Horses come and go on any farm and mine is no different. I acquired a 36″ mini a few years ago and what the heck do you do with a mini? Get it another mini as a friend of course, then lose the original mini due to Lyme disease and now your friend mini is alone so you obviously need another mini to keep that one company, oh heck lets make it 2. So you started out wanting no minis but through mini-math you end up with 3. Got it?
Ok, you now have 3 mini horses who do nothing but look cute and poop an amazing amount for such little animals. Time to put one to work! My day job switched my schedule around slightly, leaving this morning person with a few extra minutes a day to spare. Lets make those extra few minutes productive ones!
When I talk to people, they love to give me excuses. LOTS of excuses as to why they can’t or won’t train their horses and these are the main ones I hear all the most.
I have no time. Pft, sure you do. Follow along on this series and I’ll keep you updated with training my mini in just 10-20 min 3-5 days a week.
I can’t start, I don’t have a harness. It’s ok, we don’t plan on hitching to anything in a while. Heck, your horse might not even be a candidate to drive so don’t go off wasting $ on stuff you might not ever use. Teaching a horse to drive starts with line driving. You don’t need a harness for that, heck you don’t even need a bridle. Reins clipped onto a halter is what I start my guys in. You don’t need fancy reins either, if you’re really going to cry poor braid up some bailing twine and tie it on to the halter or be real fancy like and use snaps.
Teach your mini to drive materials checklist
-
-
-
- Miniature horse
- Halter
- Reins – or bailing twine – or 2 lead ropes
- 10-20 minutes of your time. 3-5 days a week.
-
-
Are you ready to drive? Check back for Part 2 and we’ll get you set up for your first lesson with your mini!