How Women Should Ride Part 11

In the event of a horse bolting, the chances are very great against a woman's checking him. If she can do it at all, it will be by sawing his mouth, and giving a succession of sharp jerks, while endeavoring to control his course.

The most dangerous and irrational thing she can do is to jump out of the trap.

Severe injuries almost invariably attend such a proceeding; and if it be possible to stay in, she should do so, never relinquishing her hold on the reins. If from the swaying of the carriage she seems in danger of being thrown out, a woman must make sure that her skirts are not caught on anything, and that her feet are clear of the reins.

Men sometimes pull a runaway horse into a ditch or up a steep bank, which stops him; but a smash or an overturn is inevitable; and should a woman attempt this, there is great danger of her being unable to extricate herself from the tangle. She is handicapped by her skirts, which are more than likely to cause her to be dragged should the horse manage to start off again. Besides this, after a struggle such as she will have had, a woman will seldom have enough strength left to force a horse from the direction he has chosen.

[Sidenote: Crowded Driveways]

In whatever pranks horses indulge, the dangers are multiplied and intensified when encountered by a woman who ventures to drive in a crowded park or avenue during the afternoon.

Women of culture and refinement, realizing this, and wishing to avoid making themselves conspicuous on public highways, are content to be driven at this hour, reserving the mornings for the pleasure of handling the reins themselves.

Some women there are who drive better than most coachmen, and a few of these may desire to display their skill and their well-appointed traps when the spectators are most numerous. They may be competent to make their way through such a maze as one finds on popular carriage roads, but they do it in defiance of the condemnation they will receive from people of more refined ideas.

The majority of women who drive are unable to control their horses, and they need not flatter themselves that their immunity from accidents is the result of their skill. They owe their safety to the fact that men, appreciating the uncertainty of their movements, give them plenty of room, and keep as far as they can from anything driven by a woman.

[Sidenote: Road Courtesy]

Such women would be less objectionable if they were more considerate of others. For example, they should keep on their own side of the drive, and, if they are going slowly, as much to the right of it as possible, that those who desire to pa.s.s may not have their way blocked.

Again, they should remember that some one is behind them, and that they should not endeavor to turn or stop abruptly without having intimated their intention to those in the rear.

Another heedless thing they do is, in pa.s.sing a leading trap to turn in ahead of it so sharply that a more careful driver is forced to pull up rather than endanger his horses by having the wheels swing against them.

Women seem to forget now and then that they must always pa.s.s to the left of a vehicle in front of them, and not try to get through a small s.p.a.ce on its right. If they would only take a few lessons in driving, pay attention to the instruction they receive, and cultivate consideration for others, their presence on the box might be welcomed more frequently and with greater warmth than it now is.

It would be well if equestrians rode with more regard for the convenience of those who are driving. When a bridle-path is provided for them, there is no reason why they should usurp any of the road intended for carriages. They would feel outraged, and justly so, if one vehicle should appear on their road; yet swarms of them daily use the drive, occupying much-needed s.p.a.ce, and clattering and darting along, unmindful of startled horses and the narrow escapes of their own mounts from collisions with many wheels.

[Sidenote: Tandems and Teams]

Comparatively few women are so fortunate as to have an opportunity to drive tandem or four-in-hand. If they are so situated that they would be likely to do so frequently, they should not hesitate to take lessons, as otherwise they would slowly learn from many dangerous and costly experiences what a trustworthy teacher could have shown them with safety and expedition. However, it is well to be prepared for all contingencies, and therefore many women may desire to know something about these branches of driving, in case they should in some unforeseen manner have an opportunity to essay them.

If, for instance, she were driving with a friend who offered to let her take the reins, a woman would not be expected to look to the harnessing and bitting, but there are a few points she might be glad to know.

[Sidenote: Reins]

The reins are held the same in tandem and team-driving. The first finger separates the leaders' reins, and the second those of the wheelers, with each near rein above the off one. Thus over the first finger will be the near leader, under it the off leader, and between this rein and the second finger the near wheeler, with the off wheeler between the second and third fingers. The right hand must be free to hold the whip and to manipulate the reins.

The off-wheel rein will often need attention, as the third finger is not so strong as the other two used, and therefore this rein will more readily slip through.

In changing a rein it must always be done by pushing it back from in front of the hand, instead of pulling it through from behind.

[Ill.u.s.tration: POSITION IN TANDEM]

The correct handling of the whip can be mastered only after much patience and constant practice, but its proper use is of paramount importance.

Women will find driving tandem easier than driving four, because, although it requires more skill to keep the horses straight, it does not call for the amount of muscle needed to manage four horses, the brake, and whip.

[Sidenote: Unruly Leader]

At first the weight alone of the reins would tire her, and of course there are more chances of mishaps with four horses than with two. In the latter the leader has no horse at his side to steady him; but if well trained he will travel straight, and not attempt to turn around and join the wheeler. Should he do this, and not respond to the reins, the whip should hit his neck with force sufficient to make him change his mind.

As a last resort, the wheeler must be turned to follow him, and then they must both be made to proceed in the direction desired by the driver. If the leader, instead of being exactly in front of the wheeler, gets too far to the right, his near rein should be shortened; but the wheeler must be made to meet him half-way by pulling his off rein at the same time. In the opposite case the off-lead and near-wheel reins must be shortened.

[Sidenote: Turning]

To turn a corner, say to the left, with a tandem or a four, the near-lead rein should be looped by taking up several inches, pushing it back of the forefinger, and holding it there in this shape with the thumb. The right hand must be placed on both off reins, to guard against the turn being made too sharply, and the cart or coach being brought into contact with the corner. To turn to the right, the reverse tactics are employed, but it is more difficult to loop the off rein.

When the corner has been successfully rounded, the right hand should be taken away and the left thumb raised, thus leaving the horses in a position to go straight.

In going downhill all the reins should be shortened, and care taken that the leaders' traces particularly are loose, or they may pull the wheelers down when these should be holding back the coach.

The wheelers should always, if possible, start and stop the load.

In going uphill the leaders must do their full share, and on the level each horse must be kept up to his work.

An unnecessary nervous fingering of the reins should be avoided, as, besides being most unworkmanlike, it irritates the horses.

It is the height of folly for a woman to attempt to drive a tandem or a four-in-hand until she is thoroughly familiar with one horse and a pair. She may understand the theory of it, but until she has had some practice under proper instruction she should not take the reins, unless some one is near to a.s.sist her, or she will endanger not only her own safety, but jeopard that of those who may accompany her.

FINISH.