Experiments and their Verification 1 89 



shows very excessive variations (16.12), which cannot possibly be con- 

 ducive to speed or to a really square gait. This is mentioned merely to 

 bring up the matter of variations as an auxiliary indication of the dis- 

 turbing causes of an irregular gait. 



Other experiments have repeatedly shown this influence of unequal 

 weight in hind shoes. It is not claimed that these shoeings were ab- 

 solutely the only correct ones to put the subject into the proper gait, 

 although the effort was always directed toward that aim. Take, for 

 instance, a third case where weight was thus applied. The subject 

 was well bred, but knuckled over behind, causing irregular extensions 

 in both extremities and too great a scope of variations. The horse was 

 said to have trotted a full mile in 2:17 and was by Directum. He 

 generally went pretty free and bold with fore, but behind skipped a 

 good deal, although his hind action was above the average. He also 

 had the bad fault of greater forward extension of hind over fore ; that 

 is to say, though his average step was 15.80 ft, the fore together 

 averaged 15.77 ft., while the hind together averaged 15.84 ft. This 

 does not by any means indicate that the hind stride was continuously 

 longer than that of the fore, but that for those 20 strides the tendency 

 of hind was to be more active than the fore, and in this trial the hind 

 legs seemed to be running or bounding along. If more of the ground 

 had been measured and additional data had been taken, it would have 

 been found that such a longer stride (0.84 inch) did not prevail in the 

 total distance, always provided the horse had trotted squarely. There 

 was, however, this tendency of excessive hind activity, and the indi- 

 vidual extensions of feet were as follows: 



Near. Off. 



8.12 7.65 



Dividing the difference between fore by 2, we have 0.235 ft, or 

 2.82 in. for the position of near fore ahead of off fore ; and likewise 

 with hind we have the off hind 0.63 ft., or 7.56 in., ahead of near hind. 

 The horse wore 12 oz. in front and 8 oz. behind. The toes were 2> 1 A 

 in. long all round, and the fore had an angle of 49, while the hind 



