DIRECTIONS FOR DRIVING. 34' 



broken in a fast coach, as there is no time in fast work to 

 try his temper and humour him. Many horses, by being 

 put at first into quick work, get a habit of cantering, and 

 never settle to trot well afterward. 



If a coachman has got a kicking wheel-horse, he 

 should put him on the near side, as being less liable to 

 be touched by anything that may annoy him. If on the 

 off-side, throwing the reins on his back, or touching his 

 tail when getting anything out of the boot, may set him 

 on, and mischief may ensue. A kicking leader is safer 

 with a ring on the reins. Many bad accidents have 

 arisen from the want of this precaution, by a leader's 

 getting a rein under his tail. With first-rate hands, how- 

 ever, this is not so essential, as they generally have their 

 horses better in hand. In the Old School, it was most 

 useful. 



With gentlemen's horses very fresh in condition, it 

 often happens that a wheeler kicks over his trace, 

 especially in a turn, and a case is sometimes the conse- 

 quence. A light hip-strap prevents this, as, when the 

 horse rises, it takes the trace up with him. In London 

 streets this is particularly useful, for when horses are 

 turning short, or in a crowd, they are so constantly having 

 their traces slack, and therefore more easily kicked over. 

 A friend of mine — a capital coachman too — had them all 

 four down at once in London, last year, owing to this 

 manoeuvre. The hip-strap looks slow, but it is safe with 

 a rum one. 



The following directions were given me by a very 

 experienced coachman, and I thought them worth book- 



