question on driving harness

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RENMACMINIS

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I am picking up my easy entry cart in the morning.. and I am wanting to train my 7yo 37" mini mare to drive. What kind of harness do you all start out with? nylon? leather? im looking for something inexpensive to start out with and then maybe later on after she is trained get a good quality harness but for now would a nylon harness be ok? I am looking at the one that Jeffers Equine has. would someone look at that one and tell me if it is ok? This mare is already broke to ride so that is why I am going to start out with her. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will get pics of my cart and post them tomorrow.. it needs a little work done to it.. like a paint job and some new wood and a few welds redone. but otherwise is in good shape. It is nothing fancy but it will work for driving around on the backroads here.

Thanks

Sherry
 
A good nylon harness is very serviceable. Once they get worn they tend not to be very pretty but they are strong and stand up well. Maintenance is a snap as well. You will not go wrong with nylon as long as you realize its not the one you will want if it comes to going to a show or a parade etc. If I could only own one (instead of a collection) it would be a bio thane. Strong and pretty. More than one a nylon and a quality English made leather.
 
I am not crazy about nylon harenesses. One thing about them is they don't stay looking good very long and the next thing is they aren't the best to use on beginner horses because they have no give to them in case of an accident. Leather will break and be less damage if there happens to be an accident, JMHO Mary

RENMACMINIS said:
I am picking up my easy entry cart in the morning.. and I am wanting to train my 7yo 37" mini mare to drive. What kind of harness do you all start out with? nylon? leather? im looking for something inexpensive to start out with and then maybe later on after she is trained get a good quality harness but for now would a nylon harness be ok? I am looking at the one that Jeffers Equine has. would someone look at that one and tell me if it is ok? This mare is already broke to ride so that is why I am going to start out with her. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will get pics of my cart and post them tomorrow.. it needs a little work done to it.. like a paint job and some new wood and a few welds redone. but otherwise is in good shape. It is nothing fancy but it will work for driving around on the backroads here.
Thanks

Sherry

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I would recommend staying away from nylon harness. Nylon is abrasive; I have NEVER seen one that fit properly, especially the bridle.

I would suggest shopping ALL of the mini horse vendors-places like Star Lake, Ozark Mt., Mini Express-just to name a random few. Most of them offer at least ONE decent basic leather harness, that isn't all that pricey. Take your horse's measurements, ask questions about fit, etc.-and I would STRONGLY recommend getting a harness with breeching. I don't consider a horse truly trained for driving if it doesn't accept breeching-and for everyday, "real world"driving, breeching is especially important.

Also, keep in mind that if you invest in decent gear, AND you take good care of it, there is always likely to be a good resale market for it, should you decide you don't want/need it anymore. A good basic harness can always be used for "everyday" use, should you go on into showing, and want to move up in quality-you can use the better one for the show ring, and the basic for everyday. Tip-for ease of maintenance, choose white metal(stainless is best, or chrome)-brass is time-comsuming to keep polished! The newer beta harnesses are quite nice, but sometimes as pricey as good leather; however, they ARE very easy-care.
 
Well I went and bought a leather Harness.. here are a few pics... I will post more when i actually get it and get it put on a horse. its supposed to be here friday..

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and remember the cart i bought and said it needed some work done?? well here is a pic of it the day i brought it home..

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here are a couple of pics of it today.. I still need to recover the seat.. (with red leather) and replace the springs for the seat and then rebolt the seat back onto the cart frame and it will be finished..
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