Solo and the risks of using home-made carriages

[kss123]

Excellent Video and reminder to make sure everything is safe before you get started. My husband just bought me our first team of gorgeous Shire horses for a surprise Christmas Gift. They have been driven but not for the last 5 years. We are starting out ground driving until we get the hang of it. We did buy a cart with them and today I'm going out to check on it completely! Thank YOU!

[NamihaTaiga]

haha what a cute pony....poor little guy!! D: theres tons of those carts or whatever you'd call em.. there cheap, look light and they say there strong.. and im thinking that little thing couldnt hold a horse back if the horse decided to make a fuss and dash off out of pain from the thin i'd be eating the mud before i'd get a chance to say whoa.. i think its a mistake waiting to happen.. i am sorry your little guy got hurt i love my horses and hate seeing hurt animals

[MrStablelad]

The cart that Barry was showing is the same as a car that has been written off, So would you let your Wife or Daughter in it, No, The only good thing about that video was that it was Barry Driving, For had it been anyone else, They could be in the Churchyard Now, But so could other that were caught up in that wreck. The Skills of Barry saved the day & the pony, You maybe thinking i know Barry NO is the answer, Are paths may have crossed at sometime in life, But i have no idea if we have or not.

[camvalleystables]

keep uploading safety vlogs please, no ones offended-we are learning from you, if you save one life through this youve done a good thing, poor poor pony...makes me dislike people even more when they sell novices cr*p ... :o(

[nikCscott]

My pony Sid is booked in to come to you in the spring . I'm gradually looking through all your utube videos and every single one installs more confidence in me that you are the best people to send my pony to. I will be new to driving and therefore will be absorbing all the advise you can offer and am sure that your help will be the making of my beautiful pony.

I can't wait!

[barryhook2]

@nikCscott Thank you very much for your comment - its lovely to hear what you think of our videos, especially as you are a new client. Our aim is to train horses to be safe, happy and confident in any sphere of harness work, and if people learn something from watching our videos then that is fantastic. We look forwards to meeting you and Sid next year! Thank you.

[iluvrushtonaiter]

Hey again, i commented a few weeks on some of your other videos.. back with my old account (iluvrushtonaiter), and i just want to say, by you posting your videos, i have learned more then reading books and searching the web, you are a huge inspiration to me, eventhough im not really into carriage horses/ponies.

Please keep up your good work and just ignore those idiotic imbeciles, like @ambulancegrrrl said, they obviously couldn't tell a horse from a hog!

[barryhook2]

@iluvrushtonaiter Thank you very much for your comment - we have always said you can't write books about how to train horses because every horse is different. By posting the videos, we hope that people can see what it is possible to achieve with carriage driving horses, including young horses, and if we help or inspire people by doing so then that's fantastic! Thank you again.

[iluvrushtonaiter]

@barryhook2 - hey no problem :), i just wanted to also mention, that when you showed the tupon-sypny carriage, i honestly didnt see what you was your problem but after showing the carriage and it's issues, once again thankyou, it was discraceful how anyone could think this "carriage" was safe!! and how that poor pony sufferd wrongly because of it's disgraceful-ness..

[ambulancegrrrl]

I really enjoy watching your videos and absolutely understand your disgust with the junk equipment. I have had a few carriage accidents over the years and faulty equipment is just not worth risking your life over. I think you did a fine job with the pony and whatever negative comments people have to say they are just imbeciles and wouldn't know a horse from a hog. Good luck and please keep posting. :)

[gidders]

I train driving ponies too, what you have posted here ought to be fixed, permenently to every horse forum under their "driving " section. It illustrates what I have been banging on about for years, and told to shut up.

I am going to draw everyone's attnetion to this video, in the hope it might sink into some very blazé thick skulls.....

[sergeantsailorman]

I love you man. You tell it like it is, and you care about the animals in your care. I've been around horses and mules all my life (I'm 61), and I've always detested the so called experts that use excessive force to get what they want, and think minor injuries to the animals is part of the business. I once had a horse I'd sold three years prior whinny and run to meet me in an open pasture I visited when she saw me from a distance. She remembered friendly and good treatment.

[rajvader]

Draft horses are my thing, but I do have a bit of a soft spot for an honest, working pony. It is a crying shame to see one getting "punished" for being good.

Thanks for uploading this. Not everyone can afford fancy carts and carriages, but NOBODY can afford to drive vehicles that can come apart and get their animals and themselves hurt.

[SexiZahara]

AMEN!!!!!!!! My training cart is pretty dodgy looking but all the welds are good becuase I had it re-welded when I got it. I really wish everyone could see your vids...things are crazy here in the States with any idiot who owns a mini (that was broke before they got it) calling themselves experienced drivers. Good job with everything you're doing, and don't bother about the naysayers, they obviously have no idea what they're talking about, or how neccessary the things you do are.

[stkez]

You are right, many wouldnt put this on youtube.... Its obvious your love of horses is evident showing people the dangers !

Hope the pony is ok now.

Hats off to you and your team.

[tmacatthelodge]

im finding your video's really helpfull. im a farriers apprentice from suffolk and im lookin into buying a welsh sec A for driving. only ever had riding horses never a driving pony. ill be sure to check the single carriage that comes with the little one. it looks like its manufactured but ill check the maker. by the way the i think people leaving comments to run you down are ignorant, your obviously a good horseman and very caring.... they dont have a tiny bit of common!

[pmarie2003]

Thank you for showing this. I'm in the U.S. and there are many well-meaning people here who don't have a clue about what they are doing. They need to see this kind of thing. Several times a year someone tells me about some "great deal" on a vehicle (old piece of junk) they saw for sale in a yard or front of a store. They don't know these are death traps!

[barryhook2]

We had the following comment from a user:

"Flimsey made equipment is definitely an accident. However this cart was not flimsey, might have possibly had something to do with the fat f*** who was sat on the carriage. That pony was an absolute mess when the owner got him back. All his sweet nature had gone and he was nervous to go near anyone. He was skin and bones, no sparkle in his eye and covered in cuts and scabs."

The cart was flimsy, as proved in the video; the seat was wide enough to take

[barryhook2]

2 people. As Barry says in the video, Solo was upset by the accident, as explained to his owner when she came to collect him. She said she would take the carriage back, get it sorted and apologised to us for it causing the accident.

[barryhook2]

The film was taken directly after the accident, as you can see, the pony is not frightened of Barry. He was collected by his owner within the next few days- again as shown in the film he is not skin and bones, and his cuts, as shown on here and to his owner, were a result of him bolting when the swingle tree broke on the carriage.

[barryhook2]

Solo's owner emailed after taking him home saying he was skittish but was recovering well and she was long reining him every other day. When a horse has experienced trauma like this accident they are bound to be unsettled. We have had positive comments from posting this video and while everybody is entitled to their opinion we resent the defamation of our character stated by this user.

[rwoold2247]

Flimsey made equipment is an accident

waiting to happern. I had a snaffle bit break right in the middle and naturally came out of both sides of the ponies

mouth. NO STREEING. My sons arm was in a cast up past his elbow while

the driving lines looped over his arm.

That could have been a sad situation

but fortuanately his arm was not harmed any further. The whole outfit, carriage and

harness, was a total loss. Thank goodness the pony was fine and so were

we. Didn't do much for our wits

[barryhook2]

Our carriages are made by the Talbot brothers as they are specially made to withstand the work we do with them! But we have used vehicles from Rene Schoop, Hartland Carriages and Cumbria Carriages to mention a few, but some of the carriages featured on our videos belong to clients.

[upferret]

Hi, Ive been following your videos for a while, I think you do a brilliant job. Thanks for this video it serves as a good warning. Will there be an update video on solo at all? you say it doesnt bother you if horses run in the cart, out of interest what steps do you take to get them going ok in that case? especially if theyve had a fright. I wish you the best with solo and hope this hasnt put him off too much!

[ndudman8]

Yes... I was looking also and couldn't find anything. Please Barry if you had any link or mroe info on the horse carrage you mentioned it would help

[annruger]

You mentioned several brands of carts that you use, can you list a few? I tried to find the one (what was the name?)that is made in England, couldnt find it on the web...

[annruger]

You and your team are very impressive. Makes me tempted to move to the UK and bring you a horse to train!  You usually show the finished product. Do you long drive/walk behind out on the road before hitching?

[prisonbreakobsessed]

thanks soo much for posting! sorry about your pony =[ thats very sad. i love how your so loving towards the pony

[prisonbreakobsessed]

he looks so cute trotting along beside a big white horse!!! its great to watch you work with horses. great job =]