Downhill and Uphill Trials Compared 281 



downhill trials on the extensions and the variations of the four moving 

 legs. 



An increase in speed, or what amounts to the same thing, an in- 

 crease in stride, generally causes the extremities to separate slightly 

 more. I am speaking here of animals with normal or fairly regular 

 attitudes, and of trials made with the same or nearly the same adjust- 

 ment of shoes. For, by means of very different shoeing we do not 

 always observe this to be the case. 



Uphill this increase of separation is principally produced by the 

 greater backward and upward action of the hind legs, while downhill 

 such a greater separation is due more to the greater forward action of 

 the forelegs. These observations do not apply to horses with very 

 faulty attitudes, such as standing under both in front and behind, or 

 having either extremity pointing that way. Any increase of speed in 

 their cases seems to affect such pointing still more, since the effort 

 seems to be then to shove back farther with the fore and to reach for- 

 ward still more with the hind. This applies to all trials made under 

 the same conditions, but with varying speed or stride. 



Toe-weights seem to be a handicap to extension on an uphill grade, 

 while downhill they increase the extension. Heavy hind shoes show 

 the effect of higher action better on an uphill grade and the same is 

 true of squared hind toes. 



The case of Figs. 183 and 184 illustrates the benefit of squared 

 hind toes when trotting uphill with an average distance of the corre- 

 lated feet of 3.98 ft., and going downhill the same distance being 

 4.38 ft. This trotter was peculiar in that he lacked forward exten- 

 sion and action behind and he dubbed his hind toes, thereby causing 

 an abnormal separation of the extremities. The uphill trial gave the 

 smallest distance (3.98 ft.) of any trial. On the uphill .grade his hind 

 heels did not have as long a contact with the ground and the ease with 

 which the squared toe yielded to the leverage at toe produced this 

 greater hind action, and in this case also a* somewhat better forward 

 extension in consequence. In this uphill trial the fore legs showed 

 great variations from the average stride since the forward action was 

 impeded by a low angle of the foot. 



