98 HOESE POETEAITUEE. 



great danger of his hitting somewhere ; and it is fortu- 

 nate if it is the quarter instead of the knee. When to this 

 snatching is added a short martingale, the tendency to 

 hit is still greater. The head being pulled close to the 

 breast, the horse has no freedom of action left ; and I 

 have known horses hit themselves between the knee and 

 pastern when thus tangled. 



The Falcon shall wear what I term a medium weight 

 for an ordinary sized foot, viz : each fore shoe weighing 

 a pound. I have always found an advantage in making 

 the hind shoe very light. The hind legs are the propel- 

 ling power, throwing the body forward, while the fore legs 

 support it and are merely rolled out of the way. In 

 order that they may do this, the knee requires to be well 

 doubled, to ensure a proper length of stride correspond- 

 ing to the force of propulsion of the hind legs. The hind 

 feet, however, cannot be carried too close to the ground, 

 as there is less expenditure of strength than when raised 

 higher. The light shoe, therefore, interferes less with 

 this skimming motion than one heavier. That a few 

 ounces' difference in weight of the shoe of so powerful an 

 animal as the horse should make so much difference in 

 the speed, can only be accounted for by the change in 

 the action of the animal. Turfmen will tell you that 

 there is from three to four seconds in time between shoes 

 and plates in running a mile. The one set will weigh say 

 forty ounces, the other ten. This small decrease of 

 weight, though placed where it exerts the most influence, 

 can never be sufficient reason for making fifty yards' 

 difference in a mile. 



To carry this argument still further, with an illustration 

 that is to the point : a trotter can go faster with the shoe 

 as usually worn, than if plated, like the race horse. So 

 the disadvantage of increase of weight is more than 



