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.