34 THE hoese's foot, 



number lose their races from the situation and number of 

 the nails employed in plating, than from any other causa 

 whatever, not even excepting the trickery and tampering; 

 sometimes practised, but oftener I believe unjustly suspected. 



The dread of casting a plate is so great, that it is no un- 

 common thing to see them secured by eight or nine nails, ex- 

 tended from heel to heel. Now it is impossible that a hoof 

 so fettered can yield or expand to any force applied to it 

 through the medium of the weight and power of the horse ; 

 and it is also certain, that, if the hoof do not expand, the vio- 

 lence with which a race-horse lashes the ground at every 

 stride, must needs squeeze the sensitive parts very uncom- 

 fortably between the bones of the foot and this unyielding 

 hoof, and deter him in some degree from throwing his whole 

 weight with all his heart into his feet, as he does when he 

 has no apprehension of producing pain thereby. Now let us 

 see what the effect of stepping short, say only one inch, upon 

 each stride would be in running over the Derby course, (a 

 mile and a half.) 



The estimated stride of a race-horse averages twenty. four 

 feet: it would therefore require three hundred and thirty such 

 strides to accomplish the proposed distance ; and the loss of 

 one inch only upon each stride would give a total loss upon 

 the whole distance of three hundred and thirty inches, or 

 nine yards and six inches, — equal to rather more than three 

 lengths of a horse sixteen hands high : but suppose the loss 

 of distance to be four inches upon each stride, which it is 

 much more likely to be ; then the loss would be thirty-six 

 yards and two feet, or thirteen lengths ; fully enough to raise 

 a cry of " foul play," " the horse is amiss," &c. Now no 

 jockey in the world, however frequently he may have ridden 

 a horse, could so exactly measure his stride, as to be enabled 

 to detect a deficiency of one seventy -second part of it, which 

 four inches would be ; much less could he detect the two 

 hundred and eighty-eighth part of it, which one inch would be ; 

 so that he could never make himself acquainted with the real 

 cause of so signal and unexpected a defeat ; and the whole 

 snatter would remain involved in mystery, casting suspicion 

 and distrust on all around. 



How commonly do we hear that a horse performed his last 

 gallop at a much better pace than he ran his race ; and what 

 a catalogue of causes are conjured up to account for the fall- 

 ing off in his speed ; not one of which in all probability has 

 aay thing to do with the matter, .t would most likely be 



