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CHAPTER XII. 



PACES OF THE HORSE. 



Definitions — The Trot — The Amble — The Walk — The Canter — Tlie Gallop 

 — ^The Passage — The, Spanish Walk and Spanish Trot — The Rein Back — 

 Foot-prints of the Horse during various Paces. 



I MAY remark that there is no such thinof as absolute 

 uniformity in the paces of the horse. 



s> 



Definitions. — To simplify explanation, we may, when 

 speaking of the limbs, call the near (left) fore and near hind, 

 the left pair ; the off (right) fore and off hind, the right 

 pair; the off fore and near hind, the right diagonals ; and the 

 near fore and off hind, the left diagonals. The meaning of 

 both fore and both hind is evident. 



We may use the word stipport to signify the fact that the 

 weight of the body is borne by one or more limbs, as, for 

 instance, left support, when only the left pair are on the 

 ground ; and right diagonal sttpport, when the right diagonals 

 alone prevent the horse from falling. 



A stride is the distance from the foot-print of any one leg 

 to the foot-print of the same leg, when it next comes to the 

 ground ; or it is the action of the limbs while that distance is 

 being covered. 



A step is the forward or backward movement of one foot ; 



