258 THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



In the "book published hy Joseph Cairn Simpson he ad- 

 vocates the doing- awa^^ of the old method of weighting the 

 trotter to balance him by adding to the shoe, and claims 

 that better results can be obtained by the use of the toe 

 weight in conjunction with the tip, as shown in Fig. 15T. It 

 is contended by turf men that one ounce of weight on the 

 toe is equivalent to from one and a half to three ounces on 

 the sole of the foot, tliough some trotters will not go level 

 or fast with toe weights, and must be balanced by weight 

 in the shoe or distributed about the foot in leather weight 

 pockets. Others require the toe weights, which give the 

 balancing medium in the smallest compass. 



As yet the use of tips is naturally looked on with con- 

 servatism by many horsemen, and like all other innovations 

 it continues to be subjected to criticism and open opposition. 

 In the face of the undeniable fact that there has been com- 

 paratively little advance made in the general method of 

 shoeing, and valuable horses are still ruined by unskillful 

 and ignorant smiths, any plan that will obviate the present 

 difficulties deserves a full and impartial trial. The question 

 as to the utility of tips for racing purposes is really a second- 

 ary^ one compared with the greater benefit that will follow 

 an3^ plan whereb^' the carriage and draught horse may be 

 kept freer from the numerous disabilities of foot and limb 

 which continue to be a serious drawback to their commercial 

 value and term of usefulness. — N, Y. Sun. 



