Pole strap

Pole strap

A part of a Harness that consisted of a leather strap with a loop on one end. When an implement with a Tongue was being pulled, the Neck yoke went through the loop. The other end of the strap went between the horse’s front legs and was connected to the Breeching by other straps. With this arrangement, the horses could pull back on the implement and either apply braking or cause the implement to back up. Sometimes, the pole strap was extended up to the Bridle so that the combination could function as both a pole strap and a martingale. Such combinations were sometimes called neck yoke martingales.