Riding and Driving for Women Part 12

To get out of a trap when you have no groom, first lay the whip on the seat pointing toward the back of the trap, then place the reins in the right hand, taking them up enough to feel the horse's mouth. Grasp the dash with the right hand and step out of the trap backward, with the right foot on the step, the left foot coming first to the ground; then step forward until opposite the pad and put the reins through the off terret in the position described on page 197.

When, however, a servant is in attendance, he should, as soon as you pull up, stand at the horse's head; you then simply drop the reins with the left hand so that they lie over the dash; either lay the whip, as above described, to the left of the reins pointing to the rear, or else place it in the socket; then step out of the trap, facing forward, the left foot on the step. The servant then steps into the trap on the same side on which you have stepped out.

If the horse will not stand, it is quite correct to step out forward, keeping the reins in the left hand, and then to hand them to the servant when you have reached the ground, having first laid the whip on the seat pointing to the rear.

If you are driving a phaeton with a servant on the rumble, he should jump out as you begin to pull up and run to the horse's head. If, however, your horse is very nervous and will not stand, it is quite correct to have the servant stay on the rumble, and then, after you have pulled up, to pa.s.s the reins back to him on your left side. Then place the whip in the socket and step out, facing forward.

CHAPTER XIII

FOUR-IN-HAND AND TANDEM DRIVING

As this book is limited in its scope to riding and driving for women, I shall not attempt to discuss four-in-hand and tandem driving in detail, and for a very exhaustive work on four-in-hand driving, would refer the reader to "A Manual of Coaching," by Fairman Rogers (Philadelphia, J. B.

Lippincott Co., 1900), and to "Driving for Pleasure," by Frank Underhill (D. Appleton, 1897).

One of the best short books on the technique of driving is "Hints on Driving," by Captain C. Morley-Knight, R.A. (George Bell & Sons, London, 1895). Chapter VI of that book describes in detail the method of holding and shortening the reins in four-in-hand driving, and chapter X the same problem in tandem driving. Like other English authorities, he, however, gives quite a different position for the right hand in tandem driving from that in four-in-hand driving, while the chief American writers, and nearly all the best whips of my acquaintance, advocate and use substantially the same position of the right hand in both.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A PERFECTLY APPOINTED ROAD COACH WITH POSTILION (LONDON-BRIGHTON, 1907)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: POSITION OF FOUR-IN-HAND AND TANDEM REINS IN LEFT HAND

1. Near lead rein 2. Off lead rein 3. Near wheel rein 4. Off wheel rein]

Before beginning to drive either tandem or four-in-hand, it is absolutely essential that you become proficient in handling the whip, and I would strongly advise learning to "catch a thong," by daily practice, either outside on the ground, or, better still, on the box of the coach or driving seat of the cart, of course without the horses. By so doing one can concentrate one's mind upon the thong without being distracted with the management of the reins and the movement of the horses. The best and clearest description which I have found in any work is in chapter XX of "The Private Stable," by James A. Garland (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1903), and in describing how to catch a double thong I cannot do better than to quote what he says on pages 546 and 547:

[Ill.u.s.tration: FOUR-IN-HAND HARNESS]

"Hold the whip horizontally in front of you with the end of the thong held between the handle of the whip and your fingers. Face a wall or the side of a building and with the quill end of the whip describe a letter "S" backward. Begin with the lower tail of the letter, following its form to the upper end. Don't move the arm, keep the elbow easily by the side, and direct the movement of the whip by turning the wrist. Continue to increase the speed until the thong falls in place. At first a short downward movement at the end will facilitate the accomplishment of this somewhat difficult feat.

"Another method is to catch the thong over the head instead of in front or to the side. This is done virtually by the same movement, the imaginary letter "S" being horizontally overhead instead of vertically in front or to one side.

"Still another method involves a new movement. Hold the whip with the right hand against the waist and the quill end well around to the left and on a line with the top of the head. Carry the stick at this angle around to the right until in a line with the right shoulder. In so doing raise the right hand gradually. Now drop the quill end of the whip until it is on a line with the handle. This last movement should be executed quickly so that the end of the stick strikes the thong on the right-hand side of the stick.

"When the thong is caught, it is wound around the stick in opposite directions. The lower end should be unwound with the right hand, the whip being held between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand.

The end of the thong should be rewound in the same direction as the upper part and held in place by the right hand. The loop should be about two feet and a half long and caught on the quill part of the stick."

Not until you are proficient enough to catch the thong with certainty should you attempt to drive either four-in-hand or tandem, and you will find, the moment that you take the reins in your hands and start to drive, that it will be far more difficult to catch the thong than when you could give it your undivided attention. Moreover, it is vastly more difficult to catch the thong in a wind, or under trees or other obstacles, than when learning in the stable, and constant practice is required to keep one's hand in.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINDING LASH AFTER CATCHING THONG

1. Near lead rein 2. Off lead rein 3. Near wheel rein 4. Off wheel rein]

I shall not attempt to describe how the horses should be put to a coach or a tandem, for to do so would be to go far beyond the scope of this book, so I shall a.s.sume that the coach or cart, as the case may be, is correctly appointed and the horses properly put to.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photograph by the National News a.s.sociation_

MEASURING THE REINS

Note correct tailor costume]

To quote further from Mr. Garland's work:

"In taking up the reins stand about two feet from the pad of the off wheeler. Remove the reins from the pad terret or trace tug and allow them to fall to the ground.

"First take up the near lead rein with the left hand, placing the little, second, and middle fingers under the rein. Drop the left hand to the side, allowing the reins to slip through the fingers.

Tighten the fingers over the rein at this point. Now raise the left hand and place the little and second fingers under the off lead rein. Drop the hand to the side as before. The parts where the reins are joined should hang evenly in front of the left hand. The reins may be adjusted by taking the rein that is to be drawn out between the middle and index fingers of the right hand. The reins should now be transferred into the right hand, separated by the middle finger.

"Take up the wheel reins in the left hand, separating them with the middle finger, the near wheel rein on top. Drop the left hand to the side as described in the preceding paragraph. Now raise the hand and adjust the reins, with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, so that the buckles on the wheel reins hang evenly.

"Pa.s.s the lead reins into the left hand, the near rein over the index finger and the off lead rein under the index finger and on top of the near wheel rein.

"When taking up the reins, draw each in turn gently through the terrets, tight enough merely to 'feel' the bit without causing the horse to flex his neck or make any backward movement.

"Step back to the wheelers' hocks, and, keeping the left hand against the body, take the reins with the right hand in the same order as they are in the left hand. With the right hand close in front of the left one, draw the reins through the fingers of the left hand as far as the right arm can be extended, and then remove the right hand.

"As soon as this is done, take the whip in the right hand from the foot-board (if a tandem), or from the backs of the wheelers (if a four-in-hand), and transfer the reins into the right hand in the same order as they were held in the left hand. The reins are now to one side and out of your way in mounting.

"Place your left foot on the hub, your right on the roller-bolt, then the left foot on the body step, and the right one on the foot-board. Take your seat as soon as possible and transfer the reins back into the left hand in the original order."

A reference to the accompanying sketches on pages 219 and 222 will show the positions of the hands and reins quite clearly.

The correct position of the feet, legs, body, arms, and hands are the same as already described on page 198 in the notes on driving a single horse or a pair.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LADY'S FOUR-IN-HAND

Note correct position of reins and hands]

To start a four-in-hand, the horses should, before starting, be well up in their collars, so that the traces are taut. The leaders' reins should be shortened by grasping them in the right hand, separated by the middle finger, about a foot in front of the left hand and replacing them in the left by carrying the right hand behind the left. Take off the brake as quietly as possible, then advance the right hand, put the little and second fingers over the two off reins with the middle and index fingers so placed over the two near reins that the latter may be grasped. When you are sure that the four horses are feeling the bit and they are well together, drop and advance the hands, and at the same time give the horses a signal; at the same moment the grooms let go their heads, and the horses should all start together. Once the horses are in motion together, bring the left hand up into its position near the centre of the waist, and, removing the right hand from the reins, hold it slightly in advance of the left. To quote again from Mr. Garland:

"To shorten or lengthen the lead reins, place the middle finger of the right hand between the lead reins directly or at some little distance in front of the left hand, depending upon how much the lead reins are to be taken up or lengthened. If you wish to lengthen them, tighten the fingers of the right hand and draw the reins out to the desired distance. Should you wish to shorten the lead reins, take them out of the left hand, and in putting them back bring the left hand behind the right one. Do not advance the left hand.

"To lengthen or shorten the wheel reins, place the right hand under the lead reins and grasp the wheel reins in the same manner as described for taking up the lead reins. The wheel reins can now be either pushed back or drawn through the fingers of the left hand.

"TO STRAIGHTEN THE TEAM

"Should the leaders work over to the right of the wheelers, grasp the two reins, which are between the second and middle fingers of the left hand, between the middle and index fingers of the right hand. Draw these reins (the off lead and the near wheel) out a little, and it will be seen that it has the effect of bringing the team into line. Should the leaders work over to the left of the wheelers, instead of drawing the centre reins out, work them a little further back through the fingers of the left hand.

"STOPPING

"When it is desired to stop the team, raise the left hand, and, placing the right hand over the reins, twelve inches in front of the left hand, as described in a preceding paragraph, press the reins in toward the body with the right hand.

"TURNING