Hints on Driving Horses (Harness, Carriage, Etc). Captain C. Morley Knight

This advice appears almost superfluous, but the reader will find that to drive, even fairly broken horses, collectedly round sharp turns requires great care and precaution.

      Starting a jibber.

      In conclusion, it is worth pointing out, that a horse which is inclined to jib, may often be started either by turning him to one side with the rein, or if this fails, by getting some one to push him over. The reason is that he is thus made to move before the pull comes on his shoulders.

      FIG. 5.—SHORTENING REINS BY SLIDING LEFT HAND UP TO RIGHT.

      Fit of gloves.

      The fit of the gloves may seem a very trivial matter to the uninitiated, but it is not considered such by the expert coachman.

      Any one attempting to drive with tight “masher” gloves will find his hand cramped in a very short time. All his power is taken up in trying to keep his hand shut and wrestling with his gloves, and not as it should be in holding the reins tight.

      It is difficult in fact to have them too large.

      They should be made of dogskin, and when new, at least one inch longer than the fingers, and rather larger, also very loose indeed across the palm of the hand and wrist. They will very soon shrink down and become the right size, after the hand has got damp in them once or twice.

      It is a good plan to punch a few round holes in the back of the gloves to keep the hand cool.

      The leather should be hard and tough, but not too thick. Strapping inside is apt to make gloves clumsy and very awkward for driving, especially with four reins.

      Woollen gloves.

      Woollen gloves should always be carried, as they are the most comfortable in wet weather, and the reins do not slip through them.

      Carriage rags.

      Never drive without a rug or apron of some kind. A light cloth or cotton one may be used in summer, but for the winter it is far better to have a thick one of box cloth warmly lined. When choosing an apron, remember to get one with a V-shaped piece let in at the top; this adds greatly to one’s comfort if there are two people in the cart, as it allows of the sides being tucked under, and thus keeps out both cold and wet very much better than one without the V let into it.

      Hints on building dog-cart.

      A dog-cart is the handiest of two-wheeled carts for all-round purposes, and therefore the one in most general use; so that a few hints on the selection or building of such a vehicle may be of use to those who have not had much practical experience in that line. At the same time I would strongly recommend that when buying a carriage of any kind professional advice should, if possible, be obtained, since no one without experience can possibly find out faulty workmanship or detect defects in the material.

      The following would be built for horses about 15.2 in height:—

      Height of wheels.

      The wheels should be fairly high, say about five feet, as this enables the horse to pull the cart over any small obstruction with greater ease than with low wheels.

      Track of wheels.

      The track should be from five to five feet three inches wide. This gives plenty of room insi e, and makes the cart less likely to upset.

      Bent shafts.

      Bent shafts are the most convenient for driving horses of different heights, and should be pivoted on the front part of the cart and adjustable behind. A cart so constructed will easily admit of horses from 14.2 to 16 hands being driven in the same vehicle.

      FIG. 6.—DOG-CART.

      Body of cart should be wide and low.

      The body should be as wide as possible, because nothing is more uncomfortable than being cramped on a narrow seat. It also ought to be low on the axle, thus rendering the cart far more safe and also more comfortable.

      A fixed body is better than one that moves backwards and forwards on the shafts, because it always remains the same distance from the horse, and enables the cart to be built lighter.

      Seat of cart.

      Heath’s patent seat the best.

      The seat should be low enough to prevent the driver from feeling he is in want of a footstool or that he is half standing, and should slide in a groove out of which it cannot come if the horse falls down. Many men have been thrown out and had bad accidents simply because of the seat coming away. It is moreover more comfortable if slightly below the top of the sides of the cart. The back and front seats should be so arranged that the cart will balance equally well with one person or four—a result which can be arrived at by having the seats to slide backwards and forwards when more than two people are in the cart. I consider Heath’s patent the best for this purpose; it is very light and effective.

      Adjustable foot-rest necessary.

      Bar foot-rest dangerous.

      Position of lamps.

      If the seat is a sliding one, the driver must have an adjustable foot-rest, and this can easily be managed by having about half-a-dozen pairs of holes in the floor of the cart for the foot-rest to fit into. It should be a plain board covered with indiarubber to prevent the feet slipping, and tilted at an incline which will keep the feet at right angles to the legs. A bar foot-rest is most dangerous, as the feet may be easily caught under it in getting out of the cart. The lamps should be fixed between the wheels and the sides of the cart, care being taken that there is plenty of room for them, so that should they get bent by any accident they will not interfere with the wheels. This position is much the best for tandem driving; in any other position they are continually catching the lash of the whip, and are consequently a perpetual source of annoyance.

      Best trace attachment.

      The best system of draught for a dog-cart is that in which the traces are attached to a swingle-tree, from the centre of which two chains pass down to loops fixed to the axle close to the inside of the wheels.

      Swingle-tree.

      The swingle-tree is held up by two straps which pass through metal loops in the front part of the cart. These straps should be pretty strong; were they to break, the bar would fall on the horse’s hocks and cause an accident.

      Chains on swingle-tree not to be too long.

      Be careful that the chains are not too long, and that the pull is really on them, and not as is frequently the case entirely on the straps. In the latter case of course the swingle-tree ceases to be of any use.

      Advantages of swingle-tree attachment.

      The swingle-tree attachment enables the horse to pull directly from the axle-tree by means of the chains, and in this way the best line of draught is obtained; moreover a certain amount of play is given to the horses’ shoulders and the chance of their galling is less than with the ordinary method.

      FIG. 7.—DOUBLE HARNESS ON HORSE.

      CHAPTER III.

      DRIVING—DOUBLE HARNESS.

      TO drive a pair well, that is, to be able to put-to and drive any two horses, is not such an easy thing as at first sight it may appear to the uninitiated. To drive a pair of good goers thoroughly accustomed to their work, and harnessed up in the right manner, is such a very simple matter that the merest tyro ought to be able to compete with it, with fair success. But when he has two entirely different and unknown animals to take in hand, it is quite another question.

      Belly-bands.