# Opinions on Biothane Harnesses?



## Left Hand Percherons

I'm a leather only too but friends that have bio mostly love them. The care is about as easy as it gets. Hose it off, dry it off, put it away. Done in 15 minutes. If you do have fit problems, they can be fixed with an industrial walking foot sewing machine (I just happen to have one of those) so repairs are simple. What I don't like about them is they just never have that "broken in" feel and fit to them. I would still drive in leather lines.


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## Amlalriiee

I've never used a biothane harness, but used biothane breast collars and bridles quite a bit. I haven't noticed any stretching...guess that doesn't mean it isn't happening though. They are stiff in comparison to broken in leather tack, as mentioned above, but they are very easy to care for. All a matter of preference I think.


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## Alwaysbehind

Great question. I look forward to reading the responses.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Well, thanks for the input every one.
Sounds like some thing worth investigating more, maybe one day I will get brave and order a harness to try. :wink:


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## Adenfire

I love my Biothane harness, use it all the time. Only downside I've found is that in the sun it can reflect into your eyes, and that it's easier to use leather reins then Biothane because they are slippery. I haven't noticed any stretching on mine and I've used it for over 10 years on 4 different horses on a regular basis. Nice enough to use, good solid harness yet you can wipe it down and turn around and enter a show looking spiffy.

I've also found that over time the blinders/blinder stays have broken down on my leather harness (it's like 25 years old) so the bridle is a little floppy, where as the biothane one is still stiff and almost brand new looking.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

*Adenfire*, your harness must be the shiny, vs matte, type? Looks like patten leather?
I *really* like that they are so easy to care for. That is a big bonus.
It would also be nice to not have to race for cover any time it decides to rain!
We get some pretty out 'a the blue showers around here.

Do you remember where you bought yours from?
I have just been "googling" around looking at different sites, and as always the price really ranges.... I am sure as with every thing, you get what you pay for. :wink: 
Sounds like yours is holding up really well!
(I have also noticed they actually seem to run a little higher than leather as well?)


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## Adenfire

Yup, shiny shiny...and I totally understand the not running for cover in the rain, I live in Washington so something that holds up in the rain was a big deal  I bought mine from the lady that trained my mini for 250...which is pretty standard around here. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chimacum Tack, that's where I get 90% of my equipment. Chimacumtack|Horse Tack 

I think mine's held up well because I do take care of it...every 6 months or so I give it a thorough cleaning and wipe it down after use. I also keep one in a hanging harness bag and another in a rubbermaid tub.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Oh ya, I guess you would know about rain! :lol:

Thanks, 
I have seen their site before, seems like they have some pretty fair prices.
Do you find them pretty friendly and helpful then?

When you do your "thorough" cleaning, what product do you use?


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## Adenfire

I do find them helpful and friendly, but I could be somewhat biased because they used to come to the mini shows here and I've grown up around them  In my personal experience they've gone out of their way to make sure I end up with what I needed or something better if what I was thinking isn't "quite" what i thought i needed. Which happened often while I was learning.

For cleaning I use standard saddle soap because there are still some parts on it that are leather so it's easier then switching between leather soap and dish soap. It's just gotta suds  And then on the leather areas I use a weather proofer for work boots BUT I don't put it on the horses for a few days and wipe it down to get the extra residue off so it won't irritate them. I've found that if the harness breaks or stretches it's in the leather areas so keeping them supple and as weather resistant as possible is important.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Wow, thanks Adenfire for all the useful info!
(I wasn't aware there was still leather anywhere on them, so that is nice to know)
It did not look like the (mini) pleasure harness comes with breaching? I just see it on the team and dorsal harness. I guess if you want it they would offer it huh? But it was not even mentioned in the description...

 I don't mean to be a bother, but do you have any pics of yours on a horse?


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## Adenfire

Mine didn't originally come with breeching but they do carry it, it was hard to find so I just emailed them and they gave me the info on sizes and pricing since I had to order it. But I thought there was an option in one of the drop down menus when you order it. If not pop them an email and ask and they should let you know.
These are before 4-H changed the rules and made breeching required, hence why i got it.















I don't have any of him with the breeching on, I ended up getting Betathane breeching because it was cheaper  but since it goes under their tail and rides pretty even with the shafts it doesn't stick out that much.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

:clap:Love your pics!
Especially the 2nd one, your chocolate outfit really compliments your horse nicely. 
(Okay, I know that is not about the harness, just had to say it....)
The harness does look very nice, and delicate too if you know what I mean?
Does it have a true saddle, or is it one with just the leather over a pad?

I guess I am going to have to start saving my pennies and get me one to try!
If I end up liking the biothane, that is what I will get down the line when I start our big  Canadian boy, Duke. He has such great temperament, I think he will be a great driving horse as well. 
I'd never try it with my QH's though! LOL!

Thanks again! 
Sorry if I am being a pest!


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## sharick

I love my biothane harness. Have had it 2 1/2 years and haven't noticed any stretching at all, and have alot of miles on it. Agree it's very easy to clean and take care of. Have a harness that is a combination of "shiny" and matte. Driving lines are matte, drive with bare hands, and have not had a problem with slipperiness, not even when they got wet. Find biothane a very strong and dependable material for a driving harness. Been on drives where leather has gave/broken when horse acted up, but have not had that as of yet with any biothane harness I've seen, not that it couldn't happen.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Thanks for your input sharick!
Makes it much easier to try some thing new when you can get a lot of peoples opinions on it first.


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## Adenfire

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile  But Thank you for the Compliment on my outfit  I love love love my chocolate show clothes.. hehe that sounds funny. But it's the one color that matches each of my horses. I have a chocolate blazer that I just change the polo shirt underneath per horse, so I have a "different" outfit for each one! 

Along with what Sharick said, my reins are the matte/bettathane ones. Love them too


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Adenfire said:


> Sorry I haven't been on in awhile  But Thank you for the Compliment on my outfit  I love love love my chocolate show clothes.. hehe that sounds funny. But it's the one color that matches each of my horses. I have a chocolate blazer that I just change the polo shirt underneath per horse, so I have a "different" outfit for each one!
> 
> Along with what Sharick said, my reins are the matte/bettathane ones. Love them too



Oh, that's okay!
Hey, not only does the blazer work for all, it also saves you some money.
Show clothes can be spendy!
Thanks again.


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## goodhors

For any harness you get, make sure there is a tree in the saddle. This keeps harness and possible shaft weight up off the animal spine. Just like a riding saddle, there should not be weight on his spine doing his work.

Most folks love the synthetics, so much easier to care for. We do carriage driving, where the matte finish seems to be very popular. However the minis, horse folks who do ring classes with fine harness (type shown above with mini) often like the shiny biothane finish better. More flash and sparkle! I have not heard of stretching problems, but synthetics do wear differently than leather. Some parts are made to be replaced regularly, like billets with lots of pressure on them. Girth billets, rein billets, hold back straps if you use a breeching. If a hole gets ripped, get things fixed promptly for YOUR safety.

Check for good quality hardware in your buckles, get large rein rings on the saddle so a twist won't snag running thru on turns. Buckle tongues should all be steel, NEVER brass tongues on a buckle. Brass is pretty, but very soft, will bend or break under stress that doesn't bother steel.

I have to say I NEVER want my harness parts to fail. Those kind of parts will break when you MOST need them to hold and be strong. Failure of parts can CAUSE wrecks. If an accident happens, I WANT harness to hold, NO FAILURE, to cause a worse problem as horse "thinks" give of breaking part means he can escape. 99% of time breaking parts make it much worse in a wreck.

Properly measure your animal so you can give harness person correct dimensions, for proper sizing and fitting new harness to YOUR pony. Send back parts that do not fit correctly. I find that ordering harness from a maker is usually the most cost effective, comfortable to animal. This is getting animal the best fit of harness, with little difference in cost between a box harness or custom sized. There are LOTS of harness makers who would love your business.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Thanks for all the good info goodhors.

Yes I make sure my saddles are "real" saddles, not just a piece of padded leather. 
I am surprised how many you see that are not. Just cheaper or some thing?
All the hardware on my leather harness' are steel. Got lucky there I guess, never thought about the brass being softer, but that is true.

Don't show much at all, just drive for pleasure, so I think I will be looking at the matte finish definitely.
Really looking forward to getting a harness that I don't have to worry over so much. I do a lot of training, and we also get some pretty unexpected sudden rain storms. Hate having to cut the fun short for fear of ruining a harness... 

Thanks again.


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## goodhors

Well, good leather should be able to take plain water soaking from a rainstorm with no problems while you get home. Old-time horse drivers couldn't run for cover whenever it rained! However once you get home, you would need to hang the harness to dry, usually a day or two, then do a deep conditioning to it. I would NOT advise oiling as a conditioner. I am really happy with Harness Honey as a conditoner, has been very good on my stuff, harness and saddles.

We have gotten our leather harnesses wet quite a few times over the years, showing in rain, driving thru water crossings, comes right back just fine. But as you say, the synthetics are just easier, no worries. We have those as well now, for our daily use harnesses. The matte finish will look VERY leather-like even up close. Be sure to get brown reins, even if the whole harness is black. Traditional reins are always brown. And you want buckle in rein ends for the bit, no snaps on your harness anyplace. This makes you check the wear on those rein ends as a safety feature, which doesn't happen with snaps. The strap or snap end just breaks and you have a problem!!


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Goodhors thanks again.
I have only driven my miniatures.
I am planning on starting my husband's Canadian this summer though.
He has such a great easy temperament I think he will make a wonderful driving horse as well.
So I can use all the tips and info I can get.

For some reason, probably strictly size related, I am much more concerned about all things involved with driving Duke.
Bigger horse, bigger wreck I guess? :wink:
I don't foresee any problems with him, but I also know even with the most thoroughly trained horse things can happen....
So keeping a close eye on the safety of my equipment is a definite priority.


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

I finally FINALLY got my harness in the mail! Took a long time, but worth the wait. I can't vouch for it's durability yet, but this beta harness is beautiful! Soon as the rain stops this weekend I'll try it on her and post pics.


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## SpiritedLittleCopperSpots

Hey that's great, can't wait for the pics! 

Anxious to see what you think of it, if it's the one you posted a link to earlier, that's the one I am thinking of getting for Duke....
Will love to hear what you think of it.


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## Jonesbug

I honestly prefer everything leather... just seems so much prettier, more elegant, whatever you want to call it. Plus I actually (*hiding behind a barrel*) love to clean leather! Much prefer cleaning leather and spending the time polishing it up to a quick swipe with a damp cloth. To get onto the environmental side, it's natural, too.  Therefore I can make myself feel like I'm doing *something* if not all that much. :lol:


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## Reiterin

environmental? no, sorry. raising livestock is the worst thing for the environment.

I want to see pictures when you get going _back in the saddle_.


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## goodhors

Leather is a great product, very traditional to use with horses.

HOWEVER, having cleaned a LOT of leather, including saddlery and harness, the "charm" of leather cleaning is just gone for me! Could be that the standards of cleaning for Driving competition, literal "white glove" inspections of your whole outfit, took the fun away. Judges DO check both sides of leather straps, inside of buckles while on the equines! Adding in that we only drive horses in Multiples, 2 or 4 at a time, and we (mostly me) end up cleaning, conditioning, blacking, metal polishing, almost a herd of cattle leather!! I am not going to compete with my stuff in less than perfectly prepared condition, so the above takes at LEAST 2 eight hour days of just harness work. And this is with harness in fairly clean shape. Then you get to reassemble everything and bag it for transport. I am just "over" the fun of harness cleaning leather. But cleaning a saddle and one bridle for show is a very simple thing now!!

I love the synthetics for making my life MUCH easier. They still need cleaning, metal polishing now and again, but it is just less work. Stands up to the heavy sweat much better, don't have to worry about salt or drying out with use and time. Lighter weight to haul around.

Nothing FEELS as good as nice leather, fits the horses better. Just not willing to put in the time needed to keep leather nice, in the volumes of harness we use.


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## noddy

I don't know if you guys are talking about the same stuff, but when I was working in the racing stables I would have just about died if I was cleaning the unknown miles of harness in leather. I think most of the gear was the pvc covered webbing type material, though the good racing harnesses were US imports from Walsh Harness & Saddlery

Contrary to appearances, most racing harnesses do have trees. Just sayin'

Not sure if you have them where you are, but Zilco makes synthetic harness.
Horse Harness, Carriage Driving Harness, Zilco International, online catalogue, leather bridlewear, saddlecloths, halters and leads, grooming equipment, horse boots

Found an american place that stocks Zilco. Carriage Driving Essentials - ZILCO HARNESS


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## jyuukai

The one concern I have heard about Biothane harnesses is that in an emergency it is hard to cut. Alot of the drivers I talk to say that they carry a pocket knife with them just in case, and that they have found they can never cut through biothane harnesses quickly enough.
I do like the idea of them though and have always wanted one for a road horse


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## goodhors

Having been in a couple "situations" and the LAST thing you want done is to cut harness!! Horse feels a little give, tries even HARDER to get loose, jump up. 

The cases I have been involved in, have only taken a moment or two to UNBUCKLE the straps, while still having a hold on equine so he can't get loose after standing up. There have been some nasty LOOKING situations, but by pausing a moment for evaluation, you can almost always manage to avoid cutting anything to get the mess straightened up. Two were wrecks with a 4-in-hand, horses down, cutting them loose from the other horses would have been a disaster. One had the downed horse stand when asked, they kept on going to finish the course!! No tangles, harness fell into place when horse stood, but no problems needing any parts cut loose!! Lots of bystanders screaming, but not the driver and crew, not the horses. 

Singles down, again just some unbuckling got them out of the mess fast, didn't NEED to cut anything.

Look at your harness, there are key spots that can be unbuckled, get a horse out of the shafts fast. There are quick-release shaft loops that will open with a pull of the strap, quick release snaps, that can be purchased to put on your harness.

Better training, better drivers, reduce the incidence of accidents. Most well trained Driving horses will give you a couple moments to help them before going ballistic. Driving animals have had LOTS done with them during training steps, long time teaching the basics, so seem to be a bit more accepting of weirdness, so you can help them.

Sharp knives flying about could cut you, horse under the harness, can be quite dangerous!! Know what you will be cutting as you lean on the blade to slice things. Contrarily, if you DO want to carry the knife for safety, make it a SHARP one. Dull blades are no help at all. I have not found the serrated blades to be very good for cutting heavy things, plus they don't resharpen well. I only carry a straight edged blade, and you could shave with it easily. Anything less sharp in a blade is a time waster.


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## churumbeque

Adenfire said:


> Mine didn't originally come with breeching but they do carry it, it was hard to find so I just emailed them and they gave me the info on sizes and pricing since I had to order it. But I thought there was an option in one of the drop down menus when you order it. If not pop them an email and ask and they should let you know.
> These are before 4-H changed the rules and made breeching required, hence why i got it.
> View attachment 56258
> 
> View attachment 56257
> 
> 
> I don't have any of him with the breeching on, I ended up getting Betathane breeching because it was cheaper  but since it goes under their tail and rides pretty even with the shafts it doesn't stick out that much.


I was just flipping through some driving posts and saw your lovely pictures. I did want to give some constructive critism, if you look at the picture with the brown outfit and see all the slack in the traces, look at how tight your reins are. That little pony is pulling all of that weight with his mouth. It's something that is easy to over look but if you keep an eye out for being in draft your pony will thank you


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