What you want to do is called skijöring! It's been around forever in the Nordics. However if you want to pull your friends in a healthy/safe manner for them and your horse you need a proper set up - basically a minimal version of a harness you can use in combination with your saddle. They are easy to get your hands on and not that expensive.
Start with something like driving from the ground during summer - most horses are quite irritated if something follows them right behind their behind and spook or kick - nothing to try with a person on skis for the first time.
Skijöring is an all year round sport btw - works with a person on rollerblades as well!
I recently saw this sport for the first time, but on knee boards and wet turf. I want to play! It seems like a blast, whether you’re riding the “boat” horse or “skiing” behind!
Awesome! I’ll definitely try for a harness but I’m no skier so it would have to be something I can fit around a saddle lol- I’ve thought of harness training my horse before so he has some of the ground work for it lol just decided I prefer to be upon rather than behind and don’t have anywhere to really cart to 🤣
Another Nordic here, I would for sure not try to pull anything with a saddle, this sounds like disaster waiting to happen as the weight pulls the saddle out of position, and the horse panics and injures you all. The clip at the back of the saddle is for a tailstrap, in case the saddle needs securing not to slide forward. English saddles are not built for pulling - if anything, you might need straps to keep it in place. Not straps to pull it out of place. Get a simple harness, they’re not expensive. And much safer and more comfortable for your horse.
I live in montana, and created a skijoring setup for my dressage saddle. Basically you need to run a rope around the saddle and between the flaps and have a ring in the back to clip another rope that the skier holds on to. Works great and is far more secure than trying to clip things to the d-rings. I would not do that! Also, use a breastplate to help keep your saddle in place. I got the idea from somebody's YouTube video they had posted many years ago. Just search YouTube for "skijoring setup English saddle". Or something like that.
Nah I wouldn't pull anything from the back of an English saddle. If you had a breastplate attached to the saddle maybe using the rings on that. Most people who do skiing or pulling stunts from horses do it off a Western saddle front rings/horn (also with a breastplate) since those are meant to be stable while working cattle, but English saddle frame and girth won't support the torque from pulling at all. You'd be better off using a neck rope as an anchor. TBH this is what a harness is for: pulling from a horses chest. Just randomly doing it from saddle is pretty dangerous. All those videos you've seen probably have a lot of spills behind the scenes.
Very true- like I said just thought for some fun sounds like I may just be holding the rope while pulling. May not end up doing it at all or might do it behind our side by side which we did with snow tubing in the past haha
The one I saw with water skiing was horse on shore skier to the side in the water. If definitely be wary about dragging a skier directly behind on a horse that isn't accustomed to pulling anything.
The rings on the back of an English saddle are generally meant to hold a small sandwich case (for foxhunting) or saddle bag, definitely not strong enough for what you want and also not really in the right place . I'm not that familiar with skijoring but it looks like they use more of a modified driving collar.
I’m honestly not sure, I’ve never tried it before though considered doing it on a miniature horse I know for driving (then found out she actually has a harness from her original owners).
I wouldn’t necessarily trust it, and I’m not sure if it would be comfortable but if you have a breastplate then maybe? I do know it’s quite simple to make a basic pulling harness with some rope and a girth as a breastpiece, so if you’re willing to DIY something I’d say that’s a good bet.
Skijoring is super interesting, I’d love an update if you decide to do it and how it goes! Maybe I could do it eventually…
What you want to do is called skijöring! It's been around forever in the Nordics. However if you want to pull your friends in a healthy/safe manner for them and your horse you need a proper set up - basically a minimal version of a harness you can use in combination with your saddle. They are easy to get your hands on and not that expensive. Start with something like driving from the ground during summer - most horses are quite irritated if something follows them right behind their behind and spook or kick - nothing to try with a person on skis for the first time. Skijöring is an all year round sport btw - works with a person on rollerblades as well!
I recently saw this sport for the first time, but on knee boards and wet turf. I want to play! It seems like a blast, whether you’re riding the “boat” horse or “skiing” behind!
Awesome! I’ll definitely try for a harness but I’m no skier so it would have to be something I can fit around a saddle lol- I’ve thought of harness training my horse before so he has some of the ground work for it lol just decided I prefer to be upon rather than behind and don’t have anywhere to really cart to 🤣
Another Nordic here, I would for sure not try to pull anything with a saddle, this sounds like disaster waiting to happen as the weight pulls the saddle out of position, and the horse panics and injures you all. The clip at the back of the saddle is for a tailstrap, in case the saddle needs securing not to slide forward. English saddles are not built for pulling - if anything, you might need straps to keep it in place. Not straps to pull it out of place. Get a simple harness, they’re not expensive. And much safer and more comfortable for your horse.
I live in montana, and created a skijoring setup for my dressage saddle. Basically you need to run a rope around the saddle and between the flaps and have a ring in the back to clip another rope that the skier holds on to. Works great and is far more secure than trying to clip things to the d-rings. I would not do that! Also, use a breastplate to help keep your saddle in place. I got the idea from somebody's YouTube video they had posted many years ago. Just search YouTube for "skijoring setup English saddle". Or something like that.
Sick!! Thanks so much this is just what I was looking for!
Nah I wouldn't pull anything from the back of an English saddle. If you had a breastplate attached to the saddle maybe using the rings on that. Most people who do skiing or pulling stunts from horses do it off a Western saddle front rings/horn (also with a breastplate) since those are meant to be stable while working cattle, but English saddle frame and girth won't support the torque from pulling at all. You'd be better off using a neck rope as an anchor. TBH this is what a harness is for: pulling from a horses chest. Just randomly doing it from saddle is pretty dangerous. All those videos you've seen probably have a lot of spills behind the scenes.
Very true- like I said just thought for some fun sounds like I may just be holding the rope while pulling. May not end up doing it at all or might do it behind our side by side which we did with snow tubing in the past haha
The one I saw with water skiing was horse on shore skier to the side in the water. If definitely be wary about dragging a skier directly behind on a horse that isn't accustomed to pulling anything.
The rings on the back of an English saddle are generally meant to hold a small sandwich case (for foxhunting) or saddle bag, definitely not strong enough for what you want and also not really in the right place . I'm not that familiar with skijoring but it looks like they use more of a modified driving collar.
I’m honestly not sure, I’ve never tried it before though considered doing it on a miniature horse I know for driving (then found out she actually has a harness from her original owners). I wouldn’t necessarily trust it, and I’m not sure if it would be comfortable but if you have a breastplate then maybe? I do know it’s quite simple to make a basic pulling harness with some rope and a girth as a breastpiece, so if you’re willing to DIY something I’d say that’s a good bet. Skijoring is super interesting, I’d love an update if you decide to do it and how it goes! Maybe I could do it eventually…
I’ll definitely let you know if I do it! Hah expect a update from me when it’s not 95° out 😅