Hi >Some horses don't go well in blinkers at all and need to see >everything around them. However, the theory is that all horses >should be started in an open bridle and get used to everything around >them and all the noises associated with it. We'll see how Gusti >progessses. I may change my mind.
Like Cherie and Laree I have always started horses without blinkers and definitely prefer to drive that way. I also agree that I wouldn't want to drive a horse that was so spooky that he needed blinkers. This is also a reason that I don't like to teach horses that they have to face what they are afraid of because that is especially problematic should you be in a cart and the fearful object is behind them. I rather prefer to teach horses to turn their heads to look, rather than the whole body. If I had a spooky horse I would go backward and do more ground driving - over, under, through different obstacles and out of the ring etc. I also find that if you do introduce the blinkers I have led them first and then ridden in blinkers to get them used to not having the peripheral vision that horses use so much. I really encourage people who want to drive, and maybe don't feel confident enough to hook the horse up to a cart, to go through all of the ground driving exercises (and do start with the neck line driving as it really makes a difference to balance and helping the horse accept things)and get the horse used to all sorts of exercises - going over, under and through plastic etc; pulling a tire (breaking that down first to letting the horse follow a dragging tire, having it come up beside the horse and then behind before attaching it to the horse; using pvc pipe poles as shafts; introducing the cart same way as the tire. AND then, find someone you trust who is experienced with driving and have them start in the cart. Your horse should be so easy to drive that it will be a non-issue BUT if a horse has an accident in a cart it is much more difficult to get them over than a riding accident (ie the saddle slipping etc). We ground drive all of our horses but have only put about a dozen or so Icelandics in a cart. They have all been really really easy and accepting of the process, parting because of the steps we use, but I think mostly because of the temperament of the horses we chose. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
