94 THE HORSE 



shoes than in very light shoes. The explanation is 

 simply this : action and reaction are equal. When the 

 foot comes in contact with the ground, the ground really 

 strikes the foot a blow, just as much as the foot 

 strikes the ground a blow, and the force of this blow 

 is diminished if a fairly thick shoe is Interposed between 

 the ground and the foot. 



It is the general belief that heavy shoes on the fore 

 feet lengthen the stride of the horse and cause him to 

 trot faster. But the effect is often otherwise. The 

 heavy fore shoe causes the horse to lift his feet higher, 

 and for this reason shoes cruelly heavy are much used 

 by horseshow exhibitors ; but they often tend to shorten, 

 not to lengthen the stride, and therefore to decrease 

 speed. 



On this subject Mr. C. A. McLellan of Brockton, 

 a noted expert, says : 



The reason why many people have been fooled into the 

 belief that the heavy shoe increases the length of stride is this: 

 a horse is liable to shorten his stride as he becomes sore, and a 

 sore horse with a light shoe feels the concussion more than he 

 does with the heavier shoe. Consequently, when shod heavier 

 the sore horse steps longer, because he steps with more con- 

 fidence, in the belief that his foot is not going to hurt him when 

 it strikes the ground. 



Of course the heavy fore shoe will often make a 

 horse trot instead of pace; but in such cases the weight 

 should gradually be decreased, as the horse becomes 

 habituated to the trot, until finally all the extra weight 

 is removed. 



As to extra weight in the hind shoes, it is an unneces- 



