It's not just to make it sparkle and shine although that is superb to see.
The Harness is Joe's only physical control over the horses, he will be giving them their minute by minute instructions by word of mouth of course, but he needs the harness as back up.
Also of course, the harness is the means for the horses to be able to pull and stop the vehicle they are working with.
If the vehicle like the London Brewery dray, weighs several tons with its full load, then the harness is going to be under huge strain as they climb or descend hills.
The harness transmits the full power of the horses and their braking effort too!
The harness is made of the best possible English leather and is hand made. The composition is made up of layers of hand stitched leather, cut and shaped to fit the size and type of horse...perfectly! It costs many thousands of pounds and will have the badges and designs of the Brewery attached in prominent places too. The collars are made for each individual horse; they are filled with soft rye straw and covered in soft English wool cloth, so that their fit is perfect and will not cause any problems for the horse during his day's work.
So Joe will not only clean the harness every day to remove the sweat and dirt but he will totally dismantle it, piece by piece to ensure that the bits that wear are free from damage and will not break under strain. It will take him several hours to dismantle clean polish and reassemble each set of harness with its many buckles and brass fittings! Every day!
Another info... post from Keith and Cracker!
