366 LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 



a great many horses beat him to the three-quarter pole, but 

 from there to the stand he steals along and at the finish 

 seems to out-trot them with something to spare. The first 

 race Mr. Doble drove Jack in tips Avas at Rochester, where 

 he trotted and won the $10,000 stake, beating the best field 

 of 2:30 horses that ever faced the starter. The week of the 

 race there had been more or less rain, which left the track 

 soft, and with his shoes on Jack seemed to have hard work 

 to get through the footing. The day before the race Mr. 

 Doble decided to put tips on him and try them, which 

 carries out my argument of never being afraid to make any 

 change on the horse no matter how close it may be to a 

 race, or what people may say about it, if in your judgment 

 it is the proper thing to do. I don't mean that you shall 

 change a horse' s shoes from an impulse or whim, but after 

 careful consideration, if you think that is the best thing to 

 do, make the change by all means. I have seen Mace change 

 a horse's shoes between heats of a race, and with good re- 

 sults. He always said: "If you can't win with one plan, 

 try another; never give up trying." 



In putting on the tips on Jack, Mr. Doble followed the 

 rules as laid down in Joseph Cairn Simpson's book entitled 

 "Ti]Ds and Toe- weights," and in working him to see what 

 efi'ect the change would have, Doble was very much pleased 

 with him and told me he was sure he would go the best race 

 he had ever trotted, all of which he did, proving that Mr. 

 Doble' s treatment of the case was right. If I had a horse 

 on which it was necessary to w^ear toe-weights in training, 

 I would certainly drive him in tips the balance of the 

 season, as I am sure that in that manner you would teach 

 him to go with lighter weights than you would by driving 

 him in heavy shoes all the time. You will at the same 

 time, if the footing is not too hard, get the i)ressure on the 

 horse's frog, and if he is inclined to contraction from bad 

 shoeing or other causes have a chance to counteract that 

 effect. The great trouble I find with people who have 

 theories about shoeing horses is that they want to shoe 



