Harness racing use a standing start. The sulky (informally known as a "bike") is a light, two-wheeled cart equipped with bicycle wheels. The driver (not a "jockey", as in thoroughbred racing) carries a light whip chiefly used to signal the horse by tapping and to make noise by striking the sulky shaft. There are strict rules as to how and how much the whip may be used; in some jurisdictions (like Norway), whips are forbidden. For exercising or training, the drivers use what is known as a "jog cart," which is a sulky that is heavier and bulkier than a racing unit.
Harness racing is that they often wear hobbles (straps connecting the legs on each of the horse's sides). The belief that hobbles are used to create this gait is a common misunderstanding. The pace is a natural gait for many horses, and hobbles are an aid in supporting the gait at top speed; trotting hobbles (which employ a different design, due to the difference in the gait) are becoming increasingly popular for the same reason. Most harness races start from behind a motorized starting gate. The horses line up behind a slow-moving, hinged gate mounted on a motor vehicle, which then leads