A breast harness is a simpler alternative to the collar for light carts, riding horses doing occasional hauling, and mules: the pull passes through a wide padded strap across the chest instead of a shaped collar. It transmits force through a relatively small area, so for loads over 150-200 kg on flat ground switch to a collar harness or the animal will develop chest sores.
Part of Harness & Yoke Making
The breast harness: when it is the right choice, what it is made of, and how its limit is set by the area the pull is spread over.
Simple To Make, Limited By Its Area
A breast harness has fewer parts than a collar harness and needs no shaped, individually fitted collar. It adapts more easily to different animals. The price is that the pull enters the animal through a strap across the chest, a smaller bearing area than a collar spreads over the shoulders.
Two articles cover the parts:
- Breast Strap Design — width, padding and attachment.
- Surcingle & Belly Band — holding shafts and preventing lift.
What You Need
- A wide strap — minimum 8 cm, ideally 10-12 cm.
- Padding — sheepskin, felt or folded cloth.
- Traces — to the load or shafts.
- A surcingle and belly band if the animal is in the shafts of a two-wheel cart; see Two-Wheel Cart.
- A load you have estimated — below 150-200 kg on flat ground.
Method: Decide And Build
Step 1: Check the load. If the load, including the vehicle, will exceed 150-200 kg on flat ground, use a collar. See Collar Harness.
Step 2: Make the strap wide and padded. Narrow straps concentrate pressure.
Step 3: Set the position. The strap sits across the point of the shoulder, not on the windpipe.
Step 4: Attach traces at each end. They run back to the load.
Step 5: Check after work. Look for hair loss, heat and swelling on the chest.
Worked Example
A cart weighs about 80 kg (an assumed figure) and the limit is 150-200 kg on flat ground. If the cart counts toward the limit, cargo is limited to:
- Lower limit: 150 - 80 = 70 kg.
- Upper limit: 200 - 80 = 120 kg.
So a breast harness suits 70-120 kg of cargo on this cart. The source does not say whether the vehicle counts toward the figure, so the lower number is the safe one to plan with. On slopes or soft ground the limit is lower than the flat-ground figure.
Common Mistakes
- A narrow strap — pressure concentrates on a small area.
- Strap too high — it chokes the horse; see Breast Strap Design.
- Using it for plowing or logging — heavy pulls need a collar.
- Forgetting the belly band — shafts can lift.
Safety
A strap on the windpipe restricts breathing
A breast strap that rides up onto the throat compresses the windpipe, so the horse coughs, struggles to breathe and may panic. Check its height every time it is put on, and stop at the first sign of coughing. Keep a quick release at the hitch.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Breast Strap Design — width and padding in detail
- Combine with: Harness Design — trace angle and breeching