​Santa, you're doomed!
(a brief study of dysfunctional reindeer harness, click here)

Every year, starting about now, we are besieged by endless depictions of Santa and his team. Five minutes with Mr Google will show you how to draw a harness that works. 99.99% of commercial artists have never heard of Mr Google. Here's a look at harness: equine, dog, goat, and yes, reindeer, and how it works.

For all of you artists, beginner or advanced:

1. Mr Google is your friend.
2. "It's just a cartoon... for kids..." does not fly. Literally. That sleigh is dropping out of the sky. Especially with fantasy, you need to study known, familiar reality first. This roots your story or film or art is something familiar, so the fantastic elements are more believable and functional. Kids deserve the best art and stories we have to offer. Look at what Pixar does! Look at what Disney did with Sven in Frozen!!! 
   
3. People like me who have actually driven goats, ponies and dogs, will send the Harness Making Elves to smite you with a whiffletree. (or put you on a sled pulled by someone in your harness).
   
4.  Some harnesses are complex, and you may be able to simplify. BUT you need to understand how it works before you can stylize. You need to know what you can exaggerate, minimize, or leave out, as with any cartoon. 
   

Here's the most basic basics:

• The bridle: at minimum needs a noseband and a crownpiece (to keep the noseband from falling off). A bit may be suspended from the headstall (which includes the crownpiece and the side or cheek pieces). Reindeer don't use bits because of the structure of their mouths and teeth (traditional bridles are often just a few straps around the tops of their heads, not the nose). Goats can use bits but not jointed ones as their palates are low. Horses have a space with no teeth where the bit fits. With dogs, you use voice commands only. You can also use voice commands (gee, haw and whoa) for horses, goats and probably reindeer.
• Reins control the head of the draft animal. They tend to follow their noses. Reins usually run through rings on the surcingle/girth because you don't want them low or trailing on the ground.
• Breastplate, breastcollar, or breastband (or collar in heavy harness) is what the animal actually pulls on.
• Traces (or a gangline with dogs) connect the harnessed animal to the vehicle.

There are other lines, straps, poles sticks and various things used in different kinds of harness for different kinds of pulling. Breeching goes around the butt, and is used in carts with shafts (poles on each side of the animal) or wagons with a tongue (pole in between two animals). Breeching is brakes. Dog rigs have no shafts, no breeching, but YOU step on the brake on the rig. You can find examples on Mr Google. Goat harness is like horse harness.

Traditional reindeer harness uses the same basic elements of horse harness: a breast collar/band/plate attached to a surcingle with traces connecting it to the sled. There is a jerk line or single rein attached to an odd bridle that does not go over the lower part of the nose, only the top of the head. While horses work with their heads held vertically and noses tucked in, reindeer run with heads low and outstretched, often with mouths open. Reindeer bridles make room for antlers of course! Even female reindeer have antlers.

Dog harness is different from horse, goat or reindeer. While harnesses from the 19th and early 20th centuries featured padded and bulky horse collars, and often traces (two lines, one on either side of the team) Native mushers and modern mushers use a webbing that slips over the dog with no adjustments or buckles. One gangline runs down the center of the team.