The classic mistake with Shitlands, (no misprint) is to forget how frighteningly powerful they are, my Henry at 10.1 is the same size and weight as an adult male Gorilla, and I sometimes think, a lot smarter. Nobody asks if an adult male gorilla is strong enough to do something.
The second factor is your field. Go and stand in it. Now stand there for another year. Just getting them out for a walk gives a massive bost. Rememeber in the wild they are nomadic, so a constantly changing horizon, new sounds, new smells is the norm. However varied the activity in a school, no school that I attended had much change in horizon, smells or sound in an average day. This theory has the advantage that I can pretend slobbing around the neighbourhood, driving down to the pub for a drink etc is in the best interests of Henry.
Buzz in this pic
was a 32" rescue job. Big hole in the neck, you can put your fist in from a dog bite, terrified of men, wouldn't let me touch it behind the girth at all. Took about 2 hours to get it in a saddlechariot and maybe another two hours to relax it and teach its owner the principles of harnessing, driving etc (they were horse people). 6 weeks later its playing Santa.
This shot
is a 3 year old falabella who had been in the saddlechariot a few times, so I took him down the road, shook the reins and he was cantering happily. I kept him down to a canter as he was still green and I didn't know the roads and had only been driving him a couple of minutes.
These tiddlers are desperate for something to do, and the saddlechariot was built round them. It is easier to make a vehicle designed round a small animal work on a bigger one, because if the saddlechariot isn't a problem for the first two, Thor isn't going to have a problem
This is essentially the same vehicle but with bigfoot wheels and stub axles, because half an hour before I had been testing the three wheel disabled version
As you can see there is always another way to look at things. The traditional response to visibility is to build higher so you can see over the top to the road in front, but i noticed horses have a gap between the legs, front and back, and as long as you bandage the tail you can see
But the point is not that I am clearly a fruitcake, it is that someone who is scared of horses, is taking a range of animals and doing new things bringing some variety into their lives. And because it is safe, since you have an easy instant exit strategy, you can bring people into equestrian activities easily and safely. I can put someone in a wheelchair with no previous experience driving cross country on their own at a canter in one minute in total safety.
All those who have lost their nerve, or have back problems or whatever, it is a way back in. But it is only a gadget and no gadget is a substitute for horsemanship. I can start them safely so they can spend the rest of their life learning.
If you aren't learning you are dead.
Simon
sorry to rant.