THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 251 



than shoes without heels. Tips in a crude form have been 

 in use for a long' time, and were probably employed as a 

 protection to horses that were turned out to graze, and de- 

 signed to prevent the front of the hoof from breaking oif 

 in the pasture. The wild horse is constantly on the move, 

 and the hoof is thus worn down proportionate to its growth, 

 but the domesticated animal is less active and even un- 

 broken colts require to be looked after to see that the feet 

 do not grow too long. Close observers found that when a 

 horse had become so crippled from shoeing that he could 

 no longer be driven, the quickest remedy was to remove the 

 shoes, tack on a light plate or tip, and give the animal a 

 rest. Nature soon worked a cure when there was no iron 

 band to cramp the contracted heel, and the horse was re- 

 stored to usefulness. Further experiment showed that 

 these tips could be utilized for ever^^-day wear when the 

 horse was in harness, and with good results. Gradually 

 the use of tips has been tested and investigated, until to-day 

 there are many horsemen who have discarded the old-time 

 shoe entirely, and use nothing but tips. 



For racing purposes the tip has also been tested, and 

 with results claimed to be satisfactory. Joseph Cairn 

 Simpson, editor of the San Francisco Breeder and Sports- 

 man, is the acknowledged pioneer in adapting tips to the 

 • trotting race horse. Mr. Simpson is a veteran breeder and 

 trainer of trotters, and in common with his fellow turfmen 

 used the regulation shoe covering the foot to the heel. 

 Some 3^ears ago his attention was attracted to the use of 

 tips, and he began to experiment with them on his own 

 horses, both runners and trotters. The results of his inves- 

 tigations, extending over a period of about fifteen years, is 

 told in a book published by Mr. Simpson entitled '' Tips and 

 Toe Weights." The most notable instances of Mr. Simp- 

 son's success with tips are the turf performances of the two 

 stallions, Anteeo and Antevolo, bred by him from Elec- 



