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 in Finland 3 000 are competing in harness racing. Finnhorse harness racing has recently decreased slightly, and occasionally coldblood heats have to be cancelled due to lack of participants. As of 2004, less than 35 percent of all harness racing heats were open for coldblood horses, more than 5 percental units less than in the early 1990s. Harness racing in general is not experiencing any such decline. The decrease of the popularity of the Finnhorse can be result from many factors. For instance, the expenses of horse keeping in Finland are high, so light trotters, usable for competition a year earlier than