Reins or lines?

[ElisabethF]

Question: When driving a horse or team of horses (in this case a single horse & buggy), do you use 'reins' or 'lines'? I have seen both in books, but I don't know if there's some specific difference between them or if they're interchangeable. I've written a story where I use both interchangeably, depending on which sounds better in that specific sentence, but I want to be sure this isn't a mistake.

[CACTUSWENDY]

For me, I always know what reins are. Not sure I would understand the term 'lines'.

[Williebee]

My early childhood reading in all things westerns says "reins".

*shrug* :)

Here's a pretty good breakdown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_harness) of the whole assembly.

[Puma]

Lines are on boats; reins are on horses. Puma

[veinglory]

For a wagon either is correct. I imagine use varied by region/nationality etc but I don't know exactly how. Some people would consider saying reins is correct only for the saddled horse, not a wagon.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I've only ever heard reins whether it was a horse and rider or horse and wagon driver.

[Medievalist]

You're more likely to hear lines with reference to a multiple-horse hitch, like a coach, or a four-in-hand.

You'll also see lines used for a lunge line, or as a synonym for "long reins."

Google "reins lines" and you can look at tack pr0n horse gear.

You'll often see lines used in archaic contexts, from medieval through very late Victorian, in the U.S. and elsewhere.

[ElisabethF]

Some people would consider saying reins is correct only for the saddled horse, not a wagon.

That's what I was concerned about. I have a vague memory of a customer review on a Western where the reviewer was either praising the author for using the correct term or criticizing them for getting it wrong. But...

You'll often see lines used in archaic contexts, from medieval through very late Victorian, in the U.S. and elsewhere.

...if it's "archaic," than does it really matter?

In retrospect, I find I used "reins" six times and "lines" only once, so in this case making it uniform would be the easiest thing, anyway.

[veinglory]

Well, if you are writing a (historical) western, the archaic term would be correct.

[ElisabethF]

I did a little poking around online and this is what I came up with. The Wikipedia article on reins lists the different types, and this is one of them:

Long reins, longlines, or driving lines — exceptionally long reins which allow the rider to control the horse from a cart, or from the ground, with the handler walking behind the horse.

This website (http://www.drivehorses.com/driving_school.htm), the Fraser School of Driving, refers to them as "reins (lines)" and "lines/reins" on the same page. That sounds interchangeable to me!

[Medievalist]

...if it's "archaic," than does it really matter?

It's archaic because there aren't a lot of people who actually drive wagon teams, coaches, or use horses for anything other than pleasure.