My feral comin 3yr standardbred has gotten so handy at grounddriving. Though i’m at a loss for the verbal to describe “pace” so i’m sticking with "Terrr-ot’ lol. And i’m getting kinda tired of jogging behind him, (not lounging…going around all over the farm) so it’s time to move along, and harness him well and have him drag stuff on a singletree. I’ve cobbled together out of bits and pieces of old tack, a decent harness that fits, but is ugggggly. So, today, i’m going upstairs in the barn and will pull my Morgan mare’s old Lasalle harness. It’s been 10 years… And i’ve put off digging it out because i just know it’s going to be all mouse chewed. Taking the cover off might be like a horror show! Just in case, i’m ready to go shopPING if it is! Are biothane harnesses any good? I know they never mold to your horse, but i’m thinking of starting there next for a training / rainy day harness. Then move up to something nice for him whenever he decides to stop growing and when he goes good in front of a cart.
There’s nothing better than biothane! And if you invest in a good one with a well constructed saddle, they fit to the horse very well. In fact my biothane harness conforms to pony better than my leather presentation harness. Now that’s due to the leather harness being about 7 days old and used… Once. It will fit fine once it’s broken in. But the point is, after my biothane marathon harness got broke in, it also conformed to my horse
Biothane is good, I have a very nice biothane harness that fits my mini nicely (conforms to his shape) and looks lovely, but I prefer leather only because it is easier for my arthritic hands to deal with re: buckles especially in the cold weather. I also like the feel of leather lines better.
I agree about leather lines (except for my grippy reins for marathon tyvm), but that is an easy fix - substitute leather reins when ordering!
I’m a big fan of my Zilco harness (so easy to clean! so easy to mix and match–is he a large pony or a little cob? it doesn’t matter!)…but I REALLY LIKE having leather lines.
It can get stiff in winter, true, but sweat/mud/water crossings rinse right off, and I can swish the whole bridle in a bucket when the bit comes out sticky with green pony goo.
To be sure, I like leather, and there’s something soothing about watching old movies while cleaning and oiling, but every time out? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Right? There’s a reason the international teams seem like they average about 2 grooms per horse, and it ain’t because of the horses!
i’m working on oiling up that LaSalle harness of mine. No rodents got to it and it’s not very stiff…even though it’s been (i looked it up in my photo log) 15 years since i last used it! Evenstill…i want a synthetic. I’m working with IVC on a harness …anyone have experience with them? They have the most wonderful looking V shaped collar! Some of their saddles aren’t an A shape over the wither…they’re just flat? that’s weird looking to me. Should i even consider anything other than a framed saddle top?
I assume it’s the budget harness that doesn’t have a true saddle? But, yeah, I think you should always have a true saddle!
