110 LIVE-STOCK JUDGING 



and is expressed by instinct. Instinct, type and confor- 

 mation are usually correlated and not antagonistic. In- 

 stinct, however, has a broader application in determining 

 the specific gait that a horse shall go, rather than influenc- 

 ing some particular feature of his stride. It is instinctively 

 natural for trotting bred horses to trot, Hackneys to go 

 high and Thoroughbreds to gallop. 



112. Education. — Instinct, however, is not sufficient 

 to account for the record attainments in the various gaits 

 of some horses. Education is necessary in order to make 

 the most of hereditary endowments. Given the natural 

 aptitude to trot, step high or gallop, a system of schooling 

 is employed for the perfection of these gaits. 



113. Mechanical appliances. — It is in the schooling 

 of horses that the mechanical factors influencing the way 

 of going are resorted to. For instance, the snaffle bit, 

 offering no opposition to the horse extending himself, 

 is conducive to speed, and is therefore regularly used on 

 race horses, while the curb bit, resulting as it does in 

 restraint, is suggestive of a collected and high way of 

 going, and is therefore of great assistance in the schooling 

 of saddle and high-going horses. 



Weight influences the stride within limits; increasing 

 the amount of weight in the foot, either by the shoe or by 

 permitting an overgrowth of the foot itself, calls for an 

 extra effort to make the stride, and therefore results in a 

 higher step, although excessive weight will defeat this 

 purpose. The placing of weight in the different parts of 

 the foot, as inside, outside, heel or toe, does not make as 

 much difference as was formerly believed. However, 

 weight at the toe in the position of the usual toe weight 

 attachments will, upon the principle of the pendulum, in- 

 crease the Jength of the stride by carrying the foot out. 



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