This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Horse bells - I responded about the center or backstrap location of bells. After reviewing the great antique prints of the typical behind-the-gig saddle bells, I taxed my grandfather WHY his Percherons always wore backstrap bells - or bells that only went over the top of the harness at the saddle and the hipstrap. Grandpa Tolliver,(circa 1899) says, 1)Topsy, the Percheron mare caught a hoof in the dangling-below-the-girth bell strap, so he decided NO harness parts would dangle loose below the horse. He shortened the broken strap, and when she was driven alone, wore the bells as a back strap. 2)his team of Topsy and Jet (Percherons) typically wore 40-80 harness bells. He likes bright, clean brass, and got tired of cleaning muck, mud, and ice out of the bells when the horses kicked it up from the road (not all snow is as pristine as Courier and Ives) - so all his harnesses had extra D-rings to connect the bells across the back, but ended at the tugs, so only the girths passed underneath. Sorry if I confused anyone. R.Taylor, Straw Hat Stables
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