Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Small victories

Well it finally happened. Kat has been put to a cart. Sort of. I still have the Meadowbrook for sale and I have gotten a few requests for pictures, measurements and information about it. So tonight I brought the little guy up and into the back yard so we could get photos of him standing in the shafts or at least near them, to show the length of the shafts and how they fit him.

Or rather don't...

Anyone see the problem here? Look closely.



Notice where the tie backs are supposed to attach to the cart? They should be up near his flank, not behind his butt.

So we got a few more pic's...

He expressed his boredom with the project...

We called it good and he was rewarded.

A few minutes of grazing while the cart was put back up on all of the stands.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom...

The small victory in all of this is that he was between the shafts, no muss, no fuss, just stood there like his well behaved self and posed. He may not have been wearing a harness, but still. He was there between the shafts!

I will be calling a guy tomorrow that is pretty much known in the valley as 'the cart & driving Guru'. If he doesn't have pony sized shafts- he will know where to get them. Or the shafts can stay on it and it will get horse sized wheels. He may also be able to sell the cart for me on consignment. I may just take both carts to his place. It would be nice clearing out even more space... At least there are a couple of workable options.

12 comments:

  1. "Fixing" this cart to fit him might well enough to play with should just be a matter of adding a couple of footmans' loops in the correct spot. I've found most "show" type carts are set up for false breeching (as your's appears to be), instead of real working breeching. My friend has one just like it. Two footman's loops screwed into the shafts in the correct position (right to the rear of where the patent leather shaft wraps end) and it goes from being a show cart to a working cart. Yes, the pony will be a bit too far away, and yes, it would be nice if the shafts rode level, but it would still work.

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  2. Too bad it doesn't fit as is ,He wouldlook really good with it.Actualy he looks really good just bout everytime I see him! I like him better than the "Spotted Short horse " Which by the way I took the high road on and walked away ...for now

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  3. Aefleah Farm- the shafts can be brought up to the proper lever for him by adding blocks under the leaf springs thus raising the cart. This particular buyer has a 10h pony where he is 11h, so shaft height may not be so much an issue with her pony. As is, at least they are nowhere near as out of whack as the contraptions seen in the stock breed driving classes. Any idea how much that annoys me? Probably irks a lot of driving fans who know better.

    I knew the footmans loops had a name, just couldn't think of it. Some of the "show" type carts aren't even designed for using the breeching as well as the harnesses not including them. Some of the classes at breed shows go as far as omitting backing up in the line up as well. I guess in the ring on flat ground, the breeching is pretty much a non issue since there's no worries about the cart pushing the horse down a hill or anything, their job there is to go forward only.

    Any ideas as far as attaching a 'temporary fix'? Email me if you'd like or feel free to add them in the comments. I have seen a few different things used, from leather strapping, which this one has to small brackets that would be less visible. He actually wouldn't be too far out there, just a slight bit further than he should be.

    Fern- would you be coveting another's horse? It's ok if you are. There's a few of yours with which I do the same. lol As long as things are fair. *snickers*

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  4. Well, now you have the visual...and he looks pretty darn smart between those shafts.

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  5. *melts* He is absosmurfly PRESHKUS!!!!!!! You guys will be hard to beat, whichever vehicle you end up with.

    Isn't it eye-opening when people start casually throwing out the terminology which makes you realize exactly how LITTLE you know? I am perfectly ignorant about driving!

    Can you clone me a kid-broke gelding of him??

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  6. BEC- not just the visuals, but digital visuals to share. lol

    CP- I am so not into cloning... However I will be breeding him to the TB mare in the spring. The girls will need ponies you know. I have three names picked out already. Would you like one of the foals?

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  7. He is the cutest!! Have you used him before or will this be his first offspring? As for the cart; maybe attaching a plate with a loop might work. My cart and buggy have hold-back straps that wrap around the shaft a couple of times and then snap in a ring by the flank. I had a mini cart that had a welded loop on the bottom of the shafts that were used to fasten the hold-backs. Not sure what a false britchin is. I do not think I ever had that.

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  8. Phaedra- I spoke to the valley 'cart & driving Guru' last night. Very pleasant and knowledgeable man. He can order the shafts of the appropriate length for their pony and gave me a few leads in the interested buyers area that may be able to install them. Reasonable prices on everything. He also told me to feel free to pass his phone number along and he can list off more places that can help.

    One of the things he mentioned was the problem with ponies. Their sizes can vary across the board! He also agreed with another problem I have found in the horse industry. Everything comes in sizes for either horses or mini's with limited selections in between.

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  9. Whoops, sorry Phae- He has two fillies out in the world. Both from breedings to Pi.

    The first one looked and acted just like him. She is in Palm Springs, drives and has had one foal that I know of.

    The other one was sold in eutero and shortly after weaning and being turned over to her new owner, the girl decided to sell her. The next owner bought her for their petting zoo but a month later reposted her for $100 more. I emailed and asked that my information be passed along to the buyer, but never got a response or heard anything after that. I have yet to track her down, but when I find her, if she is not in a good home, she is welcome to come back here.

    IMO the second filly is the nicer of the two. Had I known it all then- I never would have sold her to begin with.

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  11. No, i'm not into REAL cloning - he's just the kind of pony little girls go ga ga over. ;)

    Funny, I was talking to a lady at the barn this week who breeds POAs - she has two yearlings that she's going to train for her newborn twin granddaughters.

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  12. He is a real cutie! I love ponies.

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