BALANCING and SHOEING
TROTTING and PACING HORSES
By
WM. J. MOORE
Allen Farm, Pittsfield, Mass.
NEW ENGLAND’S GREATEST NURSERY OF SPEED
CLEVELAND, OHIO
PRESS OF THE JUDSON PRINTING COMPANY
1916
_Copyright 1916, by Wm. J. Moore_
[Illustration:
ALLEN FARM BLACKSMITH SHOP—KREMLIN 2:07¾, AGE 29.
ROBT. SHANKLAND W. J. MOORE
]
A TREATISE
—ON—
THE ART OF SHOEING HORSES
INTRODUCTION.
This is a plain, unvarnished and practical treatise on the art of
balancing and shoeing trotting and pacing horses, unclouded by little
known technical and scientific words and phrases, but written by the
author, WM. J. MOORE, in his own every day words that can be easily
understood by any horseman.
Mr. Moore, who has spent his life in the business of horse shoeing, was
born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1865, and later had charge of the Horse
Shoeing Department of the Allen Farm at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for a
period of over twenty years, and he is still so engaged at Allen Farm.
Mr. Moore’s experience as a horse shoer dates from the time when he
commenced work in a horse shoeing shop as an apprentice, at the age of
16 years. Since which time horse shoeing has been his sole occupation.
During this period of 35 years Mr. Moore has shod many noted trotting
and pacing horses, and his long, varied and successful experience
justifies the belief that no one is better qualified to write on this
subject, and to offer advice in regard to it, than is he, and it is also
the belief of those best qualified to judge, that no work of this sort,
heretofore written, is more entitled to the confidence of, and
acceptance by, the people who own trotting and pacing horses, for
whatever purpose they may be used.
With this short preamble in the way of an introduction, we will let Mr.
Moore tell his readers in his own words and in his own way how to shoe a
trotter or a pacer, so that it may do its best work in the easiest way,
and for the greatest benefit to its owner.
W. R. ALLEN,
Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
June, 1916.
INDEX
Page
I. Foals 1
II. Preparing the Foot 3
III. A Trotter Inclined to Singlefoot and Pace 6
IV. Causes of Rough Gait 7
V. Shin hitting in Front 8
VI. To Prevent Winging in 8
VII. Shin hitting Behind 9
VIII. Knee and Arm Hitting 10
IX. Shoeing a Knee knocker 12
X. A Bad Hitter 13
XI. A Hitting Pacer 14
XII. Elbow Hitting 15
XIII. An Unusual Case 17
XIV. Paddling 17
XV. To Prevent Paddling 19
XVI. Hitching, Hopping and Running Behind 19
XVII. Forging 21
XVIII. Scalping 23
XIX. Remedy for Scalping 23
XX. Sideweights 25
XXI. Wheel Swinging 26
XXII. Knuckling Over 27
XXIII. Stumbling 27
XXIV. Speedy Cutting 28
XXV. A Bad One 30
XXVI. Gaiting Colts 31
XXVII. Neglected Hind Feet 35
XXVIII. Knee Action 37
XXIX. Slow Get Away, Fast Finish 37
XXX. To Convert a Pacer 39
XXXI. Converting a Trotter 40
XXXII. Contracted Heels 41
XXXIII. Cause of Contracted Heels 43
XXXIV. Corns 43
XXXV. Toe Crack 44
XXXVI. Quartercrack 44
XXXVII. Dished Toe 46
XXXVIII. Concussion 46
XXXIX. Founder 48
XL. Cross-firing Pacers 49
XLI. Important Note 50
XLII. Level Feet 52
XLIII. Pulling on One Line 54
XLIV. A Judge of Gait 55
XLV. Bar Shoes 55
XLVI. Slipping 57
XLVII. Sideweight Shoes 58
XLVIII. Toeweight Shoes 59
XLIX. Pocket Weights 60
L. Interfering 60
Conclusion 63
THE ART OF SHOEING HORSES.
There is something in the foot of the horse that has been a mystery to
many who have been unable to find out the secrets by reading some of the
books that have been printed on the different subjects, and
experimenting on the same, pertaining to a perfect balance of the
trotter and pacer when in action.
I have shod all kinds of horses and have come in contact with all kinds
of feet, and with the results gotten by practical experiments, I will
try to enlighten my readers and the lovers of the light-harness horse.
I. FOALS.
The feet of the suckling foal should be properly fixed every four or
five weeks. After the foal is eight or nine weeks old his feet need
fixing regularly. To fix the feet on the young foal shorten the toes as
much as the foot will stand without making the foot tender, and then
rasp the quarters down to a level with the frog, or a little lower than
the top of the frog will be better, then round the sharp edges of foot
off so as the foal will not cut his legs with the sharp edges and the
job is completed. Do not cut out the bars, or the sole, or the frog. Now
if you have noticed that a foal stands toeing out, leave the inside of
the toe of that foot a little the longest from the coronet, an eighth or
three-sixteenths of an inch will be a benefit to the foot, also to the
line of action later on, and if the foal toes in, leave the outside of
the toe the longest, as it will help to straighten matters in the line
of action.
In fixing the foal’s feet it is very good to rasp the quarters and heels
low enough so as to give a slight frog pressure when the foot comes in
contact with the ground. Frog pressure assists expansion and prevents
contraction; a short natural foot with a slight frog pressure during the
first and second year is one of the surest ways to prevent a bad gait or
a _ruptured tendon_, in later years. Young foals should have their feet
picked out two or three times a week to ventilate around the frog,
because the filth that usually gets lodged around there will be almost
sure to cause heat, and in consequence a diseased frog, which perishes
away and allows the heels to contract. A contracted foot is a very bad
thing and causes trouble in more ways than one. If the feet on foals are
left to grow too long, the inside heels will cave in or become
contracted from the position they rest on them while grazing. To prevent
this keep them cut down, if not you will have to use hoof expanders to
get the foot back to its natural position.
One of the most important factors in keeping the feet on sucklings,
weanlings and yearlings in proper condition as is specified in this
article is to see that you are keeping the leg in the middle of the
foot, otherwise many a good horse suffers, as the concussion and strain
is not equally distributed on both sides of the foot when in action. If
the feet on sucklings, weanlings, yearlings and two-year-olds are kept
properly fixed, quarters and heels kept low enough so as to receive a
slight frog pressure, this means at the proper angle, you will not have
any elbow hitters and very few knee-knockers. If you have a yearling
that hits his knees you have not kept his legs in the middle of his feet
by keeping his heels and quarters rasped down, which will make it easier
to prevent winging into his knees than if he had a contracted inside
quarter, which is the case when neglected.
II. PREPARING THE FOOT FOR THE SHOE.
To fix feet is the most important part of shoeing the horse. In fixing
the foot, the first thing to take into consideration is, what sort of
work are you fixing the foot for, is it for a draft horse, a road horse,
or a trotter or a pacer? Does the horse wing, paddle, speedy-cut or
cross-fire, does he hit his ankles, shins, knees, arms, hocks, or
elbows? Is his action too high or too low? Is he too long or too short
gaited? Is he striding longer with one leg than another?
If you go to work and cut the feet down without taking some of these
faulty things into consideration you are liable to get his feet just to
the reverse way to what they should be, and place him in an
uncomfortable position instead of a comfortable one. In preparing the
bottom of a horse’s foot you must bear in mind that the foot can be
fixed to straighten out different kinds of faulty action, and if you
have not learned it by a close study of experimenting or by being taught
by some one that knew all the different ways of balancing a foot on the
leg to correct faulty action, then to learn this you will have to have
it explained to you and you should see the job executed, see it done,
and then go and see the results obtained, while the horse is in action.
Then you will know that something is accomplished by scientifically
fixing the feet to correct faulty action; you have to show people
nowadays.
Why I say that fixing the feet is the most important part of shoeing,
and the most difficult to get done, is because the farriers that can
level and balance feet of rough gaited trotters and pacers to assist
nature in correcting faulty action are very scarce, some of them cannot
think long enough while cutting with the rasp and knife, and the first
thing you know they have cut one side of the foot too low and are not
able to cut the opposite side on a level to the side that was cut wrong.
Now to fix the feet of a horse whether front or hind, begin with the
foot first that looks to be the highest at the heels, because if you
should start to fix two feet and one foot is a good deal lower at the
heels than the other you cannot cut the heels of the foot that are the
highest low enough to place the foot at the same angle with its mate, if
you had fixed the foot that had the lowest heels first.
A good rule in fixing feet, and you will find it true nine times out of
ten, is, when fixing _front feet_, always cut the _outside_ from toe to
heel down _first_, unless you are shoeing a _paddler_, then cut the
inside of the foot down to a level to correspond with the outside that
was fixed first. The reason for fixing feet in this manner, is, if you
should cut the inside down first chances are you would not be able to
cut the outside to a level with the inside, for you will cut to the
sensitive part, on the outside of a front foot, quicker than the inside,
and it is just to the reverse with hind feet. The front feet should not
be left high on the outside, unless the horse is a _paddling gaited
one_, for it creates friction, or a strain on landing and leaving the
ground, it also helps to create faulty action. Nearly all the hard shin,
knee and arm hitters I have come in contact with, their front feet were
highest on the outside, low on inside, or a contracted inside quarter,
and sometimes a very badly contracted inside quarter at that. To fix
front feet of trotters and pacers for different purposes or ways of
going you can refer to the index on the different subjects in this book.
There is very little attention paid to the hind feet. They try to get
them the same length and angle, but there are very _few hind feet_
properly fixed to control a perfect line of action, to lengthen or
shorten the stride, to close or widen the action or to elevate or lower
the action. There are very few floormen that can level and balance a
hind foot. In preparing it for a shoe to correct faulty action, the
majority of them do not know how to hold the leg to look at the bottom
of the foot to tell which side is highest. They should keep in mind
while fixing the foot, the results they are trying to get; if they do
not, they are liable to get the foot too low on one side or the other. A
hind foot that is left the highest on the inside is a dangerous weapon
to a trotter or pacer; it will cause injury to ankle ligaments and to
bones of the foot. In the majority of cases the angle of a hind foot
should be several degrees shorter than the angle of the front feet. A
hind foot that is left the highest on the inside on a trotter or pacer
will have a tendency to close up the line of action of the hind leg and
create cross-firing and shin, hock, ankle and pastern hitting. As the
coffin or pedal bone of a horse’s foot is symmetrical in shape, it is
not proper to have wings of abnormal growth more on one side of the foot
than on the other, for this constitutes an unbalanced foot. If it
measures more on one side of the foot than on the other, from the center
of the frog, make both sides alike, to balance up matters and to conform
with the shape of the coffin bone inside; if the toe of one foot is
longer than that of the other it creates a longer leverage to leave the
ground from, therefore the stride of that leg would naturally be a
little longer, everything else being equal. If the heels of one foot are
left higher than those of its mate, the stride would be a little shorter
and the jar or concussion greater. A good rule in fixing _hind_ feet is,
always cut or rasp the _inside_ of foot down _first_, because you can
always get the outside of a hind foot cut down to the level of the
inside. A foot should be fixed so that the leg will be kept in the
middle of the foot. If the foot has a contracted quarter, one side or
the other, you cannot do it until the contracted quarter is expanded,
which is easily done (see article on contracted feet). It is difficult
to fix feet to suit the leg, and line of action, and also some people’s
eye, all at the same time. The frog of the horse’s foot should never be
cut, if it is in a healthy state. A diseased frog that has loose
fragments hanging to it may be trimmed off so as not to be holding
filth. Never cut the _heels open_ with a knife or rasp to make the foot
look wider across the heels, a practice that has long existed with some
people. It is unnatural, it helps to contract the heels, and shortens
the bearing surface from toe to heel. Any one that does this is
dangerous. Trimming out the frog, opening the heels with the knife,
cutting out the bars, and too much of the sole, will give you a
hoofbound and contracted sore-footed horse, it will help to shorten up
his gait and sometimes make him rough gaited. Feet of this kind cannot
stand the jar or concussion that feet can that have been properly
treated.
III. A TROTTER INCLINED TO SINGLEFOOT AND PACE.
The first thing to do is to change the angle of his front feet to a
longer one by rasping the quarters and heels down several degrees, do
not take anything off the toes. The hind feet should be in length and
angle nearly the same as the front feet, perhaps an eighth of an inch
shorter at the toe, and within 3 degrees of the same angle. The second
thing is to add about 3 or 4 ounces more weight to the front shoes, and
a little more if needed, after you have tried the former. If the horse
carries a toe weight put it on also. The third thing to do is to put
calks on the hind shoes, toe and heel, using as light a shoe as
possible. The fourth thing to do is to allow the animal to go as _low
headed_ as possible, this is _very important_. The changes in the
footing of different tracks will sometimes cause a horse to become all
unbalanced. Slipping is very bad for a horse when at speed; it
unbalances the action and creates muscle soreness, and the poor animal
is made to suffer torture by some of the drivers or trainers, because
the animal does not perform as well on a track that don’t suit the
shoeing as he did on a previous occasion that did suit, the same way
shod. I must say in reference to trotters that are inclined to
singlefoot and pace that in fixing the hind feet I would prefer to get
the angle of the hind feet as near to the angle of the front feet as
possible, because it helps to confine them to the pure trot. The shorter
the toe and angle of the hind feet as compared with the front, the
quicker they will go into a singlefoot and pace. The causes of the
roughness in the gait of the trotter are that the feet are at too short
an angle, not carrying weight enough in front, and checked too high, or
slipping too much.
IV. CAUSES FOR BECOMING ROUGH GAITED.
The front feet or the hind feet are not mates, or _high heels on one
foot and low heels on the opposite_; they are cut too low on one side to
hang level compared with the opposite side of the same foot, a long toe
on one foot and a short toe on the opposite foot; these variations
create a different angle, when it should be the same; that is, the front
feet should be mates and the hind feet should be mates. Cutting out the
frog, bars and sole, and opening the heels with the knife will also lead
to a rough gait when the foot is dry and hard, and the horse strikes a
hard track at speed. Carrying head too high, too low, or to one side, or
pulling on bit too strong will do the same thing.
After fixing the front feet as directed, do not leave the heels on the
hind feet high or the toes of the hind feet too short, fix the hind feet
by leaving the toes long enough and the heels low enough to create an
angle to within a few degrees the same as the front feet. This will
prevent breaking over too quick which increases the liability to
singlefoot, and fixing hind feet this way lengthens the stride and helps
to confine the action to the trot longer and purer.
V. SHIN HITTING OF THE FRONT LEGS.
A foot left too high on the outside from centre of toe back to the
outside heel will cause this. Some travel very close and others wing in:
this winging in is not always because of an imperfect or unbalanced
foot, sometimes it is caused by a deformity of the leg, or a contraction
of the muscles or ligaments, sometimes they will be either longer or
stronger on one side of the leg than on the other, which has a tendency
to control winging or paddling. To fix a foot that is hitting the shins
of the front legs, shorten the toe to a natural length foot, while doing
this keep lowering the outside of the foot, leaving the inside of the
foot quite a bit higher, by actual measurement, in some cases a quarter
of an inch higher or longer is not too much. Shoe with a plain shoe or a
side weight shoe with the heavy side of shoe on the inside of each foot,
the heavy or wider side of the shoe will prevent sinking in the ground,
which will help matters. Bevel or hot rasp the inside edge of shoe from
the inside toe back to the quarters. Shoe with the weight that the horse
goes best with.
VI. HOW TO MAKE A SHOE TO PREVENT WINGING IN.
Make a heavy side weight shoe, the same kind of shoe as for a paddler
but the weight or heavy side of shoe will have to be on the inside of
the foot. Fix the feet, according to article in this book on winging in,
to receive this shoe. Bevel or round off the inside toe back to quarters
on this shoe. With the foot properly fixed for this shoe there will be
an immediate change. If a toe weight is used keep spur towards inside
toe from centre of foot but not far enough to hit knee boot.
VII. SHIN HITTING OF THE HIND LEGS.
There are different causes for this trouble. In the trotter it is
because the hind action and the front action do not work in harmony with
one another. Excessive hind action will cause it, or excessive front
action in some cases will cause it. A front foot that is highest or
longest on the outside toe will cause it. What will cause it the
quickest and more severely is a _high inside_ on the _hind foot_,
especially on a horse that has been going open gaited behind. If your
horse has plenty of action in front and is going in a medium light shoe
I would advise you to level his hind feet; be sure and do not have the
_inside_ of hind feet the _highest_ (which is nearly always the case),
but if anything have it a shade the lowest, and shoe the hind feet with
an outside weight shoe several ounces heavier than he has been carrying;
this will widen his hind action and when he gets to going the weight
will keep him outside and clear. This weight can be decreased as his
gait is being perfected. The most particular part of this will be to get
his _feet properly_ prepared to help the line of action.
Perhaps your horse is short in his front action, low and dwelling
gaited, too much so for his hind action, if so, shoe him in front with
heavier shoe, say 5 ounce heavier or even more as the case may need,
bevel or roll the toe, also bevel the outside edge from the outside toe
to heel of front shoes where the shin hitting is done. If your horse
wings in towards his knees or arms, the inside of front feet should be
left the highest. I prefer in shoeing such horses to keep them going as
close in line as possible with hind legs and if he cannot, without
interference, then they will have to go outside (see article on how to
widen hind action).
VIII. KNEE AND ARM HITTING.
This has been a great worry to “the smart set,” “the know it alls” for
many years, as to what causes it, and what to do to help or prevent it.
Winging in is caused sometimes by a deformity, or by contracted muscles
or ligaments stronger on one side of the leg than on the other;
sometimes deformed feet, or a badly contracted inside quarter will be
the cause of some of this trouble, because the weight of the horse at
the ankle drops over the inside heel instead of coming down in the
middle of the foot. A contracted inside quarter and a high or long
outside toe are dangerous weapons for a horse to be carrying, one of
these at a time is bad enough, but when a foot is troubled with both it
is _very bad_. If your knee or arm hitter has a contracted quarter on a
front foot, the first thing to do is to get a hoof expander and expand
the contracted quarter. This will be an important step towards getting
the leg in the middle of the foot. In all my experience with knee and
arm hitters I have found the offending foot too high on the outside,
with the most of the foot from the center of the frog on the outside of
the leg. With height and width of foot on the outside of the leg, it is
just contrary to science. To straighten the line of action this needs to
be reversed; edge up the outside edge of the foot from the outside toe
to the point at quarters as much as it will stand, do it at every
shoeing and you will be getting the leg closer to the middle of the
foot. If you can get a little more of the foot on the inside of the leg
than is on the outside, it will be a benefit to a bad knee and arm
hitter. Another thing, the shorter the toe or angle of a knee hitter the
easier he can leave the ground and the less he will wing in, and the
lighter will be the blow if he hits. The knee hitter should be shod as
lightly as he will go at speed, balanced. The lighter the weight he is
carrying the lighter the blow if he strikes. The best kind of a shoe for
a knee hitter is a side weight shoe with the heavy side on the inside of
the foot; good results are obtained with heel and toe calks, the toe
calks _well set back_ on the toe of the shoe.
These calks on the shoe of a knee and arm hitter should be a little thin
so as to catch hold of the ground as the foot goes to twist before he
picks it up; they will prevent a certain amount of twisting while the
body of the animal is gliding over the weight-bearing portion of the leg
as the foot leaves the ground. They will have a tendency to make him
break over squarer and not so hard on the outside toe as the foot is
leaving the ground. Now if your knee hitter wears a toe weight attach it
towards the inside toe as far as possible but not far enough to the
inside so as he will strike the opposite leg with it. When the feet of a
knee hitter have been gotten in the shape as described herein and shod
accordingly; why, the horse will think that he has been baptized and
born over again. A perfect foot is rare, but with good judgment, a good
eye and a little patience and perseverance a lot can be accomplished
that will surprise some of those that think they know it all. In a knee
hitter, also in an arm hitter, the bones of the foot and leg do not work
true in their sockets, clear up to the knee, even the joint at the knee
does not work true, the knee joint has a faulty motion, instead of
breaking straight forward, it breaks out sideways as the rest of the leg
starts to wing in. By building the foot mostly to the inside of the leg
and having width and height of foot on the inside you are taking some of
the power away that causes the winging in, and the breaking outward of
the knee. It is something strange, but I have known knee and shin and
arm hitters to be turned out with their shoes on in paddocks, and you
would seldom see them hurt themselves, but put the harness on, hitch
them up, and start them at speed and take a pull of 75 or 100 pounds on
their lower jaw and the trouble would begin. The directions in this
article for fixing the foot for knee and arm hitting are also the surest
remedy for horses that toe out badly, a fault that is so objectionable
to all horsemen. If you use a sideweight shoe on a front foot to prevent
shin, knee and arm hitting, the heavy part of shoe should be on the
inside of foot, but if you leave the outside of the foot one-sixteenth
or one-eighth of an inch higher than the inside, you will be working
against the results you are looking for.
It looks strange to many people that an outside weight shoe to a _front
foot_ has a tendency to make a horse wing in, and the same shoe applied
to a hind foot will widen the hind action, with the foot fixed for that
purpose. If you can fix the foot _properly_ to control the line of
action that you want, you will surely accomplish something. You should
know what angle suits the action best. The foot should be symmetrical in
shape to conform with the coffin bone, have no more foot on one side of
the frog than on the other side, and the bearing surface to hang so as
the foot will land on and leave the ground as square or level as
possible.
IX. JOGGING A KNEE KNOCKER WINTER AND SPRING, AND THE BEST WAY TO SHOE
AND FIX THE FOOT TO DEVELOP THE MUSCLES.
Lower the outside of the foot of the winging in leg, and _keep it the
lowest_. Shoe the foot with a _very light shoe_, plain or bar shoe, have
a side pocket weight made that will carry from 6 to 9 ounces of lead
with a spur on it; cut or burn a hole in the bottom edge of the foot
midway between toe and heel for the spur, buckle it tight to foot, the
weight to be on inside of foot. If the horse wings in with both front
feet use the pocket weights on both feet and fix both feet as directed
above. This will have a wonderful effect _in developing muscle_ while
taking his slow work that will help to prevent winging in so bad when he
begins faster work. This knee knocker should be shod with a side weight
shoe, the heft of weight on inside of foot, shoe should be very light on
outside. This shoe should be made thick on inside with a bevel thinned
towards the outside toe, a difficult shoe to make to be used when pocket
weights are discarded for fast work.
X. A BAD SHIN, KNEE AND ARM HITTER, TROTTER.
A chronic shin, knee and arm hitter was a horse called Rustler, owned at
Richmond, Va. In the early part of the summer that he raced so well, he
was working miles around 2:41 and 2:42 but very unsteady, breaking
continually. He would begin by hitting his shins, as speed was increased
he would hit his knees and arms so hard that he would not stay on the
trot. He was brought to me to shoe by his colored groom, who also
brought his boots, as I had never seen the horse in action, but after
seeing the boots he wore, I saw at a glance he needed as far as gaiting
or balancing was concerned, to be regenerated. He was a large horse, and
his feet had not grown much from the last shoeing so as I could change
them to my liking. I was informed that he went best in light shoes, but
the owner told me to use my own judgment, so I did. I made a pair of
sideweight shoes, 18 ounces with toe and heel calks, the heavy side of
shoes on the inside of each front foot, the outside of each front shoe
as light as possible. After leveling his hind feet, a light shoe with
heel calks was put on. The owner, Mr. C. J. Smith of Richmond, Va., came
to the shop and looked at the front shoes and did not like the job, as
to the weight and the calks, thinking if he did not knock a leg off, he
would cut boots and legs to smithereens. I told him I would change them
if he thought it best, but before I got ready to take them off he said
leave them on and I will try them and see what he will do with them. The
groom drove him out to the track, and Mr. Smith, being present, ordered
the groom to drive him a slow mile as the trainer was not there; he
worked the second mile so easy that he was worked another easy mile in
2:21, the last quarter well within himself in 33 seconds without a
break, over the same half-mile track on which he could not beat 2:41
previous to this shoeing. They said when he got on his stride there was
nothing the matter with him. I had not heard from the horse for nearly a
week when one day as the owner was driving by I hailed him asking how
was Rustler, he said “he is all right, there isn’t a thing the matter
with him.” He went to the races, started in at Baltimore, Maryland, and
after winning seven or eight consecutive races, finished at Readville a
close second in 2:12. Most of his races were won in the same front shoes
it took to balance him, and yet some writers will say you cannot get
immediate results.
XI. SHIN, KNEE AND ARM HITTING PACER.
H. J. Rockwell and Rustler a pacer and trotter respectively, would hit
and cut their boots something terrible. I took H. J. Rockwell away from
his knees by the mode of foot fixing and shoeing hereinbefore prescribed
and that made a race horse of him, whereas he had been hitting his knees
for several years. While he was hitting his knees he was rated as a
quitter, but after he began to beat horses like “B. B.” over the
half-mile tracks, the race followers wanted to know from his trainer,
the late F. M. Dodge, what he had done to him. I mention this particular
case because the public or horsemen that knew this horse knew he was a
tough proposition to balance.
XII. ELBOW HITTING.
Some horses do this when being speeded. It is caused by excessive knee
action, in folding up of the leg, also in the flexing of the pastern
joint. It is faulty or lost action. For elbow hitting, as a rule, the
horse should be made to go in as light a shoe as possible, he should get
his training with his front feet kept as low as possible at the quarters
and heels and the foot at an angle of about 49 degrees, he should be
shod as light as possible with plain or bar shoes, and with as light a
_toe weight_ as possible, for the more toe weight he carries the harder
he will go to his elbows. Most all elbow hitters hit their elbows with
the toes of the shoe while the knee is being elevated. It would be a
hard matter for a horse to hit his elbows with the heels of the shoes
with the knee extended and elevated, for at this time is when the fold
of the knee and flexing of the pastern causes the toe of the shoe to
strike against the elbow. If preparing the foot for the shoe as stated
above and shoeing the feet light does not stop the elbow hitting apply a
bar shoe with most all the weight in the bar and quarters of the shoe,
the shoe being light as possible around the toe where the nail holes are
punched. Be sure and have the quarters and heels as low as possible. The
reason for low quarters and heels on an elbow hitter is, that it makes a
longer angle to leave the ground from, and it gives a longer bearing
surface behind the leg, to receive the weight that is in the quarters
and bar of the shoe which is put there to prevent some of the folding of
the knee and some of the flexing of the pastern that causes the
interference. I have been very successful shoeing elbow hitters with
this kind of a shoe. All elbow hitters should be worked to go as low
headed as possible, a standing martingale works well on some. If you put
on too much of a toe weight on some horses that go close to their elbows
it will drive their action to, or against their elbows. Now this being
the case, if toe weights will drive him to his elbows a heel weight will
usually prevent folding against the elbows.
Now in making this shoe for an elbow hitter it will be necessary to add
from four to six ounces more weight to the shoes than he has been
carrying, but put it all in the quarters and bar at the heels, and keep
adding weight to the heels of front shoes until he stops hitting his
elbows. This kind of a shoe is to be used when a very light shoe fails
to prevent elbow hitting. Squaring the toe of the shoe will also help to
lighten the blow, or take him that much farther away from his elbows.
To decrease the lofty folding action of elbow hitters the foot should be
placed at an angle of from 47 to 49 degrees or as near to that as
possible, and add the amount of weight of shoes he has been carrying to
the toe weight and also add not less than four or five ounces more to
each of a pair of heel weight shoes, when a light one did not answer. Do
not use any toe weight, but if the heel weight bar shoes are not heavy
enough, a heavier shoe or quarter boot can be used.
One thing that should not be overlooked in a horse hitting his elbows is
his hind action, it should be examined closely. The hind action may be
too dwelling gaited, the stride may be too short or too long. Now if the
hind action is of a sluggish nature, it will be a benefit to increase
his propelling power, it will drive his elbow an inch, more or less,
away from the flexing of the foot against it. If he is long and dwelly
gaited you can quicken or make him more rapid, if he is striding too
short you can lengthen his stride by fixing his feet and applying
weight. It is very important to increase his propelling power. A horse
that hits his elbows needs to be balanced by foot fixing, and the
applying of weight to go on as light a line as possible, because the
harder he pulls on the bit when at speed the more he is inclined to hit
his elbows.
If the hind stride is too long and dwelly, shorten the hind toes
considerably and use a square toe shoe and raise the heels with a side
calk. If the hind stride is too short lower the quarters and heels of
the hind feet as much as they will stand and add two or three ounces
more weight to the hind shoes. With toe and heel calks a horse with a
long cannon bone, with lofty action that flexes his foot from the ground
with a snap is more likely to hit his elbows than a horse with shorter
cannon bones.
XIII. AN UNUSUAL CASE OF ELBOW HITTING.
A horse that hits the right elbow with the left foot and the left elbow
with the right foot is seldom seen. The horse _Hunter Hill_ would begin
doing this when going at a 2:40 gait or better, and would act bad and
unsteady. He was brought to me to shoe and I was told he could not carry
any weight. As he had not enough foot to change, I told the trainer he
would have to carry weight to counteract the faulty winging in to the
elbows. I made a pair of eighteen ounce heavy side weight shoes with the
weight on the inside of each front shoe, thin heel and toe calks, toe
calks well set back on toe of front shoes. These shoes took him away
from his elbows and he raced good over the half-mile tracks stepping
miles around 2:12. After he got gaited these sideweight shoes were
discarded for plain lighter shoes.
XIV. PADDLING.
Just the reverse to winging in, a tiresome lost motion, a source of
worry to horse and driver, especially if the horse has speed and is
driven on sharp turns on half-mile tracks, but it is not as dangerous as
the winging in hard to knees. Paddling is more easily controlled than
winging in. Now to straighten the paddler, fix the foot on the leg that
paddles, by cutting or rasping the inside of the foot from the inside
toe back to the inside heel as low as possible, leaving the outside toe
the highest or longest to leave the ground from. Be sure and have the
inside of foot the lowest, the outside toe the longest. To begin this an
angle close to 50 degrees or less, say 49, will have wonderful effect.
The long or high toe on the outside will have a tendency to make the leg
wing towards his knees at speed which is the controlling influence
against paddling. The long or high outside toe is the part that has to
leave the ground the last, which _creates winging_, and helps to stop
paddling. To shoe a paddler, shoe with a light shoe, with as little
weight as possible to go balanced. The more weight the more he will
paddle, the less weight the less paddle.
The best shoe for a bad paddler is a sideweight shoe extra heavy on the
outside of foot, bevel the outside edges of front shoes good. If the
change of action is not quick enough you can use a toe weight placed on
the foot well to the outside toe of foot. When I could not get the
inside of foot low enough compared with the outside of foot I have made
the front shoes thicker on the outside than the inside. When you have
fixed the feet and shod a paddler this way you will begin to think that
paddling can be stopped when at speed. Most paddlers must go as light in
front as possible. With the feet fixed and shod as herein stated you
will be surprised at the change of action that will take place when at
speed, after a week’s driving. The faster the paddler is driven the less
paddling he will be doing. The outside of the foot on a paddler needs to
be kept the highest, which is just to the reverse of a knee and arm
hitter, this applies to the front feet and action of the front legs.
XV. HOW TO MAKE A SHOE TO PREVENT PADDLING.
Take a piece of iron or steel two or three ounces heavier than the shoe
the horse has been carrying and draw one end of it very light having it
quite thin. Make a heavy outside weight shoe of it, leaving all the
thickness at the outside toe of shoe, thin the outside heel down to the
same as the inside heel. The outside edge of this shoe will be thick,
but tapering thin to the inside edge of the outside web of shoe. This
shoe begins to get light, narrow and very thin at centre of toe around
to inside heel. Look up article on foot fixing to prevent paddling at
speed when using this shoe. The horse’s foot will have to leave the
ground from the outside toe of this shoe when stepping fast and this
will have a tendency to make him wing in, and the line of action will
become straighter as the animal becomes accustomed to it. This change
can be quite _radical_, on a horse that has been paddling a long time,
and not so rank on young stock just beginning to get gaited. This shoe
does not stop the paddling on all animals when jogging slow as the foot
can leave the ground or break over from center or inside toe of shoe,
which has no control to prevent a slight paddle.
XVI. HITCHING, HOPPING OR RUNNING BEHIND.
This way of going comes from different causes. An unbalanced foot from
being improperly fixed, will cause it. The improper weight of shoes at
one end or the other, or all around, will cause it; speeding a colt or
horse that is pulling too much weight, especially up a grade, will cause
it; forging, scalping, speedy cutting, shin and hock hitting will cause
it; carrying the head to one side at times will cause it; soreness of
the back, rump or muscles of whirlbone, stifle or thigh will cause it.
Examine the faulty leg for soreness, for if the horse is not lame from
soreness somewhere, he can be balanced to go true. If a horse begins
hitching, his fast work should be stopped until he is properly balanced,
for no horse can improve his speed after he becomes rough gaited without
danger to himself. The first thing to do is to get him balanced. First,
see that his feet are level. Nine times out of ten you will find his
feet are not mates or do not hang level, you will find the foot on the
offending leg that is doing the damage different from its mate. In all
my experience I have found the foot on the faulty gaited leg to be very
high on the inside, if not at the toe, it would be at the heel, but the
majority of times it would be high from toe to heel, which would be the
main cause of the hitching. Fix the front feet to hang level, the angle
and length of toes the same. The two hind feet should be at the same
angle and have the same length of toe. The foot of the faulty going leg
should be made the _lowest on the inside_ and the shoe to be used on
this foot must weigh double the weight or from one to three ounces more
than double the weight of the one on the opposite hind foot. This shoe
can be made with the weight in the outside, with the inside edge from
the centre of toe back to the inside quarter rounded or beveled off
considerably, fit the shoe full to the outside toe. If the hitching
horse is shod according to these directions and does not begin to go
better gaited, it is because he is lame. If he carries five-ounce shoes
behind put twelve or thirteen ounce on the faulty gaited leg and the
light shoe on perfect gaited leg.
XVII. FORGING.
This is a very annoying fault and the same rules to remedy it do not
apply to all horses, for what will stop one may not stop another. Most
all forging will be done jogging, or going an ordinary road gait. From
forging comes the scalping which is very dangerous when the horse begins
to brush along, as scalping creates rough and bad gaited horses. There
are many horses that will forge or scalp going slow in the same shoes
that suit them for speed. It is hard to shoe all horses with a set of
shoes that will suit the horse, the driver and a faulty gait at varying
rates of speed, all at the same time. Horses that are _low gaited_ in
front that forge jogging, need as a rule, a lot more weight in their
front shoes. Horses that go high gaited with lots of knee action in
front that forge require a light shoe. Forgers usually have excessive
action either in front or behind. Locate the faulty end, see if the
horse has too much action in front and not enough behind, or if he has
too much behind and not enough in front. Get a line on his gait before
you make any changes, perhaps you may not have to change but one end of
him to either increase or decrease action. Weight in the shoe is the
important factor applied to a perfectly balanced foot, whether it is a
front foot or a hind foot. You can add weight to the front or hind feet,
as may be desired, to increase action, or decrease the weight to
decrease the action at either end. Now right here I will say, a horse
jogging hardly feels a change of weight of one, two or three ounces, but
will show the effect of five or six ounces from the start. Do not be
afraid to apply a heavy shoe to hind feet for if his action requires it
to prevent forging, the horse will like it better and so will you.
In adding weight to hind feet you will be increasing the hock action and
in some horses it will take considerable weight to do it; horses going
an ordinary road gait will not feel one, two or three ounces increase of
weight in hind shoes. Horses stepping fast as a rule do not do any
forging and, of course, the lighter they can go the better. There are
many horses—fast trotters—that forge or scalp jogging, that would go
cleaner or purer by applying a four-ounce toe weight, some may need a
five-ounce weight, lots of them have to be jogged too fast in order to
prevent forging or scalping, when perhaps a toe weight would be the
remedy. A horse going a 2:10 gait will feel the effects of a one or two
ounce weight as much as one going a slow gait would feel the effects of
four or five ounces.
Take a side view of your horse as he is driven by and locate the faulty
action, you will be able to tell if it is too short, too long, too high
or too low, too rapid or too dwelly, front or hind action. If the lost
action is in front as to height, extension or rapidity, fix the feet to
help the shoes to perfect the action. If the front action is too low
shorten the toes, leave the heels high or raise them with shoe or side
calks and shoe with a shoe five or six ounces heavier, more or less, as
the action requires, use a square or bevel toe shoe. A rolling toe shoe
is good on slow-going horses, the horse should carry his head higher
than usual. If the front action is too high, lower the quarters and
heels as low as they will stand, and shoe with a light shoe, and if
there is not extension enough use a toe weight to balance up action, the
horse should carry his head lower, or natural. If the hind action is too
low shorten toes as much as they will stand and add several ounces more
weight and raise the heels a half inch or more. If hind action is too
high lower quarters and heels as low as they will stand, keeping plenty
of toe on hind feet and shoe with a very light shoe to prevent slipping.
If he is handling his hind legs too rapid for the front ones, this last
sentence will remedy that also. I have seen obstinate forgers at a slow
gait stopped by carrying from two to three times more weight on the hind
feet than in the front feet, and vice versa, according to their front or
hind action.
XVIII. SCALPING.
This is a very dangerous fault. When a horse is making speed and begins
scalping, he is unbalanced quite bad, he needs changing before being
speeded again for if you don’t he or she will get rough gaited, or will
begin carrying the hind leg between front ones, hopping, or trying to
run with hind action. The first thing to do is to examine the hind feet,
you are likely to find the hind feet a lot higher on the inside than on
the outside nine times out of ten. Some horses will begin scalping after
their feet get too long. In horses with excessive action, carrying too
much weight in front will cause scalping at speed. Horses with very
little action in front and not carrying weight enough will be liable to
scalp at speed. When shoeing for scalping use a square toe shoe, light
or heavy, as may be required by the front action.
Feet all out of proportion and at the wrong angle and not level will
cause scalping. Now if the animal has very little hock action and mostly
stifle action, I would lower and shorten the toes of the hind feet as
much as possible, use a square toe shoe and raise the heels with a side
calk, this will shorten the stride and by adding some weight to the hind
shoe it will increase hock action. Most all scalping is done with front
or outside toe of the front shoe coming in contact with the coronet of
hind foot. It hurts the horse so much that he will try to find some way
to avoid it; some trainers use a gaiting pole to prevent the horse from
going crooked in the shafts because of this fault.
XIX. REMEDY FOR SCALPING.
If the front action is low, long and of a sluggish nature, shorten the
toes of feet considerable and add about five ounces more weight to the
shoes, or more, if required to create a more lofty knee fold. The action
of some horses requires a lot more weight than others to make the
change. The shoes to be used, if working to make speed should be a
square toe shoe, or a beveled toe shoe, also a wedged shaped shoe thick
at the heels and thin at the toe is good, squared at the toe. For
ordinary road driving a rolling toe shoe is good, but not for extreme
speed, as it has a tendency with most horses to slip back too much on
leaving the ground; and the horse should be made to carry his head
higher than usual. If the front action is high, short, or too rapid, not
working in harmony with the hind, lower the quarters and heels of front
feet as much as they will stand and keep a fair length toe on the front
feet and shoe with a very light shoe and use a toe weight to balance for
extension, place a spur for toe weight well up on toe of foot out of way
of the scalping; and the horse should be made to go as low headed as is
comfortable to him.
If the hind action is low, long or of a dwelling nature, shorten the
toes as much as they will stand, and shoe, to elevate the heels, with a
thick heel shoe, or raise the heels with side calks. A few ounces more
weight than he has been carrying will be all the better to make him use
his hocks more. If the hind action is high and choppy with not much
extension, lower quarters and heels as much as they will stand and keep
a fair length toe on him, it will keep him closer to the ground; and
shoe light to prevent slipping.
A side view of the animal as he is driven by you will give you the
correct view of his front and hind action. If the action is too short,
too long, too high or too low, in front or behind, the chances are you
may not have to change but one end of him if you have a good eye for
locating faulty action. If your horse is good and can beat his record,
or go the race of his life, and scalps jogging, try a toe weight on him
in front, if it does not stop him wear scalpers on him jogging and let
well enough alone.
I have had to take a three and one-half ounce shoe off a colt that
trotted eighths of a mile in seventeen and a quarter seconds, that was
scalping jogging, and shoe him with a ten and a half ounce heel weight
shoe nailed back near quarters of hind feet to prevent him from scalping
at the jog, after two changes in the front shoeing.
XX. SIDEWEIGHTS.
Sideweight shoes with the weight on the outside have a different effect
or result on front and hind action. An outside weight shoe on a front
foot has a tendency to make the leg wing in, and an outside weight shoe
on a hind foot will widen and lengthen the stride, if feet are properly
prepared, so you see it widens the hind action and closes the front
action. To close the action of the front leg with this sideweight, lower
the front foot on the inside. To widen the action of hind leg, lower the
inside of hind feet. This sideweight shoe will help a paddler that has
to carry a little weight, if you will lower the inside of the foot, but
it is no good for a knee knocker. The outside weight shoe has a
different effect on front and hind action, has a tendency to close one
and widen the other.