# Off road cart demand?



## CornerstoneAcre (Mar 10, 2011)

I will start out by saying please no bashing I am only looking for constructive advice here - thank you :happy2: I can take construtive criticism just fine though. (I know HTers are normally a wonderful bunch so I'm not too worried)

My husband and I purchased our first two draft horses this fall (a 4 and a 14 year old). The 14 year old is a dream to both ride and drive - we are working on the 4 year old. My husband bought harnesses and built a cart for us as our Christmas present. We just love it and after posting pictures on my FB we actually have two tentative orders for carts. I will post pictures of OUR cart which will not be exactly what he intends to build. The intended cart will not have such a large "trunk" space (which will also be closed in - ours isn't done yet) and will have more leg room. It is very well put together, comfortable and sturdy. We have our own machine shop business and my husband has been a welder his entire adult life so this is not a slapped together-tack welded -hodgepodge conglomeration!!

A few features of the cart includes:
it is light weight and will be able to fit into the back of a pickup truck
adjustable back on the seat (we found ours to be too straight up and down)
there will be a step to easily step aboard
shafts are removable
off road quad tires
independant suspension (not just some springs on the seat)
there will be some type of arm bar to use as a handle or just to lock you in on both sides of the seat (picture just an angled bar from back of bench to the seat of the bench - maybe about midway)
lights (as an additional option)




I was wondering a few things though. 
Is there much of a demand out there for this type of cart? Is there already something similar out there in the 600-800 range (or less)?
Would it be of interest to allow it to fit into a stall of a two horse trailer?
What price would you be willing to pay for this type of cart?
We thought of a removeable seat, but it's pretty light weight as it is, would that matter?
Are there other features that you personally would like to see incorporated into an off road camping/tooling around cart? 
I thought a retractable awning type thing would be cool, but we don't really have a need for it on our cart as we are on two tracks in the woods - however it might be nice if there was an occasional shower. Any thoughts on this?
Is there anything you don't like or would change? 


Sorry the pictures aren't the best, but I wasn't taking them to show off the cart for scrutiny at the time - more or less was showing our first hook up for friends.


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## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

I've been kicking the idea of getting a buggy and I've resently done a bit of research. There are a few companies making these buggies and the price ranges from 500-1200 depending on how its made, size, wheel type and etc.

A google search of 'horse buggy' will bring you to a few sites. IDK what the demand is like for these things. A company called 'pioneer homestead equipment' makes horse drawn implements for farming/gardening and markets them to the Amish community or anyone who might be interested. They might also make a buggy.

Thats a nice looking one your husband made. I think padded seats would make it more attractive and comfortable. Also, I have been looking for something that can be fitted for sleigh blades, but haven't found one.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Pioneer Eq. makes a lot of carts. The most common is their forecart. It has a whole bunch of options, fenders, brakes, converts from one horse to two, bench seat. They even make a snow plow attachment. But it lacks springs in the axle. Pull a couple pins and it fits in the back of a pickup truck.










Not a good photo, doesn't show expanded metal floor or brake pedal. There are three atachment points for the seat. I'm using two seats, but a bench seat is available. 

They make a retractable sun shade for them that could be adapted to your cart.

Plus they make a heavey duty cart with big wheels that looks like a Draft Show cart, but stronger. Out of that $600 price goal.

I like the cart you have shown. I like a heavier design because I want a cart that will survive a mishap. If I ever had a runaway or a horse backed down a ditch or sideswipped a tree or catch a stump on an axle, I'd want it to survive. While I pray that won't ever happen, I put up with the extra weight.

I'd run the shafts out longer. In turning and with the normal left/right whip of the cart, your horse might rub some hair off from the end of the short shafts. I'd move the hold back strap bracket on the shafts further forward. I like to have the chains at the end of the tugs tight and the hold back strap tight, too. This way it is harder for stuff to get unhooked by accident. EEliminates the shucking back and forth between the horse and cart.

I can not tell from the photos how the shafts connect to the cart. In rough trail conditions, those tires are going to "catch" on roots rocks and bumps. Unchecked, this will toss every two wheeled vehicle left and right. The shafts strapped tightly to your beautiful horse, will prevent that motion. I think that the attachment point of the shafts to the cart will take a lot of strain. In order to put this in the back of a truck, you are limited to the width of the wheel spacing or the easy removal of the shafts. Those diaginal shaft braces look like they could bend thae tube they are connected to right at the weakest point: the place where the holes is drilled to attach the brace. Perhaps a larger diameter tube there and where the singletree attaches would allow the cart to survive an incident.

I'm sure he'll make the carts so you can hitch a team, too. 

I'm not sure where you are located, Cornerstone sounds familiar.

Draft Horse Auction Horse, equipment on March 13 in Topeka, IN. Another horse equipment Auction at Mt. Pleasant, MI this spring sometime. May get some ideas there, too.

Good Luck.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

Brakes? Expanded metal for the floor? I would be interested in something like that. Have you come up with pricing yet?


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

We've got a Haflinger mare that we do light chore work with and have talked about the possibility of a buggy ... yours certainly looks like a useful type, more so than most.

However, 90% of our farm is hillside and we've pretty much decided that our only reasonable option here is a skid ... built one that is more or less like an oversized bobsled. We can use it on grass, mud or snow and it doesn't tip on the sidehills.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

When you get good at driving, you can have some fun. I had the welder put the same attachments on the back of the cart that are on the front of the cart for the shafts.
This was quite the crowd pleaser at parades:


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## 1sttimemom (Mar 1, 2005)

I don't know how much interest you will have but it looks great! Have you considered other sizes? Lots of interest in pony carts it seems. I bought one of the basic metal carts, older and used, but good shape. Plus we got the brand new still-in-box leather pony harness for $300. A bargain really. But the lightweight cart about kills us to ride in for very long. It's a rough ride if you do anything other than easy walk on nice hard pack roads. 
otherwise it jars your bones to death! LOL


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I love the look of your cart. A cargo idea is a great idea and I like the taller seat back.

You do _not_ want any sort of arm or bracing that will lock you in the cart. You want to be able to bail out quickly when you need to. When time is critical, even a second can make all the difference. Remember, that's a horse and not a motor and sometimes it isn't going to do exactly what you expect.


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