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59-417: Blinkers , also known as blinders , blinds and winkers , are a part of horse harness and tack which limits a horse's field of vision—blocking vision to the sides, the rear, or both. Blinkers are usually seen in horse driving and in horse racing (both harness and ridden), but rarely in horse riding . The bridle on driving harness usually has blinkers attached to the cheekpieces. Blinkers prohibit

118-402: 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

177-455: 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

236-551: 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 a horse collar is used, it is usually put on first. Harness components designed for other animals (such as

295-427: 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 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

354-499: 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 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

413-465: A horse collar still is more effective for pulling heavy loads. After the breastcollar harness, the next and final evolutionary stage was the collar harness. The collar allows a horse to use its full strength when pulling, essentially allowing the horse to push forward with its hindquarters into the collar. The fully developed collar harness was developed in Southern and Northern dynasties China during

472-425: A horse from seeing what is behind it, while allowing vision forward. Most driving harness blinkers prohibit view to the side. Shapes of blinkers vary by custom. They may be round, square, D-shaped, hatchet-shaped, curved, or other shapes—square being the most common. The blinkers themselves are made of a metal blinker plate covered in leather, patent leather , or a man-made material simulating leather. A blinker stay

531-523: A single heavy plow. This made it difficult for farmers who lacked the capital to sustain such large numbers. When the horse was harnessed with a horse collar, the horse could apply 50% more power to a task than an ox due to its greater speed. Horses generally also have greater endurance and can work more hours in a day. The centuries-long association that the Europeans had with the use of horses allowed an easier transition from oxen-based harnesses to

590-424: 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 is a soft padded loop which goes under

649-408: 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 a wide range of designs. The middle section of a harness includes

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708-455: 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 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

767-540: Is a name used in the United Kingdom for a bag or cloth blindfold put over the head of a difficult horse while it is being handled—for example when being loaded into starting gates or being mounted. Both "blinker" and "blinder" are also used metaphorically to refer to people with an overly narrow focus or inability to see the larger picture. The term can be seen as implying "a limitation or obstruction to sight or discernment". Horse harness A horse harness

826-421: Is a stiff rolled-leather strap that holds the blinkers wide and away from the horse's eyes. The stays join together in the middle, go between the horse's ears, and are attached by a buckle to the crownpiece of the bridle. The buckle allows adjustment of the width of the blinkers. Blinkers may be raised or lowered by buckles in the bridle cheekpieces. Blinkers should be centered on the eye and wide enough to not touch

885-407: 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 the harness saddle, or attached to it, to join

944-399: 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 a strap that goes under the horse's belly and

1003-436: 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 the rear section of harness is for holding the traces (the pulling straps) up off

1062-563: Is of particular interest, since its depiction of the horse collar is not only more accurate (the same seen even in north and northwest China today), but it is used for a camel , not a horse. The Chinese had used camels often from the 2nd century BC onwards during the Han dynasty, and there was even a Camel Corps serving the military on the frontier of the Tarim Basin . However, the adapted horse collar for camels would not have been common until

1121-407: Is oval rather than circular and it is by design not very flexible. It is a padded appliance that conforms well to the shape of the horse's body. It is constructed so that at all points of contact with the body of the horse it avoids the air passage. By protecting the airway of the horse it became possible for the animal to use its full force to pull a load. Long before the horse collar harness, there

1180-514: The Avars , Magyars , Bohemians , Poles , and Russians during the 7th to 10th centuries. After Central Asia, the first breast-strap harness was spread to Europe by the 8th century (in depicted artwork), and became more widespread by the following 9th century (for example, depicted in a tapestry of the Oseberg ship burial). The problem with a breastcollar harness was that the actual shafts of

1239-451: 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 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

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1298-467: The painting dated to 477–499 AD. In this painting the arching cross bar is clear, but the artist failed to clearly show the cushioned collar behind it, without which the whole design would have been rendered useless. The same basic design is seen in other painted Chinese frescoes, one from 520 to 524 AD (with shafts projecting beyond the horses chest for sternal traction), and another circa 600 AD ( Sui dynasty ). This Sui dynasty depiction (in cave 302)

1357-464: 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 the neck. A painting on a lacquerware box from the State of Chu , dated to the 4th century BC, shows

1416-555: The 5th century AD. The first questionable depiction of it in art appears on painted moulded-bricks in the Three Kingdoms (220–265 AD) era tomb of Bao Sanniang at Zhaohua, Sichuan province, China. These paintings display an amply padded horse collar with no sign of a yoke. However, the earliest legitimate depiction of it in art is on a Dunhuang cave mural (cave 257) from the Chinese Northern Wei dynasty ,

1475-604: The 6th century. In cave 156, there is a panorama painting of the Tang dynasty Chinese general and provincial governor Zhang Yichao riding triumphantly after the recapture and conquest of the Dunhuang region from the Tibetan Empire in 834 AD. According to evidence provided by Dr. Chang Shuhong, the date of the painting is precisely 851 AD, yet Needham points out that there is universal consensus amongst historians that it

1534-532: 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 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

1593-414: The addition of a stiff partial yoke, the breastcollar remained on the chest, and wind was not in fact cut off while pulling. Further studies conducted in 1977 by Spruytte and Littauer, followed up by Georges Raepsaet , with more accurately reconstructed ancient designs suggested that horses with ancient harness designs could pull nearly as much as with the more modern horse collar. The primary benefit to

1652-525: The argument that there was an early partial horse collar, a dorsal yoke system, dating to ancient Rome, and that Lefebvre's designs did not accurately reflect those actually used, but rather created an inaccurate design that was less efficient than any actual ancient harnesses used. While Lefebvre's experiments clearly demonstrated that the throat and girth design he used rode up on horses and cut off their air, images from ancient art and partial yokes found by archaeologists suggested that with proper placement and

1711-480: 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

1770-407: 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 the rear of the cart may tip

1829-401: The cart, chariot, or other vehicle are attached to a surcingle (type of strap) around the barrel of the horse . The breastplate primarily kept the surcingle from slipping back, not as the primary pushing object. This results in the horse literally pulling the load, a less efficient use of the animal. The modern breastcollar has traces which transfer the pull directly from the breastcollar, but

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1888-421: The cheekpieces of a bridle are a mild form of blinkers. They limit a horse's rear vision but do not restrict the horse's view as much as blinkers do. Pacifiers are hoods with mesh cups over the eyes. Pacifiers protect the wearer's eyes from injury caused by dirt or stones being kicked up by horses ahead of the wearer during a race. They may be banned from use on wet days as they may clog up with mud. A blinder

1947-430: 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 the driver's clothes where the reins draped across their lap. A bearing rein or overcheck is a strap system which attaches to

2006-445: The eyes. Horse racing blinkers are constructed as a hood with plastic cups placed on either side of a horse's eyes. The hood is placed under the bridle. Many racehorse trainers believe that blinkers keep horses focused on what is in front, encouraging them to pay attention to the race rather than to distractions such as crowds. Visor blinkers have a peep hole cut in the back of the cup. Fleece winkers are tubes of fleece placed on

2065-697: 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, 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

2124-473: 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. Horse collar From the time of the invention of the horse collar, horses became more valuable for plowing and pulling. When

2183-438: 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 the reins and keep them in position. Where one horse

2242-404: 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 is usually hooked to the breeching dee on the shafts by breeching straps . Used for

2301-436: The horse collar. The creation of the horse collar removed the previous physical restrictions the old harness had on the animal, and allowed the horse to be able to exert its full strength in plowing. Originally, the structure of the old harness forced the horse to literally pull its workload, the horse collar's development instead allowed the horse to push its workload, increasing the efficiency of its labor output. Following

2360-424: 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

2419-399: The horse was harnessed in the collar, the horse could apply 50% more power to a task in a given time period than could an ox , due to the horse's greater speed. Additionally, horses generally have greater endurance than oxen, and thus can work more hours each day. The importance and value of horses as a resource for improving agricultural production increased accordingly. The horse collar

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2478-431: The horses. Prior to this development, oxen still remained the primary choice of animal for farm labor, as all the previous harnesses and collars could only be worn by them without physical penalty. Additionally, the yoke used to harness oxen were made exclusive to each individual animal. However it was sometimes difficult to cultivate the land; based upon soil condition, it may have taken up to sixteen oxen to effectively use

2537-443: 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 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

2596-420: The horses. The shoulder traction (ancient Egyptian) and breast traction (Greek and Roman) artwork had been mis-seen and mis-drawn as a composite that matched neither. This he sought to demonstrate by building reproduction chariots and harness, and running them with suitable teams. These had to be borrowed ponies as horses were too large for the surviving Egyptian chariot he used as a model. The throat-girth design

2655-676: The introduction of the horse collar to Europe and its use being clearly evident by 1000 AD, the use of horses for ploughing became more widespread. Horses work roughly 50 percent faster than oxen. With the collar, combined with the horseshoe , the heavy plow , and other developments in the agricultural system, the efficiency of the European peasant farmer in producing food increased, allowing further societal development in Europe. The surplus in food allowed labor specialization as farmers could change their occupation and focus on other skills, such as

2714-415: 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 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

2773-536: 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

2832-429: 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 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

2891-420: The medieval collar harness. In his experiment of 1910, he found that two horses (aided by effective traction) using the throat-and-girth harness were limited to pulling about 1100 lbs. ( 1 ⁄ 2 ton ). However, a single horse with a more efficient collar harness could draw a weight of about 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 tons. However, the findings of Lefebvre des Noëttes were not without challenges, notably

2950-737: The neck and chest of the animal, with the load attached at the top of the collar, above the neck, in a manner similar to a yoke . These straps pressed against the horse's sterno-cephalicus muscle and trachea which restricted its breathing and reducing the pulling power of the horse. Thus, the harder a horse pulled, the more strongly it choked off its own breathing. Because of these supposed physical constraints, oxen were used in preference to horses for heavy work, as they do not have this problem due to anatomical differences and could be yoked to their loads. In 1972, Spruytte published Ancient Harness Systems which argued that there were at least three ancient traction systems shown in art, none of which choked

3009-445: 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 the weight of shafts. Saddles for heavy commercial carts may be quite substantial in size to help distribute

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3068-468: The purchase and selling of goods, resulting in the emergence of a merchant class within European society. The horse collar was one of the factors in the ending of the feudal system and transition from the Middle Ages. The French cavalry officer Lefebvre des Noëttes experimented with the ancient throat-and-girth harness in comparison the later trace breast-harness and then finally the matured form of

3127-403: 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

3186-563: The sternum, where the line of traction is directly linked with the skeletal system of the horse, allowing for nearly full exertion. It was in universal use by the time of the Chinese Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), depicted in artwork of hundreds of different carvings, stone reliefs , and stamped bricks showing it featured on horses pulling chariots . This type of breast-strap harness became known in Central Asia and elsewhere with

3245-402: 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 a saddle or pad for extra padding. The saddle

3304-583: Was not improved until the Chinese breast-strap or "breastcollar" harness developed during the Warring States (481–221 BC) era in China . The Chinese breast harness became known throughout Central Asia by the 7th century, and was introduced to Europe by the 8th century. Its first depiction in artwork was on lacquer -ware boxes from the ancient State of Chu . This type of harness put pressure upon

3363-406: Was painted anytime between roughly 840 to 860 AD. This latter painting accurately depicts the horse collar, with a well-padded collar coming low on the chest and rising behind the cross-bar. The horse collar eventually spread to Europe c. 920 AD, and became universal by the 12th century. The Scandinavians were among the first to use a horse collar that did not constrain the breathing passages of

3422-664: Was the less efficient throat-girth harness. This, it was claimed, could be found in many ancient civilizations, according to early 20th century French cavalry officer Lefebvre des Noëttes . This type of collar was supposedly used in ancient Chaldea , both Sumeria and Assyria (1400–800 BC), ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom (1570–1070 BC), Shang dynasty China (1600–1050 BC), Minoan Crete (2700–1450 BC), Classical Greece (550–323 BC), and ancient Rome (510 BC–476 AD). With this "ancient harness", ploughs and carts were pulled using harnesses that had flat straps across

3481-409: Was very important to the development of many areas of the world. Wherever oxen were used and could be replaced with horses, the use of horses boosted economies, and reduced reliance on subsistence farming . This allowed people more free time to take on specialized activities, and consequently to the development of early industry, education, and the arts in the rise of market-based towns. A horse collar

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