marathon vehicle. (Don't @ me if I get the terminology wrong, as I'm just beginning to learn!) The driver and her coach were so gracious and instructed us how to shift our weight to help keep the wheels on the ground around tight turns.

We got to watch how Sophie raced through the cones course and was nimbly guided through the series of gates by her driver. 

The dog's paws never left the dash

We were both grinning from ear to ear and it was evident we "caught the driving bug" right then and there. 

We did peruse the tack swap, and, while Jen didn't find quite what she was looking for, we must have been in the right place at the right time because a lady offered a free harness as we walked by her table. A little stunned, I asked what size. Turns out, it was exactly Pyro's size!

Even if it needed some repairs, I couldn't turn down that deal. I'm still learning what all makes this harness unique (I've never seen thimbles before!), but if nothing else, it'll be a great tool to practice ground driving with. 

Playing dress up!

Once I got it home, it appeared to fit Pyro quite well! The wires holding the blinders are all intact, and the only weak spot in the leather appeared to be at one end of the wither strap. It included a running martingale, which will need a stopper added if I use it. 

The one strap threatening to tear

It's definitely seen some miles, but the leather cleaned up well and is good quality. 

I'll likely replace the worn pad on the saddle with a fresh fleecy one.

The bridle was in great shape and has rings for a side check, rather than an overcheck

I'm looking forward to building on our previous ground driving work with this harness. I find it's a really great brain teaser to cycle into our work routine, especially in the winter. 

While I've driven a couple times, it has always been under the supervision of an experienced driver. I have a LOT to learn if I'm ever going to break Pyro (or Missy!) to drive. So, the next logical step was to scour the internet for appropriate books on the subject. 

My haul from the online "thrift store"

Those of you with driving experience, what resources would you recommend for a newbie wanting to do things safely?

I'm hoping to one day get to drive Pyro like this!

Lesson Recap - 10/1/2024: That's solid 2nd level work...

 I came into this lesson with Jen T. having done my homework from last time, a lot of which included an exercise of very precise transitions ridden on a square the size of half the arena. 

Happy in his work

Pyro came out very settled into his work as we started with the walk and trot. He was accurate and prompt as I asked him to trot the side of the circle, then either walk through the corner or come to a square halt and turn on his haunches to start the next side. 

Striking off in the trot

He was very quiet and steady in the bridle, which was a nice surprise. We've been working on that for so long that it was an awesome feeling for him to start the ride that way.

Being picky and asking for square halts

Once we started including the canter (trotting, walking, or halting in the corners), the wheels started to fall off a little bit. 

Pyro: Let's GOOOOOOOO

Pyro was once again prompt to strike off in the new gait, but he often rocket launched into it. Jen T. and I discussed that I wasn't keeping enough tone through my core, so I ended up getting left behind. Additionally, I started having issues asking Pyro to come back at the corners. He wanted to run through my aids instead. 

"An object in motion..."

Jen T. coached me to encourage Pyro to keep a more level balance through the canter, rather than allowing him to dump on his forehand in every stride. 

Not left behind in this transition

While this was hard for him, it prepared him for coming back to me at the corners. 

Slightly less heavy on the forehand through his canter stride

As we worked on the canter, I would ask him to halt and back in the corners if he blew through my aids. This gave Jen T. the opportunity to realize Pyro was not backing with diagonal pairs. Instead, he would shuffle back in a lateral pattern. 

Judgmental Dingo watching Pyro shuffle backwards laterally

Using our blessed arena mirrors, we ended the lesson by upping the ante, requiring him to not only back softly, but also organizing himself into using diagonal pairs. Looking for this, even when backing on the ground, was our biggest piece of homework for the week. The other assignment was to continue working on keeping my core engaged and Pyro's balance level in the canter.

Bonus: World's Best Dingo

Many thanks to videographer extraordinaire, Jen S., for dual wielding phones to capture reminders of this lesson! After we hung up with Jen T., she commented that what we were doing was "solid 2nd level work". I about died of surprise (in a good way!). Come spring, I'm feeling like Pyro and I will be prepared to debut at 1st level pretty comfortably!