Chapter IX: Plough Harness

In plough gears the ordinary bridle and collar are employed. The back-band is made in various ways. The method with hooks is taken first. The eye of the hook (Fig. 105, p. 109) is 4 in. wide. Cut the leather 3 ft. 9 in. long and 4 in. wide; turn down 3 in. at each end, and beat the bend slightly with the hammer to keep it down, and crease it with the screw-race, making two rows on each side; mark the centre from each end, and draw a line straight across at this point, then two lines each 5 in. from the centre, so that the distance between them will be 10 in.

Cut two pieces of leather 10½ in. long and ¾ in. wide; dye and crease one side of each piece, having previously cut a small piece out of each corner of the side being worked. A line must then be drawn with the compasses along the centre of this narrow piece. Make a mark across the centre, and place it underneath the back-band, centre to centre, as far as the line just drawn; tack it down for stitching, and place the other piece in the same manner on the other side, so that the pieces may be a little over both lower lines at each end. This piece is called the facing; the place on the back-band where the pieces are to be stitched is pricked out before tacking them down. The work of stitching is now commenced, care being taken to keep the line close to the edge of the back-band; make the thread of three or four cords of coarse hemp.

Having a 1½-in. tinned dee at hand, cut a piece of leather 1½ in. by 4 in.; shave and point both ends, then crease, black, and prick them like the side, with eight or ten marks per inch. Place the dee in the centre of this piece, and lay it flat on the back-band in the centre, measured from both sides, or from the top line to either of the lines below, and then stitch, having tacked it down. When ploughing is being done, the rein is run through this dee, and there must be one dee on each back-band on the opposite side when the horses work in pairs, but for a single horse there is one on each side of the same back-band.

The next part to be made is the panel, used for preventing soreness of the back of the animal when ploughing, brought about by the constant pressure in one place. Take a piece of linen, or basil leather, 14 in. by 7 in., and lay the back-band on it centre to centre, and evenly over both sides; make the spot stitch thus // // // across the back-band, and through the linen along the middle line. Then the partition between the two sides will show the object of these facings, which make the pad slightly wider than the back-band, and so ease the horse’s back.

Having stitched across the centre, turn in the lining all round about ½ in.; if, however, the material employed is basil, no turning is required. Make a pleat at each corner of the end of the facing, making both exactly the same length; put another pleat opposite the first, so that the width may be the same as that of the back-band and facing combined.

If the panel is basil, the corner is cut off to obtain the true length, and then stitched together where the cut was made instead of making a pleat. Now begin to stitch all round, commencing about 1½ in. from the centre on one side so as to have an opening for stuffing. Work round along the cross lines at the bottom until within 1½ in. of the centre of the other side in a direct line from the starting point. Spot-stitching is executed in the usual style.

Stuffing is the next operation, the flock being put through the opening left on each side of the centre line. Lay the back-band flat on the bench and stuff each side rather tightly by the aid of the stuffing-stick; the leather side of the back-band is underneath, whilst the openings are near the edge of the bench. Smooth well towards the sides, and flatten with a mallet, and continue the stitching along the opening to the starting-point; this completes the top.

The hooks must now be put in, an operation which is performed as follows: Cut two saving pieces from a thick, firm face of hide; good, close-grained stuff is wasted on such work as this, the best material, as a rule, being that from the face of a gear hide. Cut the pieces 7 in. long, and if the back-band is to be 4 in. wide, make the pieces 5 in wide. Cut one end slanting to 4 in., of the same width as the back-band, and shave it. Round off the corners of the other end, leaving it the full width; black and crease the edges.

Put the hooks in their places and the saving pieces under them about 1½ in. lower down than the extremity of the hook; tack them down exactly in the centre. Having marked and pricked the back-band with four rows running from the hook upwards to the end of the saving pieces, stitch with a four-cord thread, nine or ten stitches per inch, and then stitch a line across close to the hook to bind all together. Now the back-band is in working order.

The plough back-band, with chains instead of hooks, is made in exactly the same manner, but when there is only one chain and a bar across in the bend to hold it, a hole must be cut in the centre of the bend for the passage of the chain. For two chains and a bar make two holes; the saving pieces can be made a little narrower with chains, and the body of the back-band need not be so long in proportion to the length of the chains. As a guide in determining the length of the body, whatever may be the length of the chains or hooks, it should be remembered that the length of the back-band over all must be about 4 ft. 4 in.

Couplings are also a necessary part of plough gear. In some localities only cross-straps are employed from mouth to mouth when ploughing in pairs. Cut the strap 1 in. wide and 28 in. to 30 in. long, turn it in about 1 in. at each end, and make a hole for the buckle, and shave the points. Take two billets of the same width, 1 ft. long, and trim them to a point at one end, shaving the other; then edge back, and crease them; place the buckle in, and then the thin end, 2 in. down at the back of the buckle. Put a loop between the chape by the buckle and stitch one billet and buckle at each end; punch two holes in each billet.

Sometimes two coupling straps are employed for a pair: the straps cross each other from the hames of each horse to the mouth of the other. They are made to the first style, but longer, being 38 in. in length, each with 12-in. billets; in some cases they are made a foot longer than this, the coupling being cut into two, one end 15 in. long with a buckle and loop, and the other made to buckle on, with numerous holes for adjusting the length. This is a very convenient method, for when a young horse is coupled with an old one, the coupling must be shortened on the side of the former animal to keep it back until it has learned the ordinary working pace.