Mandy, Being a horse enthusiast myself here is what I would suggest.

I would contact the International Horse Museum at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Most likely they have harnesses in their collections and have handled proper
storage, care, and preservation issues.  Below is their contact information:

Kentucky Horse Park
International Museum of the Horse
4089 Iron Works Parkway
Lexington, Kentucky 40511
Phone (859) 233-4303, Toll Free (800) 678-8813
Fax (859) 254-0253

Also according to the Carriage Association of America (www.caaonline.com),
Wyoming has several other museums that have carriages and harnesses in their
collections.  Perhaps they could be of assistance as well.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center
2 carriages, 2 chuck wagons, passenger wagons, sheepwagon, roundup or
freight wagon, mail coach, 2 light coaches, yellowstone excursion coach,
plow, dredge, driving harness, draft harness, coach harness, hames, bells,
whips, jacks, grease buckets, chain brakes
720 Sheridan Avenue
Box 1000
Cody, WY 82414
Phone: 307-587-4771

Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
132 horse-drawn vehicles
4610 N. Carey Ave
P.O. Box 2720
Cheyenne, WY 82003
Phone: 307-778-7290
Fax: 307-778-7288
Website: www.oldwestmuseum.org
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]

Trail Town Museum of the Old West
sleighs, caissons, spring wagons, ice wagons
1831 DeMaris Drive
Cody, WY 82414

I hope this helps.  Let us know what you discover!

Carrie Hoover

On 5/23/06 12:58 PM, "Mandy Langfald" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> We have a number of horse harnesses, reins and other such tack that has
> been stored for decades in large crates. We are currently trying to
> figure out a proper storage method to use for them. They are to large to
> go in boxes and while most of them are still pliable some are suck in
> odd shapes after being thrown in boxes for years. We were thinking of
> making some kind of hanging device to hang them on but we really have no
> idea the best way to go about this. These things are long, big and
> heavy. How do the rest of you store your large tack? Any ideas,
> suggestions, or warnings are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks for the help.
> 
> 
> Mandy Langfald
> Curator of Collection
> Wyoming State Museum
> 307-777-7033
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
> 
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/
> . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
> one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
> 
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).
> 
> 

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).