244 Gait of the American Trotter and Pacer 



Knowing whether a horse points outwardly or inwardly, or whether 

 he travels too closely, or whether his fore or hind feet land at equal 

 distances from the middle or median line, will determine if the center 

 of gravity of the animal moves in the plane dividing the horse length- 

 wise into two equal halves. If from the results of the lateral measure- 

 ments there is, as we have seen, a habitual tilting of the body to one 

 side and the feet land at unequal distances from the median line, there 

 is generally something the matter with the lateral balance of the 

 foot. Knowledge of such facts will, therefore, enable the shoer to 

 adjust the lateral balance to remedy the fault, even if such raising or 

 lowering of one side or the other of the foot may not satisfy the eye ; 

 for, lateral balance, as well as the whole question of shoeing and 

 trimming the foot, is in most cases one of compensations rather than 

 of ideal conditions. 



To have simple and exact terms in describing the conditions of a 

 hoof is of great importance, and instead of calling LAB (Fig. 182) 

 a foot with a "high toe" or otherwise, let us take into account the only 

 two rational conditions possible, namely, that LAB designates a foot 

 with a toe length of 3^ in. and an angle of 60, or D A B is a foot 

 with a toe length of 3^/2 in. and an angle of 50. 



If with the heel fixed at B we shorten the toe to the point E, 

 we have an angle D E B of 52, or if we lengthen the toe to F we 

 have an angle D F B of 48. Again, if the toe remains at A and we 

 leave the grown heel at P, or apply a shoe to raise it that much, we 

 have an angle D A P of 55. In all these cases, therefore, we have 

 simply to account for the length of toe and for the angle of its 

 frontal line with the sole to establish the same conditions at any sub- 

 sequent shoeing. We do not have to guess to get it "about right," 

 but know exactly what it should be from the results of the same con- 

 ditions prevailing before. 



The reader should make himself familiar with the three principles 

 of Roberge regarding the trimming of the foot. On pages 78 to 80 

 of his book he describes very ably the leveling, the symmetry and 

 the balance of the foot, and gives the good advice "to remove horse- 

 shoeing from the domain of empiricism and place it in the region of 



