Introducing our newest guest blogger: Jed Howlett of Alberta, Canada. Jed focuses on fine-tuning body control, and focusing those movements and refinement through fine rein in driving animals. He began his career as a coach teaching basic ground-driving clinics, and has now expanded offering virtual coaching at JH Equine Virtual Carriage Driving Coaching.

Most Common Challenges as a Clinician

I love teaching. Sharing my knowledge and experience with people and setting them up for success is something I take a lot of pride in. I have found that most people don’t know what they don’t know, as is the nature of equestrian sports. Probably the biggest and most common thing I’ve observed is:

Chasing Unrealistic Expectations

What I mean by unrealistic expectations, is your equine isn’t always in a mental space to be hitched to a tire or a cart.

Obviously the end goal is driving but sometimes it’s better to play for the long game and make small wins each day instead of focusing on the major accomplishment of hitching and driving off into the sunset. A win can be a pony who consistently gets closer to that. Today, he cannot tolerate something dragging behind him, but he can tolerate being led over poles and halting while straddling. He can’t handle the blinders but prefers to be worked in an open bridle, or, conversely, can’t find confidence in an open bridle but blinders help him focus. Maybe more desensitization to sounds behind him is in order.

There’s a lot of rungs on the ladder to success. Taking the time to explore them instead of over facing your pony with hitching and/or dragging too soon might actually be the fast track to winning!

Reading what your Equine can take in a day and process is a win to me!

A question I get asked almost every time I teach is: “Why should my Equine need body control so early in their driving career?”

This is my favorite question to be asked, and here is why!

Body control plays so many large factors into starting a driving equine.

1. If you only have control of their head, in the event of a runway, you’ll pull their head with the intent to circle. Most likely, they will turn their head and keep running straight.

2. Gain body control of the four separate pieces of their body: neck, shoulder, rib cage and hip; independently. Once you can move each individually, you have a broke equine. For example, they try to run off, so you disengage their rib cage or hip and you have control again.