Carriage Driving Experts

I am a moderator for the Beginning Carriage Driving Facebook page.  To date, there are over 40,000 members of that group worldwide.  It was started by an ADS licensed official as a page to connect new and potential drivers to those who have experience to share; to put learners and mentors physically together locally.  It has evolved into a place where people ask questions of others looking for advice many times when they do not have local access to an instructor or trainer.  There are also people who are looking for free advice.  Here are some thoughts that I have as a result of seeing posts and comments made by participants in the group.

Before you make a post on a social media page, ask yourself if you are really willing to put yourself out there.  Some people, including me, can be considerably shorter in online responses than they would be in person just because of the time it takes to type vs. talk.  (Does anybody read long social media posts? 😊)  Do you have thick enough skin to take those curt, to-the-point responses?  Can you accept the information without the pleasantries that go along with in-person conversation?  And, again, what the reader can interpret as “mean” because it is to-the-point may not be what was intended by the writer.  (This is also why I try to point people towards my articles that are already written and edited to be more conversational than a typical social media post.) 

The language and culture barriers between countries can even be a stumbling block for effective communication.  There are methods of practice that are different between countries.  In the US, we wrap breeching straps around the shafts of the carriage.  I have learned that in other countries that is not necessarily the case!  Of course, what we were taught in our own country is many times what we ourselves consider correct, and we can be quick to criticize those who don’t do something just like we do, even though it is correct where they are from.  There are also different but similar terms for the same parts, so again, the communication is hampered by the culture differences!  I know of people from certain countries who have learned to adjust their communication style because they were interpreted as rude by people from another country.  We have another very good friend from a very direct-speaking country who I have laughingly told that a little tact could go a long way in communicating in the US! 😊 Of course, there are also translation issues if someone participating in a group is using an online translator to communicate.  The translation might not always come out the way it was intended! 

So, if have decided that you are ready to ask for advice, be honest with yourself.  Are you looking to learn new strategies and techniques, or are you really desiring confirmation bias?  Once you learn more from others, are you expecting that you may have to change your protocols, or are you really looking for praise and accolades as a result of your post?  When you ask questions to a group, the vast majority of people want to help solve the problem, and this results in advice that you may not have expected.  Many people who assume that they are receiving “mean” comments are really just receiving information that they didn’t expect, or want, to hear.  Be ready for comments that may not actually relate to what you thought you wanted to know.  There may be something else that you thought was unrelated to the topic you brought up, but in essence, is highly related to the issue you are looking to solve.  Some people are natural born teachers or problem solvers.  They want to help, and will try to do so even if you didn’t ask for it.  This is the case for a lot of experienced carriage drivers.  They have seen what works and what doesn’t.  They have seen the unintentional disasters that have come from people who just didn’t know what they were doing…but thought they did.  Carriage drivers are highly focused on safety more than any other equestrian discipline that I am aware of.  If they point something out that could be a recipe for disaster, it’s because they are considering you and your horse’s best interests…not because they are picking on you.

Just like anything that you ask of a web-based group, be wary of advice given by everyone.  It’s up to you to weed out what is good advice and what is bad advice.  I have said this before…ask who the actual experts are on a forum or social media group, and what their credentials are.  When a number of people agree with a specific person, and reinforce that what that person has to say is more credible, that is a pretty good indicator that they probably know what they are talking about.  It is beneficial to take the advice from someone who is very experienced vs. a self-declared “keyboard expert”.  Consider the advice from someone who has actually admitted to changing their mind a few times over the years as they learned more.  Be cautious of someone who seems to "know everything" right from the start with very little experience to back it up.  Be wary of information from people who have driven one or two horses tops.  They probably don’t have enough experience in enough situations to give knowledgeable advice. 

By mindful that there may be people participating whose experience is not in the form of driving in which you aspire to participate.  There are different forms of horse driving just like there are different forms of horse riding.  Someone well versed in Western Pleasure may not have a lot of experience in Reining, even though they are both western riding disciplines.  Someone experienced with draft horse or breed shows may not know the rules or nuances associated with carriage driving shows. 

When asking for product reviews, take the advice of people who have actually touched many products, worked with many different products, and debated the pros and cons each.  It isn’t really good advice if a person owns one harness or one vehicle and thinks that one is the best.  They haven’t had the experience with any other pieces of equipment to know any different!  I authored an entire article on The Perfect Driving Bit, which is similar to this article, that talks at length about taking bitting advice from people who don’t have a great depth of experience. 

That being said, there are a whole lot of actual experts who don’t have the time or the desire to be answering a bunch of questions on the internet.  Some of the best drivers and trainers I know like to avoid computers and forums like the plague!  They are out driving their horses!  It may seem like they are making regular posts on their own pages, when truly they have someone doing it for them!  The answer to your questions may actually lie with someone who isn’t even on the web, and that person’s advice may be tied to a business or service that you may actually have to pay for.  Free advice on social media platforms may not be the best advice, so you may have to take it for what it is worth…free.

We offer our articles and advice on our website because we recognize that there are not very many quality resources directly geared towards carriage driving.  I am a teacher by nature, and I enjoy writing.  Many of my articles have been juried and adapted for use by the American Driving Society through my work on the ADS Education Committee.  I also am a regular contributor for Driving Digest.  We also get lots of questions, and we hope that our articles can help people learn the basics before they contact us with additional questions.  When you get as many calls and emails as we do, it is much easier to send them a link than to explain and type the same thing over and over.  We don’t mind talking to people, of course, but some questions require an in-depth answer that is better thought out through written word and illustrations.

So, by all means, participate in social media groups.  Just be cognizant that what you think you will receive in return may not what you expect, especially in worldwide groups. 

p.s. In the photo above, the horse is behind the vertical.  In the process of this lesson, we figured out that the issue was much more about the balance of the cart versus the way the driver was driving.  Truly, unless you have loads of experience, you can't possibly correct the situation from your computer desk looking at one photo from a shutter click moment in time. 😉