This harness will serve you well for years to come......

.....or so said the Ebay ad for the Smuckers Harness I purchased.  To a reasonable person, that means the harness is serviceably sound, does it not? 

Well, the harness arrived and it was not as advertised.  I hate it when that happens.  The harness was old, I expected that, but old leather doesn't mean weak leather if cared for properly.  What I did not expect and what was not disclosed was that several straps were *broken* and many more were stress cracked to the point of being quite *unsound*.  The stitching holding the backstrap together was completely undone and the blinker stays did not have wire supports.

I'm livid. 

I would not in good conscience hitch a horse to anything in this harness.  It is just. not. safe.  It is indeed a Smuckers Deluxe but one that has long since been past useful service.  To hitch would be an accident waiting to happen.  The seller is either uneducated or a liar (or both) and must think I'm stupid.  Which I'm not.  Thank goodness a novice didn't buy this and think it was ok to use!

So, I've openned a goods return request through Ebay and we'll see if they can get the seller to take it back.  If the seller won't cooperate, we'll see just how good Ebay's claims are on their buyer protection policies to get what was advertised!  I'm getting my money back, one way or another.

In the meanwhile.....

I've decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new setup.  It's just not worth the hastle to save a grand and try to find one used.  I have a few options, just enough to be totally confusing!......the Camptown Harness is really nice.  We have their Classic in miniature horse size for Rainbow and it has served us unfailingly well for over a decade.  There is also the Iowa Valley Carriage harness which seems comparable to Camptown.  Then there's Zilco, but I'm not really that into the look of the Zilco's.....oh and Smuckers has a Beta version of their Deluxe harness that I could consider....so many options!  There's the Comfy Fit, the Americana, so many to pick from, I have no idea which to choose.  Time to do some deep research.

Regardless of brand choice, we're going new, black beta, stainless hardware and easy, easy, easy maintenance, that much I DO know! :D

Good thing it's winter time and I won't really be needing it for a few more months!  I'm not even riding much now, it's been so cold.  What I have been doing is weight lifting.  Oh how I have missed my weight lifting!  Great way to stay in shape and stay inside when it's cold out.

Here's a shot of my modest little set up.  I've been back at it for about 6 weeks now.  Up to 2 set routines, three days a week.  Workin' on the "guns" is so much fun! ;)

Heheheh.  I used to be jacked.  In my 20's I'd lift 3 set routines 3 days a week with much heavier weights than I'm lifting now.  I'd be happy to get half way back to where I used to be.  I've taken the winter off from running this season.  Going out in the cold voluntarily to exercise just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

Stay tuned for updates on what happens with the badly represented Ebay Smuckers and if anyone has any suggestions to add on which beta harness might be better than the other, I'm all ears! :D