XLVI. SLIPPING OR SLIDING TOO MUCH.
Slipping will unbalance a horse when trying to get on his stride at speed; slipping too much on landing or on leaving the ground creates lost action that cannot be overcome by muscular development. I will cite a couple of cases here to prove this. A horse that trotted in his work miles in 2:27 over a half-mile track, when shipped to Rigley, Portland, Me., could not trot a mile there in 2:45 without being very unsteady, and this over a mile track. I examined his foot prints and saw he was slipping too much. I calked his shoes with toe and heel calks, never changed his feet, and this horse trotted miles in 2:25 without a break.
A mare that was trotting miles in her work over this same half-mile track in 2:25 easily, quarters in 33 or 33½ seconds, was shipped to Portland, Me., to a mile track and could not trot a mile there in 2:40 without mixing and acting very unsteady. On examining her foot prints I found she was slipping too much. I was sure her feet were fixed properly. As she became very unsteady and inclined to mix, I added two ounces more to her front shoes and gave her a heel and toe calk on hind and front shoes and she became very steady the next workout, and the driver told me she could trot a mile in 2:16 or better.
After the drivers of those two horses found they would get all unbalanced trying to get on their stride, they did not go to work with the lines and whip endeavoring to balance up matters, and cruelly abuse the dumb animals for what they were not responsible, but asked me to take a look at them. This thing of balancing faulty action with the lines and whip is a thing of the past, and he who thinks it can be done has stopped, he may be one of the know-alls and if so is past redemption and will have to be regenerated to be successful at the profession.