A harness saddle is an element of

horse harness Horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a vehicle or another type of load. There are two main categories of horse harness: (1) the "breaststrap" or "breastcollar" design, and (2) the collar and hames design. For light work, such as ho ...

which supports the weight of shafts or poles attaching a vehicle to a horse. Like other types of

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 ...

, it lies on the horse's back directly behind the

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 ...

, often has an internal supportive framework (referred to as a ''saddle tree'')'','' and usually is secured on either side by a

girth Girth may refer to: ;Mathematics * Girth (functional analysis), the length of the shortest centrally symmetric simple closed curve on the unit sphere of a Banach space * Girth (geometry), the perimeter of a parallel projection of a shape * Girth ...

passing beneath the horse. Unlike riding saddles, it is an integral part of the harness and is not used as stand-alone equipment.

Manufacture

The harness saddle usually has a supportive internal structure, often called a harness saddle tree 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 but in modern times can also be made of flexible plastic. In the United States during the late 19th century, at the height of use of horse-drawn vehicles, 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.

Use

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

terret A terret is a metal loop on a horse harness, guiding the lines and preventing them from becoming tangled or snagged on the harness. The lines run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and then attach to the horse's bit to guide the ...

s and a point of attachment for a

bearing rein A bearing rein, known today as an overcheck or a checkrein, is a piece of horse tack 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 c ...

. 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. The belly band also hooks onto the shafts from beneath. For display, a

saddle pad The terms saddle blanket, saddle pad (or numnah), and saddle cloth refer to blankets, pads or fabrics inserted under a saddle. These are usually used to absorb sweat, cushion the saddle, and protect the horse's back. There are lighter types ...

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, in the manner of an English numnah today. For heavy use, the saddle may be six or more inches long, front to back. For very light use, saddle and girth may be replaced by a

surcingle 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 surcingle may be used for ground training, some types of in-hand exhibition ...

History

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 Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

in the 10th century and Khmer in the 12th century, and occurs today in Japanese plough harnesses and Indian

tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

s. 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 Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

departure from the throat-and-girth harness. A minority of 2nd century

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

rein 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. Use for ...

s were carried. The other arch resembles the

shaft bow A shaft bow is an element of horse harness that is attached to the front of the shafts of a horse-drawn vehicle and joins them by arching high above the neck of the horse. Use of the shaft bow is widespread in the area east of the Baltic Sea (Russ ...

that is in use today in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. A horse wearing a

also commonly wears a collar and a saddle. In a

troika Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to: Cultural tradition * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia * Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance Polit ...

, only the center horse wears a saddle. The side horses may wear collars, breastplate-and-breeching, or

s. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harness Saddle Horse harness