To hear the squealing laughter of my granddaughters I have become the dubious owner of a Shetland pony. I can ride and know the basic care requirements for horses but this midget is literally a whole new animal. I thought it would be interesting to teach him to pull a cart. Anyone know about that? I’ll also need to build or procure a cart. Right now I have the bed and axle of a ‘64 Chevy. This may go in a different category. Mods please move if it is.
I know a guy that uses these on one and he can get up some speed when he wants to he made his out of old bicycle parts
Shoot low, he's ridin' a shetland! Sorry, I'm old and two stepped to the moon and back to Bob Wills. Anyway, as Downunder mentioned it can be true. With Shetlands part of it is natural behavior but most of the time it's because the owners(or kids) spoil them too much. They're smart horses and well trained they do make great cart/sulky or pack ponies but hold their pack loads to 100 lbs or so for cart loads and less in "off trail" or pack situations. If you lack experience in harness training It's best for horse and driver to both be at least initially trained by someone experienced in horse training. The cart setup you're thinking of would be more suited to a mule than a pony. Look around on the web. Theres lots of plans or ads for pony carts and sulkies both single and two place. It'll all be worth it to see grand daughters laughing right?
One of the most vicious animals I have had had the misery to have met/deal with is the "pony". Good luck Mi Amigo, you are going to need it!
Going with truck parts may not be the best route, because the greater the weight of the cart, the less the weight of cargo that the draft animal can pull in it. Likewise the slower the rate of travel, and the shorter the distance made in a day. Weight is also a major factor in hilly country. Downgrades with a heavy wagon can overpower a horse and then very bad things can happen. I'd say (for a Shetland) start off with 29" bicycle wheels, and make a four-wheel wagon. If off-road use is expected, the larger the wheel diameter the better. The push carts poor people used on the walk to California before the Civil War had wheels 5 feet in diameter. Ditto for Chinese wheelbarrows--if not larger. Large wheels bridge small potholes. Cookie-cutter wheels fall right in. Building a 2-wheel pony cart is easy, but they're called "bone-shakers" for a reason. The rough ride can damage cargo as well as passengers. You might consider a large car-top carrier for the wagon body, or even the fiberglass top off of a junked-out custom van. They are easily reinforced and attached to a wagon frame. They are also easy to fit with a prairie schooner wagon top. A water-tight wagon is also a lot easier to get across a stream, and the cargo stays dry.
Good stuff! While I have experience with horses, I got none with the little guys! However, I got the ultimate pint size drafting animal, a Newfoundland, and so I can share quite a bit based on the size! The above cart wheels description is a great way to go, and start out with light loads and work your way up from there. I have made several different Drafting Carts for my Doggy to pull, from a simple yard cart for hauling firewood to the house, to an expedition cart for serious distance hauling. Don't expect a Pony to draft any where near what a Neufy can, but 200 pounds total including the cart is reasonable! If you know some one capable of welding aluminum, that's the way I would go. Keep the design simple and use the largest bicycle wheels you can find! My YardCart is a heavy steel frame with 4 large balloon ATV tires, it has a brake on it attached to the tong and works exactly like a surge brake on a normal road trailer, that way the brake will hold back the trailer from pushing the Dog on a down hill, saving his legs from sprains, and worse, a ripped out claw! Normally this cart is used behind my Tracked Tractor ATV, but I found the Neufy can pull it just fine with quite a load, and that saves fuel, starting and warmup times, and noise, especially if its just one load of fire wood, or gardening stuff! You know your doing well when your Draft Animal can back up a trailer exactly where you need it! Good luck!!!
Sounds like he needs a modified boat trailer with boat! That way everyone can load up and cross in one lick.
so you need the right equipment to drive a horse, most horses need blinkers to start bcause the cart triggers their flight instincts (something following them) the 1st thing is drive them from the ground so they get use to the reins on their rump and dropping down around their hindquarters without kicking. this takes a bit for them to get use too. When you get to where the pony will allow anything around his hocks and sides. Update us and i will give you the next step. Which is dragging poles but if youdo this too soon you will never break him to a buggy Good luck, shetland pony's can be fun but they are stubborn and have patience with them, they are like doberman's they response well to repetitive, firm, insistence but not to hitting them with a whip. The trick to training horses is quit on a good note. If they do well stop if they dont you try another tactic and press thru
Depends on the horse, I had a (smart) horse growing up & taught him to pull a sleigh using a jerryrigged rope harness & a kids snow sledge (it was winter).. took me less than 10 minutes to teach him to pull it (mostly because it needed to have a couple adjustments to the "rigging" ) I could get that horse to do anything... but nobody else could get him to do bugger all
Shetland ponies, among a number of 'small breeds', have been used as pit ponies. They were hardy, and hard worked. Pit pony - Wikipedia