SIDE-WEIGHTS USELESS. xlv 



some respect, in regard to an " open gait," and in place of consider- 

 ing it essential that the hind legs should be carried apart enough to 

 clear the fore-legs on the outside, have become convinced that it is 

 not necessary. Some of the fastest go close with their hind feet, and 

 usually the Electioneers cany both fore and hind feet near together. 

 If there is no cutting or wounding of coronet, pastern, shin or knee, 

 this is manifestly a husbanding of forcfe, the same as when there is 

 just knee and hock action suificient to giA'-e length of stride. Excess 

 of action of any kind is a waste of physical force, and the smooth, 

 easy-going trotter takes the same status as the " daisy-cutter " among 

 race-hoi-ses. But when a horse carries the limbs so that they receive 

 a violent blow from the passing foot, some remedy has to be discov- 

 ered. Though in a great number of instances boots offer sixfficient 

 protection, there are cases when they fail to give a safeguard, and 

 valuable as these appendages are there are cases beyond the power 

 they possess to correct. In such a case as when the shin, ankle or 

 pastern of the hind leg was struck, the nearly unanimous agreement 

 among trainers was to use side-weights, under the impression that by 

 putting them on the outside of the feet the legs would be carried 

 farther apart. I felt the utmost confidence that this was the correct 

 idea, and in a previous chapter give the history of a pacer that was 

 cured of a habit of knocking liis knees by weighting the outside of 

 his front shoes and giving his slow work with an instrument in his 

 "fork" that kept i;p a steady outward pressure. I am of the opinion 

 now that the benefit came from the pressing outward, as that was 

 continued some length of time, and when driven fast afterwards, the 

 martingale, that part of which came between the legs, was made 

 wide and padded. 



Something over a year ago, when studying the effect of the 

 weights, I came to the conclusion that the commonly accepted theory 

 was wrong, and that a contrary result would follow. For instance, 

 to take a rod, and send it swinging like a pendulum, whichever side 

 the weight was placed, there would follow a divergence from a verti- 

 cal line, the bent being away from the weight, the center of gi-avity 

 would be nearer the weight in oi'der to equalize the sides. When 

 the leg was in motion there would be an analogy between it and the 



