3 Abreast on a Pioneer Forecart

Last night I knocked another thing off my bucket list.  I hitched up all 3 of my mares to the pioneer forecart.  This is something I've been meaning to do for some time.  A while back I even had my buddy Pat Chase get me a triple tree so I could do it, but it's been collecting dust ever since.  That is ... until last night.

I wanted to work the girls again last night, because we have that event this Saturday.  I had initially thought about just pulling the sled around with the girls, but I had this nagging thought about Nellie.  I've worked her, and even driven down the road with her, but I just don't use her that much.  Suddenly my mind formulated the idea that maybe instead of pulling the sled, I should hitch all 3 mares up to the pioneer cart.  There were a lot of particulars I had to work out in my mind though.

First, what order am I going to put the girls in.  Last time I ground drove them 3 up, I had Nellie in the middle (Link HERE).  That didn't work so good.  I use my team lines and 2 extra cross check lines to control the horses.  With Nellie in the middle, the cross checks for the inside bit of the other horses were hooked to her.  What would happen is that if I said to step out, and she didn't, Pam and Rachael would be turned to the center, and all 3 horses would come face to face.  Not an ideal solution.  This led me to decide to keep Pam and Rachael the same, and just have Pam be the inside horse.  Why Pam on the inside?  Cuz she's big and listens well.  When I say to step, she does.  This would keep the 3 way head butt I described earlier from happening.  Also, this configuration means I can keep the pole between Rachael and Pam ... and they are used to it.

Next, I had to figure out how to hook up the pioneer forecart.  This is where the pioneer cart really shines.  It is easily configurable to fit any scenario I wanted.  Option 1: leave the team pole in the center, and offset the hitch bolt to the left.  This basically means Rachael and Pam will be exactly the same as they normally are, and just adds Nellie to the outside on the left.  The horses won't be centered this way.  Option 2:  move the team pole to the right, and leave the hitch pin in the center.  This is the way to use the cart if you want it centered with the horses.  This way would have Pam directly center in front of the cart.  I went with option 1, mostly because I wouldn't have to get out a wrench to move the pole.

Here's an example of keeping the pole in the center, and moving the hitch pin to the side to accommodate the triple tree..

Next I had to figure out which way to hook the triple tree.  My triple tree is a pioneer brand one.  It has one big bar, with one horse hooked to one end, and a normal team evener hooked to the other.  I determined that since I was leaving Rachael and Pam the same on the cart, that I'd let them share the team evener.  This would then put Nellie on the outside evener alone.  This made sense in my head.  After using it, I think it would be better to put the team evener away from the pole.  Look at the picture above and you'll see why.  The double tree has a lot of interference with the team pole when done the way I did.  If I did it the other way (like the picture above) that won't happen.

This was my setup.  Next time I'll hook it up the other way.

I got home, plans fresh in my mind, and gathered and harnessed the horses.  Getting that one extra horse ready adds time!  Especially since Nellie's harness was last used on Buck, so I had to re-size it and fit it to her.  Soon, I had 3 pretty girls, who were ready to be hooked up to the cart.  Before I get to that, I used the lines the same way I did last time.  Team lines with the outside lines going to the outside 2 horses, and the cross-check lines both going to the center horse.  Then 2 separate cross check lines running from the center horses hame ring, to the inside bit of each outer horse.  (lots more on this HERE)

This is how I have my lines setup. 

Hitching up the cart was much easier than I expected.  This is where I'll brag on the Belgian horse a bit.  I LOVE that I can pull these big girls out, and they are just laid back and easy going.  Adding Nellie to the trailer next to Pam was new, but no one seemed to care.  Even as I was hitching up the tugs and adjusting everything, they just were not excitable at all.  I LOVE the Belgian horse!  They are so easy to work.

3 mares hitched up, ready to go.

Here's a better shot of the rig. 

I was a little bit nervous.  This was the first time to try this, and I was working alone.  I didn't know how Nellie would respond when I asked her to back up so we could swing left and head off.  This is where my love of Belgians continues.  I untied them, hopped on the forecart, and asked the girls to back.  All 3 girls backed up perfectly, and soon we were on our way!

I was on cloud 9.  We got into the pasture and I could see the girls kind of feeling out this new thing.  Nellie (the new girl) was a little ansty, and was walking out fast.  This kept causing her to turn inward into Pam due to the cross check line.  The more steps she took, the more she calmed down.  Soon she was walking even with all the others, and we really had a nice uneventful drive.

The teamsters view has changed!  3 butts instead of 2!!  :)

What I learned most from this is the importance of line tension when driving multiple horses.  With a team it's easy to get a little relaxed and have loose lines.  When you have a good team, they'll do the right thing for you and keep their spacing pretty good.  For 3 up, I found that they did best, when I kept tension on those lines.  I had to keep just enough tension on those outside lines to keep Rachael and Nellie from turning in on Pam.  Once I figured that out, they all walked perfectly straight.

Taking a break. 

Of course, working them with just the cart caused the horses not to work at all.  So I figured out a cure for that.  After a break, I locked the brakes on the cart down pretty good.  Not enough to lock the wheels, but enough to give lots of resistance.  I then had the girls step off.  This worked great, and gave the girls some resistance.  I'm not sure Nellie has ever actually pulled a load, so this was good for her.  She got to feel the pressure on her collar and understand how to push into it.

Great night!  I'm so happy to have this configuration in my arsenal now.  Now I can use 3 horses instead of 2 for big jobs.  :)