Cone Repair

Driving Cone Repair

Outside view. Red dot shows end of crack

Inside view

The repair was made using Gorilla Clear Repair Tape and Gorilla Super Glue. I cleaned the cone around the crack and in inside the crack as best I could with Isopropyl Alcohol. This is a critical step in producing good results, IMO.

I spread the crack apart as much as reasonably possible and dabbed the Super Glue in the crack. A little goes a long way. The crack wanted to spread and it took a fair amount of pressure to keep closed. I held it closed with my fingers for about a minute then put a few pieces of the tape in strategic places to help hold it closed while the glue further set.

Once the glue was set, I used Super Glue and baking soda to make a patch at the inside bottom of the crack. This is a tricky maneuver! Not so easy to make it look like a nice finished repair but it's on the inside so who cares? I spread the glue in a sort of puddle over the crack then sprinkled some baking soda on it. It set almost instantly. I repeated a second time to build up the patch. It sets rock hard.

I then used several pieces of tape on the inside of the cone across the crack and along the length of the crack. The adhesive on this tape is pretty aggressive and the tape itself is thicker than regular packing tape. I chose not to use tape on the outside as it is shiny and does reflect some light. I wanted the repair as unobtrusive as possible.

I put some more Super Glue along the crack at the very bottom of the crack on the outside, from the ground up about an inch to give it some extra strength. I also ran some up the crack and wiped it into the crack to give it a good seal.

 In the photo below, you can see the crack but not the repair. From 10 feet, it's all but invisible. 

Now we'll see how long it holds up!

Driving Straighter

An exercise to drive straighter.

Set three pairs of cones, wide enough to fit thru your vehicles easily. 

No need for a tight clearance here.

Set them at D, X and G, down the center line, or in a straight line in your driving area,set 30 meters apart from each pair.

In the above photo, there are about 10 trips down this line indicated by wheel tracks left in the stone dust. You can see the first few trips indicated by the red arrows. Note how off center they are and how much they veer from straightness. The blue arrows indicate trips 6 thru 10. Note how much straighter they are and how much less they veer from straight.

This will help the driver feel what straight is *and* it will familiarize the horse with what it feels like to travel straighter and better balanced. Driving horses can not benefit from the guidance provided by a rider's legs. One way to help a horse is to repeat work in a way that is more efficient for them. A balanced horse does less work. Horses are evolutionarily wired not to work harder than they have to. Show them a way to work which requires less effort and they more readily will 'go there' themselves.