Do you have any dos or don’ts about them? Do you care if the metal matches your harness fittings?
Do you mean a full set/string of bells?
Make sure you measure how long a set you’ll need. The bells go outside the shafts and it can be a long piece of tack.
Bells will drive you nuts after a while…the jingle is cute and novel for a while…after a bit, they’re just noise.
I’ve only seen “real” bells in brass (best tone I imagine).
Sleigh bells should be odd in number. The largest bell in the center, with bells getting smaller as the head away from the largest bell (they should match each other on the strap too as they decrease in size).
Anchor the largest bell to your saddle so it won’t wind up under the horse’s belly.
How cool, T, i had no idea how bells went on…I have always lived in Texas, but I do have a sleigh, but it has wheels.
I always see bells in the Amish harness makers catalogue, but have never seen them in person. The bells a TSC are always real tinny sounding, so I would try to find some better ones than they carry.
I rig a set that I think are supposed to hang on the door onto my harness every year. They are engraved brass with a really pretty tone, but I think they were made to hang on the door.
Nancy
I like the saddle chimes better. Very pretty and not near as annoying…
I polished a set from Smuckers this weekend. They sounded wonderful. Check with them.
[QUOTE=equinedriver;5971476]
I like the saddle chimes better. Very pretty and not near as annoying…[/QUOTE]
They can drive you batty too! I bought a set from Andy Marcoux, he recommended I pull off half the clappers (the swinging parts that hit the fixed bell on the saddle chime). He was right about it, less noise, nicer sound and the twitching is reduced.
My full set has 29 bells…pairs of sizes 1-14 with a single size 15 big bell…they’re heavy too!
I taught my guys to not worry about the bells the simple way…rang the bells when they were being fed treats and later just hung them around their body with a saddle on their back for comfort and then let them graze while I had them on a lead shank. Once they found out they could eat, they ignored the bell’s noise.
I haven’t seen nor heard these bells, but they have gotten good reviews on the Carriage Driving List
Personally I like the swedish rump bells the best. They have more of a chime sound than the ring. I only use 2 bells on each horse to have the ring but less twitching.
