Experiments and their Verification 233 



itself out behind, and its shifting to a position between the two fore 

 legs was, therefore, a device of the horse to avoid interference. The 

 mere fact of such position does not by itself argue any lack of for- 

 ward extension, as is often taken for granted when the observation 

 is made by the eye and not by actual measurements. 



It was noteworthy to observe on the ground the continual strik- 

 ing and slipping of the heels of the off hind, particularly the outside 

 heel, while the near hind showed at all the tracks a firm hold and a de- 

 pression of the toe. This is the characteristic difference in signs be- 

 tween a foot that extends too far forward and one that extends too 

 far backward. The power of propulsion lies largely at the toe and, 

 therefore, the ability of the near hind to shove the ground from un- 

 der it, as it were, gives the off hind the excessive forward reach. In 

 other words, the two hind legs perform extreme functions, which an 

 even or regular gait requires them to share, equally. 



Right here we might as well take into account the lateral exten- 

 sion of the second trial, or the way the feet travel as viewed from 

 behind and measured from the standard or median line in the middle 

 between the sulky wheels. 



Fig. 174 gives the lateral extension of the previous trial and Fig. 

 177 of the following one. By studying both of these results an idea 

 may be obtained of the importance of the proper lines of motion and 

 how these are disturbed by one such faulty leg as the off hind in this 

 case. While the near side is not much affected, save, perhaps, in 

 the nearness of the fore to the middle line, the off side presents the 

 reverse of what it ought to be and of what the near side shows. Here 

 the off hind, by its inward line of motion, compels the off fore to step 

 outside of it, or rather both fore shift from the near to the off side. 

 The toeing in of the off fore is 'due to faulty paring of hoof, although 

 the foot has that inclination if left to itself. The next trial will dem- 

 onstrate the remedy for that faulty direction of foot. 



Four weeks after the shoeing of the trial shown in the results of 

 Fig. 176 this gelding was again shod with round toes on all four feet, 

 as given in Fig. 178. Here we find the toe lengths of the fore feet 

 the same, and that of the near hind longer by %G inch than the 



