Okay Mnmini, I'm here! LOL. Sorry, I crashed after work on Monday in a post-show fog from this weekend and spent all day at work today composing an answer for you around incoming calls. Here it is.
From Maryann:
Is there a book of rules that I can get my hands on? That would keep me from asking such dumb questions on here and showing my ignorance. Would love to start getting my feet wet with this. Looks like fun and much more challenging than just driving in a circle.
The motto of all converted mini drivers- "Much more fun than going in a circle!" LOL. There's two things I can recommend. First of all, yes, there is a rule book. It's the American Driving Society book and it's very long and very technical, available in pdf format on their website. The second thing I think you'd find helpful is to go to
www.minihorsecde.com. The site is designed to introduce the novice driver or die-hard breed show campaigner to the goals and requirements of combined driving. That's how I got started!
From BFS Simon Says:
I feel really dumb asking this but what does a harness with a tree look like?
ETA: You guys look great. There must be a huge amount of trust between you and Kody for him to let you lay down with him, as someone else already said you two are a perfect match.
Instead of being essentially a flat piece of leather that you could fold together or bend upside down if you wanted to, a harness saddle with a tree has a firm core that maintains the saddle's shape and keeps it from settling down on the horse's withers under pressure. It's just like the tree of a riding saddle and with the same purpose- to keep the weight distributed on the muscle and not the spine.
I am flattered by your comment about Kody trusting me and I hope it's true, but I've got to be honest- he lets complete strangers step over his head when he's flat out and doesn't care as long as they don't try and wake him up! :lol:
: The part where I know he loves me is the fact that if he hears my voice he wakes up and looks for me…he sleeps through anyone else. He's the first horse I've had that allowed me to lay down with him so I do it a lot.
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From Mnmini:
Just curious about the treeless vs. tree saddle. My marathon cart is nearly complete in construction, and I can hardly wait to go pick it up...yeah!! But, I'm still waffling on what to order harness-wise. I have my show harness, which is nice, and when using the breeching, certainly suitable, but the saddle is probably narrower than I would ideally like, and I would prefer buckle-in traces with at least a shaped breast collar and false martingale, to keep it from "riding" up. I'd kind of narrowed my search down to the synthetic harness by carriagehouse out of FL, and countrycarriagesusa. I had heard that some minis tended to "rub" when wearing the super V breast collar, so had been leaning towards the rolled, shaped breast collar instead, but had been under the impression that I would WANT the tree in the saddle? Which breast collar style do I want?
What type and brand of marathon cart did you choose? ADS people are forever comparing and modifying their setups and I'm no exception! LOL. I went through many of the same thought processes as you did in choosing my harness. I spent all winter shopping for a new synthetic with the goal being to have one that was just like a Smucker's Deluxe but half the price.
: I wanted a well-padded wider saddle with a tree, a contoured, padded, buckle-in breastcollar with dual neck strap, padded girth and breeching, a certain type of crupper, chain browband, separate cavesson, all sorts of things. I swamped the inbox of my chosen manufacturer with pictures of exactly what I wanted. And they delivered a gorgeous harness that was exactly what I ordered but I ended up returning it. My horse suffers from "Princess and the Pea" syndrome and apparently is not fond of synthetic materials unless they are super soft. And now that I've returned the harness I'm forced to admit that the one I have is actually more than adequate for what I'm doing. Kody wonders why I fuss- he LIKES the nice soft leather breastcollar. I put on the wide padded deep V and he gives me this look like I'm strapping him into a gladiator suit. :lol:
However everyone knows Kody is not normal.
: Kody can be brilliant, but he has a lot of quirks and that's putting it nicely. Every other horse in the history of the universe seems to love their deep V breastcollar. I have noticed it does seem to fit better on a horse that either has a broad chest or is 34" or above, and appears to be most comfortable for them if the line of draft is slightly below horizontal and the martingale is tightened so that it fits snugly and the collar does not wiggle around. Your preference in breastcollars is going to depend on your horse's conformation, your cart's configuration, and how you want your turnout to look.
Be aware that the same harness maker works for both the Carriage House and Country Carriages USA. Both companies seem to have excellent customer service from my dealings with them and their products are very nice. If I buy another synthetic someday I will either give up and buy the Smucker's I've always wanted (but can't afford at $1,000+) or I will buy the CDE harness that Chimacum Tack designed and markets through Camptown Harness. That is a wonderfully soft, nice synthetic harness for under $500 and it was designed by mini CDE people, for mini CDE people. Almost every horse in my area uses one because Chimacum is a local tack shop and we all got in on the ground floor. There are some aesthetic things I don't like about it but it is incredibly well-designed and very comfortable for the horse.
I imagine the harness tree issue would also strongly depend on both your horse and the manufacturer of your harness. I'd read the recommendations and understood the logic so I ordered one because like you I was under the impression it was a good thing. The harness itself was rather heavyweight anyway so it might not have all been the tree, but it was quite solid. I was concerned about a couple of padding issues besides that and the more I hefted it, the more I realized Kody and I both preferred his treeless saddle. Now I wouldn't use the treeless without a pad to broaden it and keep the hard ends of the terret and check hook screws from digging into his back through the leather, but with one there's no problem at all. There is enough padding on the saddle itself to keep it from rolling around his barrel so it fits well and he is comfortable raising his back under it. Zilcos have a tree I believe and are quite nice, I've never heard complaints about the weight. Maybe it's plastic instead of wood? I'd have to check if the Chimacum harness does or not. In any case you've got to consider exactly what your goals are and how everything fits your horse. You just want to make sure above all that the harness does not place weight directly on their spine. Some horses or turnouts may require a tree to do that, others are fine without.
If I can answer anything else for you please PM me.
Leia
