Worldbuilding X: Harnesses, pt. 3 · 2:10am May 30th, 2018
Obligatory clickbait opening image that vaguely relates to the theme:
In our last blog we left off with our pony wearing a harness with her singletree, but of course if she's got it on, she's got to have some purpose for it. Something needs pulling.
The simplest type of thing to attach to a pony is something that has chains or ropes or some other flexible means of attachment, and it's also got to be something without wheels.
Here, we can use the least complex harness. There's no need to be able to stop the load; all that's got to be done is to pull it forward and also turn it as needed.
And in this case, simply using a yoke or a breastcollar with no other parts of the harness might work just fine.
The only consideration with an IRL horse is that you've got the attachment points roughly at the forelegs (typically slightly in front of them if you're going really simple on the harness). Going straight, that's no problem at all, but on turns it quickly becomes an issue. Those convenient ropes and chains are now tripwires.
Of course, ponies are presumaby smart enough to recognize this limitation, although it's easy to imagine a less-than-experienced farmhoof concentrating on something other than the load he's pulling and managing to trip over his own chains.
Not to mention that one of the chains is now going to be pressing against the side and probably running under his barrel, with all the potential discomforts that might entail.
Now, if there's an assistant working with the trailer (so to speak), she can help swing the load wide. And there's also a good chance that something with skids like a stone-boat isn't going to want to turn that sharply anyways. But it's something worth considering.
Having said all that, I think that any experienced farmpony is going to know the limitations of towing a plow or sledge with ropes or chains. I could imagine that when Big Mac gets to the end of a row, he turns around and steps over the now slack chains, resets the plow in the new furrow-to-be on his way by, and by the time he's pulled the chains taut again, he's pulling straight.
I should also mention that in terms of a pony hooking himself up to a load, this is as easy as it gets. Back up to where there would be lots of slack in the chain, hook it over some kind of loop or clip on the yoke or breastcollar, and then pull.
But who cares about pulling a plow, right? It's not like ponies have to do that to turn the soil in their fields so that they'll have food to eat. 
We're interested in fun carts and wagons.
The type that we see most often in the show is the simple, single-axle wagon with rigid shafts, and that actually makes a lot of sense. It's simple and it can carry a decent load.
Y'all remember back in the last blog post I mentioned tongue weight. Well, I still have no idea what the ideal number is for wagons, but I do know how much a horse should carry, weight-wise. And before I give you the number, I'm going to remind you that this does not indicate that the pony can start—or more importantly, stop—the load in question.
The general rule of thumb is that a horse shouldn't carry more than 20% of its own body weight. This means that based on my Science! experiment, the shaft-load of the wagon should be 20-30 pounds for an earth pony like Applejack.
However, it's worth noting that as equines get smaller, the load they can carry on their backs increases. Shetland ponies are stronger on a per-pound basis than Clydesdales, and while it's a bit harder to pin down a number there, 25% seems the general concensus (so 25-45ish pounds). That suggests that about the maximum load for a single-axle cart is probably around 400 pounds for a fit pony (and if you're thinking that's pretty low, go ahead and load your Radio Flyer wagon with 400 pounds of rocks and start towing it around and tell me how that goes).
Hitching on to a single-axle wagon is fairly simple. Our pony has to have a full harness for this type of wagon.
All she's got to do is lift up the shafts and pass them through openings in the belly band part of the harness—that's going to keep the wagon from pitching up or down. The shafts hook in loops on the belly strap area. (This is also called the surgicle). The shafts go through the tug loops.
Straps from the collar go back to the singletree, which in this case is usually built into the wagon, and stays with it.
In the back, straps on either side go to the shafts for braking. IRL, the go through a metal bracket called the footman's loop and are then wrapped around the shaft. I think ponies would come up with a simpler solution, probably with snap hooks.
After that, it's ready to go!
One thing to consider about being tied to a wagon with rigid shafts is that the pony's turning radius is greatly increased. Presumably—since we're talking about magical ponies here instead of IRL horses—she can normally turn around in her own length. With a wagon, not so much. I mentioned in the last blog post an inexperienced filly or colt pulling too hard in a team; here's another opportunity for a mistake by an inexperienced pony: getting stuck. Going forward into a narrow space that she can't get back out of.
Now we're going to move on to a trailer with two axles.
Those are available in a single-horse arrangement, and the shafts are similar to the ones on a single-axle trailer. Hooking up is essentially the same, as well.
In this case, you could potentially pull it without using the surgicle/belly band, since the trailer is supported by its front axle. However, the shafts should ideally be supported in two places along the pony.
We know from the show that taxi cabs seem to be this style.
That makes sense, really. Weight distribition is less of an issue, and as long as the pony can pull the load, it'll work.* And while normally such a trailer would be hooked up just like the single-axle version, I think that taxi ponies would probably have a modified harness that doesn't have the center part. I think that it would be easier on them to wear slightly less tack, and that the front of the shafts would hook to their yoke, while the breeching would attach to the middle part of the shaft.
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*I said before that the wheel team is responsible for stopping the wagon and even with large teams, the limit is how much weight the wheel team can stop. I didn't mention it there, but if the wagon has brakes, then of course the limit is what the pony can pull. While human carriages and wagons had brakes controlled by the driver, a lever arrangement running along the shafts could be used and controlled by the pony pulling the load.
The other style is the type of wagon designed to be pulled by a team. Normally, those have a shaft that runs up the center, which is what also steers the front axle.
IRL, horses are sometimes hooked to each other as a team before they're hooked to the wagon. A good driver has trained the horses to walk across the tongue of the wagon and step over it to get into position. I presume that this is done because the driver wants to be controlling the reins at all times, and it starts to get complicated when you're running horses in teams (you've got reins or jockey sticks, and that could be the subject of a whole 'nother blog post, except that ponies wouldn't use that stuff). Ponies probably wouldn't do that; they'd be more likely to back into position or sidestep into place and then hitch up that way.
This is another arrangement where a pony wouldn't necessarily have to have a belly band, because as far as I know, the only function of it in this hitch arrangement is to control the reins.
Normally, the front of the pole is hitched to the neck yoke first, and then the breeching is hooked up. If ponies are hitching themselves, I think they'd most likely do it the other way, unless there's an extra pony who isn't getting hooked to the wagon. I think it would be easiest for them to hook to the singletrees and the breeching first, then reach down with their heads and hook the front of the pole up.
Episode Screencap
While I don't really want to get too much into wagon design here, since it came up in one of the comments, I'm gonna mention it. The basic design of wagons either has rigid shafts or a non-rigid center shaft (which can be offset for three-abreast arrangements, but never mind that).
Trailers designed only for a single pony to pull are most likely easier to design if they have rigid shafts. Now, I don't know that, but it's the best reason I can think of why you would ever do that on a wagon with more than one axle.
The reason I'm thinking that is that the advantage of the center pole arrangement is that you normally pull with two, but you can put on as many as you feel like you need. A second team can be hitched to the front of the pole with a doubletree. If you need more, you can add another pole, and there's theoretically no limit to how long you can keep doing this (the actual limit is either material strenght or else how many horses you can actually control). I mentioned in the last blog post how the borax-hauling teams were twenty mules strong; I also found a YouTube video of a guy pulling a plow with 46 Percherons. There are also a number of videos of 40 horse teams in parades.
You can't do that with twin shafts. You've got one pony, and there isn't any practical way to hook on more.
In the broadest sense, there are really three kinds of trailers that ponies would pull.
The first is the simplest; that's any kind of sledge or farm implement that drags on the ground. That would normally be hooked up with chains and ropes or straps. Such an arrangement normally doesn't require breeching, since when it's not actively being pulled, it stops on its own; therefore, the hindmost part of the harness isn't always required. In most cases, this would also require a heavier 'front' harness: yokes would be more likely than breastcollers.
The second is also somewhat simple; this is the single axle trailer. This one that absolutely requires a full harness: you need the front part for pulling the load, the middle part for supporting the load, and the rear part for stopping the load. You cannot get away with anything less. Having said that, the ultimate load of the trailer is utterly dependent on how much weight the back of the pony can take, which means that these are often the lightest overall weight when loaded.
The third is a tandem axle trailer. This requires the wheel team (the ponies closest to the wheels) to have at a minimum the front part of the harness and the breeching. Further ahead, swing teams and the lead team do not require breeching, since by standard wagon design they cannot help brake the load.
In a really brief nutshell—enough to get someone started on the right track (and because I'm going to cover wagons in a later series of blog posts)—farm equipment is specialized and not useful for much else. Most of it falls into the 'drags on the ground' category. Ponies using it would most likely wear stripped-down harnesses if they're doing a lot of that kind of work for an extended period. For example, if Big Mac and AJ are plowing the field where they plant their corn, they know they're going to be at it for a while, and would probably put the effort into taking the extra bits off their harnesses before getting started.
For a pony towing a single-axle market wagon (for lack of a better term at this juncture), they haven't got much choice but to wear the full harness, unless they enjoy discomfort or potentially being run over by their own wagon. I'll also say here for the record that being dragged or run over by a vehicle is not fun (I've tried both), and while a wagon is almost certainly lighter, the experience is most likely not more enjoyable. This suggests, to me at least, that if there was way to avoid having to harness up, it would be worth it, even if it meant two short trips. That is, if a pony were going to market to buy food, she'd rather take two trips without a wagon, rather than one trip with a wagon.
This also implies to me that it would be well worth it for ponies to pool their resources, so to speak. Let's say that the Mane 6 are all going to market together; it might be worth having only AJ pull a wagon which they all load with their purchases. Sort of like the debate between owning your own pickup truck to move, or knowing someone who owns a pickup truck.
Finally, tandem axle trailers. For the ponies at the very front of the wagon, the forward part of the harness and the breeching is absolutely required, even if the trailer has brakes. For any additional ponies helping to pull, they only need the front part of the harness.
One final note worth consideration (I say that, but there's going to be another blog post on this subject coming in the next couple of days). In pre-industrial or early industrial age societies—which is where I think the ponies are—manufactured goods tend to be expensive. As a result, things have to serve double duty whenever possible. To me, that tends to suggest that pony harnesses are often more general types, since most ponies aren't going to be able to afford multiple harnesses for every purpose. When Big Mac tows a single-axle market wagon, he's got more than enough tack for the wagon he's hauling. Likewise, ponies are going to tend to buy the wagon that most fits their needs, even if it's too much for some uses, or if it's too light for maximum use.
I also think that it's possible that the straps that hold the saddlebags on are in some cases part of a harness. Such an arrangement might be more marketable towards practical ponies, since that part could be used on its own, or it could also be used as part of a saddlebag arrangement, or even with the hind part (the breeching/hip strap assembly) a larger, pannier-type arrangement.
I meant to publish this yesterday, but my internet was down half the day. Dumb internet.
The missing source picture is from here: https://royalmultiverse.tumblr.com/post/170806902861/the-apple-herd-is-one-of-the-larger-ones-on-the (or on derpi: https://derpibooru.org/1654421 )
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Thank you!
Damn right they are. :)
orig00.deviantart.net/6337/f/2013/178/2/c/teatime_interruption_by_gyrik22-d6azt2j.jpg
(Dotted, if the vague Scottishness and short-and-fuzziness wasn't a clue is meant to be a Shetland)
Brilliant post series. I can't see any of my characters pulling things any time soon, but I love learning things about subjects I knew nothing at all about.
That said, my one objection, is the whole 'how much can a pony shift.' Big Mac, if memory served, cheerfully pulled a house, and Maude Pie kicked a boulder into dust. Earth ponies clearly operate in a manner quite unrelated to mere muscles.
Ok, now do the pegasus flight-cart harness.
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The thing is, with a single-axle cart, there must be some load on the pony's back, and that might be the limiting factor. I can push a 2-ton car, but I sure as heck can't carry it on my back. And we do know from canon that Big Mac struggles carrying a cake.
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In terms of the ultimate load a pony can pull, I don't know. There are so many variables. I do know that a team of ponies can drag an enormous number of cement blocks in a pulling contest.
i.ytimg.com/vi/Zpo4bcf-pA8/maxresdefault.jpg
And when it comes to rolling loads, it's often even easier.
calisphere.org/clip/500x500/3dca27bf3584e51ec9023b8cf32c77ff
Of course, nothing beats a sled on snow.
image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-load-logs-on-horse-260nw-244393705.jpg
So yes, if they're not carrying any weight on their backs, ponies can surely tow very substantial loads.
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derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/4/7/1126401__safe_screencap_twilight+sparkle_the+cutie+mark+chronicles_grin_image+macro_it%27s+magic_meme_pony_smiling_solo_squee_vulgar.jpeg
Seriously, there's no type of harness that would actually work, even if we assume that flying horses actually exist. The best idea would be some sort of a basket hung under the pony . . . or if they can fly fast enough, they could tow a glider.
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That's a fun idea! Pegasus + magic flight:
Pegasus takes off in a harness with a trailing cable hook a la the catch hook at the rear of a carrier-capable aircraft. They circle around, gaining speed. Nearby is a package with attached glider wings and an o-ring attached to the front via another cable. Probably a bit of a stretchy cable to take some of the shock out of it. The pegasus swoops by, another pony holding up the loop, which catches the hook trailing from the pegasus, and off the whole thing goes!
Weight limited by the pegasus' magical aptitude. Like Rainbow could probably haul a full carriage or more, while your average pegasus could probably do ordinary boxes of stuff.
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It's not unreasonable, really. I don't know off the top of my head how they normally do gliders--I think it's a fairly rigid strap, and tied to the airplane from the get-go (with quick-releases on both ends, for safety). IIRC, banners are snagged after the aircraft has taken off. So either way would be possible.
Another option would be to hook the pegasi to the glider right from the beginning, then basically push it off a high place to let it pick up airspeed as it's falling. The downside to that is if you make a major mistake, it turns into crashing.
Winds could also be used; some fixed-wing airplanes can do near vertical takeoffs if there's a strong enough headwind. Sometimes unintentionally, even.
Trixie must be one strong mare to pull her own waggon stocked full of her stuff