FOUR HORSES—THE REINS.
[Sidenote: How to hold reins.] THE best way of holding the reins is to
have the near lead over the left forefinger, the off lead between the
forefinger and the middle finger, the near wheel between the same and
under the off lead, and the off wheel between the middle and the third
finger (fig. 17) [Sidenote: Thumb and forefinger must not hold the
reins.] . The reins must be gripped firmly by the three lower fingers of
the left hand, so that they cannot possibly slip, the thumb and
forefinger never being used to hold the reins except when looping. The
thumb should invariably point to the right, and the forefinger be held
well out. The near lead rein should pass over or close to the knuckle of
the forefinger, and not over the first or second joint. The beginner
will find that after a time the muscle at the base of the left thumb
will develop wonderfully, and that the reins will be held between this
muscle and the lower fingers very firmly without any apparent effort.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.—FOUR-IN-HAND—HOW TO HOLD REINS.]
[Sidenote: Adjusting length of reins in hand.] There are various ways of
adjusting the reins, either by pulling them out or pushing them back
from the front, or by pulling them from behind, or by taking out the
lead reins.
[Sidenote: Shortening reins.] One general principle as to shortening the
reins is to do it by putting the right hand in front of the left, and
pushing those required to be shortened through the left hand. In doing
this the thumb should never be used, as it is fully occupied in holding
the whip. But the beginner will very often find it easier to shorten the
reins from behind by pulling them through the left hand. In this case
the thumb and forefinger must be used. I consider the following the
easiest and most effective ways of adjusting the reins, viz.:—
[Sidenote: To shorten all four reins.] All four reins can be shortened,
if much is required, by pulling them through from behind, but it is
generally quicker and neater to hold the reins with right hand two or
three inches in front of left (the little and the third fingers over the
off-side reins and middle finger between the near-side reins), and then
slide the left hand up to the right. By this means a perfectly steady
pressure is kept on the horses’ mouths. This movement is generally
required when going down hill.
[Sidenote: To shorten both wheel reins.] _Both wheel reins._—It is
better to shorten these by pulling them through from behind. This is
necessary when going down steep hills, especially when the wheelers are
loosely poled up, so as to prevent the bars hitting the leaders’ hocks.
[Sidenote: To shorten both lead reins.] _Both lead reins._—In order to
shorten these take out both the leaders with the right hand (the third
and little fingers over off, and first or middle finger over near-side
rein); you can then pass them back to your left hand the required length
by letting them slide through the right hand the necessary amount. To
lengthen them, simply pull them through from the front.
[Sidenote: Shortening near-lead rein.] _The near lead._—Either push
through from the front, with the full of the right hand over the rein,
or take it right out of the left hand the same way and replace it the
proper length.
[Sidenote: Shortening off lead rein.] _The off lead._—Push through from
the front.
[Sidenote: Shortening near wheel.] _The near wheel._—This rein will be
found the most difficult of all to keep in its right place and to
shorten. It constantly slips when the horses pull, and for beginners it
is certainly the best plan to pull it through from behind. It can also
be done by lengthening out the off-lead rein from the front, and then
pushing both reins back together.
[Sidenote: Shortening off wheel.] _The off wheel._—Push it through from
the front with the right hand.
[Sidenote: Shortening centre reins.] _T he two centre reins._—Always
adjust them from the front. If the leaders are not straight in front of
you, which will be found a very common occurrence, but are running to
the right, they will generally come straight by pulling the two centre
reins through the left hand from the front, so as to lengthen them a
little; on the contrary, if the leaders are running to the left, push
these two reins back so as to shorten them.
If, however, they are going to the right or left simply because you are
holding the off or the near-lead rein too short, let out this rein only,
just enough to bring the leaders square.
[Sidenote: Passing off across road.] The following are probably the
easiest and most effective methods of passing off across the road, or of
turning to the right or left:—
1. _To the left._—Turn the left-hand knuckles upwards, and pass it
across the body from left to right; the horses will incline to the left,
the reins on that side being shortened.
_To the right._—Pass the left hand down towards the left hip, back of
the hand to the front, with the knuckle of the forefinger downwards and
that of the little finger uppermost; this shortens the right-hand reins
and causes the team to incline in that direction. The whip can be
applied to the off wheeler in the first instance, or the near one in the
second, in front of the pad, if the horses do not cross rapidly enough.
2. _To the left._—With the right hand seize the near-lead and wheel
reins under the lower fingers; then either pull those reins up towards
the centre of the body, which will shorten them, or allow the left hand
to go slightly to the front, which will slack off the right reins, or
better still, combine both these motions, the result being the same in
each case, that the team will go to the left. _To the right._—Take hold
of the off-lead and wheel reins with the lower fingers of the right
hand, and treat them in the same way as described for the left reins,
when the team will go to the right.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.—STEADYING TEAM WITH RIGHT HAND.]
The latter of the two methods is by far the best and the one most
usually employed, the other only being possible with very perfectly
broken teams, as obviously only very little pressure can be put on.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.—HOW LOOP SHOULD BE TAKEN UP.]
[Sidenote: To steady the team.] In order to steady the horses or to ease
the left hand, the right hand may be placed in front of the other over
all the four reins (fig. 18), but it is generally preferable to have the
hand on only three reins for steadying purposes, the third and little
fingers being over the off reins and the upper fingers over only one of
the near reins.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.—LOOPING NEAR-LEAD REIN UNDER THUMB.]
[Sidenote: The point or loop.] It will now be necessary to explain the
term “point” or “loop.” The point is made by taking hold of either the
near or the off-lead reins under the little and third fingers of the
right hand (not with the forefinger and thumb), and placing it six
inches or more (according to the inclination of the turn), [Sidenote:
Loop under thumb.] in advance of the left, and then bringing it back so
as to form a loop under the left thumb (figs. 20, 21), which must press
the rein firmly down on the forefinger. As a rule never move the left
hand forward while doing this. The off-lead rein can also be looped
under the first finger in turning to the right (fig. 22).
[Illustration: FIG. 21.—LOOPING OFF-LEAD REIN UNDER THUMB.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.—LOOPING OFF-LEAD REIN UNDER FIRST FINGER.]
Turning to either side can be done as follows: By pointing the near
leader to turn to the left (fig. 20), or the off leader to turn to the
right (fig. 21); or, by pointing both the near-lead and the near-wheel
reins together to go to the left, and similarly both the off-side reins
together to go to the right, at the same time striking the opposite
wheeler with the whip in front of the pad after the point has been made,
if the horses are required to move in either direction very quickly; or,
by passing the near-wheel rein round the left thumb, and then looping
the off-lead under the forefinger (fig. 22), it will be found that the
horses will get more easily round a very sharp and [Sidenote: Turning an
awkward corner.] awkward corner to the right, especially going down
hill. In a like manner, by looping the off-wheel rein under the
forefinger of the left hand, and then pointing the near leader under the
thumb, any difficult turn to the left can be negotiated with perfect
safety. This method will often be found quicker and better than passing
the off-wheel rein under the thumb.
[Sidenote: Meaning of opposition point.] This looping up of the
wheeler’s rein on the opposite side to which you are about to turn may
be termed the “Opposition point.”
This device for preventing the wheelers from cutting the corners will be
found most useful with horses that have been driven a great deal in the
wheel, because they soon learn to recognize the indication given to the
leaders by the shortening of the lead rein passing along close to their
heads.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.—RIGHT HAND ON OFF-SIDE REINS TO PREVENT
WHEELERS CUTTING CORNER.]
Very often, when the wheelers are boring to one side going down hill,
and the whip is required, it is useful to loop up the wheeler’s rein on
the opposite side to which they are boring, before using the whip.
[Sidenote: Do not lean forward when looping.] Be careful, when
stretching out the right hand in order to take up the lead rein to loop
it, not to lean the body forward, as it looks very bad, and almost
invariably shows that the left hand is holding the reins too short and
is too far away from the body.
It is a common fault with beginners to stretch out the left hand when
looping, thus taking up a larger loop than would be necessary, if the
left hand had a proper hold of the horses’ heads.
The loop once made should not be allowed to slip until the turn is
completed. [Sidenote: Prevent wheelers cutting corners.] The right hand,
having once caught up the loop, and given the leaders the office which
way to turn, is then free to be used in any of the following ways: to
seize both the off-side reins, if turning to the left, to prevent the
wheelers from going too quickly round the corner (fig. 23); to assist
them, if not turning sharply enough, by catching hold of the near-side
reins; to do just the opposite if turning to the right; or finally to
use the whip on either of the wheelers, by hitting the outside one to
make them come round more quickly, or the inside one to prevent them
cutting the corner.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.—OPPOSITION POINT TO THE RIGHT.]
[Sidenote: Looping a second time, when first loop not enough.] More than
one point can be made, if a large enough loop has not been taken up at
first, but usually one point is sufficient, enough rein being taken up
the first time to complete the turn.
Sometimes at a very sharp corner two points are necessary, as you may
find that the first one is not bringing the leaders round fast enough.
[Sidenote: Opposition point to right.] The opposition point to the right
is made by putting the near-wheel rein round the left thumb, passing it
from inside from right to left, and then making the point with the
off-lead rein under the forefinger (fig. 24). When once round, first let
go the point of the leader, and then that of the near wheeler.
[Sidenote: Opposition point to left.] Conversely, the opposition point
to the left is made by putting the off-wheel rein under the forefinger
of the left hand, and then pointing the near-lead rein under the thumb
(fig. 25). In order to avoid having two reins looped up under the thumb,
it seems better to use the forefinger for one of the loops and the thumb
for the other; in this manner either loop can be let go separately.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.—OPPOSITION POINT TO THE LEFT.]
[Sidenote: Shortening reins going down hill.] It should hardly ever be
necessary to shorten the lead reins when going down hill, as the mere
fact of the wheelers coming back out of draught to hold back the coach
will make you shorten up the reins enough to bring the leaders out of
draught at the same time. If anything, it will be found necessary to
shorten the wheel reins, more especially if the hill is very steep and
the wheelers are loosely poled up.
[Sidenote: Leaders out of draught going down hill.] Going down hill the
leaders should just carry the bars, and nothing more. They should not
put any strain at all on the pole, for by doing so they obviously tend
to counteract the efforts of the wheelers to keep back the coach. In
order to carry the bars the traces should be slack, but not slack enough
to let the whole weight of the bars weigh down on the pole, which would
put so much extra weight on the wheelers’ necks.
[Sidenote: Leaders must not pull on pole when turning.] Be careful that
the leaders are not straining on the pole when turning a corner, as
otherwise the wheelers will inevitably be pulled sharply across on to
the pavement or footpath, and the pole may be broken.
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