Driving Reins: Basics and Guidelines
Driving reins are an essential part of any horse harness, used to control and guide the horse while riding or working. This guide will provide useful information on their features, proper size, and use in various scenarios.
Characteristics of Driving Reins
Driving reins are nearly always brown, regardless of the color of the rest of the harness. Sometimes, these reins may also have stitching. They are designed with specific features to ensure safety and ease of use for both the rider and the horse.
- Width: It’s important that driving reins are not too wide. A width of approximately 25 mm (1 in.) is ideal for easy handling.
- Attachments: One end of each rein has a billet for attaching it to the bit, while the other ends are joined with a buckle and keeper.
Alternative Fastening Options
Some people may choose to forego the buckle and rely solely on a sturdy keeper to secure the reins. This alternative can be beneficial in case of an accident, as the driver won’t become entangled in the ends of the reins.
Heavy Horse Harness Reins
In certain scenarios, such as heavy horse harnesses used for farm work, the reins may be made of rope instead of the usual leather or synthetic materials. These rope reins, also known as lines, are more suitable for handling the additional weight and strength of heavy horses during agricultural tasks.
Bearing Reins and Overchecks
Bearing reins and overchecks serve a specific purpose in horse handling by ensuring the horse’s head remains in an upright position. While their use has decreased in more recent times, they continue to be essential in certain equestrian activities and disciplines.
Bearing Reins
Bearing reins were once a popular choice for supporting a horse’s head. In modern times, their use has become less frequent, except in certain scenarios such as show Hackney classes or other specialized equestrian events, where maintaining the horse’s head position is crucial for presentation and performance.
Overchecks
Overchecks, similarly designed to keep a horse’s head elevated, are still used in some horse handling and training situations. Ideal for controlling the head carriage of a horse, overchecks are often found in disciplines such as harness racing and pleasure driving.
Although bearing reins and overchecks both aim to maintain a horse’s head position, their specific applications vary depending on the discipline or activity in which they are employed.
Traces: Understanding Their Features and Adjustment
Traces are essential parts of a horse’s harness, designed to transmit the pulling force between the horse and the vehicle it’s drawing. To ensure the optimum level of comfort and performance, it’s necessary to understand the construction of traces, and how to adjust them correctly.
Construction of Traces
Traces are generally composed of layers of leather, often secured together by as many as four rows of stitching. These durable, layered straps are designed to withstand the force exerted by the horse while pulling a vehicle of any size, from a small cart to a large carriage.
Adjusting Traces
The adjustment is made either to the hame buckle – a hardware fitted on the horse’s collar – or, in some scenarios, to a buckle on a separate short length of trace at the trace-hook end. This flexibility in adjusting the traces allows for a perfect fit to meet the individual needs of each horse and carriage combination.
Optimal Positioning of Traces
For the optimal positioning, traces are adjusted such that the horse is as close as possible to the vehicle trace-hooks, while ensuring that the quarters (the horse’s hindquarters) are well away from the footboard of the carriage.
Traces in Commercial and Heavy Horse Harness
In commercial and heavy horse harness scenarios, a different type of trace is used. These traces are often made of chain as they need to bear greater forces and loads than those in standard horse-drawn vehicles.
Martingales: Types, Purposes, and Safety Precautions
Martingales play a crucial role in handling and controlling a horse, especially when driving. By knowing the different types of martingales and how they function, you can ensure a safer, more comfortable experience for both the horse and the driver.
The Basic Martingale
The basic martingale is primarily used to prevent the collar from sliding upwards. It’s a leather strap running from the girth — the strap encircling the horse’s belly — to the bottom of the collar. Interestingly, it’s not attached to the noseband, bit, or reins, unlike some other harness components.
Safety Precautions with Basic Martingales
As a safety measure, it’s often recommended to fasten the martingale around both the collar and hames — the metal or wooden parts of a horse collar. This helps to hold these components together. You might often see such martingales adorned with horse brasses, decorative brass plaques or discs, particularly in heavy harness setups.
The Ring Martingale
Apart from the basic martingale, there’s another type known as the ring martingale, which bears similarity to the running pattern used in horse riding. With two rings that are passed over the reins, this design specifically assists in correcting a horse’s excessively high head carriage, ensuring better control and safety while driving.
Cruppers: Usage, Types, and Maintenance
Cruppers play an important role in maintaining the correct position of a horse’s saddle or pad during riding or driving. By understanding the different types of cruppers and knowing how to maintain them properly, you can ensure the wellbeing of your horse, as well as a more comfortable and secure ride.
The Purpose of Cruppers
The dockpiece of the crupper is attached to the saddle or pad by means of a crupper backstrap. This serves the crucial function of keeping the saddle or pad in place, preventing it from sliding too far forward as the horse moves.
Types of Cruppers
Crupper dockpieces can be attached to the backstraps in a few different ways:
- With one or two buckles on the dockpiece straps
- As a single, continuous piece known as a martingale crupper
A martingale crupper offers a neater appearance and reduces the risk of reins or whip getting caught in the buckles. However, it can be more challenging to put on, especially with young or nervous horses that are sensitive to having their tails handled.
Maintaining Cruppers
Proper care and maintenance of the crupper are vital for the horse’s comfort. The dockpiece must be kept soft, pliable, and clean to avoid causing irritation or sores. Some dockpieces are stuffed with linseed, which helps to keep them supple. If the dockpiece hardens, it may lead to discomfort for the horse and create sores that take a significant time to heal. Regularly inspecting and cleaning the crupper helps to prevent such issues and ensures a pleasant experience for both horse and rider.
Breeching: Essential Component of Horse Harness
Breeching is a critical part of a horse’s harness, designed to help the horse bear the weight of a vehicle, especially while descending a hill or backing up. By understanding the different types of breeching and how to correctly fit them, you can ensure the horse’s maximum comfort and efficiency.
Full Breeching
Full breeching is a comprehensive structure that encompasses a broad strip of leather encircling the horse’s quarters, typically midway between the dock and the hocks. It is usually located 30-35 cm (or 12-14 inches) above the hocks. The effective placement and securing of full breeching involve vertical loin straps that pass up through the crupper backstrap. Additionally, rings and short breeching straps allow connection to ‘dees’ on the shafts of the horse’s harness.
False Breeching
False breeching represents a simpler design, consisting of a leather strap stretched directly across the horse’s quarters and attached to the shafts’ dees. Essentially, false breeching is a practical choice for two-wheeler vehicles.
In some scenarios, a kicking strap is used along with false breeching. This strap extends over the top of the quarters, goes through the crupper backstrap, and attaches to the harness shafts’ dees, situated further forward than those used for breeching. This strap aims to prevent a horse from raising its quarters to kick.
Long (Bristol) Breeching
Long, otherwise known as Bristol breeching, introduces a third type of breeching. Unique in its attachment, the Long breeching strap buckles not to the shaft, but to the tug buckle on the horse’s harness. It receives additional support by a kicking strap to ensure safe and efficient functionality.
By understanding these different types of breeching and choosing the right fit for your horse and vehicle, you can ensure smooth, efficient, and safe driving experiences.
Tugs: Integral Part of Horse Harnesses
Tugs perform a vital role in harnessing a horse to a vehicle. They work to stabilize the shafts attached to the vehicle, preventing unnecessary movement. Comprehensive knowledge about the different types of tugs and their applications can help in optimizing the performance and comfort of the horse and the safety of the ride.
Types of Tugs
Tugs are robust leather loops linking the shafts to the backband of the horse’s harness. They are integral as they help deter up-and-down movement of the shafts.
While there are several varieties of tugs, they primarily fall under two categories:
- Open Tugs: Contrary to what the name might suggest, open tugs do not open. They are simple sturdy loops of leather that connect the shafts to the backhand.
- Tilbury or French Pattern Tugs: Unlike open tugs, these tugs do open to accommodate and secure the shaft. Predominantly used with four-wheeled vehicles, Tilbury tugs are suitable when the shafts have independent hinging. They have a distinct feature: a metal-reinforced, leather-covered lower part designed specifically to hold the shaft. The end of the tug loops back through the end of the buckle to secure the shaft in place.
This understanding of the differences between open tugs and Tilbury or French pattern tugs can help in choosing the right type of tug for your specific needs, contributing to a safer and more secure connection between the horse and the vehicle.
