Norwegian Harness:
It’s not just for Norwegians anymore!

    To view a short streaming video that features
    the Norwegian harness, click here.

This harness design has been used in Scandinavia for centuries, for all types of driving and all types of horses. There were many regional differences and styles. Heavy harness is suitable for farm work and logging …and lighter harness for carriage driving.

All Norwegian harnesses have some characteristics in common:
   An adjustable neck collar,
   A central harness ring, and
   A rigid saddle bow.

Because of its design, the collar is easy to put on and adjusts for a comfortable fit.

The harness ring maintains the correct angle of draft whether the horse is pulling a log or a cart. Norwegian harness is a good choice if you want to do both carriage driving and light draft work.

The paint horse and the fjord in these two pictures are wearing the same harness.

The traditional saddle bow is also versatile and will fit a narrow- or broad-backed horse. It protects the horse’s back even with moderate weight in the shafts.

About hitching with Norwegian harness:
Traditional Norwegian harness doesn’t use traces. Instead the harness attaches to the shafts at the harness ring using a strong plate of metal called the “ore” in Norwegian –let’s call it the “shaft plate” in English.

There is a hole at the end of the "shaft plate" where a wooden pin fits. The pin hangs from a string to keep it from getting lost.

This picture shows a Norwegian-type shaft with a reinforced slot in it.
	And this shows the shaft attached to the harness ring by the shaft plate and pin.
In the traditional Norwegian system, there are no shaft loops, traces or hold-back straps. The connection between the harness ring, shaft plate, and shaft does it all.

American shafts can be modified to use with Norwegian harness by bolting a strong bracket to each shaft. These brackets were designed by Al Smith of Denver, Pa. for use on a marathon cart.

If you don’t want to modify the shaft, you can modify the harness by adding shaft loops, traces and hold-back straps.

	A Norwegian light harness with shaft loops attached to an English saddle.
A work harness with shaft loops attached to a traditional harness saddle.

More updates coming soon
Stay tuned.

Contact us for more information

To view a short streaming video that features
the Norwegian harness, click here.

Norwegian Harness: It’s not just for Norwegians anymore!

The harness ring maintains the correct angle of draft whether the horse is pulling a log or a cart. Norwegian harness is a good choice if you want to do both carriage driving and light draft work.

Norwegian Harness:
It’s not just for Norwegians anymore!