228 Gait of the American Trotter and Pacer 



at E and increasing the angle to 55, as at D, we have the foot A E D 

 as against that of A B C. The dotted lines extended to M and N in- 

 dicate the effect of the reduction of surface contact by means of 

 the squared toe and the higher heel, and the line MN shows in an exag- 

 gerated manner the evident tendency toward a shorter ground contact. 



Whatever may be the greater extension of a foot so shod, if any, 

 it is primarily true that the elevation is greater in any event. What- 

 ever time is gained by shorter contact with the ground is spent in 

 action. High heels and squared toes are to a certain degree good 

 preventives of strains, and the combination acts in a way like a rolling 

 motion shoe, for it avoids the anchoring of the toe and quickens the 

 leverage from the heel on account of the higher position of the lever 



at the heel and of the shorter length of the lever itself from heel to 

 toe. But at the same time we should not forget that the horse needs 

 a sufficiently long contact with the ground to enable him to use the 

 toe effectively in the effort of propulsion. In order to have that ef- 

 fective leverage neither too short nor too long it will be necessary 

 to regulate the action of the leg according to Figs. 15 and 16, where 

 an equal forward and backward extension was considered a primary 

 condition of. a gait without lost motion. 



All the various corrections by means of angle, length of foot, 

 shape of shoe and other adjustments must have this primary condition 

 always in view, and this condition must be followed in each case, 

 however different the remedies for various faults. For, broadly con- 

 sidered, no matter how differently gaited horses are in their manner 



