it straight do not take it all off from the bot- 

 tom; run the rasp around the edges, leaving 

 them round and smooth, therefore less liable to 

 crack and "sliver up." 



The foregoing has to do principally with the 

 front feet; usually the hind feet cause less 

 trouble, either in the colt or aged trotter. It 

 is the front feet that are constantly getting in 

 the v^ay. But there is one thing in connection 

 with the youngster's hind feet that should be 

 attended to as soon as it shows up, and that 

 is his tendency to rock over or out, on one or 

 both of his hind feet and ankles. To guard 

 against this, shorten his toes as much as pos- 

 sible, square them slightly towards the inside 

 of the center of the point of the frog and lower 

 the inside of the foot so that the colt or horse 

 will stand slightly toed out, and — looking at 

 him from behind — the ankle and outside wall 

 of the foot will be in line. If you will grow 

 straighter hind feet and ankles, you will have 

 fewer cross-firing pacers and scalping, speedy- 

 cutting trotters. 



If you discover when the colt has reached 

 the age of three years that he has a crooked 

 hind ankle do not attempt to straighten it by 

 means of a shoe weig'hted or "built up" on 

 the outside to force the ankle into an upright 

 position. If you attempt this you are flirting 

 with disaster, for the ligaments, muscles and 

 joints are set in that position and forcing 

 them out of it will cause lameness and unnec- 

 essary suffering to the horse. If the horse's 

 hind ankle and foot are set crooked, shoe him 

 so that he lands level, no matter how it looks, 



9 



