I had a nice ride yesterday but the 2 wheeled cart was really bouncy at the trot. I asked about it and the lady said, 'What bounce?' Evidently she was so used to it she didn't notice. I was like, 'it's...killing...my....neck'. LOL. So, driving folk, how do you stop a 2 wheel cart from bouncing? And...'get a 4 wheel cart' isn't an option, LOL.
They're gonna bounce if you are driving on an ungroomed track and have no proper shocks. Springs on the seat won't cut it. You have to stay relaxed and loosen up your body so you just go with it. Ya know, like riding.
The cart needs to be balanced as well. A badly balanced cart will bounce more, which is uncomfortable for the horse too.
And, if you don't tie the horse in right, too loosely, or too tight, which varies by the horse, you get more bounce.
The nature of a cart is that it is not smooth, The back of the seat is constantly hitting you on the back I use to lean forward, trying to get more of the center line of the axle I use to build beautiful oak carts with 4 foot wooden wheels While they looked fantastic the ride was less then ideal Nothing like a 4 wheel buggy Due to height and the seat behind the axle and the shafts bouncing up and down from the horse's movements they are not smooth Springs on the seat do nothing for this motion
What Rio is talking about sounds like a poorly balanced cart. A cart will bounce some of course but it shouldn't be excessive. If leaning forward or backwards helps to stop some of the bounce the cart is not balanced.