CANTER WITHOUT GAINING GROUND. 321 



one after another, the succession of steps being as follows : 

 off hind, near hind, off fore, near fore. 



In the full speed gallop this fact is well marked, but the 

 speed of the pace prevents it being apparent. In the stationary 

 canter, and still more in the canter to the rear, it is much less 

 marked, and for this reason it is almost imperceptible. In 

 fact, at this pace the feet only graze the ground, and are drawn 

 back for only a few inches. Instruments of precision or 

 instantaneous photography would be required to prove this in 

 both cases, but the fact remains. We can therefore say that 

 in the full speed gallop and in the canter without gaining 

 ground and to the rear, there are four successive impulsions. 



Let us note, however, that in the canter without gaining 

 ground, and in the canter to the rear, the diagonal acts in the 

 same way as in the ordinary canter, with the single difference 

 — which is a point I wish to bring to light — that the support 

 of the hind leg precedes the support of the fore leg of the 

 diagonal by an extremely short though actual interval* 



To obtain the canter without gaining ground, I begin by 

 shortening the canter every day while maintaining the pro- 

 pulsion— that is to say, by pressing the horse with the legs up 

 to his bit, the play of which should be fine in proportion to 

 the extent of the rassembler. By gradually decreasing every 

 day the length of the strides, I obtain the canter without 

 gaining ground with impulse, but not with the horse getting 

 behind his bit. When the animal is behind his bit in the 

 canter, it is impossible to keep him up to his bit, and he 

 necessarily gets away from his rider by reining back. 



* Fig. 68.— Germinal cantering to the rear ; second time. This photograph was 

 taken at the moment when the right diagonal was about to be used in support. 

 The near hind is already on the ground, but the off fore has not yet come down. 

 Hence the four times, the right diagonal making two beats instead of one. 



We should note that even in this extreme rassembler the head remains a little 

 beyond the vertical. We can therefore see that the reining back is done by the 

 seat, and not by the reins, which are not drawn tightly. 



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