23O OxN THE PACES, AND 



are to be taught that pace, in their work ; our 

 four and five years old, too often coming up 

 out of the country, as raw, and ignorant of 

 their paces, as mountain goats. 



The canter has been fuppofed incompatible 

 with fafl trotting, or at leafl an impediment to 

 it, which is a vulgar error; the extent of the 

 ilroke, and degree of bending the knee, being 

 nearly equal (with trotters) in both paces. 

 Nor does the cufiom of cantering at all add to 

 the danger of a trotter's flying out of his pace, 

 which is the confequence of unfkilful riding; 

 and, in that cafe, he goes into a gallop, not a 

 canter. Occafionai cantering is moreover a 

 great relief to fall trotters, which are ever 

 more (hook and hurt, than any other defcrip- 

 tion of Horfes. 



Want of practice, is the general reafon why 

 Horfes will not canter long and fteadily ; yet 

 there are certainly many which cannot be 

 brought by any means to perform it well. 

 Others again, from their natural fhape and 

 inclination, will canter away freely, nine or ten 

 miles per hour, and continue it a whole ftage. 

 I have even known fome, which would canter 

 pleafantly fourteen miles within the hour. 

 Thefe may be properly ftyled cantering hacks, 

 and are very valuable. It is a pace to which 

 all bred hacks ought to be accullomed, as they 

 have feldom much expedition in their trot, 



and 



