Hints on Driving

by C. Morley Knight

The nose-band should admit of the breadth |Nose-band.| of two fingers between it and the horse’s jaw.

|Bitting.| Bitting is all a matter of common sense and practice. The reins must be altered up or down the bit until the adjustment most comfortable for the horse has been discovered. But even then a great deal will depend on |Hands.| what is generally known as “Hands.” This really unknown quantity, consisting as it does of complete sympathy between the horse and his driver, though born and not made, can be improved to some extent by teaching and practice. This gift has been defined as “not using more force on the reins than the exigencies of the occasion render absolutely necessary.” As a general rule the bit should lie flat in the horse’s mouth about one inch above the tusks.

|Curb-chain.| The curb-chain must not be too tight, and there ought to be room for at least two fingers to be placed between it and the horse’s jaw. If a horse is at all inclined to be a puller, an ignorant groom will very often fix it as tight as he can, with the probable result that the horse will jib or pull all the harder. In the latter case he will be likely to get a sore under the jaw. The best remedy for this is to fix a piece of leather on the chain, so that the latter does not rub on the sore place. If a horse bores to the near side, putting the rein down lower on the off than on the near side will very often make him go straight, and vice versâ. Some horses pull with very sharp bits, and will not do so with a snaffle, while others do just the contrary. A double-ring snaffle covered with leather or made of indiarubber is useful for very light-mouthed horses.

|Use of a net.| A net usually stops horses pulling for a time, but it is doubtful whether it has a permanent effect; so that it is better to leave it off occasionally.

|Bearing-rein.| If a horse is inclined to put his head down, and bore, a bearing-rein will prevent him from doing so; but it must not be too tight. There are many horses that would be undrivable without one, as it keeps their heads in the proper position, and thus takes the weight off the driver’s hand. When driving a young horse or a bad kicker it is always advisable to have a loose one on, as it will prevent him from becoming unmanageable by putting his head between his legs. The American pattern, which passes from the bearing-rein hook on the pad over the top of the horse’s head, through a keeper on the headpiece between his ears, down to the bridoon is very useful for a hard puller.

The correct adjustment of a bearing-rein requires a certain amount of practice, as when the horse is standing still it always appears much tighter than it really is.

|Bitting of a pulling horse.| Sometimes a very hard puller, especially in a team, can be driven with a big Liverpool bit hanging loose in his mouth and with the reins fixed to a bridoon; a bearing-rein can also be fitted on this bridoon if required.

A martingale will prove effective in the case of horses who pull owing to their habit of star-gazing.

Sometimes a horse pulls by getting hold of the cheek of the bit with his lip. This can be met with the elbow-bit, which is an improvement on the Liverpool bit, as, by having a bend in it, the cheek is so far back that the horse cannot reach it with his lips or tongue. The reason that this bit is not more generally used is that many people consider it unsightly.

Indiarubber-covered bits, especially those with a double bar, also answer very well with some pulling horses, the effect then being to make the bit work on a different part of the mouth from that to which they are accustomed.