Breeching ( "britching") is a strap around the

haunch Squatting is a versatile posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the ground or a horizontal object. ...

es of a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

, pack or

riding animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...

. Both under

saddle 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 kno ...

and in

harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harness * ...

, breeching engages when an animal slows down or travels downhill and is used to

brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

or stabilize a load.

History

The breeching strap traces its roots back to the Chinese invented breast-strap or "breastcollar" harness developed during the

Warring States The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

(481–221 BC) era.Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 28. The Chinese breast harness became known throughout

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

by the 7th century,Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 311–315. introduced to Europe by the 8th century. The breeching strap would allow the horse to hold or brake the load as horse harnesses were previously attached to vehicles by straps around their necks as previously designed harnesses would constrict the horses neck preventing the horse from pulling heavier loads. The breeching strap acted as a brake when a cart tries to run forward when moving downwards on a slope and also make it possible to maneuver the cart in the reverse direction.

Harness breeching

When a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

, or other animal is in

, harness breeching (also known as full breeching) helps the animal to slow or control the forward movement of a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...

. Animal-drawn vehicles have either a pair of shafts or a single pole projecting forwards for about the length of one animal. An animal between shafts wears harness breeching, which attaches forward to the shafts. As the animal slows, the vehicle runs forward, and the shafts pull the breeching forward against the haunches of the animal, which can thus slow the vehicle. A vehicle with a pole has a pair of animals either side of it – their breeching works in a similar way, attaching forward to the pole either directly or by way of their collars. In a larger team, the

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

s are in front of the shafts or pole and thus cannot slow the vehicle; nevertheless, they sometimes wear breeching for show. Oktoberfest-Pferdegespann

Breeching may be omitted where the animal does not need to provide substantial braking. For example, in very light harness, such as in a

sulky 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 ...

used for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

or in a light cart used with

fine harness Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney (horse). ...

, the weight of the vehicle and passenger is little enough that the girth and

crupper A crupper (; occ. spelled crouper) is a piece of tack used on horses and other equids to keep a saddle, harness or other equipment from sliding forward. Construction The crupper consists of a loop (the crupper itself) and an adjustable strap (cr ...

of the harness provide sufficient braking support. Breeching may also be omitted if the vehicle has efficient brakes on the wheels – examples include larger

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

s and modern vehicles with

disk brake Disk or disc may refer to: * Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape * Disk storage Music * Disc (band), an American experimental music band * ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby Other uses * Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector space ...

s. Similarly, breeching and the requisite shafts or pole are not needed for a dragged load such as a

plow A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

or a log that will not move on its own, nor for a canal boat, which is towed by a long rope from the bank. Ochsenkarren

Historically, additional animals were sometimes used to brake very heavy vehicles on steep downhills, being hitched in harness breeching ''behind'' the load. This is still done when logging in very steep terrain. Breeching is not normally used for oxen in

yoke 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, us ...

s, where braking is provided by pulling back on the yoke or girth (depending upon the type of yoke).

False breeching

On a light vehicle with shafts, ''false breeching'' is sometimes fitted to the vehicle, instead of using harness breeching. A horizontal strap is attached between the shafts of the vehicle, just behind the animal. When the animal slows or goes downhill, the vehicle runs forward, pushing the false breeching against the

es of the animal, which can then push backwards to slow the vehicle. False breeching is generally limited to use with well-trained, steady animals, because if the animal

rear Rear may refer to: Animals *Rear (horse), when a horse lifts its front legs off the ground *In stockbreeding, to breed and raise Humans *Parenting (child rearing), the process of promoting and supporting a child from infancy to adulthood *Gende ...

s or falls there is a risk of the false breeching running up over its back. It is sometimes used to help show off the animal's haunches, which would be partly covered by harness breeching., page 113

Saddle breeching

On both pack and riding stock, if breeching is used then generally a

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

is used as well.

Pack animals

Breeching may be used to stabilize the

pack saddle 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. Description Ideal ...

of a

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

or other pack animal, by keeping the saddle from sliding forward, especially on downhill tracks. Pack horse breeching may be supplemented with a

to provide additional stability.

Riding animals

Breeching is occasionally used in a similar manner as that of a pack saddle, especially when riding

s. Mules often have lower

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

and flatter backs than horses, making it likely that the saddle will slide forward when going downhill with a rider. However, a

is more commonly used on riding animals in general.

Training

An animal is often trained in harness with breeching before being hitched to a vehicle.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breeching (Tack) Horse harness Chinese inventions Saddles