THE CANTER. 229 



.valuable. I may here go back to the remarks made on 

 page 63, and point out that if we wish to " straighten " a 

 horse on his shying to one side or " running out at a 

 fence," our object will be to make him turn on his centre, 

 and not merely to turn his head round without altering 

 the direction of his body. Even supposing that it was 

 always possible to apply the drawn-back leg at the right 

 time so as to make the horse bring his hind-quarters round, 

 it would surely be an advantage for him to do so of 

 his own accord, on feeling the pull of the rein ; for the 

 indication thus given by the leg, which can be applied to 

 the side, but not to the hind-quarters, is naturally feeble. 

 Besides, under discomposing circumstances, the rider may 

 not be able to bring his leg back, or may be ignorant. In 

 any case, he will have sufficient firmness of seat, knowledge, 

 or presence of mind to pull the rein of the side, to which he 

 wishes his mount to turn. If, by chance, the rider of a 

 horse which has been broken according to the system I am 

 describing, wants to make the animal turn his head to one 

 side without altering the direction of his body, all he will 

 have to do will be to apply the drawn-back foot of the 

 side opposite to which the bend of the head and neck is 

 being made, so as to arrest the revolution of the hind- 

 quarters. 



As the shoulder of the leading fore leg, in the canter or 

 gallop, is more advanced than that of the non-leading fore 

 leg, the natural tendency of the horse, when going at 

 either pace, will be to carry his hind legs more or less side- 

 ways. Thus, if the off fore is leading, the tracks made by 

 the hind feet will be somewhat to the right of those made 

 by the respective fore feet. An excess of this tendency, 

 which decreases according as the speed increases, and which 

 is usually displayed only when one particular fore leg leads, 

 should be guarded against during the breaking in of the 



