I assume they use the brake, visible in the video. This is however a rather foolhardy venture, there is not sufficient draft to keep the enormous evener sufficiently taught to prevent tangling. There is never a practical reason for hitching so many abreast like this. Much safer would be a pair on the wagon with a proper POLE and BREECHING, then a 4 abreast hitched to a swing pole, then a leading 4 abreast, to drive all 10. I see this in footage all the time from Europe, both archival and current, horses with NO BREECHING pulling wheeled vehicles. Extremely sloppy and dangerous, even in flat lands. I really think that North American horsemen learned a lot when it comes to large hitches on the plains. Europeans seem to be just playing at things they don't quite get.
How do you keep the wagon without a pole running into the haunches of the horses when you suddenly have to slow down or stop?
I assume they use the brake, visible in the video. This is however a rather foolhardy venture, there is not sufficient draft to keep the enormous evener sufficiently taught to prevent tangling. There is never a practical reason for hitching so many abreast like this. Much safer would be a pair on the wagon with a proper POLE and BREECHING, then a 4 abreast hitched to a swing pole, then a leading 4 abreast, to drive all 10. I see this in footage all the time from Europe, both archival and current, horses with NO BREECHING pulling wheeled vehicles. Extremely sloppy and dangerous, even in flat lands. I really think that North American horsemen learned a lot when it comes to large hitches on the plains. Europeans seem to be just playing at things they don't quite get.