A Vent 🤨

[2DogsFarm]

Cruising FB Driving pages…
WHY are so many mini harnesses made w/o treed saddles?
Proportionately minis pull more weight & generally driven to carts, you’d think their backs require the same - if not greater - relief!
The fleece or neoprene pads sold do little to help.
I finally found - in an Amish-run tack shop - a neoprene pad that does have a gullet space.
For all of $10 & even comes in colors!
Got one myself & preached to mini-driving friends to do the same.

The higher-priced harnesses do come with this feature.
But how much cost would be added if the lower-priced ($300-$500) biothane saddles were made this way?

Vent over.
Back to pinching pennies (Abe is weeping) until I can get the IVC harness of my dreams

[cayuse]

I dunno, I wouldn’t think it would cost that much more to manufacture. I agree that most need a treed saddle but my mini got awfully sore from wearing one. I bought a fairly nice custom harness from Yonis fitted by a pro and it just was a disaster for him. Another harness with a tree on same mini gave similar results. He much prefers the super cheap treeless sort. I also used a fleece pad with gullet space and it wasn’t a flop, but not a hit either for the picky mini. I guess it just depends on their preference. This mini will also not wear beta or biothane on his body. He will happily wear a synthetic bridle though. Who knows why . Good luck with your harness search, it’s worse than saddle hunting I think!

[Foxglove]

My driving harness (leather) had a treed saddle, however, my New England Log Harness did not --I added shaft holders that clipped to the saddle, and used a pad under it, but never thought about why it didn’t have a treed saddle like the driving harness (Amish buggy harness w/ breast collar).

[2DogsFarm]

@cayuse Agreed, you (the general “you”) let your mini tell you what works.
I drove with a fleece pad for years & mini never appeared backsore. Even after 10+mi RT drives on combined grass & asphalt.
Maybe I’M the one who’s happier with gullet relief

@Foxglove I’m thinking the pressure from pulling logs is different than a person’s weight on the shafts transferred to the horse’s or mini’s back. Line of draft is, for sure.

FWIW:
Reputable harnessmaker once tactfully suggested to a very “fluffy” Driver that her mini would appreciate gullet relief. She was in an Easy Entry cart, bio harness with just a flat saddle, not even a fleece pad.
ETA:
The saddle of my dreams
When Dream is Reality it will come with full harness in 2-tone

[RMJacobs]

I had a leather harness for my Hackney pony and a biothane harness for my larger pony. Both saddles were treed. I never encountered a treeless one, and would not have bought it if I did. I would think treeless couldn’t be comfortable (except for Cayuse’s experience).

My larger pony’s harness had to be put together custom because he was one of those ponies built by a committee that wouldn’t talk to each other. He had a very long head but small muzzle, short back but huge barrel (same size barrel as my Paint mare), and short pony legs. The guy from whom I bought my harness insisted I had to have measured wrong. I whipped out a picture of the pony that I’d brought for this exact reason. Harness guy said “I guess you measured correctly” and that he would piece it all together for me. He was wonderful.

Rebecca

[2DogsFarm]

Sadly most of the low-budget & some not so cheap mini harnesses have a completely flat, zero padding saddle.
Calling it a saddle is a misnomer, backpad is more like it.
Most use the fluffy fleece pads, some - like my wideload friend - use nothing.
If, like @cayuse pony, this isn’t a problem, that’s fine.
But for the others, at least a pretense of treed would be nice.

[RMJacobs]

I used a fleece saddle pad with both my harnesses. I never tried driving the ponies without a pad. I also had a breastcollar pad for each. Red for the bay pony and blue for the light gray pony. Of course, their halters and lead ropes matched the pad colors. Not that I’m compulsive or anything. Excuse me, I need to go color code my clothes hangers now. I joke, but they are actually coordinated with the color of the clothing item each one holds. DH keeps threatening to rearrange it so nothing matches. That would be criminal.

Rebecca

[2DogsFarm]

I bow to your Closet Organizational Skillz!
I intended to match hangers, but am living with a mishmash

Back on topic:
I started out using the fleece pads - saddle & breastcollar - but, just like the ridden saddle pad version, they can get crusty & matted, if someone (me) doesn’t keep them washed
I switched to neoprene, much easier to keep clean.
But, like you, the pads are the only time I get matchymatchy with tack

[RMJacobs]

I started off with all fleece pads, but when I replaced them, got ones with neoprene on the inside surface. They were much easier to keep clean.

Rebecca

[RanchyHunter]

I think you can get the treed mini harness in 2 tone biothane from Chrysalis Acres

[2DogsFarm]

You can. She has Yonies, a very nice brand.
IVC does their own, similar in pricing & quality (I’ve seen theirs IRL).
Just gotta win that Lottery…