152 Gait of I he American Trotter and Pacer 



importance that such distances should be as near alike as possible in 

 order 'to have a square trot and an even action. Whatever unequal 

 extensions there are, they should be found in both fore and hind feet 

 and should be of equal or nearly equal magnitude. Such an approach 

 to equality is found in the application of the toe-weight to the right fore. 

 The left hind responded to the greater activity of the right fore. Both 

 the left fore and the right hind receded in their previous extensions and 

 by comparison the two cases exemplify the effect of a toe-weight not 

 only on the foot bearing it, but also on its correlated hind mate. The 

 excess of extension of left fore drops only from 1.74 inches to 1.62 

 inches, or 0.12 inch, but that of the right hind decreases from 4.62 

 inches to 2.82 inches, or 1.8 inch, making a total approach of n f o h 

 of 1.68 inch (2.881.20). 



Toe-weights, therefore, have their uses, especially as auxiliaries 

 to establish evidence of excessive and wrong extensions by applying 

 them singly to either fore foot. I would recommend such a test as a 

 rough and quick, though an indefinite, short-cut to balance. As men- 

 tioned before, a shoe accidentally lost in a try-out has often served 

 the same purpose to the thoughtful trainer, and a cast shoe with better 

 gait and speed in consequence is a hint with a vengeance to any ob- 

 server. It should certainly call forth the simple little question. "Why ?" 

 upon whose repetition so much enlightenment rests. We are sur- 

 rounded by many mysteries, but this little question has a right to 

 knock at the door of every one of them, and no human tradition, or 

 prejudice or authority, shall forbid it to do so, for upon that right all 

 true progress depends. 



Just as a cast shoe may reveal an inequality of length in foot or 

 leg, so a toe-weight applied to one fore foot may point out a deficiency 

 of extension ; but whatever the supposition, do not let us speak of a 

 horse striding shorter with one leg than with the others. A horse 

 would not trot or pace if he did that continuously. 



Let us again consider the effects of toe-weights and examine other 

 cases. 



Let us take the case of a mare with a vicious direction of near 

 fore, as given in Fig. 118. The near fore fooc crosses over the me- 



