All this reminds me of my favorite Tom Robert’s Quote: “If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a real favour, train him well. Teach him good manners, good habits, both in the stable and under saddle. You need never worry about the future of such a horse if for any reason you have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.” Thank you Barry for putting all the time and effort in to all these horses over the years… and thank you for showing the world your philosophy and process on KZfaq!

Horses' hooves make the loveliest music.

Brilliant work, Barry and well explained. Love seeing the English countryside too. Hot here in Australia atm. Totally agree with you on the rubber bit, softer kinder and different than the severe bits that are often used. Voice is so important too. What you put into their minds is more important than what you put in into their mouths.

If you weren't already someone I strongly admire, then I would after the great things that you have done for this horse. New careers for former harness racing horses is a major interest of mine.

Thanks for the training videos. It does my heart good to see the kindness while still being clear in what you expect. So few trainers are truly friends of horses. Its so good to see the horse being put first, before human ego.

Bless you for giving this horse a great New lease of life!! Second chances are rare and precious, I've got a soft spot for these horses!! I've been lucky enough to help with the education of an old trotting horse, ( every horse, teaches us something new, ,if we're willing to listen.) This tough little guy was a Diamond, I learnt a lot from him!! Thank you for helping so many horses and their owners as well. The rubber bit is the most Humane bit, I've noticed that the more severe ones, cause more problems than curing them!! I suggest that people try one on the shin bone, ~before they put it in a horses mouth!! Kindest Regards, Andrea and Critters. ...XxX....

So true Barry. We still (after being broken by you in 2012) drive our two Welsh Cobs in rubber bits, and don't see the need to put them in anything else. We can drive them ( & stop them!!) through heavy traffic or on country roads at harvest time! Thanks HDP.

Nice pony, glad he's being given chance of another career.

lovely channel. i had driving horse for 2 years but i realize now i only learnt a tiny bit,,,,,,learning again now thankyou

We need more people like u and all your team like this in the world x

Seeing well treated horses at work is a pleasure.

You are awesome & generous with all the information you share with us!! Thank you. However, I would love to have seen this boy when he was kicking out and how you worked with him to get him out of it as I would like to drive with the rubber bit you talk about.

i wish some of the travellers around here would watch a few of your vids.

Its so great seeing this video and the amazing things that Standy's can do! My family breds and trains Standardbred's for harness racing in NZ and I would love to be able to take one of our line when their racing career is over and retrain them to drive in the other kind of harness! People seem to think that their trot is quite hideous but like you say they have been trained to cover ground and fast - in the paddock they trot and canter quite beautifully. A racehorse will only break into canter on the track when their stride has been disrupted or sometimes out of a sheer desire to want to go faster (Some horses are quite competitive - honestly!) or maybe being pushed a bit too much by the driver. When this happens they usually pull out to the side and back because it is part of the rules that you cannot disturb the path of a horse behind you in coming forward. You could be held to appeal for that if for instance this happened down the home straight and the horse behind you appeared to be coming around in a bid to move forward and you held him up. The rules are a bit complex. I know that we really don't like our horses to be hard mouthed - the driving style here is different to the American's and cruppers are pretty routine in harness. The horse's can turn quite happily in their sulky's - so tight that only the wheels are moving and the driver appears to be turning on the spot - they do pick the sulky up sometimes though!. Like you say though, things are different with horses everywhere and I'm really glad to see this wee guy doing so well.

I love to watch and hear everything Barry and Melanie have to show us. I think it would be very interesting to get a look at the horse, full side before the video starts. Then we could see the horse being trained and get a better idea.

Thank you, so glad this sweetheart is being given a new life!

Superb! 😲 Fantastic work!

barryhook2 I use a rubber bit when im rehabbing a horse from injury. I've even used a rubber bit on a pacing horse, when I was retraining him. I live in Canada, and the rules for racing Thoroughbreds and Standardized, are very, very strict. I found out about rubber bits from watching your channel. Thank you.

Oh wow, that's a lovely piece of the world right there.

You are a good man. Love your videos. Very interesting about horses.

I have learned so much. Thank you.

Brilliant video & very enlightening, trotters are great horses, much loved by trekking community here in NZ as they are enthusiastic tough workers. Mine was dragged out of a paddock of rams unworked for 18months, then used for general farm & all Pony Club activities before he went to be ridden by my friend's disabled son, which included Hunt treks & the like. Lovely, willing temperament typical of the breed. I also enjoyed your explanation of side-reins, which, of course, merely encourages "self carriage" as any weight on them will translate onto weight on his girth straps & breeching. It is thus a disincentive to leaning on the bit-I use it for my riding horses when lungeing them partly for the same reason. Carry on the good work, it's great to see simple things done very well!

Nice. Got a good look at him. He is certainly a fortunate ex-race horse!

great video hopefully this summer i will have my mare like this

Horses love racing

Sad to see how the bits have gotten harsher. My mom grew up working on a Standerbred racing farm in Maine. The only bit they ever raced in was a simple O-ring snaffle. no twists, no shanks, no check rein. All it takes is good training. Good job guys. Really enjoy your videos

Many trotting horse trainers make the mistake of using a severe bit all the time. A trotter *might* compete in a harsher bit, but their daily exercise & routine training should be done in a softer bit in my opinion. This preserves the sensitivity of the bars of the mouth and also encourages relaxation. I could go on (often do!), but I'll stop here..... :)

This was so interesting. I didn't know some of the terms because I don't have horse experience but love them. Great explanation at the end. In the states, at least where I've been, we don't see horse and carriage. It sort of goes right along with the romantic idea I have of Europe with the small quaint towns, stunning settings, thatched roof homes, I just love it. I can tell you have a big heart and appreciate you putting the work in to keep him around. Animals are not disposable but I see it so often, and it breaks my heart. The strap that is behind his bum/legs, does that ever rub on the horses? Keep up the lovely work! Cheers!

I love how patient you are lovely vidio, looks a gooden to me he has every chance thanks to you kazie

U use to be able to watch them at tire prince in north wales and also dunstall race course in west middlands

Very much appreciate your video's. I live in the state of Ohio. How and where can I acquire the soft rubber bit.

I wonder if this would work for a former Thoroughbred race horse.

Hi Barry, thanks for showing one of these great little horses. Some trainers in NZ and Australia will slowly canter horses in harness at their home tracks each day when training, as part of their fitness routines. It may be different in UK, Europe and America? Most of the horses seem to learn that a slow canter in training is different to breaking to a gallop from trotting flat out during a race. I wholeheartedly agree that some have hard mouths. I find one of the main problems is they often balance by turning their heads/necks to the outside of a circle or corner as the driver's have held onto the outside rein to keep them on the correct track. This causes the inside shoulder to fall in. Very hard to correct and re-train. Any ideas...?

What did you do when he was kicking and bucking? Did he do it in the cart? Or just when being ground-driven?

Barry was he raced on the road or track do u know

Where can I buy one of those rubber bits?? The ones they sell on amazon seem way too thick. Way thicker than a snaffle bit.

Is there a reason to keep driving with the left reign is twisted ? Just interested, thank you.

I have a 3 year old standardbred that s racing, the problem is that this filly pulls all the time, can she be taught to be raited in a soft bit while racing?

He sounds like he is cantering with his front legs and trotting with his back legs at present.. has not got his balance yet in that gait.

I have worked for two trot trainers and its all about the money and how much they can make from that horse. They aren't mouthed properly, gear is just put on and they get maybe a day or two with that and then its sulky breaking. It is breaking. The horses have their heads held up and out, two bits. One that pulls the head up and the other one supposedly for steering and hauling on for stopping. One trainer and I say that loosely used to have a chain whip for beating them when they did something wrong in his eyes. Needless to say I didn't last long as the cruelty was awful