106 SCIENTIFIC HORSESHOEING. 



deal of what wo make it, and if our horses from colthood up, 

 had their feet more carefully attended to, the period of their ac- 

 tive usefulness would he greatly extended, and in every way they 

 would be found better suited for the work rec^uired of them. I 

 am in a position to know some of the main causes that are re- 

 sponsible for imperfections of gait and action in horses, and one 

 of the foremost among them is the first shoes that are put upon a 

 youngster. To shoe a colt for the iirst time and shoe him scientifi- 

 cally, put a very light shoe on him, and every shoo the same 

 weight front and hind, tlien you liave your horse balanced per- 

 fectly, as nature made him, and if }»ure gaited he can always be 

 sliod so. Aftorwai'd if he betrays a lack of balance, faulty ac- 

 tion, or an uneven gait, a diivcr of keen observation can cer- 

 tainly discover the imperfections and apply the proper correct- 

 ives. To force a chauire in his wav of sroing must be at the ex- 

 pense of the joints and tendons. For if the articulation is such 

 that the limb is forced to go in a wrong dii-oction, any irregular 

 or increased weighting of the foot to force it to go in a different 

 direction will undoubtedly result in serious trouble. A broken 

 gait and unbalanced movement comes from some evident cause. 

 Remove that cause and the ill effects quickly disappear, and tlie 

 animal becomes comfortable in his action, with the result of 

 an increased desire, as also increased capacity to speed faster, 

 and in such a smooth, rythmical way that it becomes a real 

 pleasure to the noble animal. 



Modifications of Action. — In the course of my long ex- 

 perience as a shoer, I have necessarily had a great deal to do by 

 adaptation of shoos to the balancing and trueing of irregular 

 and mixed gaited horses, representing every type and condition 

 of foot soundness and soreness. I have thus come in contact 

 with many horses where the cause of such disordered action 

 seemed obscure, or where the true seat of trouljle had its origin 

 or location elsewhere, while apparently leaving its mark or mak- 



