is a sideweight, same as above and it can be an ounce 

 heavier than above, say four ounces heavier than he had 

 been carrying. After your trotter or pacer becomes purer 

 gaited you can dispense with this extra weight. Shoe light 

 and as long as the foot or feet are kept level and at the 

 right poise and angle you will not have any trouble. I do 

 not recommend shoes with a long heel on one side and a 

 short one on an opposite side on a correctly or properly 

 fixed foot, or feet, for fast work or racing, because such 

 shoes create undue friction at speed. When a hind leg is 

 extended and foot or feet are properly fixed and balanced 

 on the leg, both heels of the foot should strike the ground 

 at the same time. If the heel on one side of shoe is three- 

 quarter of an inch longer, or half-inch longer, this long heel 

 hits the ground first, before the opposite heel hits, which 

 is unnatural and disagreeable to the bones of the feet, that 

 work in sockets. It has the tendency to shift the bearing 

 of the bones in their sockets on landing and leaving the 

 ground, and gives extra work to the ligaments that hold the 

 bones in their sockets. On slow going horses this long 

 outside heel does not affect them as severely as on horses 

 that are working fast or racing. You must remember when 

 horses are going at a fast pace they land on their heels as a 

 rule with their toes elevated away from the ground. This 

 is one of the main reasons why the heels of hind shoes 

 should be the same length on both sides at speed or taking 

 fast work. There are lots of horses that would have been 

 faster and better race horses if their hind feet and action 

 had been properly balanced to work harmoniously with 

 one another. The speed of a horse depends largely on the 

 propelling power of the hind quarters. The muscles of the 

 thigh, stifle and whirlbone need looking after in their early 

 preparation to keep the soreness out of them until they be- 

 come hardened. Do not work your horse on a slippery 

 track, wait a day or you may be sorry, if he is not eating 

 skip a workout, it will suit the horse. 



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