[drivingpairs] three abreast

Linda

I am sure there are many ways you can drive three abreast.  You could, I
imagine, drive one in shafts, with a horse on each side, with only the
center horse pulling, and the others not pulling anything.  To have three
abreast in a hitch, you need some form of triple tree or three singletrees.
If you are hitching without the additional singletrees, it could be a setup
for a magnificent disaster if things went wrong.  This is a "know your
horse" situation.

Dell

Rigging the lines as you mention is commonly done for draft farm hitches.
Often the bits are connected by jockey sticks.  I imagine this is okay if
you are plowing, but I think it is nasty for the horses if one is to
stumble, pulling on the mouths of the other two.  I never used this
arrangement for that reason, and ma not so sure it would work well anyway.
By attaching the inner bit of the outer horses by bungee to the center
horse, back a bit further, on the neck, this avoids the problem with
stumbling, and gives the angle to the center horse that allows the center
horse to help hold back the outer horses when you stop.

I tried it the other way before this, with two checks to each outer horse,
and bungees from center horse bit on both sides to outer horses.  It worked,
but not as well.

The noteable thing of driving three abreast is that you have a whole lot of
power.  Four in hand is only occasionally more powerful.  With the three,
they all pull all the time.

Camptown Dave

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