36 EQUITATION. 



knee ; by means of which and the bearing of her 

 left foot upon the stirrup, she may return to her 

 former position, without being jerked ; but she must 

 carefully time her movements to the horse's ac- 

 tion, and the closer she maintains her seat, con- 

 sistently with her own comfort the better. 



The Canter, and Gallop, are paces of still higher 

 animation ; the canter is a repetition of bounds, 

 during which the forehand raises first, and higher 

 than the hind quarters ; it is the most elegant and 

 agreeable of all the paces, when properly perform- 

 ed by horse and rider ; its perfection consists in its 

 union and animation, rather than its speed. 



A horse may canter false, disunited with the 

 fore, or disunited with the hind legs, for instance, if 

 a horse is cantering in a circle to the right, leads 

 with his near fore leg, followed by the near hind 

 leg, he is cantering false. If leading with the 

 near fore leg, the off hind, remains further back 

 than the near one, he is said to be disunited ; 

 if leading with the proper fore leg, the off hind 

 remains further back than the left, the pace must 

 be rectified. The lady should learn to ascertain 

 by the motion of the horse, if his canter be false 

 or true, and she should acquire the means, of 

 making him rectify his action, 



A horse must not be allowed to canter with 

 either leg leading at his own will, but must be 



