66 HOKSE-BREAKING. 



who live in the saddle, appreciate a good walk- 

 ing horse, and will give a good deal more for a 

 walker than they will for one that is not. An 

 Australian may be travelling a long distance, 

 or in search of lost sheep, cattle, or horses ; 

 in either case the pace would be slow, and pro- 

 bably the distance covered daily from forty to 

 forty- five miles, or perhaps more, and to ride a 

 horse day after day for this distance, which will 

 not walk, but only jig-jog, is simply martyrdom. 

 Therefore those men who break-in horses for 

 their own use take very great pains to teach 

 them to walk well. In England the average 

 pace of a horse which has any pretensions to 

 walking is about four miles an hour, and I 

 very much doubt if the best ever get to five. 

 In Australia, where horses are educated to walk, 

 good walkers can do their six miles an hour. 

 The Americans educate their horses to trot, and 

 beat us at that pace. A good Australian walk- 

 ing horse will be able to keep up five miles an 

 hour for the distance of twenty miles ; and for 

 a long distance, say a journey of two or three 



