IVC Educational Articles

Driving &Training

a Carriage Driving Horse

We have been driving carriage horses for over 30 years.  We started by training our own horses, and have learned a whole lot, both good and bad, along the way.  We have worked hard at learning more and improving our techniques.

Also, don't miss our entertaining articles on training in our Blog!

Please keep in mind that since we have made this information available for free, we absolutely appreciate you supporting our business as well.

Here is our collection of articles we have authored about driving your horse.

Training the Horse

Long Lining or Ground Driving - what is the difference?

Pyramid of Training (Dressage Pyramid) - Every equestrian should be familiar with the Dressage Pyramid from USDF

Showmanship for the Driving Horse - a format for good groundwork

Starting the Driving Horse - steps we take to start a horse under harness

The First Put-To - steps we take to get a horse in the cart

How Picky Do I Need To Be? - Ground manners on driving horses

 

Driving the Horse

Styles of Driving - discussing all forms of horse driving

Why We Put To in the Open (an educational editorial)

Let Go!  Working on the Release  - It's easy to teach someone to "hang on".  It's much harder to teach them to "let go".

Blinders or No Blinders - the purpose of blinders and when to use them

FAQ About Carriage Driving - history of carriage driving and reasoning behind practices

The Courteous Driver (at any driving event) 

The Horse's "Hood Ornament" - the problems with staring at the horse's head

Carriage Driving Acronyms - the carriage driving world is full of acronyms.  Here is a "cheat sheet".

 

Obstacle Driving

Cones! - starting your horse in obstacles and strategies for driving cones.

 

ADS Resources

How Much Weight Should My Horse Pull? - article from the May 2022 issue of The Whip magazine

Driven Dressage - The Basics - webinar with Shelly Temple

Pair Driving - webinar with Hardy Zantke

Conditioning the Driving Horse - webinar with Rich Forfa, DVM

 

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