What are the advantages and disadvantages of leather, nylon, BioThane or Zilco ?
Leather For the traditional-minded carriage driver, this is the harness material of choice. Leather harnesses priced under $200 are foreign-made, usually of leather tanned in India, which can be stiff, weak and stretch alarmingly, making harnesses in this price range unsafe for any use. The leather can be of varying widths and thickness, there can be extra splices in the reins. Most mid-priced North American leather harnesses ($400-$1000) are Amish made. The “buggy style” (treeless) saddle is common for the lower price range harness, as are traces sewn to the breast collar and “split” reins where the rein on the horse end is black leather and the part at the driver end is the higher-quality russet. Higher-priced leather could have a rigid tree in a wider saddle, buckle-in traces, possibly patent leather trim, all russet reins and rounded blinders. Advantages: Leather is the most traditional choice for harness. Leather shapes itself to the horse as it breaks in. Quality tanned leather c
