Category: Harness horse

What is a Harness?

The harness is complete equipment that consists of various key pieces that allow the horse to pull the wagon or load. The main work of a Horse Harness is to connect the horse to the vehicle or the load that the horse is supposed to carry forward.

There are basically four components of a Harness it includes –

• Communication Component – The central part of the harness helps in direct connection with the animal. The features that are there in the communication component are – bridle, bit, and lines.
• Draft Component – It helps in drawing and pulling the load by the animal. It mainly consists of – collar, hame straps, hames, traces, and chains.  
• Stopping Component – As the name suggests, it helps to stop or slow down the animal that’s pulling the load. The component consists of different bands – breeching band, quarter band, pole straps, and breast straps.
• Support Component – The essential component helps keep the harness in the correct position and proper alignment. More so, it consists of the following parts – back pad, back pad billets, belly band, the spider, and lazy straps.

Note: Similarly, not every sort of horse Harness needs to consist of all four components. However, these are all available in the western style/box breeching harness.

Types of Harness:

Simple Harness – The simple harness, as the name suggests, is a common way of projecting harnesses on a house that is too simple. It mainly consists of control and draft components. Sometimes, the control component can be optional as it may not be necessary in the inputs. More so, they were commonly used in skidding logs and pulling ore carts in mines that usually require loose-handed work.

Western Style/Box Breeching Harness – The breeching part of a western-style harness is the central part that distinguishes it from other harness styles. It is a part of the stopping and backing component that includes quarter straps. More so, they also have the breast strap and pole strap. They are helpful in slowing down the horse if it’s at great speed without giving a jerk to the wagon.  

Field/Plow Harness – As the name suggests, such harnesses are useful in plowing fields in the agricultural sector. You do not get a stopping or blocking component in a field or plow harness. It mainly consists of a loader, a shifting draft, and a lazy strap.

Butt chain Harness – These are sometimes also called short-trace harnesses as they connect to the traces connects to the heels. More so, they relate to the butt chain through the hook and are slightly different from western-style harnesses.

What parts constitute a Horse Harness?

As we all know, a harness is a device that connects the horse to the wagon and helps to pull it. In addition, various parts function together to make that harness work. They include –

• Horse Collar: A padded loop sits closely near the horse’s neck. Generally, these are useful to pull heavy loads or the carriage. 
• Breast Collar: It does not include padding and sits around the horse’s chest from each side. People usually fit into their horse’s harness when they require to carry lightweight. 
• Breeching: These are really essential to allow the horses to slow down during the ride. In some cases, where the fine harness or cart with brakes is available, you may exclude the use of breaching.   
• Traces: These are straps or chains that help to switch the load from the horse’s collar to the hames. Girth: It’s a strap that goes underneath the horse and helps to attach the horse to the harness saddle that sits on its back. 
• Harness Saddle: Now, don’t get confuse by hearing the term “saddle” here. Unlike a real saddle, a harness saddle is only there to attach several parts of the harness.      

Apart from all these parts, you may add hames to the harness using a full collar. They are usually made of metal or wooden strips that help to take the full pull of the collar. 

What’s the history of the harness?

If you look back at the history of harnesses, you’ll know it dates back to the ancient world. The most popular one was the throat-and-girth harness that was commonly in use for pulling carts with the load. However, as it surrounds the horse’s neck, the speed and ability to take pressure were a level down.  

The first horse collar was invented in China by the end of the 5th Century. Pictures and portraits from the early 4th Century BC define the use of a harness in its initial phase. Gradually, with time, new techniques were in practice, and riders shifted to modern methods of harnesses for their horses.

Conclusion – 

There are various styles of harnesses available, and you can purchase the best Horse Harness as per the need. Moreover, you can surf throughout and choose the best quality products available at our end.