BITS AND BEARING REINS
In the illustration on the opposite page are shown the various types of
driving bits, and I shall not attempt to describe them in detail any
more than I did with respect to the riding bits. They are fully treated
in many of the standard works on the subject and a detailed description
of them would not belong in this book.
For single horse driving either the Liverpool or Ashleigh is correct for
all occasions, except for the show ring and park driving with ladies’
traps, such as the George IV or Peters’ phaeton, where the Buxton is the
correct bit for single horses as well as pairs, and except also for gigs
where a gig bit is correct. Gig bits, however, should not be used with
other traps than gigs. For pair horse driving the Buxton is correct for
the show ring and park driving and may be used for informal occasions,
though personally I think it rather poor form for country driving with
any kind of trap. The Buxton, however, not having a hole to correspond
with the “half cheek” of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, is, unless you use
the “full cheek,” rather a severe bit for any but a skilled driver with
light hands. For pair driving a pivoted bit should always be used. The
Liverpool is not so suitable for pair driving as the Ashleigh or other
elbow bits, because even when the bars are pivoted they do not turn
freely, so that the two inside bars are usually pulling at an angle on
the bit, and do not give an even pull on the horses’ mouths.
[Illustration: BITS
1. Coaching
2. Buxton
3. Ashleigh
4. Liverpool]
If your horse has a very light mouth, and you have not acquired very
light hands, it may be better to drive with the reins in the full cheek.
If, however, you have acquired light hands, the reins had better be in
the half cheek of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, or in the middle bar of the
Buxton, as this gives much more control and “feel” of the horse’s
mouth. In fact, no competent whip with light hands, particularly no
woman, will want to drive a horse, however light his mouth, in the full
cheek. If your horse’s mouth is rather hard and there is danger of his
running away, it is better to have the reins in the first hole of the
bar of the Liverpool or Ashleigh, but if you drive him this way you must
keep a very light hand, as it makes the pressure of the curb chain too
severe, and you may make his mouth hard by a constant pressure of chain.
If you are unfortunate enough to have to drive a puller, it will
probably be necessary to put the reins in the second hole of the bar,
and even to twist the curb chain, and to use a special form of bit with
a long port or other device intended to stop a pulling horse. No woman,
however, should have a pulling horse in her stable.
In pair driving the bitting is most important. It is the rarest thing in
the world to find two horses who are not only well matched in appearance
but have the same dispositions and require the same bitting. In fact,
there is an old saying, “There is always one to a pair.” By correct
bitting and a proper adjustment of the coupling reins the differences in
the dispositions of the two horses can be equalized, and they can be
made to go well together. This is a point which is very frequently
neglected by inexperienced drivers, and few coachmen really understand
it, so that you must learn it yourself and see that your coachman has
your horses properly bitted and coupled.
The general principle, of course, is that the slow horse of the pair
should have the reins in the cheek or half cheek, while the fast horse
should have them in the half cheek, or the first, or even the second,
hole in the bar, and it may be found necessary to put a severe bit on
the fast horse and a plain bit on the slow one. Similarly, if one horse
has a light mouth and the other a hard one, the bits and the coupling
reins must be regulated and the curb chains adjusted accordingly. It is
impossible to lay down any fixed rules to follow. It is all a matter of
experiment with the particular pair of horses that you are driving.
Of equal importance with the proper adjustment of the bits and of the
reins in the cheek or bar is the adjustment of the coupling reins. These
are the two shorter inside reins by which the near horse is coupled with
the off rein and the off horse with the near rein. The coupling reins
should be so adjusted that the pressure on the reins of each horse will
be the same; that is, the off horse should have the same pressure from
the off rein as he has from the near coupling rein, and the near horse
should have the same pressure from the near rein as from the off
coupling rein.
If it happens that the two horses go absolutely together and have the
same mouths and the same dispositions, which, as I have said, is almost
never the case, then the coupling reins will be buckled in the same hole
on each rein. If the two horses have different mouths or different
dispositions, the buckles will have to be shifted accordingly. That is,
for instance, if the near horse has more life or a harder mouth, the off
coupling rein must be taken up so that there will be more pressure on
him than on the off horse. The coupling reins are also adjusted for the
purpose of bringing the two horses nearer together, and for keeping
their heads together or apart as may be necessary.
The two horses of a pair should have their bodies and heads straight and
parallel to the pole, but it will be found that some horses are inclined
to carry their heads to one side or the other, and the coupling reins
should be taken up or loosened accordingly. For example, if the near
horse carries his head to the near side, the off coupling rein must be
taken up, which compels him to straighten his head.
If you have two horses that seem to be perfectly matched, but the off
horse carries his head a little out to the front and has a light mouth,
and the near horse carries his head close to his chest and has a hard
mouth, to get them to pull together and keep them well in the traces the
coupling rein of the off horse should be two or three holes shorter than
that of the near, and consequently the off coupling rein will be let out
and the near coupling rein taken in, and in such case the off horse, if
he has a light mouth, should be driven in the cheek and the hard-mouthed
near horse down in the bar.
A common fault of coachmen and grooms lies in buckling both coupling
reins too tightly, which makes the horses carry their heads in toward
the pole instead of going away straight. This looks very badly, makes
the horses’ mouths hard, and either keeps the horses going diagonally or
causes them to carry their heads crooked.
If horses have acquired, through wrong coupling, the habit of turning
their heads in toward the pole, or their quarters out from it, it is
sometimes a good plan to change their positions instead of always
driving them on the same side. Then, on the other hand, horses sometimes
get into the habit of leaning in against the pole. This is a difficult
habit to break, but by changing their positions or by adjusting the bits
and the coupling reins, and steady and careful driving, this habit can
be broken.
Bearing reins are required in the appointments for ladies’ traps except
for runabouts and pony carts, and I believe generally in their use with
nearly every kind of trap, and with single horses as well as with pairs.
It is only the abuse of bearing reins, and not the use, which has led to
the outcry so generally made against them by persons ignorant of the
principles and practice of driving.
[Illustration: PROPER ADJUSTMENT OF BEARING REINS]
Bearing reins should be just tight enough to keep the horse’s head up in
its natural position. When so adjusted they prevent a horse from putting
his head down and getting the bit in his teeth; they prevent him from
putting his tongue over the bit and do a great deal toward preventing
him from kicking.
Bearing reins are particularly necessary in pair driving, for however
well matched two horses may be in general appearance, they seldom carry
their heads naturally at just the same height. In that case the horse
who naturally carries his head high should have his bearing rein quite
loose and the other quite tight, so that their heads may be at the same
height. Nothing looks worse than to see two horses in a pair carrying
their heads one low and one high. Most of the best authorities on
driving also say, and I have no doubt that it is true, that bearing
reins keep a tired horse up and make his going easy; they also keep him
from nodding.
Of course, many thoughtless grooms draw the bearing reins altogether too
tight, so as to force the horse’s head up and make him almost
ewe-necked. This naturally frets a horse, especially when he is standing
still. The bearing reins should be fastened to a bridoon and not to the
bit, as, if fastened to the bit, they raise it too high and are apt to
spoil the “feel” of the horse’s mouth.
For runabouts, at all times, bearing reins should be dispensed with, and
they may be dispensed with for informal country driving in any kind of
carriage, especially with a single horse. When bearing reins are used
they should generally be loosened if the horses are to stand for any
length of time.
The overhead check-rein should never be used, except with roadsters or
trotting horses.