Danny the Miniature Horse - 17 February 2024

Drive # 230 - Wairau Valley - 4km
This video is a long one containing 4 parts.
Part 1-Ist attempt from start to 11.09 mins shows it all go wrong.
Part 2-2nd attempt 11.10 from to 14.30 mins shows another uh oh.
Part 3-Head out back from 14.35 to 28.10 to try and take the edge off
Part 4-3rd attempt from 28.12 mins to end once the others are not around and after the sting is off, finishing on a significantly better note.
I make plenty of mistakes and this was a first time for us attempting this sort of thing and it was the first time he was in company of 2 harness horses at once with lots of distractions around him.
Danny is an interesting chap who is wilful at times and can blow everything out of proportion, I know posting this is likely to receive lots of judgement but I would appreciate some kindness in the critique, it is always easier when it's not your butt in the moment.
We certainly have lots more work to do but ultimately we all stayed safe, we finished on a good note so even though it could have been 100 times better I feel I have something to move forward from and could have been 100 time worse.
Horses are interesting, they have good and bad days just like us and they certainly do the same as kids by embarrassing you in public or meeting new people and not making the best first impression.
I always share our good, bad and ugly because everything is a learning opportunity, it's a chance for others to see what can happen from the safety of their homes, and I often go back over and over the footage to see what I might have missed and see if I can see what I could do better.
I didn't add music over the top this time so you can hear everything that is going on.
Your subscription is genuinely appreciated
Recorded in 1080p because that is all that You Tube and IMovie will allow
Filmed on Go Pro Hero 5
Marlborough, New Zealand

[@rosie7346]

Lovely dapples on him

[@DeeinNZ]

Thank you. I do love his pretty dapples.

[@daafy6390]

You seem to have nerves of steel, do you ever get scared when he acts up like that?

[@DeeinNZ]

Because we did 19 months of long reining even after doing a good 6 months of getting to know each other before we even attached a cart I got to know him and his reactions pretty well. I know that he likes to buck and I know when he gets super frustrated he rears but thankfully between the 2 of us we know not to push it far enough that he would flip over backwards (I hope) I don't usally get scared persay but the backing up and the spitting of his bit trying to evade me when things are going really wrong I would say unsettles me more than scares me, simply because by him doing so we have completely lost our form of communication and have effectively stopped 'talking' to each other, those times I am sad his reactions have taken over the power from our teamwork so I just work at trying to get him back. I have had one instance where he nearly sent us backward over a bank into a ditch which was scary but I don't hesitate to jump out and grab him (as you saw) if things go into the too hard basket but only for a reset as the fix has to be from driving, leading him through a situation is not a success, it's a fail in my mind. It's one of the biggest challenge in harness and where it differs the most from riding, you MUST have the ability to reassure, reinforce and engage from behind without patting them. It's why harness horses have to be braver out front on their own but still take direction instead of someone clamping legs on and stroking a neck. Thank you for watching and I appreciate your question.