Harnesses
Horse harness types and uses
Just as it's much harder to walk your dog without a leash, it's nearly impossible to drive your horse without the proper harness. Horse harnesses come in all shapes, sizes and materials, depending on what specific purpose they are used for.
Almost all harnesses have several basic parts: a bit, a collar, a girth and reins. The bit is a metal rod that fits between the horse's jaws; it is attached to the reins, which are long straps (usually leather) that the human driver holds onto. Any signal given by moving the reins transfers to the bit, which tells the horse what to do.
The girth is a loop that is secured firmly around a horse's belly. A girth is also found on a regular saddle — it's the big strap that secures the saddle to the horse's back.
The collar, or hames, is an optional padded piece that fits low around the front of the horse's neck. It allows the horse to pull a cart or load with the full force of its strong chest and shoulder muscles.
Hames vs. Breaststrap Harnesses
There are two main types of harnesses: a hames harness and breaststrap harness. The hames harness obviously incorporates a hames, which concentrates the load's weight on the horse's shoulders. Draft horse harnesses are of the hames variety. They are almost always leather, but harnesses used for showing draft horses are quite ornate, incorporating silver or brass hardware, bells and other decorations.
A breaststrap design centers most of the load weight on the front chest of a horse, so it is ideal for pulling lighter objects. Breaststrap harnesses are popular in harness horse racing. The cart in which the rider sits, called a sulky, usually weighs around 40 pounds, which is pretty light for a horse to draw. Of course, racing harnesses are also especially lightweight and built for speed.
Horse Driving Harnesses
"Horse driving" can refer to a single horse pulling something like a cart or carriage, or to a team of horses working together to pull a heavier load. Harnesses used for pulling things usually have a breech, a wide strap that fits around the horse's hindquarters and is connected to the shafts of the cart, which helps stop the load when the horse stops. When driving in a team, only the horses closest to the vehicle need a breech.
