122 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 



to my man to get her shod light, did not mention any exact 

 weight. He had a pound shoe put on in front and an eight- 

 ounce behind. When I came to drive her she seemed to be 

 entirely changed in her gait and could not go a little bit. I 

 only drove her once or twice and then took her back to the 

 shop and replaced the pound in front with an eight-ounce 

 shoe, which made them the same weight as those behind. 

 The first time I hitched her she went right away natural, and 

 in fact, could always show more speed shod that way than 

 any other ; but, of course, when I commenced to trot her I 

 had to use a little heavier shoe to protect her feet. 



This would apply to many horses if adopted, as I think 

 many that are great lot trotters are prevented from being 

 track trotters by poor shoeing the first time in allowing the 

 blacksmith to use his own judgement. You should go to the 

 shop with your horse yourself, see that his foot is properly 

 leveled without cutting or carving, rasping the toe or lower- 

 ing the heels any more than is necessary. Weigh your shoes, 

 see that the shoe is level and fits the foot. An hour's time 

 spent in seeing that your colt is properly shod the first time 

 will save you months to regain what you have lost by neglect 

 in this one thing. Instead of being unbalanced b}' carr}'ing 

 more weight at one end than the other, which must seem 

 very awkward and clumsy to your colt at first, and I believe 

 this is the cause of so many field trotters being harness tied, 

 as it is usually called. 



In case you are training a horse that has to carry a shoe 

 of good weight, say sixteen or twenty ounces, you naturally 

 would like to reduce that weight, and of course it will lessen 

 in weight by natural wear more on some colts than others, but 

 keep that shoe on your horse as long as he appears to be bal- 

 anced with it. When it is necessary to remove your shoes 

 weigh them to sec how much they have reduced, which should 

 not be more than two ounces in a month, on ordinary soil, 

 where there is not much grit. It is rare that a horse will miss 

 this gradual reduction and will go faster and better. If this 



