CHAPTER VI. Four Horses—the Reins.

FOUR HORSES—THE REINS.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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