38-422: Hames is a part of a horse harness . Hames may refer to: Horse harness A horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a horse-drawn vehicle or another type of load to pull. There are two main designs of horse harness: (1) the breast collar or breaststrap, and (2) the full collar or collar-and-hames. For pulling heavy loads, a full collar is required because it distributes pressure over
76-443: A checkrein , is a piece of horse harness that runs from a point on the horse's back, over the head, to a bit . It is used to prevent the horse from lowering its head beyond a fixed point. A variation called a side check passes beside the ears through loops at the top of the bridle cheekpieces . It can be attached to the surcingle of a horse harness , or to the harness saddle . An overcheck or bearing rein can be attached to
114-402: A horse collar . The traces are often made of chain and attach to loops on the shafts of the vehicle. A chain attached to the shafts may be passed over the saddle to carry their weight. Reins are of rope or leather, depending on region of the world. Similar to wagon harness but without breeching, used for dragged loads such as plows , harrows , canal boats or logs. This style is also used on
152-699: A bearing rein to the degree that it made breathing difficult. This is touched on in the novel Black Beauty . The "Anti-Bearing Rein Association" was formed to try to stop the practice of using such reins. About that time, the cause was also taken up by the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The term bearing rein is derived from the definition of "bearing" which means "the manner in which one bears or conducts one's self; mien; behavior; carriage." The reference suggested that high head carriage
190-540: A bit or rein gets hooked on something. The primary names of these straps are bearing rein and side check (UK), overcheck (USA), but also check rein, overhead check, and overdraw. In some cases a specially designed running martingale may also be added. A looser overcheck may also be used in a working harness to prevent the horse grazing. The overcheck hooks to a pedestal on the harness saddle. Horse brasses are ornamental brass plaques mounted on leather straps, used for decoration, especially on working harness. Made in
228-455: A breast collar instead of a horse collar and are made with strong but refined-looking leather throughout, usually black and highly polished. In draft horse showing and combined driving , horse collars are seen, but harness leather is still highly polished and well-finished. Lighter weight but strong harness similar to show harness, used for pulling passenger vehicles such as buggies or carts, or other lighter loads. The traces attach either to
266-416: A horse collar is used, it is usually put on first. Harness components designed for other animals (such as the yoke used with oxen ) are not suitable for horses and will not allow the horse to work efficiently. Throughout the ancient world, the 'throat-and-girth' harness was used for harnessing horses that pulled carts ; this greatly limited a horse's ability to exert itself as it was constantly choked at
304-407: A horse's eyes to prevent it from being distracted or frightened by the carriage or other activity behind or beside it. When there are horses harnessed in front of another, all those behind the leader will have large rings mounted on the side of the bridle to support reins passing to a horse in front of them. Often there is ornamentation on the bridle such as a drop hanging from the crownpiece and down
342-566: A larger area of the horse. An ill-fitting full collar can cause chafing on the horse's skin and can interfere with its breathing, as can a breast collar that is positioned too high. Putting harness on a horse is called harnessing or harnessing up . Attaching the harness to the vehicle or load is called putting to in the British Isles, or hitching in North America. The order of putting on harness components varies by discipline, but when
380-399: A saddle or pad for extra padding. The saddle is held into place by the girth , a strap which goes under the belly of the horse. Together, the saddle and girth encircle the horse. Attached to the saddle are other parts of the harness such as rein terrets (above), tugs (to each side), a back strap and crupper (to the rear), and bearing reins or overcheck (to the front). The girth is
418-406: A strap that goes under the horse's belly and is buckled firmly to the saddle. A surcingle is a term used within certain fine harness designs to describe the combination of a light girth and harness saddle. Loops attached to the back band to hold up the shafts of a vehicle in van or fine harness (not needed in cart harness, which attaches to hooks on the shafts). Two types: A strap going through
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#1732869716055456-404: A wide range of designs. The middle section of a harness includes the parts that go around the horse's mid-section and hold shafts. Most all the other parts of the harness attach to this stable part of the harness. A harness saddle or pad is the piece of the harness that lies across the horse's back. It is not the same as a riding saddle . A saddle is a stuffed piece of leather that supports
494-519: Is a soft padded loop which goes under the base of the tail and is attached to the back strap , which runs across the back and is attached to the top-rear of the saddle . The back strap and crupper together keep the saddle from slipping forward. A strap running from the crupper to the rear of the saddle or pad. The back strap and crupper together keep the saddle from slipping forward. The back strap also holds in position any loin straps or breeching straps. Show harnesses for light cart driving have
532-555: Is generally not used to train dressage horses, because it can lead to the horse traveling with a hollow frame, the opposite of the rounded frame encouraged in dressage. A device that looks similar, the chambon , is sometimes used in training of dressage horses. However, the chambon encourages the horse to lower, not raise, its head. The Gogue is a related training tool. In the 18th and 19th centuries, overchecks and bearing reins were commonly used on stylish carriage horses to keep their heads up, at times to an extreme degree, depending on
570-526: Is the part which a horse pushes against with its shoulders and chest. The two main designs are the breast collar harness and the full collar harness. Traces are the two straps or chains which take the pull from the breast collar or hames to the vehicle or load. The head section of a harness includes the bridle and bit, reins to control the horse, and other controlling straps. Harness bridles are slightly different than riding bridles. They usually include blinders , also called blinkers or winkers , beside
608-471: Is usually hooked to the breeching dee on the shafts by breeching straps . Used for a single horse, a pair, or in a larger team, only for the wheelers (the animal or pair closest to the vehicle). The leaders in a team do not have breeching, as they are in front of the shafts or pole and cannot help to slow the vehicle. Breeching may be omitted for vehicles with efficient brakes or when pulling very light vehicles such as in fine harness driving. A crupper
646-454: The horse collar was invented in China, at least by the 5th century. Different regions and different purposes cause variation in harness construction, however there are many parts of harness that are common. The collar and traces are responsible for pulling the load. The rest of the harness is for keeping the harness in position, holding the vehicle or load, and controlling the horse. A collar
684-514: The adjustments in curb leverage allow for each individual horse's needs. Reins or lines are long leather straps (occasionally ropes) running from the bit to the driver's hands which are used to guide the horses. For a single horse, there are two reins (left and right). For a pair of horses harnessed side-by-side, the reins from each horse are joined midway so the driver holds just two reins. When driving teams of four or more horses (multiple "pairs"), each pair of horses ends with two reins at
722-578: The carriage or wagon, risking an accident. Properly adjusted and when used for a limited period of time, an overcheck does not significantly impede the motion of the horse or cause discomfort. If too tight, however, an overcheck rein can be uncomfortable because it puts strain on the neck muscles and ligaments. On a hard-working draft horse , it generally is not used at all, as it puts the animal off balance by preventing it from lowering its head when trying to pull significant weight. A horse pulling weight normally lowers and extends its neck in order to push against
760-445: The driver's clothes where the reins draped across their lap. A bearing rein or overcheck is a strap system which attaches to the harness saddle , goes to the top of the horse's head and downward to attach to a bit. In English carriage harness, a bearing rein or side check travels through rings near the horse's ears and attaches to the bit. Common in harness racing and in fine harness showing, an overcheck strap passes between
798-442: The driver—so a four-in-hand driver holds four reins. In some driving systems, the reins of teams of multiple horses are all joined together so the driver only holds two reins. Reins are often 13 feet long or more. A lead rein —a rein that passes a rear horse to reach a horse in front of it—may well be 24 feet long. Driving reins were traditionally russet (undyed brown leather) because the dye used to color harness black would rub off on
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#1732869716055836-424: The fashion of the time. Today it is used primarily for horse show or exhibition use, particularly in the schooling and showing of fine harness horses and certain types of carriage horses. Historically, improper use and overuse created chronic problems with the spine and back that in some cases made certain horses useless as working animals . The fashion extremes of the 18th and 19th centuries at times tightened
874-507: The forehead, rosettes on each side by the ears, and decoration across the browband. Bits for harness may be similar to those used for riding, but there are a few bits unique to driving such as the Elbow, Buxton, Liverpool , and the Wilson snaffle. The first three offer adjustments in severity for each horse, which is useful when working with multiple horses where all the horses wear matching bits, but
912-413: The front trace and the hames regardless of the height of the implement being pulled. The Western harness does not provide this flexibility but has other useful characteristics such as a strap that runs from the breeching to the collar which stops the pull from riding up and hitting the horses in the face when descending a steep incline. Bearing rein A bearing rein , also known as an overcheck or
950-425: The harness saddle, or attached to it, to join the belly band on both sides of the horse. It takes the weight of the shafts. In heavy cart harness it is replaced by a chain running in a groove in the harness saddle, hooked to the shafts either side. A strap that goes over the girth, but more loosely under the belly of the horse. It prevents the shafts from rising up, especially on a two-wheeled vehicle where weight on
988-406: The harness. If an overcheck is inappropriately used, or used for too long a period, spinal strain resulting in neck or back injury can occur. The overcheck is also used today in some equestrian riding activities, and for certain types of horse training . In particular, it is used on certain saddle seat horses while on the longe line as part of a bitting rig that assists the horse in learning
1026-424: The horse from seeing beside and behind him to various degrees by use of blinkers (horse tack) , or may be raced with an "open" bridle, one that does not have blinkers. Specialized equipment, called "hobbles" or "hopples" are added to the harness of race horses who pace (and sometimes to the harness of those who trot ) in order to help them maintain their gait . Harness for pulling heavier vehicles always has
1064-437: The horse's ears, comes down the front of the face, splits and attaches to a small auxiliary bit. Overchecks are sometimes used to attain a high head carriage; extremely high settings are considered abusive. Properly adjusted bearing reins and overchecks give the horse ample freedom of his head while prohibiting a horse from reaching to eat grass or scratching sweaty bridles on anything within reach—potentially causing accidents when
1102-523: The leaders in a team of animals pulling a vehicle. The traces attach to a whippletree behind the horse and this then pulls the load (or in larger teams may attach to further whippletrees). There are two main plow harness types: the New England D-Ring and the Western harness. The New England D-Ring makes use of a metal D-shaped ring that allows for a ninety degree angle to be maintained at the junction of
1140-526: The neck. A painting on a lacquerware box from the State of Chu , dated to the 4th century BC, shows the first known use of a yoke placed across a horses's chest, with traces connecting to the chariot shaft. The hard yoke across the horse's chest was gradually replaced by a breast strap, which was often depicted in carved reliefs and stamped bricks of tombs from the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Eventually,
1178-427: The proper high head position for competition that also emphasizes high knee action. While not normally used by a rider in the saddle , it is common in some places to put an overcheck on ponies when being ridden by very young riders in order to prevent the pony from putting its head down and grazing while being ridden, an act of disobedience that a small child often lacks the physical strength to prevent. The overcheck
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1216-414: The rear of the cart may tip the front up. A strap passing between the front legs, from the bottom centre of the collar to the belly band, to hold the collar in position. Called "false", because unlike a true martingale it does not attach to the bridle or have any influence on the horse's action. Terrets are metal loops through which reins pass. Terrets are mounted on the saddle or collar to support
1254-399: The rear section of harness is for holding the traces (the pulling straps) up off the ground so a horse doesn't get a leg over one, and for the horse to slow or stop a wheeled vehicle, or "hold back" the vehicle against gravity when going downhill. Breeching is a horizontal strap that goes around the horse's haunches allowing the horse to slow a vehicle or hold it back when going downhill. It
1292-407: The reins and keep them in position. Where one horse is hitched in front of another, the rear horse's harness may have extra terrets through which are run the lines to the horse ahead of them. There may be terrets attached near the rear horse's ears, called Roger rings, or double rings on the saddle to separate the lines for the rear horse from the lines to the forward horse or horses. The purpose of
1330-406: The same bit as the reins , or to a second, separate bit. The modern overcheck is often a necessary piece of safety equipment for certain types of harness and is an aid to the driver in keeping a horse's head properly positioned. An overcheck has a practical purpose; if a horse lowers its head too far when in harness, particularly if moving quickly, it can catch the bridle or reins on the shafts of
1368-403: The shafts of the vehicle or to the vehicle itself, and the harness may have either a horse collar or a breast collar . The racing harness, like the show harness, is a breast collar harness. Horses are hitched to a very lightweight two-wheeled cart, called a sulky . Most race harnesses incorporate a standing martingale and an overcheck. Horses may be raced in a "blind" bridle, which restricts
1406-465: The weight of shafts. Saddles for heavy commercial carts may be quite substantial in size to help distribute the weight bearing down from the shafts. For pulling loads without shafts, a pad or back pad is used, which is a wide non-padded leather strap. For example, pads are used for logging, plowing or a pair of horses pulling a 4-wheeled vehicle which uses a pole between two horses, not shafts. A fitted and stuffed saddle pad may be placed underneath
1444-409: Was a sign of nobility or pride. However, 19th century critics of the bearing rein applied a pejorative meaning to the word, meaning "patient endurance; suffering without complaint". Related types of checkrein often used in conjunction with an overcheck are side reins , a pair of reins which run simply from the bit to a surcingle or saddle , intended to keep the horse's head tucked in. Side reins are
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