Breast Collar
Breast collar harness is available for just about any harness you may need. The term
"breast collar harness" refers simply to the type of collar that is used to draw the carriage. It is use
for single, pair, tandem, and four-in-hand driving, as well as for several other configurations.
The breast collar is made of a wide strap of leather often padded or folded over. This strap is hung across
the horse's breast and around the shoulders supported by two neck straps. The main supporting neck strap should
be padded, although often times is not. When a pair is harnessed in breast collars they should be put to a carriage
with a suspended pole. In the rare occasion that they are used with a drop pole they pole must have a neck yolk.
A special collar pad for bearing weight should be placed under the neck strap.
Breast collar harness is probably the most popular style in modern carriage driving. There are several reasons for
this.
| Price: |
The most common denominator is usually the dollar. A breast collar harness can cost $100-$1,000 less
than its full collar counter part. |
| Versatility: |
Unlike a full collar, a breast collar will fit most horses with in a given size range. Breast
collars are also acceptable to use on almost all except the most formal or very heavy vehicles. |
| Weight & Size: |
A breast collar is usually lighter and smaller than the full collar. This makes harnessing
and un-harnessing easier, especially on large horses. |
Most common breast collar harness applications:
Single horses put to:
Meadowbrooks
Road Carts
Dog Carts (two and four wheeled)
Gigs (not as formal as a full collar)
Phaetons (not as formal as a full collar)
Pairs or Four-in-hands put to:
Marathon vehicles
Waggonettes
Phaetons (not as formal as a full collar)
Dog Carts
Light or informal Breaks
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Single
To simply say that a harness is a "single" harness can describe any number of harnesses. Most commonly when
you order a single harness, the maker will send you a standard four-wheel breast collar style harness.
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Gig
Gig harness was developed as the name implies, for the use of gig carriages. The main defining factor that makes
a Gig harness is the back pad, also know as the Gig pad. Wider than the pad designed for a four wheel vehicle,
the Gig pad spreads weight over a greater area of the back. It also has a continuous backband that stretches from
one shaft tug, through a channel in the saddle to the other shaft tug. This band is not fixed on the saddle, but
instead slides from side to side. This allows the horse to maintain its own balance even while the carriage is rolling
over uneven or pitched ground. It has been argued that all horses put to any two wheel vehicle should have this
type of harness. Three factors keep this from being a common occurrence. Many who use Meadowbrooks or Road carts
are buying equipment on small budgets, and the Gig pad can ad cost to the harness. In other cases people feel that
the extra size and generally formal look of a Gig harness is too much for the simple country look of a Meadowbrook or
Road cart. Most commonly the buyer was unaware of the benefits or even the options of a Gig type pad.
If you are planning to drive in cross country or marathon type situations with a two wheeled vehicle you would be wise
to order your harness with a Gig pad.
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Pair
Pair harness comes in both Breast collar and Full collar styles. Unlike its
single counterpart, the trace buckles
on a pair harness land behind the horses shoulder, directly in line with the saddle. These then buckle into the
backband of the saddle, which is fixed to the saddle about 1 inch below the rein
terrets. A secondary girth, called
the check girth or bellyband, is buckled into the collar at this same junction to keep the arrangement from flopping
around while in use. From the saddle runs a turnback or backstrap leading to the crupper fastened around the dock of
the horses tail. The breeching is supported by a forked hip strap that runs through the backstrap. Frequently the
breeching straps will buckle into the collar along with the traces.
In very simple harness turnouts the pair harness simply consists of the collar with a false martingale, and tugs that
buckle into the saddle; the saddle; a turnback also known as a back strap; and trace carriers. Such a turnout is
preferred when the horses are drawing a phaeton or other such high class owner driven carriage. This method of
harnessing allows those on the ground to admire the quality of the horse, as there is not much extra strapping to
interfere with the view of the animal. Some drivers will also tell you that the reduced amount of strapping allows
the horses to move more freely. While the horses can brake the carriage with just their collars, it is recommended
that one does not drive a carriage without brakes to horses harness this way. In shows held in accordance with
American Driving Society rules the turnout must have either breaks or breeching.
Pair reins: Pair reins differ greatly from single reins. The near (left if viewed from the box) rein
controls the near side of the bit on both horses, and similarly for the off (right if viewed from the box).
This is accomplished with a coupling rein. In the case of the near rein, there is one rein that runs from
the near side of the near horses bit, through his terrets and into the driver's hand. Approximately 1/3 of
the way up the length of rein from the last terret to the end of that rein are a series of holes punched in
this continuous rein. A second rein is buckled into one of these holes from the bottom of the continuous
rein. This shorter rein is then run through the terrets of the near horse, but upon leaving the collar
terret it stretches over to the near side of the off horse's bit.
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Tandem
The wheeler's harness for a tandem is nearly the same as the Gig harness. There are three exceptions to this. The
saddle gains Tandem terrets. The tandem terret can consist of two separate rings, one on top of the other making a
figure eight. Another type of Tandem terret is a large ring horizontally bisected by a bar that has a spinner on it,
allow the top rein free motion. The bridle of the wheeler gains rosette type
terrets or roger rings on both sides of
the bridle. The trace buckles have rings welded in place to accept the traces of the leader or the leader bar. For
harnesses that lack this ring, one can use Tandem keys, that slide over the tongue of the trace buckle.
The leader harness consists of a collar, pad, backstrap traces and trace bearers. The back pad differs from those of
single or pair harness in that there are no billets to accept tugs of any description. Instead there is a strap sewn
to the saddle just below the terret. The strap parallels the pad until it is terminated by being sewn onto the girth
billet. The traces are passed from the collar through the opening that is created that strap.
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Four
Four-in-hand harness is in essence two pair harness, with some minor modifications. The wheeler harness gains a
rein terret in the middle of the saddle for each horse. The bridles of the wheel horses also have a
terret or a
roger ring. In one arrangement the terret is part of the outside rosette on the brow band. A Roger Ring is a
separate ring that shares a buckle with the throat latch.
The leaders of a four-in-hand never wear breeching, as they have no way to stop or slow the carriage. The leader
traces are long than those that would be used to draw a carriage. The traces often terminate in a cock eye or a dee
ring, to be fastened to the leader bars by a metal scroll or snap shackle.
The reins of the leaders are fashioned in the same way as wheeler reins, however after the coupling buckles the rein
is more than twice the length of a wheeler rein. Upon the rein passing through the saddle of the leader is passed
through the roger ring on the corresponding wheeler's bridle, then through the center
terret on the saddle of the
same wheeler, and finally to the driver's hand.
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Draft
Draft harness includes farm, logging and commercial harness. Most draft harness comes with a
full collar because the horses are required to pull very heavy loads. Draft harness can be
very simple and utilitarian in cases of work type harness. In commercial harness there can
be a great deal of ornamentation.
The fit of draft harness has a bit more leeway Back to Top
Full Collar
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Coaching
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