NOTES ON TANDEM AND FOUR-IN-HAND DRIVING. 557 



inside traces first. The leaders should be taken out first, 

 and the wheelers put to first. The reason for putting on 

 the outside trace first is to prevent the horse from swinging 

 around and possibly pulling the collar over his head and thus 

 becoming practically loose. The ordinary coachman and 

 stableman will ever persist out of pure ignorance in 

 putting on the wrong trace first, at the risk of being kicked 

 and at the danger of having the coach smashed, especially 

 with a "green " team. After adjusting the wheelers' traces 

 the servant should go back to the pole-chains and pull them 

 up to a proper and comfortable length. The wheelers' 

 traces and pole-chains should never be too tight, else the 

 horses cannot work in comfort, and sore shoulders and 

 withers are the result. Tight pole-chains will pull the collar 

 away from the horse's shoulders, causing him to work un- 

 comfortably and to the annoyance of the driver, who, if a 

 novice, will wonder at the cause. 



That done, couple the wheelers by putting the reins 

 either in the cheek, middle, or bottom bar, according to the 

 way each horse (of the four) is accustomed to being bitted 

 and drives best. The leaders should then be put to, the 

 traces on first, then coupled, as were the wheelers. With 

 such a team (green), or four horses who have never been 

 driven together, I have found from experience that the best 

 way to bit them is to put all in the middle bar outside and 

 cheek inside, until the driver finds out how they work, 

 their mouths, dispositions, etc., and then adjust the bitting 

 accordingly. For instance, if you find a horse light mouthed, 

 then put him cheek both sides; if a puller, put him in the 

 middle bar both sides, or bottom bar if necessary. Don't 

 own a puller if you want a comfortable drive. The inside 



