66 DRIVING. 



in-hand, unicorns, or tandems, insert the fourth finger 

 of the whip-hand between the lead and wheel reins 

 on the side you want to pull, to turn or direct your 

 horses. 



With four-in-hand the general principle is, while 

 allowing only a certain amount of play to the heads of 

 your leaders, to keep your wheelers well in hand, ready 

 for any sudden emergency, bearing in mind that it is 

 only with them, as they are attached to the pole, that 

 you can stop the carriage. 



A driver having occasion to raise his right hand for 

 any purpose, should first place the whip transversely 

 under the thumb of the left or rein hand (above, but 

 upon, one of the reins), leaving the other hand at 

 liberty; indeed, the whip should always lie in this 

 transverse position, whether in the right or the left 

 hand, unless when in use for correction. Many horses 

 are very clever at watching the whip over the blinkers, 

 and careless pointing forward with it may keep a high- 

 spirited animal in a continual fret. 



To ascertain how each horse is doing his work, judge 

 not only by the test of the willing horse bearing more 

 on your hand ; see also how each horse keeps his 

 traces. In whichever case they are slack, you may 

 depend that that horse has no draught upon him ; if 

 tight, he is doing his share of the work, or more. A 

 good whip will correct the defaulter so as to avoid an- 

 noying the other horse. There is no better criterion of 

 skill in the use of the whip than this. 



With the leaders in tandem and four-in-hand, and in 

 low-seated carriages, unless the dash-board be very high, 

 the reins are apt to get under the horses' tails. In such 

 cases, to avoid a kicking match, no immediate attempt 



