Confused about Trace attachments

[Poppy and Harmony]

The harness I have has crewholes to attach to the swingletree, but surely just sliding them onto it would allow them to come off?!
Also, I'd like to get quickrelease shackles for it but don't understand how I can attach them onto the traces. Or do I need different ones to fit onto crewholes?

I hope this made sense, help please! :)

[Sil]

What are the hooks on your swingle tree like, are they pig tail ones that curl round? If so they should be fine with the traces, if a crew hole is what I'm thinking of, is it like a thin rectangular hole? If not, what's it like?

As for using that type of swingle tree with quick release shackles, I'm not sure you can, you'd need a swingle tree with closed loops, like on a marathon carriage, then the shackles could stay on the swingle tree, then when putting the horse to, you would just clip the open end of the shackles onto the traces, through the crew holes and then to release just pull the pin so the traces come off but the shackles stay with the cart, that's how do it anyway.

Sorry it's long, just hard to describe without seeing it.

[Poppy and Harmony]

Yeh the crewholes are like rectangular holes in the end of traces.
I think the swingle tree has the curly hooks (we havn't got the cart yet, bought it yesterday) That puts my mind at rest though, thankyou Sil!

[Sil]

No problem, I just wasn't sure what crew holes were. They'll be fine with the curly hooks and a new swingle tree with closed holes doesn't cost much, if you do decide to get the quick release shackles.