|Placing lash under thumb before catching up.| When once the lash has been secured under the wrist or forearm, it can easily be placed under the left thumb by bringing the right hand down close to the left. Holding it firmly in this position, draw the whip hand away to the right front, keeping the wrist well bent, and allowing the lash to slide through the middle finger of this hand.
This can be repeated until the point of the lash has been pulled up into the right hand, when the thong can be caught on the stick as usual. If you catch the lash straight into the right hand the point may be got hold of by throwing the point of the stick upwards, and allowing the lash to slide through the middle finger. This is not nearly such a good plan as that described above, for you may easily throw the lash away altogether, and thus have to catch it again. Be careful, when you have the point of the lash in the right hand, to see that the loop is well clear of everything before catching it up on the stick, as it often |See that thong is not caught on footboard.| gets caught round the handle of the footboard or against the reins, which utterly spoils the catch. |Never use whip when right hand on reins.| You should never hit a horse with the whip while the right hand is holding a rein; it looks very awkward, and is most unworkmanlike. Should you have a loop of a rein in the right hand, as you might have when going round a corner to the right, first place the loop under the left thumb or forefinger, and then use the whip.
|To release lash caught in harness.| If when hitting a leader the lash should get caught round the bars or harness, do not jerk or pull it hard, but shake it loosely up and down; otherwise it will most likely get caught all the tighter.
|Whip under thigh.| If you want to use the right hand on the reins while the lash is caught, place the handle under the thigh and sit on it. Should the whip get fast in the bough of a tree or a |Lash caught in tree.| lamp-post, on the near side, the only thing to do is to let it go at once, letting your hand go well up and over to the left. You will then avoid hitting the passenger on the box seat. Constant practice with the whip is absolutely essential; no one can drive well until he has thorough control over it, and is able to manipulate it in such a way that the horse struck is the only one which knows that it is being used.
CHAPTER VIII
FOUR-IN-HAND. STARTING—PULLING UP—TURNING.
|Looking round before starting.| Before starting have a good look round and see that the horses are properly put in, that the harness is correctly put on and fitted, and more especially that the bits are rightly adjusted and the reins put in the correct places. Take care also that the pole-pin is in its place. It is never safe to trust entirely to the servants or ostlers.
|Lead reins should never be buckled.| The lead reins should never under any circumstances be buckled together; the reason of this is that if the main bar gets broken, the leaders will be able to pull the reins through and get clear away. On road coaches it is customary to leave both lead and wheel reins unbuckled.
|Preparing to start—taking up reins.| Place the whip neatly caught up in the socket, if not already there. Standing alongside of the off wheeler’s quarters, with the right hand take hold of the leaders’ reins without touching the horses’ mouths, and place them in the left hand, the forefinger between them; next take hold of the wheelers’ reins, placing the middle finger of the left hand between them, without pulling them so tight as to feel their mouths.
Then with the right hand pull out the off-side reins twelve to eighteen inches, and see that the splicing on the lead reins and the buckles of the couplings in the wheel reins are about the same distance from the left hand. The reins will then be about level when you are seated on the box.