17G STABLE MANUAL AND HORSE DOCTOR 



generally leads off on. This must be the case when he is 

 continually throwing the greater part of his weight upon 

 the leading fore leg, as it comes to the ground, which causes 

 lameness of the foot, and strains the back sinews of the legs. 

 Being thoroughly taught to change his legs, the horse is 

 better able to perform long journeys with facility and com- 

 fort both to himself and his rider. Should the horse show 

 a tendency to cross the canter, rouse his mouth with a 

 slight reminder, and speak sharply to him ; he will soon 

 understand what is required, and behave accordingly. 



The Gallop. — This is a natural pace common to every 

 description of horse in a state of nature, from the diminutive 

 sheltie of the North to the onager (wild ass) of the African 

 deserts, the ponderous Flanders cart-horse, and the flying 

 thoroughbred of Eastern lineage, though their other paces 

 may differ entirely. 



AH these move by a succession of leaps in which the 

 hind quarters are the propellers. There are three distinct 

 varieties in the gallop : the hand or slow gallop ; the three- 

 quarter gallop ; and the full gallop — the last capable of a 

 yet further extension in the racing " finish." These are all 

 modifications of the same mode of progression. We do not 

 hold with those who class the canter as a gallop ; for in the 

 canter one foot is always on the ground, not so in the 

 succession of leaps called galloping. 



The Hand Gallop, with the right shoulder forward, is 

 thus described by Blaine, than whom we can find no 

 cleverer, better, or more practical writer on this topic : " At 

 the instant the horse elevates his fore quarters by means of 

 the muscles of the loins, he throws his fore legs also 

 forward, through the agency of the muscles distributed to 

 the shoulders and arms; but it appeals 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 

 right or off 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 hind 

 leg, it must be remembered, yet remains fixed. 



The fore extremities now reach the ground, the near fore 

 a little before its fellow, the off fore doubling over it, and 

 placing itself a little beyond it ; and the slower the gallop 



