CH. XIV MOVING OFF 293 



Moving off. — There are larger opportunities for 

 awkwardness in the start than at any other time ; 

 even the most practised coachman will sometimes 

 not know, until the team straightens out whether he 

 has his reins exactly right, and for this reason a few 

 moments spent in making sure that the reins are 

 exactly where they should be, are not wasted. 



A beginner may sometimes have the following 

 experience : when he gets into his seat he has great 

 difficulty in catching his double thong, the loop will 

 run down too far on the stick, and he finds his right 

 hand full of loose thong ; after he has arranged this 

 and has pulled his reins about a good deal before 

 getting them to his liking, he nods to the men to let 

 go, probably forgetting to take off the brake. 



The leaders, which always should be quick at 

 starting, jump forward, and one of them, brought up 

 suddenly by his draught-rein's being held too short, 

 rears, or else stops while his partner rushes forward 

 to the extent of his longer rein. The wheel horses, 

 moving forward, run the point of the pole into the 

 stern of the stopping leader, with the result of 

 making him move forward again, if he does not 

 kick. If he goes on, one lead-rein being shorter 

 than the other, brings both leaders off to the side of 

 the road, so that one of them goes up on the kerb- 

 stone or on the grass ; and in his frantic endeavours 

 to get those two reins straight, the coachman lets 

 the off wheel-rein slip through his fingers and run 

 out a couple of inches, not improving the situation. 



