1C4 ILLUSTRATED STOCK DOCTOR. 



hard as to make him a borer. One of the best pair of road trotters w» 

 ever broke, were trained with curb bits, and when under smooth motion 

 were apparently driven with a loose rein ; such, however, was only ap- 

 parent ; they had been given such delicate mouths by careful driving 

 that the least indication kept them in proper form. Below we give two 

 illustrations : one showing a horse unduly checked and gagged back, the 

 other with the head in an easy-going position. The use of the bearing 

 rein is sinipl}'^ to keep the horse from getting his head too low, not to 

 draw it back in an unnatural position. Under the saddle this is precisely 

 the use of the curb. 



Borse's head wna bearing-rein. horse's head without bearing-reiit. 



The Pacing Gait. — This is a gait natural to many horses, and exceed- 

 ingly difficult to teach a horse that it is not natural to. On the other 

 hand it is not difficult to make a trotter of a pacer. In pacing, a horse 

 lifts both feet on a side simultaneously, and on perfectly smooth ground 

 it may be made an exceedingly fast gait. It is easy to the rider but 

 Ungraceful in the extreme, from the fact that, as in sculling a boat, the 

 body is swayed from side to side. If the horse has the pace naturally 

 he should be trained to increase the pace by precisely the same general 

 rules for increasing the trotting pace ; by keeping him well in hand and 

 inducing him by every possible means to increase his stride. 



The rack, amble, and single foot, as it is sometimes called, are all but 

 modifications of the pacing stride and the gallop, just as the jog-trot and 

 the walk are modifications of the trot. 



The amble is a slow, smooth gallop, or rather canter, and must be 

 taught to the horse under the curb. 



The rack is a modification of the pace, the feet instead of being lifted 

 up simultaneously side by side, represented by the figures 1-2, may be 

 represented by the figures 1-2, 3-4, that is, the feet are not lifted regularly 

 as in the walk. 



Single foot is a trained rack. It requires patience and time to teach, 

 «tcept in a horse having a natural adaptation thereto. Once the animal 



