# Whiffle tree pictures



## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

I have always used whiffle trees with hooks that hook to the tug chains. How do I build whiffle trees for the slotted trace of a breast harness? what do they use for hooks? or I am thinking that the wood could be shaved down enough to slide through the loop? I need to build a team set for may Miniatures. thanks for the help.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

It's hard to find pictures of horse poles on the interweb these days, but here are a few:

http://anyandallauctions.com/_horse_cart_pairs_pole_with_swingletrees___get_you-lot1440.aspx

This is what I use - either on a set of shafts or on a pole setup. I like the "saber end" singletree (or "swingletree") like this, with trace holder for leather slot end traces as pictured. They hold very securely.










If you have the round singletrees on your pole, you can go with this hook for slot end traces:











Here's a video of some folks hitching a nice little pair of ponies - you can see their setup with the traces.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWNnd7w2qTA[/ame]


Here is a page with a lot of different hardware and different configurations to give you ideas.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sin...Q_AUoAmoVChMI9ei5osTNyAIVgbqACh1Tngwr#imgrc=_


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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

Thank-you. You found more pictures than I did. The ones that you said you use most, I am guessing by the look of the picture that the wooden end of the tree goes through the slot in the trace and the brass metal piece clamps down to hold it from sliding off? Is this correct?


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

Yes, the hole in the leather goes right over the end of the wood and then the clip flips down.
Like this:











The hook setup for the round singletrees work well too, as in the video.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Wow! I had no idea there was so much involved in hitching horses to a wagon!


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

I like the saber end myself. They don't "waller" out the hole in the trace the way the J-ends do. But if your trace is punched for J-ends, you don't have much choice in the matter, unless you punch them larger for the saber end.


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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

By saber ends, you mean the ones that have the end of the whiffle tree shave down so the wooden part slides through the trace?


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Yep. Where the trace slot slides over the wood. 

These are the three main types of buggy singletree:










The top one is for traces with heel chains
The middle one is for traces that have teardrop-shaped holes
The bottom one is for traces with oval or rectangular slots punched


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

The kind of singletree you've been using is the stout, working singletree.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

If you buy a set of these, you can use them to convert your breastcollar traces to be used with a working singletree intended for heel chains.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)




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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

There is a place in Ontario that I can buy the heel chain adaptors. I am thinking that might be the best way to go, cause then I have whiffle tree ends. I was just afraid that they might "rip" the traces out the end, but seeing them in the trace, they really aren't that much different than a trace hook would be.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

It really depends on what you are going to hitch the ponies to. In a finer carriage or cart, it's probably not so kosher to have chains clinking, and for me, I prefer the quiet.

But if your vehicle is more work or farm oriented (or even the delivery/commercial type) the chains would be cute.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Judging from the past discussions we've had about these topics, I'm pretty sure the OP is driving the ponies around the home place for fun and work and isn't going to be driving in polite society, so the aesthetics aren't really a big issue.

The main thing about the traces on your breastcollar harness, minister_man, is that breastcollars aren't meant to hook to something low because it kinks the traces, puts strain on the top neck strap, or cuts into the windpipe. So keep the singletree at hock-height or higher.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

I've used the trace adapters with my drafts on slot-end traces and haven't seen any evidence that the leather trace is being damaged. I think your little guys will do just fine if you opt for the adapters.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

You taper the end of the tree and put a little round hole in it. Then you slide the hole at the end of the tug over the tree and put a big "Cotter pin" thing into the hole. I don't know what they are called. A little metal post that has a ring on one end that folds up and down. They are very common and easy to find.


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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

I am not doing a lot of "fancy driving"........ I contacted the Canadian supplier of the trace adaptors, and they said that they will not work with miniature traces. The hooks are too wide to go through the small slots in the traces. Then I found this picture of a whiffle tree that is listed as for both slotted traces, and marathon traces. 

I looked and looked at the hook and thought it looked familiar, then I realized that it is simply a chain repair link. I can buy those, I just have to attach them to the whiffle tree. sound good?


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

That's what we here call a "cold shut". Thing with them is that they bend easily. They are made to bend closed, but they also will bend open.

I think I'd order one of those tug converters and try it. I don't see why the holes in the traces shouldn't be the same on a mini as on a full sized horse harness. Maybe those with mini harnesses can chime in here?


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

The angle of leverage that the trace will exert on the cold-shut won't bend it open, I don't think, since it will be *AT* the bend and not out on the arm. And I did notice that the slots on the set of pony traces were a bit too small for the trace adapters I have. I wouldn't be surprised if the miniature ones were the same or even smaller.

Yeah, if you've a welder, you could make some steel singletrees and weld the cold-shuts on the ends.


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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

I found another possibility. The older style race carts, without the quick hitch, used short tugs to the saddle. They had traces with the slots in them. The fittings for the shafts looked like the ones in this link.

http://www.bigdweb.com/Tug-Button-Jog-Cart-With-Hardware/productinfo/465/#

I could bolt them to a piece of hard wood, at least for light training.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Was that designed to be mounted on the shaft of the jog cart? Or a perpendicular piece like the crossbrace or the singletree?

If you attached it to the singletree, it give the trace a quarter-turn twist but that probably wouldn't present a problem. If you found that the trace wasn't staying securely on that bit of hardware, you could drill a hole in it and put in a cotter pin. 

If you're using these on a drop-pole with a neck yoke, make sure to fasten your neck yoke securely to the end of the pole. Many people just impale the neck yoke ring with the pole and then tighten their traces at the heel chains. But if a trace comes loose from the evener, it can allow the horses to pull the neck yoke off the end of the wagon pole! This will allow the pole to drop to the ground. If the horses are in motion, the end of the pole will usually stab into the ground and can result in a monsterous wreck. I always use a safety chain to affix my neck yoke to the wagon pole/tongue.

That bit of hardware that you linked to doesn't inspire a great deal of trust in me. Looks too easy for the trace to come off unless you install it so the metal tab is perpendicular to the slot in the trace.


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## minister man (Jan 14, 2007)

The piece of hardware goes up and down, then you twist the trace 90 degrees, so the slot is going up and down, slide it over and let it go, so the slot is 90 degrees to the trace holder.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Looks like it is designed to be installed on a shaft, then, and not the singletree. Always use a singletree with a breastcollar harness. Always.


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