How to measure for a Harness ???

[Gracie]

How and what do I need to measure in order to buy a harness to fit my little minis?

 

[evedex]

Usually harness makers sell harness by horse's height..i.e an A or a B size harness. This, of course, doesn't mean all the parts will fit <G> Minis are the hardest of the horse sizes to fit to since their proportions are all over the place.

The best way to know about measuring is to contact the harness maker you are going to deal with and see what they require....and ALWAYS make sure you can exchange pieces for free when they come. Especially the bridle, which often needs a longer or shorter cheek piece or brow band and measuring before hand doesn't always mean they will fit until you get it home and on your horse.

So check with the people you are dealing with....they have the answers.

 

[Turtle Creek]

I agree to check with the maker of your harness on proper measurement. Here's a link that will give you an idea of where to measure.

http://www.mini-horse-pony-tack-guide.com/harness.html

 

[JourneysEnd]

Buy from someone you trust, ask people on the forum who they recommend.

Then talk to the person/company you're going to buy from and they will tell you the measurements

they need.

Make sure you can convert from side check to over check.

Buckle in traces are really nice and most of the harness makers can add them for $25 if they don't

already come on the harness.

Leather is prettier than bethane and a lot harder to clean.

Patent (sp) leather is easier to take care of it you want leather.

Make sure the saddle isn't flat.

Star Lake makes a nice harness and they'll add the buckle in traces.

Jamie at Chimicum has some nice harness and is very knowledgeable.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I agree to check with the maker of your harness on proper measurement. Here's a link that will give you an idea of where to measure.http://www.mini-horse-pony-tack-guide.com/harness.html

That site is surprisingly well-written and I actually agree with everything they say in the text. Just be aware their diagram of the hitched horse in the cart has the harness attached incorrectly which is obvious in the way the cart is sitting tipped backwards. Don't hitch that way!! (Do as they say, not as they do. *LOL*)

Leia

 

[Gracie]

Thanks the link is great.

 

[Turtle Creek]

Leia,

You have now become my learning tool

- we are still learning to recognize things that are wrong and I believe we hook our horses up correctly, but could you explain what exactly is wrong with the photo in the link?

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Leia,You have now become my learning tool

- we are still learning to recognize things that are wrong and I believe we hook our horses up correctly, but could you explain what exactly is wrong with the photo in the link?

Hehehe. Well, let's see here. This is the diagram in question:

The harness itself isn't fitted too badly. The breeching and breastcollar are at the right height, the saddle is in an okay position, bridle seems fine from what I can see of it although I'd like that check a lot looser. The cart itself appears to sit too low for that horse with the shafts attaching the way they do, it needs bigger wheels for the shafts to sit in a straight line. Nevertheless, the shafts should still be positioned further back so they are even with the point of the horse's shoulder. They don't have the wrap straps done up or the breeching actually fastened so they've run the traces through the tug loop itself which you shouldn't do. They have the footman's loops correctly identified on the diagram but then run the holdback straps on the breeching up to the tug somehow instead of through the footman's loops. Looking closely I'm not sure what is going on with that bit. It looks like it may be a western shank bit?? Eeew! With some quick adjustments this harness could be fine (not sure the cart would work with the horse, as stated) but the way they have it now is quite a picture of incorrectness.

Leia

 

[mgranch]

Leia, Thanks I am also struggling with just how a harness and cart should look to be correct. So, are the shafts suppose to be totally level when on the horse?? How do breechings attach to the cart?? Also, how do I know when they are in the right spot on the rump?? Oh, I need a lesson in this!!

 

[Turtle Creek]

Thanks, Leia. I didn't think the breeching looked attached and I thought the shafts were a bit high. Now, I read somewhere else that the shafts should actually be SLIGHTLY uphill. (lower at cart and higher as they go to the horse) How do you feel on this?

 

[evedex]

Shafts should be level or a tiny bit uphill....NEVER down.

The way to know if a vehicle fits your horse is to look at the seat...it should be level and isn't in the above mentioned photo. The shafts when the seat is level should come to the right spot on the horse or the wheels need to be changed to a different size. In the case above, the wheels are way to small for the horse.

 

[susanne]

Hehe....for once I can correct Leia, at least as far as the cart goes...

The horse is actually not hitched to that cart...if yoiu look at the angles, and where horse and cart stand on the ground, you can see that the two are from different photos, shot from different angles. That horse is only hitched to the cart by means of Photoshop.

 

[Boinky]

i thought the same thing too susanne! lol

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Why on earth would someone go to all the work to Photoshop that (putting the tug loop forward and angled around the shaft, draping the reins in a realistic messy fashion over the seat, attaching the traces, etc.) for such a mismatched result?? If they were going to do all that, couldn't they have corrected the relevant sizes and set the shafts at the right angle?

I'm not saying they didn't Photoshop it, obviously they at least cut out the background, but wouldn't it have been easier to hitch the friggin' horse up in the first place?? Jeesh.

Anyway, my points still stand as to what needs to be fixed! *LOL*

Leia

 

[susanne]

At the risk of making too much of this, it would be extremely easy to combine two separate shots -- I do it for clients frequently (except I do it right, LOL..).

I imagine they had two shots, but perhaps one was better of the horse and the other better of the cart. But if this actually were a single shot, the horse would need to be standing off to the left of the cart for his feet to be where they are...

 

[Margo_C-T]

Susanne, I'd say the ..." I do it right"...part of what you said is the important part! In this instance, still seems to me, like it does to Leia, to have been a questionable idea??? Overall, the illustration is more or less correct, but could have used more care in its descriptions and 'instructions'--to wit....I would point out that on the left, next to the asterisk and in smaller print, it says something to the effect of 'the wrapstraps go through the footman loops and around the shafts'...that is incorrect; the footman loops receive the holdback straps of the breeching, not the wrapstraps!

It is correct that the shafts, when properly adjusted to the horse, should be either level or SLIGHTLY slanted upwards. The TIPS of the shafts should come about to the point of the horse's shoulder, and this adjustment should leave adequate space between the horse's behind and the basket of the cart so that in the most fully extended trot, no part of the horse's hind leg will 'hit' the basket. It is better for the shafts to be too long(because if your traces are long enough, you can just 'let them out', making the horse a bit further out in front of the cart, which just cuts down a bit on manueuverability) than too short. Don't wrap too-long traces around the shafts; this causes the horse to have to pull via the tug loops/saddle, AND negates the benefits of the singletree, which 'absorbs' the 'to and fro' motion of the horse's shoulders for its comfort and ease of pulling the load.

Margo--driving for 23 years --and STILL learning!