Using a golfcart for conditioning

Tara, that's so funny, about the skooter. The boys talked me in to buying one of them just like that, I think that danged thing cost me $250 or so... at a show, the time I went Grand the first time and won circuit champion with Kid... they could've probably talked me in to anything at that point. HA!

Wanna know how long that danged scooter lasted? Well, once I bought it at the show, I didn't even hardly see the boys, they were just flat having a big time. Only time they came back was when they had to charge it again, which was very frequent.

I think after we got that thing home, it only lasted like two months, if that... friends came over, and it got destroyed, literally!

My golfcart cost me $1,000, course it was used, etc. I've had it oh, what, maybe 3 years... best $1,000 I ever spent. These electric ones, though, the batteries are extremely expensive. Haven't had to replace them yet, but I know it's coming - probably need to do it now, because the horses are waiting on me going up a hill... HA!

And my golfcart has gone through some you know whatie. Let's see, Dillon let a friend drive it, he let it roll into a tree - totally went sideways, literally; Rick and boys had to dismantle the whole danged thing, bend it back, put stuff where all the cracks were, course now it's a camoflauge color -- goodness gracious!!!! That thing has just be through some heckie pooh.

Trent had a bunch of friends over one time, and I look out, and they're in the pasture, 4 up front, 5 or 6 in the back, and they're popping a wheelie coming up a hill... needless to say, I met them out in the pasture... little twits!

Your golf cart sounds like ours, 7cedars!!! Ours has been to heck and back, the kids love to speed all around in it and it's been in the ditch many a time! We also need new batteries, I think it has three big batteries, I can't remember. My husband priced them and I know they were high, I don't remember how much though. We can't drive it right now anyway with the snow. Some of the golf carts you see at shows can be pretty amazing though! We didn't show there but we were at a Tom Powers show once and I loved watching the huge semis and fancy trailers pulling up and unloading those customized golf carts! It's unreal!

I use my bicyle, lol, for Scotch. It's not as safe as the scooter or golf cart, but it was cheap because I already had it and I had Scotch trotting for a heck of a time on it the first day. Only one thing I reccomend for people just starting out with a golf cart, scooter, bike, whatever: DO NOT TIE YOUR HORSE TO THE GOLF CART!!!!!!!! LOL, well, it's really not funny, but, I've seen horses pull those little golf carts over, especially the electric ones because they're pretty light, honestly, it's just not the safest thing to do, simply because horses are unpredictable. A rock that looks like a non-horse eating, normal rock, can over-night become a really scary, horse eating monster that will get them if they do not blast full speed ahead or stop right in their tracks. LOL.

When I worked somewhere where we had access to a golfcart i used it.

Will say had 1 bad exerience with it mare from heck decided to try and kick it while trotting down the work out area we had and she had been used for this alot it was part of her diet plan. Eventually she got good but be careful and have someone else drive atleast for a while.

I actually sometimes use my four wheeler now with my older horse who is very steady and very used to it.

Yep, need to be careful, because you have to drive like a postman... with your left foot and sitting on the right side. Now I don't sit right up against the right side, unless I'm with babies, but once they get going, especially those big ones, I'll kind of scootch to the left a bit... only bad thing about that top not being on there... those big'uns look awfully danged big, ya know.

We used the golf cart for awhile. but we out paced that... now we use the 4wheeler.... boy my girl loves to work behind that at a long trot . We have about 30 acres of 10' wide sand trails in front of our house thru the woods.
Depending on the areas of the body needing working, depends on what trail we take... small hills, or straight aways with sand....

I agree it takes alittle time and practice... i use to pony the youngsters on the trails off of our ole gelding... the 4-wheeler is a must for the working world... makes it quick and easy !

About the only thing that scares me with a 4-wheeler is if you have to bale - and you either bale or you let go of the leadrope. I'm not real keen about being pulling off of something... HA!

Plus, I refuse to have one of those things here on my premises... the boys are not allowed to even ride one unless they wear helmets...there's been a lot of kids killed around here because they were under age or acting like idiots.

One of the kids I grew with up, he and his son (who was ten at the time) were hauling off limbs, he goosed the 4-wheeler, and it flipped over on top of him... he's paralyzed from the neck down...

Huh-uh, ain't having one of those things here... nope.

Not that it doesn't work for some people now...it just won't for me.

Wish I had something to pony, nice little hillside with sandy track to go over...

I still like the round work though.. We have large round pen with good sand footing ... The round work does build up the outside shoulder.. I like my shoulders to puff out... No I do not work in small circles

Would be nice to get a good combination of both..

I agree motorized sports can be dangerous, its very important that the driver is a resonsible one, our son gets to enjoy the driving at the same time he gets to drive the 4-wheeler with a helmet on and pony me... He is great, being brought up around motorized sports his whole life helps, well maybe... on the side he races go-karts ... but all in all, before i would suggest getting your horses use to the golf carts first, each horse is different and trained differently from the start... so their reactions to such may not be the same as ours.. this is the ending result of our work out
well she is alittle out of shape... that's the winter look without being behind the 4-wheeler since August....

Jeesh, OLF, that's a super nice mare... love the color!

I'm with you, the difference in a horse being worked whether golfcart/4-wheeler, whatever, is just phenomenal. They're fit and their minds are so much more relaxed, ready to do a day's job.

yes, I believe -working them in a straight line is much better on the youngsters, then in a circle round pen... plus i find also as you stated above, it keeps their minds fresh and not arena burnt out .

Sorry, OLF, I meant OLF instead of SS... Super nice mare there... is she having a baby this year? I'm assuming it's a mare... HA!

No that's just the size of her... why does she look like she's due

No, I was just making sure she was a mare and not a gelding... HA! Let me know when something hits the ground out of her... whew!

Will do, look for announcements in 2008:lol:

Very nice mare OLF..