Harness makers

[jen judkins]

@Carl Russell 12845 wrote:

Oh by the way Jen, I know you mean “Front Trace”.

And I know everybody has their right to a preference, but in my mind horse harnesses are made out of leather. I just can’t imagine the point in having anything but a leather harness. Do you have biothane saddles?

Carl

Yes, thanks for the correction, Carl.

When it comes to leather versus bio. Its just a preference. Cleaning a leather saddle (which I do as little as possible:D) is one thing….cleaning a leather harness is an entirely other monster. I like horses and riding and driving…not cleaning….so I won’t do leather. And if they made a nice bio saddle, I would buy one of those too:p.

[Mark Cowdrey]

Bill,

Consider yourself pushed!

Mark

[bradley]

Thanks for the suggestion Mark. Luckily at the hame end, this harness has the clip and rivets. I was a little nervous to cut them but it does look pretty easy. And Bill, you would have my business. Bradley

[Plowboy]

I have nothing against Meader’s myself and for me thay aren’t local so I don’t need them at all really. Much of their stuff is extremely overpriced with harness being number one. I can source a better product locally for half of Meaders retail price. We are lucky to have 2 harness shops within a 50 mile radius 1 being Amish that we don’t use as often as the other because he is a good friend and we give him most of our business. We have 6 sets of team harness, 14 bridles, 9 sets of lines, about 30 collars, as well as misc straps for abreast hitches and other misc. We usually pay close attention to our equipment and replace probably sooner than necessary but we don’t have breakage while working. We give our local shop a fair amount of business a couple times a year. It sounds as if there are enough of you in his area it may be mutually beneficial for Bill to fire up his sewing machine again. It sounds like there aren’t many harness shops in New England so maybe it would be a worthwhile endeavor as long as he uses good materials and hardware. Good Luck Bill

[Livewater Farm]

thanks all for the encouragement the battle now is where to invest the little moneys I have harness shop or new sugar house

good indoor winter work vs lots of good work for the horses picking buckets

maybe I need a third option to really mess with my daydreaming

Bill

[matt wny]

there are 5 amish harness shops within about 10 miles of me but none of them are familiar with the d-ring style harness.the amish in this area are very old order that dont accept change or new tecknology like the ones in ohio and landcaster.is the d-ring mainly a new england thing?

[Livewater Farm]

mostly not much seen or used the further west you go

[jen judkins]

OK, Bill…here’s your first bit of business:D.

At LIF Brad and I shortened the front trace on my D-Ring by about 6 inches. At the time I only noticed that the market straps were abit too snug. I remedied that with some spare straping (figuring these straps took very little wear) and the britchen now sits pretty nicley.

However, today, while dragging a tire (Reno’s first day without blinders), I noticed that the rear traces were now too short and the single tree was bumping Reno in the heels. Can you make me a rear trace that measures 54 inches instead of the standard 48 inches? Thanks.

[Livewater Farm]

Jen Im no where near ready to set up as ofyet simple and cheap solution add more trace chain
Bill

[Zeke]

Hi Carl
I recognize those Grays! Good luck with your site.
Hi to Mark Cowdrey.
Richard Levis@Carl Russell 12844 wrote:

Good luck with that. You wouldn’t be the first. Les Barden lives a little over 3 miles from there. They just sell whatever people keep buying. I have gotten every pair of traces I have ever bought custom made. I get 3 layers of seat belt nylon continuously wrapped covered by leather. Stronger that leather, more comfortable than nylon. The only thing I buy from Meaders is bits and shoes. They buy all their harnesses from one-size-fits-all Amish manufacturers. I even tried to talk with one of their suppliers, and they just don’t know the D-Ring harness and I couldn’t get what I asked for, and had to send it back….twice.

[jen judkins]

@Livewater Farm 13008 wrote:

cheap solution add more trace chain
Bill

Done. Thanks, Bill. Do let us know when your business is ready to go;)

[Carl Russell]

Zeke;13017 wrote:

Hi Carl
I recognize those Grays! Good luck with your site.
Hi to Mark Cowdrey.
Richard Levis

Hey Richard, glad to see you on here, Carl

[Gabe Ayers]

I got back in touch with Meader’s about the length of the front tugs and they claim they are working on it with their PA based harness shops. I won’t hold my breath.

And Carl, I have to say I disagree on the leather only for harness. I used to have a similar leather only bias, but I have now used leather as well as nylon and biothane. The leather is traditional and aesthetically pleasing, but you can’t beat the biothane on easy of cleaning, weight, or price. The leather may last longer, but I am not sure of that at this point as I have not had my harness long enough…

[Carl Russell]

… The leather is traditional and aesthetically pleasing, but you can’t beat the biothane on easy of cleaning, weight, or price. The leather may last longer, but I am not sure of that at this point as I have not had my harness long enough…

My preference for leather is not based on aesthetics. In fact although I do believe that appearance reflects the level of care one has, it is the care that is more important to me than the appearance for appearance sake.

I really don’t understand the cleaning issue. I clean my harnesses 1-2 times per year. It may take a couple of hours, but it is not a huge chore, and it is an excellent way to take appraisal of the equipment.

I have never paid more than $500 for a leather D-Ring harness. In fact the last two sets I paid $500 and $350 per team set (2 harnesses) and each were in excellent shape and gave me nearly 10 years good hard use. Price is not a convincing argument to me.

I suppose the weight issue can be taken seriously, but if handled correctly there should not be too many situations where the harness needs to be picked up. I just slide it off the hook onto my shoulder, and can carry it easily where ever I wish, and then just slide it back off onto the horse.

The real issues for me are comfort for the horse, maintenance and repairability. I think leather is the most natural material to be against the horse’s body, and I find it very easy to work with when needing repairs.

I have seen a lot of attractive and well-built nylon or bio-plastic harnesses, but they just look make believe to me. Just old school I guess.

Carl

[Livewater Farm]

I have said it before horse sweat and harness leather no better smell

never had a nylon or bio harness but bet the same smell is not there

I have to agree with Carl the maintainece of a good leather harness is not an issue couple times a year clean and oil

now I have seen and bought many old harness hanging in sheds and barns the first thing I look for is mold why mold it tells me the leather is still alive a little soaking in warm water then a good oiling and it will jump right back to life I have harness I HAVE KEPT AND USED FOR 20 YEARS replace a strap once in awhile or fix a broken tug I wonder if the acid in horse sweat would eventually break down the synthetic harness time will tell for me the feel of leather
Bill

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