HORSES THAT PADDLE" 331 



out of balance naturally to begin with, that the question 

 of shoeing for the improvement of action must be largely 

 one of cut and try, and adaptation to the individual horse. 

 Horses that "paddle" or "dish" the fore feet are 

 animals that either toe in or do not stand properly on 

 their legs, or whose legs are not straight. This winding 

 motion is quite as objectionable as pointing or dwelling. 

 It is also prevalent in broad-chested horses that usually 

 have a rolling action of the body, and, again, in horses 

 that for the same reason have the elbow -joint crammed 

 at the beginning of the stride and suddenly liberated 

 after the foot is well under way. Shoeing such horses, 

 heavy on the inside of the foot and especially toward 

 the heel, is in some cases very beneficial; in others, 

 the additional weight seems to aggravate the cause. As 

 a rule, it may be said that action follows weight; that 

 is to say, if a horse follows too closely behind, so that 

 he interferes, the weight on the outside of the shoe will 

 make him step wider apart. If he travels too wide, 

 weighted shoes on the inside would make him travel 

 closer. This is the principle, but, like many other 

 principles, it has many exceptions. Sometimes a 

 hind shoe particularly long on the outside answers 

 the purpose, but even then it may be owing more 

 to the additional weight of the shoe than to the addi- 

 tional length. This subject has been treated some- 

 what in detail, with a view of calling attention to 

 these matters and to enable the novice to solve the 

 puzzling problem by his own study and observations. 

 It may be said that nearly all the rules for shoeing, 

 with the view of correcting faults of conformation and 



