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 Tips and Toe- Weights 
 
 A Natural and Plain Method of 
 Horsjs-Shoeing ; 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN APPENDIX 
 
 Tf.eATiNO ot TKp Action of the Race-Horse and Trotter as 
 
 SHOWN BY Instantaneous Photography. 
 
 toe and SIDE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOSEPH CAIRN SIMPSON, 
 (author of horse portraiture. 
 
 \ 
 
 'Rounihoo/d, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and Ion j." Shakespeare. 
 
 \ 
 
 ■^■'^^' SAN FRANCISCO: 
 
 1883. 
 
 iv . 
 
■'^^I* 
 
 TO LELAND STANFORD, 
 
 v« A TOKEX OF APPaECIATIOiJ ,Qp WHAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED IX 
 
 ■ > > 
 
 MAKIN-Qr JCNOWN THE TRUE ACTION OF HORSES, AND THE INTEREST 
 
 U. 
 
 HE HAS TAKEN IN IMPROVING THE STOC« OF THE PACIFIC 
 COAST, THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
 ■^%, 
 
I 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 I present this little volume with apologies, requesting the forbear- 
 ance of my readers for the want of connection, and in many cases 
 repetitions, which are due to the desultory manner the work has been 
 done. This is in a great measure owing to awaiting the results of 
 expei'iments and taking up the subject after the lapse of long inter- 
 vals. As the expei'iments progi'essed parts were written and pub- 
 lished, and then there would arise questions which necessitated fur- 
 ther delays. At one time I thought of rewriting the whole work, 
 It which would have afforded the opportunity to correct the lack of con- 
 tinuity, and then I thought it better to present it as it was, thus 
 giving the stages as they occurred. The first chapter was published 
 in April, 1876, and nearly eight years have been occupied in experi- 
 menting, and though confined to a small number of horses, the ex- 
 tension over so long a period has made the trials equivalent to a 
 larger number of cases for a shorter time. In fact, the experiments 
 could not have been can-ied out in a less space than three years, as 
 in tlie case of Anteeo, a colt was taken as a subject from the first 
 time of shoeing, when fifteen and a half months old until nearly four 
 years of age. By taking an animal as young as Anteeo, and contin- 
 ing the use of tips until so neai"ly matured, the test was thorough as 
 to the effect on the feet and legs. Previous to that the diftex-ences be- 
 tween full. shoes and tips were tried, the beai'ing on the i-elative trot- 
 ting speed being the object, and the results in every case were in 
 favor of tips, so that if it was further proven that the theory of following 
 nature as closely as possible was the pi'oper procedure to keep the feet 
 
11 
 
 and legs in the best shape, the advantages of the system could not be 
 overrated. While offering excuses for the faults alluded to, I present 
 with the utmost confidence my views, with confirmed belief that the 
 system recommended is altogether the most rational method of hoi'se- 
 shoeing, and when the advantages are realized it will supercede that 
 which for centuries has been known to be faulty. 
 
 I do not claim novelty in the use of tips or " lunette " shoes. They 
 are of comparatively ancient origin. But I do claim that the man- 
 ner of placing them on the feet in a great measure nullified the 
 benefits. The plan of cutting a shoulder for the posterior portion of 
 the tip to rest against, and thus giving the bottom of the foot a level 
 and natural bearing, was unknown to me until I discovered it in the 
 way whicli is told ; and I have yet to meet a blacksmith who was 
 acquainted with the plan until I made it public. The letters which 
 are copied from the London Field were published five years after it 
 was put in type here ; and therefore I can claim priority of them. 
 Simple as it is, I believe it to be the corner-stone of the system. 
 When the tip is "feathered" it either has to be set with so much in- 
 cline on the foot surface as to make a strain on the wall, or the toe 
 is raised so much higher than it should be that the proper bearing is 
 destroyed. The square shoulder is also an advantage in keeping the 
 tip in the proper place when the nails are driven ; but it makes the 
 work of fitting much more troublesome. This is one of the reasons 
 why blacksmiths are so averse to the setting of tips, though their 
 greatest antipathy arises from the nearly universal determination to 
 stick to the old ruts. Until this is overcome it will be difiicult for 
 owners to get their horses shod satisfactorily unless under their per- 
 sonal supervision, though eventually there will be some of the most 
 enterprising smiths to lead the way, and others will be compelled to 
 follow. That this difficulty will be obviated I feel confident, and in 
 every town of any size there will be one smith who has sense enough 
 to discover that his interests will be promoted by laboring on the 
 side of reform. Until lately I was under the impression that shoe- 
 ing-smiths would have to be educated to a higher degree, and another 
 generation at the forge and on the floor before the work would be 
 properly done. 
 
lU 
 
 I was led to this belief from the trouble there was in getting the 
 tips made properly, and then a ten times more arduous task was to 
 get them correctly put on. In my first experiments I made patt-erns 
 of wood, and had them cast by a brass-founder ; and had there been 
 an opportunity of getting some better metal cast in the moulds, such 
 as steel or even malleable iron, I should have adhered to the plan, 
 but the brass wore away so rapidly that I had to change, and I was 
 fortunate in finding a blacksmith who would forge them vezy nearly 
 in accordance with the patterns furnished. Latterly I have met a 
 blacksmith who is as enthusiastic in his advocacy of the use of tips 
 as I am, who has put them on all kinds of horses, including those 
 used for heavy di-aft, and with satisfactory results in all cases. 
 This is Paul Friedhoffer, but as his shops are in San Francisco, the 
 only relief to me was in being enabled to get the tips made as I 
 wanted them, the setting having to be done by myself, as the trouble 
 of sending horses from Oakland offset the labor. And by the way, 
 it is doubtful if I could have continued the seven yeai's' war, if un- 
 able to prepare the foot and nail the tips on myself. In that case I 
 would have been compelled to superintend the job from the start to 
 the finish, and this would have entailed the loss of more time. By 
 doing it myself I was also enabled to see the exact state of the foot, 
 and make changes that were found beneficial. Though the pi-actice 
 has made me more expert in the use of knife, rasp and file, and given 
 me an aptitude to drive a nail where I want it to go, it is a hot job, 
 and one that leaves a soreness of muscle which is not pleasant. Sus- 
 tained, however, by the implicit faith that I was working in a good 
 cause, that the ultimate result would bring amelioi^ation to the ani- 
 mals I have been so intimately connected with for more than a quarter 
 of a century, I have never flinched from the self-imposed task, and for 
 the last three or four years have never lost confidence. I have 
 listened patiently to the arguments offered by the opponents of tips, 
 watched closely for defects in the system which the reasoning on the 
 other side was to disclose, and which at first I thought might over- 
 turn my previous conclusions ; but every succeeding year has added 
 strength to my convictions, and given me renewed courage to adhere. 
 Many years ago I had to select a motto to go on the recoi'ds of a 
 
IV 
 
 society, and tlie one cliosen was " Hand fast." I have held tena- 
 ciously to the belief in the efficacy of thoroughbred blood in the trot- 
 ter for fully twenty-five years, and now the grandaughter of a 
 thoroughbred mare occupies the highest place in the record with 
 others of the same degree of consanguinity to tlie royal blood close 
 up in the calendar. 
 
 After these seven years' experience with tips, the grip has grown 
 firmer, tightening with every successive trial, practice so fully demon- 
 strating the correctness of the theory that nature is a correct tutor, 
 that I hold fast as confidently as in the other illustration. In order 
 to do so it was fortunate that I had a few horses of my own to ex- 
 periment with ; and though forced to offer apologies for making them 
 so conspicuous, it was compulsory that the prominence should be 
 given. Had there been others interested it is not likely that the 
 tests would have been made so thorough. It is probable that a want of 
 harmony would have prevailed, and a difference of opinion interfered. 
 
 That thei'e has been fair success in the way of trotting speed I 
 think is evident. The only colts I have trained in California to ti'ot 
 have been five of my own breeding. Three of these were foaled 
 East, two hei-e. Four of them have shown trials better than 2:40 
 when three and four years old, the other trotted in 3:02 when a year- 
 ling. With the exception of the yearling, the fastest work was done 
 in tips, the excejjtion being barefooted. This training has been inci- 
 dental to my other avocations, and hence not as thorough as I could 
 have wished. ' 
 
 The point has been raised that trotting the yearling barefooted was 
 an admission on my part of a want of confidence in the system ad- 
 vocated. The reasons for trotting him barefooted are given in his 
 history, though this is unnecessaiy to show the absurdity of the 
 charge. 
 
 As light tips set in the manner described is the nearest approach 
 to leaving the foot bare, it is manifest to the simplest understanding 
 that the benefits of one will be shared by the other. There is so 
 nearly the same " spring " in the foot, when the tip does not extend 
 farther back than the point of the frog, that this valuable pro[ierty 
 is retained, and the frog-pressure is identical in both. 
 
The appendix, I am sorry to state, is not what I anticipated to 
 make it. Toe-weights are certainly an intricate study, or it may be 
 better to write that the effects of weight on tlie foot, especially on 
 the outer part of it, though known to be potent, the causes as yet 
 are unexplained. At least such is my case, and I must acknowledge 
 an ignorance which is an estoppel against any attempt to elucidate. 
 Through the kindness of ex-Governor Stanford, however, I am 
 enabled to give some valuable information regarding the action of 
 the race-horse and trotter, and, with his consent, present representa- 
 tions of the most pi'ominent features of the " horse in motion." 
 Very unfortunately the copy of the work edited by Dr. Stillman, 
 which was sent me by (lovernor Stanford, miscarried, and never 
 having seen a copy I have been without the information I hoped to 
 make use of. The first cards that were published, and a series of 
 views arranged for the zoetrope, which were sent me by Mr. Muybridge, 
 have given an insight of the greatest value, and, in fact, have taught 
 .ne the only true knowledge I possess on the action of the race-horse, 
 iefore these instantaneous photographs were taken, the manner in 
 which a race-horse progressed was as completely hidden as though 
 thi( gallop had never been seen, and even the short explanation ^^'ill 
 be ''ound of the greatest service, if attention is paid to the subject. 
 Stil, though it is as plain as the " writing on the wall," that a 
 charge in part of the present system of tx-aining is imperative, the 
 pionter who realizes the importance of benefiting from the lessons 
 that the camera places before him has an arduous task, and the 
 methols he employs to turn to a practical use the teachings of the 
 Palo iJto school will excite no end of ridicule and badinage. 
 
 The '"ime will surely come, notwithstanding the jokes and jeers, 
 and tliQ-e Avill be progress in this as well as other things. When 
 that tine comes, Gov^ernor Stanford will receive the thanks he has so 
 richly eirned, and the immense expenditure that was necessary to 
 make th? work complete will bring a return commensui-ate with the 
 outlay. Not to the donor, as his reward will be restricted to the 
 satisfactbn of having made men wiser, and the still more satisfactory 
 knowledge that the wisdom gained has ameliorated the condition of 
 the horsi. 
 
VI 
 
 It may be considered* out of place, in these brief introductory- 
 remarks, to allude to a work of such magnitude as the photogi*aph- 
 ing of animals in motion, the importance of the subject demand- 
 ing a far more extended elucidation. Still, I cannot let the oppor- 
 tunity escape of reference, however brief, or pass by without proj^er 
 acknowledgment of the assistance obtained from a study of the 
 photographs. Although I had a fair knowledge of the action of the 
 fast trotter, I was as totally ignorant of that of the race-horse as if 
 I had never seen one gallop. Even the three cuts which are given 
 in the first chapter of the appendix pi'ove that former ideas of the 
 manner in which a horse ran were as erroneous as could be, and por- 
 tions of the stride are fully as grotesque as the representations given. 
 A comparison of the cuts of parts of the racing and trotting stride 
 will show the great difference there is in the two gaits, and even the i 
 short essay accompanying them will be found of some service. At] 
 all events, they show how much greater the strain is on the fore le^ 
 of the race-horse, irrespective of the weight on his back, and th/ 
 contrast between "the last effort" and "the initial" sufficient 
 account for an ailing fore leg being so much worse for the race-hoi^e 
 than the trotter. / 
 
 The appendix is not as full as I thought it would be whenj-the 
 opening chapters were written, nearly two years ago. Then I/fan- 
 cied that I had obtained a clew which would lead to satisfactory 
 explanations of the cause for weight applied on the outside ^f the 
 foot exerting such a potent influence on the fast-trotting action. The 
 more study I gave it the more puzzling it became, and at Tresent 
 can only state that I am not capable of giving reasons whicj are at 
 all satisfactory to myself, and conjectures would not be wfrth the 
 space given or the time of the reader. It may be that futuiB exper- 
 iments and closer observation _ will lead to the discovery cf a key, 
 or it is quite as likely that some trivial circumstance will jtove the 
 guide to escape from the labyrinth, and chance, as it has doiie hereto- 
 fore, lead to the correct solution of the problem. Awaiting develop- 
 ments, I can only offer the excuses given, and trust that the apology 
 will be accepted. 
 
 Before concluding, I miist again refer to the want of cmnection 
 
vu 
 
 and repetitions, and the necessity for bearing in mind that the i)uljli- 
 cation of the various chapters was broken by long delays. The chap- 
 tei'S were written in the following order: From Chapter 1st to 7th, 
 inclusive, April, 1876, to 1878, then from that time until 1881, 
 there were occasional publications, and the remainder within the 
 last few months. 
 
 I cannot say good-by, however, without reitei^ating my implicit 
 belief in the efficacy of tips, and in contradistinction from the toe- 
 weight puzzle, there are reasons, plain and palpable, why the result 
 of practice should be as I have found it. 
 
 Jos. Cairn Simpson. 
 San Francisco, February, 1883. 
 
EXPLANATORY. 
 
 A query published in the Breeder's Gazette a short time ago, has 
 led me to think that it will be well to add other cuts, with an expla- 
 nation, to give a perfect understanding of the system. It appears 
 simple enough to state that the tip should be made of nearly uniform 
 thickness, square at the ends, and the horn cut away so that the foot 
 will have the proper bearing when the tip is set. A more perfect 
 elucidation, however, is afforded by the cuts, and in order to show 
 exactly the state of the foot of a four-year-old that has never worn a 
 shoe, a few days ago Mr. Wyttenbach made the drawing from nature. 
 The outline was obtained from placing the foot on a piece of card- 
 board, and carefully tracing around it. The other parts of the sketch 
 were filled in while the colt's foot was held up, so that the artist 
 could see as he went on with the work. 
 
 There ai-e many points of interest to examine. In the first place 
 it is widely different from a foot that has worn a shoe, and it also 
 varies from one that has never been shod, if the foot has not been 
 cared for in the same manner. The first position will be readily 
 granted, as any one can verify it by making a comparison ; the 
 second is not so well understood, and the causes for the difference 
 overlooked. The natui-al supposition v/ould be that if a colt had run 
 without shoes until four years old the foot would be in the proper 
 shape ; and if the animal was in an entirely natural state, roaming 
 over the country wherever it desired, it might be so. Domestica- 
 tion, however, changes the coui-se, and small fields, paddocks and 
 
IX 
 
 stables entail a different life. In the case of Anteeo, the field was 
 circunisci'ibed to 200 feet by 133, with a jog that doubled the latter 
 distance, so that 266 feq| was the longest run he could take. The 
 yard he sometimes ran in vvas 50x133 feet, and when not in these a 
 medium-sized box-stall was his domicile. With no better chance to 
 wear the horn away, the feet would have gi-own long at the toe, sjjlit 
 and broken off. The heels would have got out of all proportion, and 
 undoubtedly more or less contracted. The frog would have shrunk 
 from lack of use, and even the inner portion of the foot between the 
 walls been in an abnormal condition. From the time he was a few 
 months old, his feet have been trimmed to get rid of the excess of 
 growth, and since he was fifteen months old the front pai't has been 
 protected with a tip the greater part of the time. The wall fi-om the 
 tip has-been cut down so that it was only a ti-ifle lower than the 
 frog, so that the " spring " of the quarters would permit the frog to 
 bear its due share of the weight, and no matter how i-agged it be- 
 came, the frog was never cut. When the new frog was ready to re- 
 place the old, there were small hanging fragments which were pulled 
 off, though the knife was never brought into requisition further than 
 to cut away where the tip rested, and the sole back of the tip was left 
 i];itact. This, too, would exfoliate, and when a flake was so loose as 
 to be easily removed, that woxxld also be got rid of by prying it off. 
 For a time I used an instrument which would cut away the horn only 
 where the metal replaced it ; the sole between the wings of the tip 
 would also be left to exfoliate ; but in order to get a true bearing, 
 with only a knife, rasp and file, it was necessary to level that portion. 
 As the cut shows exactly the outline of the sole of the foot, it 
 will be easy to determine the proportion between that and the size of 
 the colt when the measurements are given. Anteeo is a trifle over 
 fifteen and a half hands high, and of more than ordinary substance. 
 His limbs are larger than usual, or, rather, it will be better stated by 
 saying wider. As a general thing, the Electioneers have rather 
 small feet, and I firmly believe that if Anteeo had worn shoes his 
 would be at least half an inch naiTOwer than they are. The width 
 and length are nearly the same, and even a diagonal measurement, as 
 from one heel to a point the same distance on either side of the toe, is 
 
only a trifle greater. But the most striking feature in the cut is the 
 frog, and, doubtless, those who have obtained their knowledge of 
 this important part of the foot of the holjge from seeing those of 
 horses which have worn shoes, or from illustrations in the books, will 
 be surprised, and think that thei-e is something wrong in the delinea- 
 tion. It is not only wide at the posterior portion, as it reaches far 
 nearer the toe, and in place of the crevice in the center there is only 
 a slight depression. 
 
 In a previous illustration, given on page 8, chapter 1, the only cut 
 obtainable at the time, the representation is very faulty. In fact, 
 this is the first instance of correct drawing of a frog that may be 
 termed perfect, all others which I have seen being studies from feet 
 which have become malformed. 
 
 Although the frog changes in appearance, and there is quite a dif- 
 fei'ence between the old, ragged surface and the new which is ready 
 to take its place, still the similarity of broad surfaces and elasticity 
 is apparent. The old has served the intended piai-pose, doing its 
 work until the other is ready. 
 
 When mutilated with the knife, and that mutilation accompanied 
 by non-use, in place of this healthy growth it shrivels and becomes 
 nearly as hard as the horn ; there is a deep fissure in place of the 
 ^sligllt depression in the middle, the longitudinal axis is shortened, 
 and the whole is as different from the engraving as can be well 
 imagined. 
 
 The illustrations leave little to add regarding the manner of setting 
 the tip or applying the toe-weight which I am partial to, but inas- 
 much as the questions asked indicate that the proper method is not 
 fully understood, it may be as well to be more minute in the instruc- 
 .tions. 
 
 As has been stated, the tip is only a trifle thicker at the toe than 
 the posterior portion, the object being to give as nearly a level bear- 
 ing as possible. If there was much taper, the slope from the toe 
 would bring a greater strain on the nails, and, consequently, a greater 
 .danger of displacement. It is also evident that the square shoulder 
 is of material assistance in keeping the tip in place while the nails 
 iare driven, and does away with any necessity for a clip at the toe. 
 
XI 
 
 Many years ago I advocated driving the nails from the inner side 
 of the wall, and the benefit of this practice has been sustained by the 
 score of yeai's in which I have followed it. There is not so much 
 danger of "pricking" in setting the tip as the full shoe, owing to a 
 greater thickness of the wall in the anterior portion of the foot ; it 
 also gives a more secui'e fastening, as the horn is perforated in place 
 of the layers being divided, and a much lower hold can be taken. A 
 horse-nail is Avedge-sliaped, and when driven parallel with the fibers 
 thei'e mus^ be a tendency to split the layers apart, but if they are 
 perfoi-ated there is no such risk. When the nail-holes are punched 
 close to the edge, the nail has to be driven on a curve. At first the 
 direction is toward the sensitive portion of the foot, and then the 
 bevel at the point throws it outwards. Now it is evident that if the 
 course of the nail approaches the sensitive part of the foot, there is 
 danger, if even it is not wounded at the time of driving. Clinching 
 the nail when it is curved throws a gi-eater strain on the central 
 part, forcing that part to press against the inner horn, and the 
 concussion aggravates the tendency. 
 
 If in place of being driven on a cui've the nail goes straight, the 
 strain caused by clinching and concussion is uniform, and the straight 
 line, at whatever angle, obviates this difiiculty. 
 
 Then it is manifest that if the nail is started from the inside of 
 the wall, and driven at any angle which will bring the point through, 
 it never can get near the sensitive tissues. The nearest point is 
 where it is first started, and this is so far below the quick that there 
 cannot be any danger of wounding. In driving the nails from the 
 inside, it is necessary to give the nail-hole the same slope outwardly, 
 or make the hole large enough to give room for directing the point. 
 
 I prefer the latter plan, and then sink the head of the nail below 
 the surface, which completely fills the opening. A punch is used 
 when the nail-head is level with the shoe to di'ive it home, and a 
 clinching-iron that has a projection which keeps the nail in place 
 when it is riveted. This is when tolerably heavy tips are used ; with 
 lighter and thinner ones the head of a No. 3 nail will fill the counter- 
 sunk hole. Countersinking is preferable to creasing — fullering as 
 some smiths tei-m it — and when the tip is so thin as to let the heads 
 of the nails project they ai-e filed to a level of the tip. 
 
The countersinking cannot be done as close to the edge as a crease 
 without giving an inward direction, and the tool with which the 
 crease is cut is held on a bevel inclining to the inside. This, as has 
 been shown, compels the nail being driven on a curve, first, to get 
 sufficient " hold," and when that is done to bring it to the outside, in 
 order to clinch it and fasten the shoe. 
 
 Anyone who will take the trouble to drive a horse-nail into a piece 
 of wood, giving it the same curve that the smith does, twist ofi" the 
 point and clinch it in the same way, by splitting the A^ood apai-t 
 after this is done, he will see how much greater the inward pres- 
 sure is, and that if there is only a thin stratum between the nail and 
 the sensitive part of the foot, there must be a pressure that will 
 result in lameness. 
 
 When the nails are driven, in lieu of filing a notch to receive the 
 clinch, I use a small gouge, only cutting away so miich of the horn 
 as will hold it. By following this plan, the clinch is depressed where 
 it cannot do injury, and this without weakening the foot. As is well 
 known, the enamel is much the strongest part, and when the edge of 
 the rasp is used to cut a i-eceptacle for the clinch, the groove extends 
 from the front to the rear nail. I have known many instances where 
 the whole side, ft-om the clinches to the nail-holes at the bottom, was 
 torn off with the shoe, and this could not occur when the plan rec- 
 ommended is followed. The toe and sides of the tip should be flush 
 with the edge of the horn, or so near that there is only a trifle of 
 projection to be filed away. It is better to have it exactly even, and 
 if the gouge-cutting is pi-opeily done the clinch will be hammered 
 uniform with the horn, so that there is no necessity for tiling ; and 
 should there be a roughness, care must be taken that in removing it 
 the horn is not marked. Every mark of the file on the enamel is an 
 injury. It not only weakens, as it also gives a chance for moisture to 
 penetrate, and I am thoroughly convinced that moisture is injurious 
 and that one purpose of the enamel is to render the foot impervious 
 to the entrance of fluids. As has been shown, the horn is composed 
 of tubes — hairs — fastened together with an agglutinizing material, 
 and each tube filled with a substance that gives life. The application 
 of water weakens the adhering properties ; maceration destroys ; that 
 
XIU 
 
 is, long-continued soakings are prejudicial, and even washing the feet 
 had better be dispensed with, especially when the enamel has been 
 wounded by the rasp or file. It was also shown that driving the 
 nails cut these tubes off, and that below the severed portion the horn 
 is virtually dead. The low hold arising fi-om driving the nail from 
 the inner parts of the wall does less injury than when it takes the 
 curving direction and a high hold, and the larger the nail the greater 
 the damage. Four small nails (No. 3) will hold a tip of the size 
 figured in l^e cut firmly in its place as long as it should be worn ; 
 and in cases where I have been negligent in resetting, the tip Avas 
 not misplaced until that and the nail-heads were worn away, so that 
 the tip could be pulled off without cutting the clinches, and yet it 
 was retained by the slight hold which the worn nails gave. 
 
 In the cut the nail-holes are shown in order to show the manner 
 of countersinking. It is scarcely necessary to state that when placed 
 on the foot the nail-heads have quite a difierent appearance. 
 
 This description, I think, will be quite sufficient to explain the 
 mode of setting and the reasons in brief for following that system. 
 The toe-weights have been described in the appendix, and the cuts 
 will complete the lesson. 
 
 Note. — As it might be thought that my partiality for tips and 
 favoritism for the colt warped my judgment, I requested O. A. Hickok 
 to make a careful and close scrutiny to see what the effect had been 
 of constant wearing of tips on Anteeo. The appended certificate 
 shows the result : 
 
 Oa^and, March 29, 1883. 
 I have, to-day, critically examined the feet and legs of Jos. Cairn Simpson's 
 colt, Anteeo, and hereby certify that, in my estimation, they could not be in 
 more perfect condition. 
 
 0. A. HiCKOK. 
 
XIV 
 
 A certificate from Mr. Hickok will carry more weight with East- 
 ern readers than that of a veterinarian. 
 
 A trainer of his skill and experience will detect anything wrong 
 with the legs and feet, and if there is the least variation from a 
 normal condition discover it. It is almost unnecessary to state that 
 every individual who has seen Anteeo concurs in the views expressed 
 by the skillful trainer and driver of trotters, and very many regard 
 the " perfect condition " of the feet and legs as being wonderful 
 under anv cii'cumstances. 
 
■.■'.:■■ y 
 
 
 TIP 
 
 AND 
 
 Toe -Weights 
 
 JOS. CAIRN SIMPSON. 
 
TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Necessity for a Better System of Shoeing, 
 
 The domestication of the horse, and the purposes he is used for, 
 have necessitated the protection of the foot. In those nations the^ 
 people of wliich could forge iron, or some kindred metal, into the 
 proper shape, shoes of that material have been used. Different peo- 
 ple have had various patterns, from the sheet of iron, merely perfor- 
 ated with a central hole, svich as the Arabs put on their horses, to 
 the elaborate ai-ticles which some smiths delight in fashioning, I am 
 under the fii-m belief that all the systems, all the shapes, are more or 
 less pernicious, and that a shoe which will j>reserve the natural func- 
 tions of the foot has yet to be invented. Simple as the subject may 
 apj)ear to those who have little . acquaintance with the horse, it has 
 troubled the minds of acute observers more than any other portion 
 of stable management, and though many have cried Eureka, they 
 have been pi-emature in their claims. 
 
 It is difficult to find two who will agree in eveiy particular as to 
 the pro])er shoeing of the horse, and now that the trotting-horse 
 represents such an immense capital, greater efforts are constantly 
 being miule to get a pedal appendage which will meet the require- 
 ments of' trainers and owners. 
 
2 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 The art of training trotters has made rapid advancement in the 
 last decade, and the importance of liaving them shod properly, and 
 the adaptation of the shoe to the animal, has been fully acknowl- 
 edged. Every trainer who gives the subject much thought, is aware 
 of the great change in the action which can be bi-ought about by 
 shoeing. The stride of the " long-gaited " hoi'se can be shortened, 
 more or less knee-action induced, a tendency to interfere, or the 
 wounding of the shin or knee done away with, by a change in the 
 shoes. The race-horse, in training, wears a shoe which will weigh 
 about forty ounces to the set. His plates, in which he runs his races, 
 will weigh less than one-quarter of that, and the difference in his 
 speed will be from two to four seconds to the mile in favor of the 
 lightest. In as muscular and powerful an animal as the horse, it 
 cannot be the few ounces of weight which effects so much, but the 
 action, or method of running, must be favorably influenced by the 
 weai'ing of the plate. If this result follows in the fast, flying gallop 
 or run, why should not the fast trot — certainly a more artificial man- 
 ner of progression — be as susceptible of the changes in shoeing? 
 •Before considering the efiect of shoeing on the action, it may be as 
 well to investigate the foot itself, and judging from the conformation 
 of the parts, endeavor to find out if any of the present methods are 
 rational. First, there is the wall of solid horn, compact, tenacious 
 and altogether admirable for the natural purpose of supporting the 
 animal, and withstanding the wear consequent upon the friction of 
 travel. The sole, not so hard as the wall, but of different growth, 
 with a natural provision for the surplus to drop out in flakes. The 
 frog, still softer than the ^ole, and highly elastic. The wall is sus- 
 ceptible of dilatation and contraction, while the form of the sole 
 and wall, aided by the commissures, is such as to permit it without 
 injur-y. The bars are a sort of composite between these two, and in 
 the sound foot there is quite a space between the frog and the jjos- 
 terior portion of the bars. The bars are a partial continuation of 
 the wall to where they connect at the apex, immediately in front of 
 the point of the frog. The commissures, or channels, between the 
 bars and frog, are deep and angular depressions. In the natural foot 
 there is a very slight cleft in the frog, while in the contracted, or 
 
GUARDS AGAINST CONCUSSION. 6 
 
 thnishy, the frog becomes separated, as it were, in the middle. Ion 
 gitudinally, and a deep crevice is found. The back pai't of the foot 
 is foiyiied thus : 
 
 And it is evident that as the weight is throwoi on the heel the quar- 
 ters expand and the frog rests on the ground. The corrugated shape 
 permits this, and when the weight is removed the elastic media 
 brings it back to the original position. The ilhistration re})resents a 
 section of the foot about an inch in front of where the wall and bars 
 form an acute angle. The bar forms a curve sweeping from the 
 point of the frog to the junction above alluded to, and the fissure 
 between it and the frog is the deepest at the point which the cut 
 delineates. The wall is much stronger at the heel than what is 
 termed the quarters, and only slightly thinner than at the toe. This 
 is necessary to withstand the concussion, which is the gi'eatest at the 
 heel, and the thinner quarters admit of ♦more freedom of motion. 
 The expansion is not confined to the gi-ound surface — the whole foot, 
 from the coronary ligament to the bottom, expands and contracts as 
 the weight is thrown upon the limb, and taken from it when the 
 animal raises his foot to thi'ust it forward. In the unshod, natural 
 foot, there is nothing to prevent this freedom of motion ; it is un- 
 fettered, and performs its functions without hindrance. In the 
 gallop and the fast trot the body is hurled through the air, thei'e 
 being a time when all the feet are off the ground. The eye detects 
 this quite readily when the horse is running, but it is extremely 
 difficult to discern it in the trot. In the gallop the feet touch the 
 ground in regular succession, followed by a bound, and the ear is 
 cognizant of the fact, if the eye fails to be convinced. The sound of 
 
4 TIPS AND T<JE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 the gallop can be closely imitated by resting the thumb on a table 
 and striking rapidly first with the little finger, second, with the one 
 next to it, then the middle and fore-finger; the interval, before the little 
 finger can be brouglit down again, corresponding to the bound or leap. 
 Only one foot touches the ground at a time, when, of course, the 
 whole weight must rest upon that foot, although it is quickly relieved 
 by the other. As at least two strides are made in a second, and as the 
 longer time is occupied by the bound, the contact of the foot with 
 the ground being a small fraction of the time, the duration lasting 
 while the body is carried far enough forward to cause it to be taken 
 up. One of the fore feet supports the whole of the weight of horse 
 and rider, while the body is moved over it, until it has to leave the 
 ground; then the bound follows, and the hind foot stx-ikes eighty -six 
 inches beyond the imprint of the front foot. 
 
 In trotting, the feet are moved diagonally, and so nearly at the 
 same instant that the ear also fails to^ separate the footfalls, and the 
 sound of the feet of a square trotter, at a twenty gait, has a regular 
 cadence like the ticking of a pendulum. The foot-prints of a race- 
 j horse show plainly the flight of the body through the air, and can be 
 pictured thus : 
 
 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 
 
 We will suppose the figure 1 to be the right fore foot, 2 the left 
 fore foot, 3 the right hind foot, and 4 the other hind foot. The 
 length of the stride is manifestly from where the foot left the ground 
 until it struck it again. In race-horses this will vary from 18 to 25 
 feet. The impress which the trotter leaves is more nearly equi- 
 distant, thus : 
 
 4 3 2 14 3 2 1 
 
 and from 17 to 22 feet is the length of the strides of the fast trot- 
 ters. Adopting the same simile, from 1 to 1 is the space measured 
 by each stride, and it is just as evident that to enable the animal to 
 strike the ground twenty feet in advance of the position the same 
 foot occupied, the body must be thrown through the air when all the 
 feet are off the ground. It is also necessary that when the foot 
 strikes it must be thrust forward as far as it can be aiid sustain 
 
BREAKING THE JAR. 
 
 tlie equilibrium, and hence the heel must receive the firet shock of 
 the contact. Tlte xohole concussion is vpon the heel ; nearly the whole 
 of the friction ujwn the toe. How admirahlj the foot is fashioned to 
 sustain this concussion and friction is apparent to any one who will 
 give it careful thought. When the horse is at rest, nearly two-thirds 
 of the weight is supported by the fore feet, and the sound animal 
 does not attempt to relieve tiiem from the portion of the weight it 
 is their duty to sustain. In that case there would be a moderate 
 expansion of the foot. When he walks, three of the feet are encum- 
 bei-ed by the weight, while the fourth is moved forward, and the 
 foot which is Avithout a load is contracted, the others more expanded, 
 than when the animal was standing. In the trot of the ordinary 
 woi'k-horse, the pace is slow and the stride short, the hind foot drop- 
 ping into the track of the front. As velocity increases the force, 
 the slow trot is more trying than the walk, while the great rate of 
 the fast trotter, and the still faster flight of the race-horse, entails 
 the greatest possible concussion, the gi-eatest jar to the feet, and the 
 greatest strain upon their mechanism. When the foot is free to 
 dilate, so as to avail itself of the benefit of the spring of the wall 
 from the toe back, and the further breaking of the jar by the soft 
 and yielding pad of the frog, the great strain of even the gallop, 
 augmented by the weight of the rider, can be sustained. The unshod 
 foot may wear away from the friction of hard roads until the pro- 
 tecting covering is removed and the sensitive portion laid bare, when 
 the horse becomes lame, but the evils arising from concussion ai'e 
 unknown. In the last year I have inquii-ed of at least a hundred 
 gentleman who were familiar with the horse in early times in Cali- 
 fornia, when shoeing of saddle-horses was comparatively unknown, 
 if they had ever known quartei-oracks in this class of horses 1 
 " Never," was the unanimous response. Were corns frequent, or 
 bruises of the sole of common occurrence 1 The answer would be : 
 " I never knew an unshod horse to have corns, and the only draw- 
 })ack was the wearing away of the horn at tlie toe until they became 
 lame, when the animal was turned out, and a few weeks, especially 
 in the rainy season, furnished the remedy." That shoeing is the 
 cause of quarter-cracks and corns is absolutely proven by the 
 
6 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 absence of these difficulties, wlien the animal remains without these 
 artificial appendages, and I hope to show in this essay that the 
 reasons for the injuiy are apparent after due consideration, and, 
 perhaps, suggest a remedy. 
 
 First, as to cracks: It is well known that the fissure stai'ts from 
 the coronet, in some cases being less than three-quarters of an inch 
 in length. The shoe preventing the expansion of the lower part of 
 the foot, the upper bursts the shell at the thinnest portion, as the 
 weight is virtually thrown upon it. Unquestionably the horn in 
 some horses is more disposed to crack than others, but the feet which 
 have the greatest inclination to separation of the horn are those 
 Avhich are the nearest vertical, and in which the horn is usually the 
 thickest. If even the nailing does not come further back than the 
 ciuarters, the fi'iction between the wall and the shoe soon wears a 
 channel which restrains the heels from opening, and this, aided by 
 the greater concussion upon the wall which the shoe imparts, sjilits 
 the fibres apart. In the foot which is unshod, the wall, the bars and 
 the frog unite in supporting the weight, while the spring of the 
 heels and the elasticity of the frog break the jar. The common 
 practice of smitlis is to thicken the shoe at the heel and make the 
 web narrower, which renders it impossible for the bars and frog to 
 perform their natural functions. The whole force of the blow, for 
 blow it assuredly is, comes upon the wall and the junction of the 
 wall and sole ; and confining that which should expand, if there is 
 any brittleness it gives away. We have heard it stated that the 
 cause of quarter-cracks w^as the contraction of the hoof, forcing- 
 upward the coffin bone until the wing^ wore the shell so thin that 
 it split from the erosion. So absurd is this theory that it is difficult 
 to believe that it could ever have been entertained by any one who 
 had given the horse's foot the least attention; but my informant 
 hinted that it was part of the teachings of a man who claims to have 
 made discoveries that are of vast importance, and which have been 
 sustained by men of wisdom and acumen. Inasmuch as part of the 
 teachmgs of this gentleman are covered by the seal of secrecy, it may 
 be that this is one of his esoterical points. It is obvious, however, 
 that the wearing of the horn by the bone would result in something 
 
ROUND-HOOF D. 
 
 far more serious than quarter-cracks, and before the grinding of the 
 wall had reached the point of cracking there would not be any foot 
 to split. That the shoe confines the foot is easily proven by com- 
 paring the foot of a horse which has never worn shoes and one with 
 these appendages. The first is susceptible of being forced to quite a 
 distance by a slight pull ; the other cannot be moved a hair's breadth 
 bv the stronofest effort of the hand. Take the unshod foot between 
 the knees in the same manner a blacksmith holds it when preparing 
 it for or nailing on the shoe, and grasping the heels, with the thumbs 
 bearing on the commissures, and the yielding is not only felt, but is 
 apparent to the eye. Grasp the foot higher up and the fact of the 
 contraction and expansion of the upper part of the foot is also ascer- 
 tained. Taking the shod foot, especially one that has been shod for 
 yeai-s, and while the lower motion is entirely gone, that below the 
 coronet has been very much lessened. In the natural foot the frog 
 is wide, and as was remarked before, the cleft of it is shallow. In 
 the shod one the frog has dwindled to one-half its original proportion, 
 is hard, Avithout elasticity, and in many cases the blade of a knife 
 can be run into the cleft an inch or more. Another great change 
 will be observed. The foot, in its normal condition, is wider than it 
 is long. In the artificial state, induced by shoeing, it is much 
 longer than wide. The nai-rowing or contraction of the heel has 
 lessened the transverse measurement and increased the longitudinal. 
 The absence of corns in the unshod foot proves that the concussion 
 is the most violent between the shoe and the foot, for if these 
 troublesome things resulted from contact with the ground, the want 
 of shoes would be favorable for their production. 
 
 The following cut shows the ground surface of the foot, and the pecu- 
 liarities of foi-mation, which the previous illustration only partially 
 represented, are here passably portrayed. It is very difiicult to give 
 a draughtsman a proper idea of the shape of the natural foot, unless 
 the animal can be present. Few of the drawings of the horse's foot 
 which are given in the books are correct in showing the natural foot, 
 the artists evidently having taken their "studies" from specimens 
 which had been changed by shoeing. The frog is usually represented 
 as much muTOwer than when in a normal condition, and the coia- 
 
8 TIPS AND TOE-AVEIGHTS. 
 
 niissures also more contracted and with different outlines. The 
 widest part of these channels is about midway between the point of 
 the frog and the heel, the outward line having quite a curvature, 
 the inner, or that side which is formed by tlie frog, being" nearly 
 straight. The commissures are also the deepest at this point, so that 
 there is an arched line running from the point of the frog to the 
 heel. It is evident that the dilatation, when the weight is thrown 
 on the foot, is made easy by this formation, and consequently the 
 contraction, when the weight is removed, is imperative. 
 
 That these are natural and essential functions is almost discover- 
 able from the study of the cut, without further knowledge. The 
 thicker horn at the toe, which is diminished at the quarter and again 
 increased at the heel, proves that the greatest wear will be at these 
 points ; or rather, that ' these extremities are the most thoroughly 
 protected by the natui-al growth, while the more yielding quarters 
 afford the necessary elasticity. The deposit of horn is greater at 
 the toe and heel, which gives the natui-al foot something of the shape 
 of the human pedal. This does away with the violent concussion at 
 the weakest part of the foot, throwing the work of sustaining the 
 shock of rapid locomotion on the heel and the frog, while the toe 
 sustains the friction of retainiiig the hold of the ground until the foot 
 
DILATATION AND CONTRACTION. 9 
 
 be again elevated. While the sole performs its part in sustaining 
 the weight, that part is very slight on even, soft ground. 
 
 Experiments have proven that the sole may be entirely removed 
 without the bones descending from their position, the coronary liga- 
 ment, and the tendons which run between the navicular bone and the 
 sensitive frog, being sufficient to carry the weight. Veterinarians 
 have argued that the descent of the sole proves that at times thei-e is 
 gi-eat weight thrown on this part of the foot, and point to a large 
 and wide-heeled foot as the most likely to suflfer in this way. There 
 mav be other causes which conduce to this state, and these causes we 
 will consider hereafter. To digi-ess, however, in this connection it 
 may be as well to describe another portion of the foot which has a 
 great deal to do in sustaining the weight, and that is the lamince, 
 or thin plates which interlace from the wall and the coffin bone. 
 There are about five hundred of these plates, and they come together 
 much the same as would the leaves of two books, if they were locked at 
 their edges. With even a slight pressure from the sides, it will be 
 found that it takes considerable force to push them apart ; and the 
 five hundred Icwiince, thin as they are, aid very materiall}' not only 
 in sustaining the weight, but also in breaking the jar. These lam- 
 ince permit the dilatation and contraction without injurious results, 
 as would be the case were the interior surface of the wall and the 
 outward portion of the bones smooth. In the latter case there would 
 be nothing to hold them in position while the foot was expanded, and 
 there would be a space between. 
 
 The cut in the previous article showed the section of the foot an 
 inch in advance of the heel and where the commissures are the deepest, 
 but as that becomes shallower there is less depth of horn to move, 
 and less is required. The elasticity of the upper poi-tion of the foot 
 is the greatest at the back part of the coronary ligament, and the 
 equilibrium of expansion is thus retained. 
 
 Miles, in his essay on horse-shoeing, wrote : " Unless the nail- 
 holes are placed so that the foot can expand, it must in the end be- 
 come unsound." "Frank Forester" thought so highly of his treatise 
 that he embodied it in his woi-k, and prefaced it with unqualified 
 praise, and his opinion was coincided in by the best informed horse- 
 
10 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 men of the time. He expected to overcome the difficulty by 
 placing three nails on the outside of the foot, and two on the inside, 
 near the toe. He- also claimed that "The portioii of the hoof that 
 expands the most is the inner quarter and heel." The horn on the 
 inner quarter is slightly thinner tlian on the outside, but there is a 
 greater concussion on the outside, which makes the thicker horn give 
 more. But it is recently that the expansion of the foot has been 
 considered unnecessary, and that only by a few. 
 
 The cuts show as conclusively as that twice two are four, that 
 there are natural provisions for expansion, and as the " good mother " 
 is usually correct in her doings, we will accept it as the proper thing 
 to follow. " Contraction " is claimed by many to be the result of 
 disease ; others contend that contraction produces disease of the foot. 
 It is immatei'ial which is correct so far as regards the consideration 
 of the evils of the present system of shoeing, as the fact of it being 
 apparent in nearly every horse which has been shod for a series of 
 years is sufficient to warn us that something must be done to counter- 
 act this tendency. 
 
 •Mr. Miles was not alone in advising that the nailing should be con- 
 fined to the anterior of the foot, Mr. Coleman, Professor of the Royal 
 Veterinary College, having preceded him in this recommendation. 
 He taught in liis lectures to the students, " that, for a good natural 
 foot, all that is required by way of a shoe is to guard the crust b}'^ 
 a small and narrow piece of iron, which should be attached princi- 
 pally at the toe." Mr. Bracey Clark, one of the foremost writers on 
 the pathology of the horse's foot, noted the effect of shoeing was 
 usually to contract the foot, and his instructions were to leave the 
 sole, bars and frog in the natural state ; and having seen ill effects 
 follow the non-nailing at the heels, from sand getting between the 
 shoe and foot, and more concussion, he nailed back to the posterior 
 extremity. It is useless to multiply the evidence of those who join 
 in denouncing the ordinary system of shoeing, and who have proven 
 the injuries which have followed. It would be far beyond the limits 
 of this essay to note the various o})inions which have been given, 
 and to record the acrimonious debates between partisans of the dif- 
 ferent schools. Treatment as opposite as the antipodes has been au- 
 
WEIGHT CONTROLS THE ACTION. 11 
 
 thoritatively recominenJed, and between these multitudes of counselors 
 the poor horse has sadly suffered. The horse must be shod is taken as 
 an axiom, but yet we tind some of the most intelligent of the pres- 
 ent trainei-s of race-horses galloping them without any protection to 
 the foot. On the soft dirt of a carefully kept race-coui"se there is 
 little, if any, necessity for protecting the hoof; but in California, 
 where the courses are hard, the wearing away of the toe has to be 
 guarded against. 
 
 It has been deemed essential that something should intervene be- 
 tween the foot and the gi-ound " to break the jar" consequent on the 
 weight of the animal coming with such force upon the extremities, 
 and the harder the track, the opinion of a majority of race-horse 
 trainei-s has been that a heavier shoe was required. I do not 
 think it will need much ai'gument to shoAv that the "jar" is greater 
 the heavier the shoe, and also that there is greater strain on the limbs. 
 The iron is unyielding, and without elasticity, in the sense we call 
 the foot of the horse elastic. Weight induces higher action aiul a 
 longer stride, and hence there must be greater force in the blow when 
 the foot strikes the ground. The hard metal, while it protects the 
 horn from being shattered by guarding the edge, impinges on the an- 
 gle made by the bars and wall, resulting in corns and Ijjfuises. Un- 
 fortunately, that is not the greatest injury. The expansion is ham- 
 pered, if not completely stopjDed ; the sole and frog are not permitted 
 to bear their due proportion of the weight ; the latter becomes atro- 
 phied, and the former loses its natural properties. 
 
 Great masses of iron nailed to the horse's foot have been the weak- 
 ness of shoeing-smiths of the last two centuries, and Mr. Clark gives 
 ill ustrations of the forms which many then held to be correct. The web 
 covei'ed nearly the whole sole, there being only a small circular opening 
 at the point of the frog, and a triangular one under it. Calkins 
 were turned at the heel, and this ponderous body was fastened to the 
 foot by fourteen or fifteen nails. Horses which had gone lame Avhile 
 shod with this niyhtmare of a shoe, recovered with the narrow, con- 
 caved one which Mr. Clark used, notwithstanding the foot was fet- 
 tered from the toe to the heel. The Duke of Newcastle saw that for 
 horses of the " mannage," and for those which were used for hunting 
 
12 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 and hacks, there was an impropriety in thus loading them, and i-ecom- 
 mended a lighter shoe. For horses of heavy draught it is still 
 held to be necessary to have iron, in mass according to, and being 
 in harmony with, the size of the animal, claiming that on the pave- 
 ments a lighter shoe would soon wear out. As the wear is nearly all 
 confined to the toe, the greater part of this could be dispensed with. 
 But there is one class of horses which must have weight on their 
 feet, or some contrivance which will have the same effect on the action 
 as weight, and this is the fast trotter, or, at least, a great many of the 
 very fastest. Thus, a little mare like May Queen has to wear a shoe 
 weighing twenty-four ounces on each fore foot, and Jenny had a still 
 heavier incumbrance, with a " toe- weight" of like ponderosity added. 
 That these two mares could make " a record" of 2:20 and 2:22 while 
 thus loaded, proves that the benefit to the action offsets the disad- 
 vantages. Jenny made one brilliant season, and then had to be re- 
 tired until her legs recovered from the strain. Nettie, another first- 
 class animal which has to be burdened in the same manner, has several 
 times been troubled " with a leg," and these appliances have been con- 
 demned on account of the greater liability to the tendons being in- 
 jured when they were used. When tl\e time for the consideration of 
 the toe-weighf^iore appropriately comes, I will endeavor to show that 
 it is not a necessary sequence to their use, but results from a wrong 
 understanding of how they should be applied. If the proper action 
 can be obtained, and the foot properly pi'otected, I imagine few will 
 disagree with me, that the lighter the weight of the shoe the better it 
 will be for the animal wearing it. The pedestrian, when he has a 
 distance to go at his best pace — say a run of a mile — wears shoes 
 which are only a few ounces in weight, with spikes to prevent him 
 losing ground by slipping. If he is going to walk a long journey, he 
 wears a thick-soled shoe with light xippers. This has been offered as 
 an argument favoring heavy shoes on horses, but there is not the 
 least analogy between the two. The Indian performs great feats 
 with only moccasins to protect his feet ; those of the white man are 
 tender from always having a stronger protection to guard them, and 
 have become more sensitive to pressure and more liable to bruises. 
 But there is scarcely anything parallel in the human and equine foot. 
 
TIGHT BOOTS. 13 
 
 The man has the whole bearijig from the os ccdc'is to the metatarsals; 
 the horse has a point in comparison, the part corresponding to the 
 human heel forming the point of the hock, while the foot has only 
 tlu'ee comparatively small bones to sustain the whole of the shock. 
 Again, these bones are enclosed in a box with, a very slight interpo- 
 sition, and when this box becomes narrowed it is something like the 
 old instrument of torture, the iron boot, with wedges and screws 
 to compress the enclosed limb. Those who have worn a^ tight- 
 fitting boot know what the pain is without the addition of wedge 
 and screw. 
 
 An acquaintance who was fond of horses, and paid a good deal of 
 attention to them, had purchased a new pair of hunting boots, and 
 spent several days on the large islands in the upper Mississippi, duck- 
 shooting. They had stiff quarters, and the heels were rather too narrow 
 for his feet. He suffered a good deal while tramping over the wet 
 ground, but the excitement of the sport sustained him, and though 
 he " hobbled " along in the morning, once fairly warmed to his work, 
 the pain was unheeded when the whirr of the rapid flight of the teal 
 or mallard was heard. Even when lying by the camp-fire with the 
 obnoxious boots removed, there was a good deal of suffering ; but 
 the solace of some of " Billy G's " doubled-distilled qjid a pipe of 
 fragrant kinnikinick made it endurable. When he got home he was 
 nearly tired out, and the bed was welcomed only as one who has 
 cami)ed for a week on a Mississippi island can greet it. Rip Van 
 Winkle never slept sounder, until the burning, compressed quarters 
 partially awoke him. He fancied his pedal extremities had changed, 
 and in lieu of a fairly-shaped " No. 7 " the hoofs of a horse were 
 substituted. His meanings awoke his wife, and her inquiry of 
 " What is the matter 2" elicited the response, " If you do not send 
 me to the shop and have my shoes pulled off, my feet will be ruined." 
 
 " What on earth do you mean by having your shoes pulled off at 
 the shop 1 " was the next qiiery. 
 
 " Wliy," he replied, " my feet are badly contracted, and these shoes 
 ai-e holding the quarters as though they were in a vise, and if they 
 are not removed, and I am allowed to run barefoot for a while, my 
 feet will be ruined entirely." 
 
14 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 Tliorouglily alarmed, tliinking lie had become insane, his wife 
 jumped out of bed, turned up the night-lamp, and anxiously looked 
 for some further token of his lunacy, and it was only after taking hold 
 of his feet and thrusting them from under the bed-clothes so that he 
 could see them, that he was convinced that it was a phantasy. 
 
 Compassionate before, ever after that hallucination the best care 
 was taken of the feet of his horses. He has made the subject of 
 shoeing a study, and has suggested many things to ameliorate the ill- 
 efiects arising therefrom. 
 
CHAPTER II, 
 
 Guards Against Concussion — An Elastic Shoe- 
 Stonehenge on Tips— Etc. 
 
 Pressure on the sole causes pain — -that is, a clegi'ee of pi'ossure which 
 is less than might be inflicted by a stone striking the sole at the junc- 
 tion of the wall and sole. This is proved by pulling off a shoe with 
 pincers, for if it does not yield readily the horse will flinch when the 
 '* purchase " is on the sole. The more central poi-tion is not so sensi- 
 tive, and the anterior part is so strongly formed that heavy blows do 
 not produce pain. In the natural, unshod foot the wear is so slight 
 at the quarters and heel that the horn of the wall and bars projects 
 enough to guard the sensitive pai'ts, and a further guai-antee against 
 injury is the elasticity of the natural sole and the spring of the frog. 
 No matter how heavy the shoe which is used, there must be violent 
 concussion when the foot strikes the ground, when the natural spring- 
 is rendered unavailable. The heavy freight-wagons of the cities, 
 which have springs under the bed sustaining the load, are found to 
 last much longer than those which ai-e without these appliances to 
 moderate the shocks of the pavements. The wheels, axles, and even 
 the tires do not wear in the same proportion, and the draft is also 
 lessened. Without springs the jar is sudden, and the impinging 
 force has nothing to break it. ^y'ithout beiug accurately a pai-allel 
 case to the foot of the horse, there is a good deal of analogy between 
 them. The living tissue, Avliile it is more sensitive, repairs itself 
 when permitted to rest ; recuperates when the cause of the injury is 
 removed. A shoe with the web so wide that it would cover the bars. 
 
16 . THE WALL AND SOLE. 
 
 and press equally on them and the wall, would be preferable to one 
 which brought the whole of the bearing on the outside crust. The 
 former would distribute the blow over a wider surface, while the lat- 
 ter would confine it to the part most keenly sensitive of any portion 
 of the foot. 
 
 The wall and sole are fastened together by agglutination, and 
 maceration will separate them. Corns are produced at the junction 
 and in the angles which the bars form ; and bruises, at times, result 
 in serious diseases. From the bruise the living tissues are affected 
 and pus is created. This cannot work through the honiy covering, 
 and the suppuration has to find vent at the coronet. Oftentimes a 
 horse, after being veiy lame, recovers when the opening takes place, 
 and the general verdict is that a gravel has been embedded in the 
 foot and worked througli, as all foreign substances have to take this 
 upwiird direction before they can be got rid of. Bruise, or a suppur- 
 ating corn caused by the impact of the shoe, is the true explanation 
 of the trouble. AmoDg several other shoes which I have experi- 
 mented with was one formed with two plates, between which was a 
 stratum of rubber. Finding that the elastic material placed between 
 the shoe and the foot was liable to misplacement, the plan was adopted 
 of fixing it by two plates. The trial was satisfactory, and the benefit 
 of this shoe was evident. Acting like the spring under the load on 
 the wagon or car, it moderated the concussion and broke the jar. 
 But the difficulty remained, the trouble arising from the stress which 
 was put on the wall. 
 
 To get the amount of metal which would withstand the wear of 
 macadamized roads, necessarily made this shoe thick, and the foot 
 was raised too high from the ground. And finding' that the concus- 
 sion was only detrimental at the posterior portion of the foot, a .shoe 
 was made like the cut on the following page. 
 
 The gi'ound surface, which is shown by Figure 1, was made wide at 
 the heels, giving a full bearing on the wall and bars, and the elastic 
 material was confined to this part of the shoe as shown by Fig. 2. 
 The covering of all of the foot, save the frog and so much of the sole as 
 is anterior to it gave — as nearly as possible — a natural bearing, and 
 by extending the surface the elastic material was increased in volume. 
 
ARTIFICIAL REQUIREMENTS. 
 
 17 
 
 This shoe was very satisfactory, and obviated many of the difficul- 
 ties. It was an endeavor to approximate to the teachings of nature, 
 and, like many others, I was ready to shout with the Greek philoso- 
 pher, " I have found it I" It may prove that this is a pattern shoe, 
 and the necessities of domestication require something of the kind. 
 But so far I am convinced that the principle is wrong, and the sim- 
 ple plan is to follow nature literally so far as ai'tificial requirements 
 
 will permit. Before giving the results of late experiments, I will 
 call attention to the following extract by Mr. J. H. Walsh, F. R. 
 C. S. (" Stonehenge'.;) : 
 
 " Before proceeding to describe the various methods adopted in shoe- 
 ing the horse, it will be well to consider whether it is necessary to 
 protect his feet in this way at all. This has been doubted by many, 
 and an attempt has recently been made by Lieutenant Perry to prove 
 that even in this country a horse can work on our roads unshod. His 
 opinion, and that of the few who coincide with him is, that if the 
 foot is gradually accustomed to the friction of the road, it will secrete 
 
18 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 a stronger horn, and throw it out more rapidly, so that it will bear 
 the enormous wear and tear which its use on our macadamized road 
 entails upon this organ. This argument is supported by numberless 
 instances abroad, in which horses are used without shoes ; but it does 
 not follow that because they will bear the friction and blows inciden- 
 tal to one kind of surface, a different one will not lame them. Every 
 experiment which has been made in this country of working horses 
 unshod has turned out a failure, and in Lieutenant Perry's case the 
 mare on which he tried the plan became so sore that his commanding 
 officer interposed to prevent a further continuance of the trial. It can 
 only therefore be considered conclusive by those who are willing to 
 take the opinion of a Colonel of Engineers as o})posed to a subaltern 
 
 officer which is the position in which tliis single experiment stands. 
 
 Every horseman knows that without a gradual seasoning there is no 
 doubt about the foot being too weak to stand the wear of the road, 
 and therefore unless the trial is made under every advantage, it goes 
 for nothing ; and the mere fact that a horse, after losing a shoe, can 
 hardly be taken home without breaking his foot, proves nothing, be- 
 cause it may be alleged that the same animal, if left unshod, would 
 in course of time secrete a horn so tough and hard that it would be 
 capable of bearing any amount of friction. Judging from those cases 
 in which I have seen the plan partially tried, with tips instead 
 of full shoes, I believe' it. is impossible to make it succeed with high- 
 actioned horses on our roads during the summer seasons, for even 
 with that protection the heels and frog become very thin, and I am 
 satisfied that the toes, if unprotected, would wear or break away to the 
 quick in a very short time. Whether it is possible to work any horse, 
 possessing an average foot, with tips only, on our roads, I am by no 
 means prepared to say, but that some horses can do so I know from 
 positive experience. The heels wear thin, but do not become bruised, 
 and the horny matter of the ft'og is renewed as fast as it is required. 
 Undoubtedly the toes, when unshod, are much more exposed to injury 
 than the heels, especially in those horses whose action is inclined to make 
 that part touch the ground first, for there is a tendency to break as 
 well as wear away. It is also an admitted fact, that many thousands 
 of horses are annually lamed by the present system, and thei-efore I 
 
UNFETTERED QUARTERS, 19 
 
 should much like the system of shoemg with tips tried on a large 
 scale. The question is, whether those horses who bring their heels 
 down first would be able to bear the bruising of the frog which this 
 action causes ; and if not, it Avould always be a doubtful point which 
 must be left to the discretion of the smith, whether every individual 
 horse should be shod in one way or the other. Unless, therefore, 
 tips could be used in a vast majority of cases, I do not expect much 
 good from their introduction." 
 
 It is evident from the quotation, that " Stonehenge " thought 
 highly of tips from a theoretical standpoint, but was afraid to 
 recommend their adoption until they had been further tested by a 
 more general use. The only drawback, he said, was the wearing of 
 the heel and frog, the liability to bruises not being deemed more 
 likely than with the ordinary shoes. 
 
 His qualifying sentence of "unless, therefoi-e, tips could be used 
 in a vast majority of cases, I do not expect much good from their- 
 introduction," is not sound. If tips prove greatly superior for the- 
 fast trotter, the roadster, the race-horse in ti'aining, and other hoi'ses 
 that have light, fast work, it is not necessary that they should, be 
 worn on the coach or heavy draught-horses. 
 
 The advantages of having the quai-ters unfettered, and a pcoper 
 pressure on the sole and frog, are apparent to any one who has ^^en 
 the requisite thought to the anatomy of the foot and requirements 
 of nature. If some of the purposes wliich the domestication of the 
 horse has entailed be antagonistical to the wearing of tips, aiul, com- 
 pel the use of the full shoe, the trouble will be wif '" that class of 
 duties. In our opinion, however, it has not been proven that such 
 a state exists, and that a horse with a sound foot will wx>."k -nrith 
 them in any situation. 
 
 The ordinary shoe, with high, sharp calkins, would seem to. be in- 
 dispensable on frozen, ice-covered roads. With a low, keen projec- 
 tion on the toe of the fore foot, and the hind foot shod in the usual 
 mannei-, there would be little, if any, danger of slipping on the ice. 
 The frog has quite an adhesive property when permitted to grow ; 
 it retains its full power by constant usage, and the toe would be 
 the only point which would be likely to slip. 
 
20 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 The liiiid feet have ca double duty to perform, viz.: propelling the 
 body, and bringing it to a stop — at times suddenly. The greatest 
 strain is upon the toe in the first and the heel in the last. Fortu- 
 nately, the hind foot, when compared with the front, has almost a 
 complete immunity from diseases which are so common in the 
 anterior supports, and wliile there would be advantages in having 
 this as free as possible, if necessary it can be made to wear what- 
 ever is required to guard against slipping, and make its powers of 
 propulsion and stopping more effective. 
 
 The pavements of a city are not so wearing to the foot as those 
 roadways which are covered with gravel or broken stones. Calkins 
 do not protect the feet on cobble-stones or the Belgian blocks, and 
 the -wear to the heels and frog upon them would not equal the 
 natural growth. 
 
 Placing a shoe on the di-aught-horse's foot, which is elevated from 
 an inch to an inch and a half by the high " corks " wdiich the owner 
 directs the blacksmith to forge, takes away a great deal of his power. 
 It places him at a disadvantage to use his strength, and makes a 
 strain upon the wall of the foot. Were the same danger to exist 
 from this cause as results from the concussion attending a high rate 
 of speed, the feet of the work-horses would be in a sad state after a 
 short time. The slow pace moderates the concussion, and the damage 
 is not so apparent. Horses Avhich have to go fast are the ones which 
 absolutely require an improvement in the manner of shoeing, and 
 though confident that the best for them would also be the best for 
 the work-horse, the consideration will be restricted to the class I 
 have designated. 
 
 The various shoes which have been in use for the past twenty 
 years have some radical defect, owing to a ^jrejiidice which all have 
 entertained for complete protection of the horse's foot. Because men 
 would cripple when walking barefoot over a compai'atively smooth 
 surface, it was supposed that the horse would be subject to the same 
 inconvenience, and sornething between the foot and the ground was 
 held essential for their comfort. Although the physical formation of 
 the man and animal be something alike, the feet are opposite as 
 can be. Man has the whole bearing from the os colds to the end of 
 
THE ENGLISH GREYHOUND. 21 
 
 the toes, and the metatarsals are arched so that there is a spi-iiig from 
 the heels to the toe. The only protection which nature has given is 
 the disposition of the skin on the sole of the foot to thicken by usage 
 and become much harder when exposed. Still, it is only skin, and 
 quite pliant, even when the tliickest. As I have remarked before, 
 the horse has thi-ee small bones encased in horn, and the os calcis, in 
 place of touching the gro.und, is elevated from twenty-two to twenty- 
 five inches above it. Nature has given ample protection from usual 
 occurrences in the thick, hard wall, and quickly-growing sole and 
 frog. 
 
 The foot of a man can be encased in a boot or shoe, which scarcely 
 interferes with the greatest freedom of action, and yet, when called 
 upon for rapid exertion, the usual covering is found to be detrimental, 
 and a lighter shoe, and one which does not hamper, takes the place of 
 the ordinary one. * 
 
 The first articles illustrated how nature had provided for the free- 
 dom of the horse's foot, and how completely it was fettered when a 
 band of iron was nailed around it. Another comparison will be 
 more apropos than that between man and the hoi'se. 
 
 The fastest animal next to the horse (and some contend that he is 
 the faster of the two) is the English greyhound. His foot is very 
 different from the horse, in having quite a spring between the heel 
 and the toes, which comes from the knuckles forming an arch. The 
 pad is pi-otected with a sole like the indurated skin of the human 
 foot, but not nearly so hard as the layers of horn of the sole of the 
 horse. This pad at times becomes worn, so that it has to be artifi- 
 cially protected. It is obvious that this protection will, in a measure, 
 confine the toes, and the animals wearing them have nothing like 
 their usual speed. 
 
 When the dog is at rest, the toes are drawn together, and the foot 
 covers a small space ; but when in the full force of the gallop, cover- 
 ing twelve to fifteen feet in his stride, the toes are spread apart, and 
 the imprint is nearly double that of the foot when raised. The grey- 
 hound is lighter in proportion to his size than the horse, and conse- 
 quently there is nothing like the concussion of the heavier animal, 
 even without a rider. A weighted collar upon the neck will handi- 
 
22 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 cap a fleet dog to the level of a slower, and a few ounces in this 
 collar has a great effect. 
 
 To return to the difference between shoes and plates on a race- 
 liorse, and the effect of the latter in increasing the speed : it is mani- 
 fest that it is not the trifling difference in weight which causes it. 
 It is generally supposed that the plate induces lower knee-action, and 
 that increases the speed. Were that the case, those horses which 
 have the least knee-action would be the fastest, which does not follow ; 
 but the thin strip of iron more readily springs with the foot, and 
 Avith the diminished thickness permits the frog and sole to come to 
 the ground and moderate the jar. This gives something of the free- 
 dom of the spreading foot of the greyhound ; the horse lengthens his 
 stride, and " gathering " more rapidly, the action is better. 
 
 But there is a drawback to the plates, and that is the greater liabil- 
 ity for the foot to become sore from the pressure of the narrow iron on 
 the wall, and bringing the whole force of the concussion on the pai't 
 that is the most sensitive. Trainers and jockeys talk about the hard 
 track " burning " the horse's feet, when they notice the shortening of 
 the stride and the endeavor to relieve them by " changing feet," 
 when the injury comes from the still harder iron. Though a hard 
 track might bruise the heels, it is evident the broader surface would 
 afford some relief Tips leave the natural guards intact, without the 
 evils which follow pressure on the heels. It is evident that the pro- 
 longation of so light and narrow a piece of iron as a racing-plate can- 
 not afford any protection. Some of them, weigh as little as one 
 ounce, and those weighing four ounces are very heavy. This thin 
 band of metal is somewhat analagous to a foreign substance between 
 the heel and shoe in the human foot ; and we all are aware of the 
 inconvenience a very small thing will be in such a case. 
 
 The race-horse strides from 18 to 26 feet, and the fastest in a 
 "brush" go at the rate of a mile inside of one huncbed seconds. 
 The weight of horse and rider will be over one thousand pounds, two- 
 thirds of this being borne by the fore legs. The velocity and the 
 weight combined make the jar tremendous, and frequently the heel 
 of the plate is torn from its fastenings and injures the leg. Several 
 race-hoi'ses have been ruined in this manner — the most notable, per- 
 
THE OAKLAND STREETS. 23 
 
 haps, the great Longfellow. The use of the racing-tip obviates all 
 danger of this kind, and consequently the advantage, in this particu- 
 lar, is worthy of consideration. A few horses have been able to mm 
 faster in their training-shoes than when plated — ^doubtless arising 
 from the broader surface of the shoes distributing the jar over a 
 greater M-idth, and those hoi'ses having a light wall. 
 
 Dan Mace, in his lettei's in the New York Spirit of the Times, 
 ascribed FuUerton working badly on one occasion to the heels of the 
 shoe having sprung so as to give a wrong bearing. This horse has a 
 light wall, and, as it is known that white feet are not usually as 
 strong as those of a darker color, a trifling displacement of the shoe 
 would affect him, when another horse with a stronger foot would be 
 able to bear it with impunity. It is hardly necessary to present 
 further arguments on the advantages of leaving the quarters com- 
 pletely unfettered, and retaining the whole capacity of the heel to 
 obviate the bad effects of concussion. It will be as well to consider 
 the objections to tips being used on horses which are required to 
 work fast, and, perhaps, there may be something so fatal to their 
 general use that it may be necessary to adopt the old shoe, or a re- 
 modification of it. Stonehenge's objection, that the frog and heel 
 would be worn so thin as to lame the animal, does not hold good so 
 far as I have experimented. It is evident that a macadamized, gravel- 
 covered road would present most friction, and as some horses slide 
 their feet along in making the stride, the wear would be very severe. 
 The subject I have tried was particularly prone to this manner of 
 progression, and an ordinary shoe was soon worn ou^t on the Oakland 
 streets, which are entirely paved with macadam, and some of them 
 covered with sharp beach gravel. I tested the " elastic shoe " on 
 him, a cast-ii'on shape, with a groove in which was filled a composi- 
 tion of rubber and wool. In less than a week the elastic material 
 was entirely worn away, and the greater poi-tion of the soft iron at 
 the toe. The animal was three years old in 1875, thoroughbred, and 
 had a good deal of trotting action, being able to trot a mile in four 
 minutes, showing at times a much faster gait on the road. He pre- 
 sented a good oppoi'tunity to experiment with, and I tried several 
 varieties of shoes, preparing his feet and nailing them on myself. 
 
24 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 I began witli the shoe first described, viz : two plates of cast 
 brass or co])per, with a stratum of rubber between. In the Fall of 
 187.5 I commenced the use of tips, driving him frequently on the 
 road. The first vised were cast something of the form shown in the cut 
 in the next chapter, but without the depression for the introduction 
 of the rubber between the sole and the metal. The tip extended 
 back a short distance behind the point of the frog, and the foot was 
 prepared by cutting the horn down where the tip came, until the 
 ground surface of that and the horn at the heel was on the same level. 
 It being slightly wedge-shaped, most of the horn was cut away fi'om 
 the toe, where it could be cut down more safely than at the posterior 
 portion of the tip. Shod in this way there was not as much wear 
 at the heel as the natural growth, while the toe of the tip would 
 soon be worn to a feather-edge. All winter he was thus driven, 
 doing all the "running around," to town, and generally on Sundays 
 long drives on the gravelled roads. This was varied by an occasional 
 brush on the ti'ack when the race-horses in training needed company, 
 and several times he was taken across the bay and driven over the 
 cobble-stones, Belgian pavement, red-rock roads of the Park, and 
 the Clifi" House road to the Bay District Course. As a further 
 experiment, I nailed tips cut from a slab of copper three-sixteenths 
 of an inch thick, and covering the whole of the foot from a short 
 distance back of the frog, there being a small, triangular space for 
 the apex of the frog to come through. He could not trot as fast 
 in this as the heavier tip, but could run faster. The copper sunk 
 down in the middle nntil it touched the sole, but as it was quite 
 concave, there did not appear to be any ill effects following, as the 
 main pressvire was thrown iipon the edges. Like the others, the 
 wear came upon the front portion, and it remained upon the feet 
 until that part and the horn at the toe were worn to quite an acute 
 angle. Some writers who have treated of the subject of shoeing, 
 have recommended the new shoe being formed in this manner, claim- 
 ing that the wear was due to the horse dragging his toe along the 
 ground, and that rounding the shoe to the shape of the one that had 
 been worn, enabled the horse to travel more easily, and did away 
 with the tendency to stumble. The worn tip made from the tough 
 
" DWELLING " ACTION. 25 
 
 material proved that this view was incorrect, as the edge was turned 
 lip so as to hip partially over the horn, showing that it was the turn- 
 ing of the foot from the heel to the toe which did it, and also proved 
 the importance of having an edge which would not slip as the foot 
 left the <^round. There are horses which dwell in their action, which 
 will require the beveling of the shoe, and this we will take into con- 
 sideration hereafter. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Different Forms of Tips — Effect of Weight on 
 THE Feet — Miles' Essay — Etc. 
 
 The cut represents two tips, No. 1 being such as is preferable for 
 the race-horse, and some trotters, when in training; 2 and 3 the 
 ground and foot surface of one for trotting colts which have such a 
 gait as requires this shape. The first representation is rather too 
 long for the race-horse, and in my practice I have found it better 
 not to have the tips come further back than the point of the frog, 
 and four nails, all that are required to properly fasten it to the foot. 
 It is made light and with a s wedged rim to give a better hold of the 
 cround, with only projection enough to effect this, as a deeper rim 
 would throw too much weight on the wall. The only thing required 
 in the race-horse is to protect the toe from wear, and the lighter the 
 
BEST METHOD OF NAILING. 27 
 
 tip, when sufficiently heavy to stand the strain, the better it is. For 
 seventeen years I have followed the plan of nailing from the inside 
 of the wall, and in Horse Portraiture, and in articles written 
 prior to the publication of that work, haverecommended that system, 
 and given my reasons for the pi-eference. At that time I thought it 
 original with me, but have since found that it was the French 
 manner of nailino-, and for centuries back the Arabs fastened the 
 shoes on their horses in that way. The form of the nail which the 
 Arabs use compels the nailing through the walls, as the shape of it 
 i-enders it impossible to drive it so close to the edge as our black- 
 smiths do; it is more like the old-fashioned clinch-nail, which the 
 country blacksmith of forty years ago made by hand, and the wall is 
 perforated by it at an aciite angle. 
 
 Dr. May hew, an English veterinarian, has show^n the advantages 
 of this plan, and his advice was written about the same time I 
 adopted it, but of which I was ignorant until a few years ago. It 
 does not require long argument to prove the advantages of this 
 system of nailing. The wall of the hoi-se's foot being formed of 
 thin layers of horn, agglutinated together, a wedge-shaped piece of 
 iron, which the horse-nail is, when forced with the " gi-ain " has a 
 tendency to split them apart ; and how often do we see the whole 
 side of the horse's hoof torn off and clinging to the shoe] 
 
 Driven from the inner side through the layers, the wall is per- 
 forated and the clinch forms a rivet, which makes the foot actually 
 stronger. 
 
 The liability to "prick" the foot is very great when the nail is 
 stai-ted from the edge and has to be driven on a cui-\'e until it " gets 
 a high hold," and if the sensitive tissues are not wounded, oftentimes 
 it comes so near that the pressure makes the animal lame. 
 
 A lower hold, with the whole strength of the wall, is far more ef- 
 fective, and since following the practice my horses have retained their 
 shoes much better. With the tip and four nails I have never had one 
 come off xmtil it was worn entirely thi^ough. While figure 1 repre- 
 sents too long a ti]) for the race-horse, it is the right length for a trot- 
 ter which requires a toe-weight, as in that case the space between the 
 second and third nail is required to hold the strap which secures the 
 
28 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 weigbt behind. A slot is filed in the metal, through which the strap 
 is di'awn, and the hook of the " Eureka " toe- weight, at thfe toe, 
 makes a firm junction. This will be fully considered when I write 
 of the uses and eff"ects of these lately-invented trotting appendages. 
 Figures 2 and 3 represent a peculiar tip, and while one of the shape 
 of figure 1 with the toe- weight attachment will be found, in a great 
 majority of instances, all that is required for trotting colts and older 
 horses, many young animals will be much benefited by wearing such 
 as these cuts represent. Very frequently colts of great promise to 
 make fast trotters have so little knee-action that they point and dwell 
 in their stride, and after months, or perhaps years, of careful educa- 
 tion, still retain so much of this faulty action as to greatly interfere 
 with an increase of speed. Rattles, strings of small bells, weights, 
 and all the appliances, fail to remedy the defect, and after patient en- 
 deavor the trainer is forced to give them up. Road-driving some- 
 times overcomes the defect, but in a majority of instances the liabit 
 becomes fixed, and if the animal is strongly urged is very liable to 
 get to hitching, single-footing or shuffling along in the attempt to go 
 faster than his gait will permit. Horses of this kind of action are 
 very liable to cut themselves on the coronet, or bring the hind foot 
 in contact with the shoe on the fore foot. This comes from the dwell- 
 ing habit, the front foot not being picked up fast enough, the hind 
 foot catching it before it is raised. 
 
 Figure 2 represents the ground surface of the tip, with the beveled 
 toe, and extra posterior projection to give weight. The beveled toe is 
 to quicken the stroke, the weight to induce higher action. Several 
 years ago, when living in Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi rivei-, 
 Mr. Robert Bonner sent me a pattern of the "rolling-motion shoe," 
 with calkinQ;s so that it could be used on the ice. There were four 
 calks on the shoe, those in front being set back fully as far as the 
 transverse bar shown in the cut. It astonished me with the effect it 
 had in quickening the motion of* the front feet. On the hard, icy 
 surface this effect would be more marked than on the softer track or 
 road. With an ordinary shoe, horses will " pick up quicker " on the 
 ice, and with this the effect was to subject the driver to a perfect 
 shower of small pieces of ice, thrown with a velocity which made the 
 
THE ROLLING-MOTION SHOE. 29 
 
 seat of the skeleton sleigh an " anxious-seat " for the reinsman. A 
 sulky had to be substituted, in order to obtain a higher seat, to avoid 
 the peppering, and a stream of glittering particles would follow the 
 wheels. The cause of this is apparent. With the calkin on the toe, 
 it lengthened the point over which the foot had to roll, and jjlacing 
 the fulcrum farther back, gained a shorter and conseqiiently a faster 
 stroke. In that part of Iowa wex"e many Geimans, and one of them 
 had acqui]-ed a Avide reputation for the wooden shoes he fabricated. 
 They were much easier to walk in than those made after the usual 
 pattern, and the whole secret was his placing a bar across the bottom 
 of the shoe, below the ball of the foot. It was analogous to the set- 
 back calkins of the rolling-motion shoe. The rigid material did not 
 permit the bending of the foot in the manner the leather sole does, 
 and in lieu of placing the fulcrum at the extreme point, it was back 
 some three inches, requiring much less foi'ce to raise the heel. The 
 Chinese shoe is a further exemplification of the principle that an un- 
 yielding sole is made easier for the wearer to travel upon wlien the 
 toe is beveled like the tip. 
 
 I found that a tip made after the plan shown in the cut, but rest- 
 ing on the sole, made the horee cripple after it had been worn for a 
 time : and one in which the metal was cut away had the drawback 
 of permitting the wet clay to become impacted between it and the 
 sole, so as to produce the same difficulty. Figure 3 represents the 
 foot surface, the outer rim half an inch wide, and raised above the 
 portion which covers the sole an eighth of an inch. In this depres- 
 sion is fitted a piece of the best India-rubber, a little thicker than 
 the depression, and when the tip is nailed on it keeps its place per- 
 fectly, preventing the gathering of. dirt " between the sole and the 
 metal," and also giving an elastic material which does not injure the 
 sole with an injurious pressure. The toe of the gi-ound sui-face, 
 being beveled, has another advantage, as it is not so likely to wound 
 the coronet, or the lower pai-t of tiie ankle ; neither is it so apt to 
 strike the horn of the hind foot. Closely watch tlie action of the 
 fast trotter — the best place to see, when seated in a skeleton wagon — 
 and you will observe that while the fore foot is raised from the 
 ground, the hind foot on the same side is thrust under it, some horses 
 
30 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 coin"' outside and some inside of the center of the front foot. When 
 the knee is fully bent, the fore foot is raised higher, and the hind foot 
 strikes the ground much in advance, and at nearly the same time as 
 the opposite fore foot touches the earth — so near that it is difficult for 
 the eye or ear to distinguish any difference. It is about the middle 
 of the stride when the feet come together, and further along the foot 
 is raised until, in some horses, the shin is struck, not unfrequently 
 as high up as the hock. When the shin is struck, it is generally done 
 with the lower, outside edge of the shoe, and there is less danger of 
 this injury when tips are worn. Any intelligent, close-observing 
 trainer of trotters will have noticed how colts endeavor to avoid the 
 injury. Some will twist themselves sideways and trot like a dog, 
 one hind foot going inside of the front ones, the other to the outside; 
 others make a soi-t of a jump behind, both being detrimental to speed. 
 Boots are applied, and there is little doubt that the improvement 
 in the trotters of the present day is greatly owing to the more intel- 
 ligent use of these adjuncts. Still, it is manifest that boots on the 
 hoofs of the hind feet, extending above the coronet, on the pasterns, 
 ankles and shins must, more or less, hamper the animal wearing them, 
 and if the difficulty can be obviated by a change of shoeing, it will 
 be a superior method of overcoming it. But if this change in the 
 shoeing gives a wrong bearing, an imnatin-al set of the feet or limbs, 
 the remedy would eventually be worse than the disease. The use of 
 tips present a better opportvmity to modulate the action than is pos- 
 sible to accomplish with shoes without endangering the feet and 
 limbs. An illustration, and one which has struck me with the 
 gi'eatest force, is the change in the action of the colt when first shod. 
 He has been broken and driven some, before anything is placed upon 
 his feet, and his trainer will tell you that there will be a favorable 
 change whenever he has the iron fastened to his hoofs. In ninety- 
 nine cases in a hundred, the result will be as predicted, and the 
 shoes, weighing in the neighborhood of a pound each, will increase 
 his speed by several seconds. I haye found a tip of not more than 
 six ounces to have the same effect. Again, a tendency to pace is 
 overcome by a heavier shoe or the resort to something else which has 
 been found to have an analagous effect. 
 
CrfANGING THE PACE INTO THE TROT. 31 
 
 One of tlie most successful tniiuevs I ever knew in convei'tinor the 
 pacer to a fast trotter, informed me that to iiin the horse with feet 
 weighted, until he became too tired eithei- to run or pace, was the 
 most effectual method he had ever found to overcome the propensity 
 fyr the lateral manner of progi-ession. This proves that a heavy shoe 
 or heavy toe-weight is inimical to speed, either running or pacing, 
 but is adapted to the trotting gait, and the horse, finding he can get 
 along easier when thus encumbered, naturally tends to relieve liimself 
 by adopting the action suitable to the changed condition, and that 
 which tired beyond endurance in the other paces can be siistained at 
 the trot. 
 
 This is also further proven by the other methods which trainers 
 employ to change the pace into the trot ; the old plan was to strew 
 the road with rails, and ride the animal over it; another, to practice 
 the horse through loose sand or deep snow ; and lately, in Texas, a 
 very fast trotter was converted by diiving him on the beach when 
 the water reached his knees. The latter method is evidently a very 
 effectual one to cavise the horse to bend his knees, and the theory of 
 the effect of weight on the action and the practice coincide. It is 
 manifest that the knees must be bent more to enable the horse to get 
 through the water easily, for if the leg was pvished along, the resist- 
 ance of the fluid would be gi-eat; consequently, the horse soon learns to 
 pick his foot up as neai-ly perpendicular as he can, and thrust it well 
 forward. The most approved theory is that the weight influences 
 the action the most strongly whei-e the heaviest weight is placed, and 
 with shoes made much heavier on the inner quarter, the striking the 
 knee will be more likely to follow, and a horse which hits his knee 
 with an equal shoe, will avoid it when the outside is made the heaviest. 
 It will necessarily follow the adoption of this hypothesis that weight 
 on the toe will have a greater influence on the action than the same 
 amount distributed over the whole foot, and though the present form 
 of the weight was invented to obviate the bruising of the heels, from 
 the older-fashioned kind, it. was based on the scientific principle of 
 the corelation of forces. Thus, a bullet with one hemisphere cast of 
 a denser material than the othei-, will fly in a curve, the shorter 
 radius being on the light side. The lighter the side the greater will 
 
23 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 be the effect, and if the power coukl be applied so as to overcome the 
 attraction of gravitation, such a ball would describe a horizontal 
 cii-cle. 
 
 As has ah-eady been shown, while weights on the feet increase the 
 speed, and establish the propensity to trot in preference to run or 
 pace, there is danger to the legs attending the use of it, and many 
 promising horses have been irrepai-ably injui'ed. The better acquaint- 
 ance with the weights has lessened the danger ; when first invented 
 it was held necessary to have a heavy shoe, to which they were added, 
 and now it is found that a lighter shoe does away with the necessity 
 of so much weight, and the same result follows. More than twenty 
 years ago I had a pair of weight-boots, which were made in Boston. 
 They were simply a quartei--boot, filled with lead ; they were actually 
 a detriment, from the weight being mostly on the wrong portion of 
 the foot, and after a horse wore them a few times he would be very 
 sore from the pounding on his quai'ters. This should have been fore- 
 seen by any one who gave the subject much thought, as it increased 
 the concussion, and, between the weight and the heavy, thick-heeled 
 shoe, the blow came from both above and below. 
 
 That the present toe-weight does effect the purpose, while the 
 former was ineffectual, establishes that the location is all-important ; 
 and, furthermore, that it does not depend so much on the amount of 
 the weight as the balance being properly sustained. If a twelve- 
 ounce shoe and an eight-ounce toe-weight has the same effect as a 
 two-pound shoe and a pound-and-a-half weight, it is obvious that a 
 tip which only weighs six ounces will give the same equilibrium to a 
 four-ounce weight. The Avhole weight of the tip comes in the right 
 place, and adds to in place of lessening the advantages. 
 
 The trouble was to fasten a toe-weight to a tip, and until I became 
 acquainted with the " Eureka " fastening I gave the whole of my 
 study to combine the weight in the tip by making it still heavier 
 than the cut shows. There were objections, which I will explain 
 hereafter. Before touching on this I will give some further illustra- 
 tions of the benefits arising from leaving the posterior portion of the 
 foot in its natural state. 
 
 Mr. Miles, in his " Treatise on Horse-shoeing," writes : 
 
OPEN-HEELED SHOES. 
 
 33 
 
 "I know that many smiths are fond of what are called ' open-heeled 
 shoes,' which means shoes with straight heels, wide apart, and pro- 
 jecting beyond the hoof, both behind and at the sides, and the only 
 reason I have ever heard in favor of such shoes is a very bad one, 
 ^'iz. : that the horse requires more support at the heels than he gets 
 from the hoof. But you may depend upon it that nature has made 
 no mistake about it ; and if the horse ideally wanteJ more support 
 than he gets from the heels of the hoof, he would have had it. But 
 I think I shall prove to you that this kind of a shoe, instead of 
 being a benefit to the horse, is a positive evil to him ; it interferes 
 with his action, and exposes his sole and frog to serious injuxy from 
 stones in the road, and the projecting portions of the shoe become 
 ledges for stiff gi-ound to cling to and pull the shoe off. More shoes 
 are lost tlu-ough this mischievous projecting at the heels than from 
 all other causes put together. 
 
 " Let us see how it is that these projecting heels interfere with the 
 horse's action. It is not necessary for this purpose to trouble you 
 v,4th the anatomy of the foot, but merely to state that all its parts 
 are joined to each other in such a manner as to form one great 
 spring, and that the foot is joined to the leg by the pastern and 
 coronet bones, in a direction slanting forw-ard, which brings the foot 
 a little in advance of the leg, and places the heels in front of a line 
 dropped fi'om the centi-e of the fetlock joint to the ground : 
 
34 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 "Figure 1. The shank or cannon bone. 2. The pastern bone. 3. 
 The coronet bone. 4. The sessamoid bone. A. The point wliei-e 
 the weight of the horse would fall upon the upjDer end of the pastern 
 bone. B. The point where a line dropped from A would meet the 
 ground. C. The heel of the hoof. Now, it is clear that the weight 
 of the horse will fall upon the upper end of this slanting pastern 
 bone at every step ; and the bone, having a joint at each end of it, 
 will sink to the weight thus thrown upon it, and break the shock 
 both to the leg and foot ; but if the heels of the shoe are longer than 
 the heels of the hoof, the projecting pieces of iron will meet the 
 ground further back than the natural heels would have done, and 
 will check the sinking 'of the pastern bone, just as an upright pastern 
 does, by bringing tlie heels too much under the center of the weight, 
 which causes the horse to stop short and go stumpy. If you wish 
 to avoid these evils and keep the hoi'se's shoes on his feet, you must 
 bring in the heels, and let the shoe strictly follow the form of the 
 foot, whatever that form may be." 
 
 This argument of Mr. Miles is a foi'cible illustration of the bad 
 effect of doing away with the natural bearing of the horse's foot, 
 and, -strongly as it favors the accurate fitting of the shoe to the foot, 
 is a still better exemplification of the laecessity for leaving that part 
 of the fore foot as nature made it, unhampered and free to perform its 
 natural functions. The illustration shows the position of the foot 
 and leg when the animal is standing ; when in motion, and particularly 
 when going fast, thei^e Ls far more necessity to guard against the 
 evils of a wi'ong bearing. Then the foot is thrown forwai-d and 
 strikes the ground at the farthest point it will reach. The formation 
 of the fore limbs from the scapula down is such as to break the jar 
 as much as possible. Unlike the hind legs, they are not rigidly 
 attached i;p the bony framewoi-k of the trvnik, but are bound to it 
 with elastic bands of muscles. 
 
 The angle which the humerus and scapula form is the same as 
 the elliptic steel spring under a caniage ; from the elbow to the 
 ankle the bones are curved, and the sloping pastern, bending down 
 when the weight is thrown upon it, complete the protection above 
 the foot. Were the foot a solid, unyielding body, all the protection 
 
AN ADMIRABLE CONTRIVANCE. 35 
 
 alliuled to would be rendered useless. It would then be like strikinir 
 with a hammer which had a spriiigy handle, the blow being more 
 acute, more stinging from the spring. But the most admirable con- 
 trivance of all to obviate the ill effects of the jar, arising from the 
 rapid concussion, is in the foot in its natural state. The opening paper 
 of this essay illustrated this, and the first cut explains how the spring 
 of the foot aids the elasticity of the frog in counteracting the diffi- 
 culty. At the risk of repetition it will be well to give this matter 
 the fullest consitleration, as, in my opinion, this is the most import- 
 ant matter to thoroughly study. All of the best veterinarians, and 
 a great majority of the wi'iters on the pathology of the horse's foot, 
 have recognized the impoi*tance of retaining iSiis safeguard, and have 
 recommended various plans of shoeing to obviate the difficulty of a 
 rigid band when nature intended there should be the fullest motion. 
 Ml". Miles, and many others, advise few nails being used, and 
 those, as much as j)ossible, driven near the toe; others, a shoe with a 
 joint at the toe, and another patented a shoe Avhicli was held in its 
 place by screws which clasped it to the outside of the wall. 
 
 All of these have been guided by the belief that the post n-ior por- 
 tion of the foot must be protected by an iron rim, and though the 
 quotation from J. H. "Walsh, heretofore given, proves that he had a 
 faint idea that this protection might be dispensed with, he had not 
 faith enough in it to give it a trial himself, though he signified his 
 wish to see it brought more fully into use. By i-eturniug to the mat- 
 ter quoted from " Stonehenge," it will be seen that in some instances 
 he knew that shoeing with tips was successful, while he does not men- 
 tion one where there was a failure. Miles is afraid of the horse in- 
 jui-ing the sole and frog with a narrow shoe, from the facility with 
 which small stones could be introduced and bruise the exposed parts. 
 Mr. Miles would have seen ten times the danger in a tip, but in his 
 instructions to the smith he dii-ects the paring away of the sole and 
 the cutting away the bars until they are on a level with the excised 
 sole. Left with the pi-otection which nature has given them, there 
 would be little danger of the kind, and though a sharp-pointed flint 
 or stone might do injury, a still sharper one would injure, no matter 
 how wide the web of the shoe was made. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Cure op a Sprung Tendon — Results of Experiments — Etc. 
 
 The horses which have most of their work on the tracks, wearing the 
 tips, woukl not prove the fitness of them for road use, and in order to 
 test them on as unfavorable ground, and imder as untoward circum- 
 stances, I tried them on three three-year-old trotting colts, and the same 
 thoroughbred spoken of previously. The latter Avas the most effectual 
 subject for experiment, as he was driven long trips, and his action 
 naturally was so low and sliding that he soon wore an ordiuaiy shoe 
 completely out. In coming from Chicago the horses were only ttiken 
 off at Omaha, and never left the car until they arrived at Oakland, 
 those who had them in charge not following my instructions to make 
 the stops between. There were eleven horses in the car, and the long 
 journey, and being continually on his feet, caused this colt to go over 
 on his knees. He was a sickly colt, and the summer before, the large 
 green-head fly, which is such a pest in the neighborhood of Chicago, 
 very nearly killed him. Though two years old at the time I brought 
 liim to California, he had the appearance of a yearling, and this 
 physical weakness doubtless was the cause of the trouble, as the 
 other horses showed little of the ill-effects of the long journey. 
 While he wore shoes this difliculty appeared to be increased, and he 
 had the appearance of some old stage-horse which had been sent 
 along for years over the hard roads. Shortly after the use of tips on 
 his fore feet his knees began to straighten, and now they ax-e only a 
 trifle out of the perpendicular. During the summer of 1876 I sent 
 him to Sacramento, where another of my horses was in ti:aining, and 
 
A SURPRISING EFFECT. 37 
 
 the man who had them in charge, like a majority of others, was ob- 
 stinate in sticking to the old system^. It was not long until he 
 " sprang " one of the tendons between the ankle and foot, and he 
 had to be thrown out of training. The shoe had evidently been piit 
 on without proper care having been taken in giving a true bearing, 
 the greater pressure being on the inside quarter and heel, and the 
 horn, on that side, was forced up until there was quite an elevation 
 at the coronet. "When I got him home the tendon was considerably 
 enlarged, but the inflammation had subsided. I treated the enlarge- 
 ment with the biniodide of mercury preparation, and one application 
 reduced the enlargement so that it could not be detected that there 
 had been an injury. I poulticed the coronet with boiled tia-nips, 
 and, until I commenced to drive him again, allowed him to run bare" 
 foot in a small enclosure. The foot, below the injury, showed the 
 effects of the wrong set of the shoe, and, the result of the inflamma- 
 tory action, the frog was shrunken and hard. Before turning him 
 out I pared the foot down at tlie toe, and shortened the wall at the 
 heel i;ntil the frog and bars touched the ground fii'st. 
 
 A few weeks of this treatment had a siirprising efiect. The hard 
 elevation at the coronet became soft, and ere long it returned to its 
 normal condition ; the frog resumed its elasticity, and there was a 
 pei-ce]»tible widening of the heel above. I shod him with a tip which 
 would weish six ounces, and fixed so as to attach the Eureka toe- 
 weight, my object being to give a further test of track and road work 
 on a trot, before he was put in training to run again. Like a majority 
 of horses, he wore the hind shoes much faster than those in front, the 
 outside of both being most worn. The usual shoe was put on his 
 hind feet, with slots to fasten a toe-boot on. His woi'k was varied, 
 pai-tly on the ti-ack, at which time he was hitched to a sulky, and 
 when on the road a wagon with two persons in it was the vehicle 
 used. The streets of Oakland are noted for the rapid attrition of the 
 iron, but even daily driving of this horse on them did not wear away 
 the horn as fast as it was produced. This result on the fore feet did 
 not lead me to the belief that tips would answer on the hind, there 
 beinjj so much difference in the action. The front feet strike the 
 groimd nearly perpendicular to the plane of the foot, wliile the hind 
 
 .H 
 
38 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 feet are slid along, especially when horses go " close to the ground." 
 But, determined to make tlie.test as thorougli as possible, when the 
 hind shoes were worn entirely through, I substituted tips, expecting 
 that they would not do. These were set on the 13th of January, 
 and the 4th of February they were worn entirely througli, without 
 the heels being affected. They wei-e wider, and not so thick as the 
 tips in front, and the nails were left in the horn just as they were 
 driven, minus the heads. At the date of writing this it has just 
 been a month since the heels of the hind feet were exposed, and there 
 has not been tlie slightest soreness, though scarcely a day has elajised 
 that he has not been used on the road. 
 
 Two of the trotting colts — fillies — had been shod the Fall previous 
 with ordinary shoes ; the other never wore anything but tips while I 
 had him. The fillies were jogged a short time barefooted, and when 
 the tips were put on they were prepared so as to fasten the Eureka 
 toe-weights on them. Both improved very rapidly before the 
 weights were applied, and with a six-ounce weight there was an 
 increase of speed. One of them was by a son of Mambrino Chief, 
 out of a Blackbird mare ; the other by a Blackbird horse, her dam a 
 thoroughbred mare. The former was a rapid, short-gaited filly ; 
 the other the reverse, going with her head low and a long, sweeping 
 stride. The Mambrino I tried with a nine-ounce weight on each 
 fore foot, and she trotted three quarters of a mile in 2:04 — a rate of 
 2:45 to the mile. The year before she lamed herself in the hind leg 
 in the stall, and at times she would show a little of the same trouble, 
 and after this fast drive she favored her leg so much that I threw 
 her up, and she was turned out to run through the Winter. The 
 other filly also improved rapidly, but never showed such speed, being 
 able to trot the mile in about 2:50. Both of these wei-e shod with the 
 ordinary shoe behind. The third one was a colt by the same Black- 
 bird horse that got the filly, his dam a grand-daughter of Rysdyk's 
 Hambletonian. He came from Chicago the Fall before with a coat 
 like the winter raiment of a buflalo, and was a little " chunk of a 
 colt " which evidently had not been favored with much to eat save 
 the sour prairie grass which is the main feed in these pastui'es. He 
 was full of worms and sickly during the Spring, but grew fast, 
 
HOCK-HOCKING. 39 
 
 thougli it appeared impossible to get any flesh on him. Like his 
 half-sister, he was a long strider, and his improvement was also rapid. 
 At times there was an inclination to single-foot, and at fii'st he had a 
 dwelling motion in his stride. The application of the six-ounce toe" 
 weight would correct the first, and a tip beveled at the toe as shown 
 in the cut remedied the second. Being so poor, though he ate 2)lenty 
 of srain, I resti-icted his fast work to half miles, and in a few weeks 
 handling he dropped from a "three and a half gait" to half a mile in 
 1:21. I found it much easier to control his gait with the tips than 
 I ever had with shoes under the same circumstances. In all of these 
 colts' feet the frog was full and elastic, and the hoofs retained their 
 proper shape. This colt won a three-year-old stake under many 
 adverse circumstances. 
 
 The case of Hock-Hocking presents the value of tips in a very 
 clear light, and though he received irrepai-able injuries before wearing 
 them, the history will show that he could be trained and run with 
 them when, with ordinaiy shoes, he soon became lame. When I first 
 got him — the Spring he was four years old — his feet were out oi 
 shape from the irregular gi-owth of horn, and owing to his antipathy 
 to have his feet handled the heels were too high and the quarters 
 somewhat contracted. Then it was a difficult job to shoe him, and 
 even with a twitch on his nose he gave the blacksmith a good deal of 
 trouble. His work was on a hard track, much harder than it 
 appeared, and he split his foot from the coronet to the ground. It is 
 needless to recapitulate the races he ran. He was continually shat- 
 tering his hoofs, and, notwithstanding the support of copper plates 
 screwed to the wall, they would fractui-e with almost every gallop. 
 He started in a race of two mile heats with Waterford and Wood- 
 bury, was close up in the first heat in 3:36| literally on three legs 
 In the second he split his other fore foot, and started the small meta. 
 carpal bone from the larger. 
 
 The Spring of 1875 Mi\ Dunbar operated on him, and for months, 
 following instructions, we soaked his feet three times a day in hot 
 water, walking him on the beach when the tide was in, and taking 
 every pains to grow his feet anew. I put him in training in the 
 Fall, with shoes of the usual weight used in training race-horses, but 
 
40 • TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 after woi'king a short time he went hiiiie. I gave up all thought of 
 i-unning him in the four-mile race, but when it was. postponed from 
 Christmas and New Year's until the 22d of February, and then hav- 
 ing adopted the tips, I concluded to try them on him. His ankle 
 was very much enlarged from the injury to the splent bone, the 
 lower point of which could be felt between the middle and back ten- 
 don. In this training his lameness never appeai-ed, and though 
 worked very hard, he started in the race in fine condition. I am 
 not alone in the opinion that if he had been faii-ly dealt with he 
 would have won the race. He exhibited scarcely any distress after 
 the first heat, and was only three seconds behind the winner. After 
 that, when galloping on the road during a protracted rain, he struck 
 a stone and wrenched his ankle, which made a permanent enlarge- 
 ment of the joint. To test the tips in a case of this kind, he was 
 again put in training, and up to this date is doing well. Since wear- 
 ing the tips there has been nothing like a quarter crack, and I am 
 well satisfied that it is impossible to spring one of these troublesome 
 afiairs when the tip is worn; and, furthermore, I have never yet had 
 a race-horse which "broke down" or had a "bowed" tendon unless 
 there was something wrong in the feet. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 From Shoes to Tips — Further Satisfactory Tests. 
 
 I am act pi-epared to say that one set of experiments, conducted 
 by one person, and that person liable to an uxidue prejudice in favor 
 of a new depai-ture, is conclusive testimony of the value of ti])s, 
 under all circumstances. To sustain the theories, however, I have 
 given the results in cases which have come under my practice, and 
 conclusive as they are at present to me, there may something arise 
 to show that there are defects which will eventually prove objec- 
 tionable. 
 
 The whole system is so simple that apparently it would not require 
 long time to either demonstrate the superiority of this method of 
 shoeing or to establish some striking defect. But, as many are aware, 
 the results of a few experiments are oftentimes delusive, and only after 
 the severest scrutiny can an authoritative opinion be reached. This 
 has been tlie reason that I have delayed these articles, wishing to give 
 the matter more study, and to practice still further with the horees. 
 I have been extremely anxious not to "jump at conclusions," and 
 determined to test, as fully as in my power, the practical working, 
 and noting the effects of changes from tips to shoes, and fi-om shoes 
 to tips, endeavor to arrive at a proper estimate of the relative merits 
 of each. 
 
 The more I studied the matter, the less reason I saw for the theory 
 proving erroneous so far as the well-doing of the feet are concerned, 
 biit I am well aware that for road-horses and trotters there might be 
 
42 . TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 another di'awback which will be fatal to the use of tips. This is 
 the effect on the action, and there may be a necessity for weight on 
 the posterior portion of the hoof to enable a horse to trot fast, and 
 the absence of the iron at the heel might induce a greater tendency 
 to shuffle or single-foot. Every trainer who has had much experience 
 with colts, knows the care which is requisite to keep them trotting 
 square, and how frequently, notwithstanding his efforts, they will 
 " get off their gait," and retrograde in speed. They will do so when 
 it will puzzle the most acute to give a satisfactory explanation, or de- 
 tect the cause of the change in the action. 
 
 So far as my experiments have shown with the trotting colts, there 
 was no greater tendency to those hindrances to speed with tips than 
 with shoes, and those which I have instituted since writing the for- 
 mer articles have been with more of a desire to test this than anything 
 else. The result of my own trials were the only ones I had for data, 
 as there is such a violent prejudice with lior semen against innovations, 
 particularly when that change is an entirely different system of shoe- 
 ing, that the most enterprising were loth even to listen to arguments 
 in favor of the change. 
 
 It is an easy matter to convince any person of ordinary intelligence 
 that the feet are benefited, when a comparison is instituted with 
 those which wear shoes, as tliat is too palpable to be contradicted. 
 Especially is the variation from the natural foot, which shoeing causes, 
 more notable when the animal has worn the ordinary shoe a suf- 
 ficient time to change the entire structure of the foot, for I am in- 
 clined to the belief that after a horse has been shod for a few years 
 the foot can never be brought back to its original form. The injui-ies 
 may be palliated, but never entirely overcome. 
 
 But while this advantage to the foot is susceptible of demonstra- 
 tion, the bearing it has on other subjects of imjDortance is not so evi- 
 dent, and people are prone to ascribe difliculties which have arisen 
 from other causes to the new departure. I have been more anxious 
 to convince myself than others, and have watched as carefully, or 
 more so, for radical defects than for arguments to sustain it. In such 
 a case I would have been ready to give them publicity, as I have 
 no pride in sustaining a position once taken, if that position has not 
 
INTELLIGENT TRAINERS. 43 
 
 a logical foundation. Mere assertions, however, will not force me 
 to suri-ender convictions, and tlie ipse dixit of the most celebrated 
 professors has little weight if not sustained by proof of the sound- 
 ness of the objections. If I find that the horses I have tried are 
 benefited by the change from shoes to tips, it is fair to infer that 
 others in like circumstances will also find a corresponding advantage ; 
 and though to prove the absolute improvement, all kinds will have to 
 be tested, the chances are favorable that the good results to the few 
 augur well for the success of the plan to the many. 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of breeders to intensify the fast trotting 
 gait, and in which they have succeeded beyond the faith of the most 
 sanguine, it is, nevertheless, in very fast trotting easily subject to 
 changes which are inimical to improvement. There is a tendency, as 
 all trainers know, to forsake the true trotting step, and " singlefoot " 
 and "hitch'' and "scramble," and pei-haps one or more of a dozen 
 things which prevent further improvement. The animal may I'etain 
 its square action, and yet step so short that it cannot go fast, regard- 
 less of how rapid the stroke may be ; or it may stride so long as to 
 " dwell," and in this case there is usually a deficiency of " knee- 
 action." 
 
 Intelligent trainers are aware that all of these things may be par- 
 tially remedied^ in many cases entirely overcome, by a change in the 
 shoeing — still more by the wearing ' of weights and boots ; and yet 
 there are animals Avhich persist in the faulty action, despite of all the 
 appliances of ancient or modern days. I have faith that more can 
 be accomplished with different varieties of tips, especially when colts 
 are the pupils, but there may be individuals which will demand the 
 application of the full shoe to counteract the faulty action which the 
 animal persists in, though used with many diffei'ent styles of tips. 
 
 The necessity for a full shoe for trotting horses which have a short- 
 ness of stride, or a tendency to forsake the true action may arise, 
 although thus far I have not found it so in my i:)ractice, though that 
 has been confined to a few animals, and those of a kind which I 
 would consider the most likely to be benefited by the gi'eater weight 
 in the shoe. The horse I have experimented the most with is X. X., 
 the colt alluded to in previous chapters as having been used on the 
 
44 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 I'oads witli tips, in order to test them where there wouhl Vje the max- 
 imum of wear. Since writing the former articles, I have used him 
 with various tips, and changed him to shoes in order to see if the 
 additional weight would not influence his trotting action more favor- 
 ably. Desiring that Lady Amanda should have company when gal- 
 loping last spring, I gave him a rough preparation, and ran him 
 against Emma Skaggs and John Funk, a race of niile heats. This 
 he won in 1:.50 — 1:50|, and could have run something faster. When 
 in training I commenced with tips, and as they wore out let him 
 gallop barefoot, and he ran in the race without anything on his feet. 
 The tendon which was sprung got a little " hot," and he was slightly 
 lame in that leg, but afterwards we galloped him in a sulky when 
 the heat and tendei*ness diminished, and with the resumption of road 
 work it got appai'ently entirely sound. He has never been really 
 well, and though a package of Professor Going's worm powders 
 brought away a great many of these troublesome parasites, there 
 appeared to be a fresk recruit ready to take their place. His ajipetite 
 was voracious, and though fed very high, when his grain and hay 
 were consumed he would attack his bedding, the soiled portion being 
 devoured with as much avidity as the best Oregon oats, or the 
 brightest provender. When at Palo Alta, not long ago, Governor 
 Stanford informed me that Jiis colts were ridden of worms by using 
 lime-water, and X. X. has, since his feed has been wetted with it, 
 done much better. 
 
 Still he did not improve in his trotting, and when urged to go 
 faster would hobble behind, and mix his gait. When galloping him, 
 harnessed to a sulky, he was shod with very light steel tips, scarcely 
 heavier than plates, on both fore and hind feet, and he was driven 
 with them on the road. These I replaced with a heavier set, but he 
 still persisted in hobbling. I then had him shod with the ordinary 
 shoe, weighing 18 oz., and still he hobbled when driven beyond about a 
 four-minute gait. I applied toe-weights of from six to twelve ounces, 
 without improvement, while his knees went over more than they had 
 ever been. He had the least knee-action of any horse I ever saw, 
 almost dragging his toe along the ground, with a sort of twist when 
 he took his foot up, turning it to the inside as though he did it to 
 
ONE-SIDED TIP. 45 
 
 avoid contact with the road. I kept the shoes on longer than I 
 sliould, in order to give him time to become accustomed to tlie 
 heavier weight, but being convinced that it was useless to try them 
 further, I replaced them with tips. 
 
 From his heel being lowered so as to prepare the foot for the shoe, 
 the tip could not be set properly, and I was apprehensive that the 
 less amount of horn might cause bruising of the sole. But from the 
 first day he ti'aveled better, going more squarely, though he still had 
 the twist when picking his foot up. The iiext time I put tips on 
 him I let them extend to witliin an inch and a half of the 
 heel on the outside quarter, and on the inner shortened them so that 
 the toe was only covered. There was scarcely any of the twisting 
 motion left — none at all on the right foot, and he has shown a decided 
 improvement, in eveiy respect, since he wore those one-sided tips. 
 
 I have also been trying the difference between shoes and tips on 
 the Alhambra filly previously mentioned. When she l>ecame lame 
 she was taken to Mendocino County and turned out, running there 
 through the winter and until about the first of July. After jogging 
 her for several weeks, I moved her through the stretch and found 
 that her stride was shortened from what it formerly had been, and 
 the only explanation I could give was, that she had acquired the 
 habit from favoring her leg while lame. She Avas wearing tips with 
 holes in them to apply the Eureka toe-weight, but not increasing 
 her stride to a length that was satisfactory, I concluded to try the 
 full shoe, on her fore feet, weigliing about 18 oz. each. The fastest 
 mile she trotted while wearing the shoes was 2:52, and they were 
 retained nearly three months in order to give them a fair trial. 
 Three days after the tips were put on she trotted a mile in 2:48^, 
 going very steadily and apparently well within her rate. She ke])t 
 at about the same mark for the next month, though still striding 
 much shoi-ter than she did when a three-yeai--old; and being desirous 
 to experiment furtlier, on the lOth of December I had a set of front 
 shoes put on weighing 22 oz. each. These are still on her, and I 
 cannot say authoritatively what -will be the i-esult, but I am inclined 
 to the belief that they are not going to increase her stride any moi-e 
 than the tips did. She certainly goes much easier in the latter, and 
 
46 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 the four montlis wear of the shoes can readily be noticed in the dif- 
 ferent appearance of her feet, there being an evident conti'action of 
 the lieels, with the frog much narrower than when the shoes were 
 put on. 
 
 I feel very confident that the shortening of the gait was caused 
 by her being turned out iw the field (a very large one — two hundred 
 acres) while she was lame, and running when she had to favor the 
 limb. She would run for half an hour at a time, careering over the 
 hills, and after feeding a little would resume the play. 
 
 Having entirely recovered from the lameness, I think in time she 
 will resume her former action. I expected in this case to find the 
 shoes preferable to tips, if even they were not so good for the feet ; 
 but so far I have been disappointed in the result. When I replace 
 the tips I will extend them across the foot, and thus get as much 
 weight as possible near the toe and leave the posterior part of the 
 foot unhampered. 
 
 A horse assuredly puts his foot down more gingerly when the iron 
 comes under the heel, and the only reason I could see for the full 
 shoe extending the foot further than a tip, was the greater amount 
 of weight in the whole mass. 
 
 The effect of weight on the feet is a drfficult problem to under- 
 stand, in its bearing on the speed and action of horses, especially 
 trotters, and the only reliable way is to bring it to an actual test 
 with trials on different horses. But one thing few will question, 
 and that is, that a load of iron on the feet is prejudicial to the 
 endurance. 
 
 The trainers of race-horses have adopted a much lighter shoe than 
 was formerly in vogue, and some have discarded them entirely. The 
 old-timers not only gave them long, exhausting sweats, under loads 
 of blankets, as vide the history of Hanie's Maria, but they wore 
 heavy shoes, their reasoning being that the plates would be a greater 
 contrast and the change give greater speed. 
 
 Great as has been the change in the management of race-horses, 
 still greater has been the improvement in those who educate the 
 trotter. The most striking innovation has been the use of the toe- 
 weight, though boots have done a large share in developing the speed. 
 
AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT. 47 
 
 A pei'son who was without any knowledge of the manner in which 
 trotters were handled, would think that the driver was endeavoring 
 to make them slower, by fastening leaden weigjits on their feet, and 
 hampering their limbs with so much kersey and leather. 
 
 I intend devoting several chapters to the consideration of these 
 adjuncts, and will endeavor to show that faulty shoeing has necessi- 
 tated the use of boots, when they might be avoided, and that the 
 principle on which the toe-weight depends for its efficacy is in accozxl- 
 ance ^vath and harmonizes with light weight better than heavy. The 
 subject is of importance, and is well worthy of much thought. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mistakes of Blacksmiths and Grooms — Hard Roads 
 AND THE Consequences. 
 
 So far this essay Las been written at wide intervals, delaying the 
 composition in order to try further experiments— the great object 
 being to have the theory corroborated by practice. My opportunity 
 for practice has been limited to a few horses, but, fortunately, these 
 were so different in their action that the paucity of numbers was not 
 such a drawback as it might have been. 
 
 The opening chapter was published in the California S2nrit of 'the 
 Times, April 29th, 1876. During the last Summer the papers of 
 Great Britain have contained a number of articles on the abolition 
 of shoes on horses, the pai-ties advocating the measure showing 
 the benefit arising from the feet being untrammelled with iron. 
 Their opponents conceded this, but claimed the necessity for pro- 
 tecting the feet when the animals had to work over hard roads or 
 pavements. All which I have seen on the subject has foi'tified the 
 position I have taken, as the plan recommended in these papers gives 
 the same freedom, while it protects the only portion of the foot 
 which requires artificial protection. In this country there is another 
 element which enters into the calculation, and the question of the 
 effect on the action is one of so much importance that the soundness 
 of the feet in one class of horses is a secondary consideration. The 
 fast trotter is peculiarly American, and in England little is known 
 of his requirements. Here the track -horse represents an immense 
 
A SINGULAR INFLUENCE. 49' 
 
 capital, and yet the value of tliese, which are kept for the sole pur- 
 pose of trotting in races, falls far short of that which the road-horses 
 of the country represent. Speed and endurance give the worth to the 
 first; speed is the most valuable quality in the second, provided it is 
 not accompanied by habits which render the speed useless, or by such 
 unsoundness as unfits the animal for rapid driving. So long as there 
 is not absolute lameness, a majority of the owners of fast I'oad-horses 
 ai'e satisfied. A large number of them have so little knowledge of 
 the horse's foot that they cannot tell whether it is in proper shape 
 or not, and trust entirely to the blacksmith and groom for the treat- 
 ment. Unfortunately, a large proportion of this class of men are 
 not only ignorant of the pathology and functions of the foot, but an 
 immense percentage of them are bigoted in the belief of the efiiciency 
 of old-time pi'actices, and too stubborn in this belief to surrender it. 
 They will not listen to argument, and any departures from the old 
 ruts, deeply worn by prejudice, are stigmatized as innovations which 
 ai"e bound to bring disaster. 
 
 These men have an influence over owners which is as singular as 
 it is potent. A gentleman may require that his family physician be 
 educated in the latest teachings of the schools, and will only employ 
 one who has forsaken the old-time practices for a more enlightened 
 system of treatment. In any department of business he will give 
 the preference to education, and readily acknowledges the importance 
 of thought and study in every department of life where learning can 
 be brought to bear. But with horses it is different. Isfnorance is not 
 considered a bar, and he follows the directions of a man whose only 
 recommendation is that he is acquainted with the stable economy 
 which was practiced a hundred years ago. The feet are mutilated at 
 the forge, the groom stuffs them ^vith filth, or at the best with com- 
 positions which soak the horn into a pulp, and what Nature designed 
 to be a firm support, and to have solidity, is weakened by the removal 
 of that which gave sti-ength, and the natural and firm foundation is 
 changed, by erroneous treatment, into a tottering pedestal. The feet 
 injured, the legs give way, and then the poor animal is tortured with 
 virulent blisters ; but as these corrosive vesicants compel rest, in 
 that way the animal is benefited, and if his tormentor woxild let him 
 
50 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 alone for time to remedy, the cure would be equally as effectual. 
 The hard roads are blamed for the quackery of the groom and 
 the blacksmith, and when the feet and legs are injured beyond recov- 
 ery, the injury is ascribed to anything but the tme source. I am 
 satisfied that the danger of hard roads to the feet and legs of the 
 harness-hoi'se has been gi'eatly magnified, and the gi-eat propoi'tion 
 of the injuries which are claimed to be the result of fast driving over 
 ordinarily hai'd surfaces, are directly traceable to other causes. In 
 this paper I intended to consider the eflect of tips and shoes on the 
 action, but, perhaps, it may be as well to devote the rest of the chap- 
 ter to the elucidation of that portion of the subject, which is so 
 important in road-driving. Hard roads are the rule in the neighbor- 
 hood of cities, as even moderately-soft highways would soon be cut 
 up by the numerous vehicles which are driven over them. Deep, 
 heavy roads are more likely to injure the trotter than those with a 
 smooth, hard sui-face, provided the feet have their natural functions 
 preseiwed, and a continued " speeding" over such gi'ound will result 
 in making the animal slower, if it does not irretrievably injui*e the 
 legs. A " dixi; road," with loose soil enough to fill the concavity of 
 the foot, is i-ecognized to be the best of all for hoi-ses to be driven 
 fast upon; but such ai'e rai'ely found, and, consequently, the drivmg 
 has to be done over the common macadamized highway, and, in the 
 vicinity of San Fi-ancisco, this is covered with broken red trap rock. 
 This, when kept in condition, forms a smooth surface, and when wet 
 gives a firm hold for the foot, though it wears the shoe rapidly. The 
 foundation of broken stone and this covering make a roadway which 
 is nearly as soUd as the Belgian pavement, the difference being that 
 the top covering afibrds a safer rest for the foot, -with less liability 
 to slip. During the dry season in California, the soil, unless sandy, 
 becomes as hard as the rock road, and some of the black adobe land 
 is fully as unyielding, drying to the hardness of a hard-burnt brick 
 for several feet below the surface. Unless covei-ed with ch'ied gi-asses, 
 there is nothing to break the jar, and more trying gi-ound to the feet 
 it would be difiicult to find. Notwithstanding this, the vaquero 
 gallops his barefooted horse at a furious rate over it, and goes down 
 declivities at full speed where the English fox-hunter would consider 
 
PRACTICES OF THE VAQUERO. 51 
 
 it too dangerous to keep the saddle, and, if forced to the route, would 
 carefully lead his shod steed down the grade. Seeing this, the East- 
 ern horsemen extol the feet and legs of the " mustang," and ascribe 
 the immiinity from disease to some natural quality which other 
 breeds do not possess. There was no soaking in foot-tubs, no band- 
 aging of legs. Stopping with cow-dung and clay never entered the 
 thoughts of the owner, and he was as ignorant of " hoof ointments " 
 as he was of all the various shoes which have been invented to "keep 
 the feet in order." His aim was to harden the foot in lieu of soften- 
 ing it, and the sole was filled with tallow and seared with a red-hot 
 iron, when the wear, extending from the toe back, made the S^nimal 
 foot-sore. The legs never gave way, and though the healthy foot 
 had a good deal to do with the tendons remaining unsprung, it would 
 seem as if that were not a sufficient reason for the limbs standing 
 such rough treatment without sufiering serious injviry. 
 
 Doubtless there was another favorable circumstance. The saddle 
 was placed so far back that the weight was thi-own on the centre of 
 the body, and to keep it in place the " cinch " was di-awn until it was 
 almost buried into the abdomen. The swell of the barrel was where 
 the girth was placed, and the purchase, which the manner of fasten- 
 ing afibrded, fixed it in place so firmly that it was immovable. The 
 trainer of race-horses places the saddle on the withers, and the jockey 
 bending forward until his head is almost as far in advance as that of 
 the horse, the whole weight is thrown on the fore legs. This weight 
 at every bound of the horse comes like a blow, and even the hundred- 
 pound boy falls with the force of a battering-ram on the extremities. 
 There is nothing to break the concussion, while the vaquero, though 
 nearly double the weight, is so far back that the yielding spinal col- 
 umn, and the huge, elastic muscles on either side of the back-bone, act 
 as a spring, and the illustration heretofore used, of the spring truck 
 saving the wheels, is again appropriate. 
 
 The race-horse trainer says that the horse cannot run so fast with 
 the weight further back than where he places it, though I am not 
 ready to assent to the truth of this • until some experiments are ti-ied 
 to prove whether the assertion be sound or not ; and until these are 
 instituted I will not argue it. But if the barefooted horse of the 
 
52 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 vaquero can gallop over siich ground without injury to the feet 'and 
 legs, save the wear the fi'iction at the toe compels, why should the 
 road-horse, with only the weight of the harness, and a part of that 
 of the shafts, give out ? 
 
 From all the testimony I have been able to obtain, corns and quar- 
 ter-cracks were never known in horses which were not shod, and in 
 a former chapter the reasons why this should be the case were par- 
 tially given. A corn arises from~ a bruise or undue pressure on the 
 part where it is located, and the quarter-crack is the result of con- 
 cussion; while one part of the foot is bound by the shoe, the elasticity 
 of the Coronary ligament forces the fibres apart. The textiire of the 
 horn has been injured not only by the condition of the foot being 
 abnormal, from the confinement of the heel, the wasting away of the 
 frog and the i-emoval of the sole, but the soaking, the stuffings, and 
 the a])plication of ointments, have destroyed the life of the deposit, 
 until it has more resemblance to the foot of a dead horse tlian the 
 tough, elastic material which natui'e has given. The maceration in 
 the soaking-tub is followed by coating the surface with an oily prepa- 
 ration, and this deceives the eye, as it gives somewhat the appearance 
 of the enamel which nature has provided. This natural enamel is a 
 thin filament of great strength, when compared to the horn beneath 
 it, and while it gives the hoof a degree of hardness to withstand the 
 wear better, it also prevents the moistvire from soaking the agglutin- 
 izing material which fastens the layers of horn together. The smith 
 has rasped a gz'eat part of this glazing away, and the water pene- 
 trates readily, is absorbed, the structux'e weakened, and when the 
 blow comes, the expansion below being hampered, the fibres are torn 
 asunder. 
 
 The " road-driver " may say: "What is this to me 1 My horses are 
 not troubled with quarter-cracks, and I am sure they are fi*ee from 
 corns." I have seen more quarter-cracks in California, in four years, 
 than in all my life before, and this probably ai'ises from the long, dry 
 summers, making the customaiy treatment of the feet more injui'ious 
 than in the East. That it is npt caused by tlie climate alone is 
 proven by the native unshod. horses never having quarter-cracks, and 
 it requires the two causes to account for them being so prevalent. 
 
CORNS AND CONTRACTION. 53 
 
 Corns are far more frequent than owners are aware of, and very 
 few road-horses are fi-ee from them. Contraction of the foot, and 
 the shi-inkage of the frog, are nearly universal in horses which have 
 worn shoes for any length of time. The narrowing of the heek may 
 be so slight that it escapes observation ; the frog may have a 
 fair width, and its functions be nearly destroyed. There is one 
 thing sure : if it is not brought into use, it will not retain its 
 natural vigor, and circumscribing its duties>«Avill result in injury to the 
 tendon which lies between the sensitive frog and the navicular bone . 
 In time the internal portion of the foot is aifected, and the hard 
 roads are credited with the damage. The injury extends to the 
 ankles, and they become puffed ; the whole limb is aifected below the 
 knee, and this is regarded as the most complete evidence to establish 
 the fact. The bug-a-boo of a hard road is a convenient scape-goat to 
 carry the bundle which contains the lack of knowledge of the smith 
 and the groom, and the owner has to forego his customary afternoon 
 drive or make fresh purchases for the road to destroy. 
 
 In previous articles I have called attention to the shoe increasing 
 the concussion on the heel, and I think that any person who will 
 give aome thought to the subject will agree with me on that point. 
 With the ordinary shoe the blow comes entirely on the wall, or the 
 j unction of the wall and the sole ; in the latter case corns result, and 
 in either there is "soreness" ending in established disease of the 
 foot. The bar shoe owes its efficacy to distributing the concussion 
 over a wider surface, and by giving the frog a chance to take a por- 
 tion of the blow. The seat of the corn is trimmed away until that 
 part of the foot does not bear on the iion, and the relief to the poor 
 animal is immediate. From crippling along with short steps, he 
 strides out with less fear, and the owner thinks that the "round" 
 shoe has some magical properties which enamors him with its use. 
 Suppose that in lieu of the narrow, transverse bar of iron, which 
 only bears on the posterior portion of the frog, the whole surface is 
 made available, and in addition the spring gained by the expansion 
 of the foot is brought into play. It will not require long arguments 
 to prove the greater benefit to be derived from this in breaking the 
 jar, but the objection will be offered that such a course will end in 
 
54 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 bruising tlie heels and frog. We have seen that such was not the 
 case in the horse of the vaquero, galloping over hard ground and 
 down hills, in many cases covered with stones, and in my practice 
 with tips, for over two years, it has not occurred. 
 
 Where the tip covered there might be a little discoloration, and 
 the sole show a few i-ed streaks, when it had been pared thin in order 
 to shorten the toe, but the heels have remained free from as much as 
 a red spot, and though when I replaced the tips with shoes, this part 
 was cut down fully half an inch, the horn, sole and bars were in 
 perfect condition. There was a change in the substance when com- 
 pared with the feet of those which had worn shoes, the junction of 
 the wall and bars being as hard as the tip of the horn of an ox, and 
 as touijh as it was hard. The foot of the shod horse when hard is 
 brittle, but a thin shaving from the one wearing tips was as tenacious 
 as whalebone. As I have stated before, I have experimented with 
 all my own horses' X. X. being the one with which the most of the 
 road-ti'ials have been given, though all of them have been exercised 
 more or less on the road. X. X. I have driven long distances— that 
 is, long distances for a road-horse — fifteen to thirty miles in a day, a 
 great part of the time at the rate of eighteen miles an hour. I have 
 driven him fast down quite steep grades, such as are met on the roads 
 in the suburbs of Oakland, and there has never been a bruise on his 
 heel. The wet weather last winter compelled the " working " of the 
 horses on the road, and the favorite ground was Delaware street, from 
 where San Pablo avenue crosses it, to the top of the hill to the west 
 of the University buildings. The distance is probably something 
 over three-quai-ters of a mile, with a grade of about eighty feet. 
 One of the boys would ride a race-horse I was training, another a 
 ti'otting filly, a very long strider, in style and action bearing a strong 
 resemblance to Lady Sufi"olk, while I drove the Alhambra filly 
 to a skeleton wagon or sulky. The race-horse had been injured in 
 his fore legs and his fast work was given up the grade. The filly the 
 boy rode could move through the stretch of the track in forty seconds 
 or better, but on the road she would show a far faster gait. On the 
 track the Alhambra could beat her, but coming down the grade, the 
 other was the faster by at least two hundred yards in the three - 
 
ELASTICITY OP THE SOLE. 55 
 
 quai-ters of a mile. The boy who rode her weighed 130 pounds, and 
 used a ten-pound saddle. The road was coated with gravel from the 
 beach, though the continual rains kept it somewhat softened, but at 
 times it was hard. She had worn tips from the time I adopted 
 them, and her heels were never bruised. I have never had a horse 
 with bruised heels which wore tips, though I expected trouble of that 
 kind when shoes were taken off and rejolaced with tips, as the heels 
 were not then in the proper shape. With shoes I have had horses 
 bruise their feet so badly as to suppurate, and, misled by a false 
 diagnosis, ascribed it to gravel, or something else than the true cause. 
 With the feet in the natural condition, it would be almost impos- 
 sible to bruise so as to injure the sensitive portion in that part of 
 the foot which is supposed to require protection. The wall is not 
 only very thick and strong, but the angle between it and the bars is 
 composed of a material which is nearly as dense, and when the wall 
 is only a trifle lower than the frog, there is an inch of this horny sub- 
 stance to protect the tissues above it. Shoeing, by doing away with 
 the natural functions, deprives this part of the sole of its tenacity, 
 and changes the elastic deposit into crumbling flakes. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 DiFFEKENCES OF OPINION IN REGARD TO PrOPER AcTION- 
 
 Effects OF Changes in Shoeing — Practical 
 Examples — Etc. 
 
 The consideration of the action of horses, trotters especially, en- 
 tails trouble at the outset. It is a subject on which there are such 
 a variety of opinions that it will be almost impossible to take a de- 
 cided position. One man of great experience favors " high action ; " 
 another, equally as well versed, prefers that which the old writers 
 denominated " round ;" and still another, whose thorough knowledge 
 of the subject is undoubted, is partial to as little bending of the 
 knee, and the elevation of the hock, as is consistent with sufficient 
 length of stride. 
 
 The first will say that the action he fancies is never accompanied 
 mth a dilatory motion, and that the energy that compels the super- 
 fluous i-aising of the limbs is a token of speed. The second will 
 claim that there is a happy medium which insures the best results, 
 and the third will call attention to the husbanding of the muscular 
 power and the capacity of the latter to keep up a more uniform rate, 
 retaining the speed when the others lose it. Fortunately, there are 
 two horses in California which represent the extremes, and the two 
 are of such merit that better examples could not be found if the 
 whole country were prospected. Judge Fullerton is a type of the 
 
COLONEL LEWIS AND FULLERTON. 57 
 
 first; Colonel Lewis of the last. Judge Fullerton had such excess- 
 ive action of the fore legs, that a padded band was necessaiy to pro- 
 tect the chest from injuiy from the blows of the fore feet, and though 
 a change in shoeing has obviated the use of this buffer, he still brings 
 the shoe in close pi'oximity to the part. His speed is immense. It 
 is doubtful if there is a horse on the track which can show a faster 
 brush, and I have never heard of one which made half a mile in a 
 race as fast as he has shown. I consider that the speed of Colonel 
 Lewis is yet untested. He has shown a quarter in a race at a 2:11 
 gait, and at this high rate appeared to be "jogging." I will allude, 
 hereafter, to the action of these horses, and, in the case of Fullerton, 
 endeavor to show that the change of shoeing which has resulted so 
 favorably is an approximation of my theory of the benefit of tips, 
 and theii" superiority to shoes in a case where there is an excess of knee- 
 action. It is more to the point, however, to show that tips have 
 done more to develop the trotting speed in my practice than 
 shoes, and endeavor to jDi'ove that such is the logical sequence follow- 
 ing the study of the action of the trotter. 
 
 I regret exceedingly that my attention had not been directed sooner 
 to this portion of " stable economy." When at Atwood Place, in 
 the vicinity of Chicago, I had so many horses that the test would 
 have been complete ; and from the result of shoes, differing in shape, 
 in weight and in other respects, I am satisfied that had I then known 
 the practical application of tips and tee-weights, I could have 
 done much better. As I noted daily everything in relation to the 
 horses, I can look over my journal and see that I am correct in the 
 statements, without depending on memory, which is proverbially 
 treacherous regarding past occurx'ences. Every day the exercise was 
 written down, the animals were weighed: before going into training, 
 and the effects of every sweat, fast drive, gallop, or run, so far as 
 lessening the weight was concerned, noted. The time of all the fast 
 work and of the trials was registered, and the dates of shoeing and 
 changes of shoes x'ecorded. I had scales in the barn, and employed a 
 blacksmith who had his shop on the place ; in fact, there was every- 
 thing needed to make whatever experiments I desired, with the op- 
 portunity of fully testing the result of them. I had upward of 
 
58 TIPS AND TOE-TTEIGHTS. 
 
 forty horses in training — a few of them with a record, but mostly- 
 green horses and colts. The track was a mile, and being a private 
 one, I could keep it in the oi'der I wanted. That I was reasonably 
 successful is shown by the trotting of horses I owned or had in 
 charge. Clara Gr. trotted and won the three-minute class in Buffalo, 
 in 1871, making 2:30— 2:26|— 2:26, and could have trotted faster. 
 She won the saddle-race in 2:25, and trotted both without a break. 
 She was prone to leave her feet when I first commenced to drive her, 
 even at a slow gait, though she could trot faster under the saddle, 
 and shoeing had a good deal to do M-ith the change. Ida May had a 
 record of 2:38. She showed ten seconds faster, and would trot 
 through the stretches a 20-gait or better, but I am satisfied that a 
 change in the shoeing to tips would have resulted in a great increase 
 of her speed for the mile. She was a very long strider, and having 
 spmng a quarter-crack — the only horse I had troubled in that way 
 there — she was shod with bar-shoes, though while she wore them she 
 could not trot so fast, and the long sti'ide was lengthened. Nour- 
 mahal won a three-minute race in good time, and she beat Lady Mac 
 a dash of five miles in 13:39, when the track was so soft that the 
 foot was buried in it to the depth of the hoof. It had been frozen 
 the night before and thawed out — the worst kind of mud to retard 
 a horse. John H., in a few months' driving, trotted a half-mile in 
 1:11^, and sold at auction sale for $7,500, and he has since obtained 
 a record of 2.20 ; and I could extend the list through the "string" 
 with a fair showing of speed in nearly all of them. 
 
 The retrospect reveals many troubles which would have been 
 obviated by the use of tips and different-fashioned shoes from those 
 I used at the time, and as it was 1872 before I used toe-weights, 
 until then I was without the benefit of their assistance. It took me 
 months to overcome the tendency in Clara G. to single-foot and hitch 
 in her gait, and during that time I had tried many different shoes. 
 The toe-weight would probably have counteracted the habit in a 
 short time, and I think that a heavy tip would have had the same 
 effect. She trotted very wide behind, and going round the turns she 
 would strike the inside of her hind leg, sometimes as high as the 
 hock, with the edge of the front shoe, and she had to wear shin-boots 
 
EFFECTS OF A HEAVY SHOE. 59 
 
 which extended half way up the hock. After returning from Buffalo 
 she increased her speed very rapidly. Before going there the fastest 
 half-mile she had ever shown on the track at Atwood Place was 
 1:1 1|^ — a quarter in 35 seconds. The next Summer she trotted at 
 several different times the half in 1 :08, and once she was timed the 
 quarter in 32|^ seconds, and could always move through the stretches 
 inside of 34 seconds. I could use a lighter shoe than those of the 
 season before, with the edge inside of the horn and rounded, and the 
 shin-boots much lighter, without extending above the hock. She 
 had a habit of lying with her foot under the elbow, and when I got 
 her she had a huge protubei-ance there, i. e. " capped elbow " which 
 the veterinarian had to dissect out. She wore a roll on her ankle to 
 protect it. The boy who had always taken care of her was so sensi- 
 tive about it that if any one moved toward her box he would slip 
 in and remove the unsightly appendage, and the consequence was 
 that just before the Buffalo meeting of 1872 he forgot to replace it, 
 and the next morning there was a swelling as large as a croquet- 
 ball. Another operation had to be performed, and she was laid up 
 when I anticipated her showing remarkable time. Had she worn 
 tips this could not have occurred, and I am satisfied that she would 
 have overcome the faulty action much sooner with them, and with 
 still lighter protection in the way of boots. 
 
 Albatross I bought the Spi'ing she was six years old. She had a 
 record of 2:48, and two or three months after I bought her I trotted 
 her a race when she was beaten in 2:42. This race took place on 
 Saturday and the next Saturday the same horses were to trot again. 
 She had been wearing an 18-ounce shoe, and a few days before the 
 second race I had it replaced by one weighing 28 ounces and reduced 
 the weight of her hind shoes from 12 ounces to 6, Though a large 
 mare, she was a short strider, and as this was before I had any 
 acquaintance with toe- weights, to remedy it I could only increase the 
 weight of the shoe. She won the second race with ease, trotting in 
 2:35, and the following week she showed a mile in 2:31, a half mile 
 in 1:13. In 1863 I got Naboclish, with a record of 2:54. He had 
 torn the quarters of his fore feet neax-ly off, and would cut the leather 
 of th» boot as clean as if it had been done with a knife. He had a 
 
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 
 
THE TRIALS OF AVOLA. 6 1 
 
 wore these shoes until June 3d, when they were replaced with 16- 
 ounce ones with the "Eclipse" ftxstener for toe-weights. She wore that 
 Aveight until July 27th, when I put on tips weighing 6 ounces each 
 with the same weight-fastener, and these she wore until August 18th, 
 when she sprained her hind ankle slightly and was again turned out. 
 The fastest mile she trotted when wearing the shoes from August 
 16th, 1877, to November .5th, was 2:52. The result of the 8-ounce 
 tips was that on November 8th she trotted a quarter in forty-one 
 seconds, the mile in 2:48|. Still I was induced to try the shoes 
 again on December 10th, thinking that her heels were hardly in 
 proper shape for the tips, and the horn being of slow growth from 
 wearing them so long, the shoes might be better. Another, and more 
 forcible reason, was that I had made a present of her to my friend 
 B. C. Wright, and I did not want my preference for tips to mislead 
 me with the property of another, and whenever I was in doubt re- 
 garding the effect, I would stick in that case to the established cus- 
 tom. Mr. Wright was perfectly willing that I should try the experi- 
 ments, and from what he had seen of the benefits of the tips to the 
 feet, he is using them on the horses on his ranch in Mendocino 
 County, and finds such an improvement that he says he would not 
 have them I'eplaced with shoes if the blacksmith would do his work 
 for nothing. 
 
 The favorable result of the 28-ounce shoes on Albatross determined 
 me to try the same plan with Avola, and each froiit shoe weighed 2 2 
 ounces. While wearing them she was driven on the road, the wet 
 weather making the track unfit to work upon, but as the other filly 
 could beat her so easily, I think that there was no improvement while 
 she wore them. The copper tips extending across the foot, the whole 
 portion anterior to the frog being covered, appeared to enable her to 
 do better, but as she kept cutting and bruising the quarter of her 
 near fore foot, and, owing to the want of the heel of the shoe, the 
 quai-ter-boot could not be kept in place. The shoes put on the 20th 
 of ]\Iay were very thin at the heel, so as to allow the frog to touch, and 
 with them I used " Eureka' toe- weights — shoe and weight, 14 ounces. 
 The 2 2d she moved through the stretch in forty seconds, striding 
 farther than before, which I gave the toe- weights the credit for 
 
62 TIPS AND TOE-WEICxHTS. 
 
 accomplishing. But with these shoes she was inclined to hitch at 
 times, and I replaced them with others weighing 16 ounces on June 
 3d, and the inventer, H. L. McKinney, having sent me his "Eclipse" 
 weicht and fastener, I attached the fastener to the shoe. There 
 appeared to be an improvement, as on the 8th she trotted the quarter 
 in thirty-nine seconds — the toe-weights 9 ounces, making 25 ounces 
 on each foot. On the 10th of July she made the same time, and, 
 until she became accustomed to this weight, I thought it best to re- 
 strict her fast work to short brushes, for fear of injury to the legs. 
 On the 24th she trotted half miles in 1:23 — 1:2U, and on the 27th 
 three-quarters in 2:05 — 2:03^. The 1st of July I drove her three 
 heats of a mile, the time being 2:501 — 2:49 — 2:49;^. The work was 
 continued through the month, and on the 24th of July she trotted a 
 milein 2:47, the fastest she ever made with shoes on. 
 
 On the 27th of July I put tips on her front feet weighing 6 
 ounces each, attaching the " Eclipse" fastener. This gave me the power 
 to keep quarter-boots in |)lace without the heels of the shoe, the iron 
 in front holding the strap, which came round the heel so that it 
 could not rise. The pattern of quartei'-boot was the one which is 
 something like a " tunnel " boot, with a strap going round the foot 
 to keep it from getting out of position. The 30th of July I drove 
 her a mile in 2:44|. She had the same toe- weight that she wore 
 with the shoe, and there was a gain in a few days of 2 J seconds. 
 On the 4th of Augtist I drove her a mile in 2:43|, and on the 8tli 
 in 2:44|. This established in my mind the fact that she could trot 
 faster in a 6-ounce tip than in a shoe weighing 10 ounces more; 
 though from wearing the shoes so long, her heels were not in the 
 best shape for the tips. There was another thing which caused me 
 a good deal of trouble. Her upper jaw is a trifle wider than the 
 lower, and this entailed a sharp edge on the " grinders " above, and 
 this edge had wounded the inside of the cheek so that she carried 
 her head much to the side, with a tendency to pull hard on one rein. 
 I filed the teeth as well as I could, but the injury was so far back 
 that it was difficult to get at the seat of the trouble, and it would 
 require an expert, like Di*. House or Dr. Clark, to make it eflfectual. 
 Still, the rude dentistry helped her, and she drove straighter after 
 
RESTRICTED EXPERIMENTS, 63 
 
 tlie operation. On the 18th I checked her higher than usual, and 
 the result of that was a slight sprain of the hind ankle, not sufficient 
 to cause lameness, though there was heat and swelling of the joint. 
 I turned her out, after fomenting the part for a few days, not only 
 on account of the injured ankle, but the run would give her mouth 
 the opportunity to get entirely well, the heels would grow down, 
 and as I would be absent several weeks at the fairs, I did not want 
 her to have any work I did not witness. 
 
 The other tiilly, Columbine, alluded to in former papers, I sent the 
 9 th of March to bi'eed to Governor Stanford's Electioneer, so that 
 Avola was the only trotter experimented with during the summer. 
 It may appear that with no greater speed than a mile in 2:43| this 
 was not much of a test, but there are plenty of young trotters which 
 never show as well, and if there is a decided improvement in this 
 rate, it is a fair inference that there would be a cori-esponding increase 
 in that which is faster. In all of my experiments with tips on trot- 
 ters, I have been restricted to three animals, of the same age, and of 
 something the same breeding. All of them have shown faster than 
 a 2:40 gait for a quarter of a mile, when wearing tips ; and one — San 
 Diego — when a four-year-old, made that distance in thirty-seven sec- 
 onds. With a number to choose from, to obtain three untried colts 
 which would make so good a' showing would be held very fair, and 
 without opportunities for selection I consider the performances are 
 far above the average. 
 
 Columbine had very little work in comparison with Avola, and 
 the latter has only had a small portion when compared with other 
 colts. The greater part of my time being occupied with my regular 
 business, I could not give the attention to the education of the 
 horses which is such an absolute requirement for them to do well, 
 and hence there is another drawback to take into consideration. At 
 Atwood Place the trials of one Summer would have given me more 
 information than ten years of limited experiments, and to obtain the 
 results obtained from such a meagre list, strengthens the belief that 
 with fuller exemplifications the benefits will be still more apparent. 
 
 Before closing this chapter it may be as well to refer again briefly 
 to Judge Fullerton. His action is considered as nearly perfect as 
 
G4 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 can be wlien thei-e is a sharp bending of the knee, and the veteran 
 trotter has certainly proved that he has strong chxims to be consid- 
 ered one of the foremost of the celebrities of the tracks. Until he 
 came to California he carried a fore shoe weighing nineteen ounces, 
 and then he had to wear a breast-pad to keep him from pounding 
 his chest. Under Hickok's charge the weight has been gradually- 
 reduced until that of the front shoe is twelve and a half ounces 
 and the hind one six ounces. It was conceded that he faltered 
 somewhat in finishing the mile with heavier iron, while at San 
 Jose and Stockton it seemed as if he had a world of speed 
 left, and came from the distance home with as much energy 
 as he exhibited when he took the lead around the first turn. The 
 pad on the brisket is not required, and altogether the reduc- 
 tion has been beneficial. He picks his fore feet up so truly, and 
 places them so s{juarely on the ground, that a pair of front 
 shoes will wear him a long time, while nearly every two weeks 
 a new set are made for the hind feet. The bar-shoe is used in front, 
 and this partial bearing on the frog may have a good influence. 
 Notwithstanding his seven years of trotting in many races per an- 
 num, I am of the opinion that he could have trotted three faster 
 heats at San Jose than ever before in his life, and to the difference 
 in shoeing may be ascribed much of this improvement. 
 
 A portion of this was due to the lightening of the iron, a part to 
 the "frogpi-essure" arising from the bar-shoes. But I am well satis- 
 fied that tips would have been still more beneficial, notwithstanding 
 Fullerton's feet have thin walls, and all of them white in -color. It 
 may be prejudice which ascribes a greater weakness in Avhite horn 
 than is found in the darker shades, though the idea is so general ' 
 that it has probably good grounds to sustain it. "White horn is more 
 easily cut with the knife, and easier broken when a shoe is worn, 
 but as Naboclish's hind feet were white, and they endured fourteen 
 hard races, and training from Spring until Fall, there is little ques- 
 tion of the heels standing when the toe is jH-otected from wear. In 
 all probability a very light tip would have been found suflicient in a 
 horse with so much knee-action as Fullerton, and one weighing from 
 four to six ounces enough for him to wear. Doubtless the heavy 
 
CONTRARY EFFECTS OF WEIGHT. 65 
 
 front shoes, of nineteen ounces each, were worn to extend his stride 
 but as that was not shortened by the reduction to twelve and a half 
 ounces, a further subtraction would have had no ill effect. The race- 
 horse strides further with plates on his feet than when he is wearing 
 traitiing shoes, and though the weight gave Albatross a longer stride, 
 it was from a directly opposite reason, viz : a lack of knee-action. 
 The natural super-exertion, in Fullerton, was heightened by the 
 heavier shoe, and, as his stride was not curtailed by a contrary 
 course, the inference is just which contemplates a still more radical 
 change. And then comes the question of the effect of the weight on 
 the heel, which the bar-shoe gives, in contradistinction to the weight 
 on the under part of the toe, in the tip, or on the front part of the 
 wall, in the toe- weight ; but the consideration of these abstruse 
 problems will come in more appropriately hereafter. 
 
CHAPTER YIIL 
 
 Endorsement of Tips — Three-quarter Shoe. 
 
 The following letter from Dr. TaliafeiTO, I take the liberty of pub- 
 lishing, though that was not the intention of the author ; and, while 
 many have been received of like tenor, so far as an endorsement of 
 the use of tips, thei'e ax'e objections in this which require an answer: 
 
 San Rafael, November 26th, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Simpson — Dear Sir: — I am glad we are going to hear more 
 from you in I'egai'd to shoeing, and particularly in relation to tips. 
 Everything you write on that subject, and indeed on every subject 
 pertaining to horse matters, is very interesting. I used last winter 
 on my riding mare the tips put on in the manner recommended by 
 you about a year ago, i. e., cutting away the crust until the shoe is 
 upon a level with the sole of the foot. It answered admii-ably during 
 the winter and spring months, but when the dry season sets in our 
 roads become very hard, and my mare wears away the frog and heel 
 as if they had been ground on a grindstone. Besides riding, I drive * 
 the mare a great deal, and, whether riding or driving, I use her very 
 fast. She is thoroughbred, and the hardest animal on the foot and 
 shoe I ever saw. I have been partial to the tip for a good many 
 years, and went at them with renewed vigor after reading your 
 article some two or three years ago on the subject. On a Monday • 
 filly I have, I encountered the same difficulty in the dry season, and 
 have had to give up the tips by reason of lameness caused by tender- 
 ness of the heel. I shall always use the tips, however, put on as 
 
HAMPERING THE GROWTH, 67 
 
 recommended by you, every winter, for, if for no other reason, it 
 leaves the foot in such splendid condition to go through the summer 
 with. I have not seen that any one else has made any report to you 
 concerning this matter, and have simply mentioned my experience in 
 order that you may take it for what it is worth. 
 
 Alfred W. Taliaferro. 
 
 The subject is so important that, in my estimation, it overshadows 
 any other part of stable economy, or any one jjhase in the manage- 
 ment of horses, especially young colts. I am fully satisfied that the 
 only draAvback to the training of yearling trotters is the fancied 
 necessity of shoes. When thoroughbreds are galloped at that age, 
 they ax'e left unshod, and hence there is no injury, but the impression 
 being so general that the weight on the fore feet is an imperative 
 necessity with the young trotter, shoes are woi-n. Until that is re- 
 moved there will be serious injuries following the use of the full shoe. 
 At this pei'iod of life the foot grows more rapidly than at any other 
 age. Hampering that growth is sure to be followed by a structural 
 change, which can scarcely be remedied in after life. Only a few 
 days ago I saw a number of yearlings which had been shod for 
 months, and two-yeai'-olds which had worn shoes for a year or more. 
 A glance disclosed that the feet were not in normal condition, every 
 one having more or less of a cramped look. Few are aware of the 
 " spring " there is to the foot of a hox-se which has never been shod, 
 compared with the rigid box of the animal that has worn shoes. The 
 instrument, which I used for a time to prepare the foot for the tips, 
 discloses this. It is clamped on the foot, a small lever giving the 
 pressure, and though the power is only suflScient to hold it in place, 
 the elasticity is obvious. Applied to the shod foot there is none of 
 this yielding, and a notch or two in the ratchet, which holds the lever, 
 is all that it can be moved, whei-eas it passes over quite a space in the 
 other. The reference so often to X X is compulsory, inasmuch as 
 the experiments in the last two years have been mainly confined to 
 him. His foot measui-es a little oyer five inches transversely, the 
 length five inches. This is the natural— or nearly so — proportions 
 of the foot, though in a horse which has never worn shoes, the trans- 
 
68 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 verse diametei* will still more exceed the longitndirial, the base being 
 very nearly a true circle. Having a set of shoes worn by Sauta 
 Claus, I made a comparison of these and the foot of X X. This 
 must be prefixed, however, with the statement that Santa Claus has 
 an extraordinarily good foot, and, for a horse which has worn shoes, it 
 is in remarkably good condition, no doubt owing to the extra care 
 taken in his shoeing. The transverse measurement of the shoe is 
 4 13-16 inches; it is 5 7-16 long. Doubtless the horn projected a 
 ti'ifle over the sides, and did not come flush with the heel. From 
 the marking on the iron it came within 3-16 of the heel, which 
 would leave 5;^ iaches, though in all probability it was not set flush 
 with the toe. The foot of X X, resting on a paper, made an im- 
 pression which a circle entirely enclosed. The imprint of the shoe 
 of Santa Claus showed an inch posterior of the circle struck from a 
 center the same distance in the rear of the toe as one-half the trans- 
 verse diameter. This proves the structural change incidental on 
 shoeing, and when a naturally superior foot, supplemented with the 
 very best care, exhibits this departui-e from the true form, what 
 must be the efiect on the foot of a yearling, hampered with the full 
 shoe at the most active period of growth 1 Something akin to that 
 which the infant shoe, continued on the ladies of high bu-th in 
 China, during the period of growth, displays, with the deformity as 
 much pronounced in degi-ee. The tip, properly adjusted, does not 
 interfere with the growth in the least. Placed anterior to the widest 
 ■diam_eter, the growth is not hindered, and the horn is at full liberty 
 to expand in every direction. On Wednesday, the first of this month 
 (December), the off" fore foot of Anteeo was placed on a paper, and 
 the outline accurately marked. This was bisected with a line from 
 the center of the toe to the heel, and midway of these points a right 
 angle was struck. The length was 4| inches, and the width was 
 exactly the same. A circle from the point at the intersection of 
 these two lines struck the toe, outside quarter, and the heels, but 
 came a little outside of the inside quarter ; otherwise the foot was 
 nearly round. The disparity in tke growth of tlie diffei-ent sides of 
 the foot is partially owing to natural causes, partly to individual 
 characteristics. As all men who have given attention to the horse's 
 
WEAR ON THE OUTSIDE. 63 
 
 foot are aware, the horn on the inside quarter is thinner than on the 
 outside of the foot, and the formation of the wall straighter on 
 the inner. 
 
 Anteeo throws the most of the stress on the outside, as is proven 
 by the greater wear of the tip on that side, and in this respect he 
 is like a large majority of the horses we have had. That a colt 
 nineteen months old should have a foot within half an inch in width 
 of one which is nearly nine years old, who is a hand taller and three 
 hundred pounds heavier, is positive proof of how soon the hoof gets 
 its growth, and the danger of restricting that growth at so critical a 
 period. Although Anteeo has only woi'n hind shoes from August 
 6th to November 10th, with an interval in September when shoes 
 and tips were pulled off, it is perceptible, on close scrutiny, that even 
 that short time had a prejudicial effect. On November 10th, the 
 shoes wei-e replaced with those which merely covered the toe and the 
 outside quarter, and from, hence these are the only kind he will wear 
 as long as he is under my control, or until I see good cause for for- 
 saking them. The wear on the outside of the hind feet of both he 
 and XX is still more pronounced, and either will wear a full shoe 
 completely through on that portion when the inner is intact. These 
 three-quarter shoes are the only kind which XX has worn for some 
 time, and they give perfect satisfaction so far. 
 
 The objection which the correspondent has to the wearing of tips 
 in the summer time can be overcome with the use of this kind of 
 shoe, and in this chapter a cut is given showing the kind tried on 
 the fore foot, with marked success. Still, I am satisfied that no 
 matter how hard the roads are, with due preparation of the foot, 
 tips can be worn at all seasons. In Oakland the winter is the most 
 trying time. The Oakland streets are constructed of broken stones, 
 with gravel or crushed rock for the supersti-ucture. The country 
 roads are mainly coated with gravel, and, when wet, the attrition 
 wears the horn more rapidly. It is like the application of water to 
 the grindstone, and that when the horn is softer from the absorption 
 of moisture. When tips were firs* used, I did not anticipate that it 
 would do to drive a horse on the Oakland streets and the drives I 
 most fancied constantly, and though convinced, from the first, that 
 
70 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 foi' track purposes, and on ordinary country roads, they would meet 
 with all the requirements, I would not have been disappointed had 
 they been found wanting after so severe a test. As stated hereto- 
 fore, XX has only worn two pairs of front shoes in five years. He 
 has been in constant use on these streets and roads, and latterly he has 
 been given long and rapid drives with scarcely a day's intermission. 
 The wall and bars are worn nearly level with the frog, though there 
 is plenty of horn, and the frog is full. There is not a particle of 
 discoloration, or indication of bruising ; his feet ai'e cool, and the 
 tendon which was injured when weai"ing one set of shoes, at the time 
 " Spanish Charley " had him in training at Sacramento, is now as 
 " clean" as it ever was, and the most skillful veteiinarian would fail 
 to decide which leg had met with the injuiy. 
 
 The three-quarter shoe will entirely obviate the difficulty Dr. Tal- 
 iaferro mentions. 
 
 The illustration is a copy of one of a pair of shoes made after a 
 pattern sent to William Zartman, Petaluma. The intention was to 
 use it with the toe-weight which Mr. Zartman has patented, and by 
 getting them made at headquarters an assurance was given that the 
 spur would be properly made, and the shoes such as were wanted. 
 As the various kinds of toe-weights, their uses and abuses, will form 
 a distinct chapter of the treatise, it is unnecessary to say more at 
 present than that the Petaluma is meritorious, equaling the best in 
 
CORRECTING FAULTY ACTION. 71 
 
 nearly every respect. The objects in using shoes of that pattern on 
 the forefeet wei-e, in the first place, to remedy a faulty method of 
 picking up the foot, to see if it allowed the proper elasticity at the 
 heel, and should it be proven that tips could not be used on streets 
 and roads like those of Oakland, it might take the place of them, 
 obviating the greatest drawback of the full shoe. The experiments 
 were satisfactory on all these points. The peculiarity in action con- 
 sisted of the horse lifting the foi'efoot with a kind of a twist, in which 
 the inner side was elevated more than the outer, and, on the hypo- 
 thesis that unequal weight acts in carrying the foot towards the 
 loaded part, it was expected that the defect would be remedied. 
 
 Nearly twenty years ago I experimented with a pacing horse, and 
 tested this theory until satisfied of the truth of it. This was de- 
 scribed in " Horse Portraiture," though at that time I had never 
 heard of the application of weight to the horse's foot in any other 
 method than in the shoe, or the loaded quai-ter-boot. The pacer was 
 a most inveterate " knee-knocker," and by making the outside of the 
 shoe very much heavier than the inside, and using a contrivance 
 placed in the "fork," he was cured, of the propensity. It is certain, 
 however, that a greater effect is obtained from the weight being 
 placed higher up than the sole of the foot, though in many instances 
 the lower application of it will be found sufficient. With the first use 
 of toe-weights it was thought that the advantages came from the 
 weight entirely, and hence horses' legs were ruined by caiTying loads 
 which permanently injured the tendons. Now it is demonstrated 
 that it is the inequality of distribution which gives the best efiect, and 
 that a 6-oz. weight on a shoe of 10 oz. is as effectual as 16 oz. on one 
 which weighs 1^ lbs. There being an entire absence of weight on 
 the inside quai-ter, that on the outside had a more potent effect. 
 " Side-weights " on the fore feet are inadmissable, as there would 
 be greater danger of injury to the hind legs when put on the 
 outside, or the knee and arm if the excrescences were on the 
 inner. The toe-weight can be given an angle in either direction, 
 though there are serious objections to using it in any other than 
 a straight line. Thus I was compelled to substitute something 
 akin to the former experiences, and, as will be noticed in the cut, 
 
72 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 the heel of the shoe was made wide enough to cover the whole space 
 between the frog and the wall. It was made thin in order that the 
 foot might be kept level, as well as permitting the frog to perform 
 its functions. Only one side was fettered, and even that free in 
 comparison with the rigid embrace of the full shoe. It is well 
 known that, owing to the thinness of the horn on the inner side of 
 the foot, there is a far greater degree of elasticity in that portion, 
 and even if the outer was somewhat bound, much of the injurious 
 result of conti-action is obviated. Much stress has been laid on the 
 propriety of resti'icting the nailing to the anterior part of the wall, 
 and it is certainly a better plan than to drive them further back. 
 The friction, however, between the wall and the iron soon wears a 
 depression, and this prevents the expansion in a great measure. 
 With the full shoe the two grooves are nearly equivalent to back 
 nailing, and the posterior part of the wall is held together as though 
 it were locked in a vise. A glance at the engraving will show that 
 the weight of the animal, when thrown on the foot, will have the 
 effect of increasing the expansion of the inner quai-ter, and the deli- 
 cate mechanism enclosed in the horny covering will have nearly as 
 much room as in the natural state. The frog is employed, and the 
 labor keeps it in health. This has been the savior of the Goode- 
 nough shoe, and has kept it in use notwithstanding the serious 
 defects which mar it. People sneer at the preface to the advertise- 
 ment, and chuckle over the alliterative phrase, " No frog, no foot ; 
 no foot, no horse." Bu.t this has been the redeeming trait, and the 
 inventor is worthy of great credit for insisting on permitting this 
 important organ to do the duty it was intended to perform. Mr. 
 Goodenough came very near adopting the right method, and had he 
 battled with the same persistency for a still closer adherence to 
 nature he would have accomplished more than he has. Perhaps not. 
 In that case he would have met with a greater degree of stubborn- 
 ness, and the whole rejected, whereas it is about the only improvement 
 which has had any favor ; it has held its own in the face of ignorant 
 opposition, and opposition which was characterized by scenes which 
 were strangely in contrast with any degi*ee of common sense. In 
 Chicago, some eight years ago, many of the journeymen blacksmiths 
 
THE GOODENOUGH SHOE. 73 
 
 refused to nail them on, and they paraded the streets with banners 
 and mottoes to intimidate theii- " bosses " from using them. 
 
 At that time I had several long conversations with Mr. G., and 
 gave the shoes a trial, being in the main pleased, though the cutting 
 of the channel so deeply I was opposed to, and endeavored to remedy 
 that by having the shoes flattened at the heels. Among other things 
 which were discussed, was the cause of corns, and he very correctly 
 ascribed the origin of them to the pressure of the ordinary shoe. 
 David A. Gage had a tine road-horse which was grievously troubled 
 Avith them, and at Mr. Groodenough's suggestion tips were put on 
 him. He went much ])etter, biit owing to the erroneous method of 
 preparing the foot they had to be given up. Had Mr. Goodenough 
 had the channel, which he directed to be made for the reception of 
 his shoe, cut only far enough back to receive the tip, allowing the 
 whole of the posterior part of the foot to rest on the ground as well 
 as the frog, there wouLl have been but Kttle variation from the treat- 
 ment recommended in these papers. It is rather surprising that he 
 did not come to the conclusion, and that if there were so many bene- 
 fits to be derived from " frog-pressure," there must have been analo- 
 gous advantages following the other natural provisions against the 
 injuries arising from concussion and conti"action. The trouble was 
 that he overrated the beneficial efiects of frog-pressure, and in esti- 
 mating: that it would make amends for all the evils which follow 
 shoeing, he did not progress to the ultimate point. His shoe is a 
 thick one, requiring so deep a cutting away of the hoi'n that the con- 
 tinuity between the wall and sole is weakened, and had it not 
 been for the jar being so much weakened by the frog, the animal 
 would have been lamed in a brief period. 
 
 Many think that the wall and sole of the horse are the same, and 
 that the difierence in texture is owing to something they never 
 ti-oubled themselves to discern. Though intimately connected, they 
 are entirely difierent, and maceration will separate them in a short 
 time. It is obvious that when the junction is made so much thin- 
 ner, especially at the weakest point, iijjury must arise from the cut- 
 ting away of the horn of the wall and sole to such a depth as is 
 necessary to imbed a thick shoe so that the gx'ound sui-face is on a 
 
 J 
 
74 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 level witli the frog. In the instances which Dr. Taliaferro gives, the 
 probable cause of the soreness was the wearing away of the outer 
 side of the foot until it is something like the channeling which the 
 Goodenough process directs. Finding that such a large majority of 
 horses wear the outside the most, without direct examination, the as- 
 sumption is probably correct. The gliding motion, which is a pecu- 
 liarity in the action of the blood-horse, entails greater friction and 
 greater wear ; and the feet having been pared during the time when 
 shoes were worn, the growth of one winter is not enough to with- 
 stand the work of the summer. The three-quarter shoe will remedy 
 this, and the benefits which arise from the whole foot being unfet- 
 tered for one-third of the time will enable the animal to wear this 
 form of shoe with good results. It is so much better than the ordi- 
 nary kind that it does not require long arguments to prove the supe- 
 riority. The setting must be the same as the tips, the shoulder 
 square where it ends on the inner side of the toe, and the inner side 
 of the foot left flush with the ground surface of the iron. 
 
 There is a pi'evailing opinion that low heels increase the strain on 
 the tendons of the fore legs, and this is so generally entertained that 
 it has beei:i reiterated over and over again in arguments against the 
 use of tips, and generally in a confident, dogmatic way that was to 
 end the argument at once. Veterinarians are nearly unanimous in 
 recommending that the heels be raised when an animal is suffering 
 from a sti-ain of the back tendon. The propriety of that treatment 
 we shall not question, at least in this article, but attempt to show 
 that there is less danger of " breaking down," or severe strains when 
 the foot is low enough at the heel to allow the parts to perform their 
 natural functions. The muscles are the main motive force in ani- 
 mals, and this arises from the power they possess of dilatation and 
 contraction. In some parts of the frame they act directly, in others, 
 through tendons. These are firm, compact bands of white bundles 
 of fibres, very nearly insensible, though the sheathing or covering is 
 acutely sensitive when there is inflammation. In a former article 
 (page 33) there was a cut showing the cannon, sesamoid, pastern and 
 coronet bones. "When published before, the object was to show that 
 a shoe which projected behind the heel was injurious, the cut and 
 
DECREASED STRAIN ON THE TENDON, 75 
 
 the coinments being copied from Miles' essay. He very forcibly ex- 
 plains why the long shoe was bad, and if so bad, the argument was 
 still stronger for leaving the posterior part of the foot as nature 
 made it. The high heel has the same bad effect as a long shoe, with 
 the addition of being still worse from placing the bones in a more 
 upright position, the baleful influence extending to when the animal 
 is not in motion. The cut does not show the whole of the coronet 
 bone, as Miles terms it, though it is usually called the lower pastern 
 bone ; below that is the navicular or shiittle bone, and the cofiin or 
 pedal bone, The front part of the latter retains about the same ob- 
 liquity as the two above it. The na\4cular is a transverse bone, 
 and the union of three form the joint which is the most susceptible 
 of injury of any in the frame of the horse, not even excepting that 
 of the hock. The tendon passes under the navicular bone, resting 
 upon the sensitive frog, an inch or more back from the point. It is 
 evident that if the heel is raised more than is natural, that the angle 
 ■will be more upright, and a wrong " set " given to the navicular 
 joint, and this is followed by the upper pastern bone, and again by 
 the cannon, in order to restore the harmony of position which has 
 been disturbed. This can only be carried as high as the knee, which 
 is " sprung " forward to relieve that joint as much as possible. 
 Therefore it is palpable that the elevation of the heel gives a wi'ong 
 placing of the bones, and this must exert an influence on the ten- 
 dons and ligaments, which is injurious. All ai-e aware of the ex- 
 haustion which results from keeping one position, especially if that 
 be an unusual one. 
 
 The arm held at right angles from the body can only be sustained 
 for a short time, and to stand in a rigid postui-e can only be endured 
 for a few minutes. It may be that the trouble begins long before 
 the actual injury, and the constraint arising from the abnormal 
 placing of the feet and limbs is the commencement of the difliculty. 
 
 As has been stated in prior articles, experience has shown that in 
 every horse of mine which has given way in the tendons, there has 
 been something wrong vnth. the feet. Very trivial, perhaps, and 
 only noticeable after the strictest scrutiny, yet not in a truly natural 
 condition. A slight contraction, narrowing and hai'dness of that 
 
76 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 part of the fi'Og which touches the gi-ound, a little extra heat per- 
 ceptible, apparently a trifling ailment which would be entirely over- 
 looked by a person who was not familiar with an actually natural 
 foot. Still, if one foot was affected, that leg was the first to yield, 
 and though a horse might break down with the best of feet, the con- 
 junction is worthy of notice. 
 
 It is not necessary to enter into a minute description of the ten- 
 dons of the fore leg, being sufficient to state that they are acted upon 
 by the huge muscles which clothe the shoulder, and follow the radius 
 until connected with the tendons near the carpus. There is a tre- 
 mendous force in these massive bundles of fibres, and this power is 
 needed to send the animal along at such a pace as the fast galloper 
 can make. The old idea, not yet surrendered by ninety-nine in a 
 hundred of horsemen, that all the fore legs had to do was to support 
 the body, while the hind propelled it through the air, is eSectually 
 exploded by the instantaneous pictures. The last supreme effort be- 
 fore the horse is hurled through the air is made by one fore leg, and 
 consequently there must be a corresponding energetic movement to 
 effect the purpose. The foot has been placed on the ground, nearly 
 on a line with the nose, and the other foreleg does its part by carrying 
 the weight along until it is under the brisket. When so far back 
 that a vertical line from the toe will strike behind the cantle of the 
 saddle, the grand propulsive force is applied. As the body is carried 
 over the foot, the pastern is bent until the ankle touches the ground, 
 and at this point the injury from the high heel or the long shoe 
 comes. It is evident that the tendon which passes under the navic- 
 ular bone is forced to a sharper angle, and when the contraction of 
 the muscles act on the cords, a greater resistance is met. By looking 
 at the cut, and imagining the slight angle which the bones form with 
 the gi-ound sui-face changed to one which is below a parallel line, 
 some idea may be formed of the increased resistance to be overcome. 
 When the tendon passes over a joint, it has a groove to run in, this 
 being lubricated by a mucilaginous liquid called the synovial fluid, in 
 common parlance joint-oil. 
 
 Should the cord be pressed with a greater degree of force than is 
 necessary, it is like applying a brake to a wheel, the high heel being 
 
AN EFFECTIVE FRICTION-BBEAK. 77 
 
 as effective in performing this as the Westinghouse on a raih'oad 
 train. 
 
 Short bulky muscles can exert a more potent contractile force than 
 those which are longer, but the thinner and elongated fibres can ac- 
 complish more extensive movements. This is the difference between 
 the part bred quarter-horse and the thoroughbred. The former goes 
 into his stride at once, the quick action of the bunched up muscles 
 in arm and gaskin quickening the action, while the longer leap is 
 deliberate, and the animal is scarcely well settled in his stride when 
 the other is exhausted. 
 
 There has been a great deal of controversy over the question of 
 the greater frequency of break-downs in the long distance runner in 
 comparison with the short horse. Both are shod similarly, and the 
 immunity of the latter would appear to be a strong argument against 
 the claim that the elevation of the heel is detrimental. This does 
 not follow. 
 
 The quarter-horse has little work in proportion, and his races are 
 not so violent a strain. He runs on a hard track, and this is addi- 
 tional proof that it is the effort to rise which injures the tendons. 
 The deeper the sinking of the feet the more violent will be the 
 muscular contractions, and the greater strain on the cords which 
 convey the power. 
 
 Veterinary writei-s agree that one of the surest symptoms of navic- 
 ular diseases is the " pointing " of the afflicted foot. If one only is 
 diseased, it will be constantly thrust forward ; if both, there will be 
 a change every few minutes from the intolerable pain when the foot is 
 under the body. This does not arise so much from the weight as from 
 the position. The further forward the foot is placed, the more resem- 
 blance there is to the low heel, and the similar posture afibrds relief. 
 Cases of navicular disease are extremely rare, excepting where the 
 heels are high, and those we have seen are almost invariably marked 
 by severe contraction. A natural foot, one entirely free from disease, 
 and which has never been shod, presents at the heel a very difierent 
 appearance. The base line is formed by two curvatures of the inner 
 and outer quarters, and these are joined by a reverse curve repre- 
 senting the posterior part of the frog. If the animal be permitted 
 
78 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 to run at large, or is worked without shoes, there will be no change. 
 In a previous paper something of the same ground was covered, 
 though the long periods intervening, awaiting the result of experi- 
 ments, has compelled reiterations. This desultory method of treat- 
 ing the subject has not been without advantages. Every point has 
 been covered by practice, so far as it has been practicable to make 
 the test. The few horses which we have had in the last two years 
 has extended the application, and left things which might have been 
 proven, partly conjectural. To establish the theory that there is far 
 less risk of breaking down from the feet being unhampered, would 
 require more actual results than we now possess, and though firm in 
 the belief that such will be ultimately proven, there is not sufficient 
 data to state it authoritatively. 
 
 As many of the Eastern trainers of race horses have discarded 
 shoes, a compaiison could be instituted there, and here there is one 
 instance. The horses in the Santa Anita stable have been trained 
 barefooted, and with the exception of Clara D., who had shoes put 
 on to make a long railroad trip, the only incumbrance has been the 
 racing plates. There were less casualties among them than in any 
 stable on the coast, and they certainly did their share of work. Mr. 
 Martin informs me that he is so well convinced that it is preferable 
 that he will continue the practice. Clara D. was shod without his 
 knowledge, and it is not likely such a course will be pursued again 
 after the way he emphasized his disapprobation. 
 
 The Australians have forsaken shoes, and the late William Dow- 
 ling informed me that they had found it to be far prefei'able to the 
 old method. When in races they are plated in order to give them a 
 " hold " from which to spring, and as the courses there are coated 
 with grass, there may be a necessity for a catch. The tip, however, 
 would afford this just as effectually as the full plate, without the 
 danger of twisting from the heel. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Guards Against Concussion. 
 
 In all animals wliicli have to progress witli any degree of celerity 
 on pedal extremities, nature has provided guards against the injuri- 
 ous effects of concussion. In considering the proper manner of 
 keeping effective the natural pi-ovision in the foot of the horse, a 
 brief comparison with other quadrupeds ^vill not be out of place. 
 In all are contrivances, admirable and complete, in a state of nat\ire, 
 for the intended uses, and valuable lessons will reward the investiga- 
 tor in this department of animal economy. In former papers I have 
 alluded to the foot of the greyhound, and now the antitheton of that 
 fleet courser will come under review. There could scarcely be two 
 animals selected which are more dissimilar than the gi-eyhound and 
 elephant — the former a type of grace, agility, lightness, the other 
 massive in its hugeness — so ponderous as to awaken a feeling of awe 
 in a person who has not been accustomed to seeing them. 
 
 The skeleton of the greyhound diffei-s from that of the horse, in 
 there being a sharper angle between the shoulder-blade (scapula) and 
 the bone of the ui)per arm (humerus). From the elbow to the knee 
 is far longer in proportion in the dog, and the cannon, or metacar- 
 pals, correspondingly shorter. In place of the lower pastern shuttle 
 or navicular bone, and the coffin bone, the dog has digits similar to 
 those of the human hand, and these are in nearly a horizontal posi- 
 tion. The spring- of these digits, and the cushion of the sole, to- 
 gether with the angle of the scapula and humerus, are effective guards 
 
80 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 against tlie jar which follows the striking the earth after the bound. 
 I do not intend to go into an analysis of the stride and action of the 
 greyhound until I have studied the last series of photographs taken 
 at Palo Alto. That it will vary from that of the hoi'se, I feel confi- 
 dent from the configuration being so difl'ereut ; but without that 
 light there would be just as much liability to error as thei^e has been 
 in regard to the action of the horse in a fast gallop. More so, as 
 there is fully as much speed, with quicker movements, so that the 
 brain is still more troubled to retain the picture which is yet niore 
 transitory. For the following account of the elephant we are in- 
 debted to the Asian, a newspaper published in Calcutta, India, and 
 as a chronicle of " sport, shikar, the turf, garden, tea, indigo, whist, 
 chess, etc.," full of interesting matter. Published in a country where 
 the elephant is utilized, dependence can be placed on its accuracy, 
 particularly as the author, R. A. Sterndale, F. R. G. S., has been a 
 resident of India long enough to give him an intimate knowledge of 
 the subject. As it is only a small portion of the essay which we 
 have pirated, and bearing as it does so intimately on the topic under 
 consideration; and then, again, being so for away, the acknowledged 
 capture may be pardoned : 
 
 The elephant has seven cerAncal vertebrae, the atlas much resembling the 
 human form ; of the thoracic and lumbar vertebroe the number is twenty- 
 three, of which nineteen or twenty bear ribs ; the caudal vertebrae are thirty 
 one, of a simple character, without chevron bones. 
 
 The pelvis is peculiar in some points, such as the form of the ileum, and 
 the arrangement of its surfaces resembling the human pelvis. 
 
 The limbs in the skeleton of the elephant are disposed in a manner differ- 
 ing from most other mammalia. The humerus is remarkable for the greal; 
 development of the supinator ridge. ' ' The ulna and radius are quite distinct 
 and permanently crossed ; the upper end of the latter is small, while the ulna 
 not only contributes the principal part of the articular surface for the humerus, 
 but has its lower end actually larger than that of the radius — a condition al- 
 most unique among mammals." — (Prof. Floiver.) 
 
 On looking at the skeleton of the elephant, one of the first things that 
 strike the student of comparative anatomy is the perpendicular column of the 
 limbs ; in all other animals the bones composing these supports are set at cer- 
 tain angles, by which a direct shock, in the action of galloping and leaping, is 
 avoided. Take the skeleton of a horse, and you will observe that the scapula 
 and humerus are set almost at right-angles with each other. It is so in most 
 
FOOT OF THE ELEPHANT. 81 
 
 other animals ; but, in tlie elephant, which requires greater solidity and col- 
 umnar strength, it not being given to bounding about, and having enormous 
 bulk to be supported, the scapula, humerus, ulna and radius are almost in a 
 perpendicular line. Owing to this rigid foi-mation the elephant cannot spring. 
 No greater hoax was ever jjerpetrated on the pujjlic than that in one of our 
 illustrated papers, wliich gave a picture of an elephant hurdle-race. Mr. San- 
 derson, in his most interesting book, says: " He is physically incapable of 
 making the smallest spring, either in vertical height or horizontal distance. 
 Thus a trench seven feet wide is impassable to an elephant, though the step of 
 a large one, in full stride, is about six and a half feet." 
 
 The hind limbs are also peculiarly formed, and bear some resemblance to 
 the arrangement of the human bones, and in these the same perpendicular dis- 
 position is to be observed ; the pelvis is set nearly vertically to the vertebral 
 column, and the femur and tibia are in almost a direct line. The fibula, or 
 small bone of the leg, which is subject to great variation amongst animals (it 
 being merely rudimentary in the horse, for instance), is distinct in the elejjhant 
 and is considerably enlarged at the lower end. The tarsal bones are short 
 and the digits have the usual number of phalanges, the ungual, or nail-bearing 
 one, being^small and rounded. 
 
 Another thing that strikes every one is the noiseless tread of this huge 
 beast. To describe the mechanism of the foot of the elephant concisely and 
 simply, I am going to give a few extracts from the observations of Professor 
 W. Boyd Dawkins and Messrs. Oakley, Miall and Greenwood: "It stands 
 on the ends of its five toes, each of which is terminated by comparatively 
 small hoofs, and the heel bone is a little distance from the ground. Beneath 
 comes the wonderful cushion composed of membranes, fat, nerves and blood- 
 vessels, besides muscles, which constitutes the sole of the foot." — ( W. B. D., 
 and H. 0. ) — of the foot as a whole, and this remark applies to both fore and 
 hind extremities ; the separate mobility of the parts is greater than would be 
 suspected from an external inspection, and much greater than in most ungu- 
 lates. The palmar and plantar soles, though thick and tough, are not rigid 
 boxes like hoofs, but may be made to bend, even by human fingers. The 
 large development of muscles acting upon the carpus and tarsus, and the sepa- 
 rate existence of flexors and extensors of individual digits, is further proof 
 that the elephant's foot is far from being a solid, unalterable mass. Tiiere 
 are, as has been pointed out, tendinous or ligamentous attachments, which 
 restrain the independent action of some of these muscles, but anatomical ex- 
 aminations would lead us to suppose that the living animal could at all events 
 accurately direct any part of the circumference of the foot by itself on the 
 ground. The metacarpal and metatarsal bones form a considerable angle mth 
 the surface of the sole, while the digits, when supporting the weight of the 
 body, are nearly horizontal.— (J/", and G^.)— This formation would naturally 
 
82 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 give elasticity to the foot, and, with the soft cushion spoken of by Professor 
 Dawkins, would account for the noiselessness of the elephant's tread. 
 
 On one occasion, a friend and myself marched our elephants up to a sleep- 
 ing tiger without disturbing the latter's slumbers. 
 
 It is a curious fact that twice around an elephant's foot is his height ; it 
 may be an inch one way or the other, but still sutEciently near to make an 
 estimate. 
 
 It is evident that there must be provided something more than is 
 found in the foot of the dog and the horse to counteract the force of 
 the immense weight sustained by the massive peiijendicuhxr columns. 
 The cushion, composed of the tissues the best adapted to give soft- 
 ness and elasticity, is spread out to an immense size to increase its 
 effectiveness. " Twice round " the foot of a horse would lack several 
 inches of reaching the elbow, and in a majority of thoroughbreds the 
 proportion would be nearly as one to five in measuring the height. It is 
 also evident that the smaller foot is one of the elements of speed, and 
 to prove this it is only necessary to compare that of the di-aft horse 
 with the pedals of the racer. The foot of the dog is much larger in 
 comparison with the size, especially the weight, and hence a softer 
 cushion is admissable. To withstand the increased attrition, the 
 material must be hardei*, and in lieu of the indurated sole of the foot 
 of the dog there is the still firmer frog. But, as has been partially 
 explained heretofore, the frog is a reinforcement, aiding the parts 
 which have stood the hardest shock of the battle. The first charge 
 has been met with the wall, and the forcing the wall apart, made 
 possible by the commissures, gives the frog the opportunity to play its 
 part. It is astonishing that this should be so persistently ignored, 
 when all but one crazy theorist, and perhaps a few of his disciples, 
 admit the importance of allowing the frog to perform the part Nature 
 intended. 
 
 A general who would shut up his reserves in a space where there 
 could not be a chance for the least exercise, who left them there until 
 the muscles were wasted away and the nervous force entirely lost, who 
 went into an engagement in which he was defeated entirely from 
 neglecting this important part of his command, offers a parallel to 
 those who still cling to the old-time absurdities. Ignoring the func- 
 tions of the frog is not the only injury which follows the common 
 
RATIONAL OX- SHOEING. 83 
 
 system of shoeing. The spreading of the heel is stopped, and both 
 of tlie pedal guards against concussion are nullified. That the spring 
 which is afforded by the spreading of the "quarters" is of vast .im- 
 portance I am well satisfied, and also that it is nearly, if not quite, as 
 serviceable in keeping the foot sound as anything in the mechanism 
 of the foot, and all the contrivances to palliate the evils of a full shoe 
 are nearly worthless. 
 
 Where the writer lived when a boy, oxen did the largest proportion 
 of the work of the farm. It was a hilly country, heavily timbered, 
 rocky in inany places, and all the soil was nearly covered with stones. 
 In the winter time, shoes with sharp calkins were a necessity to keep 
 the animal from falling down on the ice-covered roads. Those which 
 were used much in the roads in the summer needed a guard to protect 
 the thin horn. Thei-e were two shoes on each foot, the toe portion 
 being wide, the heel narrowed to a width of scarcely half an inch. 
 They were fastened with very small nails, and the shoer of the ox 
 certainly exhibited far more sense than he did when the horse was 
 the subject. To have followed the plan pursued with the latter, he 
 should have made one in place of two shoes for each foot, and in lieu 
 of the narrow, thin heel, put iron enough in it to raise the pad so it 
 could never touch the ground. He could see the importance of not 
 interfering with the cleft in the toe; the fissures in the heel of the 
 horse were completely overlooked, and the palpable object entirely 
 unheeded. By putting a round shoe on the cloven foot of the ox, 
 securely nailing it so as to completely bind both portions together, 
 there would be a proper analogy in the systems, and the ox crippled, 
 as well as his co-laborer. 
 
 I do not hesitate to ascribe a majority of the ailments to the 
 effect of a wrong system of shoeing ; but it is sufiicient, perhaps, to 
 consider the direct injuries. Contraction, corns, quarter-cracks, 
 bruises affecting the sensitive portions of the foot, ossified cartil- 
 ages, navicularthritis, thrush, atrophy of the frog, etc. In the first 
 year I spent in California I saw more corns and quarter-cracks than 
 had come under my observation in many years previous — in fact, 
 there were more horses troubled with cracking of the hoof than, 
 taking them all together, I had noticed in my experience before. 
 
84 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 The first gallop of a mile I gave two of my horses, on the Oakland 
 course, resulted in injuries which incapacitated one entirely; the other 
 ran raany races, but with his feet so shattered that his capacity was 
 so much curtailed that he could only display a small portion of his 
 real powers. The first was a three-year-old filly, and in a match at 
 Chicago, when a year younger, she easily defeated a sister to Ella 
 Rowett, and would, doubtless, have made a fine race mare. The 
 other was Hock-Hocking. The filly broke oS" a wing of the coffin 
 bone from the concussion, consequent on the jar of the hard track 
 and still harder shoe, and the splitting of the fibres of the horn was 
 due to the same cause. As has been described and illusti'ated in a 
 previous chapter, I invented and tested a shoe which was something 
 of a safeguard, viz : Two plates with a stratum of rubber between. 
 This was a step in the right direction, and while laboring to make it 
 still more efiective, by increasing the width of the heel, covering the 
 whole space between the frog and the outside of the wall, so as to 
 use more of the elastic substance where the whole of the concussion 
 came, it struck me that there was a natural safeguard which would 
 do away with the necessity of artificial appliances. 
 
 This safeguard is the highly elastic frog, when in a natural state, 
 the spring which the commissures permit, and the dilatation and con- 
 traction in the coronary region. Taking the hoof of a colt which 
 had never been shod, between my knees, gi-asping the wall with my 
 fingers, and the thumbs pressing on the posterior part of the bars, I 
 found that it yielded readily, and the amount of motion thei*e 
 was. Contrasting this with the shod foot, the difterence was so great 
 that I thought it must arise from some peculiarity in the individual, 
 and that the colt had a more pliant wall than usual, but repeated ex- 
 periments on vai-ious animals convinced me that this was one of the 
 wise provisions to guard against injuiy which nature gives, and for 
 remedying the disadvantages of the one toe in the modern cahallus 
 was an admirable contrivance. All other animals, with the excep- 
 tion of the hoi'se, £(,ss, zebra, quagga, etc., have divided hoofs, or 
 padded heels, like the camel, or curved toes like the greyhound, and 
 the guards against concussion when in rapid progression are ample. 
 The rigid bar of ii'on not only fetters the motion which the commis- 
 
ERRONEOUS SETTING OF TIPS. 85 
 
 sures permit, but it elevates the frog so as to deprive it of the ad- 
 vantages of ilse, and restrains the elasticity of the upper portion of 
 the wall. 
 
 After duly considering these facts, I felt that my elastic shoe was 
 unnecessary, and though I had spent a gi'eat deal of time in making 
 patterns, and had a model finished with, the intention of taking out 
 a patent, I became satisfied that there was a simple plan far more 
 effectual. This was the use of tips, or rather a shoe which was cut 
 off a little back of whei-e the second nail from the toe usually comes. 
 True, these were old appliances, and it appeai*ed as though, if they 
 possessed merit, they would be in more general use. Then it struck 
 me that, while the principle was correct, the application was errone- 
 ous. The custom was to prepare the foot the same as if a full shoe 
 was to be put on, and the tip was " feathered," running in a wedge 
 shape from the toe to where it ended. The bars and heels were cut 
 away so that the toe was tilted upwards, resulting in an undue strain 
 on the tendons, while the weakened bar and thinned sole were un- 
 protected. I make the tip of nearly a uniform thickness, a majority 
 of them having a quarter of an inch of metal which was filed square. 
 A shoulder was cut in the wall, and so much of the sole as the width 
 of the web required, and all back of the shoulder, was left full and 
 rounded with a file to protect the edge. Horses that were exercised 
 on the track would grow more horn than was worn away, and the 
 superfluous growth was removed when the tips were reset. The re- 
 sult of some of these experiments since the adoption of this system. 
 will be found in preceding chapters. The first was printed nearly 
 four years ago (April, 1876), and the breaks were occasioned by 
 waiting for the confirmation of the theory by the test of actual prac- 
 tice, or the discovery of defects which would interdict its adoption. 
 
 For the last year I have only had X X (double-cross) to test the 
 matter fully, though there have been incidental illustrations which I 
 have learned something from. One of these was Three Cheers. This 
 horse also went wrong the first summer I was in California, having 
 a " bowed tendon," which I think resulted from disease in the foot. 
 He was of so much promise when a two-year-old that I was ex- 
 tremely anxious to run him, were it only in one race, being confident 
 
86 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 that lie was an A No. 1 race-horse at any distance. The spring of 
 1878 I galloped him in tips, and he went along finely for such a length 
 of time that I had great hopes of him " getting to a race." During 
 the winter he had been worked on the road, with strong exei-cise up 
 the slope from West Berkeley to near the University. When the 
 track was dry enough, he was galloped on it, taking his work well, 
 and moving through the stretches fast. Showing a trifle lame after 
 his last run in April, I concluded to let him rest until another year, 
 though there was very little tenderness or heat in the ailing leg. He 
 had been in exercise from January until April. Thinking there 
 might be some logic in the idea that when there was an injury in the 
 back-tendon, raising the heel was beneficial, 1 concluded to try it on 
 Three Cheers, and had him shod with a full shoe, with the heels a 
 good deal thicker than the toe, in the spring of 1879. The second 
 time he was galloped at any rate of speed, he pulled up quite lame, 
 and the tendon wtxs greatly enlarged. Had the gallop been severe, 
 he would have broken down, and he did not have one-tenth of the 
 work he accomplished safely in the tips. This satisfied me that the 
 elevation of the heel was wrong, and in place of relief brought a 
 greater stmin on the tendons. I was led to try the shoes on him by 
 the statement of a man who was anxious to train him, and he was 
 so sure of the success of a peculiar application to his legs he pos- 
 sessed, that he made the proposition to do the training for a certain 
 proportion of his winnings. 
 
 He took him to Pleasanton, bringing him home, according to his 
 statement, on account of suits being brought against him for feed 
 and board. He told me that he had given him two runs of half 
 miles and repeat, when he made the distance easily in fifty seconds. 
 His legs were in good shape, and as he had *him shod with the full 
 shoe, I reasoned that if he had taken the work which was claimed, 
 there was a strong presumption of the eflicacy of the shoe in such 
 cases, corroborating the principle of elevating the heel. I became 
 satisfied, however, that the claim was not correct, and that the horse 
 remained idle during the period he had him. 
 
 In previous papers I have alluded to the instantaneous photo- 
 graphs of Muybridge, which give an accurate representation of the 
 
STRIDE OF THE RACE-HORSE. 87 
 
 action in tlie fast gallop, and from these I am satisfied that the cause 
 of injury to the tendons is the immense strain on the forelegs conse- 
 quent on the body being carried for such a long distance while sup- 
 ported by only one leg. The forefoot comes to the ground at its 
 furthest extension, and immediately after the other three are ele- 
 vated, so that the whole of the weight of horse and rider is thrown 
 on this leg. When it sustains the weight directly over it, then the 
 pastern is so much bent that the fetlock touches the ground. With 
 a high heel it is evident that the pastem must have a more acute 
 angle, and the foot strikes the ground in an unnatural position. 
 There must be such an immense strain when the leg, unaided, has to 
 sustain the weight of the horse and the rider, and when added to 
 these the velocity with which the animal moves, a very little addi- 
 tional cause may be the means of sevei-e injury. A wrong placing 
 of the foot, so that the other strikes it when passing, especially 
 on the turn of the track, and surely a hampering of the natui-al 
 motion of the horn, and the abrogation of the elasticity of the frog, 
 may be a potent aiixilliary in the breaking down of race-horses. 
 Fortunately, after the body is hurled through the air, the first con- 
 tact with the ground is made with one of the hind feet, then the 
 other touches, in a twenty-two feet stride, thirty-eight inches in ad- 
 vance, both of these being on the ground at the same time. The first 
 fore-foot to strike is ninety inches further along than where the 
 second hind foot was placed, and the second fore foot fifty-two inches 
 in the lead of the other. The stride of a race-horse, viz. : from where 
 one of the fore feet left the ground until it strikes again — has a dif- 
 ferent movement of the legs all through. In the square trotter, such 
 as Occident and Abe Edginton, there are identical movements twice 
 in the same stride. The off hind foot and the near front one touch 
 the ground nearly together, probably the hind foot a little the quick- 
 est, and that does not leave the ground until after the foi'e foot is 
 elevated a few inches. Thus there are two times during the stride 
 of the trotter when the body is unsuppoi'ted, and once in the race- 
 horse, the latter being in the air the ninety inches which marks the 
 length of the bound. The fore and hind foot both sustain the trotter, 
 excepting when the former is raised just previous to the last efibrt of 
 he hind leg to send the body along. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Growth of the Horn — Protection to the Foot. 
 
 The ill effects of rendering nugatory the natural guards against 
 concussion are so palpable that it appears like a waste of space to re- 
 iterate the pixjof of the injuries that are sure to follow. But who- 
 ever will take time enough to become acquainted with the mechanism 
 of the foot, and will give the subject some attention, can scarcely 
 fail to see the importance of retaining the elasticity intact. Not 
 merely that of the frog, as the spring which follows giving the quar- 
 ters full play is an aid which cannot be dispensed with without se- 
 rious injury. There is another thing in connection with the topic 
 which is worthy of consideration, and that is the gi-owth of horn. 
 That this is much slower in the foot which has been shod, we have 
 abundant proof, and it does not require examinations extending over 
 a long period to become satisfied. Though the hom is deposited by 
 ducts in the coronary band, their activity is stimulated by the natu- 
 ral functions being preserved. In this there is a similarity to the 
 waste and reproduction of the muscles. Muscular effort brings a 
 waste of the tissues, but the action that destroys also stimidates 
 the organs which deposit the material, and the I'epair is accelerated 
 so that there is an absolute increase of the motive power. Though 
 the loss is greater, there is an exti-a compensation — a return of the 
 capital with interest. There must be a judicious exercise of the mus- 
 cles or there will be a diminution in the bulk, and a shrinkage which 
 the blood has not the power to replace. In the foot there may be so 
 
 ill 1 
 
ELASTICITY OF NATURAL HORN. 89 
 
 much wear that the increased activity of the horn-forming vessels 
 cannot make up the deficiency. Now, as has been demonsti-ated in 
 previous articles, the foot entirely unprotected (under certain condi- 
 tions) may wear away so much at the toe as to. cause serious lame- 
 ness. Even this is not so likely to be the case as many imagine, and 
 in many experiments I have found that an unshod foot Avill stand far 
 more attrition than was supjiosed to be possible. But to give the 
 foot a fair chance, it must be in a sound condition to start with. If 
 it has been rendered weak by a non-use of the parts which nature 
 intended to do a share of the work, it will not stand the test ixnder 
 the most favorable circumstances. 
 
 The hoi-se which has worn shoes for any length of time will soon 
 go lame when without their protection. The smith has destroyed 
 the capacity for resistance, and there must be a continuance of the 
 system that has destroyed, or opportunity to recover from the treat- 
 ment. The growth of the hora has not only been curtailed, but that 
 which is de}x>sited is of an inferior character. It may appear para- 
 doxical to state that as the horn becomes harder it is more rapidly 
 worn away by the attrition of the i-oads. It will be undei-stood, 
 however, when a comparison is made between the horn from an un- 
 shod foot and that which has worn iron for a length of time. The 
 former cuts more easily when the tool used is a sharp knife, but a 
 rasp has less effect. One is an elastic, live material, pliable as a 
 piece of whalebone ; the other a brittle substance, almost as destitute 
 of toughness as the horn fi-om a dead animal. IVIr. Douglas, an 
 English Avi-iter, states : "If the crust is closely examined with a 
 microscope, its structure will be found to consist of a number of 
 bristle^like fibers standing on end, but leaning diagonally towards 
 the ground. Fi-om the particular longitudinal construction of the 
 fibers, it follows that they will bear a great amount of weight so long 
 as they are kept in a natural state. The cinist so viewed resembles 
 a number of small tubes, bound together by a hardened, glue-like 
 substance." 
 
 " Whoever has seen a Mitrailleuse gun, with its numerous ban-els 
 all soldered together, can form a very good idea of the peculiar stiiic- 
 ture of the cinist (or wall), especially if they were likewise to imagine 
 
90 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 the tubes filled with a thick fluid, the use of which is to nourish and 
 preserve them." Before microscopic observations revealed the exist- 
 ence of these minute tubes, it was thought that the horn lay in layers 
 like the leaves of a book, and the tubes are so arranged as to form 
 these thin strata. The layers are readily separated, and it does not 
 I'equire a long soaking to make the division. The agglutination is 
 moi'e rigid between the tubes at right angles to the layers, and 
 consequently a great force is necessary to rend them asunder. But 
 if the tubes are hardened from dryness, the diameter must be de- 
 creased, and there cannot be a full supply of the fluid, the duty of 
 which is to keep the horn in proper condition. The atrophy of the 
 frog in the shod foot is a striking testimony that the nourishment is 
 lacking. There is no longer the stimulus which exercise gives, and 
 though there is no waste from wear, the supply is cut ofi". The pre- 
 venting the wear at the toe by the application of a tip — or, more 
 properly speaking, a lunette shoe extending as far back as the point 
 of the frog, or a trifle further back — does not seem to retard the 
 growth of the horn at the part covered by the iron. This probably 
 arises from the posterior portion of the foot being so much more 
 pliant, and the stimulus to the secretory vessels of the coronet suffi- 
 cient to keep up the healthy action of the whole of the circle. Since 
 using tips I have noticed that the toe would appear long before they 
 had, apparently, been on a sufficient time to account for the extra 
 growth. It was ascribed to the wearing away of the heel, while the toe 
 was guarded; but a late experiment shows that this was only partially 
 the cause. On the 19th of January, X X was shod with tips 
 weighing seven ounces each. Pi-evious to that he had been 
 without anything on his feet, and was turned, during the day, 
 into a small lot. There was very little wearing of the horn, 
 and when the tips were put on the heels had to be low- 
 ered to give the proper bearmg. When this reduction was 
 made, a gauge was set so as to give an accurate measure- 
 ment from the ground surface to the junction of the hair and horn. 
 At this date, the 16 th of February, four weeks since the tips were 
 put on, the toe is quite long, altogether too much so to give a jiroper 
 bearing to the foot, but the gauge shows that the wear at the heel 
 
BEDDING THE TIPS. 91 
 
 has not been quite as mucli as the growth. He has been used, with 
 few exceptions, daily on the road, and as most of the time the streets 
 were wet, there was more wear than there would have been in dry- 
 weather. The streets and drives in Oakland are formed of macadam, 
 with gi-avel or finely-broken stone on the surface, and the hoi-n wears 
 away more rapidly than in the summer. This experiment was fur- 
 ther proof of the necessity for bedding the tip, as heretofore described, 
 into the foot, and also that it is important to frequently reset them. 
 The growth of the horn, between the tip and the foot, being more 
 rapid than Avhen the full shoe is used, the iron must be i-emoved 
 whenever the bearing is thrown out of the proper level. As steel 
 tips, hardened, are used, there is little wear in the metal, and if the 
 heel is not as low as it was, there is the difference to overcome. The 
 best plan is, to sink the tip rather more than to bring it to the level 
 of the heel, and the action of some hoi'ses is benefited thereby. But 
 as the same nail-holes can be used for two shoeings, when steel is the 
 material, and not longer than three weeks intervene between the 
 " removals," there is no injury from extra pei'forations. The fewer 
 holes in the horn, the fewer tubes will be cut, and the supply of fluid 
 they carry only slightly interfered with. 
 
 The objection to the use of tips which is the most frequently and 
 persistently urged by those who denounce the practice, is the claim 
 that the heels will be bruised if left as nature made them. This has 
 a plausible look, and without the person who hears it offered has 
 made some progress in acquiring the art of for)ning his opinions on 
 what can be proved, is very likely to carry conviction. In former 
 papers tlie fallacy of the claim was shown, but as such wide intervals 
 have elapsed since the publication of the series, it becomes necessary 
 to reiterate. With the dx-awbacks arising from a want of connec- 
 tion, alid the necessity of going over the same ground, there are 
 advantages in being able to make more positive statements resulting 
 from later experiments, and even if the repetition may be something 
 like a tale many times told, the subject is of importance enough to 
 warrant the rehearsal. The importance of taking cai-e of the feet of 
 the horse has always been realized, and there have been so many 
 plans for counteracting the ailment which is most pi'evalent that it 
 
92 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 appears singular that so little progress is made. The trouble has 
 been that a large majority of those who have been given advice 
 have been themselves misled by the idea that protection to all parts 
 of the foot was indispensable. The few who have advocated the 
 natural method, so far as domestication would permit, have been 
 forced to meet this obstacle, aggravated with the tendency of horse 
 owners to let others think for them, and an unwillingness to give a 
 fair trial to so simple a remedy. When the groom and the smith 
 told the owner that bruises of the sole would surely result if there 
 was not an iron barrier to protect, it appeared reasonable, as it may 
 have been that when a boy he had endured the pain of " stone 
 bruises " from running barefooted, or " stubbed his toe " on a pro- 
 jecting rock. The remembrance of sitting in agony, rubbing the 
 foot in a grip as hard as he could make his fingers clinch it, swaying 
 his body and gritting his teeth as some relief, gave emphasis to the 
 claim, and though he may have gone to the shop, firm in the deter- 
 mination to try the method he had read of, the words had weight 
 and his good intentions were overcome ; overcome by dogmatic opin- 
 ions without ai-gument or logical reasoning to sustain them. 
 
 If he remembered as well the acute pain caused by a small pebble 
 or even a kernel of corn getting between the foot and the shoe, he 
 would know that there were other casualties beside bruises to guard 
 against. But there is nothing analogous between the foot of the 
 biped and quadruped, and the stone bruise on the bai-efooted boy, 
 and that which causes corns in the horse, are widely difierent. No 
 matter how thick the skin on the heel may have become, it is a 
 slight protection in comparison to the walls, bars and sole of the 
 horse. That is, when all parts of the foot of the horse are in a 
 natural condition. When the smith has pared away the natural de- 
 fenses so that it will " yield to a strong pressure of the thumb," as 
 is recommended in the essay which drew the $500 prize in England, 
 forty or fifty years ago, the only plan is to raise it so that it will not 
 perfoi-m the duty it was intended it should. A little more paring 
 and the sole would be entirely cut away, for when it will give to the 
 pressure spoken of there is a very thin layer of horn left. 
 
 I have astonished quite a number of visitoi's by showing them the 
 
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION. ^ 93 
 
 results of wearing tips in the sti-engthening of the posterior portion 
 of the foot. Tlie angle between the bars and the walls, the seat of 
 corns, is filled with a dense, elastic material, which does not show a 
 trace of the discoloration which is nearly univei'sal in shod horses. 
 The frog is as elastic as a piece of solid rubber, and the point of it 
 extends to within a short distance of the toe. A few days ago, I 
 was resetting the tips on X X and fortunately a neighbor was watch- 
 ing the operation, who adhered firmly to the old, old methods of 
 shoeing. He had frequently urged the necessity of protection, and 
 could not see why the quartei's and heels should requii'e it less than 
 the toe. It was a good opportunity to make one convert, and with- 
 out acquainting him of my intention, I led the conversation to shoe- 
 ing. He combat ted the statements energetically, laying the greatest 
 stress on the liability of bruises. He admitted that the chief amount 
 of friction was at the toe, and an old shoe which had the toe entirely 
 worn through at the outer edge, with quite a thickness of iron at the 
 heel, was proof of that fact if he had not admitted it. The blow 
 • came on the heel first, and as the foot rolled over the pivotal point, 
 the friction wore away the metal. 
 
 " But," he said, " the fact that the blow is mainly on the heel 
 shows the necessity for protecting that with a hard material. In a 
 natui-al state horses roam over an uncultivated country. Thei'e is 
 either growing herbage, fallen leaves, or snow, to make a cushion for 
 the foot to strike upon ; but on traveled roads, on the paved streets 
 of a citv, on the solid body of macadam such as the streets of Oak- 
 land, there must be protection." I replied with the query : " Mr. 
 
 J , what, in your opinion, would be the effect of driving a horse 
 
 wearing tips, for years nearly every day, and fast enough to be called 
 a cood traveler, on these Oakland streets, and on the roads in the 
 vicinit)-'?" "Bruises on the heel, and the wearing away of the un- 
 protected parts so as to make the animal too sore for use, and if per- 
 sisted in ther^ would be violent inflammatory action which ultimately 
 would destroy the foot." " Very well," was the answer, "and if 
 you have an hour or two to spare I will endeavor to convince you of 
 the error of your views." This conversation took place in the house, 
 and before going to the barn I showed liim how the horse had been 
 
94 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 shod for the past six years, by reading extracts from journals. For 
 six yeai'S he had worn tips, with a few exceptions. Twice full shoes 
 had been put on in front, and at other times three-quarter shoes, but 
 with the two exceptions the inside quarter had been bare. The 
 three-quarter shoes had been put on for the purpose of testing the 
 effect on the action, and not for any necessity for protection. From 
 August 17, 1880, until October 4, 1881, he was driven without either 
 tips or shoes on his hind feet, and it was rai*e that there was a day 
 during the time when he was not driven. The tips which he had on 
 were set the 19th of January; and, as was stated in the pi*evious 
 article, there had been so mucli growth of the horn that the toes 
 were too long. The guage showed that there had been a trifle more 
 growth at the heel than the wear. On the 16th of February the tips 
 were pulled oflf and the extra horn pared away. There was a slight 
 discoloration immediately under the iron, but this was very shallow, 
 and my friend remarked that the hoof was in capital shape ; and, 
 doubtless, I had some kind of hoof ointment which was the means of 
 keeping it in such fine condition. I assured him that the day of all 
 these nostrums had passed away, so far as I was concerned. 
 
 Soaking-tubs were discarded, and only at rare intervals was a wet 
 sponge applied to the hoof. The place for the reception of the tip 
 was cut, leaving the shoulder which the end of it was to rest against 
 nearly half an inch in depth. It was a work of some time to prop- 
 erly prepare it for the tip, and it is a job which always " starts the 
 sweat " in streams. The trouble is to get a true bearing, and this is 
 far more difficult than when a full shoe is to be put on. In this lat- 
 ter case, the eye tells at a glance if it'is " out of wind," whereas the 
 shoulders are in the way, and the plan followed is to make the foot 
 surface of the tip as true as I can file it, and then make the horn 
 comport with the tip. Of course, the outside of the tip is fitted to 
 the wall before the surface-filing is done. When the tip was nailed 
 on, the shoulder was an eighth of an inch above the gr^nd surface 
 of the tip when the foot was held between the knees, and this had 
 
 to be cut away to give the proper bearing. " Now, Mr. J ," I 
 
 remarked, "you will see a foot which has travelled over these Oak- 
 land streets for six years, besides galloping with the trotters, trained 
 
A CONVERT, 95 
 
 and running races in harness, worii toe-weiglits, side-weights, under- 
 gone all kinds of expeiiments, hacked about to all sorts of vehicles, 
 and with occasional long drives and quite rapid ones. According to 
 your ideas the foot should be ruined beyond hope of redemption. 
 You acknowledge that the outward form is nearly perfect ; it would 
 be entirely so if he had never worn shoes ; and now we will look for 
 the bruises which a short time ago vou said were sure to be found." 
 It cut readily, and the knife sliced off a piece from the shoulder to 
 the heel and about a sixteenth of an inch thick. It was from the 
 inside quarter, and beneath it the horn did not show a particle of 
 discoloration, as had been the case at the toe. We handed it to him, 
 and he bent and twisted it, put it between his teeth to test the 
 toughness, noted the width of the frog and the india-i-ubber-like 
 elasticity it displayed. After a minute and careful examination he 
 admitted that his previous opinions were certainly erroneous, but 
 before he made many remarks I interi-upted him, with a request 
 that he should pay me another visit in a week from that time, when 
 a new set of tips were to be put on Anteeo, as I desired to show him 
 a perfect foot. That of X X had been injured by wearing shoes, 
 and came very near breaking down on that account, while the colt 
 has never worn shoes in front. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A Natural Foot vs. A Perfect Foot. 
 
 A natural foot may not be perfect, and then there may be advan- 
 tages in artificial appliances. But in a large majority of animals the 
 feet are nearly right, if Nature has not been tampered with in the 
 effort to make them so. If permitted to exercise on the same kind 
 of ground which would be chosen in a natural range, it would be 
 rare, indeed, when there was much divergence from the true form. 
 By a natural range we mean that part of a country which would be 
 selected by horses which could follow what is called instinct, but 
 which is so nearly allied to reason that we never could see where the 
 difference was. With the herbage equal, there will be a general resort 
 to the highest ground, and if it is necessary to leave it to find water, 
 as soon as thirst is assuaged the band will return. Left to them- 
 selves, the firm ground is invariably chosen, and, though they may 
 be di'iven to seek refuge from files by standing immersed as much as 
 possible, there is a disinclination to wet their feet and legs. The 
 whole system of soaking the feet, stuffing with clay, cow-dung and 
 hoof-pads, is entirely contrary to nature, and the use of hoof oint- 
 ments of any description a departure which will end in injury. Even 
 the washing of the legs is carried to an extent which does damage, 
 and, as a rule, water should never be applied to the horn. It may 
 require more woi-k to cleanse the feet of the dirt which has been 
 gathered in a drive through the mud ; and to wash them and the 
 legs with water is a laboi'-saving conti'ivance for the groom, but is a 
 
CRACKED HEELS. 97 
 
 j)ositive injury to the feet, and Las also a tendency to crack the heels. 
 There is trouble enough from the liability of the skin to crack be- 
 tween the foot and pastern, without aggravating a tendency which is 
 unavoidable at times, with the best of care. Cracked heels are one 
 of the most pestering things which the trainer has to contend against 
 in the category of minor troubles, and frequently they are of major 
 importance. Not alone from the pain which causes the animal to 
 shorten its stride, but, in aggravated cases, the inflammatory action 
 extends to the tendons, and the breaking down which results, if the 
 work is continued, is due, perhaps, to the use of water. The erro- 
 neous impression which is so prevalent that moisture is beneficial to 
 the foot, has done gi-eat injury. 
 
 This has arisen from the palliation of the injuries which resulted 
 from improper shoeing, and from the mutilations of the foot, which 
 it is thought that it is the impei-ative diity of the blacksmith to 
 accomplish. This renders the horn brittle, and temporary elasticity 
 is gained by the artificial moisture. The natural foot has none of its. 
 functions impaired. The seci'etory vessels are allowed full play,, 
 strengthened by action, and the deposit, consequently, is of the right 
 character. The thousands of minute tubes are filled with healthy 
 fluid, and these are not marred by knife or nail. When worn away 
 by the attrition between the foot and the ground, there is the same- 
 safeguaixl against depletion as follows the searing of an artery, and, 
 the lower portion is glazed with the friction, which also accomplishes, 
 another beneficial duty, viz.: the prevention of absorption of moist- 
 ure. Anyone who will take the trouble to examine the natural foot 
 of the horse will find that ample provision has been made to exclude' 
 water. The born is coated with an enamel which is as impervious to^ 
 the entrance of moisture as a plate of glass, and the sole in a natural 
 state will also exclude it. This phase of the foot question was forci- 
 bly presented from a conversation with a gentleman a few days ago.. 
 He had formerly been a blacksmith, but for the past number of yeai-s> 
 has been engaged in driving cattle, formei'ly from Texas, and later 
 from the mountain ranges. We obtained much valuable information 
 from him, which will be bi'iefly, and only in small part, alluded to. 
 now, as we hope to have a longer interview, and whick we will ert- 
 
98 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS 
 
 deavor to make a more satisfactory record of. He lias liad an expe- 
 rience which falls to the lot of few, and possessing keen powers of 
 observation, he has been beneiited by the experience in an unusual 
 degree. With 250 saddle-horses in his emploj^ment, engaged in as 
 arduous duties to try the feet and legs as could be imagined, we 
 were prepared to hear him staunch in his advocacy of a natural foot, 
 though we expected that more of the antiquated notions of the shoe- 
 ing-forge would be exhibited. One remark he made will be the 
 limit in this ai'ticle. " Give him," he said, "a horse with bad feet, 
 no matter how bad, so long as the natural functions have not been 
 entirely destroyed, and by the time there has been growth enough to 
 remove the brittleness from the nail-holes down, the cure in most 
 cases will be accomplished.'' His treatment was to tuin him bare- 
 footed on a proper range, and in place of this being the marshy 
 ground which is usually recommended, it was hilly, rolling land. 
 This he further illustrated by experience with a large band of cattle 
 which he bought. They had become so foot-sore that they could not 
 be driven, and were then feeding on the low ground. After the 
 purchase he transferred them to the hills, and in a short time they 
 were able to travel. The brittleness below the nail- holes is doubtless 
 caused by ciitting the tubes. The perforations which are made by 
 the nails cut off the supply from above, and the catting to prepare 
 the horn for the I'eception of the shoe empties the lower part of the 
 tubes of the fluid which gives vitality. We have had a capital illus- 
 tration of this in Lady Viva, a filly which was two years old on the 
 3d inst. Nearly a year ago she suddenly exhibited lameness, and 
 most careful examination failed to discover the cause of it. Feeling 
 that it was probably in the foot, every method was followed which 
 promised elucidation, but without avail. It was several months 
 before the cause of the trouble was manifest. She had a habit of 
 climbing on the fence, resting her feet on the bar to wljich the boards 
 were nailed, in order to look over, and, doubtless, got a redwood 
 sliver in her toe, at the juncture of the sole and wall, which broke off 
 so far in the horn as to escape the search. This came through at the 
 coronet, leaving a crevice of three-quarters of an inch. This of courts 
 cau sed aseparation of the horn, and though, after there was growth 
 
LADY VIVA. "99 
 
 enough to relieve the pain, the lameness vanished, it hnd been of such 
 long standing as to interfere with the proportion of the foot. The 
 one affected is still a trifle smaller than the other, and with hisrher 
 heels. This came from the inflammatory action while the foreign 
 substance was in the foot, and by keeping that part cut down so that 
 the frog was brought into play, it has spread to nearly the natural 
 proportion. 
 
 The crack in the horn was nearly three quarters of an inch above 
 the ground surface of the toe, when we began to drive her on the 
 road, and not very long afterwards, the toe broke away, leaving a 
 gap the width of the crack. This oom{)elled putting a tip on that 
 foot, and in order that there should be no disparity, a tip was also 
 put on the other. The tip-i weighed nearly four ounces each, and 
 were put on the 15th of February. The driving commenced on the 
 8th, anl sh3 wa, driven eiltirely on the mioalamized streets of Oak- 
 land, the others b^ing too muddy to exercise her upon. The well 
 foot was slightly worn at the toe. though it did not i-equire any 
 " protection," and the intention was not to use even the tips for some 
 timp, if at all. On the 7th of M irch she lost the tip from the 
 broken foot, and returned from the drive with the toe broken for 
 half an inch or more on each side of the gap. That this break came 
 from the brittleness caused by the separation of the tubes is evident, 
 foi' the hind feat, whicli have not bean protected, have not broken a 
 particle, and ava in capital condition. On the following day a tip 
 was put on, anl in ordar to set it properly, the horn had to be cut 
 siifficiently to reach that which had been deposited since the break 
 at the coronet. There was a pilpable diS'erenca between that and 
 the brittle portion, the former being much the toughest. The junc- 
 tion of the wall and sole gave evidence of the injury, there being an 
 entirely difierent appeai-ance at the point of contact from that of the 
 well foot. If the examination hal been thorousrh enouofli at the 
 time of the injury to discover the sliver, the extraction of it would 
 have saved the foot ; and though the catting necessary might have 
 resulted in more acute lameness, it would have been for a brief 
 period. We were mua'a disappointed in not baing able to try the 
 experiment of using a natural foot without protection of any kind, 
 
100 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 but in this case will have to confine the tests to the hind feet. 
 There is more of a sliding motion behind than in front, and as a 
 general rule, the hind shoes have to be replaced while those in front 
 are compai'atively unworn. Some of the fast trotters will wear a 
 hind shoe entirely out in two weeks, the front having only a slight 
 bevel at the toe. 
 
CHAPTER XI— Continued. 
 Reason for Want of Correction — History of Anteeo. 
 
 It may appear soiiiewliat egotistical for the writer to illusti'ate the 
 lessons on shoeing with histories of his own horses, but owing to the 
 absence of other data, that course is forced upon him, and without 
 entering into minute, and, perhaps, in some cases, tedious descrip- 
 tions, the explanations would not be clear. The few which were 
 available for experiments have necessarily extended the time to, a 
 long period, and it is now six years since the departure was made. 
 In every case, excepting the one which will be the subject of this 
 chapter, the animals experimented with had worn full shoes, and 
 though this gave the opportunity of contrasting the systems, it is 
 evident that others were needed to show the . benefits which would 
 follow from the functions of the foot never having been interfered 
 with. The colt, Anteeo, gave this opportunity, and so far as can be 
 determined by a trial extending from the time he was nearly four- 
 teen months old until now, when thirty-four lunar revolutions have 
 elapsed since the date of his birth. The history of these twenty 
 months of childhood had to be quite full in order to give, with clear- 
 ness, the state of the case, and, in order to show our friend the actual 
 eveiy-day life, without the trouble of going over the pages of the 
 journal, the information was condensed into the following synopsis : 
 
 Anteeo was foaled on the 5th day of May, 1879. This being 
 rather a " late colt " for California, we determined not to breed the 
 mare, and permitted him to suck as long as it was deemed beneficial, 
 though after he was six months old, it would have been as well to 
 wean him, and the two months more were of little benefit. Before 
 
102 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 he was weaued he was led a few times by the side of the mothei-, 
 showing fine action when trotting. Tlie day he was eleven months 
 old, led him by the side of X X, and occasionally afterwaixls ; and 
 on the 26th of April, timed him a quarter of a mile in 1:10. . This 
 was certainly a fair beginning, and on the 29tli he made 1:07. 
 Nothing more was done with him until June 3d, when, led by the 
 side of X X, he trotted a quarter in 1:05 ; and on the 5th and 7th 
 in 1:04. On June 12th, he was harnessed and driven by the side of 
 X X — the horse in the shafts of a breaking-cart, the colt on the off 
 side, his traces hitched to a whiffle-tree, which was fastened to a bar 
 tied to the shafts, and projecting far enough for the purpose. He had 
 been driven previously with the harness on to accustom him to being 
 reined, etc., and drove Very quietly. On the 22d of June, he was 
 shod with tips, weighing about four ounces each. His exercise was 
 confined to leading him by the side of X X, and on the 26th of 
 June he trotted the " back-quai-ter " in 58 seconds, and tlie home- 
 sti'etch in 56 seconds. This was a manifest improvement, which was 
 ascribed to the tips favoring his action ; and on the 14th of July, he 
 was hitched to a breaking-cart, and he went quietly. On the 20th 
 of July, he was harnessed to a light sulky, but he could not trot 
 within 15 seconds to the quarter as fast in that as when led. This 
 was thought to be caused by striking his hind foot when going under 
 the front, and rolls on his hind pasterns improved him, but not 
 enough to show the speed when he was led. To test the effect of the 
 toe-weights, on the 6th of August, tips, with a " spur " welded to 
 them, were put on, spur and tip weighing seven and one-half ounces, 
 and on the following day he was driven with them and toe-weights 
 of three and one-half ounces. He trotted better, but pulled up quite 
 lame, which we thought was occasioned by paring the foot. The boy 
 who held him at the shop asciibed it to a twitch the blacksmith gave 
 his leg. He had driven the nails and taken the foot forward to clinch 
 them, when the colt tried to get his foot away. The smith had a gi-asp 
 with his left hand immediately below the knee, and the foot in his 
 right, and when the colt struggled he snatched it violently 
 \ipwai-ds. The diagnosis of the boy proved correct, as ulti- 
 mately there was swelling just below the trapezium. Think- 
 
THE FIRST EMBRYO. 103 
 
 ing it more trivial tlian it afterwai'ds proved, on the 9th a pair of 
 hind shoes were put on, in order to hokl a scalping-boot, but the 
 swelling and lameness continuing, notwithstanding fomentations and 
 cooling appliances, t^je shoes were pulled off, a light blister applied, 
 and he was allowed to run in a small lot during the day. October 
 3d he was taken up and driven barefooted a quarter in 58 seconds, 
 and on the 10th in 54 seconds. Previous to this we had given up all 
 expectation of trotting him in the Embryo Stake of 1880, though the 
 move was so satisfactory that it was concluded to give him another 
 trial. On the 13th of October he was shod with tips in front, weigh- 
 ing six ounces each, and shoes behind, so as to attach scalping-boots. 
 On that day he was weighed, and for a colt of seventeen months old 
 he showed plenty of bulk, as the record was 810 pounds, and lih 
 hands hijirh. The 23d of October he was a trifle lame, and his work 
 was limited to a jogging, with an occasional spurt of speed. On the 
 28th the tips were reset and lighter hind shoes put on. The tips had 
 been worn some, and were filed down to i^ ounces each, including the 
 nails, and the shoes the same weight. He was driven the following 
 day in 3:18, and we were satisfied that he could trot the mile better 
 than 3:20. This view proved to be correct, as on November 5th he 
 won the stake in 3:17-i, the last half in 1:37|, and evidently could 
 have gone considerably faster. He was worked slow, and on Novem- 
 ber 10th the tips were reset, and three-quarter shoes, covering the 
 toe and outside wall of the hind feet, put on. The use of the three- 
 quarter shoes has been partially explained in former articles, but 
 later experiments have shaken the old belief, and the effects are so 
 different from what was formerly anticipated, that it is likely there 
 will be a complete change. It will require one or more chapters to 
 present the features, and as this is mainly to show the result of the 
 use of tips, the consideration will be postponed. On the 12th of 
 November he was driven in 46 seconds, and this was the fastest time 
 he made in his yearling form. He was driven a few times on the 
 ro id and ran in a small lot during the winter, when the days were 
 suitable. On the 4th of Apri\ 1881, his feet were trimmed, and he 
 was led to the track. On the ^5th he was hitched to a breaking- 
 cart, driven a few times, and again turned out. 
 
104 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGIITS. 
 
 In explanation of the erratic manner he was exercised during the 
 summer of 1881, a brief statement is required. A colored boy who 
 accompanied us from Chicago was the only help kept. He broke 
 the colt and worked him and drove him in the race. From a fall, when 
 hoisting hay into the barn, supplemented with a cold taken when on 
 a duck-hunting expedition, his lungs were affected, and we did not 
 feel that he ought to be permitted to risk the labor attending work- 
 ing and taking cai'e of a colt none the easiest to manage. He was 
 extremely sensitive about any one else taking care of him or others 
 to drive, and we were too much occupied with work which had to be 
 done to give him personal attention. Thus on the 5th of May he 
 was driven to a breaking-cart and turned in a small lot as before 
 until June 1st, when he was driven slow in breaking cart until the 
 9 th. On that date put on tips, weighing four ounces each ; the day 
 before he was shod behind with shoes coveiing the toe and outside, 
 leaving the inner bare. After putting on the tips he was driven to 
 a sulky for the first time since November, and moved fast. He was 
 driven occasionally until June 29th, when having to attend the races 
 at Sacramento he was tui^ned in lot. The 11th of July put on tips 
 weighing five and one-half ounces each, and he wore them until 
 August 8th when they were replaced with others of seven and one- 
 half ounces each. While wearing those he trotted a quarter in 43 
 seconds, and on the 29th of August they were taken ofi" and others 
 put on of three and three-fourth ounces. With the light ones he 
 handled himself more satisfactorily, though having to attend the 
 fairs of the Golden Gate and State Agricultural Society he was 
 turned out, the tips being always left on when the time was expected 
 to be short. He ran in the small lot during the day from the first 
 to the 28th of September. On October 6th put on weights weighing 
 five and one-half ounces each, and on the 14th drove him a mile in 
 2:54|, the last half in 1:24, and keeping him all the time well within 
 his rate. On the 18th he trotted a quarter in 40 seconds, and we 
 felt assured that he could show a "thirty gait" if called upon. We 
 drove him in this summer's work, though, as is evident, it was of 
 too desultory a character to be called training. Still it was a fair 
 test of the tips, both as to the efiect on the feet and to improvements 
 
WIDTH AND ELASTICITY OF FROG. 105 
 
 in trotting. We were laid up part of the time, confined to our room 
 from the 24th of October, and from then to the race he was in the 
 hands of another colored boy who came from the East with us. 
 
 He won the second Embryo with him, making the third heat in 
 2:52, when again he was turned out. On Jan. 2nd of this year tips 
 were put on, the same which he wore in the race, and from that 
 time until the 28th he wiis allowed to run in the lot or exercise by 
 leading when he was harnessed to the breaking-cart. He was driven 
 on the streets of Oakland, daily, generally long drives, and at times 
 fast, the tips having been reset on February 7th, but merely paring 
 enough so that the old nail-holes could be used, and on the 23d of 
 February was the day fixed for our friend to witness the operation, 
 and see the condition of the foot. The tips were semicircles with a 
 diameter of five inches, and this brought the posterior portion about 
 three quartei's of an inch in the rear of the point of the frog. They 
 weighed seven ounces each, and were three-eighths of an inch in 
 thickness at the end, being a trifle thicker at the toe, the width at 
 the toe seven-eighths of an inch, and at the ends five-eighths. They 
 were made of tool steel, the nail-holes countersunk on the ground 
 surface, in place of being " creased," the countei-sinking deep enough 
 to imbed the head of the nail. From so little horn having been cut 
 away when the tips were reset, there was a supei*abundance of horn, 
 and the shoulder for the end to rest against was cut deeper than was 
 required to imbed the tip. The rasp was used to lower the outside 
 of the wall, beveling it to tlie gauge-mark on the outside, and back 
 as far as the shoulder. We then called the attention of our fi-iend 
 to the heels of the feet, and width and elasticity of the frogs. There 
 had not been wear enough to reduce the wall to the level of the sole 
 and bars, and it was prominent and without a break. From the 
 shoulder for the tip to rest against to the junction of the wall and 
 bars, was a little over two inches, and it would be impassible to im- 
 prove on the general contour of the foot. This our friend admitted, 
 and when tlie knife was used to cut away the superfluous horn, back 
 of the rasping, there was only a slight discoloration, which the first 
 shaving entirely removed. The enamel having been cut with the 
 rasp, it was an easy thing to cut the other portion with the keen, 
 
106 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 thin hoof-knife, though the thinnest shavings were as tough as the 
 best quality of whalebone. It was a work of time to get a smooth, 
 perfect bearing for the tip to rest npon, and when a fine rasp and file 
 was brought into play to perfect the fit, it cut slowly. There were 
 three nail-holes on each side of the tip, and our friend thought two 
 would be sufiicient. The explanation for using three nails in place 
 of two was that we desired a guard against any chance for motion 
 between the end of the tip and the foot, and that where so long a tip 
 was used the rear nail was at the end. But we are now satisfied 
 that a semicircle extends too far back, and that one-third will be 
 ample protection. "We have found that in a great majority of in- 
 stances the rfear nail, on one side or other, was broken, and this was 
 caused by the expansion of the foot, and reaching as far forward as 
 the nailing. The nails used being next to the smallest size, the con- 
 stant pressure from giving the foot an opportunity for free expansion 
 broke the nail ; whereas, if limited to one-third of the circle, that 
 would not be the case. That this would be ample protection we 
 have not the least doubt ; and then three nails, one at the toe and 
 one at each end, would hold it firmly in place. At all events, when 
 the foot is in a shape which will permit a trial, I shall make the 
 experiment. My friend was also pleased with the system of nailing, 
 viz., driving the nail from the inside of the wall through it, in place 
 of splitting the layers ; and also at the use of a small gouge to re- 
 move only enough of the horn to receive the " clench," in place of 
 cutting the enamel from one nail to the other, as when the file is 
 used. The two exhibitions removed all doubts, and he was lavish in 
 his praises of a plan which had left a natural and perfect foot. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HISTORY OF ANTEEO CONTINUED SKETCH OF ANTEVOLO. 
 
 The history of Anteeo was cai-ried in the preceding chapter until 
 February 23, 1882, when within seventy days of three years old, 
 and a resume to the present date, February 1, 1883, will show how 
 the tips have answered in his case. It would be tiresome to enter into 
 the histoi-y as minutely as I could give it, as everything in i-elation 
 to his shoeing and work has been noted in the daily journal. 
 
 His case has probably elicited more discussion, or, rather, more 
 adverse comments on the method he was shod than will ever occur 
 again. He was brought prominently before the public from being 
 engaged in some important stakes, and all his shortcomings charged 
 to the tips. Had it been otherwise than that I was thoroughly 
 imbued, and obstinately confident of the correctness of the principle, 
 I would have suiTendered to the universal clamor. Having the 
 " courage of conviction " I was not to be moved by appeals, 
 ridicule, or the conjectures of people, many of them being as igno- 
 rant of what they talked so leax'nedly about as if they had never 
 seen a horse. Others had strong arguments, that is, when the guide 
 is previous opinions. Not one of them had tested the difference 
 between slioes and tips, and consequently their reasoning was })urely 
 theoretical. It is also true that on my part I could not say authoi-i- 
 tatively that Anteeo would not trot faster with full shoes, as that 
 was something he had never worn on his fore feet ; but from all those 
 that I had tried the change upon trotting faster with tijis than when 
 
108 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 wearing shoes, the inference was that he would not be an exception. 
 The objectors who presented the most logical reasoning based their 
 arguments upon his action. 
 
 He has very little " action," when that term is used to express 
 bending of the knee and hock. He is rather a " short strider," and 
 when going at 3:30 gait is pi'one to hitch, sidle about, swing from 
 one side to another, and to a person who only saw him when jogging 
 he would convey the impression that he was unlikely to make 
 a fast trotter. When going fast he moves as squarely as it is pos- 
 sible for a horse to trot ; and the only thing I would care to remedy 
 is the shortness of stride. It certainly appeared reasonable to expect 
 that more weight on the front feet would remedy this, and it also 
 seemed that toe-weights would be beneficial. I tried weights on 
 diflferent occasions, and he would not trot so well, excepting in one 
 instance which will be given hereafter. In order to fully understand 
 his case it will be necessary for me to recite other peculiarities. He 
 was foaled where I reside, in Oakland, and I have the use of a lot of 
 about an acre. He and his dam occupied the lot without other com- 
 pany. The colored boy alluded to before was continually petting 
 him, and so much did he think of the colt, that he would permit him 
 to bite and play with him without correction. Before he was weaned 
 it was unsafe to go into the lot without a whip or stick to keep him 
 off. It was not much trouble to break him to harness, though from 
 the first he was stubborn, and severe punishment made him more 
 determined in his obstinacy. 
 
 This was partly inherited, partly the result of familiarity between 
 the boy and Anteeo when a foal. The inheritance came from Bonnie 
 Scotland, who the English writers say was the most sluggish horse 
 in his exercise ever trained in England. I bred and owned two colts by 
 Bonnie Scotland which had the same disposition. They were brothers, 
 and the elder was completely spoiled by severity ; the younger, who 
 was treated with invariable kindness, outgrew the obstinacy and be- 
 came free and pleasant. The elder was one of the fastest horses I 
 ever saw, running a quarter of a mile in twenty-three seconds in his 
 training shoes and with his weight up, and apparently could go any 
 distance. Severe punishment resulted in utter worthlessness, either 
 
AN INCORRIGIBLE. 109 
 
 to run or drive, as when broken to harness it was impossible to drive 
 him away from home at any other pace than a slow walk, although 
 when turned to come back he would trot at a three-minute clip. If 
 whipped going away from home he would stop. If given a sharp 
 blow as he was coming back he would kick with terrific vengeance. 
 From that experience I knew that it would not answer to punish 
 Anteeo ; and though there was a perfect deluge of advice, the gen- 
 eral purport of which was severity to the pitch of cruelty, I treated 
 it the same as that to replace the tips with shoes, and kept my own 
 course. That this has been correct is apparent, as in the last few 
 weeks he has taken an inclination to go, and I have the fullest confi- 
 dence that hereafter there will be no more trouble with him on that 
 score. 
 
 It is necessary to be made acquainted with this j^eciiliarity of 
 temperament in order to understand fully why he would show at 
 times a flight of speed, and then in his races and at other periods not 
 trot within ten seconds as fast. That presented in so brief a man- 
 ner, I will take up the discourse from the time Mr. J. watched the 
 setting of the tips. He was not driven from early in November, 
 1881, to Januaiy 28, 1882, and then only occasionally to a heavy 
 breaking-cart, genei-ally on the road. Until May 25th he was driven 
 to a lighter cart, part of the time on the track, with fast work once 
 in a while. The lighter cart will probably weigh 1 30 jK>imds or 
 more, having elliptic springs, and beiiig strong enovigh to carry two 
 men. On the 25th of May he was hitched to a sulky the first time 
 since he trotted in the Embryo the November before. The tips had 
 varied in weight from three ounces, those that were worn by use, to 
 seven ounces, the heaviest I had made ; usually five ounces or six 
 were the weight of those used. 
 
 In the meantime I tried a difierent shoe on the hind foot, a 
 description of which will be given in the Appendix. 
 
 On the 31st of May I commenced galloping X X with him, in 
 order to encoui-age him to go along without so much urging, and 
 from that time his fast woi-k was in company with the galloper. 
 June 7th commenced working him " two-and-two," finding that he 
 was more inclined to trot the second mile than the first. Tliis kind 
 
110 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 of work was'kept up, and on June 15th, "on the repeat," he trotted 
 the two miles in 5:20 — the last mile in 2:38. On June 27th gave 
 him three heats of two miles, the last mile of each being 2:40, 2:39;^, 
 2:38|. The first mile of each heat I drove him as fast as I could, 
 but 2:41 was the fastest, and that in the third heat. Being so busy 
 on account of the work incidental to the publication of The Breeder 
 and Sportsman, I did not drive him again until the 17th of July, his 
 only work being jogging to the cart by the man who took care of 
 him. July 27th I put new tips on him, weighing six ounces each, 
 and on the 29th is the following entry in the journal : " Jogged 
 Anteeo three miles to cart, hitched him to sulky and then gave him 
 three miles at a good pace, moving in places fast. Scraped and 
 repeated him two miles in 5:25, moving through two stretches in 37 
 seconds each. After the work he played coming home." On the 1st 
 of August he finished a strong drive of three miles by trotting the 
 home stretch in 37 seconds, which proved that the work thi-ee days 
 before had not been detrimental. On the 3d of Auo-ust he was 
 attacked with the "pinkeye." This disease practically laid him up 
 until September 16th, although he was worked occasionally, which I 
 am satisfied was an error. The sickness prevented him trotting in the 
 Occident Stake at the State Fair. On the 26th of Sei)tember we 
 resumed the two-mile work, endeavoring to prepare him for the Stan- 
 ford Stake. The swelling between his jaws suppurated and broke a 
 few days before that race was trotted. 
 
 In the race, when " wanning up," after going at a good pace, he 
 trotted half a mile in 1:1 6|-, and a quarter in 36^> seconds, and yet 
 he was beaten in 2:34i, 2:36|, 2:40, 2:38. The cause of this 
 I will endeavor to explain after a few more illustrations. The 
 Stanford Stake was trotted the 21st of October, on the Bay Dis- 
 trict Course ; on the 25th he was brought home, and on the Oakland 
 track I gave him three heats of two miles, in the last of which he 
 trotted the second mile in 2:36.^,. 
 
 On the 30th I drove him three heats of a mile as fast as I could, 
 scraping him between the heats. After this I gave him a heat of 
 two miles, and he trotted the last mile in 2:30-|. The fastest first 
 mile I could drive him up to this time was 2:39^. He made a poor 
 
A TRIAL WITH TOE-WEIGHTS, 111 
 
 showing in the Embryo Stake, but on November 26 the following is 
 the record in the journal : '' In the afternoon I drove Anteeo. 
 Jofffred to track and two miles on it to the cart. Hitched him to 
 the sulky, X X galloping to anotlier. Went two rounds of the 
 track the reverse way, the last at a good rate, then turned and gave 
 him a mile in 2:45. Slight scrape and rejieated him in 2:41. Again 
 scraped lightly, and after scoring a few times, drove him a mile, with 
 a break soon after starting, in 2:35. Keeping on, the timers — James 
 Garland, George Palmer and Johnson — timed from the quarter-pole, 
 the last three-quai-ters in 1:54 ; and as the first quai-ter was as fast 
 as the others, that mile was probably made in 2:32." On December 
 5th he trotted the last mile of the third heat in 2:34^. One more 
 illustration will be sufficient. After strong work from the 4th until 
 the 12th, I determined to again try him with toe-weights; though on 
 pi-evious occasions he did not trot as well. On the 21st of Novem- 
 ber three-quarter shoes were put on his hind feet, at that time weigh- 
 ing seven ounces, and on the 4th of December I put on tips of five 
 ounces each. By the 12th the hind three-quarter shoes would not 
 weigh over five ounces, as when jmlled off a short time afterwards 
 they were reduced to three and a half ounces. He was thus rigged : 
 Ordinary walking or ankle boots all around. Quarter boots, weigh- 
 ing four and three-fourth ounces each, on his fore feet, and toe- 
 wei-T-hts of three and three-fourth ounces each. Thus there were 
 about thirteen ounces on each fore foot, allowing for the eight days' 
 wear in the tip. Contrary to the previous custom, he was driven 
 alone. Walked to the track, nearly one mile, harnessed to the 
 sulky, jogged two miles, the reverse way, moved up the homestretch, 
 around the turn and half way down the homestretch. When turned 
 he seemed to want to trot ; none of his usual stubbornness or mean 
 actions. He made the first quarter in 38| seconds, went to the half 
 mile in 1:15-^ and the mile in 2:311 I never drove him a mile so 
 easily, never touching him with the whip or moving the bit in his 
 mouth. On the 8th I drove him three heats, the slowest in 2:42: 
 and on the 9th he was worked sharply for three miles, 'and trotted a 
 heat asrainst Bonnie and Fi-ed Arnold. 
 
 The opponents of tips have laid great stress on the trotting of 
 
112 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 Auteeo, and I have given this long, and, it may be considered, 
 tedious account, in order that there may be a proper understanding 
 of the case. In the first place, for a colt foaled May 5th, 1879, and 
 with so disjointed a schooling as the record shows, it may be con- 
 sidered a very fair rate of speed. To take the maximum, 2:30-^, and 
 it is more than a fair showing for a three-year-old, if even the edu- 
 cation had been better managed. Had the tips been so detrimental 
 as is claimed, so diametrically opposed to speed, there never would 
 have been a display, and slow time would have been shown at every 
 trial. 
 
 There could not be soi-eness, as the harder Anteeo worked the 
 faster he trotted. Intervals of rest invariably added many seconds 
 to the mile, and fast quarters, halves and miles were made at the 
 finish of long heats. And now for the explanation of the erratic 
 exhibition, and the causes why the second mile would be faster than 
 the first, and the greater the number of the heats the greater the 
 increase in the speed. When fresh he wanted to rebel. In that 
 situation he was determined to resist the attempts to urge him to 
 more rapid movements, and anything like severe castigation resulted 
 in a still stronger will to thwart the driver. When he became 
 wearied — not so tired as to prevent him from trotting — the obstinacy 
 gave way, and then he was willing to go along. When he trotted 
 the half mile in 1:16^ at the Bay District he had been driven two 
 miles as fast as I could work him along, and if it had been permis- 
 ' sible to move once around the track, and then get the word, he would 
 have made a good performance. The mile in 2:31 J- on the 12th of 
 December, so contrary to all his previous actions, I ascribe to the 
 weights distracting his attention at that time, when in the prior failui'es 
 the same effect did not follow. Then there is a manifest improve- 
 ment in his disposition, of which that may have been the forerunner. 
 He has become more docile in the stable ; or, more properly, not so 
 mischievous. Heretofore he seemed to have an idea that men were 
 playmates; that it was all right to jump on them, give them a nijjor 
 run against them, just as a colt is likely to play with another. Until 
 the last few months he could not be led in hand without constant 
 threatening him with a whip, and so I fixed a strong piece of bamboo 
 
REGENERATION. 113 
 
 with a snap in the end of it to keep him off. When in his box he 
 had the same inclination — not a particle vicious, as his countenance 
 would indicate good nature, but ready for a frolic at eveiy oi)portu- 
 nity. The bamboo had to be used to snap into his halter-ring, and 
 the halter I fixed so that the bridle could be put on and the halter 
 removed afterwards. This was effected by a buckle on the nose- 
 band ; and it also gave the opportunity to replace it before the 
 bridle was removed. Without this precaution he would try to catch 
 the person bridling him by the leg, exactly similar to the action 
 of a colt when playing with another. This mischievousness doubt- 
 less came from the plays with the boy when a suckling, and the 
 endeavor lo i-emedy it by such severity as people advised would have 
 resulted in confirmed vice. 
 
 At the pi-esent time he is as sedate as need be. Comes to the call 
 of his attendant in the stable, and will walk as decorously as a quiet 
 mare. That there is a change as well in his disposition as in other 
 respects, is apparent, and I feel quite confident that he is a different 
 animal in still more important respects. I drove him December 
 1.5th, and from that time he has been exercised on the road by his 
 gi'oom. On the IStli of this month — January, 1883 — I put tips on 
 him weighing three ounces each, his hind feet bare. On the 21st, 
 2 2d and 23d I drove him to the track in the light cart, having put 
 the tliree and three-fourth ounce toe-weights and quarter-boots on 
 him, and for the first time in his history I could move him through 
 the stretch after jogging him a couple of miles. He not only would 
 go through the stretch, but after being stopped and turned around, 
 he would strike a fast gait in a few strides, and I feel confident that 
 he never trotted faster. Should this favorable conduct be a perma- 
 nent regeneration I have the utmost confidence in Anteeo proving 
 that tips can be carried fast at a trotting gait. Everyone who sees 
 him admits that his legs and feet could not be in better condition, 
 and that this is owing to his foot never having been hampered with 
 a shoe I implicitly believe. 
 
 While the history of Antevolo, brother to Anteeo, has not so 
 direct a bearing on the question of shoeing as that of the older, 
 there is still a lesson that is proper to repeat in connection with the 
 
114 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 other illustrations. Antevolo was foaled on May 12tli, 1881, his 
 birth-place being the celebrated breeding-farm, Palo Alto. He came 
 all right, and the first time I saw him, May 19th, I considered that 
 he was as good-looking and as well-formed a colt as I had ever seen 
 in a trotting-bred one. He ran with his dam on the foothills, and 
 was so full of life and play that he was continually gallojiing. 
 
 There being a good deal of gravel and hard ground, he wore his 
 feet away, the near one being so badly broken that the toe and part 
 of the sole were worn entirely through. The foot was so sore that he 
 could not touch it to the ground, and he either went on three legs or 
 walked on the front pai-t of the ankle joint. It appeared as though 
 it would be an act of mei'cy to kill him, but Frank Covey, knowing 
 how highly he was valued, gave him every attention. 
 
 There was quite an improvement ; though, when he was brought 
 home, December 21, 1881, it was the opinion of every one who saw 
 him that he would be entirely worthless for anything but a stock 
 horse. 
 
 The foot had certainly a bad appearance. The horn, in place of 
 having a natural angle at the toe from the coronet, inclined in the 
 wrong direction, so that the toe was nearly on a straight line with 
 the cannon bone. Tliough the heel was very high, it did not touch 
 the ground, and there was an enlai'gement above the coronet like a 
 ringbone, excepting that it was restricted to the front. The day after 
 he came home I c\^t the horn away at the heel until it was no higher 
 than the frog, and when clearing away the horn at the toe, which 
 was turned under, overlapping the sole, the blood poured ou.t in a 
 stream, and I then discovered that for a space of at least two inches 
 there was a gap half an inch in width between the sole and the wall. 
 In outwai'd appearance there was very little resemblance to a natural 
 foot. The toe was straight across without any curvature, and the 
 wall on each side where it came to the ground was also straight. At 
 the coronet the heel was abnormally wide. 
 
 When the foot was pared I drew the outline of it by holding a 
 piece of paisteboard against the sole, as he could not stand on it; and, 
 when returned to hi^ stall, he limped back on the other legs, holding 
 that one yp. 
 
A PROJECTING TIP. 115 
 
 My intention was to make a tip that would project as much at the 
 toe as would make the bearing the same as if the foot were natural, 
 but after seeing the state of his foot, I came to the conclusion that it 
 would not do to attempt putting anything on it that I'equired nailing. 
 I made a boot something like a " soaking boot," but I did not use it, 
 restricting the attention to keeping the foot clean. On the 5th of Jan- 
 uary T applied the biniodide of mercury prej)aration to the coronet. 
 The 14th of Januaiy I again cut away the horn at' the heel, and 
 turned him in the small lot for an hour or two, and this was con- 
 tinued daily until the 26th, when I repeated the blister. This treat- 
 ment was continued, and it was apparent that the blister was not 
 only reducing the enlargement but also stimulating the growth of 
 the horn. By the 29th of March there was such a decided improve- 
 ment that I concluded to commence his education, and led him by 
 the side of X X, and the entry in the joui-nal at that date is : " He 
 astonished me at his readiness, tlie first time he was ever led by the 
 side of a horse, and at the trotting gait he exliibited. He is a trot- 
 ter sui'ely." I led him three times, but fearing that it was too soon 
 to take chances of the foot becoming sore again, he ran in tlie lot 
 part of the time until the 15th of May, when the harness was put 
 on him, and after becoming accustomed to it, by wearing in his 
 stable for some days, he was driven without any vehicle. On 
 the 24th of May he was hitched to the breaking-cart, and on June 
 5th he was driven to the track for the first time, and on the 8th he 
 trotted quarters in 59 and 59^ seconds. On the 11th of June he 
 was fourteen hands and half an inch high ; on the 14th he trotted a 
 quarter in 54 seconds ; the 26th he made the same distance in 50 
 seconds. There is no necessity for giving his work and performances 
 in detail, fui"ther than to state that he also had the pinkeye, which 
 threw him out for a time, and owing to the same causes which pre- 
 vented me from driving Anteeo, he was still moi*e neglected. At 
 the Golden Gate Fair he won the pui'se for yearlings, trotting in 
 3:07; and in the Embryo he was second to Dawn, trotting in 3:02; 
 the time of the winner 2:59. Since then have driven him quarters 
 in 421 and 43 seconds, a half mile in 1:28, and in all these instances 
 he was barefooted. I felt that he might trot faster with tips on his 
 
116 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 front feet, and at one time thought that I would be compelled to put 
 on three-quarter shoes behind, as he was inclined to strike the coro- 
 net and needed the protection of " scalping boots." I found a 
 method, however, of fastening these, at times, necessaxy adjuncts, 
 and I was loth to change the treatment which had proved to be so 
 beneficial. The ailing foot is now nearly as perfect as the other, and 
 I have the utmost confidence that in another year it will be entirely 
 right. All that.it lacks is a trifle of the roundness of its mate, and 
 few who are not aware of the previous ailment notice the difference. 
 
 But the rainy weather compelled driving on the macadamized 
 streets, and there being some wear at the toe, two weeks ago (Janu- 
 ary 13) I put tips on, weighing three ounces each. The next day I 
 drove him on the track, and I thought he showed a forty gait, though 
 the sharp edge of the tips wounded the hind pastern above where the 
 scalping boot came, and after that he was inclined to hitch. A 
 " speedy cut " attachment remedied that, but again the rain came, 
 and I have not driven him since. The Turf, Field and Farm, com- 
 menting on the use of tips, and referring to me driving Antevolo 
 barefooted, asked the questions which follow: 
 
 " From this (a statement of the trotting of Antevolo) it will be 
 seen that, notwithstanding his advocacy of tips, Mr. Simpson trotted 
 his own colt, on at least two occasions, ' barefooted ' and ' without 
 shoes, tips or weights.' Has he, too, found that tips will not answer] 
 If not, why did he not use them on the occasions referred to ? " 
 
 These questions are answered by the short history; though, if no- 
 thing had been the matter with the feet, the experiment was worth 
 trying, and if thei'e had been soft roads to drive upon I would have 
 carried it further. I have not the least doubt that Antevolo would 
 have been capable of beating 2:40 in his two-year-old form if still 
 kept barefooted, and with a very good chance to trot a good deal 
 faster than that. Whilie I claim a decided superiority for tips over 
 the full shoe, I am not prepared to say that the foot can be kept as 
 perfect as when without anything upon it. Still, however, as tips 
 are the nearest approach to a barefooted condition, the benefits of the 
 latter can be rendered available as nearly as the duties of domestica- 
 
ANTITHETONS. 117 
 
 tion will permit. Therefore the success of this barefooted colt is 
 additional proof that " tips will answer." 
 
 Before lea\'ing the history of these two colts I may be pardoned 
 for diverging from the subject under consideration to call attention 
 to the "glorious uncertainty" attending the breeding of horses. 
 These two brothers are in many respects entirely different. In form, 
 the elder is immensely powerful all over. Quarters, gaskins, loin, 
 shoulders and arms are covered with masses of muscle, and bone and 
 tendons are in proportion. His legs are short, and he stands squarely 
 upon them at all times. He is almost a fac simile of his sire, though 
 his head and neck are larger, and he has rather more length. He is 
 a trifle over 15^ hands, still growing, and when mature will probably 
 be an inch taller. The younger has more quality, " rangier," head 
 and neck as line as a thoroughbred, lighter limbs and smaller feet. 
 He is 15| hands now, at least two inches taller than his bi-other at 
 the same age, and he has grown 4| inches since the 11th of June, 
 and is likely to be 16 hands befoi-e the 1st of January next, and while 
 he still ranks as a two-year-old. This growth also proves that the 
 work was not a di-awback. 
 
 The younger has more knee action and a longer stride. But the 
 greatest difference is in the disposition. That of Antevolo could 
 not be improved. There is not a point I would care to change ; 
 he is as "level-headed" as an old campaigner, and nothing 
 throws him off his balance. The Berkeley railway runs within 
 a few feet of the northern turn of the Oakland track. In 
 the Embryo trot the train was met when at the nearest 
 point. Dawn made a few jumps and I must acknowledge that 
 I was in hopes that he would act badly so that I could pass 
 him. Antevolo looked at it for a second and kept trotting his best, 
 never leaving his feet for the whole mile. He is free and full of 
 spirit, a chirrup sending him along while a word will restrain. He 
 is a model road horse, never shies, and goes with the vim of an old 
 horse. He reminds me of his grandsire, A. W. Eichmond, and still 
 more of his great grandsire, old Blackbird. The mischievousness of 
 Anteeo undoubtedly resulted from the petting when a colt, and this 
 trait may have led to his stubbornness as well. Still, as it was a pe- 
 
118 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 culiarity of Bonnie Scotland, and, as I have shown, of some of his 
 colts, it is likely that there was an inherited tendency in that direction 
 which might have remained latent under better management. The 
 maternal grandam of these colts was Columbia by Bonnie Scotland 
 and she was a grandaughter of Fashion by imported Trustee. Thus 
 the thoroughbred predominates on that side of the house, and their 
 action is that of the thoroughbred. As one has done fairly well with 
 tips, the other stUl better barefooted, the inference is just that weight 
 is not necessary for that kind of a gait, notwithstanding that such is 
 the general opinion of experts. 
 
CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 English Ideas of Horse-Shoeing — Tips and Charlier Shoes, 
 
 Having preserved a few copies of the Field, the great English 
 authoi-ity in matters pertaining to breeding domestic animals, stable 
 management, etc., containing short articles on shoeing, with the in- 
 tention of incorporating them in " Tips and Toe-Weights," a portion 
 of them is given here. These were published in January and Feb- 
 ruary, 1881, and the views in places are so similar to those which 
 we made public some seven years ago, that it was veiy gratifying to 
 find them con'oborated. The Charlier method is simply an improve- 
 ment on the Goodenough system, which the author introduced into 
 England nearly twenty years ago, the improvement consisting of re- 
 stricting the metal to the width or rather thickness of the wall or 
 crust of the hoof, and using a much lighter shoe. Then it is put on 
 with a much greater degree of nicety, the horn only bekig cut away 
 where the metal takes its place. 
 
 Should there be any necessity for a full shoe, this is assuredly a 
 better plan than incumbering the foot with a load of iron, unless 
 there is proof that weight on the heel is a requisite for fast trotting. 
 Although we are not yet prepared to say authoritatively that weight 
 is not needed on the posterior portion of the foot, all of the experi- 
 ments so far have led to the belief that it can be dispensed with. 
 Thei-e may be horses which will be benefited by weight on the pos- 
 terior part of the foot, and if so, a properly made bar-shoe will be 
 the kind to use. We are satisfied that the bar, or round shoe, owes 
 
120 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 whatever merit there is in it to the pressure on the frog ; when this 
 is effected more in accoixlance with nature, there is a greater gain. 
 
 The Chai'lier is superior on account of its near approach to a 
 natural state, the whole thing being in replacing so much of the wall 
 with a harder material. That it cramps the heel, is also apparent, 
 though far less than the ordinary shoe. The following article is from 
 the Field of February 5th, 1881 : 
 
 During tl^e last fortnight of Arctic weather the state of the Lon- 
 don streets has been a subject of interest to all and sundry, whether 
 they walk or drive. Various feeble efforts have been made with the 
 object of giving foothold to the unlucky horses whose mission it is 
 to drag heavy weights over a surface whose quality of material varies 
 in about eveiy other street. Hei-e we find a shovelful of ashes ; anon 
 we splash into a '•' freezing mixture " (vide Lancet) of salt ; next 
 small curling stones (called by courtesy gravel) are sent sj^inning 
 along the frozen surface by the foot which they are supposed to 
 benefit. Now, there is no sort of reason why horses should not be 
 able to ti-avel over the streets in safety, whatever may be their con- 
 dition. It is merely a question of rational shoeing. In the ordin- 
 ary mode of "roughing" a hoi'se, the heels of his shoe are turned 
 .up, and his foot is thereby prevented from sliding forwai'd on ice, 
 consequently he can stop or even back his load ; but when he wishes 
 to start, and in pursuance of his intention attempts to dig his toes 
 into the ground, his feet fly from him in every direction, and he 
 either falls heavily, or escapes that fate by sheer good luck. Tlie 
 antidote to this evil is simple enough, and why it is not universally 
 applied is a puzzle to me. One would think that the numerous 
 veterinary forges of London ought amongst them to be able to shoe 
 a horse for frosty weather; but, judging from results, the contrary 
 appears to be the case. 
 
 The whole secret of traveling over ice may be expressed in thi'ee 
 words, viz.: "Rough the toe." A catch at the toe of each foot is 
 perfectly effective. With three such catches, one at the toe, and one 
 at each heel, a horse is independent of weather. Snow will ball in 
 a foot so shod ; but in towns that is seldom a very serious consider- 
 ation, as when it balls it is more or less in a state of thaw, and as a con- 
 
TIPS ON SADDLE-HORSES. 121 
 
 sequence disappearing ; while, if it be very deep, the balling does not 
 much matter. Snow will under no circumstances ball in a foot shod 
 with a leather sole, nor in a foot shod with a short tip, it being the 
 heels of the shoe that perfect this undesirable manufacture. In the- 
 ory the catch at the toe may be objected to, as being likely to make 
 the horse stumble. In practice it has not that effect, as all the 
 horses in Canada can testify. These remarks apply to harness and 
 draught horses, whose toes are bound to come to the gi-ound every 
 time they start their load. Saddle horses take a sufficiently firm 
 hold of the ground with short tips in front ; and the hind shoes should 
 have a catch rather on the outside of the toe, to obviate danger of 
 tread and overreaches. 
 
 Omnibus horses should, in common with all others who drag heavy 
 Aveights on slippery stones, let alone ice, have the toe of the hind 
 shoe square, and a broad catch to it, the toe of the hoof projecting 
 in front. The Midland Railway Company shoe their cart horses 
 thus, and with the best results. When the foot is brought up " all 
 standing" by a toe calk, "there it is!" When by calkins at the 
 heel, the back sinew is too often strained. The observant will see 
 on cab ranks many horses whose heels behind do not touch the 
 gi'ound at all ; this contraction of the sinews is the result of the 
 above form of sprain. My brother sportsmen miast have pei-sonally 
 experienced the difference between catching the toe, and the heel, of 
 their shooting boot upon an unexpected obstacle. A few moments' 
 discomfort, and, with the possessoi-s of ill-i-egulated minds, a possible 
 malediction, see them through the first casualty ; while the loss of a 
 day's, or of several days' sport, may be the consequence of the latter. 
 Hunters in this sort of weather are on the straw ride ; but if shod 
 with short tips, they may go anywhere on the roads. 
 
 We have lately heard a great deal about working horses without 
 shoes, but the writers on this subject have been almost to a man 
 theorists. If anyone had given his own experience, his testimony 
 would have been interesting, not to say valuable. " Free Lance " 
 appears never to have practiced what he preaches in his book, 
 " Horses and Roads," although one of his con-espondents used a 
 barefooted pony. One gentleman wrote to the Daily Telegraph to 
 
 / 
 
122 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 the effect tliat he drives a barefooted horse eight miles daUy. Now, 
 I know by exiDerience that light work — say eight or nine miles 
 daily — may be done by a barefooted horse, supposing his feet to be 
 good hard ones ; but that is mere exercise. Work is another thing. 
 In no known part of the globe are horses able to work unshod, at 
 any rate in front, on hard ground. In ancient times slippers were 
 worn by horses and mules before shoes were invented. The want, 
 though not supplied, made itself felt. 
 
 Nowadays we hear a great deal of South American horses, Indian 
 ponies and the like. As a matter of fiict these unshod horses in- 
 habit districts where they never encounter a stone. Put them to 
 work on rocky ground, and they are either shod or lamed. A friend 
 of mine, lately returned from America, tells me that, though the 
 horses were unshod on the plains, when a march over rocky ground 
 (the Andes, for example) was contemplated, the same horses were 
 shod with a shoe of raw oxhide. These shoes last about a week, by 
 which time the mountains are generally crossed, and the soft plains 
 regained. Pack mules seldom, if ever, require this protection to 
 their feet ; but even with them exceptions exist to prove the i-ule. 
 And apropos of barefooted steeds, I may observe that they decidedly 
 slip more on greasy ground with a hard substratum than horses with 
 shoes or tips. A barefooted horse is far moi'e pleasant to ride, to 
 my mind, than a shod one — so long, that is to say, as he can go 
 comfortably ; but I do not know that he is more pleasant than when 
 shod with light tips. I have not, howevex-, given a fair trial to tips 
 behind, although I mean doing so, as what experiments I have ven- 
 tured on have been satisfactory. 
 
 To return to the insecure foothold of the bare foot. Example : 
 In the beginning of the present season I was riding a horse out 
 hunting with no shoes behind at all. The day was pouring wet 
 after a spell of dry weather ; the country, an ex-rural provincial. 
 My troubles began at a bank, my horse's hind feet flying somewhere 
 under his girths, and landing him on his tail, in luckily so trifling 
 a ditch that, although we emerged with a most unbecoming scramble, 
 we did emerge without dissolution of partnership. I tried to con- 
 sole myself with the thought that my flier had a soul above cramped 
 
TIPS ON HUNTERS. 123 
 
 banks and ditclies ; but, shortly afterwards, in crossing a common at 
 best pace, where the other horses all slipped about very much, my 
 steed suddenly came on to the floor bodily, and worse, on to my leg, 
 his hind legs ha\TDg again gone from under him. And this sort of 
 thing, having gone on in a modified form all day, sefme to think- 
 ing. As aforesaid, the ground was hard below, and very gi'easy 
 atop. The horse is a flat-footed one, and this was, of course "against 
 him," as the phrase goes. 
 
 Hunters shod with shoi-t tips go so much better through dirt than 
 when they wear full shoes, that I am compelled to believe that their 
 heels, being free, expand on coming to the ground, and contract 
 when the time comes for dragging them out of holding clay, etc. I 
 have not been troubled with an oven-each since I have used tips, and 
 fancy that the fore foot gets more quickly out of the way of the hind 
 ones when thus shod. 
 
 Nimshivich asks {Field, Jan. 22) : "What is the condition of frog 
 which enables one horse to go with a five-inch tip, and another only 
 with the whole shoe ] " The answer is, that a thrushy frog, if badly 
 diseased and in a state of inflammation, is in too tender a state to 
 vnthstand stones, etc.; and I once knew a case in which the sensitive 
 frog was all but exposed, the horny frog, or what thrush had left of 
 it, being worn down. The animal, a. four-year-old mare, very soon 
 recovered, and had sound frogs until a railway accident destroyed 
 her at six years old. All sound horses will go sound in short tips ; 
 but they will not thump their feet down with the action so dear to 
 London coachmen, as if they wished to penetrate the pavement with 
 their legs. They will use their knees less, but their shouldei'S more. 
 Thus shod, I have never had an instance of a horse breaking his 
 knees on the road, with one exception, and he slipped on a piece of 
 ice when being led at exercise. His shoes were full Charliers, and 
 he broke his knees through his kneecaps. Had he had tips, I think 
 he would have stood up. The full Charlier shoe is not such a safe- 
 guard against slipping as the tip, which puts the heels as well as the 
 frog on the ground. Now, I must disagree with " Nimshivich's ' 
 friend as to our forefathers being experts in shoeing. The very old 
 English shoe, worn by the " destriers " (which we should call cart- 
 
124 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 horses) that carried the knights of okl, was ckimsy in the extreme. 
 Its great width, however, allowed some pressure to the sole, which 
 was so far good, as experience shows that an unpared sole can stand 
 pressure. I can only account for the horses of our grandfathers 
 standing work at all, shod as they were, firstly, by their being nearer 
 to their Arab ancestors, and consequently more sound in themselves 
 than our horses ; and secondly, by the custom of turning them out 
 to grass on every available occasion. They lost condition, went 
 broken- winded, etc.; but their feet had a chance, or rather nature 
 had a chance of restoring their feet ; and, all the world over, there 
 is nothing like dew and night air for anything like fever in the feet. 
 Harness horses had no weight on their backs ; those belonging to 
 rich men were not unreasonably worked ; the mail coach horses 
 did their stage in the allotted time, and the number of legs which 
 they used in progression was optional with them. In many ways 
 our horses have certainly deteriorated, and in nothing more than in 
 unsoundness of wind. 
 
 The fii"st cart-horse I ever heaixi roaring caused me to turn round 
 and make a mental note of the circumstance. Now I often hear 
 them, and, more remarkable still, last summer a pony of the polo 
 description cantered by me, roaring like Prince Charlie himself. 
 
 The greatest errors in the matter of shoeing history are to be found 
 in veterinaiy works of a compai-atively late date — say sixty years 
 ago. What countless horses have been ruined by the theory about 
 the descent of the sole ! Our gi-eat-grandfathers and gi-andfathers 
 had plenty of horses lamed by tbeir shoeing, but they ascribed the 
 lameness to every cause but the light one. Chronic laminitis they 
 called " chest founder," and many a horse lame in his feet was tor- 
 tured by having his legs fired and blistered. Nor is all that practice 
 quite changed in the present day, though much improved. To return, 
 however, to the descent of the sole. Youatt, in " The Horse," page 
 418, says that, unless the sole be pared, "that portion of horn which 
 in the unshod foot would be worn away by contact with the ground, 
 is suffered to accumulate until the elasticity of the sole is destroyed, 
 and it can no longer descend, and foundation is laid for corns, con- 
 traction and navicular disease I " Fancy a man calling himself a 
 
ERROR IN PARING THE SOLE. 125 
 
 director of public opinion about horses, and not knowing that the 
 sole never attains more than a certain thickness, whether it be on 
 the gi'ound or not ! When thick enough it scales away, leaving a 
 new sole ready for any emergency below it. The sole, being pared, 
 required protection, and could not even be touched by the shoe. 
 Hence the necessity for the foot surface being beveled off, and hence 
 contracting corns and navicular disease. 
 
 I do not say (because I don't know it) that a horse shod with tips, 
 and having: his frog as Natui^e made it, would never have navicular 
 disease, but it stands to reason that he has the best chance possible 
 of escaping it. Firstly, he minds where he is putting liis feet, and 
 does not bang them recklessly about; secondly, the thick horny frog 
 shields the navicular bone and perforans tendon. 
 
 Otterbourne asks how Charlier shoes, in front only, answer 1 I 
 reply, very well ; but I prefer the nearest approach to nature all 
 round, excepting for hoi'ses drawing heavy loads, and they have been 
 discussed above. With the old-fashioned way of shoeing, only feet 
 of medium quality, neither too strong nor too weak, had any chance 
 of standing sound. Without shoes, sooner or later, all horses really 
 worked on the hard will be lame. With tips, all horses can do all 
 reasonable work, excepting those suffering from navicular disease. 
 Tips will not make lame horses sound at once ; but they give many 
 diseases of the foot the best possible chance of righting themselves, 
 especially if the owner of the horse possesses the quality of patience. 
 Last season I owned a mare who had such thin feet that she could do 
 nothing at all barefooted on the road. With short tips, however, 
 she had, if anything, rather too much action for a hunter. At 
 present I have a horse whose heels are quite on the ground ; yet he 
 goes better like this than he did with full shoes. Tips are no new 
 notion. The " lunette " shoe of Lafosse was a tip. I do not think 
 tips need be veiy narrow, unless they are let in a la Charlier. The 
 heels, however, should always be beaten down quite thin. Clips are 
 most useful in keeping light shoes or tips in their place ; but they 
 should on no account have a place cut out for them in the horn. Let 
 them just be hammei-ed on the outside of the crust. Also let the 
 clinches be cut off and knocked down, but not rasped, as the crust is 
 
 -^ 
 
126 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 rasped with them, and a chance is given to the nails to break out. 
 Let the sole and frog be on no account touched with a knife. Shorten 
 the toe as much as possible on the occasion of each shoeing, with a 
 rasp. And above all, " gentle reader," if you don't happen to be 
 master in your own stable, never let the words " Charlier," " tip," 
 or "nature" escape your lips. If, however, you are not a slave to- 
 your groom, my experiences may be of use to you, and in any case 
 are very much at your service. 
 
 P. S. — The above remarks having been delayed in transmission, I 
 take advantage of the oppoi-tunity to add some more last words, and 
 to make some remarks, which I hope will not be considered imperti- 
 nent, on the letters written by various gentlemen in re Horse Shoes 
 which appeai-ed in last week's Field. First, Waverly, who was per- 
 suaded out of the Charlier system by his farrier, says that I take for 
 gi-anted, for reasons which I do not attempt to explain, that grooms 
 and smiths are opposed to Charlier shoeing. I speak from expe- 
 rience, as all the grooms, excepting two, with whom I have ever dis- 
 cussed the subject, are opposed to it, for " reasons which they do not 
 attempt to explain." As to smiths, no less than four of them have 
 refused to shoe my horses at all on this principle ; they have all been 
 owners of superior forges. I never had my horses better shod than 
 by a village blacksmith who did what he was told ; but even he 
 charged me 2s. per set more fortijjs even than for the old heavy shoe! 
 I may say as regards Waverly, Be te fabula narratur, as Mr. Far- 
 dons speaks his own sentiments. Had "Waverly persevered with the 
 shoeing, the discolored horn would have grown and been worn out ; 
 his horses, not being lamed by the oi'iginal bruise, would not have 
 been lamed later on, any more than mine were. 
 
 I agree with M. B. that Charlier shoes, not approaching the corn 
 place, cannot cause corns, any more than a gag snaffle could give a 
 sore back. I should like, however, to know whereabouts the soles 
 of his horses were worn unduly thin, as the frog of a flat foot, being 
 always prominent, sliields the part " aft " of the point thereof, and 
 the shoe should protect the forward part, it being as impossible as 
 undesirable to have the shoe in a very flat foot flush with the sole. 
 Is M. B. quite sure that the soles were in a natural condition ? He 
 
INFINITESIMAL TIPS. 127 
 
 says he never lias tlie frog touched with a knife ; but, if not abso- 
 lutely watched, smiths will, under tlie pretense^of removing "ragged 
 dead hom," thin the sole. I am curious on this subject, as last sea- 
 son I possessed a hunter with absolutely pummiced soles, which im- 
 proved immensely in the three months that I owned him, one foot 
 regaining the normal appearance, although in both the coffin bones 
 had descended when I bought him, as a stop • gap and as an expei'i- 
 ment. I much regretted that I parted with him, but a severe acci- 
 dent was accountable for that. Capt. Gillon is of my way of think- 
 ing. "Would he tell us whether the material for shoes which he 
 mentions is procurable in England 1 He, like myself, has given the 
 system a fail* trial. 
 
 Suaviter in Modo also agrees with me, for his harness shoe is the 
 modified Charlier, with which I have shod many thin-soled horses 
 until the sole grew thick. Apropos of his remarks on curby hocks, 
 I may say that several years ago I bought a remarkably clever young 
 Irish mare, fired for curbs, and with curbs which appeai-ed callous. 
 At the end of a season of Charlier hind shoes, the enlargements were 
 absorbed ; and I sold her to a dealer at the end of the next. Finally, 
 Mr. Gr. Johnson is specially happy in his remark, that in most forges 
 " the quantity of iron employed far exceeds that of common sense." 
 To turn from this well-worn subject to a fresh one, will H. H. kindly 
 tell me whether his hunters can eat Goode's luncheon cake out hunt- 
 ing with a double bridle in their mouths 1 I find that I must make one 
 more remark on these weary shoes. Suaviter in Modo misunder- 
 stands me as regaixls three nails only to a shoe. I use three nails in 
 the tips, of which I have given a sketch (there is hardly room for 
 more), and it was to these infinitesimal tips only that I referred. 
 
 HORSE-SHOEING THE CHABLIER V. THE OLD SYSTEM. 
 
 Sir, — The views expressed by W. J. R. in your recent issues much 
 according with experiences which I have derived fi-om an eight years' 
 practical use of the Charlier system, carried out under my own per- 
 sonal supervision, it may not be uninteresting to consider the question 
 by the application to it of governing principles ; for after all there 
 
128 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 must be, and there is, a reason for everything. For this purpose let 
 us see, in the first place, of what does the horse's foot consist ; then 
 the reasons for applying shoes to it at all ; then how far the old sys- 
 tem and that of the Charlier effect the objects desired ; and, finally, 
 the weight of advantage and of disadvantage attending upon each of 
 those systems. 
 
 The foot of the horse, then, may roughly be said to be constructed 
 of a series of sensitive and insensitive stratifications, the one alter- 
 nating with the other ; the semi-circular outside wall or crust, the 
 outside sole, and the outside frog, being naturally of the insensitive 
 kind, whilst the inner semicircular crust or wall (" lamina ") the 
 inner or underlying sole, and the inner or underlying frog, are of the 
 sensitive — indeed, veiy acutely sensitive kind. This foot, as it is 
 illusti-ated with the unshod and still unimpaired colt, is strong and 
 elastic, but solid and without concavity, the well-used and developed 
 elastic frog filling up all the centre of the foot, and by its wedge-like 
 operations preventing the possibility of any contraction at heel, whilst 
 it also fully performs its valuable functions as "bufier," intended by 
 nature for the relief of the joints of the limb from jar, and the foot 
 itself from concussion, as the result of striking the hard ground with 
 rapid action. 
 
 This elastic insensitive outside frog is also given to the horse that 
 he may have a foothold upon hard and smooth surfaces, -as I have 
 seen to demonstration in the case of unshod horses carrying heavy 
 burdens in safety over rocky tracks in the Himalaya mountains, where 
 a shod horse could not have even put in an appearance and carried 
 himself; and as I have also had experience upon the flat surface of 
 Cheapside, when neither wet nor dry. It is also quite clear that the 
 unshod horse must be vastly less liable to sprain his back sinews, the 
 developed and projecting insensitively elastic frog constituting a 
 wedge of support to a vertical pressure upon the pasterns, and thus 
 minimising the consequent leverage upon the back sinews. There 
 can be no doubt that this insensitive outside frog is highly and sensi- 
 tively accumulative, or the reverse; cleanliness and exposure to 
 healthful pressure, and of that the more the better, producing 
 growth, resulting in its full development; whilst its withdi-awal 
 
MOTIVES FOR SHOEING. 129 
 
 from tliis healthful pressure, aided by dirt, will as quickly result iu 
 its shrivelled proportions; and even, indeed, in its absolute disap- 
 pearance — when, of course, contracted heels are also an inevitable 
 consequence. These evils, however, as we have seen, cannot fall to 
 the lot of the typical colt, when at lai'ge on his pasturage ; although 
 they may, and do, happen to him also when kept for any length of 
 time in a dirty straw-yard, and thus deprived of his natural contact 
 with his own mother earth. 
 
 What, then, are our motives, it may be asked, in applying shoes 
 at all where the typical colt is thus seen to go as daintily and gi'ace- 
 fully unshod as do the peasant girls of the south and west of Ireland, 
 and also in ma.ny other (for the present, at least) haj^pier countries 
 familiar to many of us 1 The answer is quickly given — that the 
 colt's earlier career does not require that he should pei-form rapid 
 pilgrimages on roads strewed with sharply angular and artificially 
 broken stones, which would otherwise risk the occurrence of either 
 of two kinds of injury— the one being the breaking away, splitting 
 or tearing of the outside, insensitive, protecting wall of the foot, and 
 exposui'e of the inside sensitive wall or " laminae," as might be exem- 
 plified by the breaking of one of our own finger-nails to the quick ; 
 the other injury to which he would be liable being caused by the 
 descent of his foot with force upon one of such sharp stones, and the 
 consequent bruising of the underlying sensitive sole, the outside in- 
 sensitively protecting sole having proved itself an insufiicient shield 
 for its protection against so unnatural an assailant. 
 
 In answer to the question of how the colt is to be protected from 
 either or both of these misfortunes — both, as we have seen, proceed- 
 ing from dissimilar causes — I i^eply that the remedy will depend upon 
 the position in life it is intended that he shall occupy. If to race, 
 hunt, or, in a word, to " carry a saddle," then I unhesitatingly say, 
 by shoeing him on the Charlier system — a narrow rim or moulding 
 of steel protecting the insensitive outside crust and maintaining its 
 semi-circular formation intact as well as a clumsy appendage of iron, 
 and without its manifest disadvantages ; and, as he will be free to 
 choose his own ground when traveling by I'oad, he requires no pro- 
 tection from the second kind of injury already referred to. If, on 
 
130 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS, 
 
 the other hand, his destiny should be fast harness work, to be per- 
 formed on roads still unvisited by a steam roller, and where (especi- 
 ally in double harness) he is powerless to choose his own gi-ound, then 
 I have, by unpleasantly gained experience, learnt that the Charlier 
 system does not afford the necessary protection, and that it is desir- 
 able to use a shoe of the old type, with a bearing, however, restricted 
 to the outside insensitive crust only, a flatly projecting flange extend- 
 ing to the inside of the semi-circle, the unimpaired and developed frog 
 having still a bearing in the centre almost flush with the flange or 
 flat web; a knife being in no case applied either to frog or sole, and 
 the desired diminution of length of toe being effected by a rasp, as 
 we should file the ends of our own finger-nails. 
 
 The advantage of the Charlier system to that class of hoi-ses first 
 referred to, and also to driving horses where steam rollers are in 
 voo-ue (and at times of year when country roads are not in a 
 state of chronic reparation), is that they are light, ensure frog pres- 
 sure with its consequent development, and therefore wide and open 
 heels, freedom from windgalls, dimunition of risks of fetlock cutting, 
 brushing, speedy-cutting, and tendon and joint straining; the foot, 
 with the addition of a steel rim or moulding to preserve its integrity, 
 being in all other respects in the same condition as that of our happy 
 
 colt solid instead of ^lollow, and therefore free from the risks of 
 
 picking up stones, of shoe-pulling through suction in deep rides through 
 clay coverts, when the familiar sounds of " cork- drawing " are in the 
 
 air. 
 
 "Impecunious" observes that farriers are opposed to the Charlier 
 system — the reason for which, however, are by no means hard to find, 
 for it requires more delicacy of workmanship, more care and time — in 
 fact, the services of a more skilled artisan ; the modus operandi being 
 first to rasp away the extra length of toe which had gi'own during 
 the inteiwal between the last shoeing or removal, as may be (and 
 which in the case of the colt would have been constantly and regu- 
 larly kept back by fnction of the toe against the ground), then to 
 lower the groove in the insensible outside crust to its proper level, 
 and then — that which is the real difficulty— to adjust the steel shoe 
 with perfect accuracy to the form of the foot and groove, before a nail 
 
NECESSITY FOR NAILING. 131 
 
 can be driven; whilst in the old system it was only necessai-y that he 
 should turn a ponderous mass after some standard pattern of his own 
 conception, which a few slashes of his knife sufficed to make the 
 obsequious but sufterii^ hoof conformable to. It is also to be borue 
 in mind that the Charliei' shoe, being composed of steel, involves 
 much more wear and tear of the tools used in its construction, espe- 
 cially of the rasp used in bevelling off its shai-p inside edge. Assum- 
 ing, however, that this shoe is put on by a man acquainted with the 
 construction of the hox^se's foot, with the hammer concentrated in 
 width of surface bearing to the insensible semicircular crust only, 
 and that the heels are not curved inwards and drawn too long, it is 
 physically impossible that such a shoe could cause corns. One of 
 your correspondents suggests that in certain instances the Charlier 
 shoe should be fastened on by three nails only, in order to avoid risks of 
 lameness from using more ; but I confess that I am at a loss to see 
 any reason for it, as the fewer the nails used the greater must be the 
 strain upon each ; and beside there is practically a necessity for nail- 
 ing the shoe at pretty short intervals, because if the horse do road 
 work and have not unusually perfect shoulders, the toe of the shoe 
 quickly wears thin, allowing the heels to expand beyond the dimen- 
 sions of the foot to which they had been originally adjusted, where 
 such parts of the shoe are not i-iveted in their original positions by 
 the nails. 
 
 When upon the subject of the old system — which under, the cir- 
 cumstances referred to, would appear to be the better system for car- 
 riage horses driven over stony roads — I have made no Allusion to the 
 barbarous and cruel application of " heel cocks," as it is self-evident 
 that if the principles of the Charlier system possess no more virtue 
 than that which is involved in the mere question of superiority, 
 which has'led to expressions of opinions by your correspondents, such 
 appendages must needs be wrong, and that beyond any question. 
 Much has been well said and written against the cruelty of bearing 
 reins, and with happy results ; but if any of your readers should doubt 
 the cruelty practiced upon a London carriage horse, let him turn into 
 any one of the fashionable West-end forges, ask for an ordinary hind 
 shoe, such as is kept in stock for carriage horses, lay it on the ground, 
 
132 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 and see the angle at which it necessitates its unlucky bearer to stand 
 and move upon it, without reprieve to its distorted tendons except 
 when lying down — ^the altitude of the outside " heel cock " being 
 about double that of the inside, and the weight of the animal distrib- 
 uted equally between the unequal points of the one and the other, 
 with the point of the heel for a tripod. Of frog there is none 
 remaining, and therefore it is out of the question, of course. 
 Some say: Very true in general, but my horse has " curby hocks," 
 and thei-efore requires these "heel cocks" ai'tificially to support them. 
 I say, certainly not. On the conti-ary, knock off the heel cocks, 
 lower the shoe at the toe, as much as nature will permit, allow the 
 frog to receive pressure from the ground and gradually to come on 
 the scenes again; the tendons will meantime readjust themselves 
 and assume their natural proportions, the animal becomes at ease, 
 and a sound and actively elastic frog will amply supply the rest. 
 
 SUAVITER IN MODO. 
 HOOFS AND SHOES. 
 
 Sir, — That science has made great strides in many things no one 
 ■will deny ; but that it has made equally great progress in the art of 
 shoeing that veiy patient slave of man, the horse, no one, I venture 
 to say, will admit. The manner in which the majority of horses 
 are shod shows too plainly that the quantity of iron employed far ex- 
 ceeds that of common sense. The farrier first cuts away the sole 
 until it will " give " under the pressure of his thumb, and then nails 
 on a broad mass of iron to protect it. The frog, and even the bars 
 themselves, do not escape his barbarous knife : for he no sooner finds 
 that they have grown a little since the last shoeing than to work he 
 goes, and again undoes that which nature herself has done. But let 
 us not be too hard on the much-abused shoeing smith, for he, often 
 has to work according to orders from the man in charge of his four- 
 footed friend, who will not be satisfied until the feet look like so many 
 cockle shells ; pared and rasped to the last degree is his plan. Of 
 course they look " clean and nice," and that is about the only explana- 
 tion he can give you for having it done. No wonder, sir, we see so many 
 
WORK WITH NATURE. 133 
 
 contracted feet. If our aim is perfection, we must work with nature, 
 and not against her ; and I would ask any man with a grain of com- 
 mon sense if the above method is in harmony with the rules laid 
 down by nature. If it is not, then I say the sooner we discontinue 
 such an idiotic system the better for all concerned. Why, let me ask, 
 do we shoe horses' feet at all ? For the simple reason that the wear 
 and tear of the crust is greater than the growth. It is then with 
 the cinist, and the crust only, that we have to deal in order to make 
 a horse perform his allotted task without injury to the foot; and if 
 we can do that, and at the same time pi'eserve the same even bearing 
 of the foot which it possessed in its natural state, I think we shall 
 then have arrived as near perfection as any reasonable man can ex- 
 pect. Well, I say we can do it if we put into practice Chai'lier's 
 system ; but it must be carried out to the very letter, otherwise we 
 shall be subject to disappointment, and apt, like many othei's, to con- 
 demn that which we do not iinderstand. I have before me a hoof — 
 or rather an imitation of one — given to me by M. Charlier some 
 twelve years ago, showing very distinctly how a foot should be pre- 
 pai'ed and shod on his principle, and I shall be pleased to show it to 
 any one sufficiently interested to inspect it. In (conclusion, let me 
 advise those who are prejudiced against his system, and those who 
 have never tried it, first to get well acquainted with it by having it 
 properly explained, next see that his principle is can-ied out in every 
 detail every time of shoeing, and then give it a thorough trial, and I 
 am convinced that they will be more than satisfied, and regi-et that 
 they did not try it sooner, G. Johnson. 
 
 34, Woods-mews, Jan. 26. 
 
 HORSE SHOEING. 
 
 Sir, — Will you allow me the opportunity of collecting " Mus- 
 tang's " misapprehension in supposing that I had " advocated the use 
 of many nails," as what I had intended was to state the necessity for 
 more than three nails in fastening on a full Charlier shoe, in contra- 
 distinction to the "infinitessimal tips" only, referred to by " Impecu- 
 niosus " "in your last issue. This practical necessity, as I had 
 
134 
 
 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 previously, but no doubt inadequately, endeavored to explain, arises 
 from the fact that the closely hammered steel Charlier shoe, with road 
 work, quickly wears thin at the toe, when its tendency is to spread 
 out at the heels ; and, unless where and so far as it is actually held 
 in place by the nails, to extend towards the heel beyond the dimen- 
 sions of the hoof— with the consequent danger of cutting the fetlock 
 of the other leg in action, or of pulling off the shoe, by offering it as 
 a projecting flange to catch and hold to the ground when the horse 
 takes his foot out of dirt. 
 
 1 also tried to convey my opinion that there is no disadvantage in 
 thus using any reasonable number of nails for the purpose ; and I 
 confess that, notwithstanding "Mustang's" explanations that the 
 " crust is composed of fibers running parallel from the coronet down- 
 wax'ds," such is my opinion still. For in the same way our finger 
 nails are composed of fibers running parallel from the quick downwards; 
 and yet the quick is unaffected by the number of small holes which may 
 be carefully drilled into the projecting ends, so long as they do not 
 cause splitting or injury upwards. The Charlier shoe, being itself ex- 
 cessively narrow, necessitates that the nails used in fastenincr it on 
 should be driven correspondingly near to the edge of the insensible 
 semicircular wall or crust— so near, indeed, that the growth of a 
 healtliy hoof enables the margin, which had served as the receptacle 
 of the row of nails at one shoeing, to be altogether done away with 
 by the rasp at the next monthly shoeing or removal, as the case may 
 be. But as I have already intimated, the whole system of the Char- 
 lier shoeing involves more delicacy of manipulation, and a finer and 
 more highly wrought kind of nails into the bargain. 
 
 SUAVITER IN MODO. 
 
 Sir, — Were it not for the knowledge that your liberality in open- 
 ing the columns of The Field to such an extended discussion on 
 horse shoeing has been attended with an immediate and practical 
 effect, I should not have presumed to trespass on your space with 
 another letter ; but as I am aware that five of my hunting acquaint- 
 ances are having their horses shod a la Charlier, and that three 
 
MISERABI.E LIFE, PREMATURE DEATH, 135 
 
 coiintiy forges, where the process was liitherto unknown, have now 
 the necessary appliances, and the ownei"s are prepared to devote their 
 best abilities to the operation, I am emboldened to send you some 
 additional remarks, in hojies of furthering the good cause. 
 
 It seems to me that the one thing needful to effect a complete 
 chano^e for the better in horse shoeins; all over Ena;land is that vete- 
 rinary surgeons should take and express gi-eater interest in tlie subject ; 
 that they should, in fact, disci'iminate openly and strongly between 
 good shoeing and bad, between shoeing which will probably enable a 
 hoi-se to remain sound in his feet to a good old age, and that which 
 may fairly be expected to render his life miserable and his death 
 premature. Few men can doubt that if veterinarians were generally 
 convinced of the truth of the Charlier system, and used their influence 
 to promote its adoption, a few yeare would see it introduced thi'ough- 
 out the length and breadth of the land. Tliat they do not do so is 
 not necessarily a reproach to them; there may be inconveniences 
 and dangers attendant on it, of which outsiders like mj'-self are ignor- 
 ant, but which are fully apparent to their more instructed minds. 
 What sm-prises me is that they should not give us a hint on the 
 subject. 
 
 For many weeks you have set aside a large amount of your space 
 in order that horse-ownei-s might ventilate this question, and try to 
 arrive at some conclusion likely to benefit tlie most generous and 
 courageous of all animals; but not one single useful contribution 
 has emanated from a member of the veterinary^ profession. If it 
 were a question of bad water or bad smells, doctors would be found in 
 plenty to tell us what to do; but the sphinx was gaiTulity itself com- 
 pared to our veterina,rians. Surely they must thoroughly well know 
 whether the Charlier system is good or the reverse. From the fiict 
 that certain eminent members of the profession have written approv- 
 ingly of it, and from the eagerness with which one or two of your 
 correspondents, themselves veterinarians, have hailed its inventor as a 
 confrere, one would suppose they regarded it as entirely good ; 
 yet, can any horse-owner remember one of the rank and file of the 
 profession advising him to try if? I certainly cannot; and it is this 
 prejudice, indifference — call it what you will — on the part of so many 
 
136 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 membei'S, tliat makes me consider them responsible for much of the 
 cruelty and injury daily inflicted on horses in most provincial forges. 
 They have no right to seek to shelter themselves behind the honored 
 names of professional brethren whilst tacitly conniving at, or actively 
 perpetrating, mutilations on hoi'ses' feet, that would fill with horror 
 the men whose names they invoke, and which their own knowledge 
 and reason utterly condemn. 
 
 That veterinians may be stirred up to a more active interference in 
 this impoi'tant and humane question is my only object in writing 
 this letter ; and no greater mistake can be made than the supposition 
 that there is any desire on my part to deny credit to the eminent 
 men belonging the profession, to whose investigations, not only on 
 this but on many kindred subjects, the world owes so much, 
 
 "W. J. R. 
 
 Sir, — W. J. R. might have saved himself the trouble of inditing 
 last week his little treatise on sai'casm, with quotations from Arte- 
 mus Ward and Sydney Smith thrown in. Spite of being handicapped 
 by my nationality, his sarcasm did find its way to my mind. This, 
 however, in no way necessitated that he should malign himself, if 
 indeed he knew better, by appearing to judge of a horse's foot-sound- 
 ness whilst it was going across country. With regard to the 
 animals involved in his pettish sarcasm, I may state that I never 
 i-ode better hack-hunters than I did during the five years I was at 
 Oxford, and do not recollect more than two occasions on which I 
 saw a lame horse out. 
 
 " Impecuniosus," M. B., and Mr. Tozsr agree that " the Charlier 
 shoe, not approaching the corn place, cannot cause corns." Neither 
 can any other shoe, though the manner of shoeing may be answer- 
 able for them, inasmuch as it may cause the heels to contract and 
 lose their power of expansion. The concussion is greatly increased, 
 and the result is the rupture of bloodvessels in the sensitive sole — 
 that is, so-called corns. In cases of weak feet, corns ai-e more often 
 produced by stepping on stones. The adoption of the Charlier would 
 certainly increase danger from this source for the first few weeks, 
 but would eventually i-esult in a healthier foot, I have no doubt. 
 
TIPS TO BE TRIED. 137 
 
 Does " Frog " speak from personal experience when he says that 
 horses are worked barefoot abroad ? In the case of the most horse- 
 loving of Continental nations I 'can assert the contrary. I have 
 visited every province of Austria, and found the horses universally 
 shod with a fidl shoe. Hungarian and Polish horses, if any, should 
 be able to go barefoot, owing to the practice that largely prevails of 
 allowing the foals to*^ I'un alongside while the dam is in harness. 
 Whilst living in the house of a horse-breeder in Transylvania I have 
 seen two mares harnessed to the conveyance, and, when fairly under 
 way, found we were accompanied by six young colts and fillies, from 
 rising one to rising three years old, each of the matrons claiming 
 three of these, with the prospect of sQon increasing the number. 
 With a view to testing in one case what appears to be still a theory, 
 I have had the shoes taken off one of my nags, a thoroughbred mai-e 
 that I use solely for hacking, and shall try the effect of riding her 
 without shoe or tip. Borderer. 
 
 HORSE SHOEING. 
 
 Sir, — With your permission, I will endeavor to give " Mustang " 
 the information he desires respecting the imitation hoof shod a la 
 Charlier, by forwarding you a photo of the same which I have just 
 had taken, feeling sure that " Mustang " and the gentleman from 
 whom I have received letters asking for particulars will be able to 
 learn more from it (if you will kindly give a sketch of it) than from 
 any description which I could give with pen and ink. I may, how- 
 ever, remark that it is a true model of a foot shod at M. Charlier's 
 forge, on his principle for six months, and showing how well devel- 
 oped the frog, bars, and sole will become, if only left alone. With 
 a strong, thick crust the shoes may be shortened a good inch, and 
 especially when a horse has to travel over slippery roads. Thus 
 modified, I prefer them to tips, although until the foot has attained 
 something like its natural state, I am a strong advocate for the full 
 Charlier shoe, which, being of uniform thickness, and with the groove 
 made deeper at the toe than at the heel, pi'eserves the latter from 
 undue wear, and consequently encourages its growth. It will 
 
138 TIPS AND TOE-WEIGHTS. 
 
 be seen that a narrow space is left between the heel of the shoe and 
 the rim of uncut crust to allow of expansion of the foot (a most essen- 
 tial point), and it is in neglecting to pi-ovide for sueh expansion that 
 has caused many to form an unfavorable opinion on what they took 
 to be la systeme Charlier. Now, with regard to tips, by all that is 
 just let them be sunk into the crust, otherwise you destroy that 
 even bearing which it is so desirable to preserve. No matter how 
 thin the heels of the tips are made, there still remains the fact that 
 the heel is not level with the toe. How can it be 1 The whole 
 circle of the foot, whether shod with tips or full Charliers, should be 
 uniformly level, that both heel and toe may take their equal share 
 of pressure at one and the same time. It is nature's own law ; let 
 us not try to improve it, or_ we shall be losers in the end, depend 
 upon it. 
 
 "When I see a set of shoes weighing nearly twenty pounds, and 
 with sufficient iron in the calkings to make a decent set of shoes, I 
 feel ashamed when I say that the wearers ai'e to be found in this, the 
 greatest "horsey" country in the world. Depend upon it, if horses 
 could be given the power of speech, they would call us by names 
 which were not given us at our baptism. Then away with calkings 
 and broad, heavy shoes, and let us give the poor brutes a chance of 
 using to advantage that which natui-e has given them. 
 
 " Snaffle," in last week's Field asks whether there is anything to 
 prevent the crust being cut to receive the shoe the fii'st time of shoe- 
 ing. I will give him M. Charlier's plan. When he had a strong, 
 sound foot to shoe he would sink the shoe level with the inner circle 
 of crust, the second or third time of shoeing, but with a weak one 
 he would work with the growth of the foot. As it improved so 
 Avould he lower the shoe into the crust, and thus by degrees bring 
 the sole, bars, and frog into contact with the ground. Such was the 
 plan of the gi^eat Chai-lier himself, with whom I have spent many 
 happy hours, for he was never tired of endeavoring to show the 
 superiority of his system over every other, and it is only by follow- 
 ing in his footsteps that we can expect to arrive at anything like 
 perfection in the art of shoeing. It would be interesting to know 
 if any of " M. B." horses "forge;" if so, I suspect that is the cause 
 
STILL EXPERIMENTING. 139 
 
 of tlie thin soles (if in front). I liave known cases where forgers 
 have been ridden or driven fast to wear the soles of the feet quite 
 thin by the forward action of the hind feet. G. Johnson. 
 
 34 Woods-mews, Park-lane, W., Feb. 9. 
 
 With these quotations, which embody the gist of the arguments 
 in the London Field of two years ago, this portion of the volume 
 will be brought to a close for the present. Still experimenting, I 
 hope to add to the illusti-ations when another edition is demanded. 
 
 In the meantime, the subject will be duly considered in the Breeder 
 AND Sportsman, and as the experiments progress the results will 
 appear. 
 
 I am happy to state that others will give the tips a fair test, add- 
 ing their experience to mine. Their commxmications will be published 
 in the paper, and extracts from the British journals bearing on the 
 question \\i\\ also be given. Being so fully impressed with the bene- 
 fits that will follow a more natural treatment of the foot of the 
 horse, and the improvement that will follow the more rational prac- 
 tice ; ignoring the " protection " that invariably results in injury, I 
 feel that too much attention cannot be given. 
 
[APPENDIX.'\ 
 
 AN ESSAY ON 
 
 TOE AND SIDE-WEIGHTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. — Action of the Race-Horse. 
 
 Frequently when horses are the topic the action is commented 
 upon, and nearly every one who makes any pretentions to equine 
 lore is prone to commend or condemn that of the animals which are 
 the subject of discussion. The neophyte is puzzled to understand a 
 good deal of the phi-aseology which horsemen use to convey their 
 meaning when speaking of peculiarities in the animals, and a re- 
 course to the dictionary fails to aid him in knowing what the jargon 
 means. 
 
 Adjectives expressing every degi-ee of quality precede terms which 
 are inexj^licable, and he ponders over the matter in amazement. 
 Bold, prompt, true, slovenly, slow, rapid, scrambling, dwelling, 
 I'ound, smooth, and a score or two more of opi)osite or synonymous 
 meaning are used to express the various methods of progression 
 which horses display. There are some in common use which are still 
 more intricate, and he hears of daisy-cutters among the race-horses, 
 and open-gaited trotters, without having the least conception of what 
 is meant by the obtuse designations. As he improves in knowledge 
 and becomes familiar with the technical language employed, the un- 
 coutli phrases have a meaning, oftentimes very expressive and appro- 
 l)riate, giving a lucid, if terse, explanation more eftective than long 
 descriptions. 
 
n SHOES TO PLATES. 
 
 In a treatise intended to account foi- tlie effects of toe and side- 
 weights, action is the first thing to consider, and if we cannot find 
 a key to the problem in this study, it will be useless to look for it 
 in any other direction. 
 
 Long before the era of these latter-day appendages to the feet of 
 the trotter, it was well known that the action could be modified by 
 artificial appliances ; and so long ago that it has become dignified as 
 a proverb, there was a saying that " an ounce on the heel is equival- 
 ent to a pound on the back," the implication being that weight on 
 the feet influenced the action of the race-horse prejudicially, so that 
 he would tire quicker than if he had to carry sixteen times as much. 
 Something of the same idea governed when it is said that one horse 
 could beat another " shoes to plates," as this was about the strongest 
 term to convey decided superiority which could be used. 
 
 It will not be out of place, then, to give some considei'ation to the 
 sources of action, so far as can be shown by the configuration ; and 
 yet the form will not decide, for in exceptional cases the horse of the 
 truest propoi'tion may be faulty in his movements, when the one of 
 inferior shape is the superior. Wei-e it not so, there would be no 
 use in the endeavor to remedy defects by education, for if the form 
 absolutely governed, that would end it, and the only recourse would 
 be to perfect the form by breeding after the desired type. The mod- 
 ification can be accomplished, and the slouch is transfoi-med into the 
 graceful dancer, and the members of the " awkward squad " become 
 models of precision. 
 
 In training a man, his mentor can explain to him wherein his 
 " style " is faulty, and the necessity for acquiring a better method of 
 using his limbs. 
 
 All the trainers in the world could not change the shamble of 
 Weston into the perfect gait of O'Leary, but if the education had 
 been commenced in time, there would have been an approximation 
 to the desired end. Reasoning and example are the dependence, 
 when man is the pupil, with pi-actice to perfect ; in the horse, me- 
 chanical devices take the place of pi-ecepts, and the combination of 
 these, and the animal's natural intelligence, are all that the trainer 
 
BRAIN FORCE. iii 
 
 has to aid him. But it is perhaps premature to consider the resem- 
 blance between the style of the man and the action of the horse 
 now, as they will come in more appi'opriately hereafter. Neither is 
 it necessary to give elaborate attention to the anatomy of the horse, 
 and a brief review of the general structure and physiology of the 
 animal will be sufficient. 
 
 The bones are the mechanical part ; the muscular system a portion 
 of the motive power. It is generally conceded that the brain and 
 the nerves which spring from the brain furnish the balance of the 
 force, and it will be all that the present purpose requires to accept 
 this as the correct theoiy. It may provoke a smile when I claim 
 that the action of the brain is affected by mechanical contrivances, 
 and yet I shall fail in my own estimation if I do not make it appar- 
 ent. The skeleton of the horse is tolei'ably familiar to those who 
 have given any attention to the formation of the animal, and if it 
 has not been studied when divested of all the tissues, a very good 
 idea is obtained from cuts and engravings. 
 
 This frame has some similarity to that of man ; in other respects 
 the difference is strongly marked. Though all parts have more or 
 less to do with progression, the limbs and lumbar vertebrae are the 
 most actively employed. A glance at the skeleton will show that the 
 scapula, shoulder-blade, and the humerus, or upper arm, form quite 
 an angle. At the junction of the humerus and radius, the elbow 
 projects upward to a greater heighth than would be thought from 
 looking at the living animal. Pz-ojecting from the back part of the 
 knee is a bone, termed by some of the writers the trapezium, and 
 this is more prominent in the skeleton than would be supposed from 
 its appearance in life. At the ankle the external sessamoid has a 
 backward prominence, and from the elbow to the foot each joint 
 shows that the greatest force is required from behind, the attachments 
 for the tendons and ligaments being so much larger tlian in front. 
 "When these joints, as in the upper "parts, are so thickly covered with 
 muscles, and rigidly bound with ligaments, it is evident that there 
 cannot be much side motion, the bending being more like the straight 
 working of an ordinary hinge. 
 
 When the foot is raised it is thrown outward a little, unless there 
 
IV ANGLES OF PROGRESSION. 
 
 he malformation, and when elevated until it touches the elhow, the 
 frog will be outside of the ulna. This is caused by the slight cui-va- 
 ture outward of the bones. The purpose of this is evident, as it 
 reduces the jar by bringing the concussion oblique on the joints. 
 Were the supports a straight column, it would not be long until the 
 padding between the bones would become inflamed, and in a short 
 time the bones would be diseased. The bones of the posterior part of 
 the frame are similar in respect to angles and attachments for the mus- 
 cles, although we find a greater degree of obliquity. The angle between 
 the OS innominatum — the bone which forms the slope of the hip — 
 and the femur corresponds with that of the scapula and humerus ; 
 but from the stifle to the hock there is a reverse angle, and from the 
 hock to the foot the inclination is again to the front. Thus there are 
 three pronounced angles behind to one in front, and the old writers 
 explained the necessity of this configuration to the bones being 
 connected with articulations, whereas the front was guarded by the 
 scapula being only attached to the frame with bands of muscular 
 fibre. 
 
 The instantaneous photographs have coiTected naany of the old- 
 time errors, and though the deduction was correctly drawn in that 
 particular, a great deal of the reasoning has been upset. Thus it was 
 thought that the animal received the first shock, after the air-flight, 
 on the front leg, and the yielding of the muscular attachments of the 
 scapula to the body was to correct this. In the leap proper, like 
 going over an obstacle, this is correct ; but in the flying gallop the 
 first contact is with the hind foot, and in the square trot the hind 
 and fore feet strike the eai'th so nearly together that the photograph 
 fails to note any tiling but the slightest difierence. If diflferehce there 
 is, it is ill the first touch of the hind foot. But before entering on 
 the interesting lessons of the instantaneous photographs and the fund 
 of knowledge they present, it will be as well to consider more fully 
 the frame, its covering of muscles and the tendinous and ligamentary 
 attachments. There are immense muscles enveloping the quartei's, 
 extending over the loin and following the back-bone. Tiiey form 
 protuberances, called by horsemen the gaskin or lower thigh, and in 
 some horses nearly fill the space between the ham-string and tibia. 
 
FLEXORS AND EXTENSORS. V 
 
 In places these are attached by tendons to levers, connected on the 
 fore leg to the elbow, trapezium, extei'nal sessamoid and pedal bones, 
 and in the hind leg to the patella, calcis- — point of the hock — ses- 
 samoid and pedal bones. 
 
 These attachments have a great deal to do with locomotion. Anato- 
 mists group the lower muscles as flexors and extensors — the office of 
 the former being to flex the limbs by pulling them up, the latter to 
 extend them and thrust the foot forward ; and the tendons which 
 convey the force to the extx'emities are also called flexors and exten- 
 sors. It seems to me that these terms have caused a misapplication 
 of the uses of these motors by those who have only a limited knowl- 
 edge of the functions of the muscles, and have associated the most 
 }X)wei-ful with the duty of merely flexing the limb. This is an erro- 
 neous conclusion, for the flexors of the fore legs give the last and 
 immense propulsive efi"ort to hurl the body through the air in the 
 fast gallop ; and though the fast trot depends more on those of the 
 posterior limbs, all are called into the service of progression. The 
 flexors are elongated when the foot is thrust forward by the contrac- 
 tion of the extensors, and the di-awing up of the tibres throws the 
 body along. 
 
 To properly understand the eflect of toe-weights on the trotter, it 
 will be necessary to give attention to the action of the race-horse, 
 and proving the truth of that which seems at first paradoxical, that 
 weight is a drawback to one, an advantage to the'other. And now, 
 without the aid of the instantaneous photograph I should be 
 completely at fault, without cue or scent to guide me on the trail. 
 To be fully understood by readers, it will be necessary to get the 
 cartoons published by Muybridge, for words are inadequate to give 
 a proper understanding of the subject. The illustrations of the fast 
 gallop are on one card, there being eleven pictures of Sally Gardner, 
 the eleven covering one stride. I^he cameras which caught and 
 recorded the shadow of the flying animal were placed twenty -seven 
 inches apart, the slides being opened and closed by an electrical 
 apparatus, so that there was only an exposure of less than the two- 
 thousandth part of a second, the whole stride of 265 inches being 
 
VI CELERITY PICTURED. 
 
 I 
 
 made in forty-two himdredtlis of a second, and each camera passed in 
 tbii-ty-eight thousandths of a second. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive such rapidity in taking and recording the 
 representations, though any one who will take the trouble can 
 convince the most skeptical, by a mathematical demonstration, of its 
 truthfulness. The breaking of a thread opened and closed the 
 slide, so that the question is merely a simple rule-of-three proposi- 
 tion of : If an animal is covering 633 inches in a second, how long 
 will it take to pass over a space represented by a thread the 
 twentieth of an inch in thickness? The answer gives 12,660 in a 
 second of time, so that Mr. Muybridge's claim of a two-thousandth 
 part is far inside of the truth. 
 
 As we progress in the consideration of the action, as disclosed by 
 the instantaneous photograph, it will be evident that this celerity 
 was absolutely essential, or the whole thing would be a confused 
 blur. 
 
 The background of the cartoon shows a screen divided into a 
 number of vei'tical spaces twenty-seven inches apart, numbered from 
 one to seventeen, and four horizontal lines, the lower being the 
 ground surface, the others four inches apart. There is also another 
 horizontal line which marks about the height of the mare, nearly 
 touching her croup and withers when she is at rest. If the picture 
 at rest was taken at exactly the same distance- from the camera as 
 those when she was in motion, it will prove another new feature in 
 the stride of a race-horse, viz : the height which the body is thrown 
 when in the air. 
 
 Number one of the series discloses the left fore foot on the ground 
 in advance of the line between the spaces five and six; the pastern 
 is bent so that the ankle nearly touches the gi'ound. The vertical 
 line is midway of the ankle joint, bisecting the body about four 
 inches back of the elbow, and, a» nearly as can be told, the mid- 
 dle of the saddle. The body of the rider is thrown forward 
 so that the upper part of his back is in advance of the line, 
 his head, even the back portion of it, being six inches in front. 
 The left fore leg is bent at the knee, the front part of the 
 knee being twelve inches from the ground, the heel of the upturned 
 
ERRORS CORRECTED. vii 
 
 foot eighteen inches from the ground. The hind legs are bent 
 at the hock, the toe of the right-hind foot toucliing the line which 
 mai'ks an elevation of twelve inches, about twenty inches in advance 
 of the left hind foot, which is still more elevated. The metatarsal is 
 exactly vertical, as shown by the line between the spaces three and 
 four. The horizontal line answering to the height of the mare, 
 shows above the withers, consequent upon the bending of the pastern, 
 and is also above the croup, the elevation of the hind feet being occa- 
 sioned by the bend at the hocks. Thus the whole weight is sustained 
 by the left fore leg, and nearly in the position where the last propul- 
 sive effort is made to send the bodj'^ along. As number eleven of the 
 series presents a better view of the 
 
 " LAST EFFORT,' 
 
 I will defer remarks on that until it comes up for consideration. In 
 number one the nose was exactly touching the line between spaces 
 seven and eight ; in number two the nose is advanced a third of the 
 way across space nine, showing that thirty-six inches had been cov- 
 ered, owing to the thread being wrongly placed or carried along a 
 short distance before- the tension was sufficient to break it — probably 
 the latter being the cause. This picture is a complete refutation of 
 the erroneous conception heretofoi'e prevailing among artists who per- 
 sist in delineating this part of the stride of a race-horse in the most 
 absurd manner, fore and hind feet being thrust out in impossible posi- 
 tions. " Stonehenge " and others discovered the absurdity, but fell 
 into that which was just as far from the truth. The eminent author 
 who has written- so much that is valuable in relation to the horse, 
 
VUl STONEHENGE ON THE GALLOP. 
 
 had evidently given a good deal of time to observation and close 
 study of the paces of the animal, and it was from no lack of pene- 
 tration, but the absolute impossibility for the brain to record such 
 active movements. His observations are woi*thy of being quoted, 
 showing what was considered the intelligent explanation, before in- 
 stantaneous photography had solved the problem. Stonehenge 
 writes : 
 
 " To represent the gallop pictorially, in a perfectly correct manner, 
 is almost impossible. At all events it has never yet been accom- 
 plished, the ordinary and received interpretation being altogether 
 erroneous. When cai-efully watched, the horse in full gallop will 
 be seen to extend himself very much, but not nearly to the length 
 which is assigned to him by artists. To give the idea of high speed, 
 the hind legs are thrust backwai'd and the fore legs forward, in a 
 most xmnatural position, which, if it could be assumed in reality, 
 would inevitably lead to a fall, and most probably to a broken back. 
 It is somewhat difficult to obtain a good view of a horse at his best 
 pace, without watching him through a. race-glass at a distance of a 
 quai'ter of a mile at least, for if the eye is nearer to him than this 
 the passage of the body by it is so quick that no analysis can be 
 made of the position of the sevei-al parts. But at the above dis- 
 tance it may be readily seen that the horse never assumes the at- 
 titude in which he is generally represented, of which an example is 
 given at the beginning of this article. When the hind legs are 
 thrown backwards, the fore feet are i-aised and more or less curled 
 up under the knees, as it is manifest must be the case to enable 
 them to be brought forward without raising the body from the 
 ground. In the next act, as the hind feet are brought under the 
 body, the fore legs are thrust straight before it ; and so, whichever is 
 chosen for the representation, the complete extension so generally 
 adopted must be inaccurate. It may be said that this is meant to 
 i-epi'esent the moment wlien all the feet are in the air, and theoretic- 
 ally it is possible that there may be a time when all the feet are 
 extended ; because, as in the fast galloj) the stride is twenty-fuur 
 feet long, while the horse only measures sixteen from foot to foot, it 
 follows that he must pass through eight feet without touching the 
 
THE AIK FLIGHT. IX 
 
 ground, and during that time, as of necessity his legs must move 
 faster than his body, the fore legs may change their position from 
 tlie curled-up one described above to the extended one represented 
 by all painters as proper to the gallop. Observation alone can there- 
 fore settle this question ; but, as I before remarked, a race-glass at a 
 distance of a quarter of a mile enables a careful observer to satisfy 
 himself that our received ideas of the extended gallop are incorrect." 
 Following this is a jjicture of a horse with fore legs bent at the 
 knee, and nearly parallel, and the hind legs thrust out behind. In 
 number two of the instantaneous }»hotographs, the hind and fore legs 
 are all doubled up under the body by being bent at the knees and 
 hocks. The near fore foot, which is nearly ready to leave the ground 
 in number one, just touches the line which marks twelve inches, and 
 that and the right hind foot are in proximity, the hind foot being a 
 few inches in advance and the other being only a short distance be- 
 hind. The right fore foot is much bent at the knee and pastern, and 
 is the furthest fi-om the ground, the hind feet a little more elevated 
 than the left fore foot. The knee of the fore leg in advance 
 and the hock of the near hind leg are about sixty-two inches apart, 
 a striking difference from the ideal of tlie artist, or the position 
 Stonehenge noted through the race-glass at a distance. The top of 
 the withers and croup and the lower part of the muzzle touch the 
 line representing the height. 
 
 IN THE AIR. 
 
 The next picture, number three, the nose i.s on the line between 
 spaces nine and ten, equalizing the two pictures as to the distance 
 
X A NEW ILLUSTRATION. 
 
 both should be. Three of the feet ai'e still higher from the ground, 
 and the back is very little above the higher horizontal line. The 
 right fore knee is a little further forward, and that foot is not so 
 high. The hind feet have been carried further forward, one in front 
 of the other, and the right stifle is close to the abdomen. 
 
 Number four gives another new illustration, and would be thought 
 highly absurd if the proof of its accuracy was not so emphatic. The 
 right hind foot has struck the ground, the toe being nine inches in 
 front of the line between the spaces eight and nine, eighty-five inches 
 from where the fore foot was placed, and, consequently, showing this 
 much of a flight through the air when all the feet were ofi" the ground. 
 The other hind foot is fifteen inches above the surface of the track, 
 and in advance of the one which is on the ground, the right fore leg, 
 from the knee down, being nearly vertical, the arm horizontal, while 
 the other fore leg is much bent at knee and pastern, so that the sole 
 of the foot is uppermost and level. Thus the 
 
 FIRST CONTACT 
 
 After the body is hurled through the air, is on one hind foot, and all 
 our ideas of concussion and impinging force proven to be incorrect. 
 This hind foot is thrust so far forward that the vertical line which 
 strikes the ankle also strikes the cantle of the saddle, the foot being 
 placed immediately under the rider, without much inclination of the 
 pastern. This thrusting of the feet so far forward is to sustain the 
 equilibrium as much as possible, and to give the greatest contractive 
 force of the muscles. 
 
 In the next picture, number five, the same hind foot is on the 
 
ARTISTICAL FALLACIES. xi 
 
 ground, the pasterns so much bent that the fetlock touclies : the other 
 hind foot on the twelve-inch line, the fore feet more extended. 
 Between the two illustrations, five and six, the near hind foot has 
 come to the ground, and in six both hind feet touch. There is a 
 space of thirty-eight inches between these feet, the right fore leg is 
 extended to its extreme capacity, the heel touching the twelve-inch 
 line, and the toe elevated so that the sole forms an angle with the 
 horizontal line of forty-five degrees. The left fore leg is not so much 
 bent at the knee as in the preceding two pictures, and the croup is 
 three inches below the horizontal line which marks the height, some 
 fifteen hands and an inch. Number seven shows the left hind foot 
 and right fore foot on the ground, enclosing ninety inches of space 
 between them, the other feet elevated and about one hundred and 
 thirty-five inches apart. There is rather more sinkijig of the body 
 below the line than in the preceding, with the head very nearly in 
 the same position. 
 
 Figure number eight comes nearer the fancy of the artist tlian 
 either of the others, and yet it is so difierent that it is still more 
 conclusive testimony of the absurdity of the portraiture of the gi-eat 
 limners of the horse. The right fore foot is on the gi-oimd, the leg 
 only a trifle ofi" the perpendicular, that little inclination being back- 
 ward from the foot. The other three are extended, the right fore 
 foot projecting in fi-ont of the nose, and elevated fifteen inches, the 
 toe turned up. The left hind foot has just left its hold, and is four 
 inches above where it rested. The right is raised sixteen inches, and 
 at the very furthest exti-emity of its reach. Between the toes of 
 those feet which are the furthest stretched apart are five and one- 
 third spaces, equal to one hundred and forty-four inches ; but this is 
 aggravated, owing to the angle from the camera spreading and cover- 
 ing too much space on the screen. Before this was seen, an error 
 arose in thinking that the hind foot had a retrograde action, and in 
 the analysis of the stride on the back of the card are loops, showing 
 this " back-action " movement. From the first Governor Stanford 
 insisted that it could not be so, as all the movements of progression 
 were forward, and closer reasoning established the truth of the posi- 
 tion. In the Pictorial Gallery of English Eace-Horses ai-e pictures 
 
^11 THE LEADING LEG. 
 
 of Miss Letty, painted by F. C. Turner ; Industry, A. Cooper, Royal 
 Academician, and Atilla, C. Hancock the artist, tlie horses represent- 
 ed as galloping fast. All are after the stereotyped model, and if one 
 fore foot was brought to the ground, with the leg perpendicular, they 
 would be nearly in accordance with truth. But it is also just as sure 
 that artists will stick to the old ideals for some time to come. 
 
 The pastern of the leg which supports the body is bent to a hori- 
 zontal position, and in the next picture, number nine, the other fore 
 foot is on the point of striking. This is the " leading leg ;" the one 
 from which the last bound was made, and when it reaches the ground 
 the two imprints will mark the length of the stride. It requires two 
 more representations, however, to give the full understanding. In 
 number nine the body has been carried over the sup})orting leg until 
 the foot is under the saddle, both hind feet are elevated to about the 
 same height, and the croup is within two inches of the upper hori- 
 zontal line. In number ten the left fore foot sustains the weight, 
 having very nearly the same position as the right fore leg in number 
 eight, but in place of the extension of the other fore leg, it has a 
 backward inclination, the knee bended so that the back tendon is on 
 the line which is twelve inches from the ground, the heel being above 
 that line. The hind feet have become separated, though the hocks 
 are near together, and the croup is a trifle higher than in the pre- 
 ceding picture. This is the position from which the cut of the last 
 efibrt was made. 
 
 The last of the series I hold to be the most important of any. 
 The eleven pictures give more than one stride, and consequentl}' 
 every portion of it is delineated. In number one the nose of the 
 mare is marked by the line between seven and eight ; in number 
 eleven the line between seventeen and eighteen strikes her eye. 
 This would give two hundred and seventy-eight inches to cover the 
 stride of two hundred and sixty-five. More than this, the eleven 
 cameras embrace a space of over five Jiundred inches, the horse being 
 the centre figure in each picture. As was stated before, the toe of 
 the left fore foot, in number one, was sliglitly in advance of the line 
 between five and six, and in ten it is found on the line between 
 fifteen and sixteen. In number eleven the foot is in the same place, 
 
THE FINAL IMPULSE. XUl 
 
 but the body lias been moved forward about thirty inches, and u 
 perpendicuhir from the toe just touches the very back part of 
 the saddle. The other fore leg has been brought forward so that the 
 arm is at right-angles with the surfiice of the gi-ound, the knee bent 
 so much that the foot is considerably above it, in part owing to tlie 
 bending of the pastern. All of that fore leg is above the twelve- 
 inch line. The hind legs are drawn iip, and though one hock is 
 raised the hiofhest, the feet both touch the horizontal line a foot from 
 the ground, with no pei'ceptible difference in .the elevation. The 
 position so fortunately caught by the camera at the right moment, 
 is just as the body commences its flight through the air, and which 
 will not be broken by contact with the earth until eighty-five inches 
 have been covered. The last impulse of the hind legs to aid in this 
 flight through the air was given one hundred and fortj'-two inches 
 back, so that it is clear the great motor is in the fore extremities, 
 and the old notion that the quarters and hind legs were the driving 
 power, the fore legs only needed for props, to be rolled out of the 
 way, is effectually exploded. It may appear tiresome to spend so 
 much time on this feature of the action, though I think it will be 
 found well worthy of our attention to give it proper consideration, 
 and I shall be disappointed if I do not show, that in connection with 
 other matters, it has a good deal to do with the explanations why 
 weight on the feet is pi-ejvidicial to the race-horse, and, in some in- 
 stances, an absolute essential for hoi-ses to trot fast. 
 
 Those who have the Muy bridge photographs and have accompanied 
 the description with a comparison of the pictures, Avill understand 
 the action, but I despair of making it clear without their aid. 
 Still, I trust that some idea can be derived of the true manner 
 in which a horse gallops, aided by the three cuts which Gov. 
 Stanford and Mr. Muybridge have kindly given me permission 
 to use. Thus, the body is flung through the air for nearly one- 
 third of the stride, the last and greatest force given by the fore-legs. 
 While in the flight the legs are drawn up, hocks and knees bent, and 
 the feet close together. There is a change in the position of the 
 legs while the body is suspended in air, and one hind foot is thrust as 
 far forward as it can be advanced, and the first contact is made with 
 
XIV AN UNAIDED MOTOR. 
 
 that foot. In a very short time, marked by a space of thirty-eight 
 inches, the other hind foot comes to the aid of its fellow, and when 
 the first that struck is raised a fore foot is down. Thus there have 
 been both hind feet on the gi'ound at one time, and then a fore and 
 hind foot on opposite sides sustain the weight, though placed widely 
 apart — ninety inches. The hind foot does not leave the ground until 
 the fore foot is brought under the brisket, and then fifty-two inches 
 in advance of that the other foot strikes, but evidently not until the 
 first has left the gi'ound. This is proven by the space. Notwith- 
 standing the hind legs ai-e so much longer, thirty-eight inches mark 
 the step, and the photograph not only shows them on the ground at 
 the same time, but from the placing, proving that both remain 
 there for a period, uniting the strength of all the muscles. From 
 the elbow to the ground an average-sized horse will measure thirty- 
 seven inches, and after due allowance is made for the further exten- 
 sion which the straightening of the humerus affoi-ds, fifty-two inches 
 is a greater space than can be covered by the fore feet remaining on 
 the around at the same time. Now comes into action the same foot 
 which lent the last impulse at the commencement of the stride, and 
 the strain on that is far greater than either the hind legs or the other 
 fore leg has to bear. There has been none to ease it, or to bear a 
 portion of the burden, and though the othei-s have given the impetus, 
 the last supreme effoi-t is made by that. And made Avith a great 
 proportion of the weight — -at least two-thirds of that of horse and 
 rider — to be raised at a disadvantage. Is it any wonder that horses 
 " change their legs " so that the other may do its share of the 
 labor 1 Is it surprising that there should be so many " bowed 
 tendons " and " sprung sinews f Under the teachings of the in- 
 stantaneous photographs, is it at all remarkable that there should be 
 twenty race-horses go wrong in front to one behind 1 We can now 
 see what these great muscles are for which clothe the shoulder, and 
 which are bunched up on the arm, and the powerful tendons at- 
 tached to the knee, ankle and foot. The load has to be raised from 
 this one leg two and a half times in every second, and it is this 
 velocity which tells " the pace which kills." 
 
 But there is a far gi-eater velocity which is not so well understood, 
 
THE PROBLEM SOLVED. XV 
 
 and which is not so easily explained. If a horse is running at the 
 rate of a mile in 1:40, and he strides two hundred and sixty-five 
 inches, it is easy to determine the number of times ejvch leg is moved, 
 A timing-watch, tape-line, pencil, paper, and a little arithmetical 
 knowledge are all that are necessarv. 
 
 The position of the feet have been noted. "We have seen that the 
 fore foot left the ground when it was almost as far back as the loin, 
 drawn up and thrown forward until struck again under the nose. 
 The celerity of this movement is almost beyond calculation, and until 
 Mr. Muybridge perfected his machinery there was a confused blur. 
 The plates had to be made so "sensitive" that the shadow of a can- 
 non-hall would be transfixed as it flew past, and Jove invoked to 
 lend his lightning to open and close the slides which guarded the 
 plates from contamination until the moment arrived, when the gro- 
 tesque pictures could be produced with defined outlines. I will not 
 venture at pi-esent on an estimate of the rapidity with which the feet 
 are moved. That it is fast, all will admit who will give any thought 
 to the subject. 
 
 Here is the key to the answer. In this lies the solution of the 
 problem of the acceleration of the speed in the race-horse when shoes 
 are replaced with plates — in this the vindication of the old proverl) 
 "that an ounce on the heel is worse than a pound on the back." 
 
 And now we will try an experiment : I take a cane, the length of 
 the fore leg of a horse. It weighs eight ounces — one foot of the 
 upper end balancing the other two feet. I move it through the air 
 with ease, bringing it from a resting position into fast motion as 
 quickly as I can, and I can stop it at the end of the circuit without 
 expending a great deal of force. I reverse it, placing the heavy end 
 on the floor. It not only requires a good deal more force to over- 
 come the inertia, but more accordingly to stop it when it reaches the 
 desired i)oint. I can switch it without fatigue for some time — when 
 clubbed it soon tires the muscles. 
 
 Fatigue has the effect to cause a sharper action of the muscles. 
 When a horse is tiring, he commences to labor. The smooth, clean 
 action is lost, and he "clambers," "sprawls," and then "goes all 
 abroad." The horse when fresh has carried his rider, as the old 
 
XVI THE OUNCE ON THE HEEL. 
 
 liuntsman expressed it, " as smooth as oil;" when "done," the loin 
 Vmmps against the saddle, and the knees are raised with a spasmodic 
 jerk. 
 
 When I come to the consideration of the effects of v/eight on the 
 feet of trotters, I will give some illustrations which I have met in 
 my own practice, and those Avhich have come under my observation 
 in that of others. It is needless to s})end time in showing that race- 
 horses can run faster with weight off their feet, as that is acknowl- 
 edged by all whose experience is worth referring to ; but the cause of 
 it has been more or less a mysteiy. Heretofore I thought it was 
 entirely owing to the change in action, and that a few ounces, more 
 or less, on the feet of so powei'ful an animal as a horse could not 
 load him to such a difference. But now I firmly believe that even if 
 the action were unchanged, the actual difference in weight would be 
 detrimental, and that the ounce on the heel nuist haA^e its effect. 
 As I progress, there will be comparisons between the action of the 
 race-horse and that of tlie trotter, and to avoid repetition we will 
 now see what the photographs teach in relation to the trotting gait. 
 
CHAPTER II. — Action of the Fast Trotter. 
 
 More than two hundred years ago, the Duke of Newcastle de- 
 scribed the trot in the following words, which are copied literally 
 from his " New Method to Dress Horses : " 
 
 " Secondly. In a Trott. The Action of his Leggs, is, Two Leggs 
 in the Ayre, and Two Leggs upon the Ground, at the same Time 
 moved Cross; Fore and Hinder Leg Cross; which is the Motion of his 
 Leggs a Swifter Walk : For, in a Walk, and a Trott, the Motion of the 
 Horses Legges are all one, which his Leggs make Cross, Two in the. 
 Ayre Cross, and Two upon the Ground Cross, at the same time ;. 
 Fore-Legg and Hinder-Legg Cross ; and every Remove changes his. 
 Leggs ; Cross : as those that were in the Ayre Cross, are now Set 
 Down, and those that were upon the Ground Cross, are now puU'd 
 up in the Ayre Cross. And this is the Just Motion of a Horse's. 
 Leggs in a Trott." Making due allowance for the quaint form of 
 expression, capitals and italics, the trot is accurately described and 
 the diagonal motions correctly given. 
 
 It is safe to say the "Thrice Noble, High and Puissant PPvINCE, 
 WILLIAM CAVENDISHE," as he is styled on the title page, never 
 saw a fast trot, or he would have given a fuller description, as he 
 dwells on the action of the gallop, describing it just as accurately as. 
 any of the latter day writers befoi-e instantaneous photography was, 
 known. 
 
 The first series of photographs — those which are mounted on cards, 
 and which were for sale by Mr. Muybridge — contained twelve repre- 
 sentations. The cameras wei-e placed twenty-one inches apai't, with, 
 the vertical lines on the background twenty -one inches apart, and 
 three horizontal lines, marking four, eight and twelve inches of ele- - 
 ration. In the later series the cameras were doubled, but as none 
 of the latter have been offered for sale yet, I will confine the expla- 
 
Xviii ■ A SQUARE TROTTER. 
 
 nations to the first card. The subject was Abe Edginton, a horse 
 which has a record of 2:23f, and as square a trotter as can be found. 
 He was probably trotting faster than a 2:24 gait when the pictures 
 were taken, as Marvin sent him along at his best rate. In place of 
 threads stretched across the track, wires were used, sunk below the 
 ground, excepting a width of about two feet on the inner side, in 
 which they were exposed. The sulky wheel, when it touched the 
 wire, established the electi-ical circuit, and with so much greater uni- 
 formity than when threads were used, that there is more exactness, 
 and each picture is a i*epresentation taken in front of the camera. 
 
 No. 1, of course, is the position he was in when opposite the first 
 camera, and it was when the left fore foot and right hind foot were 
 on the ground ; the fore leg only a trifle from the pei-pendicular, the 
 divergence being backward, and the hind leg well advanced under 
 the body, with considerable bend in the hock. But inasmuch as 
 there is .an exact duplication in the stride of the square trotter, in 
 fact two strides in what is universally called one, there is only a 
 necessity for examining one-half of the figures on the chart. And in 
 order to commence about the same period as in that of the race-horse, 
 viz : when the " last efibrt " is made to hurl the body through the 
 air, No. 3 will be 
 
 THE INITIAL. 
 
 In this, the line which divides the vertical spaces 10 and 11 is 
 touched by the eye of the horse, as is also his lower jaw, the mouth 
 being open, doubtless, owing to the tension on the bit. His right 
 hind foot is in space 5, apparently about midway of the space which 
 would bring it 115 inches back from his eye, and nearly at the ex- 
 treme limit of its backward reach. The final propulsive spring has 
 
SCALPING." xix 
 
 been made and it is ready to be lifted from its position. The fore 
 foot on the same side of the body is as near as may be in the centre 
 of space 9, the foot fourteen inches above the ground. There is a 
 slight curve at the pastern, throwing the foot a little back, though 
 the cannon is in a vertical line, and the knee is bent so that the ai-m 
 is, as nearly as may be, in a horizontal position. The other fore foot, 
 the near one, which left the ground only a short time before the 
 hind, is in space 7, and is elevated ten inches. It is thi-own back 
 some two feet behind the elbow, and it is inside of the left hind leg, 
 in juxtaposition to the ankle of the hind leg. This is the point 
 when " scalping " of the coronet, or wounding of the ankle, shin, or 
 hock occurs, and when the inquiry progresses further, this will be 
 more clearly shown. The left hind foot is within six inches of the 
 ground surface, and is about four feet in advance of the other hind 
 foot. In the next picture all feet are 
 
 OFF THE GROUND. 
 
 Owing probably to the wire which was to open the slide of the 
 camera, No. 4, being placed too far from No. 3, the representation 
 covers a little more space than twenty-one inches. In all of the 
 others the back of the driver and the eye of the horse are bisected by 
 the lines between the spaces; in tliis they are a few inches in advance 
 of the line. 
 
 The right hind foot, which was in the act of leaving the gi-ound, 
 twenty-four inches back, is now raised until it is fully sixteen inclies 
 up, and it is above the pasterft some four inches. The p;\stern is so 
 much bent that the sole of the foot is turned up, but from the pas- 
 
XX OCCIDENT AT SPEED. 
 
 terns to the stifle the front part of the leg forms a straight line. Tlie 
 right fore foot is thrust forward so that there is only a slight bend at 
 the knee, and the toe is within eight inches^ of the surface. The 
 feet, on the same side of the body, are about ten feet apart, the front 
 being across the line between spaces 11 and 12, the hind in the cen- 
 tre of space 6. The left fore foot is in space 9, twenty inches from 
 the ground, four inches higher than the knee, the cannon is horizon- 
 tal, the a)'m forming an angle rather more acute than a right angle. 
 The left hind foot is within four inches of the gi'ound and under the 
 elevated fore foot. This figure is nearer the artist's conception of the 
 fast trotter in motion than any of the others, but the next is a start- 
 ling*innovation on previous opinions. 
 
 The first picture of a trotter at speed, which was engi'aved from a 
 photogra})h taken by Muy bridge, was that of Occident (see cut), and 
 the fifth of this series is nearly the same. In that of Occident the feet 
 had come in contact with the gi'ound ; in this the hind foot is almost 
 touching, the fore being a trifle higher. At first sight it does not con- 
 vey the least idea of speed, or even motion, and when first published 
 elicited ridicule from nearly every one who fancied they had a perfect 
 knowledge of the horse. Had those of the gallop preceded the trot, 
 there would have been still more exuberant jollity, but by the time 
 they made their appearance people had given some thought to the 
 subject, and though many are still sceptical, a man of any intelli- 
 gence who has examined the representations, must acknowledge their 
 truth. 
 
 While the feet on opposite sides touch the ground at so nearly the 
 same time that the sounds of the contact is merged into one in the 
 square trotter, the hind foot probably touches first. The other hind 
 foot is thrust backward five feet behind it, and is elevated fourteen 
 inches. The raised fore foot nearly touches the breast, the knee 
 folded so as to make an acute angle of the arm and cannon, the bend- 
 ing of the pastern giving the foot the greater elevation. In considering 
 the effects of the weights, this is one of the most important positions 
 to study, as the flexors have performed their duty, and from thence 
 the contra-acting muscle will carry it forward. The sixth figui'e on 
 the card — the fourth which I have taken to illustrate the stride — ^is 
 
"knee-action." xxi 
 
 nearly the same as the first, excepting, of course, the reversal of the 
 feet. The feet on the ground are firmly planted, the body having 
 been carried over them until the front leg is nearly perpendicular 
 from the ankle up; the pastern is inclined backwards until it is nearly 
 horizontal. 
 
 The hind pastern is still more bent, so that the ankle is lower than 
 the coronet, and as the foot is under the loin, the hock has to be bent 
 in order to advance the foot to the furthest point. The other hind 
 leg is in an apparently awkward position. From the stifle to the 
 hock it is nearly parallel with the body, and the cannon is vertical? 
 the pastern being still crooked. This foot is on its forward journey, 
 having been carried from space 7 to space 9. 
 
 THE RAISED FORE FOOT 
 
 Is still nearly as high as in the preceding figure, and though it has 
 not been carried as far propoitionately forward as the hind, it is now 
 on a line with the arm of the other leg. The sole of the foot is close 
 to the arm of the same leg, the arm level, the bending of the knee 
 and pastern sharp. 
 
 In the next picture, the body having been carried twenty-one 
 inches forward, the feet on the gi-ound are placed that much back 
 relatively. This has straightened the pastern of the fore leg some- 
 what, that of the hind being still down. The fore leg is now exei-t- 
 ing its final impulse ere it leaves the ground, and the straightening 
 of the pastern of the hind leg will complete the application of the 
 force. The non-motors, during this period of the stride, viz : the left 
 fore and right hind foot have been advanced, the former is on the line 
 which divides spaces 13 and 14, and the other on the line between 
 10 and 11. The fore is raised to a height of eighteen inches, and is 
 
XXll A COMPROMISE GAIT. 
 
 two feet in front of the other fore foot, so that it must have moA'ed 
 rapidly during this short period ; and this motion, if I am not greatly 
 in error, has a bearing on the qiiestion of the effects of weight, which, 
 however, will come in more appropriately hereafter. The hind foot 
 is advanced imtil it is parallel with the other hind foot, and elevated 
 some distance, so that the hock of that leg shows above. 
 
 The next figure is nearly a duplicate of No. 3 on the card, the only 
 difference being that scarcely half of the stride has been made. By 
 actual measurement from between the prints of the left fore foot the 
 stride was 18|^ feet — 222 inches. The eye of the horse was on the 
 line between 10 and 11 in No. 3, and in figure No. 8 it is on the line 
 between 15 and 16, five spaces, equal to 105 inches. Six inches 
 further would give an exact duplicate. 
 
 A lesson from this is gained. In No. 3 the right fore and left 
 hind feet wei*e together ; in No. 8 they are at least six inches apart, 
 showing that at this portion of the stride the hind foot is in rapid 
 motion forwards, outside of the general progi*ession, while the fore 
 foot is moving slowly^ that movement being principally upwards. 
 
 I desire to call particular attention to this fact, that when the fore 
 foot first leaves the ground it is elevated more slowly than the hind 
 advances, not giving room for the hind foot and leg to get in a proj)er 
 position ; and in some cases it is so ddatory that the front part of the 
 hind foot, and the shoe or sole of the front are brought in contact ; a 
 blow on the horn causes pain, or the coronet is wounded. Tf the 
 hind foot is carried wide enough to escape, the ankle shin or hock 
 receives the injury, and in either case the animal endeavors to remedy 
 the trouble by a change in the action. Unfortunately it has not 
 progressed far enoiigh to understand that this can be accomplished 
 by quickening the motion of the fore feet ; and knowing that a run 
 or canter does not entail the injury, the thoughts are first directed to 
 relief in that way. But from having been punished for forsaking 
 the trot, a compromise is tried, and "running behind," "single foot- 
 ing," etc., is resorted to. Before entering into this portion of the 
 argument, it may be as well to review the trotting action as exempli- 
 fied by a horse which can show that action properly, and is fast 
 enough to display the peculiarities. The slow trot, such as the Duke 
 
" JOGGING." xxiii 
 
 of Newcastle desciibed, is entii-ely difterent from that which will 
 cai'ry a horse a mile in 2:20 ; though, of course, there are points of 
 similarity. How to perfect that slow natural movement into the 
 flying trot is the important question, and foi'tunately Mr. Muybiidge 
 has given a series of eight pictures representing the same hoi-se, Abe 
 Edgington, "jogging" at an 8-minute gait. Figures 3 and 6 of that 
 series show very plainly the danger of injury at even this slow rate, 
 and explain why young horses endeavor to avoid the trouble by 
 "hitching," etc., at the outset of their education. 
 
 In No. 3 the left hind foot is on the point of striking the ground 
 directly under the right fore foot, the toe of which so nearly touches 
 the coronet that there ife no separation visible. In No. 6 the other 
 hind foot is coming down, and the left fore foot has the toe still 
 resting, with the bottom of the shoe verfical, and in close proximity 
 to the wall of the hind foot. These two figures are the nearest ap- 
 proach to the feet being all off the ground, and there is very little 
 elevation of the hind feet di^i'ing any part of the stride. The fore 
 foot, at its highest position, is only a little over twelve inches from 
 the ground, and the forward motion is obtained with very little 
 bending of the knee in comparison with that which marks the faster 
 pace. There is also a great lack of energy, as the body is in the air 
 for so short a pei-iod that a few inches measure the space, and the 
 hind foot is slightly, if at all, advanced beyond the imprint of the 
 fore. The stride is about eleven feet, so that it is evident that the 
 gi*eat acceleration of the speed is due more to the rapidity of action 
 than to the ground covered. " Jogging " is an expressive charactei*- 
 ization of this gait, as it calls into service only a small portion of the 
 muscular force of the animal. This is the gi-oundwork, however, to 
 build the supei-structure upon ; and the slow gait must be studied in 
 order to discover what is necessary to perfect it into the faster. The 
 student will perceive that the greatest troul)le is in the dilatoriness 
 of the front feet ; and without the photographs he will discover that 
 the hind feet are brought into close proximity with the fore. IMany 
 horses " forge," strike the toe of the hind shoe against the web of the 
 front, and in spite of the art of the shoeing smith or the skill of the 
 equestrian, persist in the habit. Something may be effected by 
 
XXIV FORGING. 
 
 " throwing them more on their haunches," and compelling cleaner 
 action by a tight rein and the application of the spur ; though many- 
 remain incorrigible under the best hands, and as soon as the momen- 
 tary fear of punishment passes away they relapse into their custom- 
 ary slovenly paces. Horses which have naturally a long stride are 
 more prone to exhibit this style of trotting than those which are 
 moi'e prompt, and hence the Morgans were favorites on account of 
 the spirited manner in which they handled their feet. This forging 
 takes place soon after the fore foot has left the ground, and imme- 
 diately before the hind foot is brought down. If the front foot can 
 be got out of the way the remedy is at hand ; and, without dwelling 
 longer on the phases of action, excepting as they are presented by the 
 consideration of artificial appliances, I will proceed to that part of 
 the subject. Without a full series of the pictorial representations of 
 horses in motion, I despair of making it entirely intelligible, though 
 I think enough has been shown to base views upon which will be 
 found logical. • 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER III. — Action Controlled by Artificial 
 
 Appliances. 
 
 It is oftentimes troublesome to give a clear explanation of a sub- 
 ject with which one is familiar. There are questions which test the 
 scrutinizing faculties to the utmost capacity, and which, after years 
 of study and many experiments, are still in doubt. Simple as it may 
 appear to those who have not endeavored to unravel the mystery, the 
 reasons for ai*tificial appliances controlling the action of horses are 
 not clearly appai-ent, and conjecture has to play a prominent part in 
 the argument. A good deal of the reasoning is forced to be hypo- 
 thetical, depending on analogy, and trusting to laws which govern in 
 cases which are somewhat similar. Not the least perplexing of these 
 questions is the effect of weight on the feet of horses, especially the 
 power of governing trotting action by the application of weight on par- 
 ticular parts of the foot. The latest inventions of compact, metallic 
 masses, placed on the outside of the hoof, have effected wonderful 
 changes, and in so many instances that the advantages are beyond cavil ; 
 and the trainer who does not avail himself of the benefits to be derived 
 from a proper use of them, is far behind the requirements of the age. 
 From their use fast trotters have been multiplied, and speed and steadi- 
 ness resulted. There are so many illustrations of the benefits which have 
 followed their adaptation, that there is little necessity for rehearsing 
 the numerous instances in which they have proven successful. Every 
 observing trainer of trotters is aware of what has been accomplished ; 
 every man who has paid any attention to the trotters of the last ten 
 years, must concede the wonderful effects, if he has pursued the 
 investigation with an ordinary amount of intelligence. Trainers, 
 breeders, and fanciers of the trotting-horse have witnessed injuries 
 resulting, as well as good ofiices ; and before the ai)plication of the 
 weight was properly understood, it was thought the drawbacks were 
 
XXVI MENTAL INFLUENCES. 
 
 more to be feared than the advantages justified. These have been 
 overcome by a better imderstanding, and the knowledge which years 
 of experience have brought has reduced the casualties to a minimum. 
 In all probability, there are many instances where the use of weights 
 has saved the animal which wore them, by doing away with the 
 necessity of harsher methods, and by lessening the strain which 
 would follow harder woi'k. 
 
 I shall take the ground that the good results which follow the 
 use of toe- weights are dependent, first, on mental influences ; sec- 
 ondly, on mechanical effects. The former I hold to as by far the 
 most potential of the two, and the grand secret of the success which 
 has resulted from their judicious application. It may be better, per- 
 haps, to state that, the effect of toe-weights is to fix a different 
 habit of action in the mind, the intelligence of the pupil being 
 called into requisition, and this is supplemented by mechanical laws 
 which aid in the development. I am aware that this position will 
 be thought untenable by nearly every one who has studied the sub- 
 ject, though I feel the utmost confidence in the correctness of the 
 statement, and will present the ai"guments with a degree of positive- 
 ness which has arisen from long study and careful examinations. 
 I was forced to this conclusion from absolute necessity. That there 
 was some particular configuration which required weight on the feet 
 to counteract the wrong formation, was the first idea which came to 
 my mind, and from the pacing gait being so susceptible of a change 
 to the fast trot, there was some foundation to commence upon. 
 From many pacers having a form which differed from that which 
 is usually seen in good horses, we are prone to associate these pecu- 
 liarities with the pacing gait. A sloping quarter, the stifles placed 
 low, a good deal of bend in the hock, and with high withers, narrow 
 chest, and fore-legs close together, is called the pacing form. But 
 the very fastest pacers I have seen were of a different pattern. 
 Longfellow, Jim Brown, Nimrod and Hiram Tracy are straighter in 
 the quarters than a majority of trotters, and though Defiance, Lady 
 St. Clair and Ben Butler have a good deal of angle in the innomi- 
 natuni, it is not enough to attract particular notice. Those were 
 all fast pacers, and Defiance has the fastest record at both gaits, 
 having paced in 2:17f and trotted in 2:24. 
 
" CONVERTED PACERS. XXVU 
 
 There was a pacer owned in Chicago which liad a pacing record of 
 2:30, though he could go very much faster in a brush than that rate. 
 He was driven by the side of Prairie Boy, a trotter with a recoi'd of 
 2:32. The owner of the team had a f;xrm some twelve miles from 
 the city, and, returning from thence the same day he drove there, the 
 horse was wearied. Part of the distance there was deep sand, which 
 increased the weariness of the pacer, and, before he got home, he 
 chansred his ffait to a trot. This was the first instance when he had 
 shown any ca})acity to leave his natural method of progression, and 
 his driver was a good deal astonished at the change. The next day 
 he drove him and his mate to the track — the Chicago Driving Park — 
 and, much to the surprise of every one who witnessed the perfor- 
 mance, he not only trotted, but could carry Prairie Boy oflT his feet 
 and force him to a sharp run. After that display, he was bought by 
 some parties and put in training, and there was not the least difii- 
 culty in making him trot. It was claimed that he showed a quarter 
 in thirty-one seconds, and it was cei-tain that there was not a hoi'se 
 on the track which he had the least trouble in beating a long way off 
 through the stretch. From some internal trouble, he could not keep 
 up his rate further than half a mile, and was entirely useless for 
 track purposes. This was before the era of toe-weights, and there 
 was no change from the shoes he wore on the road. In those same 
 shoes he paced until he became wearied from the journey, and the 
 deep sand completed the lesson. 
 
 In this case there was a preternatural adaptation to benefit at once 
 from instructions — something of the same character which enables 
 Blind Tom to play a difiicult piece from hearing it once — and is such 
 an unusual occurrence that it may never be witnessed again. Still, 
 it has a bearing on the question, for it is palpable that there was 
 nothing in the waj of this horse trotting fast excepting the knowl- 
 edge of the proper action which was requisite to enable him to do so, 
 and this knowledge came as nearly intuitively as it could. There 
 was no " balancing " necessary, no change of centre requii-ed ; the 
 machinery was there, ready to run whenever the brain took the 
 direction. The case of Defiance presents some similarity to the one 
 recited. He had paced in races for yeai-s, gaining his reconl of 2:1 7 J 
 
XXVm PACING TROTTING. 
 
 in 1873, and in 1872 he made a dead heat of two miles with Long- 
 fellow in 4:47|. In 1874 he paced a number of races, and was 
 taken East, returning in the Fall. 
 
 After his return he was placed in training to trot, and fi'om the 
 first he could trot very fast, but owing to his long schooling at the 
 pacing gait, it was a troublesome affair for his teacher to overcome 
 the settled propensity. He was weighted quite heavily, and when 
 not permitted to pace he would take a hand gallop, and appeared to 
 have come to a determination to be as annoying as possible. His 
 trainer was a man of a great deal of experience, of an equable tem- 
 perament, and with confidence enough in himself to pursue the course 
 his judgment dictated. After patiently endeavoring to educate him 
 by the gentle method, he adopted the plan of running him until he 
 became so tired that he could neither run nor pace, and by that means 
 he succeeded in educating him to the desii-ed point. The weight 
 made racing very fatiguing, and it was inimical to the lateral 
 motion ; and when it came to the choice between the gallop and the 
 trot, the latter was adopted. As early in 1875 as April 29th, he 
 trotted a race against four competitors, winning in " straight heats " 
 in 2:38, 2:34|, 2:35|. On May 1st he was again victorious, in the 
 improved time of 2:28f, 2:30^, 2.271 ; and on May 11th, he trotted 
 against Abe Edginton, in a match for ten thousand dollars a side. 
 It was a very remarkable race, in which it took five closely-contested 
 heats to decide it. Defiance won the first in 1:M\ ; the second, in a 
 jog, in 2:29, and retained the lead in the last until only a short dis- 
 tance from the goal. Every heat was fought for inch by inch, and 
 owing to the track being soft on the inside, a great deal of ground 
 was lost on the turns by the horses being driven on the extreme 
 outside, which added at least two seconds to the time of each heat. 
 In one of the heats he lost, Defiance broke not very far from the 
 score, and finished on a pace, as much probably owing to his driver 
 not caring to make an effort to recover him in the few vards between 
 the mishap and the wire. In the scoring for the five heats, he/)nly 
 came up once on the pace, and at the finish, amid the yells of thou- 
 sands of spectators, he was as constant as a clock. The finish of the 
 fifth heat is thus described in the account published at the time: 
 
AN EXCITING HEAT. Xxix 
 
 " Both are now fairly in the straight work, and the grey is gaininf». 
 He is surely gaining, yet there are no shouts from enthusiastic parti- 
 sans. It is too exciting for cheers. Half-way home EJginton leatls ; 
 he is half a length in advance ; he is increasing his advantage. 
 Muscles, lungs, heart, brain, all are tired in the bay. You can hear 
 his sobs as he approaches the outcome. He reels ; his ears droop ; 
 his eye is bloodshot as he staggers over the score a length behind 
 Edginton, who has won in 2:26." This was a surprising race for a 
 horse to make whose ti'otting education had only occupied a few 
 months ; but there were other drawliacks to contend against. The 
 ankles of the hind legs were all " stove up," double the natural size, 
 and so badl}- "cocked " that the weight was thrown on the toe to an 
 undue degree. Notwithstanding these ailments and the hard race 
 with Edginton, the day following he took part in the 2:27 race 
 against Sisson Girl, Ajax and George Treat. Strong elastic 
 stockings were worn on his ankles, binding them so rigidly that many 
 thought they were an injury. He won the first heat in 2:26^, in 
 the teeth of a heavy gale, and led in the second to beyond the half- 
 mile pole, when he made a break, and refused to trot again until he 
 was a double distance out. In the match against Edginton, there 
 was 196 pounds in the sulky, and 190 pounds in all of the other 
 races. On December 11, 1875, he trotted against St. James. When 
 driven by Hickok he scoi-ed 2:27 — 2:30 — 2:24. All tliis was accom- 
 plished within a year after the commencement of his training to trot, 
 and after he had been pacing for many seasons. 
 
 These two " conversions " from pacing to trotting are .worthy of 
 consideration. The first case shows that the horse had happened on 
 a manner of going which was more satisfactory than pacing, and he 
 had the faculty of retaining it under pressure. All that was neces- 
 sary was to move the bit in his mouth if he attempted to start on a 
 pace, and when once he struck the trot it was almost impossible to 
 force him out of it. As has been stated before, when the animal 
 becomes tired there is more knee^ction — a sort of spasmodic jerk to 
 overcome the slusrfjishness of the tired muscles. The sandy road in- 
 creased the tendency to a sharper bending of the knee, and the two 
 combined had the same result as the application of weight on the toe. 
 
XXX OVERCOMING INERTIA. 
 
 In the training of Defiance, the toe-weights, in a great measure, did 
 
 away with the desire to pace, and when he broke from the trot his 
 
 inclination was to indulge in a hand-gallop. When forced to run, 
 
 the toe-weight is a terrible incumbrance, and when the " last 
 
 efibrt " is made, to hurl the body through the air, there is an immense 
 
 strain on the muscles and tendons of the fore leg which gives the 
 
 final impulse. The whole weight of the body has to be flung to a 
 
 distance, and though a portion of the impetus has been derived from 
 
 the other legs, by far the greatest part of the force is due to the 
 
 motion which precedes the bound. To raise the weight on the toe 
 
 there has to be a violent movement at the instant it leaves the 
 
 ground, and then it has to be raised t© an altitude of eighteen inches 
 
 and thrown forward with a velocity" which Muybridge estimates to be 
 
 a hundred feet in a second, or double that of the body. 
 
 Whoever will give proper study to this phase of the action of the 
 race-horse, will readily understand the difficulty there is in overcom- 
 ing the inertia of even a few ounces of weight on the toe ; and^ as it 
 is well known, that the application of weight induces higher 
 action, there is further loss of power arising from the exuberance 
 of muscular efibrt. The old-time quarter-horse men were well 
 aware of the effect of unequal weight on the feet, and a favorite 
 plan to mislead those they desired to hoodwink, was to "cross shoe" 
 the horse, and then arrange it so as to run a night trial, when the 
 trick could not be discovered. Cross-shoeing consisted in putting a 
 heavy shoe on a fore and hind foot on opposite sides, and a light one 
 on the others, and this would make a difference of many yards in a 
 quai-ter of a mile. In some cases which came to my knowledge, 
 an arrangement Avas made to leave the stable unguarded, when a 
 confederate would suggest stealing the horse out for a surreptitious 
 trial run, after the change in shoes had been made, and the result 
 would be that the capacity of the animal was underrated and the 
 desired match obtained. In so short a run as a quarter of a mile 
 the difference between shoes and plates is not so great, and weight 
 on the feet would not be so effective, but the inequality broke the 
 regularity of stride, as well as the drawback of additional weight, 
 and the purpose was thoroughly effected. 
 
 ^ 
 
" cnoss-snoEiNG." xxxi 
 
 Defiance soon leai*necl that running was an extremely toilsome 
 manner of progression with a pound weight on the toe of each fore 
 foot, and he also realized that it was inimical to the pacing gait. 
 But the sevei-e exertion of the five tremendous heats with Edsrinton 
 had made him so "sore," that when called upon to trot, the following 
 day, he resorted to the hand-gallop to escape the punishment the 
 fast trotting inflicted. I have read an account of a plan adopted by 
 Astley, of circus i-enown,. that is pertinent to the question of 
 mental influences on the horse, and which is so well authenticated 
 that it may be received as the ti-uth. A horse, after a due 
 course of education of the period, consisting mainly in severity, 
 performed his pail satisfactorily; but after a short time, " though 
 faithful at rehearsals, in the presence of the assemblage he balked. 
 The unmerciful castigation could not be inflicted in the course of the 
 play, and he took the advantage of his knowledge that he could shirk 
 his task with impunity. The plan was adopted of filling the circus 
 with spectators, and when, relying on their presence, he refused to 
 go through with his part, the punishment was inflicted with extra- 
 ordinary severity. This destroyed his confidence in the immunity 
 which a crowd of people afibrded, and there was no more trouble 
 with him. A still better illustration, and one which is more nearly 
 analagous to the subject under consideration, I witnessed in Chicago, 
 in 1857. At that time Franconi was there, and the trick-horse he 
 brought from France was ailing. He bought a roan horse called 
 ' Chicago Top, and I took a great deal of interest in witnessing his 
 manner of training liim. Part of his system was weights ajjiilied 
 to the ankles when teaching him to dance, and these were supple- 
 mented, at times, with strings of small bells. The efiect on his 
 action was astonishing. Knees and hocks were sharply bent, and 
 this greater elevation of the feet and increased rapidity of stroke 
 enhanced his capacity of keeping time to the music. When per- 
 forming, the bells were kept on, and this was supposed to be for the 
 same purpose of castanets in the cachuca and cracovienne, but it was 
 in reality a reminder of the lessons he had received. 
 
 I have known the small bells successfully used in training trot- 
 ters, and the old-fashioned "rattles" owed a portion of their efficiency 
 
XXXU BELLS AND RATTLES. 
 
 to the rattling of the beads. These were spheres of lignum vitse or 
 bone, strung on a strap which was buckled around the pastern 
 loosely, and the effort to throw them off caused a sharper bendintr 
 of the knee. There are still cases where bells or rattles will be 
 found beneficial, notwithstanding the modem appliances have almost 
 banished them from the trotting stables. Many of the younger 
 trainers never saw them, and would be at loss to know what they 
 were intended for. 
 
 In fact, the information in the " Dexter circular," with which the 
 country was .flooded some fifteen years ago, and of which the sales 
 were enormous, was merely a recommendation to use the rattles, 
 which would be sent on receipt of so much money. The cost of the 
 circular was $1.00, and a great number who got them supposed it 
 was a new invention. In the preliminary newspaper advertisements 
 the claim was made that a great discovery had been made in the 
 education of trotters, with the usual number of certificates, guaran- 
 teeing its efficacy. After all, it may be that a majority of those who 
 obtained the information wei-e benefited more than the cost of the 
 circular and rattles. 
 
CHAPTEE IV.— Unsolved Problems. 
 
 "When I wrote the preceding chapters of the appendix, about two 
 years ago, I then thought I had a fair knowledge of weight on the 
 feet of horses. Now, after that length of time of study, observa- 
 tion, and the tests of many experiments, I am in doubt, and in place 
 of oflering rules for the guidance of others, am forced to admit a 
 Avant of confidence to make statements with any degi-ee of authority. 
 Further than that, I have the same lack of confidence in the opinions 
 of others, and incline to believe that the future must be depended 
 upon for satisfactory elucidation. There has been a wonderful im- 
 provement in the manner of applying weights from the nxde contriv- 
 ances at first in vogue ; there has been a great increase in the intelli- 
 gence which has led to a more rational use, and yet there is a void 
 as annoying as it is puzzling. 
 
 That fast trotters have been made by the use of weights is beyond 
 even the cavilings of the hypercritical ; that many promising horses 
 have been ruined by the abuse of them is equally true. For a time 
 Ihere was a mania, an infatuation which became epidemic, and from 
 Maine to the Pacific every track had a majority of horses encumbered 
 with these appendages. Probably Indiana, for the number of trotters 
 in training, gave them the gi-eatest prominence. Saddle-horses had 
 been prized there ever since the settlement of the country, and the 
 popular saddle-gaits were cultivated. Kentucky and others of the 
 Southern States were equally as anxious to improve the horses that 
 played so important a part in daily life, but with the excej)tion of a 
 portion of Tennessee, and some sections of Missouri, Kentucky was 
 the most indefatigable in perfecting and breeding the trotter. The 
 pacer and those so often confounded with the ])acer, viz., the rackcrs, 
 were more readily " converted " by the use of weights than by any other 
 method. 
 
XXXIV BROKEN-GAITED TROTTERS. 
 
 This was also the case with broken-gaited trotters, and hence 
 whenever a horse was of these kinds he was soon entered in a 
 course, in which the most potent educator was weight on the feet. 
 
 I have stated, in the previous chaptei-s, that my belief was that 
 the mental effects were greater than the mechanical, and a few illus- 
 trations were given to sustain the argument. I still think that posi- 
 tion is correct, and though the mechanical is the first efiect, after 
 that comes the benefit derived from the reasoning faculties being 
 made subservient. The animal has been compelled into action that 
 is more favorable for speed ; his intelligence then comes to his aid, 
 and, cognizant of having mastered the difl&cnlty, he repeats the method 
 of handling his feet and legs when the monitor is removed. 
 
 There is another phase of the toe-weight problem that adds greatly 
 to the trouble in arriving at a con-ect solution. While broken-gaited 
 horses are generally amenable to the good effects of weight, in a few 
 instances it has been found impossible to correct the faulty action 
 with weights, and then, pei-haps, some other contrivance may work a 
 cure. Again, there are two horses apparently identical in their gait. 
 Weight aids one of them, the other it makes worse. Twelve ounces 
 may be required to accomplish in one what four ounces may do in 
 another, and so the paradoxes apparently come into notice at every 
 stride in the journey ; and, loth though we are to acknowledge the 
 ignorance, it is so palpable that it cannot be denied. 
 
 With all this ignorance there rests the information that certain 
 valuable results have followed the use of weights ; and, though I 
 cannot go so far as my friend H. D. McKinney, of Janesville, Wis- 
 consin, in saying that " I would never try to develop a colt if I could 
 not avail myself of the use of toe-weights if I needed them," I should 
 be at a loss what to do in many instances if debarred from their aid. 
 And, by the way, I have always considered that Mr. McKinney was 
 " better posted " on weights — the various kinds, uses and abuses — 
 than any other person in the country. He invented some of the best 
 patterns of their time, and was largely engaged in the manufacture. 
 Being a practical horseman, skillful in breeding, rearing and driving 
 trotters, and a man of education and intelligence, it could not be 
 otherwise than that he must obtain an esoteric knowledge, valuable 
 
FOLDING TBE KNEE. XXXV 
 
 as it was complete. He wrote for the New York Sportsman an 
 essay which was published in that paper April 30, 1881. That essay 
 contained a good deal of sound logic, and yet I imagine that he was 
 troubled somewhat as I am, and did not feel very positive in »ivin<^ 
 reasons why the results he instanced followed the use. For instance, 
 he credits weight with giving a tendency to " sharper folding of the 
 knee," and reasons that St. Julian's manner of progression indicated 
 that weight would increase his speed, and Maud S would do better 
 without them : the reasoning, of course, being from a theoretical 
 point of view. He also states that " many horses that cut their 
 elbows when shod with an ordinary pound shoe have been prevented 
 from doing so by using an eight-ounce shoe and four-ounce weight." 
 Now, as weight on the wall, especially if placed high, is ci-edited with 
 giving sharper knee action, in that case the elbow should be struck 
 still harder. But practice jiroves that this is not the case, and we 
 ai-e all aware how superior are the teachings of that over the most 
 plausibly constructed theory in the world. People, however, are 
 becoming convinced that much bending of the knee is not so essential 
 as it was deemed a few years ago, and hence there is not the necessity 
 for appliances to give that excess of motion. Then, as in the case of 
 the " knee-knocker," it has been found that this exuberance may be 
 modified with the application of weight, and recently John A. Gold- 
 smith informed me that he intended to apply them on the Santa-Claus- 
 Sweetness two-year-old to " carry him out." This young trainer has 
 been remarkably successful, both in the use of weights and also in 
 discarding them when the proper time came. Director is an instance 
 of the latter, and after having been deemed one of the sort that re- 
 quired heavy weights to balance him, he can now trot very fast bare- 
 footed. In a conversation with O. A. Hickok a few days ago, he 
 told me that he saw Director move around the fii"st turn of the Bay 
 District Course in 36 1 seconds without anything o« his feet, and he 
 went with great ease and fine action. 
 
 In the essay alluded to Mr. McKinney gives many instances of 
 the efficacy of toe and side-weights, and, doubtless, in the two sea- 
 sons since he wrote, many others have come under his observation. 
 It is not proper to take the views th.at wei-e expressed even so short 
 
XXXvi TEACHINGS OF THE ZOETROPE. 
 
 a time ago as two years, when the subject is so provokingly muta- 
 tious as that under consideration. First, it was thought that masses 
 of steel in the shoe and correspondingly hiige appendages in the 
 weight were an absolute requii'ement. Then there have been 
 changes in everything pertaining, and from the crude fastener of a 
 spike between the shoe and the foot to the latest patent, there is no 
 wider divergence than in the reasoning all have been instrumental 
 in evoking. I looked for a key in the instantaneous photographs of 
 horses in motion, and as these gave the first correct knowledge of 
 the action of a race-horse, was sanguine enough to think that with 
 their aid the problem would no longer mystify. I pored over and 
 studied the first cards that were i^ublished, and when Mr. Muybridge 
 sent me a set ai-ranged for the zoetrope, I was so eager to go at the 
 lessons that I made an instrument which proved as good as need be 
 to reproduce the exact motions of life. There has scarcely been a 
 night that I have not set the wheel revolving, intent on discovery. 
 The gallop, trot, pace, single-footing, gave plenty of chance for com- > 
 parison; and still, so far, I am in a labyrinth with one thread, per- 
 haps, to drop in the journey. In a fast, square trot there is more 
 danger from the fore and hind feet coming together in what is called 
 scalping than at any other gait. It may be the only gait in which 
 this can occur, as trotters and gallopers are the only horses in train- 
 ing I have had for a number of years, at least twenty, and the 
 representations are my only guide. When a colt commences to hitch 
 it so oftentimes is the cause that there will be almost a certainty of 
 finding that to be the trouble. Scalping-boots and speedy-cuts do 
 not always correct the difficulty, as a touch on the leather is a re- 
 minder of the pain of previous blows. Being aware that the injury 
 is not done in a gallop, an approximation to that gait is depended 
 upon for relief, and it takes a long time before the fear is overcome. 
 The toe-weights give an accelerated movement, and when the hind 
 foot passes under the front, it is so far elevated as to give room with- 
 out danger of collision. By referring to the cuts of the trotter on 
 pages xviii and xix it will be noticed that the two fore feet are very 
 close together when the last impulse is given to send the body 
 through the air, and when the hind foot gives the last nervous push 
 
OVERCOMING INERTIA. XXXvii 
 
 and is elevated a trifle, the toe of the fore-foot on the same side is in 
 close proximity to the hind-foot, which is thrust partly under it, if 
 even they go clear. 
 
 The sharp bend in the knee, as shown on page xxi, is when the 
 supporting legs are nearly vertical. This part of the stride is when 
 the legs are so far apart that injury is impossible excepting to the el- 
 bow, and the scalping wound is given when the fore-foot has just left 
 the ground. To overcome the inertia of the toe-weight, there is a 
 quicker motion — a sort of snatch — which takes it out of the way be- 
 fore the hind-feet come under the front. It may require quite a 
 heavy weight at first to call forth the muscular energy necessary, and 
 as the animal becomes accustomed to this action, the weights are re- 
 duced, and, perhaps, finally abandoned. As has been stated, Director 
 is an instance, and Mr. McKinney presents another, and I give it in 
 his own words : " Last season I purchased a young mare at a i*ound 
 price. She was wearing pound shoes and six-ounce toe-weights. I 
 thought her fast, and paid for speed when I bought her. I sent her 
 to the ti'ack;.four weeks did not improve her speed. I brought her 
 home, and took her in hand myself. First time I speeded her I saw 
 the toe-weights were not wanted — made her fold too much, and 
 caused her to dwell — and they were dispensed with. Next day I 
 concluded the shoes, instead of weighing a pound, should weigh no 
 more than twelve ounces ; in fact, removed eleven ounces from her 
 feet, and in ten days I improved her speed ten seconds. Now, the 
 man I bought her of was all right in weighting her at first, as she 
 lacked action when he bought her, and the weights made her quite a 
 trotter, but he did not know when to begin to unload." 
 
 There are so many illustrations of the same kind that it would re- 
 quire chapters to give a small portion of them, and any person who 
 has the least acquaintance with horses that have worn them is aware 
 of the fact. Now, if it were a mere mechanical effect akin to the 
 counterbalance on a wheel, to which a crank and piston is attached, 
 the weight would be an imperative necessity at all times. If even 
 the effect were due to the i)osition the weight bore to the extensoi-s, 
 as has been claimed, there it would have to stay. But granting that 
 the pupil realizes that it has learned a better method of handling it$ 
 
XXXVIU THE PROPER SWING. 
 
 limbs to progress according to the wishes of the driver, then it is 
 easily understood why the weight can be thrown aside when the 
 lessons have been learned. Even with the larger intelligence of the 
 human family, mechanical contrivances are resorted to to correct 
 faults in the "style" of the athlete, the dancer and the soldier. The 
 proper swing, as it may be termed, cannot be mastered mthout using 
 methods that compel the proper action, and these have to be pereisted 
 in until habit overcomes the dilatonness of natural gifts. When the 
 jerk was fii-st given to overcome the unusual weight the animal dis- 
 covered that the usual injury did not follow. Thousands of times 
 rejieated, confidence was established, and by that time it became 
 much easier to make the proper motions. With that i-esult the 
 weights have accomplished the purpose, and further than that, there 
 is the drawback of carrying the " ounce on the heel." 
 
 In the fir'st chapter of this apj^endix I wr'ote that weight is a draw- 
 back to the race-horse, an advantage to the trotter. I will have to 
 modify that statement after the lapse of two years, and change it so 
 as to read that weight is advantageoirs in the education of many 
 trottere, but I am greatly in doubt of any benefit acci'uing after the 
 schooling has progr-essed to a certain stage. Further than that, I 
 have faith that the trotter of the future will be relieved from the 
 incumbrance of heavy masses of metal on the feet, whether irr the 
 shape of shoes or weights, though the latter may always prove one of 
 the main r-esources for the correction of wrong movements. It is 
 rather mor-tifying, however, to surrender a position thought to be so 
 well fortified that the fort could be held for any length of time, and 
 in place of an essay replete with erudition, admit an ignorance that 
 I anr well aware exists. To be eandid, I must confess that to recon- 
 cile the conflicting testimony is beyond my capacity at present, so 
 far as an explanatory elucidation of the reasons for well-established 
 efiects, and in lieu of such a dissertation, will give a description of 
 some of the kinds that have come under my observation, the reasons 
 I have for a preference for some of the patterns, and the difference 
 required in those that are worn with tips. Tliis will include some nov- 
 elties confined to my individual pr-actice, and which, so far as tested, 
 are more satisfactory. It will, of course, be unnecessary to occupy 
 
DISCARDED PATTERNS. XXxix 
 
 space with those patterns which have been generally discarded, and 
 scarcely proper to select favorites further than to indorse what I 
 consider the most correct plan of applying the weights, and the prin- 
 ciples underlying a safe use. 
 
 The most convenient method of attaching toe-weights is by usin^ 
 a spur, which is welded to the front part of the shoe or tip. The 
 convenience arises from there being no trouble with other kinds of 
 fastenings, as in one patented invention the only thing necessary is 
 to slip the weight on, when the bevel of the spur and the tapering 
 form seciirely holds it in place. It is evident that every time the 
 foot strikes the ground the more firm will be the clasp, and to release 
 it several sharp blows with a hammer will be necessary. With this, 
 of coui'se, there can be no change in position, and to give the power 
 to regulate the height of the weight on the foot, a screw has been 
 added to some of them, A thread is cut in a hole in the weisht, and 
 the screw acting in this, presses against the spur, and any desired 
 elevation can be obtained. 
 
 But the great drawback to the stationary and unremovable spur is 
 that in the first place it is unsightly, and a still graver objection is 
 that there is a chance for the horse to injure itself. Yery frequently 
 a horse will scrape a foot against the opposite leg, and in that case 
 the sharp edge of the bevel will do damage. When the animal is 
 walking, led by the bridle, a sudden stai't from fright, or, perhaps, 
 in play, the legs are crossed, and injury follows. 
 
 Last Summer I saw a mare belonging to Mr. Titus which caught 
 the spur and bent it so far forward that it was in a horizontal posi- 
 tion when she came back to the stable. Nearly all the ajipliances to 
 do away with the objections of a stationary spur have made neces- 
 sary the mutilating of the horn, in order to make a slot through 
 which the part that fastened it to the shoe could be thrust. 
 
 When the spur is detached there is an ugly looking cut in which 
 gravel and clay will accumulate, and, in some cases, become so firmly 
 impacted that it is troublesome to remove. In the many experi- 
 ments I have tried with weights there was one plan that I thought 
 highly of until I fell on one much sim|)ler, and in every respect 
 better, and which will be described hereafter. In that which has 
 
Xlii SCREWS ARE EFFECTIVE. 
 
 • 
 
 and that after a few times the thread in the horn will be worn 
 smooth. That it is effective I know from the tenacity with which 
 the live horn will hold even a smaller screw than those which are 
 used ; and if the screw is driven home there is not motion enough to 
 cause it to lose its hold. Those that I have tried have demonstrated 
 this view to be correct, inasmuch as on two occasions the quarter- 
 boot slipped, and the screw still held the weight in place. Although 
 I have used mine for some time before date of the patent which covers 
 the fastening with screws to the horn, it is probably an infringe- 
 ment, and in describing it it must not be considered a warrant 
 for others to use it. I took a piece of sheet brass, an eighth 
 of an inch in thickness, and cut it into the form I wanted. It 
 is something of the shape of an oval with a continuation be- 
 low to the desired length. If the design was to have the weight low 
 on the foot it was short, and if high, long. Near the bottom a hole 
 is made for the screw to go through, the corresponding hole in the 
 horn being from a quarter to half an inch above the junction of the 
 horn and tip. The desired weight, made of the same sheet brass or 
 thicker copper is riveted to the oval-shaped part, having the same 
 concavity to fit the convexity of the hoof. The part next the foot is 
 carried up nearly to the coronet, and an outside strip is also made of 
 the same length. The object of this is to form a slot through which 
 the lower strap of the quarter-boot is passed, and the upper strap is 
 run through a leather loop constructed as follows : Being impressed 
 with the idea that there should be some elastic material between the 
 weight and the foot, a piece of leather of the same shape, though 
 covering rather more surface, is used for lining, the rivets which fasten 
 the plates together holding it, and the upper part is turned over back 
 to the rivet, forming the loop. This is to have a softer material 
 near the coronet than the metal. The quarter-boot must be made 
 with double straps and to cover a part of the heel so as to insure it 
 from slipping down. The strajjs are buckled when the weight is 
 higher on the foot than it is to be worn, and then pushed down so 
 that the screw can be introduced. Notwithstanding the added thick- 
 ness of the leather lining the longest screw I have used has been 
 five-eighths of an inch, No. 9, and in most instances one-half an inch 
 
FASTENER FOR SCALPING-BOOT. xliii 
 
 of the same number. Before using the screws in the horn, and {)re- 
 vious to the keystone fiistener being thought of, I tried cutting a 
 thread in the tip and the horn, half in each. But the thread on the 
 metal part was too fine for the horn, and it was iinsatisfactoiy. At 
 that time I did not think of using the ordinary wood-screw, and the 
 small taps and dies that I had wei-e very finely cut. 
 
 The use of the wood-screw not only taught me a better manner of 
 fastening the toe-weights, as it also helped me out of a difficulty in 
 attaching scalping-boots to a bare foot. To keep these in place I 
 thought it was imperative to have at least one projection at the heel 
 in order to fasten it properly, and in the case of Anteeo, followed 
 the practice, heretofore described, of wearing a three-quai'ter shoe. 
 With that I used the keystone at first, and then the wood-screw 
 driven into the horn. A thin piece of metal was let into the 
 quarter-boot for the screw to pass through, and I found the method 
 far superior to a strap drawn through a slot. But Antevolo also 
 needed the protection of a scalper, and every plan I tried of attaching 
 it to the speedy-cut above was a failure. I tried several ways with- 
 out any success, and as a last resort put on the boot the same as if 
 there was a projecting heel. Luckily the scalper was made of the 
 hardest, stifiest leather, and the heel strap was doubled at the place 
 where it would rest on a shoe. I took another piece of moderately 
 thick leather, perhaps two inches wide, uniting it together after the 
 heel strap was slipped between. The job was complete, and the only 
 instance the boot came ofi" was when I had been negligent in renewing 
 the hole, and the horn wore away until there was nothing to hold. 
 The best place I have found to place the screw is about an inch out- 
 side of the center of the toe, and the leather is cut out in a curve back 
 of the screw to near the same, and as when fastening the toe-weights 
 and quarter-boots; the strap is buckled before it is shoved down to its 
 place, and in this way the tugging at the strap is avoided. The job 
 is much easier than when the other method of fastening the scalper 
 is followed, and the danger of the strap breaking is done away ^vith. 
 It is far easier to make the holes in the horn than many imagine. 
 I use a small Morse drill, put in a handle, and a few seconds are all- 
 sufficient. "Where two screws are used there must be due care taken 
 
xliv LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE. 
 
 to drill the holes in the foot exactly corresponding with those in the 
 metal, though this is easily done by using in the first place a Morse 
 drill, the same size as the hole in the weight, and by giving it a turn 
 or two the center is marked for the smaller. Drive that screw home, 
 having been careful to give the pi^oper angle, and then put in the 
 other hole. 
 
 I have no desire to induce people to use any particular pattern of 
 weight. My preferences are not offered as a guide for others to fol- 
 low, and it may be that there aj« drawbacks that I have failed to 
 discover. 
 
 Meager as this appendix is in suggestions, and though I am loth 
 to present it in the shape that I do, my i-eadei-s will coincide with 
 me that it is better than to mislead with opinions which have no 
 firmer basis than the wildest conjectures. That immense benefits 
 have followed the introduction of toe-weights is beyond question ; 
 that the ill effects have been reduced at .least ninety per cent, by a 
 more intelligent use is also certain ; that the advantages have far 
 overbalanced the drawbacks I implicitly believe, and the trainer of 
 trotters who does not make use of them in some cases is either very 
 fortunate in the pupils he has, or is behind the times. 
 
 When colts are doing well, going squarely, improving in sj^ed as 
 I'apidly as a reasonable man can desire, my advice is to let well 
 enough alone. When the reverse is the case, and there is a tendency 
 to hitch, singlefoot, pace, shorten the stride, etc., tiy Aveights, light 
 at fii-st, heavier if these do not correct. But it also must be borne 
 in mind that every ounce is additional strain on the muscles and ten- 
 dons, and oftentimes in the training of trotters, a.s in other pursuits, 
 "the more liaste the less speed." 
 
 The "side-weight" question is even more troublesome to me than 
 that which pertains to the fore-foot, and further than to give the 
 result of a few expei'iments, and the reasoning which these have led 
 to, I will not go. Nearly twenty years ago I wrote that the action 
 of the forelegs was more under the control of man than that of the 
 hind, and this assumption I still hold to be coxTCct. In common with 
 a large majority of men of the present day who have paid a good 
 deal of attention to the trotting action, I have changed my views, in 
 
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 
 
xlvi A WRONG DIRECTION. 
 
 jjendulum ; but then arose the question of overcoming the inertia, 
 and that might counteract the tendency to swing away from the 
 weight. In order to give it a practical test I had a set of hind shoes 
 made for X X, the inside web being double the outside, and conse- 
 quently twice the weight. Each shoe weighed eighteen ounces, 
 twelve on the inside from the center of the toe back, to six ounces 
 on the outer pai-t. Riding behind him in a skeleton wagon before 
 the shoes were put on and afterwards, I thought that I could plainly 
 see that he went wider. He wore these shoes from February 14th 
 to March 30, 1882, and when pulled off that from the right foot 
 weighed 15| ounces, and the left 15 ounces. This difference in the 
 wear was, doubtless, owing to an injury to the hock joint which 
 made it a trifle stiff, and consequently there was moi-e of a sliding 
 motion, and less hock action than in the other. The same day the 
 shoes were removed I drove him to the track, and though he moved 
 easier without the heavy hind shoes, it was perceptible that the feet 
 were carried closer together. Before making this test I had a con- 
 versation with Hon. A. P. Whitney, of Petaluma, which arose from 
 a question he asked. The query was : " What do you consider the 
 proper method to follow when a horse brushes the outside of his fore- 
 foot in passing it with the hind ?" The reply was that if he had 
 asked the question a few weeks before, I should have answered 
 promptly : " Use side- weights on the outside of his hind feet ;" but 
 now I was in doubt of that being the right course. He then informed 
 me that he had a horse which just grazed the fore-foot, and, follow- 
 ing instructions, he applied side- weights. In place of " carrying him 
 further out," as he was assured would be the result, he went so much 
 further in the opposite direction that he struck squarely into his 
 heel, and with so much force there as to " knock him off his feet." 
 
 The only other illustration, apart from my own trials, was a test 
 which John A. Goldsmith made with Inca. He had the same views 
 I formerly shared, and in a conversation last summer advocated 
 placing the weight on the outside. One of his " string " was the 
 stallion Inca by Woodford Mambrino, from the dam of Del Sur and 
 Eomero. He was a horse of peculiar action, twisting his fore feet 
 outward and anything but a true-gaited trotter. 
 
WEIGHT ON THE INSIDE. xlvii 
 
 The shoes jKit on Inca weighed eleven ounces each, the inner side 
 being wide enough to give twice the weight of metal, and with these 
 there was a manifest improvement in his speed and manner of going. 
 He had a record of 2:32, or about that, when Goldsmith got him, 
 and after the change in his shoes he trotted at Santa Rosa in the 
 2:30 class, winning the first heat in 2:27, was second to Albert W in 
 the second heat in 2:27, and won the third in 2:27f, Albert "W win- 
 ning the race. 
 
 From Anteeo wearing the outside of his shoe while the inner was 
 scarcely bright, and also thinking the three-quai-ter shoe so much bet- 
 ter for the hind foot, I used that i)attern. 
 
 Becoming convinced, however, that the weight on the outside was 
 inimical, I had full hind shoes made, the outer side nan-ow and thick, 
 the inner thin and wide, the object being to make the weight equal, 
 and keep the foot as nearly level as possible during the period of 
 wear. This did not make a perceptible difference, and so I returned 
 to the three-quarter shoe, covering the outside in order to have a rest 
 for the heel-strap of the scalping-boot. With the steel coming on 
 the inside there was so little wear of the metal that in ten days or 
 two weeks the foot would have quite a cant to the outside. This 
 was in a measure obviated by leaving the inner side bare, and I 
 deemed it better to guard against a wrong twist than to obtain the 
 slight benefit of weight on the inside. But, after finding out that a 
 scalping-boot could be kept in place without the projecting heel, I 
 decided to put tips on behind, as the only place he wore much of the 
 metal away was at the toe and about half-way back on the outside, and 
 a short distance back of the toe on the inside. That part of the tip 
 was miide wider in order to equalize the weight, and they were set 
 on December 20th. "While wearing these the only work he had was 
 jogging on the road, driven by the man who takes care of him, and 
 he reported that he handled himself better than in anything he had 
 worn before. On the 18th of January I pulled ofi" the hind tips, which 
 were worn almost to an edge, put on front tips, weighing three ounces 
 each, and I had to cut away his heels a good deal to bring them on 
 a level with the tip. The hind feet were left bare, and the edges 
 rounded. I moved him through the stretch the next day, and he 
 
xlviii IN THE DARK. 
 
 handled himself very well without anything in the shape of boots. 
 Since then I have driven him occasionally, putting on toe- weights of 
 three and three-fourth ounces, and quarter-boots, and restricting his 
 fast work to brushes through the stretch. The hind feet I keep 
 level by cutting the inside every few days to correspond with the 
 wear on the outer, and being careful to round the edges to guaixl 
 against breaking. When wearing tips in front and three-quarter 
 shoes behind, all the boots he required wei'e ankle and seal ping- 
 boots ; with the tips, toe- weights and quarter-boots, and hind feet 
 entirely bare, he requires shin boots with a speedy-cut attachment, 
 and these he marks with the outside of the fore-foot, and occasion- 
 ally brushes the outside of the quarter-boot with the inside of the 
 hind-foot. Now what is the cause of this going wider behind I 
 will not undertake to say with any degi^ee of authority. I think he 
 is showing more speed than he did previously, as he hauled the cart 
 through the stretch in thirty-eight seconds, and I only drove him at 
 his best for about two hundred yards. Last summer the toe-weights 
 were detrimental, retarding his speed in the few trials I gave them. 
 Now they are surely an advantage, or else it is the change in his 
 disposition that must be credited with the improvement. As he has 
 become less obstinate, more ready to go and a willingness to trot 
 from the start, there may be something more potent than the weights 
 to ascribe the change to. At all events, the data is presented, and 
 my readers can draw the inferences. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. — Necessity for a Better System of Shoeing. 
 
 Guards against concussion — Breaking the jar — " Round-hoof 'd " — Dilata- 
 tion and contraction — Weight controls the action — Tight boots. 
 
 CHAPTER II.— Guards Again'st Concussion — An Elastic Shoe 
 — Stonehenge on Tips, Etc. 
 Artificial requirements — Unfettered quarters — The English greyhound — 
 The Oakland streets — "Dwelling" action. 
 
 CHAPTER III.— Different Forms of Tips — Effect of Weight 
 on the Feet— Miles' Essay — Etc. 
 Best method of nailing — The rolling-motion shoe — Changing the pace into 
 the trot — Open-heeled shoes — An admirable contrivance. 
 
 CHAPTER IV". — Cure of a Sprung Tendon — Results of Exper- 
 iments — Etc. 
 A surprising effect — Hock-Hocking, 
 
 CHAPTER V. — From Shoes to Tips — Further Satisfactory 
 
 Tests. 
 Intelligent trainers — One-sided tip— An important subject. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. — Mistakes of Blacksmiths and Grooms — Hard 
 Roads and the Consequences, 
 A singular influence — Practices of the vaquero — Corns and contraction — 
 Elasticity of the sole. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. — Differences of Opinion in Regard to Proper 
 Action — Effects of Changes in Shoeing — Practical Exam- 
 ples, Etc. 
 Colonel Lewis and FuUerton— Effects of a heavy shoe— The trials of 
 Avola — Restricted Experiments— Contrary effects of weight. 
 
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 CHAPTER VIII. — Endorsement of Tips — Three-Quarter Shoe. 
 Hampering the Growth— Wear on the outside — Correcting faulty action — 
 The Goodenough shoe — Decreased strain on the tendon — An eflfective 
 friction-break. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. — Guards Against Concussion. 
 
 Foot of the elephant — -Rational ox-shoeing^Erroneous setting of tips — 
 Stride of the race-horse. 
 
 CHAPTER X — Growth of the Horn — Protection to the Foot. 
 Elasticity of natural horn — Bedding the tips — A practical illustration — 
 A convert. 
 
 CHAPTER XL — A Natural Foot vs. a Perfect Foot. 
 Cracked heels — Lady Viva. 
 
 CHAPTER XI {Continued). — Reason foe Want of Connection — 
 History of Anteeo. 
 The first Embryo — Width and elasticity of frog. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. — History of Anteeo Continued — Sketch of 
 Antevolo. 
 An incorrigible — A trial with toe-weights — Regeneration — A projecting 
 tip — Antithetons. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. — English Ideas of Horse-Shoeing — Tips and 
 Charlier Shoes. 
 Tips on saddle-horses — Tips on hunters — Error in paring the sole — Infini- 
 tesimal tips — Motives for shoeing — Necessity for nailing— Work with 
 Nature — Miserable life, premature death — Tips to be tried — Still 
 experimenting. 
 
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