JUDGING THE HORSE 



189 



in particular, are so shod as to regulate their action, if used 

 by men who know the relation of form and weight of shoe 

 to foot and leg movement. A fancy driver for a heavy 

 carriage should show a snappy, stylish action, with the knees 

 and hocks carried rather high and strong. A roadster or light 

 race horse will show a longer, more powerful yet plainer gait, 

 with not so high or short movement. When action is being 

 inspected, the horse should first be led at a walk in a direct 

 line toward and then away from the judge, who should care- 

 fully note the trueness of 

 movement of the limbs 

 and the way the feet arc 

 carried. Next the horse 

 should pass by at a walk, 

 so that the inspection 

 may be made from one 

 side, to observe the free- 

 dom of movement and 

 flexing of the knees and 

 hocks. The next step 

 will be to require the 

 horse to go and come at a 

 gait faster than a walk, 

 the judge assuming the 

 same positions as before 

 while the walking gait 

 was being studied. See- 

 ing the horse at the walk and trot, or other rapid movement, 

 will enable him to draw a conclusion as to the merits of the 

 gait. As 20 points are credited to the action of the carriage 

 horse on the score card, it may be seen that this feature is 

 highly valued. Persons differ in their appreciation of action, 

 and some are natural^ much better judges than others. If, 

 however, one will study the action from these three points of 

 view, one will soon see how horses differ in this regard. 



Figure 63. — Showing correct position for hold- 

 ing and examining the hind foot. Photo- 

 graph by the author. 



