Harness up!

With a marathon carriage on order it seems time to get Casey fitted for a harness and start teaching her to become a driving pony. Maybe I can get 20 drives on her and then both mares will be at the same point in training? Lol. 

All joking aside, even if they both have 15 or 20 drives to their credit- they will not likely be at the same point in their training. They are both smart, but we all learn at different speeds and some of us pick up things more easily than others. Horses are the same.

The first fitting went pretty well. I brought out my harness and a bag of spare parts. Since Casey is a little smaller than Mazy, I was expecting to have to take everything up a notch or two. Most of the spares are larger so I may have to swap out this for that. 

The harness saddle fit without having to adjust too much. Up a hole on each side and thats it. The backstrap needed to be changed out- the crupper was a couple holes long with no more to adjust. The same with the breeching.

My friend and mentor hit up her friend and mentor... and he suggested the backstrap shortened would help bring the breeching up closer to where it belongs. Adding holes would put it in its place.

Whole spare bridle sans a bit (which there was another in the box) and it all fit Casey perfectly! Just need a few things and there's a whole 2nd harness- reins, neckstrap, traces & saddle. 

As the pics show- we went out to ground drive and work her in the long lines. She did So Well! At one point she was rocked back and almost Bouncing along with such freedom in her movement. 

Yes I was gobsmacked and speechless for a bit at what I seen her doing. If she continues with that? We're going to slay dressage! 

The next day we swapped out the backstrap to put the crupper in place, used the breeching and breastcollar adjusted for Mazy and no adjustments needed. 

This pic is after she half slid to a stop. I still think she would be a fancy reining pony too. My friend told me her pony usually slides into his stops in long lines. Highly frowned upon in driving! 😊😳😔

Excited energy

There's a new edition to the herd at the barn. Two barns ago Mazy was nearby a mare with her foal and man does she get super pumped up about the little ones. 

So with this one Mazy is once again intrigued and curious about the baby. The mare is not letting anybody near it so she will have to wait. 

Instead she can sulk a bit and run off to play with Casey. No doubt in my mind that Mazy will be an incredible mother some day. 

And play they do! Jumping and kicking, tearing around the arena... I just like this pic with Casey's mane flying up and the various colors of her big spots. 

Goofy at her best Goofiness! 

Although there's only an inch difference in their height and 3 years in age, these two pics show the difference in their build, structure and muscle. 

They're just a bit too different to be a team or pair. Besides the added expense, I've heard driving a pair is a lot more work. 

I have always said that if this mare decides she's ever 'Done' with someone, they won't stand a chance. 

A friend of mine wants her as a barrel horse. No doubt she has speed and could turn 'n burn. 

Casey shows bursts of speed but just doesn't seem to care to maintain it. It's like she's saying, I can, I just don't have to. 

She's just a bit more reserved in that respect. I'm also still trying to crack the shell she has. It's like she has been thru some kind of trauma and still isn't sure about letting people in yet.