St Paul Saddlery

[Robert MoonShadow]

So, Dave; how has this harness worked out for you?

[HeeHawHaven]

Long story: Got harness and it looks great. Had uppity driving club friends come over to help us set it up and try it out and they say there’s lots wrong with it. Too narrow of saddle, wrong side blinders.

Then, we get busy with hay and living and don’t bother with it for months. Then, I call up St. Paul’s and tell him my concerns. He says the size of the blinder are appropriate for carriage driving and if we want a wider saddle, he’ll send us a wide pad to attach underneath it.

He sent us the pad immediately. Now, we just haven’t had time to put it all on and give it a go. We’ve just been driving him in his work harness.

So, very soon, we’ll get it on him. Hopefully, this weekend.

The quality seems good for the price. The workmanship is great and his customer service is great as well.

He also made us an awesome combo halter/headstall for our 17 H mule that is great for only $40 in nice harness leather.

So, as long as the harness works out, I would probably order from him again!

How’s that for a story?

Dave

[HeeHawHaven]

We’ve been using the St. Paul saddlery light driving harness for quite a while now. I love it. It’s really well made especially for the price!

We showed Duke at 3 shows this past summer and never got any complaints about the harness.

We have now ordered a show team harness for our Fjord Mules and another show harness for Duke. We should have them in a week or so. We ordered the biothene show work harness with stainless hames for all 3. Total price with shipping is around $1620 – a price that is probably less than most harness makers for a team. The owner of St. Paul Saddlery is very easy to work with. It’s a 3rd generation business and he makes each harness to order. I can’t wait to get the harness.

The fjord mules went to training and our progressing slowly as a team. So, we’re going to spend the winter/spring driving them singly until we think they’re ready to hook back up together as a team. We hope to show them next summer single and as a team. Maybe in ride and drive too!

We’ll let you know what we think of the top of the line harness from St. Paul Saddlery after we get them.

Dave

[HeeHawHaven]

Here’s the harness from St. Paul Saddlery. I like it! We got it on him today and did about 6-7 miles. I’ll have to make some little adjustments, but overall the fit was nice! We also bought team harness for the Fjule sisters. Didn’t have a chance to get it on them today before the fog rolled in!

http://gallery.me.com/heehawhaven#100317/P4020013&bgcolor=black

Be sure to click on the right arrow to see 2 more pics.

For the money, this is great harness. I believe it will hold up for what I’m doing. He sizes it according to your measurements. Sure beats pre-made Indonesian junk. Nice guy to work with too!

Dave

[Mac]

Just from looking at the pictures, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that harness that I can see. I looks really good, the blinds are fine and the backband is alright too. I’ll just tell you, I have worked a lot of hours with harness that looked a heck of a lot worse.
Mac

[HeeHawHaven]

Thanks Mac. So far so good! The price is definitely good. From shopping around, I believe I paid about the same as a basic team set for 3 harnesses set up for team or with shaft loops, with Stainless hames, an extra set of lines and a collar. I’ll get the others on the girls this week and take pics. Can’t wait to get them back to work! Like you, we were using way worse, but I didn’t want to keep doing that with inexperienced mules. Can’t wait to see the progress occur with them.

We just got our donkey driving too. So many projects, but what fun!

Dave

[jac]

Dave I noticed you mentioned Indonesian junk harness… as a Brit who has to import all my harness from the states I was wondering if you could give us the heads up on companies to avoide.. I had wondered about the St Paul saddlery company too but this has eased that worry. Thanks for posting the fotos…
John

[HeeHawHaven]

Guess I don’t know specifics. I haven’t been doing this too long. More of passing on info from folks that know. Also, looking at the stuff on ebay. If they can’t size it to your order, I’d stay away. I just know that I now have 4 harnesses from St. Paul Saddlery and I think they’re all worth the money I paid. Thanks to Robert Moonshadow for asking about them on this forum. That’s how I found them. I like how you talk right to the owner and probably the guy who does all the work! Now, to see how it holds up – which I’m sure it will.

Dave

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