Breeching ( "britching") is a strap around the haunches of a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

pack Pack or packs may refer to: Music * Packs (band), a Canadian indie rock band * ''Packs'' (album), by Your Old Droog * ''Packs'', a Berner album Places * Pack, Styria, defunct Austrian municipality * Pack, Missouri, United States (US) * ...

riding animal A working animal is an animal, usually domestication, domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels ...

. Both under

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

and in harness, breeching engages when an animal slows down or travels downhill and is used to

brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

or stabilize a load.

History

The breeching strap traces its roots back to the Chinese invented breast-strap or "breastcollar" harness developed during the

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

(481–221 BC) era. The Chinese breast harness became known throughout

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

by the 7th century, introduced to Europe by the 8th century. The breeching strap would allow the horse to hold or brake the load, as horse harnesses were previously attached to vehicles by straps around their necks and previously designed harnesses would constrict the horses neck, preventing the horse from pulling heavier loads. The breeching strap acted as a brake when a cart tried to run forward when moving downwards on a slope and also made it possible to maneuver the cart in the reverse direction.

Harness breeching

When a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

, or other animal is in harness, harness breeching (also known as full breeching) helps the animal to slow or control the forward movement of a

vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...

. Animal-drawn vehicles have either a pair of shafts or a single pole projecting forwards for about the length of one animal. An animal between shafts wears harness breeching, which attaches forward to the shafts. As the animal slows, the vehicle runs forward, and the shafts pull the breeching forward against the haunches of the animal, which can thus slow the vehicle. A vehicle with a pole has a pair of animals either side of it – their breeching works in a similar way, attaching forward to the pole either directly or by way of their collars. In a larger team, the

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

s are in front of the shafts or pole and thus cannot slow the vehicle; nevertheless, they sometimes wear breeching for show. Oktoberfest-Pferdegespann

Breeching may be omitted where the animal does not need to provide substantial braking. For example, in very light harness, such as in a

sulky A sulky is a lightweight cart used for harness racing. It has two wheels and a small seat for only a single driver. The modern racing sulky has shafts that extend in a continuous bow behind the driver's seat, with wire-spoked "bike" wheels ...

used for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

or in a light cart used with

fine harness Fine harness is a type of driving (horse), driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular horse breed, breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan horse, Morgan, Arabian h ...

, the weight of the vehicle and passenger is little enough that the girth and

crupper A crupper (; occ. spelled crouper) is a piece of horse tack, tack used on horses and other Equus (genus), equids to keep a saddle, horse harness, harness or other equipment from sliding forward. Construction The crupper consists of a loop (the ...

of the harness provide sufficient braking support. Breeching may also be omitted if the vehicle has efficient brakes on the wheels – examples include larger

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

s and modern vehicles with disk brakes. Similarly, breeching and the requisite shafts or pole are not needed for a dragged load such as a

plow A plough or (Differences between American and British spellings, US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs ...

or a log that will not move on its own, nor for a canal boat, which is towed by a long rope from the bank. Ochsenkarren

Historically, additional animals were sometimes used to brake very heavy vehicles on steep downhills, being hitched in harness breeching ''behind'' the load. This is still done when logging in very steep terrain. Breeching is not normally used for oxen in

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...

s, where braking is provided by pulling back on the yoke or girth (depending upon the type of yoke).

False breeching

On a light vehicle with shafts, ''false breeching'' is sometimes fitted to the vehicle, instead of using harness breeching. A horizontal strap is attached between the shafts of the vehicle, just behind the animal. When the animal slows or goes downhill, the vehicle runs forward, pushing the false breeching against the haunches of the animal, which can then push backwards to slow the vehicle. False breeching is generally limited to use with well-trained, steady animals, because if the animal rears or falls there is a risk of the false breeching running up over its back. It is sometimes used to help show off the animal's haunches, which would be partly covered by harness breeching., page 113

Saddle breeching

On both pack and riding stock, if breeching is used then generally a

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. European In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion of plate armour covering th ...

is used as well. ; Pack animals Breeching may be used to stabilize the

pack saddle ] A pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other working animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons, or other things too heavy to be carried by humans. Description Ide ...

of a

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

or other pack animal, by keeping the saddle from sliding forward, especially on downhill tracks. Pack horse breeching may be supplemented with a

to provide additional stability. ; Riding animals Breeching is occasionally used in a similar manner as that of a pack saddle, especially when riding

s. Mules often have lower

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

and flatter backs than horses, making it likely that the saddle will slide forward when going downhill with a rider. However, a

is more commonly used on riding animals in general.

References

External links