Experiments and their Verification 185 



issue was to effect the equal extension of hind legs, on which balance 

 and a square trot depended in this case. Now let us examine similar 

 cases and verify the case just illustrated. 



A Nutwood Wilkes gelding with near fore leg weak on account 

 of a swelled tendon and with a bog spavin on near hind, presents an- 

 other case of unequal extensions by reason of such faults or unsound- 

 ness. In his action he was bold and impressive with fore and showed 

 a fairly good hind action. His weakness, as mentioned, became evi- 

 dent at his first trial, where he showed a greater extension with both 

 off fore and off hind. In a trotter such extension on one side does not 

 forebode any good, because the greater extension should more natur- 

 ally result diagonally and not laterally. In this horse the excess of 

 extension was as follows : 



Off fore over near fore == 0.28 ft., or 3.36 in. 



Off hind over near hind = 0.51 ft., or 6.12 in. 



He wore plain shoes, 8 oz. in front and 6 oz. behind, the fore 

 having an approximate angle of 49 and the hind 53. His natural 

 attitude in front was straight, but behind he stood under slightly. The 

 average distance between the correlated feet, or between front and 

 hind in general, was in this trial only 3.03 ft., with an overstep of 5.22 

 ft. For a long-bodied horse these were out of proportion to his stride 

 of 16.5 ft. 



Our next trial was after a shoeing intended to show the effect of 

 different lengths of toes. By having near fore toe longer than off fore, 

 the extension of near fore was increased (to avoid a shock to the in- 

 jured leg on account of such a longer foot) ; and by the relation be- 

 tween it and the off hind, the latter extension even then excessive- 

 became greater still, and the difference between hind extensions was 

 quite abnormal, being 10.92 in. greater on off hind. While the fore 

 extended as follows: 



Near fore. Off fore. Total. 



8.31 8.27 16.58 



The hind showed: 



Near hind. Off hind. Total. 



7.38 9.20 16.58 



