Horse Drawn Promotions - Breaking Horses to Harness; Barry Hook

01/09/2026

We recently had a lovely family with us for an Experience Day who came to celebrate a big birthday! 🥳

Whether it’s for a celebration, an education or “just because”, you can join us too!

But be quick - we stop taking bookings once the weather begins to turn, so give us a shout before October is out if you don’t want to wait until next Spring!

Comment, message or email us to find out more 📩

19/08/2026

🚨 URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Our YouTube Channel has just been hacked. We are taking steps to recover it and will update you all as things progress.

16/08/2026

Standing still when being put to is one of the most important parts of a driving horse's training.

Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, even to the most well-trained and reliable horses and most experienced and careful drivers and grooms. So our philosophy is: Always put to tied to something solid - no being tied on baling twine, no putting to loose, no being held by someone who could be run over.

We know it's not how everyone does it, but it's how we do it here at HDP and here are some of the basic exercises we do whilst teaching a horse they must stand until they are asked to move off, no matter what else is happening around them or to them.

Keep an eye on our channel for more advanced putting to standing still exercises next time!

https://youtu.be/fkPjDJ_nk70

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...

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...

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

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

☀️🔥🚿😎 Be Clever like Trevor and Stay Cool in this Hot Weather! ☀️🔥🚿😎

We’re currently on our second day of a Red Weather Warning at HDP! For us in the UK 🇬🇧that’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, that’s seriously warm for us here and with 72% humidity it’s been more than just a bit warm! 🥵

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 we’ll be back to complaining about our Great British Summer 🌧️ 🤞😂

(Trevor the Shetland says he’s going to write home to his mum to get him a pressure washer of his own for when he graduates 😉)

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