THE CANTER. 237 



shoulder. The inverse aids to those described will be re- 

 quired to make the animal strike off from the halt into the 

 canter with the near fore leading. He will require much 

 special instruction (see Illustrated Horse-Breaking) before he 

 can be made to correctly perform this movement, which is 

 evidently much more difficult than changing from the walk 

 into the canter. 



Although it is immaterial from a mere riding point of view, 

 with which fore leg a horse leads when he is going at a canter 

 to the front ; many (absurdly, I venture to think,) consider it 

 fashionable for him to do so only with the off fore. This is 

 quite right when a horse is ridden by a delicate lady who 

 wants to be carried as smoothly as possible ; but it is abso- 

 lutely immaterial, as far as comfort goes, to a rider in a man's 

 saddle. The dictates of fashion can in no way excuse the bad 

 horsemanship of, under ordinary circumstances, turning a horse 

 to the left, or circling him to the left at a canter with the off 

 fore leading. A horse is said to be cantering false or galloping 

 false, when, at either of these respective paces, he turns or goes 

 on a circle to the left with the off fore leading ; or to the 

 right, with the near fore leading. School riders sometimes 

 purposely make their horses canter false, in order to show 

 that their animals will obey the aids, even when they are 

 applied reversely. This air de manege is of course never 

 meant for ordinary application. Riding men who study the 

 welfare of their horses, should bear in mind that more strain 

 and concussion fall on the leading fore leg than on the non- 

 leading one. 



The rider of a cantering or galloping horse can easily tell 

 with which fore leg the animal is leading ; because the 

 motion of the canter causes the rider's leg which is on the 

 same side as the horse's leading fore leg, to be carried more 

 forward than the rider's other leg. If from inexperience he 

 has any doubt on this subject, he can easily settle the 



