Balancing and Shoeing Trotting and Pacing Horses

by William J. Moore

Too much knee action is lost motion and tiresome. I found that out for myself walking through the deep snows that we have up here in the Berkshire Hills. Too much folding of the knees causes elbow hitting, and at times when they do not reach their elbow some of them will hit on the back of their arm. One of the worst speedy cutters I ever saw was gaited in front in this manner. I decreased the knee and folding action, changed the hind feet, which were very high on inside, lowered them and shod with heavy outside weight shoe and she trotted clean and pure, quarters in 31 seconds in May. She had one sore on her as large as a silver dollar from hitting, and when she began hitting she would try and run away.

XXIX. HORSES THAT GET AWAY SLOW, BUT FINISH FAST.

In these cases I feel sorry for the horse also for the driver. The horse knows he is handicapped, and the driver does not want to take any desperate chances of getting shut out by trying to get away with the field of starters, anyhow I will say, the horse is unbalanced to get away, got a lot of speed but can not find it when it is needed. This horse needs assistance in foot balancing and weighting. The front action on this kind of a horse needs to be increased more for extension than anything else, increase his extension and everything else will take care of itself.

To help this horse to get away, I would change the angle of his front feet, make the angle longer to leave the ground from. If the angle of his front feet is at 54 or 55 degrees change it to 50 or 51, if it is at 52 or 53 degrees change it to 48 or 49 degrees, add three or four ounces more weight to his front shoes and carry the same toe weight that he has been carrying. In fixing his front feet do not touch or take anything off his toes, shoe to prevent slipping, especially the hind feet. If this horse has been carrying a light shoe in front—seven, eight or nine ounces—it will require not less than four or five ounces more weight to get away with his field. If this four or five ounces balances him to get away with his field, he will not pull you hard to hold him together. If this horse is not inclined to mix, I would have the toes of hind feet an eighth or quarter inch shorter than those of the front feet and at an angle of about 54 or 55 degrees, but if he is inclined to shift or mix into a single foot, have the hind feet as near the same length and angle as the front feet as possible, the nearer the better. If it takes two or three ounces more weight to balance faulty action, use it, put it on his feet, if you don’t you will wear him out pulling on him, you will make him muscle-sore propelling against your strong arms, pulling 100 or 150 pounds on the bit. It creates a terrible strain going the last quarter of a fast mile, especially on youngsters, and some trainers wonder why some of their pupils don’t go on and develop speed, and wonder why some of them become so tired after passing the three-quarter pole. No matter how royally bred they are, they need to be properly balanced to go the distance on as light a pull on the bit as possible. If you depend on balancing them by holding them together by pulling against their jaws you are a back number for a youngster or aged horse is not doing his work in comfort and with ease going against a heavy pull on the bit. There is nothing that will wear out a yearling, two-year-old or three-year-old quicker than hard pulling against the bit, for it over-taxes the muscles of the propelling power caused by being unbalanced. Their propelling muscles will stand it for a while, but not for long. If you can get your colt or horse properly balanced he will not pull you, he would rather go at speed in comfort and ease to himself than to get unhinged in the back propelling against a heavy pull on the lines. The trainers that can detect or locate faulty action and know what to do to remedy the same are the ones that make a success of developing, conditioning and driving in races. It takes judgment, a good eye and ear to detect faulty action. It takes an expert to detect a badly fixed foot that was intended to help the line of action.

XXX. TO CONVERT A PACER TO TROT.

Begin by fixing his feet, cut or rasp the quarters and heels of all four feet down as low as possible without getting any sole pressure against the shoes that are fitted. Have the length of toes as near alike as the case will permit, I mean by not taking anything off the toes of front feet or hind feet, supposing the toes are near alike, he will need all the toe possible to convert him to the trot from the pace. Shoe front feet with a heavy toe weight shoe, it may take fifteen or seventeen ounces. If you have to use any toe weight while going slow it is best to weld spur on toe of shoe and use a toe weight fitted to the spur. It is best in this case, in order to convert the pacer to trot, to have a grab on the front shoes. Shoe the hind feet with a light shoe with toe and heel calk, drive him as low headed as possible even if you have to use a standing martingale, bring him along slow, by degrees, for as it effects a change of muscles it is something new to the horse and the more time you take in bringing along trotting, the more you will be perfecting the gait. Don’t hurry matters. After a few weeks he will have more growth of foot and can lower his quarters and heels a little more giving his feet a longer angle to leave the ground from. In converting a pacer to trot, a four-inch toe is not too long on some horses, but on yearlings and two-year-olds their feet will be shorter, but the closer you get the angle of front and hind feet to 50 or 51 degrees with same length of toes hind and front, the better, to confine him to the trot, and keep him trotting. In some cases the angle needs to be 48 or 49 degrees in front, and as near to that as you can get the hind feet.

XXXI. CONVERTING A TROTTER TO THE PACE.

Shorten and lower the toes of all four feet, do not touch the quarters or heels of front or hind feet. The weight of the shoes will vary on different horses. On a youngster I would put a five or six-ounce concaved shoe in front, and about nine or ten ounces behind, with toe and heel calk. On an older horse the weight at both front and hind can be correspondingly heavier, about eight ounces front and eleven or twelve ounces, with heel and toe calks behind. Now when hitched ready to go for the first lesson, check the head as high as the horse or colt can carry it without causing pain and misery to the neck. If he paces any, a half mile up to a mile and a half is enough for the first three or four lessons. If he acts good do not let him go too fast for the first week or ten days, you must take two or three weeks before asking him to step. The angle of the front feet should be about 55 degrees and the angle of the hind feet should be about 59 degrees.

Some horses that go into a singlefoot or strike a pace occasionally can be easily converted to the pace by shoeing light in front and heavier behind, from three to five ounces more weight in each hind shoe than he is carrying in his front shoes. If he does not take to the pace readily add more weight to hind shoes, and bevel or roll the toes of shoes, and check head higher. You need a short natural foot all around to convert to the pace. The angle of the feet will vary according to their pasterns. If the horse has a long oblique pastern, shorten the toes hind and front as much as they will allow to be safe, and do not touch the heels.

I used this method of converting Joe Patchen II from the trot to the pace, and many others. They could not make him strike a pace and after fixing his feet and shoeing him he went out on the track and paced an eighth of a mile in eighteen seconds after having been driven at the trot for over a year.