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Gallop--first used in the United States when old Joe Clark, uneducated trainer of Aristides (winner of the first Kentucky Derby), saw the filly take off down the track as a one-year-old, and ejaculated, "Holy smokes! Lookit that gal lope!"
(Actual origin: [From Middle English galopen, to go at a gallop, from Old French galoper, of Germanic origin.] , from Atomica.)
1. a. A natural three-beat gait of a horse, faster than a canter, in which all four feet are off the ground at the same time during each stride.
b. A fast running motion of other quadrupeds.
2. A ride taken at a gallop.
3. A rapid pace: Events were proceeding at a gallop.
4. Medicine. A disordered rhythm of the heart characterized by three or four distinct heart sounds in each cycle and resembling the sound of a galloping horse. Also called cantering rhythm, gallop rhythm.
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old hand
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Gallop does have an onomatopoetic quality to it.
Reminds me of a line from The Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll:
He left it dead and with its head
He went galumphing back.
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Carpal Tunnel
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RE:Medicine. A disordered rhythm of the heart characterized by three or four distinct heart sounds in each cycle and resembling the sound of a galloping horse. Also called cantering rhythm, gallop rhythm.
i read an account once, about a man, coming out of anethesia, after open heart surgury, who heard his doctor pronounce "gallopping heart".. a condition that is often fatal, since its hard to 'fix' with drugs..
but this man made a comlete recovery, and quickly.. in no time at all he heart rythm stabalized, and he was better.
at one of his check ups, he told his doctor, "I felt terrible as i started to wake up after surgury, but then i heard you say "gallopping heart" and knew i was a healty as a horse, and was going to be fine!"
interesting how what we hear, effects how we think!
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Pooh-Bah
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And from Virgil, unlike poor old Plutarch who is thoroughly pilloried in another thread, the onomatoepaic:
"Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum"
"The beautiful horse galloped across the plain". If you speak the Latin aloud, you get a rythym not unlike a dactyl ...
Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum
Sounds just like the rythym of a galloping horse!
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Horsegaitwisely speaking, isn't there a real difference between a gallop and a canter? Something about the order the hooves leave/touch the ground, or the fact of all being off the ground together, or both?
[Esoterica alert] Incidentally, your doctor distinguishes two kinds of heart gallop, one not as welcome as the other. One goes ba-da-BOM, ba-da-BOM, ba-da-BOM and the other is ba-DUM-ba, ba-DUM-ba, ba-DUM-ba. There are first, second, third, and fourth heart sounds, so that's really four-one-TWO, four-one-TWO as opposed to one-TWO-three, one-TWO-three. In adults a four- is a nuisance; a -three is a problem.[/Esoterica]
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old hand
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isn't there a real difference between a gallop and a canter?  A Gallup is a Pole, and a Cantor is a Jew.....
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isn't there a real difference between a gallop and a canter?
Decloak Jackie, Scotty
Aye cap'n, but Ah cannae vouch for oor safety if ah dü.
1. a. A natural three-beat gait of a horse, faster than a canter, in which all four feet are off the ground at the same time during each stride.
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Aha! So Jackie's dictionary's Definition 1 disagrees with Definition 4! It's an EMERSON ! *
* "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...", Isaac Asimov quoted Emerson as saying
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Plutarch who is thoroughly pilloried in another thread
Erm...I thought it was he who chiseled ONTO a pillar...?
Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum
Sounds just like the rythym of a galloping horse!
Wow, it really does, CK--thanks!
isn't there a real difference between a gallop and a canter?
Well, yes, a few. A gallop is faster than a canter (whether the horse is Jewish or not!), and a canter is the smoothest gait--the saddle should give you the feel of a rocking chair.
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we don't have to gallop along, but rather move at a steady pace... speaking of which, where is your word for today?
(i know, i know, it's a case of keep your shirt on, helen, but i want it now!)
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TENNESSEE WALKING HORSE This was my father's favorite breed of horse. (My last words in my post above made me change what had been going to be today's word--he often likened riding a Tennessee Walker to sitting in a rocking chair.) The running walk is the gait for which the walking horse is most noted! This extra-smooth gliding gait is basically the same as the flat walk with a marked increase in speed. This breed can travel 10 to 20 miles per hour at this gait. As the speed is increased, the horse over-steps the front track with the back foot by from 6 to 18 inches. The more "stride" the horse has the better "walker" it is considered to be, for this gives the rider a feeling that he or she were gliding through the air as if propelled by some powerful but smooth-running machine. Walking horses relax certain muscles while doing the running-walk, some nod their heads in rhythmic timing, swing their ears in perfect motion, and some even snap their teeth. The running walk is a smooth, easy gait for both horse and rider. A bit of its history: Mainly used for utility and riding stock, he gained wide popularity for this ease of gait and ability to stride faultlessly over hills and through the valleys of the rocky middle Tennessee terrain. For full details on all the breeds that were combined to create this breed, and more (pictures too), you can go to: http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/tenn.htmlOk, Helen--it took me a while to find a good source! :-)
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i know almost nothing about horses, but i do know they have 4 natural 'gates', walking, cantoring, galloping and (trot)???
and your post seems to imply that the tennessee walking horse has almost a fifth- natural gait.
I'll wait out the week, if you are going to cover gaits later...but if not, i will have increased my knowledge of horses!
--as an aside, why do we race horses, but when we gamble, we play the ponies?
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play the ponies
Alliteration is deeply ingrained in the Anglo-Saxon soul.
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Speed-wise in order, the common gaits are: walk, trot (this is the bouncy one), canter, and gallop. Here's what the link has about the TW gaits:
The Tennessee Walking Horse performs the flat foot walk, running walk, and canter. These three are the gaits for which the Tennessee Walking Horse is famous, with the running walk being an inherited natural gait unique to this breed. Many Tennessee Walking Horses are able to perform the rack, stepping pace, fox-trot, single-foot and other variations of the famous running walk, while this is not desirable in the show ring the above mentioned gaits are smooth easy trail riding gaits.
The flat foot walk is a brisk, long-reaching walk that can cover from 4 to 8 miles an hour. This is a four cornered gait with each of the horse's feet hitting the ground separately at regular intervals. The horse will glide over the track left by the front foot with his hind foot (right rear over right front, left rear over left front). The action of the back foot slipping over the front track is known as overstride. Overstride is unique to the walking horse breed. The hock should show only forward motion, with vertical hock action being highly undesirable. A Tennessee Walking Horse will nod its head in rhythm with the cadence of its feet. This nodding head motion, with the overstride, are two features that are unique to the Tennessee Walking Horse.
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People who own horses often affectionately refer to them as 'ponies.' As Faldage noted, alliteration is common in expressions that seem to catch on, and, additionally, the element of carefree 'play' with the affectionate term 'pony' makes this combo a winner, whether you lose or not. 
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bridle
Main Entry: 1bri·dle
Pronunciation: 'brI-d&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English bridel, from Old English brIdel; akin to Old English bregdan to move quickly -- more at BRAID
Date: before 12th century
1 : the headgear with which a horse is governed and which carries a bit and reins
2 : a length of line or cable attached to two parts of something to spread the force of a pull; especially : rigging on a kite for attaching line
3 : CURB, RESTRAINT <set a bridle on his power>
Main Entry: 2bridle
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): bri·dled; bri·dling /'brId-li[ng], 'brI-d&l-i[ng]/
Date: before 12th century
transitive senses
1 : to put a bridle on
2 : to restrain, check, or control with or as if with a bridle <bridle your tongue>
intransitive senses : to show hostility or resentment (as to an affront to one's pride or dignity) especially by drawing back the head and chin
(From Merriam-Webster)
I've always thought it was interesting that it is used as a verb; I imagine this usage just about had to have come from the use of *a* bridle.
We also have the expression "champing at the bit", taken straight from what horses do when they're eager to be off!
Of course, I suppose we could go into the champing/chomping, stamping/stomping discussion again...
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>Of course, I suppose we could go into the champing/chomping, stamping/stomping discussion again...
yes, we could. 'champing at the bit' google®s in at 9000+ and 'chomping at the bit' scores 21,000+
:-)
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Well, my mother said champing. So there, Google!
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No equestrian I. I found etymology of "canter" interesti;ng.
can[ter 7kant4!r8
n.
contr. < Canterbury gallop: from pace at which the pilgrims rode to Canterbury
1 a smooth, easy pace like a moderate gallop
2 the rumbling sound of a cantering horse
vi., vt.
to ride or move at a canter
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Well, wwh, that makes sense. A gallop will just about wear you out. But a nice canter? You make some good distance without all that effort--and you save your horse. So those pilgrims cantering to Canterbury sounds just about right for those who could afford the horse.
Now an Arabian mare? Forget cantering. They're pretty wild determined to beat out anything in the pack and will gallop easily till the cows come home.
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Pooh-Bah
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Most horses do have 4 natural gaits but there are a few specialists. I am not familiar with the Tennessee Walker but there are the harness racing horses who "pace" by alternating both left legs with both right legs. (I used to ride a retired pacer who was learning to canter - his front legs cantered and his back ones paced. Weird ride!)
There is also the passo (S Amer) or tolt (Icelandic) which is supposed to be so smooth that you can ride with a full wineglass and not spill any wine. Less smooth after the fourth or fifth ride, I'll bet.
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ride with a full wineglass
I knew a Welsh pony once. I made the same comment about a full wineglass when I saw her at a full gallop. This hypothetical wineglass would have been placed on her back with no human involved!
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coffin boneThis is the main bone inside a horse's hoof. I don't know why it's called that, but you can see some pictures here: http://www.barefoothorse.com/ Please click on Photo Gallery; apparently this site will only let you link to the home page. his front legs cantered and his back ones paced. Whoa, I'll bet that was weird! Faldage, your Welsh pony story intrigued me. Would you mind supplying a few more details, such as how the wineglass could get on her back with no human involved?
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how the wineglass could get on her back with no human involved?
It was put there by the fleas who laid the nits that you have so ably picked.
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Pooh-Bah
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A pony is £25 in cockney rhyming slang. Just a thought.
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Welsh ponyI hadn't actually planned to use this, but the above mention of pony, plus the fact that Wales has been on my mind a lot lately, made me decide this was a good way to end my week. Horses (and ponies!) seem to get to people. I'm going to quote from a site I found on Welsh ponies. It, like the one on Tennessee Walkers, waxes lyrical to a point...well, judge for yourselves.
In selecting the one we want, we shall look for the great bold eye, the tiny head, short back, strong quarters, high set of tail, fine hair, hocks that do not turn in, the laid-back shoulder, the straight foreleg, and the short, so very short, cannon bone."
The original home of the Welsh Mountain pony was in the hills and valleys of Wales. He was there before the Romans. His lot was not an easy one. Winters were severe. Vegetation was sparse. Shelter, most often, was an isolated valley or a clump of bare trees. Yet the Welsh pony managed not only to survive, but to flourish.
Led by proud stallions, bands of mares and their foals roamed in a semi-wild state, climbing mountains, leaping ravines, running over rough terrain. This sort of existence insured perpetuation of the breed through only the most hardy of stock. Hence, the development of a pony with a remarkable soundness of body, a tremendous endurance, and a high degree of native intelligence.
Even an edict of Henry VII that all horses under 15 hands be destroyed did not eliminate the Welsh. Hiding in desolate areas where his persecutors were reluctant or unable to go, perhaps at Nant Llwyd, he continued to live and reproduce, preserving for mankind a distinctive strain of pony that today has generated enthusiasm among breeders and pony lovers all over the world.
The pure Welsh pony may be any color: black, gray, bay, roan, cream, or chestnut. He can never be piebald or skewbald. Further down on the page, it talks about Welsh cobs, too, and there are pictures. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/WELSH/index.htmWell, this concludes a week, for me. Perhaps this will work the same way Hogwash has been: as one lays down the gauntlet, others will pick it up in subsequent weeks?
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He can never be piebald or skewbald.
(*emphasis added)
piebald i have heard of,(don't know as i could give it a good defination, but.) Skewbald is totally new to me.
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And then there's that old song about Stewball the race horse.
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In Hampton, a little town on the New Hampshire seacoast that has a long, deep sandy beach, police have a patrol mounted on Tennessee Walking horses. They are extremely effective in crowd control and for catching wrong-doers on the sands. Faster and quieter than dune buggies ! Nothing seems to calm down miscreants faster than feeling a bump on the shoulder and turning around to see a *big horse and his rider smiling at you! (TW's have such nice faces they do seem to smile.)TWs have a nice calm temperament too, and children and youngsters love to pat and stroke them which is good public relations for the HPD!
The man who started the Mounted Patrol is named Dennis Pellitier, a police officer at the time, he is now retired and has enough acres to offer a good retirement to horses also retired from the Patrol. He chose Tennessee Walkers, he said, because they are the easiest horses to ride for men not "born to the saddle" and because of the horses' great personality and temperament.
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There's nothing on earth more relaxing than riding a walking TN Walker.
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