whip him and may get away from you. In fact, it is most important always to gather the reins well in the left hand before even touching your horse with the whip, as otherwise you will have the horse going in a series of jumps, which is not only very bad form but uncomfortable for every one in the trap.
I cannot insist too strongly on the necessity of having both reins securely held in the left hand and the horse well gathered before using the whip, for if you touch the horse with the whip with the off rein in the right hand, you are sure to slacken that rein and thus cause the horse to turn to the left. Moreover, if the horse starts, you are not in a position to control him.
To pull horses up and to stop them, you must first see that the reins are held evenly in the left hand; then place the right hand as far in front of the left as may be necessary. If you know that the horse has a hard mouth and does not stop readily, the right hand must be a foot or even more in front of the left, while with a horse that is light mouthed and stops quickly it should be only a few inches. The right hand is placed over both reins—some separate the reins by the third and little fingers, others put the little finger on top of both reins—and the left hand is raised and carried forward, at the same time the right hand is brought back so as to bring the
left hand above and directly over the right. The horse should not, of course, be reined in with any sudden jerk, but only by a gentle and gradually increasing pressure, which is accomplished much more easily by this method of laying the right hand on the reins than it could be by pulling the reins with the arms or body.
Pulling Up
Nothing looks worse or is such bad form, in stopping horses, as to pull the reins in toward the body, as is so often done by those who do not understand driving. Not only does this look badly, but it is dangerous, for it leaves the driver with no control
whatever over the horses as soon as her hands come up to her body. There is no way by which she can take up any more slack except by leaning so far back that she looks as if she were falling over backward. In the correct method of stopping, which I have described, if not enough slack has been taken up at first, more can be taken by simply slipping the right hand further along the reins and carrying the left hand higher and more to the front, and throughout the whole operation the two hands should not be carried further to the rear than they were when you began. While this is, and always has been, the correct method of pulling up, it is astonishing how few remember to use it, even in classes in the show ring, where driving counts. Another great advantage of this method is that it is very similar to that used in pulling up a tandem or a four, and it is best to acquire the habit of correct driving for a single horse and for a pair, which will not have to be altered when you take up driving four-in-hand and tandem.
If you wish to turn to the left, when driving with what I have called the orthodox method, you should take the near rein in the right hand between the second and third fingers a few inches in front of the left hand and pull gently with the right hand, keeping the left hand as it was or advancing
it slightly so as to loosen the off rein; then, as the horse is completing the turn, gradually relax the hold with the right hand, and when the turn is finished let go with the right hand.