310 A CANTERBURY TALE 



a quarrel with the nomenclature, for in many places a 

 canter is called a " lope," and a running-walk a " run," or 

 a fast rack a " single-foot." Localized epithets always ex- 

 ist. What I mean is that the slow and fast gaits are not 

 alike, and should have different names ; and " canter " has 

 for ages been applied to the slower gait. I am inclined to 

 wander a bit here, but 



Well, the " canter " (which is of Canterbury origin, and 

 perchance the " Wei nyne-and-twenty in a companye " fell 

 into a canter at the end of each tale) is a gait much more 

 "artificial" than the rack. The gallop is natural. The 

 canter proper must be produced by training in every in- 

 dividual. A horse will naturally fall to racking ; he never 

 will fall into a canter untaught fresh proof that the slur 

 on Southern gaits is incorrect. The " Kentucky wriggle " 

 is a pure gait. 



The canter is produced by reining a horse back from a 

 three-beat gallop. Individuals differ much, and the same 

 horse differs often in the performance of the canter. But 

 every one who has ridden it remembers the feel as of a sort 

 of pause at one period of the stride. Well, at that mo- 

 ment three feet are on the ground, say, if leading with the 

 right shoulder, the off hind, and the near and off fore-feet, 

 while the near hind one has just left it. The off fore-foot 

 is the. last to come down, and is thrown forward where 

 you can see it over the horse's shoulder ; and because its 

 action is more pronounced than that of the other feet, the 

 horse is said to be leading with that foot. This hoof-beat 

 is the very pronounced three of the "one, two, three!" 

 sound of the canter. Just before the time this leading-off 

 fore-foot comes down, the near hind-foot goes up ; then 

 the off hind and near fore, quite or nearly together ; and 

 then from the leading-off fore-foot the horse goes into 

 the air, and you feel the rise in the gait. This is followed 



