Chat
12-31-2018, 08:10 PM
Depending on the steepness of the terrain, the distance you're going, and the heaviness of the load you may not need a whiffletree. But if you plan to have your goat do a lot of pulling, a whiffletree sure helps spare their shoulders from rubbing and soreness. I made one for my sled from a dowel rod. I can measure it on Wednesday. And yes, it should be a as wide or a little wider than the width of your goat's hind legs so the traces don't chafe them. Your shafts help keep your goat's body straight so the traces can't chafe him when he turns.
Yes, the traces are what pull the load. The shafts are what turns and stops it. You are correct that the shafts need to attach to the britchen to stop the sled. There is a small loop on the underside of each shaft called the "footman's loop" which is what you thread your holdbacks through. The holdbacks buckle through rings on the britchen and this combination provides your brakes. There are different ways to configure this sort of thing, and for dragging a sled you don't have to usually be quite as meticulous as when you're dealing with wheeled vehicles. The frictional drag on a sled means you don't have to worry so much about proper suspension between breastcollar and britchen as you do with a wheeled cart that wants to keep rolling even after the goat stops. I'm also a lot pickier about harnesses when I'm riding in the vehicle because there's the comfort and safety of the passengers to consider. It's difficult to control a goat properly when you get a big jolt every time he stops and starts! I've seen harnesses with the britchen sewn into the surcingle (the surcingle is the saddle/girth combination), and the shafts clip to rings in the surcingle with snaps. These don't have shaft loops (on the harness) or footman loops (on the shafts) since the clips on the end of the shafts hold the shafts up and provide the pulling and stopping mechanism. This configuration doesn't give you as much fine-tuning adjustment the way I like with a cart set-up, but it should work for dragging a sled.
The most important thing when designing your harness is to make sure your goat is pulling with his shoulders and not with his back. Similarly, he should be stopping the load with his butt and not with his back. You also want to watch for any rub spots forming at his shoulders as he pulls. If he gets them, you may not have quite enough play in your whiffletree, or your breastcollar is adjusted too low.
Yes, the traces are what pull the load. The shafts are what turns and stops it. You are correct that the shafts need to attach to the britchen to stop the sled. There is a small loop on the underside of each shaft called the "footman's loop" which is what you thread your holdbacks through. The holdbacks buckle through rings on the britchen and this combination provides your brakes. There are different ways to configure this sort of thing, and for dragging a sled you don't have to usually be quite as meticulous as when you're dealing with wheeled vehicles. The frictional drag on a sled means you don't have to worry so much about proper suspension between breastcollar and britchen as you do with a wheeled cart that wants to keep rolling even after the goat stops. I'm also a lot pickier about harnesses when I'm riding in the vehicle because there's the comfort and safety of the passengers to consider. It's difficult to control a goat properly when you get a big jolt every time he stops and starts! I've seen harnesses with the britchen sewn into the surcingle (the surcingle is the saddle/girth combination), and the shafts clip to rings in the surcingle with snaps. These don't have shaft loops (on the harness) or footman loops (on the shafts) since the clips on the end of the shafts hold the shafts up and provide the pulling and stopping mechanism. This configuration doesn't give you as much fine-tuning adjustment the way I like with a cart set-up, but it should work for dragging a sled.
The most important thing when designing your harness is to make sure your goat is pulling with his shoulders and not with his back. Similarly, he should be stopping the load with his butt and not with his back. You also want to watch for any rub spots forming at his shoulders as he pulls. If he gets them, you may not have quite enough play in your whiffletree, or your breastcollar is adjusted too low.