| Author | Message | ||
     Vic Kusin |
Hi Shirley. A two-wheel vehicle must be correctly balanced. If it is not, you will have an uncomfortable ride, risk injuring your pony and put strain on your harness, which may break. The vehicle must be balanced with the driver and groom seated in their normal driving position and you must be on level ground. Balance is also affected by the height of the shafts in their tugs and all this must be set correctly before you start balancing the vehicle. Balance is achieved either by moving the seat back or forward on the body of the vehicle or by moving the body of the vehicle back or forward on the wheel axle. Most 2 wheel vehicles have at least one of these adjustments. I don't know the Bellcrown you have, but even if there is no adjustment provided, it is often possible to devise some way of moving the seat by using wooden blocks, making extra holes or other alternative fixings. Your local blacksmith or garage mechanic may be able to help. Just remember that whatever you do, it must be safe and strong enough to withstand the use its going to get. If you change your groom for a heavier or lighter one, you want to be able to adjust the balance accordingly and you should never drive for any appreciable distance without a groom on board. The same applies whether the groom is seated beside the driver or standing on the backstep - once he or she gets off, the vehicle will be out of balance. When driving along in a correctly balanced vehicle, the shafts should be gently "floating" in the tugs. A slight downward pressure is OK, but they should never rise up, pulling on the belly band. Too much downward pressure will be uncomfortable for the pony and will strain the back band. When you come to going uphill or downhill, the driver and groom have to shift their weight accordingly to keep the vehicle in balance. There's a small section about vehicles in our guide for newcomers on this website - if you go to the Reference section and click on "Newcomers - advice for first time competitors". Hope this helps and good luck with your driving. | ||
| Katherine Mackay |
Moving the seat forward/wheels back will make the shafts 'heavier on'. You will need to do this when you change from having one to having two people in the carriage, as two people in the same position as one will lift the shafts higher and make the ride rather allarming! | ||
| Shirley Moore |
On my question below on balancing a two wheeler I meant move the wheels not the seat on the cart. The cart is a Bellcrown Shetlander don't know if this will help. Thanks. ---- I have a Bellcrown two wheeler. I am fairly happy with the balance for one person to ride on the cart but the problem is how do I adjust it so whether one or two people ride on the cart without upsetting the balance, as at the moment when someone gets in the cart with me the balance is terrible or would I have to move the seat back and forth to accomadate two whether one or two people ride ? Thanks for any help. |