6 Gait of the American Trotter and Pacer 



from this investigation may briefly, though incompletely, be summar- 

 ized as follows: 



Mere weight of shoe in front will increase action rather than ex- 

 tension, mere weight behind will increase extension rather than action. 

 The shape of the shoe, of course, will in either case modify both action 

 and extension. A high heel or a long toe will, again, modify the effects 

 of both weight and shape of shoe, the high heel by itself causing a 

 "pointing back" and the long toe by itself causing a "pointing for- 

 ward." Again, a longer or higher foot both at toe and heel will 

 act as a check in front to that foot and will be a lever for the greater 

 extension of its opposite mate. Injury to the front leg by concussion 

 is often due to such slightly longer foot. The greater the speed, the 

 greater the effect of any small difference between the fore or the hind 

 feet. Again, a longer foot behind increases extension and will put a 

 strain on its opposite mate through the latter's forced backward ex- 

 tension. Skipping and running behind may have this difference for a 

 cause, though unequal lengths of toes or angles of feet may also be at 

 fault. 



In the experiments I have tried to show that inequality of weight, 

 angle or toe may at times become necessary to effect a square gait. 

 Such remedies may be temporary or permanent, according to whether 

 the irregular gait is due to an acquired habit or to some structural 

 fault. Some consideration will also be .given to the extensions of the 

 legs around the turns of the track, as well as to the effects of uphill 

 and downhill grades on the locomotion of the horse. 



I have not had much of a choice of subjects. Some were good 

 and others indifferent horses. Some horses, again, were not amenable 

 to treatment for speed development, but nearly all of them could be 

 made to acquire a square gait while at their greatest speed. The 

 breeding of the horses given, wherever noted, should not be construed 

 as a reflection on family faults, and is only meant to show that the 

 subjects were trotting-bred. Each horse should be treated as an in- 

 dividual by this method, because each has faults in a different com- 

 bination with the whole make-up of the horse. 



To set forth the subject as clearly as possible it was necessary to 



