Riding horses that are in harness

[Lane Linnenkohl]

Bells, Conestoga freighters liked to look and sound good while hauling the goods 😉

[Lane Linnenkohl]

Here are some images by W. H. Pyne ca 1800 England.

First is a man riding the lead horse in a unicorn on a roller.

Second, 4 up on a carriage with men riding each near horse.

Third, 2 abreast with man riding the near horse.

Fourth, 4 up with team being driven with 2 sets of lines from the vehicle.

[Hal]

Very interesting thread. I hope this isn’t too much of an aside, but why would someone choose to use a unicorn hitch like the one shown in the picture instead of a three abreast? Is there a historical reason for this configuration of horses?

[Lane Linnenkohl]

@Hal 6536 wrote:

Very interesting thread. I hope this isn’t too much of an aside, but why would someone choose to use a unicorn hitch like the one shown in the picture instead of a three abreast? Is there a historical reason for this configuration of horses?

A good question and one I’ve tried to figure out many times. The best answer I can come up with is that they just hadn’t figured out the multiple abreast hitches yet. When they needed more horses, their solution was to put them out front.

The multiple abreast hitch seems to be a relatively recent configuration. I’ve seen very little evidence of it prior to, say, the Civil War.

[Plowboy]

Abreast hitches were primarily for field work. Tandems were used on the roads to keep them as narrow as the vehicle they were towing. Look at old pictures from England,Ireland,Scotland or Wales. The lanes were so narrow they put one in front of another on a haywagon. Abreast has it’s limitations also. I think more than 4 abreast creates other problems like on turns if one or more slows down on one side they can pull the neckyoke off the tongue because there is so much play in a long evener. If we need more than 4 we start stretching them out which is very easy with a rope and pulley hitch from Pioneer or White Horse. See my post plow day photos the 6 on the plow and eight on the harrow are all using the rope and pulley system.

[susan]

books? any and all recommendations would be appreciated.

i started driving last summer; single haflinger.

we have a woods on our farm. i would like to use the haflie to
help w/working in the trees.

thanks.

[drafthorsey]

I’m new to the site. And in catching up on what you folks have been discussing I came across your great question about 4 or 6 up hitches. Dick Sparrow is out of Iowa, never met the man, and believe his family carries on the driving tradition. You might check Draft Horse Journal for all kinds of stuff on this article (in fact just about anything horse you can think of). I’ve included a the web address for the story and a sample of the copy.

Forty horses – 10 rows of four large Belgians – were quite a sight at the end of Milwaukee’s circus parades, and the person controlling all those animals was Elmer R. “Dick” Sparrow.[/I]Sparrow was a big bear of a man and he needed every last ounce of strength to handle the reins when the 40-horse hitch first appeared at the Fourth of July Schlitz Circus Parade in 1972http://www.jsonline.com/news/obituaries/112641449.html

[Mac]

Havent been around here in a while, but I caught this and wanted to add my two cents. I always ride mine back from the field after a day of plowing, because I like to leave the plow in the field, rather than drag it back. Just get up on the nearside one and say walk up and steer with the lines where they’re buckled together. Kinda fun, really.
Mac

[HeeHawHaven]

Get any Lynn Miller books.

@susan 7819 wrote:

books? any and all recommendations would be appreciated.

i started driving last summer; single haflinger.

we have a woods on our farm. i would like to use the haflie to
help w/working in the trees.

thanks.

[cousin jack]

Not sure if this will work, but you will notice teams of 6 drawing the gun limber, all nearside horses ridden. When deploying a gun, horses will be detached from the limber, and ridden away.
Sorry, that link was no good. Try this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzgQbUp2zRE

[Author]

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