and should not be held by squeezing the flat surfaces of the reins between the fingers, and they should be held tightly enough so that they will not slip, but not so tightly as to cramp and tire the fingers. Holding the reins in this way, well down into the fingers and as close to the knuckles as possible, insures a firm grip and makes it easy to guide to the right or the left by merely turning the back of the hand down or up. The left upper arm should be vertical, the left forearm horizontal, the hand turned in at the wrist, and held about six or eight inches in front of the body. The right hand should be held in a corresponding position about four or five inches from the left hand.
The whip should be balanced in the palm of the right hand, passing between the thumb and forefinger so as to leave all the fingers free to grasp the reins if need be. It should be carried at an angle of forty-five degrees, and point toward the left and front. The lash of the whip, for single and pair horse driving, should always be free.
The theory of correct driving is that the left hand is to hold the reins, the right hand to hold the whip and to assist the left hand in shortening the reins and in turning and stopping. The method of holding the reins in the left hand, and keeping the right hand only to assist the left, as I have described,
is that laid down by nearly all the recognized authorities on driving,[1] and for convenience I will call it the orthodox method.
Correct Position for Shortening Reins
A variation on this method has, however, been introduced recently, and is now generally adopted by many of the best whips, both in England and this country, and is almost universally used in the show ring, where it is considered the correct form. For convenience I shall refer to this as the modern method. In this method, while the reins are held in the left hand as I have described, the off rein is
allowed to slip through the second and third fingers about five or six inches, and is held in the right hand, passing under the little finger and coming out between the first and second fingers. The right hand is held about three or four inches from the left and symmetrically to it; the portion of the reins between the right and left hand is slightly loose. The whip is held in the right hand exactly as I have described, so that the forefinger of the right hand is extended and the other three fingers closed on the rein, the third finger and little finger holding it tightly and the second finger loosely. The reins are habitually held in this way, and the horse is guided to the right by pulling with the right hand on the off rein, and is guided to the left by turning the back of the left hand up and, if necessary, moving the right hand slightly forward and the left hand slightly back, so as to loosen the off rein and tighten the near rein. If, however, when driving in this way any occasion arises for using the whip, the off rein must be first shortened in the left hand by pushing it through the second and third fingers from the front with the right hand. The right hand then lets go of the off rein and the whip is used as I have described. This method of driving is now taught by the best professionals. It looks smarter than the other method, and when the reins are held in this way the horse
is under better control, and can be turned more quickly and at a proper angle, and with less apparent movement of the hand, and with well-trained and properly bitted horses it is probably the best method to adopt. But with green or ill-trained horses it is not an advisable method, because it takes a little longer to shorten the reins than the orthodox method, where the right hand is free and can immediately be placed in front of the left. Whether both hands are on the reins or not, the reins should always measure the same length and should never be allowed to slip through the fingers. The horse’s head should always be kept straight, and to do this the hands must be held level.
The whip must always be held in the right hand; the horse must never be touched with the whip while the right hand is on the reins. The whip should be used sparingly, and it is much more likely to be too much used than too little. It is used more in driving a pair than in driving a single horse, as one horse often lags behind the other and it may be necessary to use it on him to keep him up, though this should be done rather by proper bitting than by the use of the whip. Before using a whip, however, for punishment, be sure you hold the reins firmly in the left hand and that the horse is well gathered, otherwise he will start forward when you