Balancing and Shoeing Trotting and Pacing Horses

by William J. Moore

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.