The Rack a Good School Gait. 159 



not think that any horse with practically but a 

 single gait, as is usually the case with the ambler 

 or racker, comes up to the requisite standard of 

 usefulness. Of the two, I should give my prefer- 

 ence, in our latitude, to a mere trotter, if easy, 

 who had a busy walk beside. But in addition to 

 the trot and canter, any comfortable gait may 

 often be a relief, and it is eminently desirable, if 

 the horse can learn it without spoiling his proper 

 paces. Such a gait adds vastly to a horse's value 

 for the saddle. 



I cannot agree with the School-riders that a 

 rack may not be a good School gait. Patroclus' 

 rack, when collected, is certainly as clean a per- 

 formance as any of his other gaits. From it he 

 will drop back to a walk, or fall into a canter or 

 gallop with either lead, or into a square trot. And 

 this more quickly than from another gait, for if, 

 in a canter, the indication to trot be given him 

 out of season, he may be obliged to complete one 

 more stride before he can execute the order; 

 whereas, from a rack, which is always a mid-stride 

 for any gait, he can instantly fall into the one 

 commanded. The indication and execution are 

 often all but instantaneous from the rack. He is 

 really more neatly collected on the rack proper 

 than on any other gait, except the canter; and 

 though the rack is unrecognized as a School pace, 

 I feel certain that I could convince any master of 



