[QUOTE=SmokenMirrors;5140927]
Dear Thomas…in 8 years of driving, I have NEVER heard them called reins, be it fine driving or agricultural driving as you so nicely put it. What you hold to drive are called lines. And I have done both…[/QUOTE]
Guess it depends on where you are located, whom you talk to, what the most common name is. Thomas is quite correct, lines or reins, both are in common use for driving horses in the USA and other places.
My grandfather called them reins, was a farm driver of drafts and buggy horses. His good friend down the road who drove the same kinds of horses called them lines. They had a lot of fun over MANY years giving each other a bad time over “using the wrong name” for the reins/lines. They both were “newcomers” to the area, moving here from different towns about 30 miles away, but both very experienced horsemen, driving from childhood. The rein or line common name was what each learned from childhood. Same background, same area, different words.
I have heard lines and reins used interchangably since I entered the Driving world. This would include attending large Draft functions like the Great Lakes here in Michigan, as well as the best carriage driving shows and CDEs. Did either name usage affect the skills of the horses or driver? Not that I could see!!
Lines or reins, getting petty over terminology is silly. We all understand what is being said, so what is the point? No one is WRONG when they say either! And to give arguing over “correctness” space on the Forum is a big waste of space and time. Proper name use will not improve YOUR driving skills. In the long run nothing will change despite arguing, only one or two people REALLY CARE about the name anyway!
You can discuss things without making or taking remarks PERSONALLY. More than one way to do things “right” because it is a BIG WORLD.
Only need to watch the first half
