Riding and Driving

by Edward L. Anderson; Price Collier

CHAPTER XV

THE TANDEM

One horse driven in front of the other gave a University wag the opportunity to nickname two horses so driven a "tandem," from the Latin word meaning "at length," as applied to time. This joke has crystallized into a familiar English word, and many tandem drivers to-day include all the Latin in their vocabulary in this form of exercise.

The fundamental principles of tandem driving are much the same as four-in-hand driving, except that the horses turn more quickly, and with less pressure on the reins, especially in the case of the leader. The reins, too, are closer together in the hand, making the fingering more difficult, and the handling of a spirited leader is perhaps as difficult and nice a task as any form of driving affords.

Although the chief authority for this chapter, T. Suffern Tailer, Esq., late the president of the New York Tandem Club, decries the use of anything but traces for the leader,—traces fastened to the traces of the wheeler,—it is fair to the reader to describe another method of harnessing.

This method consists of having two swingle-bars, one 2 feet 6 inches in length, the other about 2 feet in length. The first has a hook in front and a chain at the back, about 1 foot in length. This chain is hooked to a ring at the bottom of the wheeler's hames, and at the end are two short traces fastening to the wheeler's traces by two rings, or loops, under the trace-buckles. The second bar is attached by an eyelet to the hook of the first bar; to this, of course, are attached the leader's traces in the usual manner.

Advocates of this way of harnessing claim that by this method the leader's traces may be made almost as short as those of the wheeler, and that there is far less danger—none, indeed—of a leader getting his legs over a trace.

In tandem harness there should be as little harness as possible, even breeching omitted, except in a very hilly country. One of the advantages of this form of driving sport is that, even with a small stable and few horses, one may drive tandem without any great extra outlay. The wheeler's harness may be an ordinary set of single harness, with double terrets in the pad, and terrets above the blinkers, to carry the leader's reins. The leader's harness may be the same, with a very light pad, since the pad in the leader's case only carries the traces. The traces of the leader have spring-hooks which are fastened to the brass rings, or loops, under the wheeler's trace-buckles. On the leader's pad are two leather loops to carry the traces, and over the leader's loins, a bearing strap, just long enough to keep the traces level. The reins should be light, strong, and of the same size, and suited to the size of the coachman's hands. It is hardly necessary to say that to fasten the leader's traces to the ends of the shafts is suicidally dangerous; but as it is sometimes done the warning is needed.