A harness saddle is an element of horse harness which supports the weight of shafts or poles attaching a vehicle to a horse. Like other types of saddle, it lies on the horse's back directly behind the withers, often has an internal supportive framework (referred to as a saddle tree), and usually is secured on either side by a girth passing beneath the horse. Unlike riding saddles, it is an integral part of the harness and is not used as stand-alone equipment.
The harness saddle usually has a supportive internal structure, often called a harness saddle tree [1] that is to be custom fitted to an individual horse, and has fittings (buckles, rings, etc.) for attachment of other pieces of harness. The tree was traditionally made from a steel or iron plate [2] but in modern times can also be made of flexible plastic. [3]
In the United States during the late 19th century, at the height of use of horse-drawn vehicles,[ citation needed ] a pre-fabricated tree and fittings could be ordered by a saddle maker and assembled to suit the user. Many different trees, fittings, and assembly practices were patented. [4] [5]
The harness saddle supports the weight of the shafts or pole, and in a two-wheeled vehicle, also supports part of the vehicle's weight. In addition, it offers a base for fittings such as terrets and a point of attachment for a bearing rein.
A harness saddle is normally used on the horses next to the vehicle (in a team, the wheelers). It may also be used for show on leaders in a team.
The saddle is held in position by a girth strapped firmly around the heartgirth area of the horse. When traces are used, a back band runs through the saddle, joining at the sides to a loose strap under the belly, the 'belly band'; both attach to loops around the shafts or to a pole. The back band may be fixed or it may be free to slide through the saddle from side to side; it is normally fixed for a four-wheeled vehicle with independently hinged shafts, but sliding for a vehicle with rigid shafts (such as a two-wheeled cart). This allows the horse to twist in the shafts on a side-slope.
Certain designs of harness saddle have a groove in the top, into which fits a chain that is hooked to the shafts.[ citation needed ][ clarification needed ] The belly band also hooks onto the shafts from beneath.
For display, a saddle pad may be placed beneath the saddle; historically in England a saddle pad, also called "housing" or "saddle cloth", was shaped to match the contour of the saddle, [6] in the manner of an English numnah today.
For heavy use, the saddle may be six or more inches long, front to back. [6] For very light use, saddle and girth may be replaced by a surcingle.[ citation needed ]
The harness saddle has at least two lines of evolution, both departures from the very ancient throat-and-girth harness . One line was developed as a refinement of that harness and involved a wide variety of martingale and breastplate type straps in front of the shoulder and between the forelegs, all attached to a saddle and girth. This line is documented in Byzantium in the 10th century and Khmer in the 12th century, and occurs today in Japanese plough harnesses and Indian tongas. The other line, far more successful, evolved in China from ancient withers-straps that originally were used with a breastplate-and-breeching harness without a girth. This was the Han departure from the throat-and-girth harness. A minority of 2nd century Han art shows this new breastplate-and-breeching harness with a girth added to it, and in that context ancient Chinese texts sometimes refer to the withers-strap as a saddle. This 2nd century harness saddle supported one of two arches attached to shafts, and had terrets through which the reins were carried. [7] The other arch resembles the shaft bow that is in use today in Finland and Russia.
A horse wearing a shaft bow also commonly wears a collar and a saddle. In a troika, only the center horse wears a saddle. The side horses may wear collars, breastplate-and-breeching, or surcingles.[ citation needed ] An example from 1912 shows a team of three horses in Russia, all wearing collars, the center horse wearing a shaft bow and harness saddle. [8]
Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a horse is often referred to as tacking up, and involves putting the tack equipment on the horse. A room to store such equipment, usually near or in a stable, is a tack room.
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen. A pair of oxen may be called a yoke of oxen, and yoke is also a verb, as in "to yoke a pair of oxen". Other animals that may be yoked include horses, mules, donkeys, and water buffalo.
English saddles are used to ride horses in English riding disciplines throughout the world. The discipline is not limited to England, the United Kingdom in general or other English-speaking countries. This style of saddle is used in all of the Olympic and International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) equestrian disciplines, except for the newly approved FEI events of equestrian vaulting and reining. Most designs were specifically developed to allow the horse freedom of movement, whether jumping, running, or moving quickly across rugged, broken country with fences. Unlike the western saddle or Australian Stock Saddle, there is no horn or other design elements that stick out above the main tree of the saddle.
Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches. This saddle was designed to provide security and comfort to the rider when spending long hours on a horse, traveling over rugged terrain.
A sulky is a lightweight cart with two wheels and a seat for the driver, generally pulled by horses or dogs. With horses, a sulky is used for harness racing. The term is also used for an arch-mounted cart on wheels or crawler tracks, used in logging, or other types of vehicle having wheels and usually a seat for the driver, such as a plough, lister or cultivator.
A surcingle is a strap made of leather or leather-like synthetic materials such as nylon or neoprene, sometimes with elastic, that fastens around the horse's girth.
A crupper is a piece of tack used on horses and other equids to keep a saddle, harness or other equipment from sliding forward.
A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached. The collar allows the horse to use its full strength when pulling, essentially enabling the animal to push forward with its hindquarters into the collar. If wearing a yoke or a breastcollar, the horse had to pull with its less-powerful shoulders. The collar had another advantage over the yoke as it reduced pressure on the horse's windpipe.
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.
A girth, sometimes called a cinch, is a piece of equipment used to keep the saddle in place on a horse or other animal. It passes under the barrel of the equine, usually attached to the saddle on both sides by two or three leather straps called billets. Girths are used on Australian and English saddles, while western saddles and many pack saddles have a cinch, which is fastened to the saddle by a single wide leather strap on each side, called a latigo.
A breastplate is a piece of riding equipment used on horses. Its purpose is to keep the saddle or harness from sliding back.
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not known precisely when riders first began to use some sort of padding or protection, but a blanket attached by some form of surcingle or girth was probably the first "saddle", followed later by more elaborate padded designs. The solid saddle tree was a later invention, and though early stirrup designs predated the invention of the solid tree, the paired stirrup, which attached to the tree, was the last element of the saddle to reach the basic form that is still used today. Today, modern saddles come in a wide variety of styles, each designed for a specific equestrianism discipline, and require careful fit to both the rider and the horse. Proper saddle care can extend the useful life of a saddle, often for decades. The saddle was a crucial step in the increased use of domesticated animals, during the Classical Era.
A pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other working animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons, or other things too heavy to be carried by humans.
Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way. It encompasses a wide range of activities from pleasure driving, to harness racing, to farm work, horse shows, and even international combined driving.
Horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a vehicle or another type of load.
A bitting rig or bitting harness is a training tool for horses that can teach a horse to accept a bridle and bit, and later assist a horse in developing the necessary musculature for a given equestrianism discipline. Generally used in conjunction with training on a longe line, it is most often seen in the training of Saddle seat horses, but also is used by some dressage trainers and as a tool to start horses in driving.
A terret is a metal loop on a horse harness, guiding the lines and preventing them from becoming tangled or snagged on the harness.
Breeching ( "britching") is a strap around the haunches of a draft, pack or riding animal. Both under saddle and in harness, breeching engages when an animal slows down or travels downhill and is used to brake or stabilize a load.
This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon developed over the centuries for horses and other equidae, as well as various horse-related concepts. Where noted, some terms are used only in American English (US), only in British English (UK), or are regional to a particular part of the world, such as Australia (AU).
The Otago pack saddle, later known as the British universal pack saddle, is a rideable pack saddle devised by Harvey Spiller in Otago, New Zealand, in 1863, to prevent ruinous injuries to horses carrying heavy loads. It was improved and adopted for military use by the Commissariat Transport Corps during the New Zealand wars of 1863–1867 and the Abyssinian expedition of 1867–1868, to become a preferred military general use type also favoured by expeditioners. Apart from horses, it worked well on mules and bullocks when adapted to them.