60 TIPS AND TOE- WEIGHTS. 



good deal of knee-action, was very rapid, but was so much afraid of 

 hurting himself that it affected his gait. After driving him awhile 

 I put lighter shoes on in front, took his hind shoes off and rounded 

 the horn at the toe so that when he struck his quarter the blow 

 would not be felt, the boot offering ample protection. It gave him 

 confidence at once. At that time I had a training track on my farm 

 in Iowa, the distance around it being five-ninths of a mile. I got 

 him in April ; in August he trotted three times around the track, 

 one mile and two-thirds, at a 2:23 rate, and I won fourteen races 

 with him that Fall without losing one. During this campaign he 

 never had a shoe on his hind feet, and though he trotted on many 

 hard tracks, the horn did not break, nor did he show any tenderness. 

 Of course it is entirely conjectural what the effect of tips would 

 have been on these horses, or whether toe- weights would have accom- 

 plished more than the heavier weight in the shoes. But, reasoning 

 from analogous circumstances, there can be little doubt that great 

 advantages would have followed their use. In the case of Naboclish 

 it proved that the bare hind feet could withstand the hardness of the 

 tracks, and in place of the 28 ounces on Albatross, it is almost cer- 

 tain that a tip and toe- weight of 14 ounces would have been more 

 effectual. I am satisfied that with their aid the defects in the gait 

 of Clara G. could have been remedied in one quarter of the time it 

 took, and that the injuries to the elbow and hock would have been 

 avoided. 



The continuation of the history of the work given the Alhambra 

 filly will show what was the result in her case. Her action was such 

 that I did not expect that the tips would do as well as those horses 

 which had more knee-action and a longer sti::^de, and so I gave her a 

 more thorough trial with shoes on than if her gait had been different. 

 As I have stated before, I ascribed the shortening of the stride to 

 driving her when she was slightly lame, and to her running a great 

 deal when turned out in the field before she had recovered. She 

 wore shoes from August 16, 1877, to November 5th, then tips to De- 

 cember 10th. April 13th, 1878, I put copper tips on, reaching across 

 the toe, and on May 21st replaced them with light shoes with very 

 low heels, so as to give a better fastening for a quartei'-boot. She 



