ACTION. 



349 



that leg is being extended to the front. In fact, the 

 straighter it is at that moment, the more perfect will be 

 the front action on level ground. A race-horse should, 

 like a ballet-dancer, move as if he had no knees. It is 

 well to quahfy this praise of low action by remarking that 

 a horse which bends his knees a little, is better suited 

 for going up a hill, than a " daisy cutter " ; as his " round " 



mm 



Photo hll'\ [BAKER Art GiliLERY, COLTIMBUS, 0. 



Fig. 410. — Mr. George H. Ketcham's ex-champion American trotter Cresceus 



(2.02j, on the inside). 



style of going will aid him in climbing the ascent. The 

 shoes should be as light as practicable, so that the 

 weight of the iron may not interfere with the animal's 

 action to any perceptible extent. In India, where but 

 very little rain falls during the racing season, I always 

 found that horses I had in training ran best unshod, 

 supposing of course that their feet were strong enough to 

 do their work without artificial protection. This practice 

 of running and training horses without shoes is largely 



