Part 2

These calks on the shoe of a knee and arm hitter should be a little thin so as to catch hold of the ground as the foot goes to twist before he picks it up; they will prevent a certain amount of twisting while the body of the animal is gliding over the weight-bearing portion of the leg as the foot leaves the ground. They will have a tendency to make him break over squarer and not so hard on the outside toe as the foot is leaving the ground. Now if your knee hitter wears a toe weight attach it towards the inside toe as far as possible but not far enough to the inside so as he will strike the opposite leg with it. When the feet of a knee hitter have been gotten in the shape as described herein and shod accordingly; why, the horse will think that he has been baptized and born over again. A perfect foot is rare, but with good judgment, a good eye and a little patience and perseverance a lot can be accomplished that will surprise some of those that think they know it all. In a knee hitter, also in an arm hitter, the bones of the foot and leg do not work true in their sockets, clear up to the knee, even the joint at the knee does not work true, the knee joint has a faulty motion, instead of breaking straight forward, it breaks out sideways as the rest of the leg starts to wing in. By building the foot mostly to the inside of the leg and having width and height of foot on the inside you are taking some of the power away that causes the winging in, and the breaking outward of the knee. It is something strange, but I have known knee and shin and arm hitters to be turned out with their shoes on in paddocks, and you would seldom see them hurt themselves, but put the harness on, hitch them up, and start them at speed and take a pull of 75 or 100 pounds on their lower jaw and the trouble would begin. The directions in this article for fixing the foot for knee and arm hitting are also the surest remedy for horses that toe out badly, a fault that is so objectionable to all horsemen. If you use a sideweight shoe on a front foot to prevent shin, knee and arm hitting, the heavy part of shoe should be on the inside of foot, but if you leave the outside of the foot one-sixteenth or one-eighth of an inch higher than the inside, you will be working against the results you are looking for.

It looks strange to many people that an outside weight shoe to a _front foot_ has a tendency to make a horse wing in, and the same shoe applied to a hind foot will widen the hind action, with the foot fixed for that purpose. If you can fix the foot _properly_ to control the line of action that you want, you will surely accomplish something. You should know what angle suits the action best. The foot should be symmetrical in shape to conform with the coffin bone, have no more foot on one side of the frog than on the other side, and the bearing surface to hang so as the foot will land on and leave the ground as square or level as possible.

IX. JOGGING A KNEE KNOCKER WINTER AND SPRING, AND THE BEST WAY TO SHOE AND FIX THE FOOT TO DEVELOP THE MUSCLES.

Lower the outside of the foot of the winging in leg, and _keep it the lowest_. Shoe the foot with a _very light shoe_, plain or bar shoe, have a side pocket weight made that will carry from 6 to 9 ounces of lead with a spur on it; cut or burn a hole in the bottom edge of the foot midway between toe and heel for the spur, buckle it tight to foot, the weight to be on inside of foot. If the horse wings in with both front feet use the pocket weights on both feet and fix both feet as directed above. This will have a wonderful effect _in developing muscle_ while taking his slow work that will help to prevent winging in so bad when he begins faster work. This knee knocker should be shod with a side weight shoe, the heft of weight on inside of foot, shoe should be very light on outside. This shoe should be made thick on inside with a bevel thinned towards the outside toe, a difficult shoe to make to be used when pocket weights are discarded for fast work.

X. A BAD SHIN, KNEE AND ARM HITTER, TROTTER.

A chronic shin, knee and arm hitter was a horse called Rustler, owned at Richmond, Va. In the early part of the summer that he raced so well, he was working miles around 2:41 and 2:42 but very unsteady, breaking continually. He would begin by hitting his shins, as speed was increased he would hit his knees and arms so hard that he would not stay on the trot. He was brought to me to shoe by his colored groom, who also brought his boots, as I had never seen the horse in action, but after seeing the boots he wore, I saw at a glance he needed as far as gaiting or balancing was concerned, to be regenerated. He was a large horse, and his feet had not grown much from the last shoeing so as I could change them to my liking. I was informed that he went best in light shoes, but the owner told me to use my own judgment, so I did. I made a pair of sideweight shoes, 18 ounces with toe and heel calks, the heavy side of shoes on the inside of each front foot, the outside of each front shoe as light as possible. After leveling his hind feet, a light shoe with heel calks was put on. The owner, Mr. C. J. Smith of Richmond, Va., came to the shop and looked at the front shoes and did not like the job, as to the weight and the calks, thinking if he did not knock a leg off, he would cut boots and legs to smithereens. I told him I would change them if he thought it best, but before I got ready to take them off he said leave them on and I will try them and see what he will do with them. The groom drove him out to the track, and Mr. Smith, being present, ordered the groom to drive him a slow mile as the trainer was not there; he worked the second mile so easy that he was worked another easy mile in 2:21, the last quarter well within himself in 33 seconds without a break, over the same half-mile track on which he could not beat 2:41 previous to this shoeing. They said when he got on his stride there was nothing the matter with him. I had not heard from the horse for nearly a week when one day as the owner was driving by I hailed him asking how was Rustler, he said “he is all right, there isn’t a thing the matter with him.” He went to the races, started in at Baltimore, Maryland, and after winning seven or eight consecutive races, finished at Readville a close second in 2:12. Most of his races were won in the same front shoes it took to balance him, and yet some writers will say you cannot get immediate results.

XI. SHIN, KNEE AND ARM HITTING PACER.

H. J. Rockwell and Rustler a pacer and trotter respectively, would hit and cut their boots something terrible. I took H. J. Rockwell away from his knees by the mode of foot fixing and shoeing hereinbefore prescribed and that made a race horse of him, whereas he had been hitting his knees for several years. While he was hitting his knees he was rated as a quitter, but after he began to beat horses like “B. B.” over the half-mile tracks, the race followers wanted to know from his trainer, the late F. M. Dodge, what he had done to him. I mention this particular case because the public or horsemen that knew this horse knew he was a tough proposition to balance.

XII. ELBOW HITTING.

Some horses do this when being speeded. It is caused by excessive knee action, in folding up of the leg, also in the flexing of the pastern joint. It is faulty or lost action. For elbow hitting, as a rule, the horse should be made to go in as light a shoe as possible, he should get his training with his front feet kept as low as possible at the quarters and heels and the foot at an angle of about 49 degrees, he should be shod as light as possible with plain or bar shoes, and with as light a _toe weight_ as possible, for the more toe weight he carries the harder he will go to his elbows. Most all elbow hitters hit their elbows with the toes of the shoe while the knee is being elevated. It would be a hard matter for a horse to hit his elbows with the heels of the shoes with the knee extended and elevated, for at this time is when the fold of the knee and flexing of the pastern causes the toe of the shoe to strike against the elbow. If preparing the foot for the shoe as stated above and shoeing the feet light does not stop the elbow hitting apply a bar shoe with most all the weight in the bar and quarters of the shoe, the shoe being light as possible around the toe where the nail holes are punched. Be sure and have the quarters and heels as low as possible. The reason for low quarters and heels on an elbow hitter is, that it makes a longer angle to leave the ground from, and it gives a longer bearing surface behind the leg, to receive the weight that is in the quarters and bar of the shoe which is put there to prevent some of the folding of the knee and some of the flexing of the pastern that causes the interference. I have been very successful shoeing elbow hitters with this kind of a shoe. All elbow hitters should be worked to go as low headed as possible, a standing martingale works well on some. If you put on too much of a toe weight on some horses that go close to their elbows it will drive their action to, or against their elbows. Now this being the case, if toe weights will drive him to his elbows a heel weight will usually prevent folding against the elbows.

Now in making this shoe for an elbow hitter it will be necessary to add from four to six ounces more weight to the shoes than he has been carrying, but put it all in the quarters and bar at the heels, and keep adding weight to the heels of front shoes until he stops hitting his elbows. This kind of a shoe is to be used when a very light shoe fails to prevent elbow hitting. Squaring the toe of the shoe will also help to lighten the blow, or take him that much farther away from his elbows.

To decrease the lofty folding action of elbow hitters the foot should be placed at an angle of from 47 to 49 degrees or as near to that as possible, and add the amount of weight of shoes he has been carrying to the toe weight and also add not less than four or five ounces more to each of a pair of heel weight shoes, when a light one did not answer. Do not use any toe weight, but if the heel weight bar shoes are not heavy enough, a heavier shoe or quarter boot can be used.

One thing that should not be overlooked in a horse hitting his elbows is his hind action, it should be examined closely. The hind action may be too dwelling gaited, the stride may be too short or too long. Now if the hind action is of a sluggish nature, it will be a benefit to increase his propelling power, it will drive his elbow an inch, more or less, away from the flexing of the foot against it. If he is long and dwelly gaited you can quicken or make him more rapid, if he is striding too short you can lengthen his stride by fixing his feet and applying weight. It is very important to increase his propelling power. A horse that hits his elbows needs to be balanced by foot fixing, and the applying of weight to go on as light a line as possible, because the harder he pulls on the bit when at speed the more he is inclined to hit his elbows.

If the hind stride is too long and dwelly, shorten the hind toes considerably and use a square toe shoe and raise the heels with a side calk. If the hind stride is too short lower the quarters and heels of the hind feet as much as they will stand and add two or three ounces more weight to the hind shoes. With toe and heel calks a horse with a long cannon bone, with lofty action that flexes his foot from the ground with a snap is more likely to hit his elbows than a horse with shorter cannon bones.

XIII. AN UNUSUAL CASE OF ELBOW HITTING.

A horse that hits the right elbow with the left foot and the left elbow with the right foot is seldom seen. The horse _Hunter Hill_ would begin doing this when going at a 2:40 gait or better, and would act bad and unsteady. He was brought to me to shoe and I was told he could not carry any weight. As he had not enough foot to change, I told the trainer he would have to carry weight to counteract the faulty winging in to the elbows. I made a pair of eighteen ounce heavy side weight shoes with the weight on the inside of each front shoe, thin heel and toe calks, toe calks well set back on toe of front shoes. These shoes took him away from his elbows and he raced good over the half-mile tracks stepping miles around 2:12. After he got gaited these sideweight shoes were discarded for plain lighter shoes.

XIV. PADDLING.

Just the reverse to winging in, a tiresome lost motion, a source of worry to horse and driver, especially if the horse has speed and is driven on sharp turns on half-mile tracks, but it is not as dangerous as the winging in hard to knees. Paddling is more easily controlled than winging in. Now to straighten the paddler, fix the foot on the leg that paddles, by cutting or rasping the inside of the foot from the inside toe back to the inside heel as low as possible, leaving the outside toe the highest or longest to leave the ground from. Be sure and have the inside of foot the lowest, the outside toe the longest. To begin this an angle close to 50 degrees or less, say 49, will have wonderful effect. The long or high toe on the outside will have a tendency to make the leg wing towards his knees at speed which is the controlling influence against paddling. The long or high outside toe is the part that has to leave the ground the last, which _creates winging_, and helps to stop paddling. To shoe a paddler, shoe with a light shoe, with as little weight as possible to go balanced. The more weight the more he will paddle, the less weight the less paddle.

The best shoe for a bad paddler is a sideweight shoe extra heavy on the outside of foot, bevel the outside edges of front shoes good. If the change of action is not quick enough you can use a toe weight placed on the foot well to the outside toe of foot. When I could not get the inside of foot low enough compared with the outside of foot I have made the front shoes thicker on the outside than the inside. When you have fixed the feet and shod a paddler this way you will begin to think that paddling can be stopped when at speed. Most paddlers must go as light in front as possible. With the feet fixed and shod as herein stated you will be surprised at the change of action that will take place when at speed, after a week’s driving. The faster the paddler is driven the less paddling he will be doing. The outside of the foot on a paddler needs to be kept the highest, which is just to the reverse of a knee and arm hitter, this applies to the front feet and action of the front legs.

XV. HOW TO MAKE A SHOE TO PREVENT PADDLING.

Take a piece of iron or steel two or three ounces heavier than the shoe the horse has been carrying and draw one end of it very light having it quite thin. Make a heavy outside weight shoe of it, leaving all the thickness at the outside toe of shoe, thin the outside heel down to the same as the inside heel. The outside edge of this shoe will be thick, but tapering thin to the inside edge of the outside web of shoe. This shoe begins to get light, narrow and very thin at centre of toe around to inside heel. Look up article on foot fixing to prevent paddling at speed when using this shoe. The horse’s foot will have to leave the ground from the outside toe of this shoe when stepping fast and this will have a tendency to make him wing in, and the line of action will become straighter as the animal becomes accustomed to it. This change can be quite _radical_, on a horse that has been paddling a long time, and not so rank on young stock just beginning to get gaited. This shoe does not stop the paddling on all animals when jogging slow as the foot can leave the ground or break over from center or inside toe of shoe, which has no control to prevent a slight paddle.

XVI. HITCHING, HOPPING OR RUNNING BEHIND.

This way of going comes from different causes. An unbalanced foot from being improperly fixed, will cause it. The improper weight of shoes at one end or the other, or all around, will cause it; speeding a colt or horse that is pulling too much weight, especially up a grade, will cause it; forging, scalping, speedy cutting, shin and hock hitting will cause it; carrying the head to one side at times will cause it; soreness of the back, rump or muscles of whirlbone, stifle or thigh will cause it.

Examine the faulty leg for soreness, for if the horse is not lame from soreness somewhere, he can be balanced to go true. If a horse begins hitching, his fast work should be stopped until he is properly balanced, for no horse can improve his speed after he becomes rough gaited without danger to himself. The first thing to do is to get him balanced. First, see that his feet are level. Nine times out of ten you will find his feet are not mates or do not hang level, you will find the foot on the offending leg that is doing the damage different from its mate. In all my experience I have found the foot on the faulty gaited leg to be very high on the inside, if not at the toe, it would be at the heel, but the majority of times it would be high from toe to heel, which would be the main cause of the hitching. Fix the front feet to hang level, the angle and length of toes the same. The two hind feet should be at the same angle and have the same length of toe. The foot of the faulty going leg should be made the _lowest on the inside_ and the shoe to be used on this foot must weigh double the weight or from one to three ounces more than double the weight of the one on the opposite hind foot. This shoe can be made with the weight in the outside, with the inside edge from the centre of toe back to the inside quarter rounded or beveled off considerably, fit the shoe full to the outside toe. If the hitching horse is shod according to these directions and does not begin to go better gaited, it is because he is lame. If he carries five-ounce shoes behind put twelve or thirteen ounce on the faulty gaited leg and the light shoe on perfect gaited leg.

XVII. FORGING.

This is a very annoying fault and the same rules to remedy it do not apply to all horses, for what will stop one may not stop another. Most all forging will be done jogging, or going an ordinary road gait. From forging comes the scalping which is very dangerous when the horse begins to brush along, as scalping creates rough and bad gaited horses. There are many horses that will forge or scalp going slow in the same shoes that suit them for speed. It is hard to shoe all horses with a set of shoes that will suit the horse, the driver and a faulty gait at varying rates of speed, all at the same time. Horses that are _low gaited_ in front that forge jogging, need as a rule, a lot more weight in their front shoes. Horses that go high gaited with lots of knee action in front that forge require a light shoe. Forgers usually have excessive action either in front or behind. Locate the faulty end, see if the horse has too much action in front and not enough behind, or if he has too much behind and not enough in front. Get a line on his gait before you make any changes, perhaps you may not have to change but one end of him to either increase or decrease action. Weight in the shoe is the important factor applied to a perfectly balanced foot, whether it is a front foot or a hind foot. You can add weight to the front or hind feet, as may be desired, to increase action, or decrease the weight to decrease the action at either end. Now right here I will say, a horse jogging hardly feels a change of weight of one, two or three ounces, but will show the effect of five or six ounces from the start. Do not be afraid to apply a heavy shoe to hind feet for if his action requires it to prevent forging, the horse will like it better and so will you.

In adding weight to hind feet you will be increasing the hock action and in some horses it will take considerable weight to do it; horses going an ordinary road gait will not feel one, two or three ounces increase of weight in hind shoes. Horses stepping fast as a rule do not do any forging and, of course, the lighter they can go the better. There are many horses—fast trotters—that forge or scalp jogging, that would go cleaner or purer by applying a four-ounce toe weight, some may need a five-ounce weight, lots of them have to be jogged too fast in order to prevent forging or scalping, when perhaps a toe weight would be the remedy. A horse going a 2:10 gait will feel the effects of a one or two ounce weight as much as one going a slow gait would feel the effects of four or five ounces.

Take a side view of your horse as he is driven by and locate the faulty action, you will be able to tell if it is too short, too long, too high or too low, too rapid or too dwelly, front or hind action. If the lost action is in front as to height, extension or rapidity, fix the feet to help the shoes to perfect the action. If the front action is too low shorten the toes, leave the heels high or raise them with shoe or side calks and shoe with a shoe five or six ounces heavier, more or less, as the action requires, use a square or bevel toe shoe. A rolling toe shoe is good on slow-going horses, the horse should carry his head higher than usual. If the front action is too high, lower the quarters and heels as low as they will stand, and shoe with a light shoe, and if there is not extension enough use a toe weight to balance up action, the horse should carry his head lower, or natural. If the hind action is too low shorten toes as much as they will stand and add several ounces more weight and raise the heels a half inch or more. If hind action is too high lower quarters and heels as low as they will stand, keeping plenty of toe on hind feet and shoe with a very light shoe to prevent slipping. If he is handling his hind legs too rapid for the front ones, this last sentence will remedy that also. I have seen obstinate forgers at a slow gait stopped by carrying from two to three times more weight on the hind feet than in the front feet, and vice versa, according to their front or hind action.

XVIII. SCALPING.

This is a very dangerous fault. When a horse is making speed and begins scalping, he is unbalanced quite bad, he needs changing before being speeded again for if you don’t he or she will get rough gaited, or will begin carrying the hind leg between front ones, hopping, or trying to run with hind action. The first thing to do is to examine the hind feet, you are likely to find the hind feet a lot higher on the inside than on the outside nine times out of ten. Some horses will begin scalping after their feet get too long. In horses with excessive action, carrying too much weight in front will cause scalping at speed. Horses with very little action in front and not carrying weight enough will be liable to scalp at speed. When shoeing for scalping use a square toe shoe, light or heavy, as may be required by the front action.

Feet all out of proportion and at the wrong angle and not level will cause scalping. Now if the animal has very little hock action and mostly stifle action, I would lower and shorten the toes of the hind feet as much as possible, use a square toe shoe and raise the heels with a side calk, this will shorten the stride and by adding some weight to the hind shoe it will increase hock action. Most all scalping is done with front or outside toe of the front shoe coming in contact with the coronet of hind foot. It hurts the horse so much that he will try to find some way to avoid it; some trainers use a gaiting pole to prevent the horse from going crooked in the shafts because of this fault.

XIX. REMEDY FOR SCALPING.