The Angle and Length of Foot 25 1 



the toes again to 3}^ inches, or as much as could be taken off, and in- 

 creasing the weight of hind shoes, to 8 oz. and squaring the toes of 

 same, gave better results. The angles were lowered to 52 and even 

 51, with slightly swelled heels in shoes. This adjustment tended to 

 increase the hock action and to keep hind feet lifted somewhat more 

 at the toe till the heels struck the ground. There was a closer approach 

 of extremities in one trial with a stride of 15.80 feet, this distance 

 being 3.85 feet, and very nearly alike for both diagonal distances 

 (3.83 feet and 3.87 feet). 



While we have seen that a longer toe by itself increases extension, 

 in this case it aggravated the trouble of dubbing it in the .ground, due 

 to some weakness of suspension ; and it became necessary through a 

 heavier shoe, a shorter foot and a squared toe on shoe, to increase the 

 elevation in order to obviate to some degree the stopping of extension 

 by a digging toe. With no calks on heels of shoes, but a smooth and 

 slightly swelled web, the forward extension was not visibly checked or 

 converted into merely a higher action, but it was allowed to proceed as 

 far forward as possible after the squared and shorter toe had given it 

 enough elevation to overcome the sluggish suspension of the toe. In 

 both the last two trials the variations of the strides of each leg from 

 the average stride were much greater, of course, than when the animal 

 was permitted to indulge in his abnormal backward extension. In 

 fact, in one trial the tracks behind showed two marks of the shoe on 

 ground, as if the first contact was corrected by the second and closely 

 following one. This double impact by the posterior half of foot showed 

 that the horse was incapable of controlling his toe suspension as soon 

 as the foot got near the ground. Since the heel, as a rule, makes the 

 first contact with the ground the weakness which prevents such a con- 

 tact was therefore a serious set-back to speed and action, but it was 

 overcome to a certain degree in the above described manner. 



The lateral extensions being at nearly every trial quite satisfactory 

 I present the averages of the trial with the nearest approach of ex- 

 tremities (3.85 feet) in Fig. 185. Being a good trotter it is worth 

 while to note the lines of motion as here given. 



The following three shoeings and trials of a colt by Directum, 



