Great answer to the original question, JJay! I have nothing to add as you've covered it all.
As for wrapping the traces around the shafts-
MiLo Minis said:
There is no great advantage to doing this so I don't know why you would. The whole reason singletrees were invented to replace roller bolts and other stationary means of hitching the traces was to prevent this - why would you want to take a step backward at your horse's expense?
People do this because their traces are too long. Instead of ordering shorter buckle-in traces or replacing a breastcollar with sewn-in traces, they just wrap them to take up the extra length. Understandable in the short-term, but not correct!
I've always had mixed feelings about the whole "you'll sore your horse" thing. I drove a roadster-type cart with only stationary hooks for quite a while and never did my gelding seem sore or restricted. I had the same experience that Annabellarose did- no rubbing, no ouchies, no hairless patches, no sores. So on the one hand, with the right type of vehicle and in certain applications it really isn't the end of the world. Heck, most the show carts I've seen have the singletree lashed down so tight it can barely move anyway!
(I had to cut the beta straps holding mine and lengthen them.) On the other hand, that wisdom was passed down from an era where you were talking big horses pulling heavy loads over long distances and when people switched from neck collars appropriate to the heavy draft work to breastcollars which were easier to fit, the horses suffered. Neck collars sit against the stationary plane of the upper shoulder and the leg can move forward freely under it, unaffected by the load. A breastcollar sits across the chest and the horse must force their mobile lower shoulder forward against the load with each step. This means they run into the end of the traces with each and every stride, and the heavier the load the harder that impact is. Eventually that IS going to sore a horse in agricultural or transportation work and probably rub him uncomfortably if the harness is dirty or rough. It also effects the horse during turns, restricting his outside shoulder and preventing him from bending his body properly. That's a no-no in carriage driving!
As MiLo said, singletrees replaced stationary rollerbolts so that the breastcollar could move with the horse's shoulders and leave the horse working almost as well as he did when the load was up above his shoulders on a neck collar. After several years of driving with that roadster cart I decided to retrofit it with a singletree because of all the cross-country use I gave it. On rough ground the ride improved tremendously as it no longer jerked the horse (and consequently me) every time it hit a bump. The singletree absorbed part of that impact and smoothed the whole ride. So were we fine with stationary hooks? Yes. But it was
better with a singletree. Why not do what is better for your horse?
The show ring is a very special world, well-isolated from the days when horses were draft animals and their long-term comfort and soundness was paramount. For five minutes a horse can do just about anything! (I can take high heels for a few hours too, and lord knows those aren't exactly ergonomic!
) And there are many older-style minis who don't move their shoulders very much even when loose in the paddock (think the short, choppy movers) who are going to experience no hardship at all from a stationary breastcollar. But the bigger the mover or the heavier the load, the more he's going to feel that restriction and benefit from a good line of draft with a working singletree.
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