Carting Harnesses - Siwash vs. Parade styles

[Mjwalters17]

It seems from reading all the previous posts that the majority of people in the forum use the siwash harness for carting. I have been reading about that and also the parade type harness and am wondering which one would be the best type to get to start some carting work with Bear. Does everyone think the siwash is really the best type?

 

[Peter Maniate]

A siwash harness tightens on the dog like a chinese finger puzzle as the pulling gets heavier. It was developed for sledding with multiple dogs and not for single dog pulling. The term "parade harness" or "buckle harness are derogatory terms used by advocates of siwash to put down a harness that provides a direct pull from the chest.

In 1976 I rejected the siwash for carting and developed a "carting harness" designed specifically for dog carting. It not only provides a direct pull from the chest but also a half saddle over the shoulders so that any down weight from the shafts, especially when a child suddenly jumps out of a sulky style cart, is directed to the correct part of the anatomy as a dog is the only draft animal without a stiff back.

 

[WearingMidnight]

I'm certainly not the most experienced person, but I've had great success with the Siwash harness for Bri. She wasn't comfortable in the parade harness we tried. Granted, she's not pulling too much weight yet, let alone any kids.

 

[janices]

If planning to pull heavier weight and do things like draft tests then go with siwash. Light weight, no weight, no draft tests, parade suffice.

 

[R Taft]

A siwash harness tightens on the dog like a chinese finger puzzle as the pulling gets heavier. It was developed for sledding with multiple dogs and not for single dog pulling. The term "parade harness" or "buckle harness are derogatory terms used by advocates of siwash to put down a harness that provides a direct pull from the chest.

In 1976 I rejected the siwash for carting and developed a "carting harness" designed specifically for dog carting. It not only provides a direct pull from the chest but also a half saddle over the shoulders so that any down weight from the shafts, especially when a child suddenly jumps out of a sulky style cart, is directed to the correct part of the anatomy as a dog is the only draft animal without a stiff back.

I like the reasoning behind this and makes sense..we seem to have changed from using our siwash to the one we bought from Shel (Norm's harness) and we have noticed that lukey pulls better in it. i never thought about the tightening Peter and it now makes sense. The Norm harness does not do that. Funnily enough I have used my 2 siwash harness's for the dogs to pull together in front of each other.......Always good to hear from an experienced person the why's and how's