Riding and Driving for Women

by Belle Beach

in the wheels of a cart, and particularly of a gig, than a coach.

With regard to the kind of cart to which the tandem should be driven, it is to be noted that, for several years past in the show ring, tandems have been generally shown to gigs, and very few tandems have been shown to carts even in country shows. This may result in giving the general impression that the gig is the correct vehicle to which to drive a tandem, which is far from being the case. No recognized authority holds that it is the correct vehicle, and, for road driving, a gig is thoroughly unsuited to a tandem. While a gig is more comfortable and balances better than a wrongly adjusted tandem cart, yet a gig is much too low for the driver either to have proper control of his leader or to be able to see obstacles in front of the leader. Moreover, a gig, having a much smaller body than a tandem cart and also short shafts, gives an appearance of wrong proportion to the tandem, and, especially from a distance, an effect of something lacking. This is particularly the case with horses over fifteen hands two. If a gig is used, it is important that the lead traces should be as short as possible, so as to make the whole appearance more compact.

Correct Tandem Harness for Show Ring

For road work, and particularly for country driving, a tandem cart is not only correct, but is a more

practical and suitable vehicle than a gig, particularly with large horses. The driver is well up above the horses, which gives far better control; she is able to see well ahead of the leader, and there is also the advantage of being out of the dust and in a position where one can better see other vehicles, both in meeting and passing them. Whatever kind of vehicle is used, the tugs should be so adjusted that the vehicle is in balance when the shafts are in position. While this is not so important with a gig or a cart whose body is hung on springs independent of the shafts, it is absolutely essential with a tandem cart, or any other cart, where the body is not balanced independently. I wish to lay great emphasis on this point because very few grooms know anything about it, and it is the most common thing in the

world to find a horse put to a cart with the girth strapped so tightly that there is no play to the shafts. This is entirely wrong. If English tugs are used, as they should be with a tandem cart, the girth should be so loose that the shafts not only play in the tug, but the tug plays in the girth, and this will usually be done by letting out the girth from four to five holes beyond where it would be if it were tight.

With regard to balance, the body of a tandem cart is made to slide on runners, and the position of the body is regulated by a screw with a handle which comes up under the driving cushion. This handle may be turned so as to throw the body backward or forward, according to the number of persons who are to sit in the cart; thus, if a groom is to sit on the back seat, the body of the cart should naturally be much farther forward than if the back seat were empty, and, for the same reason, if there is the additional weight in front of another person besides the driver, the body of the cart should be moved farther back than if the driver were alone. The proper position of the body of the cart—so that it will be in balance—can only be learned by experiment, for it varies, of course, with the angle of the shafts and the weight of the load to be carried.

While the tandem cart is correct for tandem driving under all circumstances, for country use

there are several forms of light high carts which are quite correct and much easier for the horses in hilly country or on heavy roads. While the bodies of these carts are not adjustable, balance can be secured by raising or lowering the tugs in the girths so as to raise or lower the shafts, and by adjusting the position of the people in the cart. In all high carts the weight should be thrown forward in going uphill and back in going downhill. It is an interesting fact that a horse can pull a heavier load uphill the more weight, within reasonable limits, he has on his back.