308 LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 



take an extra hold of the bit you are ready and in the right 

 position to handle him Avith ease. 



Now we come to what I call the mechanical part of the 

 horse's training, that is the boots and shoeing. Here again 

 I consider this a vital part of the outfit. A man to be a good 

 maker of horseboots has got to be a natural mechanic. It 

 takes a very much better mechanic to make a boot to fit a horse 

 properly than it does to make boots for the human race. 

 There has been a great deal of time and skill expended by 

 people in trying to invent boots to imx3rove the sjoeed of 

 horses, and of course out of all this amount of exertion we 

 have a few really valuable articles. A great many men object 

 to boots upon a horse, say they are a nuisance, and that if 

 the horse can not trot without them, let him go. A horse 

 may go for a month or a year and never hit himself, and 

 then some day he may step in a hole or some other accident 

 befall him, and for the want of a boot in the proper place 

 ruin him as a race-horse. A good deal can be determined in 

 •regard to what boots a horse needs by his general gait and 

 formation. No horse should ever be driven without shin- 

 boots on the hind legs. Very few, if any, horses can go 

 without scalpers. I think it absolutely necessary that a 

 horse should have quarter boots. We often have a great 

 deal of trouble getting quarter boots to properly fit a horse. 

 Unless they do fit you are apt to get your horse chafed and 

 sore, and this will cause you no end of trouble. I find J. 

 H. Fenton' s No. 202 quarter boot very satisfactory in most 

 cases. Some horses wear knee and arm boots, a few Avear 

 elboAV boots, and still others have to wear AA-hat is called a 

 brisket pad, and if a horse shows a disposition to hit him- 

 self in any place the first thing to do is to have him properly 

 booted. After a horse has hurt himself a feAv times he gets 

 timid and won' t try to extend himself. In having your boots 

 made, use nothing but the very best quality of leather and 

 Avork and be sure above all things, that they fit the horse 

 that you Avant them for. Never undertake to train several 

 different horses Avith one set of boots; if you do, it will prove 



