I have a Biothane pair harness. It cleans up easily. (Beta lines). If I was doing it again, I would have the bridles mad of leather, and maybe the lines. Leather just lays on the head nicer (my opinion). That said, I have not used it for a long time, and a little soap and water will clean it up with no mold. The bottom hame strap is leather.

I did use a plain nylon web harness for a while (that I had borrowed until the Biotane was made). I seem to remember that if the nylon was too dirty, it would wear the hair on the horse. And I think that cleaning might be more work, but maybe not if done frequently.

I am sure that others will be along with their experiences.

Neal


4 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

I have a bio harness. Love it. I gradually worked into it. The first leather one I worked with was too heavy for me to lift repeatedly. For a while I had bio harness and leather bridle/collar. That was ok, but bridle molded terribly in my tack room....as does anything leather. I borrowed a vinyl-backed nylon harness for a while, but didn’t like the stiffness of it. Now, I have a bio harness, bio bridle, bio lines, and carefree collar. I would totally claim leather collar is better at conforming to the horse, but with the abuse ours takes, the pad I use prevents issues on the horses and keeps me from having to replace constantly. What the carefree lacks, it makes up for in durability and it Is still stuffed with straw, so it does conform a little. Likewise, the leather bridle and crupper conform to the horse a bit better, but I haven’t found the bio to cause issues at all. It saves me huge amounts of time cleaning and stands up to abuse. My team can do hundreds of miles over a few months in our busy season, and they do everything from logging to field work to carriage work, so my equipment has been put through the ringer. If you go with bio, I believe the key is to just make sure it is well-fitted to the horse. Then again, that applies to any harness. My most recent mare had a nasty collar sore when I bought her, from the guy driving her in a too-big leather collar.


4 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum