Having just watched the stunning Westfall video, I realise how boring mine are going to look. I also realise the extent to which I can't drive properly while videoing myself, as I lose a lot of the visual cues.
Molly is a green 14hh Connemara X. she arrived with sweet itch, rain scald, thin and tricky. Too scared to canter, even loose in the field, prone to falling over turning, and her action disintegrated going down hill. Driving she was basically unstoppable. Once trotting she just kept trotting, normally with her tongue over the bit, shying at manhole covers, and proving almost impossible to turn for home. In addition she is an artist at catching the reins under her tail and clamping. In her defence, she wasn't traffic shy, just wouldn't stop at junctions.
My girls have done extensive work riding her, and we shifted her to a Dr Cook bitless, but driving was still truly scary.
In the videos you will see no crupper, and a nice, steady safe animal, if a little green. My nephew, Charlie, wanted to have a go driving so I told him to harness Molly up. As he is fairly novice he didn't get the crupper on first time, and it was abundantly clear that there was no second chance. As Charlie pointed out she was scared of the crupper, and asked what it was there for, I had to actually do some thinking.
I had already modified a harness for a pony with melanomas under the tail, so a crupperless harness only took seconds to make. We put on the vehicle without a crupper and had a driving animal.
This shot is taken within an hour of NOT using a crupper. I wouldn't have let a child within 20 feet of Molly in a vehicle with a crupper.
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Have a look at the videos, and remember I can't give the hand cues because I have a damn camera in the hand. Also please accept that I don't use operant conditioning YET.
First and most important, removing the vehicle while driving and videoing the process.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/saddlechariots/Cutoff/photo#5178712543186787154This is me turning for home and mucking about on the verge. And a quick canter from a trotting trained animal.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/saddlechariots/Cutoff/photo#5178837088648436626This is how to harness up.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/saddlechariots/Mollharness/photo#5164765089008394098A couple of videos have gone missing but this should give an idea of what I do, and what for want of a better word, I call my driving style.
And here is another canter video. I don't know how trotters are taught not to canter, but to get to this stage has been a really long process.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/saddlechariots/Cutoff/photo#5179135872343350210