Part 8

XXXVII. DISHED OR SCOOPED TOE.

This is caused by allowing feet to grow too long, especially on colts and horses in training, creating undue pressure and strain on the front of foot on breaking over to leave the ground. It is also caused by being foundered, where the soles of feet have dropped, and also where the fever has settled in the feet, and the soles have not dropped, but are inclined to be contracted, dry and hard, and kept at the wrong angle, and feet not kept properly fixed and shoes not properly fitted. The remedy for this is to fix the foot at the proper angle, keep the frog close to the ground. Pare the sole a little thin around the toe from the point of frog out to the wall at the toe, and after the shoe has been fitted, cut the bearing of the foot at the toe away from the shoe. A few shoeings of this kind will prevent the toe from turning up.

XXXVIII. CONCUSSION.

Horses with high knee action hit the ground the hardest. The more weight a horse carries in his shoes or toe weights, the more concussion he receives. The concussion on the hind feet and legs does not seem to pain or sting anything like what he has to endure in the front feet and legs when striking the ground fast and hard, especially when he is going over a hard piece of ground. If his front feet are out of proportion, high heels and long toes, dry and hard, he will feel the concussion severely and this will make many horses unsteady, breaking and acting bad. A horse with lofty forward action should be trained in a natural low quarter and low heeled foot, with a bar shoe as light as possible, with frog pressure.

The most dangerous and uncomfortable kind of a foot for a horse that hits the ground hard to have is one with the heels abnormally high. The higher the heels the greater the concussion. The lower the heels the less the concussion. The more weight the more concussion. The less weight the less concussion. A foot that is kept at the proper angle, as near to a natural foot as possible, and kept soft, will prevent the stinging and painful sensation that is caused by concussion. With feet kept like this the horse will not flinch or shorten up in his stride when he strikes hard places in the track. The light thin heel calks that are used on shoes do not break much of the concussion when horses are going fast. Why? because when the legs are extended at speed the shoes land on the ground back on the heel, with the toe of the foot elevated away from the ground, and with some horses more than with others. They do not strike the ground flat-footed like the most of them do when going slow. Thin hard pads are very good under light shoes, but thick pads that will allow the walls of a horse’s foot at heels to sink or cut through them at the heels are no good. They will create a hard lump at the seat of corns between the bar and wall at the heels, and hold dirt that is liable to create unpleasant feelings to a sensitive horse that goes in middling low heels. When heels of the front feet are allowed to become too high on horses taking fast work or racing, a very severe strain is thrown on the ligament or tendon that holds the navicular bone in its socket. When the leg is extended at speed the extra high heels cause the foot to land too far ahead of the leg while the toe is elevated on landing, so that it creates an extra amount of work for the ligament to hold it in its proper position at the time of impact with the ground.

XXXIX. FOUNDER, CHRONIC LAMINITIS OR DROPPED SOLE.

There is only one way to shoe this kind for comfort to the animal, and for an earning remuneration for the owner. In founder or chronic laminitis, where the sole of feet are dropped, caused by the displacement of the weight-bearing bones of the foot, fix the feet by lowering the quarters and heels so as to get as much frog pressure as is possible, without making the foot tender, and your foot is ready for the shoe. A shoe for a dropped sole foot must be a bar shoe, thick at the toe and thin at the heels, with a wide thin bar to receive the frog pressure. To make a shoe to suit this kind of diseased feet, use a piece of iron three-quarters to one inch square according to the nature of the disease and the weight of the horse, and in making the shoes for foot founder leave all the thickness of the shoe at the toe possible, and thin the shoe at the quarters and heels to a quarter of an inch, have the bar wide and thin so as to receive all the frog pressure possible, the thicker the toe of shoe and thinner the quarters and bar at heels the better. Concave or cup the shoe out so as not to get any sole pressure.

I will cite one case of this kind, the very worst in my experience. A horse that weighed over 1400 pounds that could scarcely stand on his feet, had been treated by different veterinary surgeons and shod several times and could not keep the shoes on his feet and he was so sore that I got wet with perspiration getting two nails in one shoe and I had to stand him in a very soft place to do that. This horse would lay down in the lot most all the time and eat the grass from where he could reach it and then move to where he could reach more, he was the most hopeless subject I ever came across. I shod him according to the instruction herein prescribed, and he trotted off with his tail curled over his back like a colt. He was put to work the next morning and continued at work until sold for two hundred dollars. Elevating the heels with calks creates pain and misery to the animal.

XL. CROSS-FIRING PACERS.

When a pacer begins to cross-fire every one knows he is not balanced. There are different causes for cross-firing: front feet not properly fixed and at the proper angle, not carrying the proper amount of weight in front will help to cause it, and on hind feet the same. Too much slipping will help to create it. But the most important thing that causes cross-firing, nine times out of ten, is because the hind feet are a lot higher on the inside than they are on the outside, which creates a leverage to leave the ground from when at speed, which extra height or length of foot acts as a leverage to control the line of action of the leg after the foot leaves the ground. In all my experience with cross-firers I have found this the most important factor, namely, the inside of the offending feet to be the highest. So the fixing of the feet is the most important part of the contract. If you can get the feet properly fixed to change the leverage, to control the line of action, there will be no more cross-firing. (This same rule applies to a trotter that is unbalanced if the insides of his hind feet are the highest and when he strikes a singlefoot or pace he is very likely to cross-fire). The pacer that begins to cross-fire needs the insides of the hind feet lowered, a little longer angle to leave the ground from, with the height or extra length of foot to create a leverage on leaving the ground to be at the outside toe. A foot properly fixed as herein prescribed and a properly made and fitted shoe will stop cross-firing. I would recommend a sideweight shoe, the weight to be applied to the outside of feet, the inside to be beveled or rounded from center of toe back to the inside quarter of each hind shoe. The shoes could be a few ounces heavier than previous shoes for best results. As a rule pacers go best and fastest in shorter feet than the trotters. The easier a pacer can leave the ground the more rapid gaited he will be, and the more he will be inclined to stick to the pace. By all means shoe to prevent slipping both in front and behind. A proper angle for the front feet has to be found, also for the hind feet, so that the speed at both ends will be in harmony, if one end is faster than the other there will be friction.

There will be found in this work directions as to how to lengthen or shorten the stride, to increase or decrease knee or hock action, to widen hind action, also the best way to prevent winging in and paddling out, at speed. Also how to quicken the action of dwelling gaited ones. As to the proper amount of weight that the horse goes the fastest with in his shoes, the trainer should know better than any one else, but all trainers are not the best judges of gait, an expert on the ground taking a view from in front, from behind, and a side view, has a big advantage over the driver. An expert trainer and race driver knows when his pupil can step a mile, half or three-quarters at a 2:10 or 2:05 or a 2:00 gait on a light line, that his horse is all right, if there is any friction he can see it or feel it on the lines.

XLI. NOTE OF IMPORTANCE.

Now right here is the most important part of a little transaction that should not be omitted from any trainer’s records. The condition your horse has worked up to and how he has been cared for, his weight, whether he wears calks or not, what is the angle of his feet and length of toes front and hind, what is the weight of his front shoes also his hind shoes, also about his harness, the exact length of back strap and check rein, and what hole the buckle belongs in the check rein should be carefully noted. If you keep a record of these things no one can tell you what your horse needs, for you will know it yourself far better. If a change takes place and it is not physical, it may have occurred in the shop if he has been shod recently, and as you have kept a record of his feet and shoes and harness you can find out by reference to it.

The last time I was in Lexington, Ky. I was working at my trade, shoeing horses, when I was approached by a gentleman by the name of Saunders, he said to me that he was told by some of his friends to see me about shoeing a cross-firing pacer that he had and he also said that I was recommended to him very highly. I told him I could tell him what I could do for the horse after seeing the condition of the feet, if I could help him or not, so he had the horse led around to my tent to be looked at. After looking at the feet and shoeing, I told him I could help that horse wonderfully, so the next day my subject was led around for me to operate on. I had learned that this horse cross-fired so bad they could hardly keep quarter-boots on him, and they were afraid to work him on account of cross-firing. He was entered to start at the meeting but was a little short of work. His feet were in bad shape according to the calipers and foot adjuster and to my eye. I fixed this horse’s feet to pace without cross-firing and truly, according to the prescription given in this book for cross-firing. That horse responded to the treatment instantly and the horse paced fine with no more cross-firing. He was worked a couple of times during the week and went all right, and during the meeting he was going so good they agreed to start him. He started in the race and if my memory serves me right he finished second the first heat, the second heat several horses finished ahead of him, I do not remember how many, but when they came out for the third heat the driver of this horse was called up in the stand to watch this horse while a driver by the name of Mike Bowerman piloted him to victory in three straight heats and he took a record close to 2:10. I believe the horse’s name was Sable Gift, or some other gift. The only gift the horse got was a record, something he did not want, neither did those that were buying first, second and third choices.

XLII. KEEP THE FEET LEVEL.

The front foot should never be the highest on the outside of a trotter or pacer, unless the horse paddles with one or both front legs. A foot that is left high on the outside and low on the inside will help to prevent paddling and will increase the winging in to the knees. A foot that is kept high on the inside and low on the outside will help to prevent winging in to the knees. There are lots of paddlers who do not begin to paddle until the foot has left the ground quite some distance, and to prove this I have seen the shoes worn by some paddlers and the most of the wear on the shoes of the paddling leg or legs was at the outside toe of shoe. A paddler that leaves the ground from the inside toe of shoe can be made to carry the leg straighter in a line at speed easier than one that leaves the ground from the outside toe.

The reason why a front foot should not be left highest on the outside, of a trotter or pacer, unless he is a paddler, is this; supposing the front legs at the chest or where the upper arm joint is connected with the chest is ten, twelve or fifteen inches apart, I mean the distance the two front legs are from one another where connected with the body. Now when this horse is at speed and can go fast at the trot or pace, like most all fast horses at speed, his foot prints will be straight in a line one after the other on the track. Now if their upper arms are ten or twelve inches apart, more or less, and at speed their feet land nearly on a line, the front legs are not working forward and backward in a straight up and down line from the body, so this being the case just try to imagine just how those two front feet land on the ground with the legs wide apart at the upper arms and the feet landing straight in a line or nearly so at speed. The question is, should the outside of front foot be lower than the inside, if so, how much, to distribute and equalize the concussion on both sides of a front foot at the heels when at speed. What I am trying to explain is, if you have a fast trotter or pacer and he does not paddle, and you are working to develop speed intending to race, and if the outside of the front feet are the highest and the inside of the hind feet are the highest, every time you work this horse with unbalanced feet you are guilty of one of the greatest crimes that are committed by trainers and horse-shoers.

In fixing the front feet on all fast horses, trotters or pacers, that do not paddle, first rasp the outside of a front foot down to where you want it, toe and heel, then you can rasp the inside of the foot down to where it will suit the action of the leg the best. The reason for this is you can always lower the inside of a front foot a lot lower than you can the outside of same foot and when you rasp the inside of a front foot down first, nine times out of ten you will not be able to rasp the outside of the same foot down to a level with the inside. Now the hind foot is just to the reverse. Always rasp to lower the inside of a hind foot down first to where you want it and then take the outside down to a level with it. If you do not fix feet by this rule, the sensitive portion of the foot will often prevent you from lowering it enough to level up matters with opposite side, and the sensitive parts of the foot that will prevent you from doing this will be the outside of a front foot and the inside of a hind foot. This is the main reason why so many floormen in shops all over the country cut the inside of front feet too low for the outside, and leave the inside of the hind feet too high for the outside of same. But if you will fix feet by this rule you will be right the most of the time.

XLIII. PULLING ON ONE LINE AT SPEED.

I was approached on this subject and had it explained to me that a certain horse going the right way of the track at speed would go on one line and keep going into the fence or hugging the pole, and would make two or three breaks going the length of the stretch on a half-mile track, and could not be kept away from the fence. After an examination of the teeth, cheeks, and tongue, and bit, and finding these to be all O. K., I concluded that it must be from uneven extension of the legs. The extension and propelling power of the off legs was greater than that of the nigh ones. A three-ounce toe weight on the feet of the nigh legs straightened or balanced up the lost action of the nigh side so that the horse would speed the length of the stretch in any position on the track without pulling on one line and so the necessity for pulling on one line to keep the horse straight was stopped.

The feet on this animal were well fixed hind and front, as to length of toes and angle of feet, the hind shoes weighed alike and the front ones also. The muscular development of the extension power of the off legs was stronger than that of the nigh legs, perhaps also the propelling power of the off hind leg. This is the reason the horse was pulling on one line. The off legs were reaching farther than the nigh ones, which kept forcing the horse to go towards the fence. Unbalanced feet will cause this as well as undeveloped muscles. I have no doubt but there are lots of horses going on one line and hugging the pole that need a change in the angle of the feet, or the proper weight at the proper place to balance up matters. If the strides of this horse had been measured there would have been found a big difference between the off and nigh strides, so you see it is not always the teeth, cheeks, or bit that cause this trouble. The horse in question later stepped miles in 2:09.

XLIV. A GOOD JUDGE OF GAIT.

In all my experience with horsemen and horses I believe William Russell Allen’s judgment about gait and prospective or ultimate speed is superior to that of any one I have ever come in contact with. He seems to have the faculty of knowing at a glance the frictionless gait from a fairly good gaited one. To prove this I will cite a few instances. On one occasion he was away on a visit and on his return he said to me that he saw Uhlan 1:58 as a two-year-old or a three-year-old, I do not remember exactly, but it was before he came into prominence, and Mr. Allen told me he was the best gaited colt he ever saw. This colt must have been just as he said, for it could not have been over a year, or two at the outside, when this same colt trotted to a world’s record, and it did not surprise me much after remembering what Mr. Allen told me about his gait. The same thing happened again when he saw Peter Volo 2:02, early in his two-year-old form. Also the full sister to Peter Volo, Volga, Mr. Allen told me she was gaited to win all her engagements.

Here at Allen Farm he picked a yearling out of about thirty early in the season, that was out of a non-producing dam, to beat all the yearlings an eighth of a mile at the trot that season at the farm on a small bet. It was big odds and was taken very quickly by one of the employees, who was wishing he could get more of that kind of bets. When the brush work of the season was over the field ticket was never presented to the pool seller to be cashed. Mr. Allen’s first choice out of a large field won by a quarter of a second and we had a lot of fast ones, but any how he had the laugh on me at the finish.

XLV. BAR SHOES.

If you have a horse with toe cracks, quarter cracks or one that is sore or lame from corns, a bar shoe is the best kind of a shoe. If you have a horse with a dropped sole, or founder footed horse the bar shoe is the best kind for such feet. It is also a good shoe to be used on feet where expanders are used as the bar in the shoe will protect the expander at times when an open shoe will not, and frog pressure on the bar will also help to get expansion. The most important thing to guard against is, do not drive any nails back of the quarters because that will prevent expansion. Draft horses with wide low heels or thin soles require bar shoes for the hard roads, as they stay sound longer wearing bar shoes than in open shoes. For racing purposes the bar shoe is very important for the front feet, and occasionally for the hind feet, for both trotter and pacer. Any horse racing or in training that carries a light, or very light front shoe should by all means wear a bar shoe, it is a great support to the foot when hitting the ground hard and fast, as the natural expansion and contraction is at its limit while going at a fast rate of speed.

For a heel weight shoe you can get more weight in the heels of a bar shoe than in an open shoe, which heel weight the action of some horses requires more so than they do toe weight. A trotter or pacer that spreads his hind shoes or front shoes, should by all means wear bar shoes. The last time I shod John R. Gentry for Mr. James Ramey, I shod him with bar shoes all around with heel and toe calks for that memorable race at Detroit in the 2:13 or 2:14 class, he won his race easily breaking the track record, under strong restraint. He could have paced a very fast mile or two that day if he had been asked to do it, he was sold after this performance.

I have never seen many yearlings or two-year-olds that needed a bar shoe while in training. It is a very bad shoe for either yearling or two-year-old unless a hoof expander is kept in the foot to prevent contraction and help expansion, for the feet will surely get contracted without something to prevent it, after the heels grow high enough to lose their frog pressure. I used a pair of heavy heel weight bar shoes, about ten or eleven ounce, on one yearling’s hind feet to stop forging and scalping while he was being jogged every day. The shoes he was brushed or speeded in for about ten days did not suit him for jogging. This yearling trotted eighths in 17¼ seconds, a 2:18 gait. I tried more weight in front but it did no good.