Collar pads

[SilverwoodGelfling]

Hi Everyone,

I am trying out teaching my horse to drive/pull and have acquired a used collection of harness reasonably close to her size ( I can punch holes and such as needed). I have a knowledgeable friend assisting, but she has limited experience working with a farm type harness (collar, back-strap/girth, trace chains), and my collar is slightly too large for my mare.

Can Collar pads be used to adjust the size of a collar, and if so what are the typical sizes available? Any suggested retailers?

Thanks for any assistance.

[2DogsFarm]

From my very limited knowledge of collars, I say a correctly fitted collar is important & trying to shim with a pad is not the best solution.
There is an injury commont horses with poorly fitting collars. Google: Sweeney Shoulder.

If there is a harness shop near you, or one you can contact by phone, contact them for instructions on measuring your mare for a collar.

They are not inexpensive, but very important pieces of harness.
For example: I priced a biothane mini-sized collar @ $300 - from a local Amish shop.

[B_and_B]

I found that Chimacum tack is a great resource. They were very helpful when I was playing Goldilocks with collars. And they carry a wide variety of collar types.
In general you can use a collar pad to shim if a collar is within an inch or so of proper fit, but no more than that. A too small collar is less likely to cause injury than too large.

[house]

I use pads if I have to, but honestly I would rather buy a new collar. my main reason is keeping colar pad clean is a pain in the butt. and collar pads are not much more than a pad. That said there are 2 main types of pads, top pads and full pads, top pads normally do a good job of reducing the collar about one size, they go just on the top and will work with most collars and horses. Full collar pads that go down the face of the collar are more hit and miss with different horse/collar combinations. The main reason for this is not only does I make the collar shorter. but narrower as well. they will take a collar down 2 sizes but they are are pain in the butt, at least in my opinion. Chimacum tack is good, but I normally go for N&A harness from Mydrafthorse.com or Shipsewana harness from Harness Bob, either can get you pads you need you need. if you want new collars my favorite is LAKESTREET ENTERPRISES LLC, (260) 768-7991, the collar shop is called T row collars or something of the sort but they share a shop and are an Amish outfit, very helpful.