I drive a pair most weekends and got tired of pointing at "that strap" and "the other buckle thing." This is the vocabulary written down properly, with the regional names I've collected along the way, because half the older drivers I ask use a different word for the same part.
Parts Glossary — Headcollar to Crupper
- Headcollar
- Simple restraint worn under or in place of the bridle; not load-bearing.
- Browband
- Sits across the forehead, stops the headpiece sliding back.
- Throatlatch
- Strap under the jaw preventing the bridle coming off forward.
- Bit
- Mouthpiece, connects to the reins via cheekpieces.
- Collar
- Padded neck piece taking the pulling load — see hames below.
- Hames
- Rigid arms fitted over the collar, carrying the actual pulling attachment points.
- Trace
- Strap or chain from hame to vehicle, transmitting the pull.
- Saddle (pad)
- Sits on the back, carries the girth and the back-band.
- Back-band
- Strap over the saddle supporting the shafts via the tugs.
- Girth
- Holds the saddle in place around the belly.
- Terret
- Ring on the saddle guiding the reins, keeping them off the ground.
- Breeching
- Strap around the haunches allowing the horse to hold back a load going downhill.
- Crupper
- Loop under the tail, stops the whole assembly sliding forward.
Hames & Collars
The collar must fit before anything else is adjusted — two flat fingers should slide between collar and neck at the widest point, no more, no less. Hames sit in the collar's groove and are held there by the hame strap top and bottom; check both are drawn up tight before every session, since a loose hame strap lets the hames ride up under load and can rub a sore in a single afternoon. Trace attachment points sit low on the hames for a heavier load, higher for a lighter one — moving them changes the angle of pull, not just the strength.
Regional Names
| Part | Also called | Region noted |
|---|---|---|
| Back-band | Bellyband, ridger | Northern counties |
| Terret | Rein ring, hook | West country |
| Breeching | Britchen, holdback | Older drivers, general |
| Hame strap | Top clip, wither strap | Regional, inconsistent |
| Crupper | Tail strap | Common informal name |
Pair vs Single — Set-Up Notes
Single harness needs shafts and a breeching arrangement the pair setup doesn't — a lone horse has to hold the vehicle back on hills as well as pull it. Pair harness instead splits the load across a pole or splinter bar, with each horse's traces running to their own side, and neck yokes or a pole strap taking the backward pressure instead of breeching doing all the work. Getting the trace lengths matched between the pair matters more than most single-horse adjustments — an inch of slack difference means one horse takes noticeably more of the pull than the other, and it shows up as an uneven, leaning gait within a few hundred yards.