The Cart

The Cart

I ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time at the Ann Armour lunging demo a couple of Fridays ago. Afterward, I was lunging Paisano to practice some of what I had learned. We were also chatting. I mentioned that I though he would make a great driving pony. My friend says, “I’ve got a cart that’s been sitting around. Do you want it?” Do I?? Well, YES! I’ve been looking around for an affordable training cart for a few years now. I didn’t want to pay $500 for a cart that I would have to upgrade to do CDEs and entry level carts that would work were anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. I picked it up on Friday. Yea!! Thank you Candee!

After stripping the wheels and seat

After stripping the wheels and seat

It is really pony size, so I will be looking for larger wheels. There are several inches of room in the frame for that. I think that I can go to almost 26″ in diameter, though that may not be needed. I would love to get wooden wheels, but a short search of google didn’t turn up much. I’m also not sure that I want to invest that much in it. Bicycle or motorcycle wheels will work just fine.

I think that I'll get a new singletree to be safe. I just have to get this one off.

I think that I'll get a new singletree to be safe. I just have to get this one off.

The bolt holding the singletree is rusted on, so that may be more of a project to replace. I’ve soaked it in WD40 and will try again in a couple of days.


I will also be reupholstering the seat and may make the back a little taller. I have some birch plywood that will look nice stained and showing in back. I might even consider adding a dash and a spares box under the seat. But before all that, it will be treated for rust and repainted. What color though?? I would love to hear opinions. If you post a color suggestion, please also consider the upholstery color. I welcome ideas!

Future carriage dog?

Future carriage dog?

It will likely be driven most with Vinnie, a dun sabino, who looks like a strawberry roan in the summer. If the shafts fit, I might try Lily some day too. Black, of course, is safe and would fit with anything. My harness is black with stainless hardware. I might also consider a dark mahogany or maybe dark green. Please comment and let me know what you think…


Candee sent along a couple of sacks of harness that she got with it. There were parts of two leather harnesses and two nylon. The leather was too far gone to salvage, but I washed the nylon parts in the washer. Yes, the husband asked what was making all the noise… I had put them in pillow cases, but didn’t tie them shut, so it all came out loose anyway. I tried! It looks like I have everything except the saddle, with doubles of some pieces. Even if I don’t end up using it, at least it’s now free of mold, dirt and cobwebs.

Harness parts that came with it. Some may fit Vinnie for training. My harness may be a tad large for him for now.

Harness parts that came with it. Some may fit Vinnie for training. My harness may be a tad large for him for now.

It was serendipitous to have this just fall into my lap. I guess that the time was not right, when I was looking so hard before. And with Vinnie soon coming down the hill for more work, it’s great timing. I may not get it done in time to try hitching Paisano, but I think that Vinnie will likely do well driving. And I’ll be ready for him! I wonder how he will like my strap of rump bells? Paisano carries them without a care. They are loud and quite fun! Though most of the horses in the stalls next to the arena at my new barn didn’t care too much for them. I might have to save them for road driving. Come to think of it, thy are loud enough to be a good safety warning that we are coming. And they would be very fun for parades!


Can you tell that I am excited about what we can do with this new addition?


Dream State #14 from a Twitter #MailART project

Dream State #14 from a Twitter #MailART project

The CONTEST


If I end up picking a color combination suggest here in the comments, I will send the winner an original piece of artwork, likely a monoprint with hand additions, similar to some pieces that I did recently for a mailArt project, but larger…

It won’t be the image posted here. I’m showing as an example only. This one was mailed out to a member of my twitter group. If you are interested in knowing more about that, here is a link to the Flickr group of pieces received.

  13 Responses to “A new project and a contest”

  1. dark green for the metal and burgundy for the seat & wheels.
    ps i love seeing all your art
    thankyou

  2. Cool Score! A look at the naugahyde at Econosales would be an inspiration. Maybe a dark hunter green….

  3. As much as I want to suggest pink, pink, and uh … pink, I just don’t think Vinnie would be happy in pink. Since you love blue so much, I would recommend accents of blue against black (if you go with black as a base color). However, if you go with a beautiful brown (which looks so glorious with Vinnie’s coloring, as you and I both know), I would have to suggest pink – a soft, muted, almost flesh-colored pink as this is the ONLY accent color for brown. That’s my opinion … and I’m right! (Ha-ha!)

  4. Ooh, some nice suggestions already. I am going to refrain from saying much more until a week or so has passed and I can decide…

    ;)

  5. Congrats on the new aquisitions! How about a black cart with burgundy trim and seat? That is conservative and elegant, and should go well with horses/ponies of most any color.

  6. British racing green for the frame, and a dark beige for the seat. I’d probably lay swatches on the horse(s) to see which shade works best.

  7. I’ve seen these carts around. ..
    If you get larger wheels, you’ll have a heck of a time climbing over the shafts.
    There is NO suspension, very hard ride. The only place I would use this cart is in a level ring, no bumps and for not too long.
    As for color, black with either a burgundy or dark green or blue seat.

  8. We will likely stay in arenas and on roads with the cart. I am at the point of, “It’s great to have anything!” ;D And it’s quite low now. It must have been used for a small pony or large mini. Maybe I’ll get steps welded on… I know a good welder.

  9. I see alot of people have suggested this, but I would stick with a nice green for the body (whatever type suits your fancy) and tan for the seats. there is a reason for this, green is a nice cool color, it doesn’t get as hot when left out in the sun, and the tan seat will not burn your legs as bad. I know this from experience!!
    if that wasn’t a consideration I would paint it navy blue with either a dark gold or very dark brown seat.

  10. you should also think in terms of resale, just in case you move up to a better cart. I’d stick with black as it will blend smoothly with the harness. If you go with a neutral fabric you’ll have more choices for color in your clothing. A black on black fabric or a charcoal gray.

  11. black harness + black cart = BOOOOORING!
    Wouldn’t dark green or dark blue with a beige seat be conservative enough to be resalable?

  12. Hi Simrat, cart looks great!!
    Colour wise I would suggest a dark teal/petrol blue for the cart with beige upholstery.
    Can’t wait to see it finnished! :-)

  13. My offering is black for the cart and a black seat; custom metallic red and silver scrollwork on the seat back (both front and back of it, so people will also see the scrollwork from behind, as you drive past). Red and silver scrollwork echoed on the shafts.

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