Horse Drawn Promotions - Breaking Horses to Harness; Barry Hook

Horse Drawn Promotions - Breaking Horses to Harness; Barry Hook Our aim is to train horses to be safe, confident and happy in any sphere of harness work!

With over 65 years experience, we are recommended by, and have broken horses for, some of the top names in the industry. We break horses of any breed as singles, pairs, tandems, teams and all other multiples for any discipline including commercial, coaching, competition, agricultural, private and pleasure driving. We break horses to drive in soft rubber bits, so they are soft-mouthed and responsiv

e to the aids. We train horses to work confidently at all paces, go through water, drive happily in heavy traffic, work on town and country roads and can also tailor training to suit your chosen discipline, for example working on improving a horse's head carriage for dressage/driving trials or putting a horse in a team for the first time ready for showing/coaching. We also retrain horses that have bolted or have other issues such as being frightened of traffic.

Just a short video this week of what our latest graduate, Walnut, has been up to during her driving training here with u...
09/08/2026

Just a short video this week of what our latest graduate, Walnut, has been up to during her driving training here with us at HDP.

This three year old cob filly has taken everything in her stride and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for her and her family!

https://youtu.be/lB0uywptte4

26/07/2026

Little Things We Do - with Trevor the Shetland

Some of the things we do - like standing on the bridge, dragging the metal sheet, using road markings for schooling and so on - might seem a little strange, but everything has a purpose on our way to creating safe, confident and happy horses.

In this video, Trevor demonstrates some of the things we do - and how we adapt them for smaller ponies! - whilst Barry explains why we do them, as well as some of our philosophies and training tips. Stick around to the end to see Trevor's swimming lessons! Good job the river isn't too high at the moment!

Some of the things we do - like standing on the bridge, dragging th...

You saw Nelis at the start of his training with us, terrified of large traffic to the point he would try to climb over o...
13/07/2026

You saw Nelis at the start of his training with us, terrified of large traffic to the point he would try to climb over our schoolmaster, Cloud, to get away from it!

Here he is taking on the busy roads and meeting large vehicles on country lanes all by himself!

He's taken a lot of time, patience and hard work to get. to this stage, but he's finally on his way to being safe, confident and happy!

You saw Nelis at the start of his training with us, terrified of la...

A Field Trip with the Schoolmaster for Walnut the FillyLittle Walnut has just passed her important '3rd Birthday' milest...
05/07/2026

A Field Trip with the Schoolmaster for Walnut the Filly

Little Walnut has just passed her important '3rd Birthday' milestone that allows her to start her training here with us at HDP.

To make sure she gets the most out of her lessons, and more importantly enjoys them as much as possible, schoolmaster HDP Cloud is taking the brunt of the work on their little field trip.

Watch as she takes some of her first steps into the world of driving - despite the weather, she's had a busy first few weeks at 'school'!

https://youtu.be/rgCw8wN5NTc

Training For Driving in Open Spaces - with Trevor the Shetlandhttps://youtu.be/hyBcyU4kRFIOne of the concerns Trevor's o...
27/06/2026

Training For Driving in Open Spaces - with Trevor the Shetland

https://youtu.be/hyBcyU4kRFI

One of the concerns Trevor's owner had about driving him when he gets home is that she'd like to be able to drive him around the set-aside and field, not just down the road. In order to make sure she feels Safe, Confident and Happy driving Trevor in open spaces, we first have to make sure he feels the same!

Here's a few things we do to prepare our students for the challenges of driving in open space, including letting them feel long grass on their bellies (or at least sort of long grass for Trevor!) and getting up to a full canter with grass under their feet, without thinking it's 'play time' and coming to a stop as soon as they are asked.

Remember - this follows on from his video in the yards where we explain the shaft placement and show Trevor dragging a swingletree in preparation for his carriagework. You can watch them all on his playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZFCkX4v4oU8

25/06/2026

โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿšฟ๐Ÿ˜Ž Be Clever like Trevor and Stay Cool in this Hot Weather! โ˜€๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿšฟ๐Ÿ˜Ž

Weโ€™re currently on our second day of a Red Weather Warning at HDP! For us in the UK ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡งthatโ€™s meant highs of 39*C (102*F) and constant sun, which although might not seem too bad for our friends further afield in hotter countries, thatโ€™s seriously warm for us here and with 72% humidity itโ€™s been more than just a bit warm! ๐Ÿฅต

Our students have done some very light lessons super early and are spending the rest of the day keeping cool in the stables. Stay safe everyone! No doubt next week weโ€™ll be back to complaining about our Great British Summer ๐ŸŒง๏ธ ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿ˜‚

(Trevor the Shetland says heโ€™s going to write home to his mum to get him a pressure washer of his own for when he graduates ๐Ÿ˜‰)

Starting Steps with Trevor the ShetlandA disclaimer to start with, we don't start every horse the same way - not by a lo...
13/06/2026

Starting Steps with Trevor the Shetland

A disclaimer to start with, we don't start every horse the same way - not by a long shot! But in this video, we look at some of the starting steps we took with Trevor the Shetland.

Although he had worn harness before at home and been out long-reining, Trevor had never dragged anything before he came to us here at HDP.

Watch the video to see him taking his next steps into his driving career and listen out for some safety and training tips from Barry - on the camera once again!

https://youtu.be/CHL09DhRkr4

Leanna's owner told us she would like to do some chain harrowing at home  - a great way to keep her fit (the pony, not t...
07/06/2026

Leanna's owner told us she would like to do some chain harrowing at home - a great way to keep her fit (the pony, not the owner!), so we did some 'furry tractor' practice before she went home.

Here she is working the chain harrows for the very first time, including dragging them through deep surface and across concrete - headphone users, watch out for the volume warning!

Shoutout to Leon for being on the quick release rope and shout out to Baz for the camera work!
---

Leanna's owner told us she would like to do some chain harrowing at...

๐Ÿšจ Limited Weekend Availability Dates Released for Experience Days or Lesson Days at HDP๐ŸšจWe are open for week day booking...
04/06/2026

๐Ÿšจ Limited Weekend Availability Dates Released for Experience Days or Lesson Days at HDP๐Ÿšจ

We are open for week day bookings, but these are very likely to be the ONLY weekend dates that will be available this summer, so grab them while you can!

โ˜€๏ธ Saturday 13th June โ˜€๏ธ
โ˜€๏ธ Sunday 14th June โ˜€๏ธ
โ˜€๏ธ Saturday 20th June โ˜€๏ธ
โ˜€๏ธ Sunday 21st June โ˜€๏ธ

Full Days or Full Weekend Bookings Only.

All experience levels and abilities catered for - drive for the first time, brush up for competition or anything inbetween!

More information can be found here: https://www.horsedrawnpromotions.com/training-services/

Comment, Message or Email to Book: [email protected] ๐Ÿ“ง

04/06/2026

Experience Days at HDP!

Open for booking, Summer 2026 ๐Ÿ˜Ž

Get in touch for more info or to book, email us at: [email protected] ๐Ÿ“ง

Address

Stockbridge

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