Harness, Grooming and Decoration Guidelines

Harness, Grooming and Decoration

Alastair Ferguson’s Guide

1) Harness

2) Grooming

3) Decorations

The horse should be presented fully harnessed and ready to be yoked into a cart.

Tongues should be inside buckles and keepers when presented but tongues should be removed to check for suppleness and cleanliness.

The leather should have an even black finish.

The edges should be polished and the inside should be clean. It should be soft and pliable where appropriate

Attention should be paid to the inside of buckle holes and the tongues of the buckles

All metalwork should be bright and free from yellowing/tarnishing, especially the hooks/swivels which should turn freely.

The wooden part of the bridge should be free from overspill of dye/polish from leather

Stitching on harness should be tight and complete.

If harness is secured with screws they should be of sufficient size so as not to be pulled out.

The coat of the horse should be clean, soft and supple with no flakes of skin or grease.

Pay particular attention to the ears (inside and out), the roots of manes and tails.

Check cleanliness of the legs, and pasterns, front and back. Also inside the thighs and everywhere harness touches the horse.

Use fingers to run through body hair, against the grain. The less hair that comes out the better.

With grooms permission, check inside of sheath on male horse  or folds of udder on female.

Decorations should be clean and securely fixed.

Diamond roll should be straight and free from twists.

Diamonds should be even in size and follow in a straight line.

Motifs (flights/standards) should stand straight and be evenly spaced.

Manes and tails should ideally have diamond rolls and, like decorations, the diamonds should be straight and free from twists. Diamonds should be even in size and follow in a straight line.

If an English plait is used, it should also be straight and even with no visible kinks. The motifs should be securely fixed with no bare wire visible.

With our most grateful thanks to Mr Alastair Ferguson for sharing his wisdom with us and to his son, Bruce, for acting as scribe! 

Alastair and his family have been breeding and showing Clydesdales for in excess of 60 years and Alastair is a highly respected and well known exponent in the art of harness, grooming and decoration of Clydesdale Horses.