Requisites of Perfect Balance 109 



no apparent distress by concussion and no loss of time by the slip- 

 ping and sliding of any part of the shoe. Only when the contact with 

 the ground by the shoes is firm, distinct and light can the horse be said 

 to move with ease and effect in his endeavor for speed. Any other 

 evidence on the ground may reasonably be taken as showing both de- 

 fective gait and imperfect shoeing. 



The capacity to take infinite pains has been given as the definition 

 of genius. It is this fine spirit that marks the American trainer of trot- 

 ters and pacers; and the wish to help him in his work is largely re- 

 sponsible for the publication of this book. The trainer, and for that 

 matter the owner, should be able to minutely advise the farrier as to 

 how the horse moves and handles itself. He should know the gait by 

 the record on the ground and should be able to tell what he wants. 

 However much he may hope to accomplish all the work in the sulky, it 

 would at times be a good plan for him to stand off and watch his 

 horse move past him driven by an understudy. This would give him 

 time for observation and possible calculation of ground evidence, all 

 of which is by no means lost time. It does one good to get away 

 from the grind of everyday routine and do a little gazing and figur- 

 ing. To rest one's hands and think has to my knowledge often been 

 the beginning of better work afterwards. 



Aside from the fact that the iron rim called a shoe is a protec~ 

 tion for the brittle horn of the foot, there enter into its effect on the 

 gait two distinct qualities, namely, weight and shape. Judging from 

 what one hears generally of shoeing or any particular change in shoes, 

 the most important feature of it seems to be weight. So many ounces 

 in front and so many ounces behind is the whole song of shoeing one 

 hears. Never a word of shape, or toe or heel or angle, but always 

 weight and weight as the paramount issue ! In all his discourse on 

 pointing, Roberge hardly ever mentions weight, but he does harp con- 

 stantly on the shape of the foot and the shape of the shoe. Weight 

 has only relative value; that is, when applied in conjunction with 

 certain conditions of angle and toe length. Our ultimate aim in bal- 

 ance should be the principle: the lighter the shoe the better for the 

 horse. The effect of weight is not fully understood and the import- 



