[dreamswept]

My Christmas present arrived today! I started assembling it, but ran out of daylight before I got the seat on. That's gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Oh well, what's another few hours right?

I've been driving my Haflinger for about a month now, he's an old pro at this thing, I learned enough at some point to drive without making a total hash of myself, and the 4 months I spent ground driving before we hooked up to the jog cart my barn owner let us use, really helped me learn the technique. It turned out to be way too long, so I've been driving sparingly, but it's helped me get an idea of what we needed. I knew what I liked, but also knew that those carts were only possible if money was no object. Which it wasn't. Darn it.

My parents ended up buying us a no-frills EE cart for Christmas. It's got bike wheels on it right now, but I'm shopping around to find some motorcycle wheels to replace them. For what I'm doing right now... very novice recreational driving, never leaving the property, it's perfect for my purposes. I'm looking forward to the experiences of the future.

[MunchingonHay]

Have fun with your new pressie!!

Post pictures when you can!

[dreamswept]

Thanks! I will! I've really gotten to like driving a lot, especially now that I've been unable to ride for about 2 months (darned household injuries) because it still gives me something to do around horses with the Haffie. He needs all that work all the time, keeps him from turning into a fat brat. And he's got all that fabulous professional training, it seemed like a shame not to take advantage of it.

I'll definitely post pictures. It's nothing fancy as far as EE carts go, but I'm not showing or not driving willy nilly over the rugged terrain, so it works out fine. I'm just there to bum around and have fun for a few years. And being affordable, I can keep it outside by my hay shed (no barn storage, alas!) under a tarp without freaking out that I'm leaving a $1000+ cart (or a wood one) exposed to the elements.

[Chewbacca]

Congratulations!

[Plainandtall]

Merry Christmas indeed! I hope you and you Haffie have a great New Year with your new cart!

[Zu Zu]

Congratulations ! ENJOY !!!

[dreamswept]

Thanks for all the warm wishes! I've got it fully put together and went out for my first drive in it today. WOW! It's kind of different having my pony's butt that much closer to the dash, but considering the jog cart had 90" shafts from tip to singletree, I like having proper sized shafts for him. It makes me feel much more in control of the cart as a whole. I also LOVE sitting up higher. I was looking smack at his butt, now I can actually see the top of the saddle and my rein turrets. Awesome!

So far, this is what I'm seeing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...pse4b61c33.jpg

[MunchingonHay]

I love that view!

[DiamondJubilee]

Awesome!! Enjoy your new toy
And wow, look at that green grass!! It doesnt look like that here, lol!

[Remudamom]

My first cart was a metal EE with bike wheels. Perfect for a beginner! Enjoy yourself!

[dreamswept]

Thank you, thank you.

Diamond Jubilee - Yeah, it sure is green here. We've been getting a fair amount of rain, and since we don't have snow and it doesn't get cold enough to freeze much, the grass is coming in. Love it! Love SoCal. Of course, the trade off is we'll probably start losing the green in April or May when everyone else still has lots of green.

Remudamom - Thanks! I'll definitely enjoy myself lots. I looked into lots of carts before my parents asked me which one I liked. There were lots of carts I liked. I looked at Ahonen, Frey and Wagner, but oh the price tags! They probably would be very suitable for me as a not-beginner, but the perfect beginner cart was the metal EE. Is it gonna win any major awards, of course not. But it'll help me get more experience and allow me to slowly save up so maybe my next cart will be more fancy and something I could compete with ... if I ever do. I'm just happy I've got what I've got, and the pony loves it too.

Here we are, out for a little drive.
http://youtu.be/bxhYRwrRmj8