^A Square Gait 5 



equine locomotion and balance. I would like to have the reader prove 

 to himself, by his own trials, that I am not trying to set up any par- 

 ticular theory regarding the motion of the horse, but that definite data 

 of this sort give the best foundation for practical results and that there 

 is a practical value to the investigation here offered. Many a reader 

 may, however, turn from the various demonstrations as being too in- 

 tricate and go back to the chance of hitting upon a lucky combination 

 of circumstances. He may possess intuition or the knack of doing 

 things without knowing the reason why. Some men have that insight 

 and strike the right thing. Sometimes the reward comes to him who 

 waits long enough. Most of us, however, are not gifted that way 

 and for all of us it seems better and safer to hew and saw timber by 

 lines and figures. 



What I intend to show in the course of this investigation is that 

 irregular extensions of the legs, which mainly cause a faulty .gait and 

 loss of speed, can be equalized again by means of a different adjust- 

 ment of shoes, such as weight, length and angle of hoof, and the shape 

 of the shoe. Such unequal extensions must, however, be established 

 from general averages and not from a few casual measurements. We 

 should, therefore, make a trial for such measurements of at least ten 

 strides, if not twenty, which will show the defects even better. The 

 average of any of such distances is the sum of those distances divided 

 by the number of times such distances were taken or computed. Any 

 one of these distances may vary considerably from any other, but the 

 average must show any peculiarity of gait. 



These requirements may offer some difficulties at first, but a little 

 familiarity with the positions of the feet on the ground will soon make 

 matters clear. Special note books, such as I have used, will be pre- 

 pared and offered at a reasonable price to those who may want to take 

 up this matter with horses of their own. 



This book will show in various cases the effects of weight and 

 shape of shoe, of toeweights, of the angle of foot and of the length of 

 toe. The combinations possible between these factors are almost num- 

 berless, and trainers may succeed better than I have in making a proper 

 combination on suggestions herein given. The general deductions 



