160 DRIVING. 



and then slacken speed. Check all impetus before the hill is 

 reached, otherwise the wheeler has hard work to keep the cart 

 back. The pace can be increased as the end is reached. 



In the event of the driver having to turn round, he must 

 again shorten the leader's reins till the traces are quite slack. 

 He will then point the leader to whichever side he wishes to 

 turn, in the same manner as turning a corner. Provided he is 

 driving with bars instead of long traces, he can then bring his 

 team round in a space which seems astonishingly narrow for 

 such a manoeuvre. 



A driver must always feel that both horses are well in hand, 

 and both going well up to their bits, so that a touch of the hand 

 or turn of the wrist will be felt and answered instantly. This 

 applies to both animals, but more especially to a leader ; nothing 

 is more objectionable than a leader who is inclined to hang 

 back, preferring a slack rein. Many require more training in 

 this respect than others. Some horses or ponies will be natu- 

 rally free and always go well into their bits, whereas some 

 require a great deal of handling, and then the clever and skilful 

 use of the whip shows to great advantage. The leader must 

 be hit exactly where you mean to touch him without noise to 

 startle the wheeler. If the leader is always kept well up to the 

 mark, and never allowed to go carelessly with a slack rein, he 

 will soon get out of the habit of doing so, and will do his work 

 freely, and answer immediately to the bit. I may here remark 

 that the term 'a good whip,' meaning a 'good driver,' is derived 

 from this very thing the power of making each animal do its 

 work by the skilful use of the thong of the whip. I think 

 five feet is a good length for the stick, and eight feet for the 

 thong. This should always be neatly caught up on the stick, 

 but ready for use at any moment, so that it can be used with 

 the greatest rapidity. In case of a leader turning round, the 

 whip will frequently, if used at the proper moment, make him 

 go straight again. Of course, one of the greatest difficulties in 

 tandem-driving is the risk of this happening, and unquestion- 

 ably it does happen sometimes. The risk is minimised, how- 



