"How to hold whip." You must learn to play with the whip neatly, and to be able to use it skilfully on any of the horses. The handle should rest in the palm of the right hand, and be kept firmly in its place by the action of the thumb pressing against the base of the forefinger; the lower fingers will then be left free to catch hold of the reins.

If, however, it is necessary to pull the reins through from behind, the lower fingers must be tightened on the handle so as to allow the thumb and forefinger to be used.

Always take care that the whip is in its right place, and the thong properly done up. "Angle of whip." Hold the whip at an angle of about thirty degrees to the left front and about forty degrees upwards, and not as in the picture opposite (fig. 26).

The thong ought to have three or four turns round the stick, the first turn beginning close to or on the quill, which is always covered with black twine.

"No kinks in lash." Pay special attention to holding the whip so that the double thong hangs straight down and has no kinks in it. If there should be any kinks they can be taken out by adding a turn or two on the stick, or by taking some off.

Do not hold the whip tighter than is absolutely necessary. In fact, when the hand is on the reins the grip may be released altogether for a time, as they will hold it up; this will give the thumb a rest. Holding it loosely also ensures the double thong hanging straight down, as then it will do so by reason of its own weight. It looks excessively bad to see the whip held all sideways, but it will constantly get into that position unless the tyro pays great attention to keeping it straight.

"Lash of whip under thumb." The point of the lash should be just under the inside of the thumb; this will keep it from slipping. Hold the whip where it balances comfortably, the end of the stick close to, and under the forearm, the wrist well bent, and the elbow close to the side.

"Position of whip hand." When the right hand is not on the reins or using the whip, it should be kept close to the left, the forearm being about horizontal. It can then rest on the thigh, and yet be ready for any emergency.

"Balance of whip." A good whip should balance well when held at or close to the collar (this should come nearly under the thumb), otherwise it will be found top-heavy and clumsy.

The collar is the plate about ten inches from the thick end of the stick, and is sometimes termed the top ferrule.

"Choice of whip." In choosing a whip the most essential points are: firstly, that it should balance as above; secondly, that it should be fairly light and springy—springiness being useful, because it renders a whip very much easier to catch; and, thirdly, that it should have some knots near the top, as they materially assist in keeping the thong up, though too many will be found an impediment to getting it out quickly.

"How to catch thong of whip." A very good way to learn to catch the thong neatly round the stick is this: chalk a large pot-hook or S on the wall; stand opposite to this with the whip held in the proper position, the thong undone, and the point of the lash under the middle finger of the right hand, the forefinger rather pointed up the stick (fig. 27); then with the point of the whip quickly follow the line as traced on the wall, beginning from the bottom end, and moving it across from left to right; the top part of the S should be done by a back turn of the wrist, first upwards and then downwards, which will bring the fingers uppermost at the finish. Never let the point of the whip drop at the beginning of the S, and never hit at the thong, but on the contrary make it come up to the stick. If you find that the thong is caught rather too low down, it can be very easily sent up higher by catching it again as above, but with rather a shorter and more jerky motion, in fact describing a small S.

This is done almost entirely by the wrist, with only a slight movement of the arm.

"Taking out loop in lash." Having caught the thong (fig. 28), the next thing to be done is to take out the loop which will be found in the middle of the stick, so that all the turns should be from right to left; otherwise it will very soon come undone. To do this, lower the stick so as to enable the left thumb to seize the loop (taking care not to move the left hand from its correct position while doing so); now move the whip hand out to the right front as far as possible, keeping the wrist well bent and holding the lash tight with the left thumb (fig. 29). This movement will take off the turns on the lower end of the stick. Now place the whip under the left thumb, and turn the spare end of the lash once or twice round the handle "End of lash round handle of whip." (fig. 30). With the right hand retain the point of the lash securely under the inside of the right thumb, which will prevent the thong getting loose. If the point slips up, it can be pulled tight again by catching hold of it with the left thumb and forefinger, and drawing the right hand away.

"How to keep lash pliant." The thong should be kept pliable by being rubbed with salad oil or mutton fat; otherwise it will be found difficult to keep it in its proper place when caught.

The following rules should be followed in hitting the horses:—

"How to hit horses with whip." The wheelers should be hit in front of the pad to avoid making them kick. If ever they should attempt to kick, a severe blow about the ears will usually put a stop to it. Generally move the whip from left to right, keeping the wrist nearly stiff, and doing it as far as possible from the elbow, without any circular motion of the forearm. With a fidgety near wheeler it is advisable to hit the off one on the outside. It is no use hitting the wheelers if the leaders’ reins are too long; in this case you must first shorten up the leaders’ reins, and then use the whip on the wheelers; otherwise, as soon as the wheelers have jumped into their collars, the leaders will again press forward, and allow the wheelers to hang back as before.

"Hitting off leader." The best way to hit the off leader is first to bring the top of the whip from the near to the off side of the coach; then undo the thong by swinging the stick round and round, at the same time keeping the point of the lash under the first finger. Next bring the right hand down close to the left, and place the left thumb over the point of the lash so as to keep it clear of everything. Now swing the stick back to the right until the wrist is about in line with the shoulder, at the same time releasing the point from under the thumb. This should be done with very little movement of the wrist. Make a good circular turn and bring the stick to the front again sharply, aiming with the point a little in front of the spot you wish to hit. In doing this the lash can travel to the front either above or below the stick, but in traffic, or when under trees, the latter will be found the safer.

The only place the point of the whip should ever crack is on the horse, and never under any circumstances in the air, which would be dangerous, especially to those on the back seat, besides being very unworkmanlike.

The lash should hit the leaders under the bars on their hocks, as it does not look well to see wheals or streaks of mud on the horses’ flanks and quarters.

"Hitting near leader." To hit the near leader, begin as before, but instead of making the lash go to the off side of the coach, throw the right hand well up and make a good swing with the stick, so that the lash may go well over the heads of the passengers from the off to the near side, and then by dropping the point of the stick and letting the hand go slightly out to the front, it will be found that the lash will swing in and hit the near leader, while passing outside and avoiding the near wheeler’s head.

"Bringing back lash." Having once hit the leader, the lash should be brought back on the near side of the coach. Do not attempt to get it straight back to your hand, otherwise you will most likely hit the wheeler, or the passenger on the box seat, but just send the lash out to the front over the leaders with a circular motion, and then by holding the stick nearly upright it will come into your hand or under your arm (fig. 31). This will leave the right hand free to steady the horses, which will generally be found necessary. The lash, having been brought back to the near side of the coach, can also be recovered by raising the whip vertically and bringing it over the wheeler’s back. This, although a quicker plan than the other, will not be found so easy or so safe.

"Hitting near leader under bars." The near leader can also be hit from the off side under the bars. To do this the lash must be thrown outwards, away from the coach, and then brought back swinging under the stick, so that the point passes between the off wheeler and the off leader just under the end of the pole. This requires a considerable amount of practice, otherwise the off-side horses will often be hit by mistake. Another very useful method is to throw the lash between the wheelers’ heads, hitting the leader on the quarter.

"Placing lash under thumb before catching up." When once the lash has been secured under the wrist or forearm, it can easily be placed under the left thumb by bringing the right hand down close to the left. Holding it firmly in this position, draw the whip hand away to the right front, keeping the wrist well bent, and allowing the lash to slide through the middle finger of this hand.

This can be repeated until the point of the lash has been pulled up into the right hand, when the thong can be caught on the stick as usual. If you catch the lash straight into the right hand the point may be got hold of by throwing the point of the stick upwards, and allowing the lash to slide through the middle finger. This is not nearly such a good plan as that described above, for you may easily throw the lash away altogether, and thus have to catch it again. Be careful, when you have the point of the lash in the right hand, to see that the loop is well clear of everything before catching it up on the stick, as it often "See that thong is not caught on footboard." gets caught round the handle of the footboard or against the reins, which utterly spoils the catch. "Never use whip when right hand on reins." You should never hit a horse with the whip while the right hand is holding a rein; it looks very awkward, and is most unworkmanlike. Should you have a loop of a rein in the right hand, as you might have when going round a corner to the right, first place the loop under the left thumb or forefinger, and then use the whip.

"To release lash caught in harness." If when hitting a leader the lash should get caught round the bars or harness, do not jerk or pull it hard, but shake it loosely up and down; otherwise it will most likely get caught all the tighter.

"Whip under thigh." If you want to use the right hand on the reins while the lash is caught, place the handle under the thigh and sit on it. Should the whip get fast in the bough of a tree or a "Lash caught in tree." lamp-post, on the near side, the only thing to do is to let it go at once, letting your hand go well up and over to the left. You will then avoid hitting the passenger on the box seat. Constant practice with the whip is absolutely essential; no one can drive well until he has thorough control over it, and is able to manipulate it in such a way that the horse struck is the only one which knows that it is being used.