122 The Cmiter. 



siderable effort; and still such a horse is often 

 the best one to buy. Now the easiest way to get 

 Nelly into a canter, if she persists in trotting, is 

 to push her beyond her speed, for which purpose 

 you should select a soft piece of ground. So 

 soon as she has broken into a gallop, unless 

 she has been trained to settle back into a trot, 

 you can readily slow up without changing her 

 gait. If it has been attempted to train her as 

 a trotter, you will have harder work to do this. 

 But there is a little vibrating movement of the 

 hands, sometimes called " lifting," which tends 

 to keep a horse cantering, just as a steady pull 

 keeps him trotting. This movement is in the 

 little what the galloping action of a horse is in 

 the great. The hands move very slightly for- 

 ward and upward, and pass back again on an 

 under line. 



Apparently, Nelly has been broken in the usual 

 way, for she trots naturally on a steady rein or 

 on the snafBe. Now, you will find that a moving 

 rein or the curb is apt to break her trot, and 

 make her do something else, — either prance, or 

 trot with high unsettled steps, or canter. It is 

 for your own hands, when she gets to the canter, 

 to hold her there. This may take you some time, 

 but you can certainly do it by repeated trials. 

 Having accomplished it, you may, between curb 

 bit and spurs, both gently used, mind you, gradu- 



