STUMBLING. 277 



same manner. As a horse never stumbles intentionally, pun- 

 ishing him for this accident is cruelty of a reprehensible kind. 

 Much may be done to prevent stumbling by attention to 

 shoeing. " Knuckling over behind," which is a stumble with 

 one of the hind feet, can generally be stopped by lowering the 

 foot, if it be too long, and reducing it under the toe, so as to 

 get the slope of the hoof at an angle of from 55° to 60°. The 

 slope of the fore feet should be about 50°. Weakness, the 

 awkwardness common among young horses, and bad shoeing 

 often induce stumblin«-. 



