122 TAKE AND TKAIXIXG OF TROTTEKS AND PACERS. 



accurately would require a cut and a description 

 and would defeat the purpose of our tables. It is, 

 likewise, impossible to show such minor details as 

 trailing heels, side clips, toe-weighted shoes, heav- 

 ier toes, etc. 



It will be noticed that certain trainers seem to 

 prefer certain shoes. Thus Walter R. Cox used 

 plain shoes in front on Lady AA'anetka and Peter 

 Johnson. Thomas W. Murphy used a bar shoe 

 with heel calks on Peter Yolo (as a two-year-old), 

 Barbara Overton and Sweet Spirit. Ed. F. Geers 

 used a plain shoe with creased toe on Etawah, and 

 Homer Baughman, although the former was a 

 trotter and the latter a pacer. Many other similar 

 comparisons might be drawn. 



The general drift is toward simple shoeing. We 

 now seldom see such freak shoes as the toe- 

 weighted shoes, side-weighted shoes, Memphis bars 

 and Memphis nubs. Even shoes with toe grabs 

 are disappearing. The time was when a long cir- 

 cular toe grab was the thing. Then we had an im- 

 provement in the way of straight grabs set back 

 from the toe. but these were practically eliminated 

 when the swedge shoe came in and now we have 

 the creased (or grooved) toe. The theory of the 

 grooved toe is that it gives a "hold" without inter- 

 fering with the "break-over." However, it is ques- 

 tionable if a "hold"" is necessary. The weight of a 

 horse (except on wet or slippery tracks) would 

 seem to furnish about all the hold necessarv. Evi- 



