More help...cart buying....

[cinder88]

There is a cart for sale about 3 hours away.

I'm wondering if all you experienced people can tell me if this might be suitable, dimension and style wise for my guy.

It is coming from a Perch/qhx who was 16.2.

Here are the dimensions the owner sent to me...
The distance across the shafts (at the basket end) is 38 inches wide and should fit your PercheronX (the buggys for our Morgan horses are only 30 inches across). The shafts are also 88 inches long from the basket to tip. (the ones for our Morgans are 74" and 66" on 2 different buggies) so they should also be fine. The wheels are 27 inch (I think).

This buggy has a wood boot and floor and therefore is capable of also being used as a "show cart". It is black with gold pinstriping. It also has springs up under the seat.

Here are a few pictures that she sent, as well.

Comments? Other things I need to ask/know.
Does it seem a little low for a 16.2 horse?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a15/beautifulbrowbands/buggyside2.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a15/beautifulbrowbands/buggyside.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a15/beautifulbrowbands/buggyseat.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a15/beautifulbrowbands/buggyback.jpg

[PalominoMorgan]

It's a Houghton/Jerald style show/jog cart. (Example of a morgan hooked here http://www.blackridgerjh.com/popups/sr_andiamo.html) They can work for training... IF you don't mind looking at your horse's butt all day and not being able to see the road ahead. I picked up one cheap to start my mare, but it really is a PITA to drive her in it. She's a 15.3hh morgan.

The cart you listed is meant to be for showing in certain breed classes in a ring. I have abused mine and taken it thru hay fields, off road, and put 2 people on the seat, but it doesn't like it. It really DOESN'T work well for more than one person on the seat because there just isn't shoulder room for two people. Not to mention a passenger has nothing to brace against and my DH almost ends up going over the back of the seat when we change paces. (I let my girl move out in to a strong trot and the hubby just about went ass over tea kettle out the back of the cart.)

I would look for a road cart if you are serious about driving and would like to see where you are going. My neck usually hurts after driving in my jog cart because my head is craned around the whole time trying to see where we're going. The good news is that it was cheap and got my mare started in harness. (Turns out she's a natural.) I am always keeping an eye out for a more suitable vehicle for us though. On a budget right now, but maybe in a year or two I'll be able to just buy a nice road cart we can drive the country roads with and clean up for local shows.

[cinder88]

I thought it was too short, as well..

Ah...onward and upwards!

Cinder

[Drive NJ]

I know one of the difficulties that you have is being up in Canada, and most of the sources we suggest are in USA, therefore both $$ exchange and transport make it difficult.

Here is a Canadian site to check. They are not known for the highest quality construction (ie not suitable for CDE) but they do a lot of commercial and draft trade. Check their products page - they have a basic Meadowbrook that is a good starter cart

http://www.voituresrobert.com/en/catalogue.shtml

Their links page lists dealers in Ontario and in the plains provinces. With thier name - Im guessing they are from Quebec

It looks as though there are also Amish Communities in Ontario. If you do some searches on where you should be able to locate some local harness makers and most will accomodate you by building a harness suitable for "English" carriage type driving

I dont know how easy it is for you to exchange Canada to USA money - I do know its not so easy here to exchange cash so your best bet in buying American is by credit card (they do the exchange for you) which means dealing with an established business

You appear to be about 3 hours south of the Owen Sound area Amish but only 2 hours from the American- Metamora MI which is a well established driving club area. Also the Michigan Horse Drawn Vehicle Asso www.mhdva.com (http://www.mhdva.com)

Canada has www.driveontario.ca/ocda (http://www.driveontario.ca/ocda)
though this may be more CDE oriented
also Dwayne Wanner for Pleasure Driving
dwanner@sympatico.ca
(could be an old address)

they may be able to direct you to more local sources

[nickers]

Cinder, try Doug Lillicrop at Summitview Carriage.

http://www.summitview.on.ca

He knows his stuff and usually heads down to Martin's auction in April. He can look for something for you in your price range.

He also has a harness on his site that might fit your guy. Look at the "Pleasure Harness" on this page: http://www.summitview.on.ca/usedharness.html or the Smucker's Synthetic Pleasure Harness at the bottom of the same page.

[Trakehner]

I can think of easier ways to commit suicide...but not many.

Bad cart, bad design, weak wheels, no back rest...not good at all, especially for something besides a mini or a pony.

Carts from the Amish don't cost much and the shipping isn't really that bad...do a road trip to pick one up.

Ick, don't even look at Roberts stuff...really pretty crappy, mostly metalwork and mediocre quality welds...don't waste your money.

A meadowbrook isn't a beginner cart for horse or rider. If you want a meadowbrook, try School Lane Carriage Shop in Gap, PA...they'll do a custom made meadowbrook in whatever color stain you want with all the bells and whistles for $1,400 or so (fenders, brush guards, spares box, fenders and protective slats on the fender supports to keep your passengers hands out of the wheels). I bought one for my Gelderlander and one for a my shire.

[cinder88]

I looked at the links provided..thanks.

Sent an e-mail to one as well.

I've also got a line on another cart that looks great, but I'm witholding judgement until I get measurements and PRICE! It looks a little TOO nice for my budget!

Cinder

[Renae]

Cinder I just recently bought a cart form Canada, foudn it on this site http://www.carriagemart.com/ many of the ads there are form Canada.

[prince and ponies]

Try Triple C Carts in Mn. They were very helpful, and shipping wasn't bad-well built cart for beginning driving and not that expensive.

[Yip]

Trakehner, why did you say that Meadowbrooks were not for beginner drivers and horses? I will be looking for our first cart soon and Meadowbrooks were on the short list. I want to be safe, above all, and hate making expensive mistakes. Thanks!

Wendy?Yip

[Ashemont]

I know of at least one prominent trainer who refers to Meadowbrooks as "Death Traps" and our trainer advised us against one. You have to climb over the seat to enter and exit - not an easy thing to do. If your horse is green and doesn't stand well it's even harder.

Then what do you do if you get in a situation where the horse starts backing for whatever reason - frightened, trying to avoid something, etc. - and you get backed into something. You can't get out unless you're quite athletic and can jump over the side.

Easy entry road carts can look just as nice as a Meadowbrook - in fact I won 10 1st places out of 11 classes entered last year in one - and they are lot safer.

There have been discussions about the pros and cons of Meadowbrooks before on the list. Take a look in the archives for more information.

[Trakehner]

Meadowbrooks are lovely to look at, very pretty lines...a very classic "going down the country lane" sort of Jane Seymour conveyance.

Meadowbrooks are also impossible to get out of quickly. If you've got a youngster, and you're trying to get in the cart quickly, you take one hand off the reins to lift the passenger seat up so you can get in. If you need to get out quickly, you lift up the passenger seat etc. to get out...lots of steps where your hands are not concentrated on the reins.

If you've got a passenger along, they've got to get out before you can. As the whip, you're not going to vault out over the shaft and leave your passenger sitting there with no reins or control are you? The whip goes down with the ship (meaning, you get out last).

You're basically sitting in a wood bucket, no quick way in or out and no quick way out for your passenger. Think governess cart in wood vs. wicker.

Meadowbrooks are cute, I've got one and it's the cart most women will "Oooo & Ahhhh" over...they're very pretty...but you'd better have a quiet horse when mounting/dismounting or things can get "interesting" very very quickly. They arent' the cart for a green horse...Easy entry styles of carts do great for training, meadowbrooks and 4-wheelers are for more seasoned beasts.

[cinder88]

OK..I've been on-line window shopping.

What do you all think of this one?
http://www.horsecart.com/carts.html ? It would be the horse size.

Pros? Cons?

Thanks, Cinder

[Ashemont]

While there are some fans of those pipe type of carts, I'm no longer one of them. The shafts bend way too easily - especially if you are in the woods and squeezing between trees! Also flat tires are no fun when you have to walk 2 miles to get home :(

We've used them with small ponies and found them to be almost too light even for them. I would not want to try one with a horse.

My recommendation is still a nice wooden easy entry road cart. It is a good training vehicle for both you and the horse. It is also nice enough to start doing shows if you find you want to give them a try. It's also easy to sell if you decide to move up to something else once you and the horse are confirmed. JMO based on some good advice we got and the advice of our excellent trainer :)

This is what we started with and hubby still likes to drive it.

[pricestory]

With the wooden wheels, it is a possibility. You can get in and out and the wheels will allow you to not be so low you can't see over his butt. I really don't like the metal easy entry and I would ask about the width of the vehicles. One of the worst wrecks I've seen was with a pony and one of those type carts. The wheel base is too narrow to be stable. If they have just taken one of the metal carts and put wooden wheels on it, I would be afraid it would be too narrow also.
At one point, Claudette had an easy entry cart that had a wooden basket, shafts and wheels. There wasn't anything fancy about it but it was safe and I think they were pretty inexpensive. This is not her Country Gig, which is a great vehicle but probably 2x what the basic one was. You might check with her if it isn't on her website. Countrycarriagesusa.com

[Trakehner]

OK..I've been on-line window shopping.

What do you all think of this one?
http://www.horsecart.com/carts.html ? It would be the horse size.

Pros? Cons?

Thanks, Cinder

Horrible, horrible, horrible! And that's first hand experience.

I had one of these things, wanted something light...even got the wood wheels. A real peice of scata.

They've got absolutely no leg room and they don't balance. I had to extend the square tube where the seat sits way back, all sorts of work to make it work...the builders said, "Gee, we've never had a complaint about leg room/balance etc. before"...yeah, right...major BS.

Pull up the Smucker's Harness website and look at their easy entry cart...it's less money, wood built and works well...don't bother with the metal crap, even with wood wheels, the suck.

[Thomas_1]

Eeek looks scarey!

Cinder you might be better off specing what you're looking for in terms of use and size and saying what your maximum available spend is and then you might get some better ideas about what you need to look out for.

I know that not too many months ago there was a posting on here about what sort of vehicles when budget is limited and with quite a few suggestions and photos. When I've a little more time I'll see if I can find that if I do an advanced search.

[cinder88]

OK Thomas, I'll try that....

Echo is 16.1 and will liklely grow another .1, to 16.2. Perchx, so he's wide.

When I've measured him for different carts, he always falls into the horse size, not the draft size.

I'd like something that can go into the back of a pickup, doesn't have to be fancy. As I'm just starting out, I'd like to stay under $1200.00...as long as it is safe.

Thanks! Cinder
PS...I'm in Cananda but has a US address for shipping.

[Trakehner]

http://www.smuckersharness.com/pg48.html

This is the Smucker's website, this is their Amish-built easy entry cart...I had a cob sized one...worked great and was a comfortable cart. A friend is now driving it hitched to her Halflinger.

It fits in the back of a pick-up truck and is $1,050 new in horse size.

[LisaW]

Cinder - Where are you located? I have a good-sized road cart gathering dust in my garage in Kitchener. While I'm not interested in selling it, I might loan it out with the understanding that you break it/you fix it.

[cinder88]

I'm in London...just a hop/skip from you!

Please e-mail me at beautifulbrowbands@gmail.com!

Cinder