XXI. WHEEL SWINGING.
A trotter that is wheel swinging a hind leg, has developed a line of action that is tiresome, controlled mostly by the muscles on the outside of leg, that unbalances action at speed to a certain extent, and it looks unsightly to a good judge of gait, when coming to you or going from you. To correct this faulty line of action of wheel swinging, keep the toe of hind feet nearly as long as the front feet, and have the angle of the hind feet within two or three degrees of the same as the front feet. If the angle of front feet is fifty degrees have the angle of the hind feet about fifty-two or three degrees. Lower the outside of hind foot a full quarter of an inch or more than it will be on the inside, begin lowering the outside of hind foot at the center of toe back to outside heel, have both hind feet the same length and angle. Shoe with a sideweight shoe heaviest side of shoe on inside of foot, with heelcalks, and place a thin low calk about one inch long on inside toe of shoe in line from first to second nail holes. After the first shoeing, if line of action has not improved as it should, you must lower the outside of hind foot still more, but if you cannot lower the foot have a shoe made thicker on the inside toe and thinner on the outside toe and quarters, with the three calks on it and there will be more of a change. This change can be made in the first shoeing if you have enough of foot to change, but it is best for the horse and owner not to make too radical a change too quickly. It is best to do it in two or three shoeings, especially on a horse that has a lot of speed. Slow going horses can stand more of a radical change than fast ones.
The directions in this article for the cure of wheel swinging, by foot fixing and shoeing, will create a sudden change, at different points, on the bones of the foot and leg, so as to create a leverage at a particular point as the foot leaves the ground, to control a more perfect line of action. Be sure your horse is not carrying his head off to one side, the opposite side to the wheel swinging leg, for if so this helps to unbalance action and works against the results you are trying to get to a certain extent. Do not have the outside heel of shoe any longer than the inside but have both same length.