Okay, just in case anyone is interested, here are a few pictures of Socks' progress:
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Socks' partner is a grey draft mare. She isn't very fond of Socks and I have to keep an eye on her as we go. Thankfully for Gracie, she isn't going to drive with the cheeky fellow anymore. They're about as poorly matched as a team as it is possible to be (other than height). I do hope he gets along better with Riverdance. River can get nasty if she wants to. We'll have to see.
Anyway, after getting going with Gracie in these pictures, I took Socks out again in the cart. He was a delight to drive and behaved beautifully! His progress is thrilling to say the least:
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We had to make an adjustment or five whilst driving. Found out most of the problems were that the seat was out of balance. Once I straightened that out, everything else fell right into place. Glided along with the greatest of comfort. The vehicle is a Pacific training and show cart. It makes a bang-up training cart. Not very elegant or durable for show though. Anyway, I have found that this configuration (axle over floor in lieu of under) works to provide the best ride. Can't see very well, but that's an acceptable compromise most of the time. One just has to be more active in looking around the horse. The extra effort is worth the smoother ride.
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I've been dying to post these pictures to the Hackney Group. However it wouldn't be wise to let the previous owner know how well Socks is doing quite yet. She isn't quite... trustworthy. I don't even have a bill of sale yet and am getting nervous about all of this . She is going to get pressured a lot before long (she was paid, after all, four months ago) as I want to start showing him and am unable to do so without his papers. Thankfully I haven't had a need to cross the state border with him yet. There is a show up in Oregon that I would like to attend, can't do that till some kind of ownership can be displayed. Funny... we used to go all over the country without anything of the sort in the seventies and eighties. No one cared. Now, the State and Feds want all kinds of paperwork.
Oh well, let the worries of tomorrow take care of themselves! For now, Socks is doing great and I'm content.
Socks' partner is a grey draft mare. She isn't very fond of Socks and I have to keep an eye on her as we go. Thankfully for Gracie, she isn't going to drive with the cheeky fellow anymore. They're about as poorly matched as a team as it is possible to be (other than height). I do hope he gets along better with Riverdance. River can get nasty if she wants to. We'll have to see.
Anyway, after getting going with Gracie in these pictures, I took Socks out again in the cart. He was a delight to drive and behaved beautifully! His progress is thrilling to say the least:
We had to make an adjustment or five whilst driving. Found out most of the problems were that the seat was out of balance. Once I straightened that out, everything else fell right into place. Glided along with the greatest of comfort. The vehicle is a Pacific training and show cart. It makes a bang-up training cart. Not very elegant or durable for show though. Anyway, I have found that this configuration (axle over floor in lieu of under) works to provide the best ride. Can't see very well, but that's an acceptable compromise most of the time. One just has to be more active in looking around the horse. The extra effort is worth the smoother ride.
I've been dying to post these pictures to the Hackney Group. However it wouldn't be wise to let the previous owner know how well Socks is doing quite yet. She isn't quite... trustworthy. I don't even have a bill of sale yet and am getting nervous about all of this . She is going to get pressured a lot before long (she was paid, after all, four months ago) as I want to start showing him and am unable to do so without his papers. Thankfully I haven't had a need to cross the state border with him yet. There is a show up in Oregon that I would like to attend, can't do that till some kind of ownership can be displayed. Funny... we used to go all over the country without anything of the sort in the seventies and eighties. No one cared. Now, the State and Feds want all kinds of paperwork.
Oh well, let the worries of tomorrow take care of themselves! For now, Socks is doing great and I'm content.