Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-11-08
Stumbling.


discover the cause Of stumbling In
driving horses; hence 1t is a good plan
to make study of the matter and be
prepared to make proper examina.
ton Of the animal that Is giving
trouble from this bad habit. We have
called 1t habit, for that Is often the
case. and especially so where the horse
has become fat from overlooking and
lack of exercise. and we see the same
thing In many horses driven by wom-
en- who are loath to use the whip and
do not, as a rule, keep the horse w
to the bit" with the result that he ac-
Qulres a slovenly way of going and. be-
ing half asleep, stumbles whenever he
comes to an object that Is above the
level OF the road. The cure for these
patients is to "waken them up" and. II
fat from the use of corn. feed them
upon ration Of sound old oats and
bran, along with good hay.
Another commUn cause OF stumbling.
and perhaps the commonest cause OF
all, Is the practice OF the smith in
leaving the toes too long at each shoe
ing time. and OF cutting down the
heels. After doing this he fits the shoe
With high toe as well as heels, which
prevents any chance that the horse
would otherwise have had Of getting
over" the long toe. which acts as a
:ulcrum. requiring an added degree
Of leverage. which naturally becomes
tiresome and puts strain upon the
back tendons. The result is that, while
the horse may for time go well
enough, he begins to stumble as soon
as he becomes tired and this ends In
broken knees, possibly broken shafts.
and quite frequently smashed check
lines and saddle hooks. The remedy Is
not, as some seem to think, the high
checking Of the horse. for this only
tires him the sooner, and ho will surely
stumble when he becomes tired. The
cure is to cut down the toe all 1t will
stand at each shoeing and leave the
heels and quarters alone; then MT on
a shoe that has no toe calking, but
pair of heels that raise the heels OF
the foot a trihe, or to some extent
when the habit is bad one. Shooting
in this way will relieve the sore ten
dons, but II there Is contraction and
| good deal OF thickness 1t will also BE-
necessary to blister the back tendons
to remove the swelling and strengthen
up the cords.
The presence of corns or other foot
troubles is also a cause OF stumbling.
and 1t may also be due to defective eye
sight, but still another feasible cx-
PLANTATION of the habit Is given In the
following interesting remarks by q
writer in the Horseshoer's Journal:
/ have given this question great
deal of study, and / come to the con-
clusion that the same ratio OF dill
Guilty does not exist in the prevention
OF stumbling as can be found In some
other defects OF the horses travel.
There Is, above all, one cause that
produces stumbling, and that Is the
natural build of the animal. When we
find that nature has not been kind In
proportioning the animals build, stun
bling then becomes a most aggravated
evil and difficult to cure. A stumbling
horse, 1t will usually be noticed, Is
built heavier in front and the same
part will be lower from the withers to
the sole of the feet than from the ex-
IRENE height of hip to the sole OF hind
feet. The horse will always have the
front limbs set somewhat prominently
in front of the shoulder. and the feet
instead of being proportionately set
will extend beyond the line OF limb
This is faulty conformation and Is the
natural cause Of stumbling. taking
such as an extreme case. have shod
with success, by bringing the heels Of
the shoe well back, leaving them as
wide between each as possible and us
ing a shoe with the toe well set back
or improve on the defects which ma
tural conformation has caused. Some
times find it necessary to place a -four
calk shoe on an extreme case OF STUN
bling, raising the heels to goou
height and lowering the toe calks as
they proceed toward the toe or the
shoe, at the same time rolling that por-
ton to give the horse an easy ard free
motion as he is passing over the POM
of toe. The heel calk, on such shoe
should be placed on the extreme out
side of the web and the web at the
heel should be as wide as possible, sc
as to take In all parts Of the heel and
bar in their bearing.