[drivingpairs] Re: Why Achenbach/"coachman style"?
- From: "Sue Millard" <sue@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 10:01:16 +0100
Hi Bridgette
I think I am right in saying that coachman style driving became the norm in
England for driving fast with
four reins or more - ie, four in hand, tandem or other combinations than
singles or pairs - once the roads
were smooth enough to take heavy fast coaches, ie after ~1790. It's a
down-the-road style, intended for
long hours with the driver seated on a box with a relatively high seat
position. The contact is constant
because for work at fast speeds the horses' reaction needed to be immediate in
order to avoid accidents. It's
easier on the driver than two handed driving and I believe it's also easier on
the horses. One reason may be
that the "take" and the "give" on a turn are automatically balanced, which may
not be the case when driving
two handed.
I would not go so far as to say coachman style would be appropriate for
ploughing or working any kind of
field implement! You probably wouldn't have the same degree of contact with the
horse's mouth anyway. I
also think coachman style is difficult if your seat position is low down behind
the horse, which I see with
singles more often than with pairs and more. I think any rein hold that
attempts steady contact must be
difficult to maintain over a long period in a low cart.
All that being said, it took me two years of driving to get into driving
correctly coachman style, and out of
the habit of trying to hold my reins as I would for riding...
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