CHAPTER X. 



THE MAIN FEATURES OF MEASUREMENTS. 



To save time and to bring this method of measuring the tracks 

 within the reach of all progressive trainers, its principal points are 

 here given in as concise a manner as possible. 



A square gait must be based on equal or nearly equal extensions 

 of the four moving feet. The separation of the fore and hind legs 

 should be based on their distance from each other when at rest. If 

 this distance appears to be reasonable to the eye, and if the attitude of 

 the horse at rest is fairly satisfactory, it may be taken as a basis for 

 comparison with such average distance when at speed. Shoeing may 

 throw this distance between the extremities, or rather between the cor- 

 related feet, out of harmony with effective motion. Pointing forward 

 or backward, when at rest, may be increased when at speed. Muscular 

 development may hinder the animal to get into a good swinging gait, 

 but the wrong kind of balance is more often -at fault. The ''pointing'' 

 of a horse when at rest and the distance between the fore and the hind 

 feet are therefore the principles on which are based the proper ex- 

 tensions of the legs. The moment, however, the animal moves fast, 

 our eyes become deficient in judgment and we must resort to the rec- 

 ords on the ground for any reasonable deductions. 



For the sake of simplicity the lateral extensions of the feet, that 

 is, their positions with reference to a line drawn midway between the 

 two sulky wheel tracks, can be left to the judgment of the eye. A 

 white cord stretched in the middle will perhaps be sufficient to indicate 

 irregularities without going to the trouble of measuring and averaging 

 all the distances and angles. But we cannot very well escape the labor 

 of measuring the distances between certain feet if we desire to have 

 any proper idea of the possible defects of a gait. 



The loo-foot tape line divided into tenths and twentieths of a foot 



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