Harnessing Up A Carriage Horse The photos and description are based on advice
experienced carriage horse ready to go for a drive. This is NOT how to train an inexperienced horse, so don’t try it with an animal who has never been in a carriage before!
Before you put the carriage on to the horse you need to check that the vehicle is safe, that it fits the horse, and (if 2 wheeled) is balanced. Make sure you are using a vehicle that is appropriate and safe for what you want to do. You must be able to get in and out of the vehicle quickly and safely. Any cushions must be fastened on and you should have a rail round the seat, and for normal work a dashboard or a dash frame between you and the horse’s quarters.
Having your vehicle regu- larly maintained is essential. Modern vehicles do require maintenance - bearings and shafts are susceptible to hidden damage. Check for flaking paint which may mean stressed areas of wood or metal. Look particu- larly at the junction of shafts and body, espe- cially with aluminium shafts or where round “pipe” joins into square sections; at the swingle tree; and wherever wood or metal is bent, bolted or welded. You may then see a warning of breakage.
Look to see that the footboard and floor are sound. Check that springs are sound with no cracked leaves, and look for rust and cracks where the spring shackles suspend the vehicle - this is a hidden stress area. On a four wheeler check the turntable is lubricated - not too greasy but not stiff. Make sure the wheel hubs are properly lubricated and the tyres are sound, firm in their channels if they are solid tyres and at the correct pressure if they are pneumatic. If you have hydraulic brakes, check that there is still enough fluid in the reservoir and the
pipes are sound. Also check the brake pads. Check that swingle tree straps, chains, shackles or bolts are sound and correctly tightened each time you clean the vehicle.
Now our horse is harnessed and our carriage is checked we can begin the routine of ‘putting to’.
Collect letters to be posted (or mobile phone, hat, gloves, polo mints or whatever) and put them handy, in the car- riage or your pocket, BEFORE you start putting to.
Take the horse to the vehicle with harness complete (in- cluding bridle and reins).
from the North West Driving Club, which was the first British club to check all its members for safe practice. We show a correct, safe way to get an
Part Two
your horses shoulders sore! Get them altered at your local saddlery shop.
2 Breeching. Fasten each breeching strap through the breeching staple on the shaft making sure you fasten them to the same length, they can be wrapped around the shaft if they are too long unlike the traces.You should be able to get a hand down between the horse’s quarters and the breeching when the horse is in draught.
which case open tugs are required, fasten each one to ensure the shaft stays on the horses side.
Your groom should hold the horse.
Pull the shafts into place through the tugs - do not back the horse into the shafts. (Backing in can be done with heavy agricultural turnouts or machinery, where the shafts are very strong and the horses are placid in type. Elsewhere a hoof on the shaft can cause breakage or panic.) Your groom can help by putting the offside shaft into the tug. The tugs must be in front of the stops on the shafts. This is an important part of your brak- ing system. A four wheeled vehicle may have closed loops on the ends of the shafts in
Now fasten
1 Both traces. Remembering to put the traces through the trace carriers on the way to the swingle tree. Quick re- lease shackles are a good idea for the end of traces so that if something does go wrong you aren’t spending time behind an upset horse trying to undo them. The traces should be just long enough to let the tugs move off the tug stops when the horse is in draught to check this whilst putting to, gently push the carriage backwards until the traces are taught. Do NOT wrap the traces round the shafts if they are too long, you will make
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3 Belly/Back band. You should allow some movement in the shafts of a 2 wheeler or a 4 wheeler with fixed shafts - roughly a hand’s breadth at the girth. A 4 wheeler with
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