Benefits of driving training FIRST

Starting a horse in harness before they are ever ridden yields some excellent benefits.

Kay starts green horses when she feels they are ready to have a job and therefore show a willing attitude. They first learn to yield to the bit and wear a harness in the barn - no more is asked of them besides good manners. When they move to the arena, they are ground-driven in a blinkered bridle, later asked to pull tires behind them, and eventually are introduced to pulling a light cart. All when the horse is ready for each step.

During this process the horse develops:

• Self-confidence and respect
• Proper self-carriage and muscle development without the weight of a rider
• Bravery and confidence in his driver to go where he is told (horses are trained to confidently and safely drive as a single before ever being part of a pair).
• An acceptance of new noises, situations, and environments calmly.

A horse started properly in carriage is a calm, safe, well-muscled horse ready to accept a rider's hands and directions, and must only learn to carry their weight on his back. He is also a horse, who in his later years will easily return to pulling a cart.