i cannot turn my horse fast enough, or enough at all to turn through the hazards by just moving my wrist.
I drive singles and pairs right now, so holding the reins is the same, but what about tandem? How do you one-handedly hold the reins for that? And four in hand?
Sadly my tandem and hour-ups are two handed 
how do you do this!?
Read this 
"On the marathon and in cones, nobody on the top level drives Achenbach anymore, but everybody drives two handed there, and while years ago there were still discussions about it, by now there is really nobody in the top of the sport arguing that one could be successful on the marathon and in cones with Achenbach. The two handed method is just quicker.
In dressage itâs different."
First Two-Handed means a rein in each hand. There are several styles of One Handed rein control including all reins run in and held in the left hand, turns totally done with the wrist turns, which Thomas call Coachman Style. Hungarian where all reins are attached to a handle or crossed on your palm, also using wrist turns for directional changes. Or Achenbach with the assisting right hand for looping to shorten reins for turns, bends.
Some folks as mentioned, use a couple styles during a CDE, for different purposes.
This might be where a reinboard would come in handy, letting you practice without messing up the horses. You have to get things so they are automatic, if you look down at your hands and reins, you are going to get hurt. You lose whip control, with reins in both hands at once. Moving the whip means you are moving your hand at the same time, signaling horse or dropping contact with the reins.
Doing the reinboard, you gather things up in your hands, get the feel, THEN look and see how far off you are in even-ness of the weights, length of rein. Thomas has a number of posts that concern the reinboard, perhaps checking the archives will locate them for you.
Again, the rein handling has to be AUTOMATIC, from single to Pairs and ESPECIALLY with the Tandem and Four. Once you commit the Leaders, there is seldom time to call for a âRE-DOâ without causing chaos among the horses. They lose trust in you, donât respond well because you let them down, maybe hurt them on a hazard.
Forgive the stupid question, but do you only have one hand, or are you just trying to drive with one hand?
[QUOTE=twofatponies;4383610]
Forgive the stupid question, but do you only have one hand, or are you just trying to drive with one hand?[/QUOTE]
ha! I just laughed, I have two very competent lovely hand.
Iâm going to read the other posts again now⊠but had to reply to this right away! LOL
I drive coachmen right now and it is fine for pleasure classes and the hitch classes, but as soon as Iâm in a cones or marathon course, I need that second hand to be able to tell the horses to change direction fast enough. I can canter or gallop around the arena one handed fine enough, but not around a marathon. Possibly cones if I worked at it.
How do you hold the lines one handed when youâre driving tandem?
This is how I do it now. http://www.horsedrivingtrialsclub.com/Achenbach%20figure%201.gif
Where would the leadâs reins go???
[QUOTE=nfld_pony;4383668]
How do you hold the lines one handed when youâre driving tandem?
This is how I do it now. http://www.horsedrivingtrialsclub.com/Achenbach%20figure%201.gif
Where would the leadâs reins go???[/QUOTE]
Wrong illustration of reins.
You hold the 4 reins like a Four-in-Hand. The picture you used is for a single or Pair. You HAVE to use the other hand to make loops for turns with a Tandem, which would make the right an Assisting Hand. I would advise getting the Four horses down well, before moving to a Tandem.
Everything with the Tandem moves MUCH faster than the Four. With a good Leader, the twitch of the rein has them coming around back to you!! She is graciously being brave and dancing with just the reins as you request. Reactions to signals, turns, TANGLES, happen in a heartbeat or less! Again, you MUST drive by the rein feel, be automatic with fingers, no TIME to look down. Need to be able to touch up the Leader or Wheeler with the whip while going along. That lash is REALLY out there as you send it along. You have to be accurate with the lash, not mess up the wrong horse or tangle lash in the wheels.
Husband says Tandem is for keeping the blood racing, so his arteries are cleaned out! A big rush the whole time out.
None of the skills come instantly. Lots of hours behind the Four or Tandem, to get things trained into your hands. You have no idea how many hours the Driver has put in to make things look so easy. Could be hundreds of training hours in those hands and horses ahead of him/her.
Yes i know itâs for a single or pair! Thatâs what I said. I said âwhere how i know to do it, how do you put the lines for a four in handâ
What Iâm asking is where do the reins go for four in hand?
Are the wheelers held the same way with the leads elsewhere? Can someone show me a photo? or a good detailed explanation?
And how do you make ââloopsââ? Iâm not a complete idiot. I just drive my four in hand with two hands. The wheelers come through my pinky and ring finger and the leads are through my pointer and thumb. left reins in left hand, right reins in right hand. If theyâre all held in the SAME hand for âcoachmenâ How is it done?
Here are some photos from TandemHillsâ site, showing the Four reins laid in your hand.
http://www.tandemhillfarm.com/Tandemhill_site/Achenbach.html
thank you so much! thatâs what i wanted but this brings up another question.
http://www.tandemhillfarm.com/Tandemhill_site/Achenbach/IMAG012.JPG
it says one rein, two and one⊠but whoâs where??
the near lead is between thumb and pointer? which two are the reins that are together in the second slight? and whatâs the lone one at the bottom?
also this is achenbach. thomas, how do you do it?
Go back to the link I posted. Go to the bottom of the page and read the writing above the photos. The same picture you posted, SAYS âleaders on top, wheelers belowâ with two brown reins, leaders, on top. Then two black or dark reins underneath, wheelers, below in the hand. Easier to see with two colors, when illustrating something in a photo.
Top rein is near Lead, next is off Lead, next is near Wheeler, with bottom being off Wheeler.
Taking the photo out of context means you lose the explanation for any help.
Those reins stay in that position in the left hand, from picking them up until you are finished driving.
Some books on Driving would have the correct drawings or photos of hand and rein positions and taking up loops. Do you have any books about driving multiples? Books with their progressive steps build your learning, have good illustrations, with everything in one place to learn from. Easier than asking and having to wait until we finally get on the computers. Plus you can put the book on the seat of vehicle, have it with you for quickie reference while practicing. Computer on the seat? Nope, not good.
The Complete Driving and Riding System, Book 5, Official Instruction Handbook of the German National Equestrain Federation is a good book. Lots of information from singles to all the Multiples. Also good is the BDS Book of Driving with many pictures and much driving information. Also covers quite a bit from singles to multiples. The Art of Driving by Max Pape is a translation of the Achenbach system from the German. I would think all are available from the CAA and ADS.
Thereâs one rein, two and then one again.
So if itâs how you said⊠the top rein is near Lead, next is off Lead AND near Wheeler, with bottom being off Wheeler.
thereâs a near and far in the same finger slot?
[QUOTE=nfld_pony;4383338]
i cannot turn my horse fast enough, or enough at all to turn through the hazards by just moving my wrist.[/QUOTE]In that case youâre either:
Not holding your reins correctly with your hand in the proper neutral position in the first place.
Or
Youâre using incorrect wrist movement.
If you want to take a photo (just holding reins) Iâd be happy to comment. Show your upper body and arm position too please if you want me to do that.
I drive singles and pairs right now, so holding the reins is the same, but what about tandem? How do you one-handedly hold the reins for that? And four in hand?
Sadly my tandem and hour-ups are two handed 
how do you do this!?
Team or Tandem:
The nearside lead rein over the forefinger of the left hand.
The offside lead rein between the forefinger and middle finger.
The nearside wheel rein directly under the offside lead rein between the forefinger and middle finger.
The offside wheel rein between middle and third finger.
All the reins held firmly down into the palm of the hand by the fingers, the thumb resting lightly on top of the rein.
Originally Posted by nfld_pony
How do you hold the lines one handed when youâre driving tandem?
This is how I do it now. http://www.horsedrivingtrialsclub.coâŠfigure%201.gif
That illustration is actually showing an incorrect hand position.
You never hold your hand straight out like that when you drive. If you incline your wrist from that as a neutral position, then itâs not going to happen!
You need to perfect your singles rein handling first and then finesse it.
Rein machine 
[QUOTE=mares tails;4383538]
Read this
"On the marathon and in cones, nobody on the top level drives Achenbach anymore, but everybody drives two handed there, and while years ago there were still discussions about it, by now there is really nobody in the top of the sport arguing that one could be successful on the marathon and in cones with Achenbach. The two handed method is just quicker.
In dressage itâs different."[/QUOTE] Thereâs Achenbach AND then theirâs coachman rein handling.
The fact that no one now drives other than two handed doesnât mean that itâs quicker or better at all.
You need to appreciate that driving suffered from a huge loss of core skill base and to such an extent that the Horse Driving Trials Association were concerned that there werenât sufficient drivers to compete.
So they just changed the rules!
Now for me driving coachman is just what Iâve done from being a child, so itâs instinctive and itâs what I do - always, everywhere. Including at the World Equestrian Games when I went there. In those days there were several drivers who drove EITHER Auchenbach or Coachman.
The times were no slower.
Iâve got a long standing bet that I can take a single or pair of horses quicker through a cones course driving coachman style than any driver doing it two handed. I allow the challenger to set out the course and to date though I have on average about 2 challenges a year Iâve never failed to take the ÂŁ50 (singles) or ÂŁ100 (pairs) donation for Leukaemia Research.
Providing youâve honed the skill of single rein handling then thereâs absolutely no reason why it should be slower.
However you also need to appreciate that driving a cones course or a hazard on the marathon phase is NOT purely about speed. If it was, then it would all be at gallop!
Itâs about accuracy and precision and flowing movement through the hazards/cones. That means there should be no stopping, starting, pulling and heaving and constant corrections on the horse.
I know thatâs all too often what you often see but itâs not what drivers should strive for and itâs not what is to be attained.
[QUOTE=twofatponies;4383610]
Forgive the stupid question, but do you only have one hand, or are you just trying to drive with one hand?[/QUOTE]:lol:
That made me really giggle.
There are arguably two styles of âcorrectâ driving:
Coachman style or Achenbach.
Both require the reins to be held in the left hand and with the right hand used as an assister hand.
In the former style the reins are held in the left hand and virtually all turns and movements are done by movement from the wrist. If the reins are held correctly then the action of the turn of the wrist puts contact on one rein and release on the other and allowing the horse to seek and maintain contact and go in a good correct position. With coachman the right hand would only be used for such as taking loops for tight turns with a team or tandem or in an emergency.
In the latter style the right hand is used much more and for virtually all steering.
Driving with arms out and a rein in either hand as you would riding leads to the following problems:
Leaning on the horseâs mouth or dropping contact altogether - and partly because the horse is some distance distance away and according to the gradient, there is a lot of lengthening and shortening to do.
The right hand holds the whip and its unhorsemanlike to apply the whip with a hand that still has hold of the rein! It means youâre giving the horse all sorts of contradictory signals.
So Iâve 2 perfectly functioning arms and hands but I use one for waving and wiping the occasional fly out of my eye as well as occasional whip aid and direction signalling
[QUOTE=Thomas_1;4384641]
Itâs about accuracy and precision and flowing movement through the hazards/cones. That means there should be no stopping, starting, pulling and heaving and constant corrections on the horse. [/QUOTE]
This holds true for many things horse-related. I had a beautifully dressage-trained little QH mare years ago. On a bet I ran a barrel horse pattern on her and easily matched the times of the best horses in the stable - with no jerking or yanking or gaping mouth 
The western riders were AMAZED! It also made a huge difference when I was playing polo in India. Just makes sense it would be the same in driving. :yes:
For rein handling remember this mantraâŠ
Left leader, right leader, left wheeler, right wheeler and always put your reins in your hand in that order so it becomes natural and when you get confused, just say that in your mind to remember where they are.
left leader goes between your index and middle finger, right leader and left wheeler go between your middle and ring finger ( this is Mickie Bowenâs magic tandem button) and then the right wheeler goes between ring and pinky.
When everything is falling apart, pulling the magic tandem button usually straightens everything out because these are the reins that slip the most.
When starting out, you can put tape on your reins where your hand should be so you can see if you are slipping and I also use zilco synthetic reins and have brown suregrips for my leaders and black suregrips for my wheelers.
another Mickie Bowen MantraâŠfollow your leaderâŠif things are getting all out of whack, it is easier to straighten out your tandem by putting your wheeler behind your leader rather than trying to get your leader back in position.
At first, it feels like you are driving a string but donât give up, it just takes practice so keep it simple and have fun !
I drive achenbach on trails or picnic drives but feel more comfortable with my reins buckled for all phases of combined driving. When things are won and lost on fractions of points and hundreths of seconds, you use gadgets to minimize risk. In the advanced dressage test for 4s, there are 3 one handed movements. you will be penalized for using your free hand on the reins vs. Achenbach where you actually do use both hands for steering. With reins buckled, I can quickly choke up on my outside wheeler reins and then take my inside leader loop and make my one handed circle. With achenbach one hand, i would have to take an opposition loop, then my leader loop which is possible and probably natural for someone who has driven that way all their life but for me, it is 50/50 if i end up with a fist full of spagetti !
Good luck with your tandem and 4 !!!
http://www.horse-training-book.com/images/fourth-movement-lines.jpg
what is this style of driving called? Is it right or wrong?
Thatâs called the âcack handedâ or âteach yourself from picturesâ position.
Itâs wrong. At all levels! Unless of course youâre just sitting up top for a few hours and get bored just standing and need to blow your nose. Then it might have a place. :winkgrin:
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
