294 Gait of the American Trotter end Pacer 



The first of these concerns the shape of the shoe, and the last two 

 relate to the shape of the foot. Certain tracks suit some horses better 

 than others, and such a fact may be explained by the effect which such 

 conditions have on their deficient gait. The soil, turns and grades may 

 all, or any one of them, prove to be compensations for such deficiencies 

 in that horse. If not too marked, these conditions can be counteracted 

 by a searching test of proper balance on the home track. 



Leaying the condition of the soil to the good sense and judgment 

 of the owners of tracks, and referring again to the discussion of the 

 turns of the track in Chapter VI, I wish to lay particular stress now 

 on the results of the downhill and uphill trials here set forth. It 

 seemed to me very important to base many experiments and their deduc- 

 tions on such a slightly downhill course, because often the stretches of 

 the tracks have such an incline, and especially so the homestretch. 

 Here we see the supreme effort of the horse, so that all adjustment of 

 balance should take into account such a probable event. Such a test 

 seems to conform more truly to the actual and practical conditions met 

 with at other places and at critical moments. 



It may happen that the adjustment of shoes which worked 

 well at home will not meet the requirements of different and strange 

 conditions quite as readily abroad. It was with such occurrences in 

 mind that these comparisons between uphill and downhill locomotion 

 were made. The main object, after all, in balancing, is to be prepared 

 for all or nearly all conditions, except those of a notoriously rough 

 track. This preparedness for conditions differing from those that ob- 

 tain at the home track is also largely a matter of education with the 

 horse. For, the foundation of such a training should at all times be the 

 confidence of the horse in himself, and this self-reliance as it might 

 almost be called is not only fostered but also directly produced by 

 an equalization of the action of both fore and hind such as was here 

 set forth. 



