Picking a harness

[PintoPalLover]

Thanks for the tip on buckles, jventresca .

It's nice to get everybody's opinions and learn from their experience, especially since everybody's so nice on here.

My harness from Ozark's suppose to ship today ! Suppose to be here by the end of the week .

 

[Cayuse]

Did your harness arrive? I can't wait to see pictures!

 

[PintoPalLover]

Not yet,I'm hoping later today. I can't wait to see it too !

 

[PintoPalLover]

Still no harness....

 

[PintoPalLover]

The harness arrived today , I'm going to try to get pictures and work on the fit more tomorrow , not bad quality leather for a cheap harness but of course not really really nice leather. TICA, if you are willing to spend the money, I think the carriage harness from Ozark or a more so show harness with a removable breeching from somewhere else would better suit your needs. It looks really nice on (only tried it on pretty quick) as I said above I'll try and get good pictures tomorrow and a better update/description, I'll probably need everyone's advice on fit, too.

 

[PintoPalLover]

Tried to post pictures but it keeps saying "file to large to upload" . I think I might be able to either fix the problem or take new 'smaller' pictures tomorrow.

 

[PintoPalLover]

Yahoo! I think these pictures are going to work, they aren't quite as good as the 'too large' ones , but at least they're pictures...

 

[PintoPalLover]

I forgot to put the checks in those pictures. Would anyone care to further explain the different uses of the side check and over check? I know jventresca touched on it , but I'd like to learn a little more about them.

 

[Cayuse]

That's pretty! I like the bridle alot as the blinker/blinder stays are wide and look like they have the wires inside to keep them where you put them. I like my blinkers to be pretty far away from their eyes.

I think with the side check it is easier for the horse to round over and collect than with an overcheck as the pressure is more even on both sides of their mouth. Probably someone who has more driving experience can explain it better than I.

I tried a side check with my mini but he was fussy with it so went back to the overcheck. I can't go without a check because I drive in an area where the grass can get to be tempting, about nose high sometimes, lol. So I just keep the check on loose as a reminder.

If you do combined driving you don't use a check at all so the horse can really use himself as he does the obstacles. I took some combined driving lessons this summer and had a blast, but still used my overcheck when I had to. The instructor was open to it. What I have found is there are alot of different opinions and ideas on using a checkrein.

Do you have any pictures of the harness on your mini yet?

 

[TICA]

The harness arrived today , I'm going to try to get pictures and work on the fit more tomorrow , not bad quality leather for a cheap harness but of course not really really nice leather. TICA, if you are willing to spend the money, I think the carriage harness from Ozark or a more so show harness with a removable breeching from somewhere else would better suit your needs. It looks really nice on (only tried it on pretty quick) as I said above I'll try and get good pictures tomorrow and a better update/description, I'll probably need everyone's advice on fit, too.

Oh how pretty...I love the color! I know you can't tell much from pictures but it looks like a nice leather. Is there padding/lining under the saddle? It looks well made to me but I'm a newbie. Thanks for the heads up about the carriage harness. I was hoping to find something that would work for everyday and show. I guess I'll figure it out one of these days but your harness looks nifty to me. I'm sure you'll enjoy breaking it in!! Thanks so much for the pictures~

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It is an attractive harness. You probably won't know exactly what you think until it is on your horse. You might want to get a harness pad. I don't know anyone who's harness is all original; most need some tweaking!

I do not know the technical reasons for side/over check. I had never really used a check before, but it has been very useful for Rowdy. He wants to evade by putting his nose on the ground and the over check helped with that. I have the side check on him now; I don't like all those straps on his face. You might visit the American Driving Society and see if there are tips there about checks. People can have very strong opinions about them; I think each driver has to figure out what works for his horse and him. Most of us are amateur drivers and still learning.

Looking forward to seeing your harness in action!

 

[PintoPalLover]

Thanks for all the tips on checks and compliments

Cayuse, I agree, this bridle has probably been my favorite out of the driving bridles (actually out of all the bridles) I've had, I haven't had a lot but still.
I only got one good-ish picture of it on Sugs, normally I wouldn't post it but since you asked I will

it isn't quite up to my normal 'want to be' standard. We have two inches of snow on the ground and it was pretty cold yesterday, so I didn't make Sugar venture out of her warm blanket.

I want to get a few pictures of the girls in the snow yet today, so maybe I can get a few good pictures of Suggie in her harness. I'm hoping the leather will just get nicer as it's worn, all the buckles are easy to use, my only complaints now are the hardware quality ( not to bad but not as nice as my other harness, which wasn't too expensive) , the backstrap seemed long, too long for either of my girls, and the breeching could be a little off in size too ,might have to send those pieces back for a different size. Where would you say the breeching is suppose to set ? I think I've got a pretty good idea but would like to make sure before I send anything back, I'll try and get better pictures of how it fits soon. TICA, the saddle does have a little padding but not a lot, as Marsha suggested I think I'll use a pad with it. I already have a pad so I'll at least try it.The color really is refreshing and I like it on Suggie, took Nollie for a short ground drive with the saddle and reins from it and tried on a few of the other pieces and I actually liked it on her too, black still is going to be her color of leather but it was fun to see. Combined driving lessons sound fun

 

[PintoPalLover]

By the way, that was Suggie's first time in full (minus the bridle) harness

 

[PintoPalLover]

Got a few pictures today. Would anyone care to add their two cents on breeching fit ? Does it need to come a little farther onto her body (towards her withers) ?

 

[Cayuse]

My first impression is that it looks a little far back but maybe other people could validate this as I'm no breeching expert, lol. I think on my guys it is more towards the point of there hip, It seems like there was a "sweet spot" where it just seemed to lay nicely.

I'm going to look at my pictures and see if I remember correctly!

ETA: I looked and mine is a little bit more forward that yours, but not alot.

Can you send a picture to the harness maker and see what they say?

 

[PintoPalLover]

Thanks for replying Cayuse !

​ I guess I could send the picture to the maker. I'm pretty sure there aren't places I can adjust it more to get it farther forward , so I'd probably have to send it back to get a slightly longer piece if it truly is to far back.

 

[PintoPalLover]

Got to ground drive Nollie in the snow in today!

 

[MajorClementine]

I'm too big a wimp for that! She looks so pretty there in the snow. How'd she do?

 

[Minimor]

looks good. Give it a good oiling and the leather will soften up nicely.

The breeching isn't a bad fit; I think it will be perfectly usable as is.

 

[PintoPalLover]

She did pretty good, especially since I hadn't driven her for a while . I think most of the 'if-y' stuff didn't have much to do with the snow . :/

Thanks for the advice on the breeching fit , Minimor !