58 MY HORSE ; MY LOVE 



establish a perfect understanding. For centuries he has 

 been trained and broken by intelligent kindness, which 

 his intelligent instinct fully appreciates. He regards man 

 in the light of an intimate friend, while he acknow- 

 ledges his mastery and obeys him lovingly. Well he 

 knows him by the sound of his voice, the smell of his 

 garments, the sight of his face. In all are they in 

 sympathy and accord, and so nothing stands in the 

 way of perfect temper and disposition, which the Arab 

 horse possesses by right of a long and ancient inheri- 

 tance. His thorough docility causes him to be easily 

 trained to unaccustomed work, to a change of step, 

 to harness rather than the saddle, and to pull rather than 

 carry.' 



You have never explained to me the different gaits of a 

 horse. 



'The gallop is the natural gait of a horse. A pacer 

 goes first on the two legs on one side, and then the two 

 legs on the other. This makes a very easy, rocking 

 motion, and is natural to many horses, being generally 

 inherited. The natural gait of the camel is to pace, and 

 that is why it is not difficult or tiresome, to ride on an 

 animal so awkward looking. His speedy trot is another 

 thing, 



' The simple step, or single foot, is one foot on he 

 ground and three up. The quick trot is the same, but 

 with such force that the body is propelled forward with 

 one leg.' 



Is trotting, then, an artificial gait ? 



' Emphatically so, although in some, the gait is mere 

 readily acquired than in others. Horses must always be 

 broken to trot steadily, and it is considered the most 



