niuixo.] 



!\rODERN VETEllINAKV I' i; A (" T I C K. 



[UIUINO. 



weirjlit of the boil^' must at one time rest com- 

 plotfly on tlie near tbro let; ; and that this 

 does tako phice in the canter, is evident from 

 the efl'ects observed ; for it is a reuiarkablo 

 fact, though seldom noticed by old writers, 

 that in all cantering horses tho near fore leg is 

 more deteriorated, and exhibits more ellects of 

 work than tho oil". Judicious horsemen, sen- 

 sible of this, do not tliereforo permit their 

 norses always to lead on the same leg, but 

 frequently change the centre, and gallop, 

 canter, and trot sometimes with the right, and 

 sometimes with the left shoulder forward. 

 The right foot is usually employed in the lead, 

 when a horse is breaking-in as a * canterer,' 

 and it is proper so to commence the breaking- 

 in. If the horse is awkward, or strikes off 

 falsely, tighten the near rein, which, inclining 

 his head to the left, naturally advances his 

 right shoulder, and produces the disposition, 

 when he is pressed forward by the hand, the 

 whip, or the heels, to canter with the right 

 shoulder forward. But wo revert to our cau- 

 tion to avoid the con/inued use of the leading 

 leg, which the reader may rest assured will 

 sutler greatly, and become eventually con- 

 tracted iu the foot, gorged in the pastern, or 

 lamed by splints. Some professed horse- 

 women use a screw-crutch for their saddle, by 

 which they can shift their seat ; and to those 

 who ride a great deal, this is a very salutary 

 custom, as the constant use of one posture 

 has drawn the figure of the rider hei'self a 

 littb awry." In the speedy trot he makes 

 more use of his knees, hitching, or his body 

 rising or falling in unison with the motion of 

 the horse. This motion of rising in the 

 stirrups saves an immense amount of fatigue 

 to the horse and unpleasantness to his rider. 

 The Romans condemned the trot, and called it 

 the crucifier or torturer. In the swift gallop 

 the rider stands in his stirrups, chiefly depend- 

 ing on the grasp of his knees and thighs. 

 Formerly it was the practice to ride a galloper 

 with stirrup-leathers too short, which made the 

 seat unsteady, and too much dependence was 

 placed for support on the reins. It is ob- 

 viously impossible to lay down a precise rule 

 in this case. The length at which to ride a 

 racing-pace, whether trot or gallop, must be 

 left to the judgment and convenience of the 

 rider, with the remark that, of the extremes. 



riding loo .short is the worst. Rising in the 

 trot, and lifting and working the horse along 

 with the reins in tho gallop by tho jockey, are, 

 no doubt, practices purely English. 



Beyond tho slow trot, tho motion of few 

 horses is sufliciently smooth and easy to en- 

 courage the rider to sit upon tho saddle, nor is 

 the appearance of such a seat very graceful. 

 It is preferable then, if more speed in tho trot 

 be desired, to advance to that degree in which 

 the rider may rise in his stirrups; in order to 

 perform this easily and gracefully, the rate 

 must be somewhat considerable. To put tho 

 animal into a canter, a touch of tho left heel, 

 and a gentle pull of the right rein, for which 

 the right hand may be used, is the proper 

 method. 



Of the liand-gallop, with the riglit shoulder 

 forward, Mr. ]31aine says — "At the instant the 

 horse elevates his fore quarters by means of 

 the muscles of the loins, he throws his fore 

 legs also forwards, through the agency of the 

 muscles distributed to the shoulders and arms ; 

 but it appears that he does not elevate his 

 fore limbs equally ; the right is raised a little 

 more, and it is likewise carried a little further 

 forward than the left, which makes the action 

 a pace not a leap. During this elevation, and 

 in some instances preparatory to it, the ri'dit, 

 or oft' hind foot, moves slightly forward, but 

 only sufficient to gain a true centre, and to 

 correspond with the increased forwardness of 

 the right shoulder; the near hiud leg, it must 

 be remembered, yet remains fixed. The fore 

 extremities now reach the ground, the near 

 fore a little before its fellow, the oft" fore 

 doubling over it and placing itself a little 

 beyond it ; and the slower the gallop, the 

 more considerable will be the distance between 

 the placing the fore legs. As soon as the near 

 fore leg has met the ground, and before the 

 oft" fore has yet taken its lull bearing, the 

 hinder legs are moved in the following manner: 

 — the near hind elevates itself; and, as it 

 reaches the ground, the oft" hind passes it and 

 becomes placed also. It is now that the horse 

 begins to be all in air in this pace; for on the 

 next spring that the hind quarters make — the 

 lore quarters being already elevated froiu tho 

 last impulse — the animal is, of necessity, com- 

 pletely detached from the ground. The next 

 period when he is likewise so, is when the fore 



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