Considering buying a cart but have questions

[Rayman421]

Anyone know how hard it would be to take a seat off a wood easy entry cart and replace it with a spindle seat? The cart is the one made by Country Carriages USA and is the easy entry cart- similar to the roadster, with the adjustable seat. Is this something I could do, or would I want to send it to the local carriage maker?

Is this cart considered a heavy cart? Could my 11 hand pony pull it? I think it is somewhere between 100-200 lbs. My pony is 450# (had him weighed last month) and I am between the cart's weight and my pony's weight :) He has absolutely no problem pulling me in my show-ring cart, but I think that thing weighs like 50#. (similar to a Jerald)

Also, would prefer to have the gig in black than natural- how hard to paint? I've painted my show cart before but it was already black. Would like to know how hard it is to paint the natural wood carts. I assume you would want to sand it first.

The cart is a really good price, but I'm in no hurry and I wonder if it would be worth it to spend double and get a new one, exactly as I want or put the work into it, for half the cost. But I don't want to mess it up either.

thank you

[Yip]

I can't comment on anything except painting. Since you know it will need to be sanded first, why not stain it black rather than painting? Stain penetrates the wood to some depth, and scratches won't be so noticeable.

[pricestory]

Althought they are really beautiful, I wouldn't have a painted cart again unless it was only coming out for shows. They scratch and unlike a metal cart that you can hit with a spray can and it looks new again, wood requires more work with every scratch. To get a really good coat, you would have to sand EVERYTHING first.

[goodhors]

For the work involved, I would talk to the carriage maker, and order vehicle done the way I wanted. Sanding down an entire cart, after removing all the leather goods, metal pieces, seat, to prep it and then painting is a LOT of work.

Easier for the maker to do the work for you, as they assemble the parts. They have their paint room setup to ensure a good finish on the vehicle.

[TikiSoo]

As I understand it, you're asking 3 questions here:
1. change the seat
2. change the color
3. is this the right size?

I was under the impression you fit the cart to the size of the horse visually. The dashboard height should fall around the middle point of the rump. A bit higher or lower is ok, but ideally right in the middle. Most important is the shafts should hang paralel to the ground. Nothing looks worse than shafts that fall "uphill" and "downhill" is dangerous. Lastly, when you sit in the driver's seat, your eyes should be around the height of your horse's poll. Nothing would be worse than having to crane to the side to see where your pony's going.
I realize all these "rules" may not apply to teeny minis. I don't know what's acceptable for them. I do know driving teams, the driver tends to sit higher than usual. But the shafts are always paralel, or they use "equalizers".

Just walk vehicle up to standing pony and take a photo 20 feet away. You'll see if it looks "too heavy" or "too lightly" constructed.

As for changing the seat, I had vehicles with interchangeable seats. They very easily bolted/unbolted. In fact, I sold a vehicle and forgot about the extra seat stored in my loft! Now 20 years later, I have just a seat!

I advise against changing the vehicle color. Wood grain is so nice, besides, you don't know what "finish" is on the wood; varnish? poly? stain? It'll make all the difference how it will take paint or any new finish for that matter. And the paint/finish should be applied when vehicle is taken apart, like earlier poster mentioned.

Wood blends with EVERY color horse so much nicer than black. Paint is great for covering cheap or damaged wood, why cover something already nice? It'll just make it "ordinary". You can always paint the hardware black for contrast.

Sounds like you're trying to make one thing out of another. I'd be much more concerned with "horse/vehicle fit" first, then worry about modifications after.

[goodhors]

The dashboard height should fall around the middle point of the rump. A bit higher or lower is ok, but ideally right in the middle. .

What we were taught is that the dashboard top should be equal to the top of the rump. Traditional rules here, ladies of the past DID NOT wish to view the horse as he pooped when driving. Considered crude, especially if you could avoid it by having a higher dashboard. Trying to avoid seeing things of "an earthy nature" by ignoring them.

As stated, you can fudge height a tiny bit, yet midway high on the rear of horse, is too low. I personally think the lines look better as well, when top of dashboard is equal to the horse rump top. Goes with the reins' direct line from saddle terrets to drivers hands.

Small carts, different rules, especially if seating puts you very low behind the rump area, like with Meadowbrooks.

I would not expect a Gig, fancy by build and name, to have a low dashboard on it. OP started out calling vehicle a cart, then went on to call it a Gig, so not sure what kind of vehicle is really being considered. I would think a stylish Gig would be painted, natural finish vehicles are more Country casual.