THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XVII, No. 198. JUNE 1844. New Series, No. 30. 
LECTURES ON HORSES. 
By William Percivall, M.R.C.S. , Veterinary Surgeon 
First Life Guards. 
THE PACES. 
LEXICOGRAPHERS derive our English word pace from the 
French pas, which we translate step : the French making use of 
the word allure for pace, a derivative from aller, and literally signi- 
fying going or gait . Pace with us has a double signification : it 
may mean either a horse’s mode of going, or the rate at which he 
moves. When we say a horse’s paces are good, we leave it 
doubtful whether we mean that his action is good, or his speed is 
good, or that both are so ; but when we say a horse has but two 
paces, it is very well understood that he is wanting either in his 
walk or trot or gallop ; and this last is the sense in which we use 
the word pace here. 
In a state of nature the horse is said to have but three paces or 
different actions or modes of going — walk, trot, and gallop, all 
others being viewed as artificial, in contradistinction to these three, 
which are called his natural paces : the canter, the amble, and any 
other pace a horse may be taught to go, consequently, come into 
the latter class. This division, however, is not quite in accord- 
ance with truth. Though we may admit the amble to be alto- 
gether an artificial pace, assuredly we have all occasionally seen 
foals cantering after their dams. Therefore, the canter must be in 
part natural, or can, strictly speaking, be regarded only so far 
artificial that it is not, like the others, always to be observed in the 
natural state, or that horses are to be found that never naturally 
canter, or who are exceedingly difficult to be made to canter, and 
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