When to Buy a Harness for a Young Horse

[CERT]

I have a filly who will be three in April. She’s progressing nicely and I’ve even hooked her up to a tire a couple times at this point with no issue. My training harness consists of a driving breastcollar, rope traces (nearly 2" thick soft cotton rope with snaps on one end and rings on the other), surcingle, crupper, and trace holders (repurposed kicking strap…). This is fine for dragging stuff on the ground, but I would like to hook her to the cart this coming year and I need a full harness with breaks (i.e. a breeching) to do so.

My main worry is that she still has some growing to do and while I know harnesses have some adjustability I don’t want to be stuck on the last holes of everything when she finishes filling out.

She currently stands just shy of 15.2hh at a little under 1,100lbs and is a HaflingerxBelgian (SirexDam). I know breastcollar harnesses typically have more adjustability than neckcollar harnesses, but my crew tends to do more than just pull lightweight carts so collar and hames it is. Her collar size is currently 21" and I think I should be safe with an adjustable collar that runs 21-23" and a set of 24" hames.

I might have a little leeway as I have a harness for my Fjord that could possibly fit her (collar is an inch too big, but I have a pad that might help that), but adjusting harness back and forth is a pain. This spring the harness was too long for the filly, but when I tried it a couple months ago she had almost completely filled out the breeching.

So my question boils down to this: am I worrying too much about her sprouting between now and her full maturity? If I get a harness that fits her current measurements now am I going to be buying another harness as she hits five or seven and finishes filling out?

[DiamondJubilee]

I have just ordered a harness for my 3 year old large pony, but I’m quite familiar with the breed and pretty much know that he’s done growing in height (though he will fill out a bit of course).

I have a single set of harness that fits him (close to the tighest holes) and I took it to a harness maker who took measurements off of it. I asked if he could make the new pair harness with those measurements in the middle. This way I can go down a few holes when he fills out (as I know I will have to adjust the breeching etc as he gains weight/fills out) but it will still work for him right now when on the tighest holes.

I’m staying away from a collar right now but I do plan on purchasing one in the spring (he will be 4) and I’m sure I will have to be buying another one in a few years or so as he will also bulk up there as well. I don’t use adjustables for everyday use and I have k collars for our turnout, so I don’t have the adjustable option for those.

In my opinion, if you buy a 21-23" adjustable collar, I’m sure you will be just fine. My older guy has only gone up one to two inches from when he was 4 to where he is now (as a 4 year old he was an 18" and at 8 he’s now a 19.5" and done growing). I would be very careful on putting a collar on her thats too big - you don’t want any rubs/bad experiences pulling with one. I like to start my guys with a breastcollar when they are growing and change them over to a collar when they are around 4 and even then I do have to purchase at least one more in a larger size (luckily I have a few different sizes at home).

As for harness for your girl, I’m not really familiar with those breeds and I don’t know how much they grow when they get older. It sounds like she already grew quite a bit if she filled out the breeching already!

My ponies tend to stop growing around 2 and just fill out slightly in the chest/neck (my family has bred these guys for over 40 years and we know the bloodlines inside and out and they are very consistant in growth).

I would think if you measure for the rest of the harness now, just get the sizing in the middle holes so you can go up or down. I think you mentioned you have a fjord that you would also be using this harness on? This way it could still fit both of your guys, but I can’t see how you could get away without not adjusting it from animal to animal, unless you purchase 2 harnesses.

[DMK]

It’s not quite the same, but when I ordered a harness (yonies) for my late 3 yr old fjord (who wasn’t overly chunky due to winter+growth spurt), the harness maker “adapted” some measurements based on his experience with a, ummm, more mature fjord so I imagine if you have the same conversation with the harness maker, they can adapt those measurements as well.

[CERT]

Thanks for your comments! I haven’t had a lot of long-term experience with young horses. This is only my third and each have been different breeds! The first was just a riding horse, the second fit the Fjord’s harness, and then this filly.

Our Fjord has her own harness that fits her well currently. I got the harness when she was four and she grew an inch in her neck between then and seven (she’s 11 now, 14.1 hands and a 22.5" collar!), filled out the belly, and had to let out the turnback and crupper a hole each.

Today I pulled out the Fjord’s harness and put it on the filly (her name is Tru-D) today and really looked it over. The collar is definitely too large, but I figure if I get the 21-23" and she manages to grow out of it the Fjord will fit it and I’ll pick up another one for Tru-D. I definitely plan on having a well-fitted collar specifically for her as I don’t want rubbing or making her sour to it at all. The turnback needs to be a hole tighter, the belly band is on the top holes and barely brushes her belly, and she’s at the top of the crupper. The quarter straps could be one hole tighter and the breeching a hole higher, but considering where it was in the spring with the top hip strap at the base of her tail and the breeching dangling around her hocks she did a lot of growing this summer!

I guess I’m a little backwards. I’d like to eventually show her and when I do I’ll probably do it in a breastcollar harness, but during the breaking process I plan on doing a bit more dragging with a tire (which many a breastcollar harness doesn’t offer the correct line of draft for) and my “breaking cart” is a Forecart, which is a little on the beastly side. Plus I figure if she does well with the noises associated with the heavy-duty work harness from the jingling heel chains to the funny sound of the yoke snap the near-silence of a breastcollar set-up will be no big deal.

Yeah, all of the adjustments necessary to get a harness to fit two horses isn’t worth the money saved, plus, unlike a saddle you don’t have to get one to fit each driver, just the horse!

I like the idea of having the harness maker size it as she is now being the smallest setting or close to it.

[CERT]

I took a couple pictures of her today with the harness on sized to the Fjord.
http://http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/lantairvlea/184732/95817/95817_800.jpg

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/lantairvlea/184732/95817/95817_800.jpg

Just ignore her akwardly cocked leg. Horses know exactly how to pose inconveniently exactly when you want to take a picture…