120 THE HORSE. 
on his hind legs, with a loose rein and extended neck. This kind of pace 
may be detected by the ear on a turnpike road, by the quick pat-ter-ring 
sound which is evolved. It is extremely easy to the horseman, but is not 
so well adapted to female equestrianism, as it jerks the body in an un- 
graceful manner. The true canter, as adapted for ladies, is indicated below, 
though it is so difficult to represent, that it is not so clearly done as might 
be wished. When the off leg leads off, the near one has to bear more than 
its share of work, and hence, unless a change is occasionally made, the 
fetlock joint of that leg is almost sure to suffer. Ladies should therefore 
either trot for a part of their daily rides, or teach themselves and their 
horses to change the lead from that with the off leg to that with 
the near. 
THE HAND GALLOP. 
BETWEEN THE CANTER and the true gallop there intervenes a pace 
which may be easily confounded with either, unless Mr. Blaine’s defini- 
tion of the canter is accepted, when the hand gallop can easily be 
distinguished from it. This pace is merely a slow and measured gallop, 
in which for a very short period all the legs leave the ground, but in 
which the propulsion is steadily given, and not with those snatches or 
jerks which are necessary to develop the high speed of the extended 
gallop. The body also is not nearer the ground than in the act of stand- 
ing, and this may be considered as one of the best distinctions between 
the hand gallop and the extended stride of the faster pace. The French 
writers distinguish between the two by asserting that in the hand gallop 
