XXVIII. KNEE ACTION' WITHOUT 

 EXTENSION. 



Many horses have plenty of knee action and no extru- 

 sion. This horse is carrying weight enough, and foot is 

 prepared to make him knee up, but is unbalanced both by 

 the weight application and foot fixing to develop the proper 

 extension. The feet of a horse gaited in this manner need 

 the quarters and heels of front feet lowered as low as 

 safety will permit, do not touch the toes of front feet, 

 place the front feet at as long an angle to leave the ground 

 from as possible, reduce the weight of the front shoes and 

 add it to the feet in a toe weight, and pull his head down 

 some if you have to use a standing martingale and let him 

 come along gradually. 



Too much knee action is lost motion and tiresome. I 

 found that out for myself walking through the deep snows 

 that we have up here in the Berkshire Hills. Too much 

 folding of the knees causes elbow hitting, and at times 

 when they do not reach their elbow some of them will hit 

 on the back of their arm. One of the worst speedy cutters 

 I ever saw was gaited in front in this manner. I decreased 

 the knee and folding action, changed the hind feet, which 

 were very high on inside, lowered them and shod with heavy 

 outside weight shoe and she trotted clean and pure, quarters 

 in 31 seconds in May. She had one sore on her as large 

 as a silver dollar from hitting, and when she began hitting 

 she would try and run away. 



XXIX. HORSES THAT GET AWAY SLOW, 

 BUT FINISH FAST. 



In these cases I feel sorry for the horse also for the 

 driver. The horse knows he is handicapped, and the driver 

 does not want to take any desperate chances of getting shut 

 out by trying to get away with the field of starters, anyhow 



-37- 



