††††Some forms of harness date back to at least 4500 BC. The Chinese were ahead of the West when it came to their design. Around 300 BC they invented a harness which put pressure on an animal's chest rather than its neck.
Two hundred years later they developed the collar harness. These types of harness were not used in the West for thousands of years. The introduction of the padded shoulder collar in the Middle Ages enabled animals to pull heavier loads more quickly and for longer distances.
