measurements for fitting harness

[earthchild]

I am looking to purchase a harness for our mini. He is 32". What measurements do I need to take of him to compare to the harness? I know of someone selling one online that fit a 36" and she asked me for measurements, but I don't know what to measure.

Any help would be great. Thank you.

 

[happy appy]

I would say the main ones would be the girth size (where the saddle would fit around the whole belly) and the length from the corner of his mouth over the pole to the other corner. That will cover your saddle and bridle.

 

[earthchild]

Sometimes I am so slow

But what about the breast collar, traces, breeching, etc? How do you make sure everything fits?

Measuring for Your Driving Harness

Before you purchase your tack and equipment, you need to measure your Horse.

• A. First you want to measure for the bridle. Measure from the corner of the Mini's mouth, up along the cheek, go just behind the ears (over the poll) and down the opposite side to the corner of the mouth.
  

• B. Next measure the girth circumference. Do not measure over the withers, but several inches behind the withers. The harness saddle and girth sits on the horse back.
  

• C. A final measurement to check is the length of the horse. This measurement goes from where the saddle sits to the dock (where the tail joins the body).
  

 

[hobbyhorse23]

http://www.camptownharness.com/index.php?i=m

You definitely need more than the bridle and the saddle- you can't drive if those fit but the breastcollar is down around the knees and the breeching up under his tail!

Leia

 

[happy appy]

I was just thinking that if those 2 things fit that the off the shelf stye of harness, the rest should be made in a common size. I didn't think that she was ordering a custom fit harness. I might of misread the post.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Unfortunately in my experience you can in no way count on the breastcollar and breeching to be correctly made for a horse who fits a certain bridle and surcingle size. Many off-brand or used harnesses come in sizes that look like half was made for a draft horse and half for a shetland pony! It's better, especially when buying used where you can't exchange parts that don't fit, to get all the measurements shown in that diagram and make sure it all fits before buying. With a new harness it's not such a big deal because most vendors will exchange parts that do not fit.

Leia

 

[Sandee]

I don't believe there is such a thing as an off the shelf harness that fits "most" minis. I've bought several harnesses and each one had a different problem ---well, duh, each one was for a different horse.

My gelding is fat so everything fit except the saddle and girth ----had to add extra.

My stallion was under 32" with a small head. Everything fit except we had to cut the headstall down and punch new holes.

My 34" mare was the only one that the off the shelf came close to fitting and it had to have new holes punched in the back piece because she's evidently a bit short in the back.

 

[happy appy]

See you learn something new every day! I have only bought 2 harnesses, one new and one used. Both fit. I bought a B sized used and a A sized new.

 

[earthchild]

So how could you tell if the breast collar, breeching, hip straps, etc are the correct length?

 

[Sandee]

The breast collar should rest just above the point of the shoulder so it doesn't interfere with their forward action. Then most of mine buckle into the traces so they are adjusted so when the horse steps forward (and someone holds the cart back to the point of their shoulder) the traces are tight (straight).

Breeching comes about 1/2 way down the hip. Not so high that it would irrate the tail or get caught on the crupper and not so low as to interfere with their legs in back. (sorry hopefully someone else can explain that better)

 

[Matthijs]

I find the britching the toughest part to measure, we have three different carts and a pair setup, that meant we ended up with four sets of britching straps. It just depends where the footman loops are positioned on the shafts or in the pair setup we go all the way to the D rings on the breast collar. But then they are probably the easiest part to order extra's from just about any supplier.

The one thing I miss in this thread is the length of the traces and breast collar combination. From single tree around chest to singletree with 8 to 10 inches of stride space behind the horse is what I understand.

Some like to have the horse further forward but IMHO that makes it that much harder to get around corners. So it not only speeds the game up but also makes a more elegant turnout. That is also one of the reasons the HyperBike is so unique, it turns on a dime.

My point here is you not only have to look at measurements of the horse but also the cart and what kind of driving you are planning to do. So you have a harness that is actually working to support all of that.

We ended up with seven different harnesses for two horses that fit the same size and I am sure we not the only ones that went through different used ones before we said "he lets do it right this time"

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Follow the instructions on the Camptown measuring chart. The points she says to measure from are where those parts are supposed to rest. Make sure the harness measures the same as your horse does in each part and you should be fine.

How far the horse is from the cart depends entirely on where the end of the shafts are- if the shafts are too long you still need to put the horse so the shaft tips are at the point of their shoulder regardless of how far that puts them from the cart. Yes, that makes for a longer rig. Yes, that makes turning more difficult. The right answer however is to shorten the shafts or buy a cart that fits better, not to put the horse further back within those shafts. They can't turn well when the shafts are sticking them in the neck either! (I know that's not what you meant Matthijs, I'm just concerned that's what it sounds like you said.

)

I keep my holdbacks on the harness and adjust them from vehicle to vehicle rather than having multiple sets kept with each cart. So far that hasn't been a problem for me as my rigs all have approximately the same measurements between the tugs, footmans loops and the horse/cart but I know I've seen rigs where you'd definitely need two different holdbacks. As Matthijs said though, parts like that are easy to buy aftermarket.

Leia