Types of Carriages

Nine · 07-08-2008, 08:46 PM

I used to drive for a living (not my day job, a second job). I don't know the names of the parts of the harness, though I can harness a horse up. I don't know the names of the different types of carriages. Just the touring carriages such as the Rockaway and the Vis-A-Vis (sp?) Does anyone know of a good web site that has the different carriages on it that are named correctly?
I also want to buy a small cart - either 2 wheeled or 4, for pleasure driving only. Any reliable sites? Thanks!

orchid park · 07-10-2008, 01:43 AM

I live Australia so I am not aware of the different kinds of carriages specific to the U.S.

there are a few books about showing various different carriages.
If you do come across any website please let me know I would love to view them.

Regards,

Laura.

Nine · 07-10-2008, 06:21 AM

Hey Laura,
First, I have to say that your horse is beautiful. Very stylish! What breed? How often do you drive? Are you a competitive driver?
I found a site that has several links. www.pscomputerconsulting.com/nwhc/nwhc There are several links on this page that are pretty good. The end of the link is not a type-o. It repeats the "nwhc" twice. Wickipedia has several types of carriages listed and most have pictures and written discriptions. I just typed "buggy types" on the search. Another is: www.liveryone.net
These are pretty neat. I hope you're able to access them. Good luck.
Nine

orchid park · 07-10-2008, 11:59 PM

Hi Nine,

Thanks for y our kind words about my pony.

She is a welsh section B pony. Her name is Owendale Claudia.
We do show her competitively, and also show a clydesdale in harness. The clydie is having the year off due to being in foal, but will be back out and about mid next year.

I will definately look up those sites, thanks for posting them.

Also I thought your horse looked quite smart in its photo. What breed is your horse?

Nine · 07-11-2008, 06:25 AM

Thank you for the kind comments. Ming is 1/2 Morgan, 1/2 Appaloosa. She has one tiny white spot on her left shoulder that I'm forever trying to brush off. That's about all the white on her body, other than the white at her coronets, which also have black spots on them. different. She looks very brown in the picture, but in life, she looks almost black. A dark, dark bay.
I don't know that there are many carriages indiginous to the U.S. The Conestoga Wagon (that made up the "wagon trains" of the early settlers) and the Red River cart (an ox or human cart).

orchid park · 07-11-2008, 06:08 PM

I did think your horse was fairly dark.

The photo of my pony is pictured in a sulky called a sydney brass sulky.
Features: curved timber dash, floor and wing boards.
Pagnel shafts. Brass hardware.
All that brass means alot of cleaning before shows, lmao.

Nine · 07-11-2008, 11:23 PM

What kind of challenges do you face in a show? Or are the points dependant on how well your gig is turned out?
I'd like to teach my mare to drive. I'm not sure the first steps to take. I'll have to look for a book on it. Any suggestions on authors? I've driven, but not trained a driving horse. How long have you been driving?

Nine · 07-11-2008, 11:25 PM

Do you have any pictures of you driving?

orchid park · 07-12-2008, 02:59 AM

Hi, I have attached a couple of photos.

At royal level here horses are judged on a scale of points.
Points are out of 100.

photo credit: Narelle Wockner

50 points for horse
30 points for the vehicle
10 points for Harness
10 points for overall or general appearence.

My biggest challenge in the show ring is competing against horses that people have gaited. For instance they will take a normal stepping horse or pony and gait it so it moves more like a hackney. Because its so unnatural these horses generally as a rule do not extend or lengthen stride but instead just lift there knees higher.
Many judges will put them up and say that horse had better action even though it couldnt extend when asked.

You can simply start by long reining your horse now, this will get both of you use to it. Its a fairly simple process and we always recommend you have a second pair of hands available for when you start to attach weights to your horse.

Nine · 07-12-2008, 06:49 AM

Wow. What a fantastic overal picture you and your pony make. That's so cool. How often do you show? How old is your pony? Do you ever drive on the roads? Thanks for showing me the pictures. You must be proud.

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