[drivingpairs] Re: Harness and Horse Choices
- From: suzanne.temple@xxxxxxx
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 01:52:29 +0000
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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