HANDBOOK OF THE TUKF. 231 



approved principles— when it comes to balancing the trotting 

 action it is a matter of individuality, for no two horses can be 

 shod exactly alike. 

 Keep the foot level, and the frog untouched and on the ground.- 



[LawO^'wh^nevel'bar or round shoes are required, even for a tempo- 

 rary purpose, tl.e liorse is unsound ; tor nu disease is cured, wliether 

 saudcuaJks, corns, tl.rushes or vyluitever else it may t>e, so long as 

 these shoes are necessary .-The La vy of Horses, M. L>. ll'"\"^ei. 



The unpared sole ai.d frog of the healthy toot need ^^^P^o.^^f ^"\!_«_^ 

 any kind of soil. The more the frog is exposed to weai, the laiger 

 and sounder it grows, and the beiter it is for the toot and limb. 

 Wliat is required in shoeing is merely protection tioni undue weai, 

 with the least possible interference with, or disturbance to, the 

 functions of the'^foot and limb. Not a grain of iron more tlian is 

 absolutely necessary, should be allowed as a protection.-Geoige 



The^ideSl shoe ^regar led simply as a means to locomotion, is «|e light- 

 est, simplest, suiallest piece of metal that can be connived to pivj- 

 tect the wall of the foot. Wlien it is a question ot balancing a tiot- 

 ter by means of weight iu his shoes, another problem is intioduced. 

 —Road, Track and Stable, H. C. Meiwin. ^„,-Ki.r 



The first thing to be decided upon is how little weight you can possibly 

 use in the horse's shoe to protect the foot, and, at the same tune, 

 balance the horse so he will be able to go at his highest rate of 

 speed on a trot. What makes it more difficult than anytlung else 

 to give rules to shoe a horse by is the fact that no two horses can 

 beihod alike. All horses are formed differently, gaited different y, 

 and have different dispositions.— Life with the irotters, Joim 



Shoeing is unnecessary to the horse in his wild, natural state; it is 

 artificial and unnatural, because the domesticated horse is kept m 

 an artificial and unnatural state. It must, therefore, be reg-ardea 

 as a necessary evil. But the foot of the horse, unprotected, will 

 not stand the battering of turf-training; therefore, the prime and 

 sole object of shoeing is to afford the wall of the foot protection 

 against the terrific concussion of fast trotting on more or less hard 

 tracks. * * * I want to enforce the necessity of non-interference 

 with the expansion and contraction of the hoof from the quarter to 

 the heel, according as the foot bears weiglit or is relieved of it. As 

 a rule, use six nails, three on either side; but never put a nail back 

 of the widest part of the hoof, the quarters, thus leaving the heels 

 free. The foot should be trimmed so that the frog will lightly 

 touch the ground, but take little or no weight. In shoeing, the aim 

 is to keen the foot elastic, yielding and natural. Be careful with 

 the knife, cutting only the horn of the wall. Leave the frog, the 

 sole and the bars alone. They will care for themselves. Shoeing, 

 like everything else, should be looked at from a common-sense 

 standpoint. There are no wonderful and nnrevealed mysteries 

 about it. Keeping iu view what nature intended, remembering 

 that the sole purpose of shoeing is to afford protection, the simpler 

 the better, steering clear of quack smiths that know it all and 

 recklessly slash and rasp— these are the most important precau- 

 tions to be kept in view concerning shoeing.— Training the Trotting 

 Horse, Charles Marvin. 



Sliort of Work. It is often said of a good horse when 

 he fails to do his best in a race, that he is " short of work " — a 

 term which also embraces many apologies for a poor horse; 

 although it is no doubt true that being short of work has much 

 to do with defeats on the turf. 



The gamest horse will stop if short of work, and if you do not know 

 that he has had sufacient work, that he is not sick or sore, how are 



