i hear good and bad about biothane harness.had a couple of guys say they hate it.it rubs there horses even the bridles .another guy loves it,says it want rub if adjusted properly.can any of you guys using it or seen it used give me your opinion on it.

I used nothing but biothane. If adjusted correctly, it won't rub any more than a leather harness. AND it is so easy to keep clean! Just slosh it around in a bucket of soapy water, rinse and hang up to dry. No cracking, no mildew, and strong as steel!

I always had leather for my 6 horses which was hard to keep clean and oiled since I never had or took the time??.
Went to Bio a few years ago for all 6 and love it.
Before buying it, I spoke with a rep from the company that makes the biothane products. He said all the types have the same webbing inside for strength covered by different products.
He advised to buy harness with the Bio plastic covered for the harness and Beta covered lines since they are soft and pliable.
I did so and love it. The 6 horse's harness always hang in my horse trailer and after each trip of use, (mostly for horse farming events where they get dirty and dusty) I hose it down as I do the total trailer. Looks like new and stays in excellent shape and no oiling needed. The reason for Bio harness and Beta lines he said is the beta is not as tough a material as bio covering but will last great for lines but not harness that might get rubbed against things. I do agree with everything he told me since that has been the way mine has been. Highly recommend it to anyone but hey, that is just from my own experience on how well it has worked for me and my applications.

I put it to fairly heavy use, and agree that when adjusted well, there are no problems. I have had none. I could see how it would be less forgiving when changing the same harness between different horses without paying close attention, and that might spell trouble, because the Bio stays sharper much longer than does new leather. Leather harness going back and forth between horses will adjust to variations in confirmation differences more readily, as long as it's in good shape. But overall, bio is easier on a thin wallet to buy, seems like it will last a really long time with less maintenance, is much lighter, and just as strong, up to now.

Have no problem what so ever with bio harness.

I have both leather and biothane harnesses. They are very comparable. The biothane is lighter and doesn't need special care. I like the feel of leather lines. I did have one incident of the biothane chafing a horse, but it was due more to the horse walking sideways against the trace. Leather is about 35% more expensive. I would probably choose leather if price wasn't involved.

Just got back in from driving my mare in the rain with her Bio harness (which I made about 10 years ago when I was in the business). Hung it up and that's that. It's important to note that a lot of support materials have been "discovered" by harness makers over the years for use in linings, padding, etc. It's not just the strapping that's important, you have to look at all the other materials that make a nice harness. Today's Bio harness is NOT the same thing as the ones we used to argue about here 10 years ago. If you get a good harness from someone like Hog Branch Harness in Mississippi, or maybe Yonie's or some of the other quality makers, you've got something really good. I have a lot of my own (Nearside) synthetic harness, but when I outfitted my half draft, I went to Ken Bauerle at Hog Branch, since I wasn't making harness anymore. Never looked back.

Barb

I have some of each (leather, bio, and nylon). Nylon is the lightest. Some biothane is heavier than my leather harness.
I also have had biothane rip more than leather.
If I were going with synthetic,I would go with nylon.

The problem that I see with Biothane harness is not the material ,But how it is put together. I have seen a lot of hurry up workmanship. There is a lot of square edges at the ends and that leads to sores. Biothane is harder to taper the ends than the leather, But it can be skived to smooth edges. I am replacing more and more of the broken and badly worn leather straps on harness with Biothane with good results.

Bill

For my standardbreds and Percheron team I use Beta harness and lines with leather braided grip areas and stay with leather bridles. I never switch harness or bridles from horse to horse and the leather bridles seem to hang and fit nicer than the Beta ones.

Biothane harness but leather bridle. Dunno. Seems like it might be more comfortable on their heads.

I have a nylon set was made for haflinger's the harness is good I don't like the style of the bridles.

What's the best way to punch a hole in beta and biothane? Hot nail?

Thanks,

Ed

Biothane and stainless steel hardware, it looks great and very easy to maintain. Leather is high maintenance and nylon is like sandpaper when it gets dirty and hard to clean. IMO..

Exactly what S. OH. Bill said. There's some pretty poor craftsmanship out there in both synthetics and leather. Method of construction is very important. The use of synthetic materials allows an aspiring harness maker to buy a sewing machine and become an instant harness maker. There is a very long learning curve to making quality leather harness, and some of it applies to synthetics. There are key principles of construction that I see missing in harness made today. I prefer leather, especially the bridles. The ideal harness would probably be a combination of all 3 materials, but then you defeat the purpose of using maintenance-free synthetics. It boils down to personal preference. If you don't have time or can't maintain leather, don't buy it. Leather still fits and performs best. The problem is there is a lot of old leather harness that belongs in the junk heap, and very little new leather harness being made from good stuff. A leather harness does not have to weigh 75 lbs to be good. Three strap breechings and tugs heavier than need be have given leather a bad rap. I've seen good leather taken care of that will outlast any synthetic several times. The key words here are "good leather" and "taken care of". It's hard enough to find time to work the horses with people's lives so busy, so I do understand the advantage to a minimum maintenance material. I am starting to see a few people go back to leather when they come in to buy parts. They've tried the synthetics, and for whatever reason, have gone back to leather.

Ed, the best way would be to spring for a set of punches, which will last you a lifetime if you don't abuse them. Then you can seal the holes with a hot nail. Not pre-punching the hole will make kind of a messy hole but it's certainly doable in a pinch. Just KEEP YOUR FACE OUT OF THE SMOKE. It's very toxic. Shiny BioThane will be gooey until it's cold. The other types not so much, but you will probably raise a "burr" that might irritate the horse, so be sure to smooth the melted material down.

Barb

The cheap nylon and bio are just that, cheap. They don't fit horses and they hang on a horse funny. The good stuff is great.

If I had my way it would be leather bridles, bio most parts, and beta lines with stainless hardware.

Ed, The best way that I have found to punch Bio thane and Beta is hole cutters that fit is a drill press. The top end is shaped like screw driver bitts and the bottom is like the normal hole punches that you hit with a hammer only thinner and sharper. They are close to a paper drill tube. I mark the Bio thane strap with the hole locations, then clamp a board to the top of the drill press table to save the bitt then start drilling. The holes are very clean and smooth without the fraying that I got with the other hole punches.
Good luck,
Bill

Thank you both!

One of the problems with working BioThane is, if the piece needs to be curved, it must be assembled on a SUFFICIENT curve and be stitched together that way. I think it's a bit difficult to stitch multiple layers of BioThane into an adequate curve to fit the shape of a horse's poll. Browbands and nosebands can also be problematic, but not impossible. Breast collars, multiple-layer breeching, back pads, all are best assembled and stitched with an adequate curve built in - and hope you never need to straighten the piece! :o) Leather where appropriate on a synthetic harness really isn't "throwing the baby out with the bath water." Chrome tanned leather is almost as indestructible as synthetics, I always used it for driving saddle linings and all my synthetic harness saddles are probably going on at least 10 years old with minimal care and no sign of deterioration. A good leather crown on a synthetic bridle only needs looking after very occasionally, not anything like a great big all-leather draft harness. And nobody's invented a synthetic neck collar yet! :o) I'm really glad someone has spoken up about the workmanship and quality of materials being just as, or more important than, the choice of synthetic or leather. One advantage of BioThane is that the quality, which meets many government specs, is uniform from end to end. Not so with harness leather, which varies from end to end, top to bottom, and season to season. BioThane is so wonderful for overall carefree use, water resistance and overall strength, GOOD leather is more aesthetically pleasing and lasts a lifetime with reasonable care. I do believe that the choice really boils down to choosing a set from a reliable maker. One more thing, and that is about buying a sewing machine and a roll of synthetic material. BioThane is MANY times harder to stitch than leather. It will beat the heaviest sewing machine to death, as well as the hands that punch and cut the stuff. The Amish have invented many types of machines to work the stuff. Anyone who thinks they can get an upholstery machine and a roll of BioThane and be an instant harness maker is deluding themselves. BioThane eliminates strap cutting, edging and a tremendous amount of waste (shoulders and bellies that are hard to use up) for the maker. It is a VERY expensive material, and if savings are realized in the purchase of the harness, likely it is not because of cheaper material, but of manufacturing time saved.


Barb

I would just like to say that after building Biothane harness for 32 years, there is a lot more to it than buying a roll of material and a sewing machine- the other thing is that just because is a coated material, that doesn't mean that is the real Biothane. There are other materials out there that aren't even close to the real thing. Make sure your harness maker has the real thing! He probably has the tags he gets from Bioplastics showing it is. Our's are in places that in the 90's all summer, used 5/6 days a week and doesn't rub animals-BUT- proper fit is important. Holes, we punch and still burn each one, which really isn't needed because the new ribbon doesn't wick water-- old habits are hard to break---my 2cents worth