Harness Definition of Terms

• Back-band: strap going through the harness saddle to join the belly band on either side. Takes the weight of the shafts or pole. In cart harness it is replaced by a chain running in a groove in the harness saddle, hooked to the shafts either side.

• Back-strap: A strap attached by looping through the crupper at the rear of the saddle, pad or surcingle to attach the crupper.

• Belly-band: A strap that goes more loosely under the belly of the horse, outside the girth. Prevents the shafts rising up, especially on a two-wheeled vehicle (where weight on the rear of the cart may tip the front up).

• Bit: metal mouthpiece held in the horse's mouth used to control and guide.

• Blinders: pieces of leather or plastic that attach to the bridle behind the horse's eye area to keep his vision focussed straight ahead and prevent spooking and distraction.

• Brasses: brass plaques mounted on leather straps, used for decoration, especially on working harness. Made in a very wide range of designs.

• Breast Collar: A padded strap running around the chest from side to side. Used for light work, or for somewhat heavier work it is used together with a swingletree or whippletree to allow each shoulder to pull evenly on each step without rubbing.

• Breeching: in some venues pronounced or spelled "britchin"; strap around the horse's haunches allowing it to set back and slow a vehicle, usually hooked to theshafts or pole of the vehicle. Used for 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 so cannot slow the vehicle. Breeching may also be omitted in fine harness, or when the cart is very light or has efficient brakes on the wheels.

• Bridle: head gear including the bit, used to control and guide the horse(s).  When working in harness, most horses wear a specialized bridle that includes features not seen in bridles used for riding. These usually include blinders and shadow rollon the noseband of the bridle for the same purpose.

• Carriage: a four wheeled vehicle drawn behind a horse, donkey or other animal (not be confused with "cart").

• Cart: a two wheeled vehicle drawn behind a horse, donkey or other animal (not to be confused with "carriage"). 

• Collar: sometimes called a "horse collar". A padded loop fitting closely around the horse's neck, pointed at the top to fit the crest of the neck. The collar allows the horse to push against the harness with its shoulders and chest.  Used for heavier pulling, especially when used without a swingletree or whippletree.

• Crupper: soft padded loop under the base of the tail, to keep the harness from slipping forward.

• False martingale: strap passing between the front legs, from the center of thecollar 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.

• Fixed back-band: In a four-wheeled vehicle the shafts or pole must be allowed to hinge up and down, to allow the horse and vehicle to pass over hills and dips. Often the shafts are independently hinged, and on a side-slope these will each hinge to follow the horse, and a sliding back band is not needed. However, if a sliding back band was used with independent shafts it might allow one shaft to ride up higher than the other, and so for such shafts the back-band is normally fixed to the harness saddle. On other four-wheeled vehicles the two shafts hinge together, and a sliding back band is needed as for two-wheeled vehicles.

• Girth: strap that goes firmly around the girth of the horse to attach the harness saddle.

• Hames: Two metal or wooden strips which take the full force of the pull, padded by the collar.

• Harness Saddle: sometimes called a "pad". A small supportive piece of the harness that lies on the horse's back, not the same as a riding saddle.

• Martingale: straps to assist in the position and direction of the reins from the horse's mouth to driver's hands.

• Overcheck: strap to assist a horse in holding a desired head position, and for safety reasons (to avoid the horse's head and neck going under the shaft in a stumble) and to keep him from grazing while in harness. The overcheck hooks to a pedestal on the harness saddle.

• Reins: long leather straps running from the bit to the driver's hands, used to guide the horses. In teams of several animals these may be joined together so the driver only need hold one pair.

• Shadow Roll: a covering over the noesband of the bridle, usually made of sheep's wool, to keep a horse's vision focussed straight ahead and prevent spooking and distraction.

• Shafts: the rigid extensions of a vehicles that attach the animal's harness.

• Shaft tugs: sometimes "tugs", loops attached to the back-band to hold up theshafts of a vehicle in fine harness (not needed in cart harness, which attaches to hooks on the shafts).  Two types: 1) For two-wheeled vehicles the tugs are stiff leather loops, fitting fairly loosely around the shafts, to allow flexibility as the animal and the vehicle move against each other 2) For four-wheeled vehicles with independently hinged shafts, the tugs are leather straps buckled tightly around theshafts so they move with the animal.

• Sliding back-band: In a two-wheeled vehicle the shafts are fixed to the vehicle to hold it level. On a side-slope, one shaft will be higher than the other, and in this case the back band is normally allowed to slide sideways through the harness saddle, so the horse can walk upright without strain on the harness.

• Surcingle: term used within certain light fine harness designs to describe the combination of a light girth and harness saddle.

• Swingletree:  a horizontal bar, attached or suspended in the middle, and able to hinge fore-and-aft in a horizontal plane. The traces attach to its ends, and the vehicle is pulled from its middle. The centre of the swingletree may be bolted directly to the body of the vehicle, this bolt pulling the vehicle along. Alternatively it may hang loosely by a chain or strap from the body of the vehicle, and in this case the pull is taken by chains from the centre of the bar to the ends of the axle. The action of a swingletree is to balance the pull from alternate shoulders as the animal walks. It is used especially when the animal is in a breast collar harness, because this can easily rub the shoulders if the pull is uneven. It is needed less for an animal in a horse collar, as the pull does not pass over the shoulders in the same way. For this reason heavier vehicles may have no swingletree, as they are normally pulled with a horse collar.

• Traces: the straps by which the animal pulls a vehicle or load.

• Terrets: metal loops on the saddle and collar to support the reins. The bridles of the rear animals of a large team may also have terrets to take the reins of the animals to the front of them.

• Whippletree: used to distribute forces from a point load to the traces of draught animals. The whippletree consists of a loose horizontal bar between the animal and its load. The centre of the bar is connected to the load, and the traces attach to its ends.  Whippletrees are used especially when pulling a dragged load such as a plough.

Source: http://www.eeebray.com