what he had done to him. I mention this particular case 

 because the public or horsemen that knew this horse knew 

 he was a tough proposition to balance. 



XII. ELBOW HITTING. 

 Some horses do this when being speeded. It is caused 

 bv excessive knee action, in folding up of the leg, also in 

 the flexing of the pastern joint. It is faulty or lost action. 

 For elbow hitting, as a rule, the horse should be made to go 

 in as light a shoe as possible, he should get his training 

 with his front feet kept as low as possible at the quarters 

 and heels and the foot at an angle of about 49 degrees, he 

 should be shod as light as possible with plain or bar shoes, 

 and with as light a toe -weight as possible, for the more toe 

 weight he carries the harder he will go to his elbows. Most 

 all elbow hitters hit their elbows with the toes of the shoe 

 while the knee is being elevated. It would be a hard matter 

 for a horse to hit his elbows with the heels of the shoes 

 with the knee extended and elevated, for at this time is 

 when the fold of the knee and flexing of the pastern causes 

 the toe of the shoe to strike against the elbow. If prepar- 

 ing the foot for the shoe as stated above and shoeing the 

 feet light does not stop the elbow hitting apply a bar shoe 

 with most all the weight in the bar and quarters of the 

 shoe, the shoe being light as possible around the toe where 

 the nail holes are punched. Be sure and have the quarters 

 and heels as low as possible. The reason for low quarters 

 and heels on an elbow hitter is, that it makes a longer angle 

 to leave the ground from, and it gives a longer bearing 

 surface behind the leg, to receive the weight that is in the 

 quarters and bar of the shoe which is put there to prevent 

 some of the folding of the knee and some of the flexing of 

 the pastern that causes the interference. I have been very 

 successful shoeing elbow hitters with this kind of a shoe. 

 All elbow hitters should be worked to go as low headed as 



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