136 DRIVING. 



driven by others. The horses that fed well and were in good 

 condition were those that had their coupling-reins nicely ad- 

 justed and were driven by a light hand, but still were kept well 

 together and shared the work equally. The horses that did 

 not do well were those that were hauled about by heavy hands 

 and did not equally share the work. The well-doing of coach- 

 horses also depends very much on the coachman's knowledge 

 of ground, and on his judgment in knowing where to make 

 play and where to steady his horses and reduce the pace. 



The beginner who wishes to excel should learn everything 

 connected with the carriage and the harness. He should learn 

 how to harness his horses and alter the harness to fit each horse ; 

 and if he has a carriage or coach of his own, he should give 

 very strict orders to his groom or coachman to take great care 

 of the pole, and to see that when it is taken out of the coach 

 it is placed carefully in such a position that it cannot fall. 



An accident caused by the breaking of a pole may be, 

 and, in fact, often has been, attended with serious results. I 

 remember one night when driving a team steadily through 

 Hammersmith the end of the pole came off without any ap- 

 parent reason ; as the pace was not great, and I had a skid, 

 and the horses were quiet, I pulled up without any damage 

 being done. On examining the pole, the ironwork was found 

 to have been split nearly all round the end, and the coach- 

 maker who investigated the matter said that in all probability 

 it had been put up carelessly and had had a fall. 



Bearing-reins some men write fiercely against. It is the 

 opinion of many of the best coachmen in England that a bridle 

 is not complete without a bearing-rein. In my opinion it is 

 wrong to lay down hard-and-fast rules about bearing-reins. I 

 think the gag bearing-rein as screwed up by some London 

 drivers is very bad and injurious to the horse ; but with kickers 

 the bearing-rein is not only most useful, but almost indis- 

 pensable. I should very much like to see some of the men 

 who write so much against bearing-reins drive kickers without 

 them ; I think they would soon either alter their opinions or 

 give up driving anything but quiet horses. 



