XLIIL PULLING ON ONE LINE AT SPEED. 



I was approached on this subject and had it explained 

 to me that a certain horse going the right way of the^ track 

 at speed would go on one line and keep going into the fence 

 or hugging the pole, and would make two or three breaks 

 going the length of the stretch on a half-mile track, and 

 could not be kept away from the fence. After an exami- 

 nation of the teeth, cheeks, and tongue, and bit, and finding 

 these to be all O. K., I concluded that it must be from 

 uneven extension of the legs. The extension and propelling 

 power of the off legs was greater than that of the nigh 

 ones. A three-ounce toe weight on the feet of the nigh 

 legs straightened or balanced up the lost action of the nigh 

 side so that the horse would speed the length of the stretch 

 in any position on the track without pulling on one line and 

 so the necessity for pulling on one line to keep the horse 

 straight was stopped. 



The feet on this animal were well fixed hind and front, as 

 to length of toes and angle of feet, the hind shoes weighed 

 alike and the front ones also. The muscular development 

 of the extension power of the off legs was stronger than 

 that of the nigh legs, perhaps also the propelling power of 

 the off hind leg. This is the reason the horse was pulling 

 on one line. The off legs were reaching farther than the 

 nigh ones, which kept forcing the horse to go towards the 

 fence. Unbalanced feet will cause this as well as undevel- 

 oped muscles. I have no doubt but there are lots of horses 

 going on one line and hugging the pule that need a change 

 in the angle of the feet, or the proper weight at the proper 

 place to balance up matters. If the strides of this horse 

 had been measured there would have been found a big dif- 

 ference between the off and nigh strides, so you see it is 

 not always the teeth, cheeks, or bit that cause this trouble. 

 The horse in question later stepped miles in 2:09. 



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