Harness for use in harness racing
A harness for horse racing has a back-engaging tree with an arched body shaped to fit across a horse's back, a pair of laterally-spaced fork members projecting downwardly from opposite sides of the arched body so as to extend downwardly on opposite sides of the horse's body when in use, and a pair of laterally-spaced independently resiliently deflectable spring members extending rearwardly from the arched body and shaped to confirm with the shape of a horse's back. A girth strap assembly is attached to the back-engaging tree, the girth strap assembly having shaft attachments on opposite sides thereof below the back-engaging tree for attaching the shafts of a sulky thereto.
1. A harness for horse racing having:
a back-engaging tree with an arched body shaped to fit across a horse's back, a pair of laterally-spaced fork members projecting downwardly from opposite sides of the arched body so as to extend downwardly on opposite sides of the horse's body when in use, and a pair of laterally-spaced independently resiliently deflectable spring members extending rearwardly from the arched body and shaped to conform with the shape of a horse's back,
the spring members of the back-engaging tree having in plan view laterally-inner edges which are substantially parallel and laterally-outer edges which diverge in a curved manner from the arched body portion to a maximum just beyond half-way along their length and then converge towards their rear ends; and
a girth strap assembly attached to the back-engaging tree, the girth strap assembly having shaft attachments on opposite sides thereof below the back-engaging tree for attaching the shafts of a sulky thereto.
2. A harness according to claim 1 wherein the spring members of the back-engaging tree have a lateral spacing causing at least laterally-inner rear-edge portions thereof to rest on the relevant vertebrae of a horse's back when in use.
3. A harness according to claim 1 wherein the spring members of the back-engaging tree have a length sufficient to extend along at least 8 vertebrae of a horse's back when in use.
4. A harness for horse racing having:
a back-engaging tree with an arched body shaped to fit across a horse's back, a pair of laterally-spaced fork members projecting downwardly from opposite sides of the arched body so as to extend downwardly on opposite sides of the horse's body when in use, and a pair of laterally-spaced independently resiliently deflectable spring members extending rearwardly from the arched body and shaped to conform with the shape of a horse's back,
a girth strap assembly attached to the back-engaging tree, the girth strap assembly having shaft attachments on opposite sides thereof below the back-engaging tree for attaching the shafts of a sulky thereto, and
a casing housing the back-engaging tree.
5. A harness according to claim 4 wherein the casing has a rear extension to which the rear portion of a hobble assembly is securable.
6. A harness and sulky assembly including a harness as claimed in claim 1 and a sulky having a pair of laterally-spaced forwardly-projecting shafts with front end portions attached to the shaft attachments of the harness.
7. A harness and sulky assembly including a harness as claimed in claim 5 and a sulky having a pair of laterally-spaced forwardly-projecting shafts with front end portions attached to the shaft attachments of the harness and a hobble assembly having a rear portion attached to the rear extension of the casing of the back-engaging tree.