Our coloured cob superstar Toby has been doing his carriage driving training. This is the story of what’s involved, and how he’s getting on.
By David
Toby is owned by Kate Fox (who also owns Abella), but thanks to her generosity is also a fully paid-up member of the Park Lane Stables pony team. When he arrived he was already trained to carriage drive, so we were keen to see how well he’d adapt to the extra demands involved at an RDA centre.
To become a certified RDA carriage driving horse he had to pass an assessment by an outside assessor. His early training before he came to us had given him an excellent grounding. He’s a trusting horse who isn’t worried about most things life throws at him. But we needed to ensure he could take the demands of RDA driving in his stride. This isn’t just the normal things horses have to face with driving, but includes additional factors like wheelchair users, attaching a ramp onto the carriage, and some of the issues and behaviours that our clients can present. He needed to be comfortable with all this going on around him, and all the loud noises potentially involved.
Another essential skill is just quietly standing still harnessed to the carriage waiting for people to get on and off. That’s harder than it sounds!
He also needed to be comfortable and safe in the traffic on the roads leading to Bushy Park. People are often surprised that horses can be scared by the deer, especially the red deer and particularly during the rutting season. We have found that for many of our horses this is the hardest thing for them. And then there are all the other features of park life, including runners in bright clothes, loose dogs, ducks, benches, and rubbish bins …
Training consists of a process of gradual exposure to all of this, ensuring that every aspect and scenario is fully covered. Toby’s response throughout was solid and reliable. He’s been unfazed by everything we’ve thrown at him, his biggest challenge has actually been standing still! And we can definitely work on that.
Safety for participants, the general public, staff/volunteers, other horses and Toby himself are our highest priorities. We also need to be confident that he’s happy being driven, that the harness fits properly, and that the weight of the carriage with passengers is comfortable for him to pull. He’s shown us that he really enjoys driving and puts his heart into it.
To consolidate the training done at home we attended a driving clinic in Stow on the Wold and started some of the initial work towards the formal assessment in the safety of an arena. And since then he has passed his assessment with flying colours so is now officially qualified to drive the carriage.
Toby is proving to be a joy to drive and everyone who has seen him, including that RDA assessor, are impressed by him. His future as a member of the elite carriage driving team looks bright.
See a snapshot of us training our ponies, including Toby driving the carriage, and our new horses being introduced to everyday routines at the yard