ACTION. 33 



hand. The utmost nicety of the liands is necessary, 

 especially in the slow five-mile-an-hour rate of progress, and 

 liere comes in that give-and-take of the reins on which so 

 much depends. When the horse has settled down into his 

 canter an easy and regular action is maintained ; he is 

 nicely balanced on his haunches, the hocks are brought v/ell 

 under without any outward '' wobble," the fore hand is 

 lightly lifted from the ground, and there is nothing " false " 

 in the motion. A horse is said to go false when, if 

 cantering to the right on a curve, or circling to the right, 

 he leads with the left, and vice versa, if cantering to the left, 

 he leads with the right. The rider must feel the cadence 

 of every stride, and be able at will to extend or shorten the 

 action. Simple as the pace appears it really belongs to the 

 Jiaiite ecole of the equestrian art. It is sometimes to be seen 

 illustrated to perfection by some of those equestrians who 

 '• do miserable penance in Rotten Row," occasionally by 

 men and women, when going to cover, in our best riding 

 schools, and in the circus by some star rider. 



No lady or gentleman, in riding in the park or on the 

 road, ever dreams of galloping ; a hand-gallop, or, in other 

 words, an extended canter, is all that can be perpetrated. 

 There is, however, no reason whatever why, on some breezy 

 downs or in crossing big " turkey-carpet " enclosures, the 

 pleasure of a " breather " should not be indulged in. 

 Horses gallop in all shapes and forms. There is the gallop 

 of the race-course and of the hunting field ; the one daisy- 

 cutting close to the ground, the other higher from the 

 ground and therefore safer, neither climbing nor laboured^ 

 both demonstrating enormous leverage and power behind. 

 The exception proves the rule, and almost all of our racers, 

 gifted with the keenest edge of speed, possess the poetry of 

 motion. They appear to glide over the ground without an 



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