[drivingpairs] Re: Harness and Horse Choices

Excellent, concise advice!  I think you should save this and post it to every 
new member when 
they join.
Suzy Temple
Anthony, NM
> Welcome to the group.  We have great discussions and a
> lot of viewpoints to draw from!  
>   I have a couple of questions for you.  Do you have a
> certain main goal in your driving?  Your later posts
> mentioned Combined Driving, but also driving for fun,
> maybe some shows?  I am just bringing this up because
> your horses mentioned, are gaited horses.  I like
> gaited horses, this is not any kind of critism.  Just
> bringing to your attention that formal carriage
> driving, of any kind, requires a correct trot in gait
> requirements.  If horse can't do a regular trot, he
> cannot compete and expect to place in CDE or Carriage
> classes.  I have seen a really pretty pair of blue
> roan TWH out trail driving, some single TWHs with a
> cart on picnic drives.  They were nice!  Just never at
> carriage competitions.
>  
> > We have a jet black Sabino Missouri Foxtrotter
> > mare who is supposedly trained to drive, (I haven't
> tried her out yet) and her coming 2 year old.  I know
> the Foxtrotters have a good mentality for driving--the
> Paso Finos are intelligent and seemingly calm at this
> point, LOL. The future should be interesting.
> 
> Harness choices are dictated by what you expect from
> your horse.  A lot of the Recreational Drivers group
> go out for many hours, DAYS!, on rough ground.  They
> expect MUCH more from their animals than most modern
> folks would ever ask.  A neck collar does give a
> bigger surface to pull against, spreads the load over
> bigger skin area.  Hames can change the leverage
> factor horse uses to the vehicle.  Actually RED folks
> might sometimes be considered EXTREME drivers.  Very
> specialised in how they have fixed equipment and
> harness.  Their equipment would be used differently
> than the pleasure driver, or for CDE competitions.  
> It never hurts to do comparisons of styles to use. 
> Tweaking this or that, makes you more confident in
> your choices, knowledge lets you make changes.  What
> works best for a show, could be a poor choice for the
> all day Sunday drive.
>   All harness styles should have a good leverage angle
> to pull with, well fitted to horse and vehicle.  Wide
> breast collars, shaped throat fitting on the top, is
> nice on the horse, allowing head down comfortably. 
> Full neck collars do not work well on horses bouncing
> along at a canter, or perhaps at speed of
> cross-country with the spring mounted pole of a modern
> vehicle.  That kind of movement in full collar, would
> probably bruise the horse!
>   We have both breast collars and full neck collars. 
> We much prefer the breast collars, to ensure better
> fit with constant changing of horses in work.  We use
> them going down the road, but are often out 3-4 hours
> at a time.  Horses are thin skinned, rub easily.  Not
> tolerant of constant pain!  Breast collars do a better
> job for us.  Not really enough load to need full
> collars, plus we gallop at times.  Full collars also
> take skin conditioning to keep from getting sore. 
> Neck and collar area must be kept very clean to
> prevent burns, rubs.
>   For what most of us do using our animals, the wide
> breast collar is a better choice for animals.  Pads
> are good if they stay in place.  A lot of synthetic
> harness is very good.  Everyone LOVES the ease in
> care.  Check for quality of fit and buckles.  Poor
> hardware and fit are the biggest complaints in cheaper
> synthetics.  Allow your Amish man to COPY the harness
> you like.  Most use Standardbred horse as harness
> model, sizing.  Doesn't fit other horses well.  Wider
> harness saddle for singles, to carry shaft load over
> bigger skin area.  Buckle-in trace buckles are
> recommended, single or Pair, so you just change traces
> to suit vehicle.  Don't cut holes in the traces that
> don't fit!  You might like to check out the more
> modern harness, with two rings on breast collar chest
> of Pair harness.  Allows you more options when
> harnessing to vehicles.  There are a lot of folks here
> who can recommend good harness makers, and a couple of
> good harness makers here on the group!
>   Seldom is anyone wrong in harness discussions, but
> what you want to do in driving, would focus your
> choices in one or another direction.  If you have
> time, you should view the archives, lots of
> information there!  Titles are often misleading, so
> you have to follow the replies, and things may go off
> in totally different directions!  Keep asking
> questions, someone will try to help you.
> 
> Kathy Robertson
> 
> >     I was actually looking at pairs harness when I
> > stumbled across this group. I have two leather horse
> and one cob single harness. I am thinking of going 
> > to Beta for the pairs harness, for the maintenance
> > factor. Then a person on 
> > the Recreational Driving list recommended that I use
> > collars--something I have 
> > avoided because of fit. Since I don't do any "dirt
> > work" would it be too bad to 
> > drive the pair in breast straps instead of collars? 
> 
> 
> 
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