Body Straps

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New England strap
"Sunday" strap
Graduated strap
Pony-bell strap
Open-mouth bell strap
Combination designs
Construction
Fitting a body strap

The sight and sound of a strap of "sleigh bells" buckled around the middle of a trotting horse is a classic holiday theme.

This type of bell strap -- more correctly called a body strap -- has been immortalized in print by Victorian-era lithographers Currier & Ives and in music by traditional holiday songs such as "Jingle Bells".

New England
The most common type of body strap is the "New England" style. This strap features one row of bells all of the same size attached to a narrow leather strap. This type of strap appears to have been especially common in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when small rivet-style bells and machine stamped bells were popular.

All-metal "Sunday" strap
A variation on the New England style is the all-metal body strap decorated with lightweight machine-stamped egg bells. Each bell was riveted to a brass base plate, and the plates were connected with metal links. A heavy fabric or thin leather strap was usually woven through the links and used to fasten the strap around the horse.

The thin brass parts in this type of strap were easily damaged. Today, they have the nickname of "Sunday" straps, because they were supposedly used only on special occasions, such as going to church.

Graduated
Almost as common as the New England strap is the graduated body strap. This style has a large bell in the middle of the strap with smaller bells symmetrically arranged in decreasing size on either side.

Graduated bell straps were usually made with petal bells or round ridge bells. The size and number of bells on graduated straps varies widely depending on the whim of the original maker and customer.

A short, separate strap is needed to secure the bell strap to the horse's harness. Otherwise the weight of the biggest bell will gradually pull it underneath the horse's belly (see photo).

Graduated bell strap. The biggest bell happens to be hanging underneath this horse -- either this was the owner's choice or he lost the small "keeper" strap that holds the big bell on top of the horse's back.

Fitting notes: (1) The bell strap length is about right -- not too tight. (2) The strap is correctly buckled around the outside of the shafts.

Photo by Bill Simcox. Ca. 1950-1960?

The graduated body strap is highly collectible today. An intact graduated body strap in excellent condition with all its original bells is rare and should rightfully command a high price.

In my opinion, however, way fewer than 1% of the body straps on the market today are in such condition. To give you an example, we have only one graduated body strap in our personal collection which I judge is in excellent shape and about three more in very good condition, out of the many graduated body straps we've purchased over the years.

You may be thinking "Hey, I've seen a fair number of graduated body straps in great shape for sale at flea markets, antique stores, and eBay. Why do you say these straps are so rare?"

I agree that a lot of old-looking graduated straps in great condition are indeed on the market, especially during the holiday season. Unfortunately, most of these straps are made from new bells, not antiques. See Fakes: Old bells that aren't, Dating Bells, and Sizing Bells.

Pony
An unusual style of body strap is the "pony" strap with two or more rows of small, closely-spaced bells. The bells we usually see on these straps are open-mouth, round ridge or petal bells.

A pony strap can be used on horses of any size -- "pony" in this case refers to the small size of the bell, not to the size of the horse.

Open mouth
Another unusual style of body strap is the type that has a row of open-mouth bells dangling underneath the horse. The part of the strap that goes over the horse's back can be plain leather, or it can have a row of crotals (sleigh bells) mounted on it, much like a New England strap.

Combination designs
A few manufacturers tried to combine a body strap and a saddle chime into one product. This combination design appears to have been marketed in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Few have survived in good condition; they appear to have been fairly fragile.

The section of the strap meant to lie on top of the horse is made of sheet metal, sometimes lined on the horse side with protective leather or felt and often covered on the outside with leather. One to three chimes are attached to this metal support. On either side of the chimes is a leather strap decorated with small bells, like a New England style strap.

The horses in this troika hitch are fairly dripping with bells, including open bells arching above and dangling in front of the center horse, chimes on the saddles and bridles, and a complicated strap of bells connecting the center horse to its mates.

Click here or on the image to see a larger version.

Detail from the cover of sheet music "Silver Sleigh Bells" by E.T. Paull, E.T. Paull Music Co., New York. © 1906.

Construction
A body strap for shank bells will consist of the main bell strap and a separate liner strap. A body strap for rivet-style bells is made of a single strap of leather on which the bells are mounted.

Most body straps have a buckle at one end and a tongue at the other, exacly like a trouser belt.

Some body straps have a buckle at each end that is meant to be used with a separate "tongue strap". We like this design for its versatility. Several inexpensive tongue straps of different lengths can be used with the same bell strap to fit different-size horses or vehicles.

Late 1800s unlined body strap made with machine-stamped rivet-style bells.

The smooth rivet on the back of the bell strap will not pull hairs or irritate the skin of the horse, so a liner is not needed.

On most lined body straps made since the mid 1800s, the bell strap and lining strap are held together with small rivets or with leather keeper loops. The rivets or keepers are usually placed between every bell or every other bell.

Keepers and rivets are also found on many older lined bell straps. In a few cases, however, the liner and bell straps are stitched or laced together. Lacing and rivets are the most durable, based on the condition of the many old straps we have seen.

Draft horse or warmblood: 8 to 10 ft.
Cob to standard horse: 7 to 9 ft.
Mini to pony: 4 to 7 ft.

For single-horse use, add another foot of length so the strap will be long enough to run outside the shafts.

You don't have to measure your horse(s) all harnessed and hitched. We can figure the correct length for your body strap if you tell us:

The distance around your horse's barrel (belly) across the lowest part of his back
...and...
for a single-horse hitch, the distance directly across the shafts of the vehicle(s) you want to use.

A team (pair) and sleigh. The bell strap runs outside the traces, not between the horse and traces.

Measure around your horse about where the bell strap lies on this horse.

Vintage photograph.