Rural Heritage June/July 2026

After hooking the traces of one horse to the doubletree, Donn walks in front of the team to hook the other horse’s traces, avoiding the implement behind the forecart and staying close to the lines.

the horses were not hooked correctly, and don’t let a safety chain give the false impression that it is OK to hook the horses any old way. It is always important to hook the team correctly. What to do with the lines? After I have finished attaching the horses to the neck yoke and the yoke to the pole, I pick up the lines as I walk from the front of the team to the rear. At this point, I lay the lines in the center of the team, on top of the tongue or flipped over a railing if the vehicle has one. They need to be within easy reach if I want them in my hands, but I prefer to hook the trace chains without the lines in my hands. It is possible when working with a green or younger horse to hook the traces with the lines in your hands, but I usually don’t. I just keep them in reach. Step 3. Hooking Up the Traces — Side One. Start with the inside tug (also called the trace) and hook it to the evener. We hook the inside one first and then the outside one just so we don’t create a box with us in it. If you know the correct number of links to use that is great, but in either case, we will test and adjust at the end to make sure we are using the correct links. Some might say a few links either way doesn’t matter, but that is not correct. Always use the best number of links for a given team and vehicle. That is true of all harness types and all vehicle types. If you don’t know the best number of links from the last time you hooked the same horses

to the same vehicle, make your best guess. Be sure to test and adjust the number of links as described in the last step of hooking up. Count the number of links as you hook up and pay attention to how many you are using. Use the same number of links for all four tugs. There are circumstances where you might use a different number of links between one horse and another, but those are specific to a pair of horses or harnesses that don’t match in some way. What to do with the lines? To finish hooking the second horse you will need to get to the other side of the team. This is where folks might differ with my method. Perhaps this is controversial, perhaps not. Leave the lines in the center of the team and walk around the front, and back to the lines. Once I get to the other side, I mentally check that the lines are in easy reach before I hook up the next two traces. I never step over the pole to get from one side to the other, I never go behind the cart, the vehicle or any equipment attached to the cart. I don’t step over the equipment tongue where it is attached to the cart. I always go around in front of the team. This means leaving the lines for a moment and then returning to them. Why do I do it this way? It is the only one-person system that is completely repeatable every time I hook up. It doesn’t matter what I am hooking to or what it is hooked to. I do it exactly the same every time. Stepping over a tongue or any other piece of

Rural Heritage

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