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What
different styles of harness are readily available?
What follows is a brief overview of three common harness
styles in North America:
Fine
Harness
This harness is lightweight with the strapping quite
narrow. Fine harness is intended for the show ring
(flat, level surface) with a lightweight vehicle.
There is often no breeching; thimbles are common.
Overchecks and martingales are often included. This
harness will be breast collar style.
Carriage
Harness
This harness will be heavier in weight than the
fine harness. Breeching is usually included and
the breast collar is wider than the fine harness,
making the carriage harness more suitable for heavier
carts and carriages. Many inexpensive carriage harnesses
come with overchecks, which cannot be easily removed,
while some come with side checks, which can be removed.
Leather carriage harnesses can come in both breast
and neck collar styles. Buckle-in traces can be
included, (as opposed to sewn-in traces) which generally
raises the price.
Race
Harness
This harness is designed specifically for use with
a racing sulky. There will be no breeching included.
Modern race harnesses have a "quick hitch" system
that eliminates breast collars and traditional shaft
holders. A "quick hitch" harness can only be used
on the cart it is designed for, a "quick hitch"
racing bike. Older harnesses can be found used and
they may have thimbles and a lightweight breast
collar. This could be used on a lightweight jog
cart in a ring or fairly level road situation.
Note:
Some inexpensive harnesses combine the features
of both carriage and fine harness styles. Overall
they will have narrow strapping but include breeching.
These should still be used for lighter weight carts
because of the narrow weight-bearing surface on
the breast collar and the breeching strap.
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What
type of harness do I need and how much should I expect
to spend?
It depends on what type of driving you plan to do
and what type of vehicle you're driving. If you are
driving a light jog or pipe cart and don't intend
to show at all, a nylon harness like the one from
Big D's ($125) would probably suit you fine. Steer
clear of the cheap imported leather harnesses like
those found in online auctions. These harnesses are
made from very poor quality leather and we consider
them unsafe for any use. We have not yet found a new
leather harness that we thought was safe to use for
less than $400.
If
you have a heavier cart like a road cart or Meadowbrook,
you'll need at least a mid-range leather or synthetic
harness, like the Basic leather harness from Driving
Essentials ($420) or a BioThane® from Camptown Harness
($410). Either of these harnesses can take you into
the show ring. If you want to compete extensively
in pleasure shows or combined driving, you might consider
a better quality leather harness or a synthetic harness
from ZilcoTM ($700 to $1200). Synthetic harnesses
are becoming well-accepted in driving shows and competitions,
but if you wish to be competitive in Turnout classes
where the correct equipment is very important, buy
a very good quality leather harness of a style that
suits your cart or carriage ($1500 plus).
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I
don't have much money to spend on a harness. What
should I watch out for when looking at inexpensive
harnesses?
Differences in harness quality can be seen in the
stitching. Fewer stitches per inch indicate lower
quality, as does the use of metal staples. Leather
should be consistent in width and thickness on individual
parts of the harness. Other quality traits to look
for are rounded or padded edges, leather that smells
good and is fairly pliable when new, split neck straps
and breeching straps that allow for more adjustments
and shaped breast collars that allow room for the
horse's windpipe.
When
evaluating the least expensive harnesses available
in the North America today, we found that it was very
rare to get a good fit "out of the box", and some
of the harnesses were just plain impossible to use
as they arrived.
Nylon
harness often needed holes added (burned in). Overchecks
were all too short. Some bridles had nosebands that
were too small and throatlatches that were too big.
One harness came with one-piece (continuous) reins
that had ends that would not fit through the terrets.
Traces were usually too short to be used with the
average easy-entry jog cart, even though they were
pictured together in the catalogue! (On closer inspection,
the photo in question shows the shafts are jutting
out too far in front of the horse.) These traces would
normally attach to hooks on the sides of the shafts
instead of a singletree. If used in this manner, without
a singletree, for hilly trail work or pulling a mid-weight
cart such as a Meadowbrook, the traces may painfully
rub the horse's shoulders.
Reins
were various widths, some far too wide for a woman's
hand. Leather harnesses under $400 were highly questionable
in quality and impossible to fit to any living horse
we'd ever seen without major modifications.
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What
are the advantages and disadvantages of leather, nylon,
BioThane® or Zilco™?
We'll
look at each material:
Leather
For the traditional-minded carriage driver, this is
the harness material of choice. Leather harnesses
priced under $200 are foreign-made, usually of leather
tanned in India, which can be stiff, weak and stretch
alarmingly, making harnesses in this price range unsafe
for any use. The leather can be of varying widths
and thickness, there can be extra splices in the reins.
Most mid-priced North American leather harnesses ($400-$1000)
are Amish made. The "buggy style" (treeless) saddle
is common for the lower price range harness, as are
traces sewn to the breast collar and "split" reins
where the rein on the horse end is black leather and
the part at the driver end is the higher-quality russet.
Higher-priced leather could have a rigid tree in a
wider saddle, buckle-in traces, possibly patent leather
trim, all russet reins and rounded blinders.
Advantages:
Leather is the most traditional choice for harness.
Leather shapes itself to the horse as it breaks
in. Quality tanned leather combined with good
fit and rounded edges makes a harness that is
very kind to the horse's skin. Properly cared-for
quality leather harness will likely last a lifetime.
The breaking point of leather is thought to be
lower then the synthetic materials so in a serious
accident the horse could get free of the vehicle
and possibly avoid injury. Some leather harnesses
have very thick leather so this could be debatable.
In any harness, the stitching or hardware may
let go first.
Disadvantages:
Leather requires the most maintenance of all harness
materials. All harnesses should be wiped off after
every use, but leather also needs to be conditioned
occasionally to preserve the leather and keep it
pliable. Brass hardware should be periodically polished
to prevent tarnish from building up and damaging
the leather, and if used for showing, both the leather
and the hardware must be cleaned and polished, which
can be very time-consuming. Leather harness weighs
more than nylon or most synthetics, so this may
be a concern for drivers with physical limitations.
Nylon
These harnesses are usually used for pulling light
vehicles such as jog carts. Some come with rigid
saddles so that they may be used with a heavier
cart. Harness pads can be added to help protect
the horse under the saddle, breast collar and breeching.
To add holes, a small soldering iron or heated nail
can be used to burn through the nylon.
Advantages:
Nylon is very strong yet lightweight. It is economical
and fairly easy to clean.
Disadvantages:
Because of nylon's strength, there can be concern
that the horse may be tangled in it and injured.
What usually breaks is the hardware. One tack
supply company prints a disclosure in their catalogue
stating that the hardware is designed to break
for the safety of the animal. We have, however,
seen hardware on nylon harnesses break during
"normal" use. Nylon is not impervious to aging,
and buckle holes can fray over time. The strapping
is narrower then most leather so it may rub the
animal if the weight pulled or carried is excessive.
Synthetics
Synthetic materials are rapidly gaining in popularity
for harness making. First made popular at the harness
racetrack, it is basically nylon webbing with a
plastic coating. The plastic makes it easy to clean
and the nylon gives it superior strength. Zilco®
and "Beta" series Biothane® offer a more leather-like
synthetic, that looks more traditional and has a
nice feel to the hand and next to the horse. These
two popular materials are very different, though,
and you really need to see and handle them both
to determine which you'll like best.
Advantages:
Synthetics combine the strength of nylon with
easy-to-care-for surfaces. Synthetics are easy
to clean with soap and water and require no time-consuming
conditioning. Some synthetic materials look just
like leather, at least from a distance. The craftsmanship
found on today's synthetic harnesses can be excellent,
as good as or better than that found on mid-priced
leather harnesses. Some synthetic harnesses are
very light in weight compared to leather.
Disadvantages:
Breaking strength concerns similar to nylon. Holes
can fray and the finish can discolour over time.
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I've
heard that I shouldn't buy a nylon or synthetic harness
because it won't break in the event of an accident.
Do
I want my harness to break or not?
It
is our opinion that, in most instances, you are safer
if your harness does not break. If your harness stays
intact in an emergency, you at least have the chance
to regain control over the situation. At least one
major retailer states in their current catalogue that
their nylon harness is built with hardware that is
designed to break in the event of an accident, to
prevent injury to horse or human. We find this logic
hard to accept. If the hardware will break in an "emergency"
situation, what's to prevent it from breaking under
stress during "normal" use? Will the hardware "know"
that a steep hill or sudden turn is not an "emergency"?
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What
about metal fittings? Should they be brass, chrome
or stainless steel?
If you think you'll want to compete in pleasure driving
shows, you'll want the hardware on your harness to
match that which is on your vehicle. Brass is beautiful
and traditional. Chrome and stainless steel offer
low-maintenance. Stainless steel is strongest, and
preferable in high-stress parts such as breeching.
Chrome plating can peel over time. Brass is high maintenance,
requiring periodic polishing to stay tarnish-free.
If not polished often, brass hardware can become pitted.
Stainless steel adds to the cost of the harness.
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Should
I buy new or used harness?
Buying a used harness can save you some money while
allowing you to get a higher quality harness. A well
cared-for leather harness can have a very long life
and buying it used can be a great deal for the beginner.
Watch
for cracked leather, rotted stitching, bent buckle
tongues or cracked hardware. Look closely where the
buckles are stitched on for loose stitching. A heavy,
wide saddle that is very flexible is probably broken.
In synthetic or nylon harness, look for frayed out
holes, rusty buckles, and loose stitching.
Buyer
beware at auctions! Mismatched and missing pieces
are commonly discovered upon closer inspection at
home.
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How
do I measure my horse for a good harness fit?
Most harnesses priced under $1000 are generically
sized, horse, cob, pony or mini. A few pieces like
the girth or bridle can sometimes be exchanged for
a better fit, as it is the rare animal that is fitted
perfectly by an "off the shelf" harness. Harnesses
ordered from various national discount tack outlets
are usually "as-is" out of the box; you might want
to ask if exchanges are possible before you buy. The
less expensive the harness, the higher the odds are
that some parts won't fit your horse or pony.
Various
discount catalogues list the sizes as follows:
-
Horse-
15h+, 14.2- 15.2, 64"-78" surcingle, 66"-76" surcingle
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Cob-
14-15h, Arab, 13-14h, 54"-64" surcingle, 56"-66"
surcingle
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Pony-
12-13h, 46"-56" surcingle Medium Pony- 48"-58" surcingle
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Small
Pony- 40"-48" surcingle
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Miniature
Horse- 38" and under, 39"-46" surcingle
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