THE GALLOP 311 



by the near hind-foot coming down, again to be followed 

 by the off hind and near fore feet, which completes the 

 stride to our beginning. Many photographs of cantering 

 horses do not look like a canter at aD. The most common 

 one shows all but the leading foot on the ground at the 

 same moment. 



8. The three -beat, or hand-gallop, in which the hoof- 

 beats sound " one, two, three, pause ; one, two, three, 

 pause." Assuming the horse to lead with the off shoulder, 

 the one is from the near hind-foot, the two from the off 

 hind and near fore, which come down together, and the 

 three from the off fore-foot. But the gait is too rapid for 

 the horse ever to be at any one time on three legs ; hence 

 the difference from the canter. 



9. The run, or four- beat gallop. This sounds like 

 " one, two, three, four, pause ; one, two, three, four, pause." 

 When the pause occurs the horse is in the air at the end 

 of his stride and is gathering all his legs under him for 

 the next one. His four legs come down exactly like four 

 spokes of a wheel; but as there is not, after the four 

 spokes have done their work, a continuous succession of 

 spokes to sustain the w r eight of the body and propel it, the 

 horse pauses from leg action and gathers them under him 

 for four new propulsions, or rather has been gradually 

 doing so with each leg after it has completed its quasi 

 spoke-Avork. The hoof-beats, after the pause, come (if the 

 right shoulder be leading) near hind, off hind, near fore, 

 off fore, at exactly equal intervals ; then, during the next 

 pause, the horse, which has risen into the air from his off 

 fore-foot, reaches out his near hind-foot and puts it to the 

 ground for a new stride. Nothing so well describes his ac- 

 tion as four spokes of a wheel. If you think a moment, you 

 will see that the horse must first plant the hind-foot, or rear- 

 most spoke, and must end with the fore, or foremost spoke. 



