116 



SCIENTIFIC HORSKSHOEING. 



Fig. 30. r.\cixg plate fok lirxNiNo ou 



(iALLOIMMi IKlItSES. 



able on the track — vital- 

 ity, strength, ppeod, ami 

 endurance. Tlie running 

 horse concentrates the 

 full i»o\vci' of a perfect 

 aninuil organism in his 

 terrific hursts of speed, 

 and is rewarded accord- 

 ing to his deserts. Con- 

 sidering the i ni Til e n s e 

 length of stride, or the 

 distance covered with 

 each forward movement 

 or jum[) in the act ot 

 gallo}»ing, when each front and lilnd pair of hi})ed8 are 

 extended to their utmost in ra{)id succession to receive, sus- 

 tain and transfer the weiijlit of tlie bodv, as well as the burden 

 of the rider, it will he readily ajipreciated that the result of 

 these efforts (sometimes prolonged in hard contests) must prove 

 a severe test of the structural makeup of any horse, and that in 

 the eliminating process where exceptional P[)ced marks the 

 "survival of the fittest," a large proportion of all running and 

 racing horses soon cease to be available for speed or any other 

 profitable purpose. From the violence of their exertions they 

 are liable to sprains of tendons and ligaments, and a s})rained 

 leff must ahvavs remain a weak leg. 



The great sprain producing c>r '• breaking down '" pace is 

 the gallop, but (as this injury more nearly concerns the limbs 

 above the fetlock) as a rule, running horses have much better 

 feet than trotters. This is due to the softer tracks over which 

 they, course, and to the consistent use of light thin shoes, 

 so that the frog impinges the ground with such a firm tread 

 as to overcome any interposition to the expansive capacity 



