Back Straps And Belly Bands Are Not For Pulling Or Pushing.

This is something to think about I will look for this harness adjustment on my next hitch. I have been conscious of the belly band and checking their heads but I think I may be carrying my back straps a little too tight. Goes to figure that it might also loosen up the horse and make them a little more relaxed in the harness too.

Thanks for the advice Bumpus

Larry

Nah, I take it back. They aren’t outmatched. By the end of the first pull they still had more to give but they threw in the towel. After that, they were just out of synch and didn’t put their hearts into it.

A bit of weight on a horse’s back gives him better traction.

The traditional harnesses those horses were wearing were neat, but I don’t recommend leaving your belly band loose like that.

All the parts of the harness are there for a reason, and none of them should be loose.

Oh yeah, and as to the pulling team, they are very small horses pulling a very heavy load. I’d be damn proud of them. Regardless of what country you are in though, the laws of physics remain the same. You should never stand in front of a team of horses pulling a heavy load. You’re one broken evener away from a very bad day. Bad things can happen in a second. I can seak from experience. When I was pulling my geldings over in Ovid last year I broke a hook on my eveners. Had anyone been standing in front of them, they’d have been dead. No doubt about it.

There is no substitue for a properly-fitting collar and hames. However. It is still possible for a properly-fitting collar and hames to be mis-aligned on the horse’s shoulder when the point of hitch is raised up high either because of terrain or because you are using a longer rope-and-pulley type of evening hitch. I have tried to find a photo that will illustrate this but haven’t found one yet (if anyone has one to post, it would be helpful). I know that I’ve seen a couple on this site in the last month or so, but I can’t remember where.

When the belly band is doing its job in the aforementioned situation, you will see the tugs bend at the belly band. Or, in the case of a sidebacker harness, you will see the short section of tug between the hames and the big side ring will be roughly 90 degrees to the angle of shoulder (and, by extension, the hames which lay parallel with the shoulder). The tugs that extend from the big side ring back to the evener will be at a different angle… sometimes even so drastically that the tug will be parallel with the *ground*. Yet, due to the action of the belly band, the collar still lies efficiently on the length of the shoulder and doesn’t try to rock forward.

and there rules for competition there are much different from the rules in the U.S.A.

the rules:
6 different classes:
1. Haflinger+Norwegian Fjord
2. Haflinger+Norwegian Fjord Teams
3. Draft Horse light (under 1650pounds/ 750kg)
4. Draft Horse medium (1650-1870pounds/ 750-850kg)
5. Draft Horse heavy (above 1870pounds/ 850kg)
6. Draft Horse Teams
draft distance: about 44 yards (within 2 minutes), on your first try you have to pass 11 yards in 30sec, otherwise you’re out
weight is added with every inning; the amount will be determined by the judges depending on soilconditions; if within 2 minutes you haven’t managed to pass the 44 yards you’re out; the winner is, whoever pulls the furthest in the last inning in 2 minutes
single horses – single drivers; horse teams – 2 drivers at most
no whip allowed, not even decorative on the harness; while pulling, horses may only be encouraged by voice; pushing at the harness or touching your horse while it’s pulling means you’re out, too

winner in this contest: 3340 pounds of horsepower pulled 3762 pounds

The belly band and the back pad are adjusted to anchor that tug in a position that holds the angle. Then, from the belly band back to the point of hitch, the tugs may be at whatever angle is required.

please explain the theory behind that, too obvious probably to understand

over here everybody stresses the importance of those tugs running straight back down, from the harness to your point of hitch, no bend is wanted
to accomplish this, most tugs can be attached varably at the hames, so they are easily adjusted….half an inch up/down at the hames keeps it from being pulled up or down under a load
sometimes horses will be harnessed with a bend upwards, exactly opposite to what your picture shows; theory behind that: the backpad can pick up some strain and the load can be “lifted” little ways, making heavy weights easier to get going

very curious and not very strong in physics 😉
elke