Is there any easier way of hanging up my harness without getting it so tangled all of the time? I’m so tired of taking the pieces apart :S
if it’s a heavy draft work harness i used to stand on the horse’s near side and lift down onto my shoulder the parts in the following order, from proximal (near my neck) to distal (near my arm):hames, saddle, “spider,” and britchen. I would hang it up on a harness hook just as if I was harnessing another horse, so in the same order. The harness hook I made, it had a large-diameter wooden peg on top for the hames, then a large-radius wooden curved thing for the saddle, then another wood peg for the britchen. This worked on the 18 hand shires, partly b/c I am 6 feet and at the time was in my 20s and working out a lot (currying and harnessing a lot too). maybe that will work.
What kind of harness do you have? Most pleasure driving harnesses come apart in easy to manage bits without any extra “taking apart”. As for work harness- where everything is all linked together in one gigantic heavy tangley piece- I don’t think there is an answer- but I’ve known plenty of old teamsters who switched to ponies when they couldn’t manage the draft harness any more.
I have a a single draft nylon working harness
One of my friends who drives a 4 up purchased these to hang his harnesses on.
Worked really neatly. And cheap.
Do you know how to tie your traces? That’s a big one to start.
Also- some people (not me) like to connect the backstrap of the britching to the saddle loop with a snap- doing so allows you to release the horse from the carriage (in the event of a wreck where the horse is laying on top of the shaft) so you don’t need to get to the(both) hold backs to release the horse… anyway- if you did use a snap connection there- you can release the britching from the saddle and hang the britching by it’s seat- and then place the saddle on top of it- it lays flat that way. You can still hang the britching and saddle that way without the snap release- it just puts a loop in the backband.
I do as Plainandtall suggest with the connector for the backstrap. I also use connectors for my holdbacks and they stay attached to my carriage shafts. I’ve only started doing that since going to biothane, when using leather I take the holdbacks off with the harness.
My friend uses nylon harness a lot and she stores it in a tupperware with a beach towel, instead of trying to hang it since it does like to twist and wrangle around. She ties her traces and reins in bundles, and the rest of the harness she lays in the tupperware in the reverse order it would go on the horse. Each piece she lays in, she does carefully and in a round fashion so it doesn’t develop any kinks. I’m not doing a very good job of explaining this, but if you play around a bit you can find a system that works for you.
I like using saddle stands to hang my harness on, and this year I’m installing a free standing garden hose hanger near where I tack my horse so the harness is hanging and ready to go.
I bought this nice 4 piece utility harness rack set from ideal Harness at the National Drive. I got it on sale- but their website price of $40 isn’t bad.
They had an awesome roll around harness caddy that was just dreamy… but a little too much for my budget.
http://www.idealharness.com/product_info.php?products_id=3400
[QUOTE=Plainandtall;6820078]
Do you know how to tie your traces? That’s a big one to start.
Also- some people (not me) like to connect the backstrap of the britching to the saddle loop with a snap- doing so allows you to release the horse from the carriage (in the event of a wreck where the horse is laying on top of the shaft) so you don’t need to get to the(both) hold backs to release the horse… anyway- if you did use a snap connection there- you can release the britching from the saddle and hang the britching by it’s seat- and then place the saddle on top of it- it lays flat that way. You can still hang the britching and saddle that way without the snap release- it just puts a loop in the backband.[/QUOTE]
Now, that came to my mind at one point and then i lost it. I think i might use that approach. Thanks.
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534793_10152530191795046_1065093469_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/223524_10152530191100046_837431155_n.jpg
When I take my working harness off (both leather and Zilco - for singles or pairs), I just undo the girth and cruper and slide the single harness off. For the pairs I undo the girth and cruper, slide the britching up and take the whole harness off over their heads. I don’t take anything apart really. I just hang it up like in our pictures. I place the britching on first, put the saddle over top and hang the breast piece. I then place the lines overtop, with the bridles on their own hooks above. I have never had the harness tangle…ever. To put the pair harness back on, I just slip the whole thing over their heads (upside down), turn it around and place the saddle on their back and place the briching down. It only takes a few seconds and voila! Done!! The single harness is easy as the breast piece and traces are one piece and the saddle and britching are a second piece…
For our leather show harness we do take apart (as we need to anyway to clean the leather after each use) and the saddle gets wrapped up in a towel and placed in a plastic tote. We also have a nice harness rack with 2 sides that the harness sits on. We simply place the rack between the 2 ponies and harness them up and use it to place the harness on after we are done.
[QUOTE=DiamondJubilee;6822111]
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/534793_10152530191795046_1065093469_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/223524_10152530191100046_837431155_n.jpg
When I take my working harness off (both leather and Zilco - for singles or pairs), I just undo the girth and cruper and slide the single harness off. For the pairs I undo the girth and cruper, slide the britching up and take the whole harness off over their heads. I don’t take anything apart really. I just hang it up like in our pictures. I place the britching on first, put the saddle over top and hang the breast piece. I then place the lines overtop, with the bridles on their own hooks above. I have never had the harness tangle…ever. To put the pair harness back on, I just slip the whole thing over their heads (upside down), turn it around and place the saddle on their back and place the briching down. It only takes a few seconds and voila! Done!! The single harness is easy as the breast piece and traces are one piece and the saddle and britching are a second piece…
For our leather show harness we do take apart (as we need to anyway to clean the leather after each use) and the saddle gets wrapped up in a towel and placed in a plastic tote. We also have a nice harness rack with 2 sides that the harness sits on. We simply place the rack between the 2 ponies and harness them up and use it to place the harness on after we are done.[/QUOTE]
Cool! But it won’t let me see the pictures?
Hmmm…thats weird. I was able to click on them and I could see them. I’m not really tech savy, but I just copied the pictures from my facebook account. I’m not too sure how else I can put the pictures on here. Is anyone else able to see these or have any suggestions how I can add the pictures so everyone can see them?
I use a saddle stand for my breeching and saddle, then three separate big bridle hangers for my collar, tugs and headstall.
Just saw Diamond Jubilee’s pics. That’s what I do.
[QUOTE=DiamondJubilee;6824549]
Hmmm…thats weird. I was able to click on them and I could see them. I’m not really tech savy, but I just copied the pictures from my facebook account. I’m not too sure how else I can put the pictures on here. Is anyone else able to see these or have any suggestions how I can add the pictures so everyone can see them?[/QUOTE] Hmmmm weird, I used another computer it finally uploaded…anyway…GOOD IDEA! lol
The key is taking the harness off carefully (the back end on one wrist) and the front end being held by the other hand, then put it on your rack in the same order. If you learn to pick it up off the rack =JUST like you put it on, you can put it on your horse without issue. The draft harness is so heavy, that sometimes it is easy to just grab and go. Resist the temptation. Being methodical in how you remove it and place on the rack. Do the same when you put it on the horse. Also, if you use a mounting block to put the harness on, you can set it on and there is less messy twisting.
