on when you are about to step him up, will 

 square him away. 



I know a three-year-old filly that is very 

 liable to be a factor in the big* events for trot- 

 ters of her age this year (1916) that last sea- 

 son carried 26 ounces on each front foot for 

 just two weeks. At the end of that time she 

 was a beautifully gaited trotter, and the weight 

 was reduced to less than ten ounces, but she 

 never missed it. She had found a place to put 

 her feet ; had been taught by the w^eight that 

 she could trot ; she has trot in her head and in 

 her system now, and we will probably see her 

 racino- this season in a six-ounce front shoe. 



If the colt's hind toes are of the full, round 

 pattern, shoe him with a round-toed shoe ; but 

 if his toes are of the narrow, pointed variety, 

 make the toe of the shoe square, and in order 

 to get it square do not sacrifice the toe of the 

 foot, which no doubt is short enough. If this 

 is the case, set the shoe flush with the toe and 

 if the corners of the square of the shoe project 

 on each side of the toe a little it will do no 

 harm. The reason I advocate a square-toed 

 shoe on a hind foot of this kind is that a colt 

 with a sharp, pointed toe is very liable to 

 knuckle over. Knuckling has often been at- 

 tributed to long toes and weak ankles, but I 

 have found that in most cases it was caused 

 by the foot and ankle rocking sideways when 

 breaking over, the horse's leg being pivoted 

 on the point of this narrow toe. A shoe 

 squared from two to three inches across the 

 toe gives a horse a good base to break over 



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