How to train a young horse to carriage drive

By Eniola Odurinde. Special thanks to Kay Walton for her help and technical advise on this article.

Carriage driving is fun!!! You can have lots of fun with a carriage horse, drives, rallies, shows, training days, there is a long list of things you can do.whether you just want to brush up on theory or have several years driving experience and want to break a young horse to drive, this article will take you through the basics.

If you have a four year old that has been broken to ride but you also want to drive him/ her, you can send him away to be broken. If you prefer to do it yourself and live in the excitement you must have at least three years of competent practical experience, with regular lessons from a qualified instructor. If you are doing this for the first time, it is strongly advised that you work together with an experienced driver and horse person because a novice horse driven by a novice driver is often a troublesome and difficult combination.

The first step to teeaching a young horse is to long rein him. Long reining is where you stand behind a horse close enough to control him, but not close enough to get kicked, holding two long lines. Long reining teaches the horse to respond to rein and voice aids. If you do not have experience in long reining, it is vital for your safety as well as that of your horses that you practice with an experienced driving horse first.

Commands for long reining

Walk on: To walk, trot on: To trot, steady:… to slow down, whooa…: to halt and stand: To stop. Back: Or come back or go back to perform rein back.

The next step is to introduce driving harness. With calm quiet horses all of the harness can be put on at once ( excluding blinkers as these can be very scary) but the tail strap should be done up slowly. Once the horse is used to the harness it is time to introduce the driving bridle. The blinkers will be the scariest part but if the horse never accepts them it is possible to drive without blinkers.

A horse in blinkers should NEVER be left unnatended.

You can read part two of this article here.

Horse Lovers Dating carriage driving, horse training, learn to carriage drive, long reining, pony training

So it’s just a few days until Valentine’s Day. Have you found someone to spend it with?

If the answer’s no, why not?! Maybe you’re feeling a little shy and don’t want to make the first move, or perhaps there’s just so many people on Horse Lovers Dating that you simply haven’t got time to send personal messages to them all?

Whatever the reason, it’s not too late to get someone’s attention and let them know you’re interested, and one of the best ways to do this is to send them a wink.

Need more persuading to get winking? If you send 3 winks or more on Horse Lovers Dating this weekend, you’ll be entered into a draw to win £50 of shopping vouchers.*

There’s no catch! Simply log in to Horse Lovers Dating on Saturday or Sunday and browse through our Latest Members. Then choose at least 3 that you like the look of, send your winks and you’ll automatically be entered into the draw. And you don’t have to stop at 3 either!

See you soon,

The Horse Lovers Dating Team.

Horse Lovers Dating

Valentine’s Day is probably one of the most expected days by couples, it’s a day when they can share their love with their partners and show how much they care one about each other. A recent survey from Horse Lovers Dating revealed some interesting facts about dating and how Valentine’s Day will be different when compared to other usual days, and here are the results below:

49% of you are expecting to be on a date this Valentine’s Day compared to 32% who will be actively looking online.

37% chose PROFILE DESCRIPTION as the most important factor when deciding whether they should contact someone. Closely followed by someone’s LOCATION at 30%.

Half of you will send a MESSAGE for the first time this year compared to 38% of you who’ll opt for a cheeky WINK

52% of you prefer receiving a short personal MESSAGE from someone online whereas 14% will be happy with a WINK.

A WHOPPING 79% are looking for a serious relationship or a partner this year. 21% of you on the other hand are keeping it casual for 2011.

As for you, what do you want this Valentine’s Day?

Horse Lovers Dating dating, love, singles, valentine's day

As the holidays approach and the temperature starts to drop we can’t help but feel all romantic and gooey inside. Winter fills our heads with thoughts of log fires, snuggling close and sharing mugs of mulled wine. Here at Horse Lovers Dating it’s also got us thinking about all of the dating possibilities over the festive period. So we’ve put together a few outdoorsy date ideas to help you and your country partner along the way. Have a jolly one!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This Christmas, escape the country side for a day and head down to the city, as by now most Christmas Markets will be in full swing. From Nottingham’s Winter Wonderland, to the Eden Project in Cornwall and The Christmas Adventure in Lincoln, you’ll find them in most large towns and cities across the UK. They have so much to offer that you and your date will be spoilt for choice.

Take a stroll around the traditional markets together, marvel the brightly coloured Christmas lights, and join in with a bit of carol singing. Round off your day by visiting the food stalls where you will be enticed by the sound of sizzling bratwurst sausages and the festive aroma of warm mulled wine. The perfect end to the perfect date.
Dancing on Ice

At this time of year it’s only right that you go ice skating at least once and when better to do that than on a date? With so many Ice rinks popping up across the country there really is no excuse not to. Plus, ice skating provides the perfect romantic backdrop to any date.

Can’t skate? Well don’t worry about that. You and your partner will laugh your heads off as you try to make it round the ice in one piece and it will give you the perfect excuse to get that little bit closer. Who knows, there may even be some mistletoe hanging about.
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Who said playing in the snow was just for kids? With reports of the heaviest snow fall since… well a long time, you have the perfect excuse to grab your date and go and have fun in the snowy countryside. Not only is it festive and fun, but it’s also free. Make a snowman, have a snowball fight, find a hill to go sledging down, make snow angles, the possibilities are endless.

Just make sure you wrap up in your woollies, we’re talking hats, scarves, gloves, coats and extra thick socks, to stay warm. Afterwards, thaw out over a creamy cup of hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows and some mince pies. Heaven!

If all else fails why not just get out in the country and enjoy the fresh, crisp air on a romantic walk. There’s always the possibility that you’ll find a cosy country pub to hide away in, while the snow falls outside.

So why not log into your account today to find your perfect partner for festive fun!

All the best,

The Horse Lovers Dating Team.

Horse Lovers Dating

Arrival of spring is a magical time in the countryside, pale green shoots, pink blossoms and brilliant white colours fills the countryside as snowdrops, bluebells and other flowers of spring emerges from the soil and come alive. Spring lamb are being spotted on the hills and field as dawn chorus gains momentum. This is the time of the year thoughts of single men and women, young and old begins to turn to love.

Find your perfect Country match this spring at Horse Lovers Dating. We have thousands of singles just like you, looking for love and meaningful relationship. Registration is free, you can also upload your profile, send up to 400 messages to local singles completely free of charge.

Will you be needing his and hers riding hat?

If you join Horse Lovers Dating before the end of May 2010 we will enter you in a raffle to win Countrywide vouchers worth £100. Who know what can happen once you are a members of Horse Lovers Dating; one of the fastest growing rural dating network in UK. You could be shopping for riding hat for you and your new lover, our £100 voucher could just buy you his and hers riding helmet.

How to with £100 Countrywide Vouchers

To win the £100 countrywide vouchers, you need to sign up with Horse Lovers Dating by midnight the 31st of May 2010. Comment on this blog post to let us know you join via this offer and we will enter you into a raffle. The winner will be chosen at random and notified via private message in our dating platform. We look forward to welcoming you as a Horse Lovers Dating member.

Please click here to join Horse Lovers Dating.

Horse Lovers Dating countrywide vouchers, find rural sweet heart, online dating, win £100, win£100