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THE MOST COMPLETE WORK ON THE HORSE PUBLISHED,

EYEEY

HORSE OWNERS' CYCLOPEDIA,

THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE; GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS;
THE POINTS OF THE HORSE, WITH DIRECTIONS HOW TO CHOOSE HIM; THE
PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING, AND THE BEST KIND TO BREED FROM J
THE TREATMENT OF THE BROOD MARE AND FOAL ; RAIS-
ING AND BREAKING THE COLT ; STABLES, AND
STABLE MANAGEMENT ; RIDING, DRIVING,
ETC., ETC.

DISEASES, AND HOW TO CURE THEM.

THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINES, AND THE DOSES IN WHICH THEY CAN BE SAFELY AD-
MINISTERED; ACCIDENTS, FRACTURES, AND THE OPERATIONS
NECESSARY IN EACH CASE; SHOEING, ETC.

BY J. H. WALSH, F.R.C.S.

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE, AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE
BREEDING AND TRAINING OF TROTTERS,

BY ELLWOOD HARVEY, M.D.

THE TURF AND TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA,
BY JOHN ELDERKEN.

THE PERCHERON HORSE ; LIST OF STALLIONS IMPORTED INTO AMERICA FROM THE
EARLIEST DATES ; TABLES OF PEDIGREES OF CELEBRATED TROTTERS, ETC.

EDITED BY ROBERT McCLURE, M.D., V. S.

Author oj the American Gentleman's Stable Guide.

WITH NEARLY ONE HUNDRED FINE ENGRAVINGS.

SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION,

\ \ B {'•

UN

PHILADELPHIA:

PORTER & COATES, 822 CHESTNUT STREET.
1871.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by

PORTER & COATES,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

MEARS 4 DUSENBERY, STEREOTYPERS.

H. B. ASHMEAD, PRINTER.

PRE FACE.

WE believe it may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that
no book has yet been published, in the English or any other language,
which even professes to give a complete description of the Natural
History, Physiology, Pathology, and General Management of the
Horse, in a form and style suited to the country gentleman of the
nineteenth century. It is true, that some of these departments are
adequately described in separate works ; but they are generally written
in technical language, suited rather to the Veterinary Student than
for the use and comprehension of the ordinary reader. The writings
of Percivall in England, and of Girard, Chauveau, and Colin in
France, contain full and accurate details of the Anatomy and Physi-
ology of this animal ; while the Structure and Diseases of his Foot
have been the subjects of various elaborate treatises by Bracy Clarl^,
Spooner, Co'leman, and Turner, in this cpuntry. But in order to
reach the information which he requires, the reader has to wade
through many long and wearisome chapters, wholly irrelevant to the
practical subjects in which he is interested, and he therefore gives up
the study in disgust as a hopeless task. So, also, in reference to the
general diseases of the horse, Percivall's " Hippopathology" is a mine
of information ; but it is so elaborate, and so diffuse in style, that
it is consequently never or rarely seen on the library shelves of the
private gentleman. Stable management was well described by Stew-
art, of Edinburgh, five-and-twenty years ago, and his work still con-
tinues to be the best manual on this particular subject; but since it
was written many great changes have been introduced into general
use, and it is therefore now somewhat behind the times. For these
reasons the author of this work has thought that a book, combining
all the above subjects, treated in a practical manner, and in a style
popularly intelligible, yet containing the most recent views of eminent
authorities in veterinary knowledge, would supply a deficiency which
has long been complained of by all who are interested in the proper
management of the horse.

(in)

iv PREFACE.

In order to compress within the limits of one volume the informa-
tion which has hitherto been spread over so many, it has been neces-
sary to forego all attempts at illustration by anecdote or by records of
cases 5 and the several chapters, therefore, will be found to contain
only what is absolutely necessary for the elucidation of each subject,
with the aid of numerous engravings, accurately drawn and carefully
engraved after drawings by Barraud, H. Weir, Zwecker, Scott, &c., &c.

THE AUTHOR.

In bringing before the American public, this edition of a work
which has long been acknowledged as the ablest authority on the
subject in England, the publishers have spared neither time nor
expense in adapting it in every particular to the requirements of the
American Farmer and Amateur. There is not a page in the English
edition but has been carefully revised, some local and purely
scientific matter of no interest whatever to the American owner of a
horse has been omitted, late authorities consulted, and every page
brought down to the present state of knowledge on the subject. This
was intrusted to the skilful hands of DR. MC€LURE, the well-known
author of "The American Gentleman's Stable Guide."

The Essay on the American Trotting Horse, by DR. ELLWOOD
HARVEY, a gentleman thoroughly conversant with his theme, was
written at the urgent request of the publishers, and embodying, as
it does, the study and research of years, will be found a valuable
addition to the work.

Our thanks are due to Gen. Welch, Chestnut Hill, Philada. ; Robert
Bonner, Esq., New York; C. P. Relf, Esq., Norristown, Pa.; and
D. Swigert, Esq., of Spring Station, Ky. ; for their kindness in permit-
ting us to obtain correct likenesses of the noble animals whose portraits
appear in these pages, and for the interest they have shown in the
success of this work ; and to Messrs. Schreiber & Son, and Wenderoth,
Taylor & Brown, of Philada., and Mr. George G. Rockwood, of New
York, for the excellent photographs they have taken of the celebrated
horses they represent ; and especially to Messrs. Currer & Ives, of New
York, for permission to copy the original of the steel frontispiece, so
splendidly engraved by Whitechurch, and to Messrs. James R. Os-
good & Co. for permission to reprint Mr. Elderkin's article from the
" Atlantic Monthly."

THE AMERICAN PUBLISHERS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY HISTORY OP THE HORSE.

PAGB

The Horse of Scripture— The Greek Horse— That of the Rorrans— The
Arab of Antiquity — Egyptian, Libyan, Numidian, and Moorish Horses —
The original British Horse — Ancient methods of using the Horse . . 13

CHAPTER II.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Habits — External Form as indicated by Points — Proportions — Maturity —
Average Age — Periodical Moulting — Mental Development — Small
Stomach .............18

CHAPTER IIL

THE HORSES OP THE EAST.

The Barb — The Egyptian Horse — The Horses of Dongola and Abyssinia —
Other African Horses — The Modern Arab — The Persian Horse — The
Turkish Horse— Other Asiatic Horses— The Australian Horse . 30

CHAPTER IV.

THE HORSES OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

The South American Horse — The Mustang — The Indian Pony — The Cana-
dian Horse — The Morgan Horse — The American Trotter — The Narragan-
set Pacer — The American Thorough-bred — The Vermont Cart-Horse—
The Conestoga Draught-Horse 45

fj CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE.

PAOB

Early Maturity— Object of Encouraging the Breed— Essentials in the
Thorough-bred— Purity of Blood— External Formation— Height— Color
—Coat, Mane, and Tail . . . . • • • » . • • 57

CHAPTER VI.

ON THE LOCOMOTIVE ACTION IN THE VARIOUS PACES.

Natural and Acquired Paces— Distribution of Weight— Attitude assumed
. in Standing— Mode of Progression— The Walk— Trot— Canter— Hand-
Gallop— Extended Gallop— The Amble— Racking, Pacing, and Running
—The Paces of the Manege— Leaping, or Jumping . . . .76

CHAPTER VII.

THE PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING APPLICABLE TO THE HORSE.

Theory of Generation — In-and-in Breeding — Out- Crossing, Advantages
and Disadvantages of each Plan — Causes of a "Hit" — Importance of
Health and Soundness in both Sire and Dam — Best Age to Breed from —
Influence of Sire and Dam respectively — Choice of Sire and Dam — The
kind of Horse most likely to be profitable to the Breeder — Concluding
Remarks on Breeding . . • , 99

CHAPTER VIII.

THE BROOD MARE AND HER FOAL.

The Hovel and Paddock — General Management of the Brood-Mare — Treat-
ment when in Foal — After Foaling — Early Management of the Foal

Weaning and After Treatment of the Foal 117

CHAPTER IX.

THE BREAKING OF THE COLT.

Rarey's Principles and Practice— Ordinary English Method of Breaking for
the Saddle — Superiority of the Latter when properly carried out Break-
ing to Harness J28

CHAPTER X.

STABLES.

Situation and Aspect— Foundations— Stalls and Loose Boxes— Hay Cham-
ber and Granary— Materials for Floors— Doors and Windows— Drainage

CONTENTS. vii

and Water Supply — Ventilation and Lighting — Stable Fittings- -Harness
Room — Coach-House — Servants' Rooms — Ground Plans of Stables —
Necessity for Airing New Stables 155

CHAPTER XL

STABLE MANAGEMENT.

Theory and Practice of Feeding and Watering — Dressing or Grooming —
Clipping, Singeing, and Trimming — Use and Application of Bandages —
Management of the Feet — Daily Exercise — Proper Temperature of the
Stable— Remedies for Stable Vices and Bad Habits— Preparation for
Work — Ordinary Sweating — The Turkish Bath — Physic — Final Prepara-
tion— Treatment after Work — Summering — Care of Saddlery and Har-
ness . . 177

CHAPTER XII.

RIDING.

Mounting and Dismounting — The Seat — Management of the Reins — Modes
of Starting the Horse into his Various Paces — Riding to Hounds — Out-
door Vices and Bad Habits . 230

CHAPTER XIII.

CLASSIFICATION OP THE VARIOUS ORGANS, AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE SKELETON.

Classification of the Various Organs— Structure of Bone— Of the Skeleton
in General — The Artificial Skeleton — Number of Bones composing the
Skeleton— General Anatomy of the Spinal Column— Of the Head and
Face — Of the Thoracic Arch and Anterior Extremities — Of the Pelvic
Arch and Hind Extremities— Of the Tail— Of the Fore and Hind Ex-
tremities considered as Organs of Support and Locomotion . . . 248

CHAPTER XIV.

THE TEETH. . 257

CHAPTER XV.

OP THE JOINTS AND MUSCLE — THE TISSUES ENTERING INTO THEIR COMPOSITION.

The Joints— Cartilage— Fibrous Tissue— Physiology of Muscle . . .266

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINES, AND THE DOSES IN WHICH THEY CAN SAFELY BE
ADMINISTERED.

PAQB

Alteratives — Anodynes — Antiseptics — Anti-Zumins — Aperients — Astrin-
gents— Blisters — Caustics, or Cauteries — Clysters, or Injections — Deter-
gents— Diuretics — Embrocations, or Liniments — Febrifuges — Lotions, or
Washes — Physic Balls and Drenches — Stimulants — Stomachics — Tonics
— Traumatics — Vermifuges, or Worm Medicines . . . . . 448

CHAPTER XXIX.

LIST OP IMPORTED HORSES 461

ESSAY ON THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE, AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE
BREEDING AND TRAINING OP TROTTERS 467

PEDIGREES OF CELEBRATED TROTTING HORSES .... 607-523
THE HISTORY OP THE TURF AND TROTTING HORSE OP AMERICA . . .525
THE PERCHERON HORSE .557

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL PAGE ENGRAVING ON STEEL.

AMERICAN GIRL AND GOLDSMITH MAID Frontispiece

(by permission of Messrs. Currer & Ives, N. Y.)

FULL PAGE ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

MAMBRINO PILOT. From a painting from life, by E. TROYE 24

LEXINGTON. From a drawing from life, by E. TROTE 54

HAMBLETONIAN (RYSDYK'S). From a photograph from life, by GLOVER 102

FLORA TEMPLE AND HER COLT. From a photograph from life, by SCHREIBER & SON .126

ELEVATION OF GARDEN FRONT OF STABLE 156

GROUND PLAN OF STABLE 176

SKELETON OF THE HORSE 251

DISEASES OF THE HORSE 297

SECTION OF THE ABDOMEN AND PELVIS, WITH THE INTESTINES AND LIVER REMOVED

LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE THORAX, ETC 350

LORD CLYDE, a Clydesdale Stallion 422

ETHAN ALLEN. From a photograph from life, by SCHREIBER & SON 467

DEXTER. From a photograph from life, by SCOREIBER & SON 525

ALENE, a Percheron Mare, from life 555

PAGB

POINTS OF THE HORSE 20

OBLIQUE SHOULDER 22

UPRIGHT SHOULDER 22

PROPORTIONS OF THE VARIOUS POINTS 27

THEGODOLPHIN ARABIAN 31

CHABAN, AN ARABIAN STALLION 35

THE CANADIAN HORSE 47

CONESTOGA DRAUGHT-HORSE 56

FISHERMAN — AN ENGLISH THOROUGH-BRED 62

SAUNTERER — AN ENGLISH THOROUGH-BRED 64

STARTING FOR THE WALK 80

RECEIVED INTERPRETATION OF THE WALK 81

EXCEPTIONAL MODE OF STARTING 82

ACTION IN THE TRUE TROT 88

THE CANTER 90

RECEIVED INTERPRETATION OF THE GALLOP 91

CORRECT VIEW OF THE GALLOP 94

MARE AND FOAL 125

RAREY'S LEG-STRAP, No. 1 131

RAREY'S LEG-STRAP, No. 2 132

CRUISER WITH THE LEG-STRAP AND SURCINGLE ON 132

CRUISER IN THE POWER OF HIS MASTER 133

THE HORSE BOUNDING ON HIS HIND LEGS 134

THE HORSE ON HIS KNEES, ABOUT TO FALL ON HIS SIDE 135

Or)

Xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGB

THE HORSE TAMED 138

RAREY'S HALTEB OR BRIDLE FOR COLTS 142

DOOR FOR LOOSE Box 161

VENTILATING WINDOWS 162

SECTION OF CATCH-PIT 163

IRON-SURFACE GUTTER 165

VENTILATING SHAFT 167

HEAD OF SHAFT 167

THE HANGING BAIL 168

IRON-FITTINGS FOR STALLS AND LOOSE Box 172

GROUND-PLAN OF A RACING OR HUNTING STABLE 175

GROUND PLAN OF A STABLE FOR FOUR OR FIVE HORSES 176

BAR-MUZZLE FOR CRIB-BITERS 203

REMEDY FOR TEARING THE CLOTHES 205

GROUND-PLAN OF A TURKISH BATH FOR HORSES 214

THE HUNTER TURNED OUT TO GRASS 226

READY 230

PROFILE VIEW OF THE BONES OF THE HEAD AND FACE 254

SECTION OF INCISOR 257

THREE-YEAR OLD MOUTH 259

MOUTH OF THE COLT AT FOUR-AND-A-HALF YEARS 260

UPPER NIPPERS AND TUSHES AT FIVE YEARS OLD 261

LOWER NIPPERS AND TUSHES AT FIVE YEARS OLD 262

LOWER NIPPERS AND TUSHES OF A SIX-YEAR OLD HORSE 262

UPPER NIPPERS IN THE EIGHT-YEAR OLD HORSE 263

LOWER NIPPERS AND LEFT TUSH OF A VERY OLD HORSE, THE RIGHT HAVING FALLEN OUT 264

SECTIONAL PLAN OF THORAX AND ITS CONTENTS (THROUGH THE GIRTH-PLACE) 272

GENERAL PLAN OF THB CIRCULATION 275

SECTION OF THE PARTS ENTERING INTO THE COMPOSITION OF THE FOOT AND THE FETLOCK AND

PASTERN-JOINTS 291

THE HOOF 292

FRONT VIEW OF THE FOOT, WITH THE HOOF REMOVED 292

THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE FOOT 292

VIEW OF VESSELS OF THE FOOT, INJECTED 294

VIEW OF THE ARTERIES OF THE FROG AND SOLE, INJECTED 295

GROUP OF BOTS ATTACHED TO THE STOMACH 356

SECTION OF THE FOOT IN CONFIRMED LAMINITIS 405

A SOUND FORE FOOT PREPARED FOR THE SHOE , 426

SHOEING 428

SETON NEEDLES, ONE-QUARTER SIZE 439

CLAMS LINED WITH VULCANIZED INDIA-RUBBER 442

THE ECRASEUR 443

DOCKING-KNIFE 444

FLORA TEMPLE TROTIINQ 489

THE HORSE.

CHAPTER I.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE.

The Horse of Scripture — The Greek Horse — That of the Romans
— The Arab of Antiquity — Egyptian, Libyan, Numidian, and
Moorish Horses — The original British Horse — Ancient methods
of using the Horse.

THE HORSE OF SCRIPTURE.

[HE EARLIEST RECORD of the Horse which we possess
is in the Old Testament, where we first find him infer-
entially mentioned in the thirty-sixth chapter of Gen-
esis, as existing in the wilderness of Idumea about
the beginning of the sixteenth century before Christ.
Many commentators, however, render the word which is translated
" mules" in our version, as " waters/' and thus a doubt is thrown
upon the correctness of the inference which is thence drawn.
Moreover, in the thirty-second chapter of Genesis, camels, goats,
sheep, cattle and asses are all severally alluded to, but no horses ;
so that it is highly probable that in the time of Jacob, whose de-
parture from Laban is there narrated, horses were unknown to the
Israelites. It was not until after their arrival in Egypt that the
horse is clearly alluded to. Jacob, on his deathbed, leaves us no
room to doubt his knowledge of the horse, and of its being domes-
ticated, for he speaks of the u horse and his rider" in the same
sentence. We need, therefore, go no further for a proof of the
early existence of this animal in Egypt, and may assume that
there were large numbers of them there, for Pharaoh is recorded
to have taken " six hundred chosen chariots, and all the horses,"
to pursue the Israelites to the Ked Sea. It is generally supposed
from the omission of all mention of horses while the Israelites
were in Arabia, that this country, which has since become so cele-
brated for them, was at that time entirely without them. The
proof, however, is entirely of a negative character, though I con-
fess that it is as strong as any of that nature can well be. Indeed,
2 (13)

14 THE HORSE.

six hundred years later, Arabia could not ha;e been remarkable in
any way for her horses, for Solomon, while he resorted to her for
silver and gold, mounted his cavalry from Egypt. Yet the latter
country could scarcely be the native land of the Horse, not pos-
sessing the extensive plains which are peculiarly suited to his ex-
istence in a wild state, and it is considered probable that he was
introduced from the central regions of Africa, which are undoubt-
edly the native plains of the Quagga, the Zebra, and some other
congeners of the Horse } but where, curiously enough, he is not
now found in a wild state. Thence he would naturally find his
way into Egypt, and through Arabia to Persia, Tartary and Greece,
ultimately reaching Great Britain ; but in what century he was
introduced there we are quite at a loss to conjecture.

THE GKEEK HORSE.

OF THE PRECISE FORM of the Horse of Scripture we have no
account, beyond the glowing language of Job, which will apply to
almost any variety possessing the average spirit of the species.
The horse of the Greeks is far better known, being handed down
to us in the writings of Xenophon, and preserved in the marble
friezes of the Parthenon, which are now removed to our own Na-
tional Museum. The above Greek writer, in giving his advice on
the purchase of a horse, says, " On examining the feet, it is befit-
ting first to look to the horny portion of the hoofs, for those horses
which have the horn thick are far superior in their feet to those
which have it thin. Nor will it be well, if one fail next to observe
whether the hoofs be upright both before and behind, or low and
flat to the ground ; for high hoofs keep the frog at a distance from
the earth, while the flat tread with equal pressure on the soft and
hard parts of the foot, as is the case with bandy-legged men. And
Simon justly observes that well-footed horses can be known by the
sound of their tramp, for the hollow hoof rings like a cymbal when
it strikes the solid earth. But having begun from below, let us
ascend to the other parts of the body. It is needful then, that
the parts above the hoof and below the fetlocks be not too erect
like those of the goat, for legs of this kind being stiff and inflex-
ible, are apt to jar the rider, and are more liable to inflammation.
The bones must not, however, be too low and springy, for in that
case, the fetlocks are liable to be abraded and wounded, if the
horse be gallopped over clods or stones. The bones of the shanks
should be thick, for these are the columns which support the body,
but they should not have the veins and flesh thick likewise ; foi
if they have, when the horse shall be gallopped in difficult ground,
they will necessarily be filled with blood, and will become varicose,
so that the shanks will be thickened, and the skin be distended
and relaxed from the bone ; and when this is the case, it often

THE GREEK HORSE. 15

follows that the back sinew gives way and renders the horse lame.
But if the horse, when in action, bend his knees flexibly at a walk,
you may judge that he will have his legs flexible when in full
canter ; for all horses as they increase in years increase in the flex-
ibility of the knee. And flexible goers are esteemed highly, and
with justice, for such horses are much less liable to blunder or to
stumble than those which have rigid, unbending joints. But if
the arms below the shoulder-blades be thick and muscular, they
appear stronger and handsomer, as is the case also with a man.
The breast also should be broad, as well for beauty as for strength,
and because it causes a handsomer action of the fore-legs, which
do not then interfere, but are carried wide apart. And again, the
neck ought not to be set on like that of a boar, horizontally from the
chest, but like that of a game-cock, should be upright towards the
crest, and slack towards the flexure ; and the head, being long,
should have a small and narrow jaw-bone, so that the neck shall be
in front of the rider, and that the eye shall look down on what is
before the feet. A horse thus made will be the least likely to run
violently away, even if he be very high-spirited, for horses do not
attempt to run away by bringing in, but by thrusting out, their
heads and necks. It is also very necessary to observe whether the
mouth be fine or hard on both sides, or on one or the other. For
horses which have not both jaws equally sensitive, are likely to be
hard-mouthed on one side or the other. And it is better that a
horse should have prominent than hollow eyes, for such a one will
see to a greater distance. And widely-opened nostrils are far
better for respiration than narrow, and they give the horse a fiercer
aspect; for when one stallion is enraged against another, or if he
become angry while being ridden, he expands his nostrils to their
full width. And the loftier the. crest, and smaller the ears, the
more horse-like and handsome is the head rendered ; while lofty
withers give the rider a surer seat and produce a firmer adhesion
between the body and shoulder. A double loin is also softer to sit
upon, and pleasanter to look at, than if it be single ; and a deep
side, rounded toward the belly, renders the horse easier to sit, and
stronger, and more easy to keep in condition. The shorter and
broader the loin, the more easily will the horse raise his fore-
quarters and collect his hind-quarters under him in going. These
points, moreover, cause the belly to appear the smaller ; which, if
it be large, at once injures the appearance of the animal, and ren-
ders him weaker and less manageable. The quarters should be
broad and fleshy, in order to correspond with the sides and chest;
and, should they be entirely firm, and solid, they would be the
lighter in the gallop, and the horse would be the speedier. But
if he should have his buttocks separated under the tail by a broad
line, he will bring his hind lega under him with a wider space be-

16 THE HORSE.

tween them, and, so doing, he will have a prouder and stronger
gait and action, and will in all respects be the better on them."

Here we have described, in most exact terms, a cobby but spirited
and corky horse, with a light and somewhat peculiar carriage of
the head and neck, just as we see represented in the Elgin ncarbles

THE ROMAN HORSE.

OP THE ROMAN HORSE we know far less than of that of the
Greeks ; but the fact of its inferiority to those of the surrounding
nations is established, for no sooner were they brought into col
lision with the cavalry of Macedonia and Epirus than they suc-
cumbed. This could only be owing to the quadruped, for the
Roman foot-soldier was still unmatched. Caesar depended for his
cavalry upon Gallic horses, which were able to ride down the Ro
man horses of his rival Pompey without the slightest difficulty,
So also Crassus was unable to make head in Asia against the Par-
thian horse; and from his day until British horses were trans-
ported to Oriental soil, the superiority of Asiatic horses remained
undisputed.

THE ARAB OF ANTIQUITY.

THE ARAB OF THE PRESENT DAY is said by his countrymen to
be the same in form, in courage, and in endurance, with the horse
which existed in Arabia before the time of Christ. I have shown
that there is every reason to believe that the Israelites who dwelt
in Arabia had no horses in the time of Jacob, and therefore it is
scarcely likely that this variety could have arrived at its present
state of excellence much before the commencement of the Chris-
tian era. But beyond the traditional accounts which are preserved
in the various tribes, there is no means of arriving at the truth,
and they are to be regarded with considerable suspicion. Buffon
comes to the conclusion, nevertheless, that Arabia is the birthplace
of this animal, and his opinions are followed by a host of subse-
quent writers ; but I have already given the reasons for the con-
trary conclusion. The dry nature of the country, and the scanti-
ness of herbage, show that in a wild state the horse could hardly
exist there, and that it is only by the care and superintendence of
man that the Arabian horse has become so famous.

EGYPTIAN, LIBYAN, NUMIDIAN, AND MOORISH HORSES.

THE EGYPTIAN HORSE is handed down to us on some of the
sculptures found in the ruins of Nineveh ; the carvings of which
are in a high state of preservation, and are very elaborate and
spirited. Even the superficial veins are carefully rendered ; and
hence we may place some reliance upon the fidelity of the por-
traiture. In all these bas-reliefs the animal is represented with a

ANCIENT METHODS OF USING THE HORSE. 17

large and coarse head, a high crest, and a heavy, lumbering body,
not very dissimilar to the Flemish horse of the nineteenth century.
OF THE LIBYAN, NUMIDIAN, AND MOORISH horses, which are
alluded to by classic writers, we know little beyond the cursory
description of ^Elian, who says that they were slenderly made,
and carried no flesh.

THE ORIGINAL BRITISH HORSE.

THE NATURE OF THE ORIGINAL STOCK which formed the found-
ation of the modern European horse is extremely doubtful. In
Great Britain horses' bones are found in caves which are of ex-
treme antiquity, but they do not define with any certainty the
form of the original British horse, nor can we, with certainty,
arrive at the exact era at which the animals to which they be-
longed lived and died. It is, however, an ascertained fact that
when the Romans invaded Great Britain they found the people in
possession of horses, and using them for their chariots as well as
for the purposes of riding. After the irruption of the Goths, and
the commencement of the dark ages, we have no reliable history
to guide us, and we are left to grope in the dark from the fourth
century, when Yegetius wrote on the veterinary art, until the
time of the Stuarts, when attention was first paid to the improve-
ment of the breed of horses in this country.

ANCIENT METHODS OF USING THE HORSE.

THE MODE OF USING the horse adopted by the ancients was at
first by harnessing him to a rude chariot, without springs. In
course of time, the grooms who took care of him found that they
could manage him while on his back without the aid of the saddle
and bridle, which are comparatively modern inventions. Hence,
we see the horse represented in the Elgin marbles as ridden with-
out either the one or the other ; and there is also abundant written
testimony in support of this mode of equitation being practised by
the early Greeks. This ingenious people, however, invented the
snaffle-bridle, and both rode and drove with its aid, after the estab-
lishment of the Olympian games, in which chariot races formed an
essential feature. The curb-bit was invented by the Romans, or,
at all events, was first used by them ; but both that people and the
Greeks were ignorant of the use of the stirrup, and either vaulted
on their horses, or used the back of a slave as a stepping-stone, or
sometimes had recourse to a short ladder for the purpose. The
earliest period when it can be proved that the stirrup was in use
was in the time of the Norman invasion of this country. The
incidents of this event in history were recorded on the Bayeux
tapestry by the wife of William the Conqueror, and on this the
stirrup was depicted, according to the authority of Berenger, as a
2* B

20

THE HORSE.

POINTS OP THE HORSE.

1. Muzzle.

2. Nostril.

3. Forehead.

4. Jaw.

5. Poll.

WECK.

6. 6. Crest.

7. Thropple or windpipe.

FORE-QUARTER.

8. 8. Shoulder-blade.

9. Point of shoulder.

10. Bosom or breast.

11. 11. True-arm.

12. Elbow.

13. Forearm (arm).

14. Knee.

15. Cannon-bone.

16. Back sinew.

17. Fetlock or pastern-joint.

18. Coronet.

19. Hoof or foot.

20. Heel.

BODY OR MIDDLEPIECE,

21. Withers.

22. Back.

23. 23. Ribs (forming together the bar-

rel or chest).

24. 24. The circumference of the chest

at this point, called the girth

25. The loins.

26. The croup.

27. The hip.

28. The flank.

29. The sheath.

30. The root of the dock or tail.

THE HIND-QUARTER.

31. The hip-joint, round, or whirl-bone.

32. The stifle-joint.

33. 33. Lower thigh or gaskin.

34. The quarters.

35. The hock.

36. The point of the hock.

37. The curb place.

38. The cannon-bone.

39. The back sinew.

40. Pastern or fetlock-joint,

41. Coronet.

42. Foot or hoof.

43. Heel.

44. Spavin-place.

POINTS OF THE HORSE. 21

which cannot give way to the pressure of the bit is sure to become
dull in his mouth, and therefore unpleasant to ride or drive. The
eye is to be examined with a twofold purpose, firstly, as an index
of the tamper, the nature of which is marked by the expression
of -this organ; and secondly, in reference to its present state of
soundness, and the probability of its continuing healthy. A full
and clear eye, with soft, gazelle-like expression, is scarce'y ever
associated with a bad temper, and will most frequently continue
sound, if the management of the horse to which it belongs is
proper in itself. The ear should be of medium size, not too small,
nor too large, nor should it be lopped, though many good lop-eared
horses have been known, and some very superior breeds, like that
of the celebrated Melbourne, are notorious for this defect.

THE NECK should be of moderate length, all beyond a certain
dimension being waste, and even a moderate-sized head at the end
of an extremely long lever being too much for the muscles to sup-
port. It should come out full and muscular, with a sweep between
the withers and the bosom, and should gradually diminish till it
runs into the head, with an elegant bend just behind the ear. A
very narrow throat suddenly bent at the upper part, marked as the
thropple, is apt to be connected with roaring, and on that account
is objected to by horsemen.

IN THE FORE-QUARTERS, there are several points to be atten-
tively examined, and among these, the shoulder is regarded as of
most consequence, when the horse under consideration is intended
for the saddle. It is evident that, unless there is length of the
blade, and also of the true arm, there cannot be a full surface for
the attachment and play of the muscles, nor can there be the same
amount of spring to take off the jar which follows each footfall.
The straighter the angle formed by the long axis of each of these
bones, the less spring there will be. So, also, if the angle is not
sufficient, the muscles of the shoulder-blade will not thrust forward
the true arm, nor will the latter be sufficiently clothed with
muscles f without being loaded) to act on the fore-arm, commonly
known by the horseman as the arm. Hence it is found, that with
an upright shoulder, not only is the stride in all the paces short
and the action stumpy, but there is not that elastic movement
which enables the horse to carry his body along rapidly and evenly,
without rising alternately behind and before, and thereby jarring
himself or his rider. On the other hand, the upright shoulder,
loaded with a thick mass of muscles, is useful in the cart-horse,
and to a certain extent also, in the carriage-horse, in both of which
the pressure of the collar requires a steady and comparatively
motionless surface to bear it. The difference between the two
extremes of oblique and upright shoulders is well illustrated in
the accompanying woodcut, in which it will be seen that in tha

22

THE HORSE.

.,

former the angle between the blade (a) a&J the true arm (6) is
very considerable, while in the latter it is much less. Hence it
results, that when the muscles of the blade bring the axis of the
arm into nearly the same line with its own axis, the forearm (e) in
'the oblique shoulder will be thrust forward and raised to a greater
degree than in the upright formation, as is shown in the engraving
in the parts represented by dotted lines (d e). It follows, there-

OBLIQUE SHOULDER.

UPRIGHT SHOULDER.

fore, that horses intended to have high, and at the same time for-
ward action, should have oblique shoulders, for without them they
will almost to a certainty either have very mean and low action,
or, if they do bend their knees, they will put their feet down
again nearly on the same place as they took them from, which pe-
culiarity we so often see displayed in the cart breed, or those
nearly allied to it. This is one of the most important uses of the
obliquity of the shoulder-blade as it seems to me, and one which
has not been generally admitted by writers on this branch of the
subject, though all are ready to admit that in some way or other
this formation is essential to good action. Another reason for the
obliquity of the shoulder in the riding-horse, is that without it the
saddle is not kept back in its proper place, and the horseman's
weight being thus thrown too forward, the action of the fore-
quarter is impeded. Mere obliquity, however, is not sufficient for
this purpose ; for, without a proper development of muscle, the
blade itself will not keep the saddle in its place. If, therefore,

POINTS OF THE HORSE. 23

there is a hollow just behind the top of the blade, even if this is
slanting enough, you must expect the saddle to slip forward, and
should, in all doubtful cases, be careful to put one on before con-
cluding a purchase. The point of the shoulder should be well
developed, but not showing any rough protuberances, which are
equally objectionable with a flat or ill-devel,oped point. The length
of the true arm is mainly dependent upon that of the blade ; but
sometimes, when this is oblique enough, the true arm is short and
upright, and the elbow stands under, or only a little behind, the
shoulder point. This is a very faulty conformation, and is seldom
attended with good action. The chief defect in the elbow is seen
when it turns inwards, and rubs so closely against the ribs that the
finger can hardly be insinuated between them and it. Here the
elbow is said to be tied or confined, and the horse is very apt to
turn his toes out ; while the opposite formation is indicated by
turned-in, or " pigeon" toes, and turned-out elbows, frequently
accompanying long-standing rheumatism of the shoulders. It
does sometimes happen, however, that the toes are turned in or
out without affecting the elbow, but this is an exception to the
rule. A long and muscular fore-arm is a sure accompaniment of
strong and sweeping action, and should be carefully prized; in
other respects there is little to be noted here. Next comes the
knee, which should be broad, and when looked at from the front
should be much wider than the limb above and below. It should
taper off backwards to a comparatively thin edge, and should have
a good development of the pisiform bone, which projects back-
wards at its upper part. The leg, immediately below the knee,
should be as large as any other part, and not " tied in" there,
which indicates a weakness of this part. A bending of the knee
backwards is called a " calf-knee," and is not objected to in cart-
horses, in which it is by no means uncommon ; but it is very apt
to lead to strains of this joint in the racehorse or hunter. A knee
naturally bending somewhat forward is much preferred by good
judges, though, when it is the result of over-work, it is almost
equally to be avoided with the calf-knee. Flat, and at the same
time large, cannon-bones, without gumminess, are of great import-
ance, and if attended with a full-sized suspensory ligament, and
with strong, clean, and free back sinews, the leg is to be considered
faultless. The fetlock-joint should be of good size and clean,
whilst the pasterns should form an angle with the ground, of be-
tween forty-five and sixty degrees. Lastly, the foot should be well
formed ; but the construction of this part being hereafter more
fully described, I shall omit its consideration here.

IN THE MIDDLEPIECE the withers come first under notice. It
is usual to desire them high and thin, but they are very commonly
too much developed, and if the bony processes stand up like the
edge of a razor, without muscle on them, they are to be regarded

24 THE HORSE.

as objectionable rather than otherwise. The inexperienced horse-
man is apt to consider the existence of high withers as a sure sign
that the saddle will be carried well back, but there are some horses
whose withers are the greatest annoyance to the rider, for having
upright and short shoulder-blades, together with high withers, the
saddle rides forward upon the latter, and chafes them in spite of
all the padding which can be introduced. In looking at this point,
I believe the purchaser should almost entirely disregard it, except-
ing to take care that it is not too high for the formation and posi-
tion of the shoulder-blades. If these are long, and therefore
slanting, and especially if in addition to a proper position of the
bones they are furnished with plenty of muscle, the withers may
be disregarded, and the action may be expected to be good even if
they are so low as to show no rise between the neck and the back.

The volume of the chest is the measure not only of the capacity
of the lungs, but of that of the large organs of digestion. Hence,
unless there is a middlepiece of proper size, the wind is seldom
good, and the stamina of the individual will scarcely ever be suffi-
cient to bear hard work. But there is a limit to the development
of this part in those breeds which are required to move iwith much
velocity, where weight is a great object ; and if the body of the
racehorse or hunter was as heavy as that of the drayhorse, the
speed would be greatly reduced, and the legs would give way
during the first severe gallop. So also, a wide chest interferes
with the free and rapid action of the shoulders and arms as they
glide on the ribs ; and an open bosom is almost always fatal to high
speed. In the racehorse and hunter, therefore, capacity of chest
must be obtained by depth rather than width ; while in the cart-
horse, a wide chest and a frame roomy in all directions is desired,
so as to give good. wind, and, at the same time, enable the animal
to keep up his flesh while working eight or nine hours per day.
For light, quick draught, a formation intermediate between the two
is the proper one; the large frame of the cart-horse being too heavy
for the legs to bear at a fast pace, and leading to their rapid de-
struction in trotting over our modern hard roads. The capacity
of the lungs is marked by the size of the chest at the girth; but
the stamina will depend upon the depth of the back ribs, which
should be especially attended to.

A SHORT BACK, with plenty of ground covered nevertheless, is
the desideratum of every practised horseman. Unless the mea-
surement from the shoulder point to the back of the quarters is
somewhat greater than the height at the withers, the action is
confined, especially in the gallop, for the hind legs cannot be
brought sufficiently forward on account of the interference of the
fore-quarter; and, indeed, from the want of play in the back, they
are generally too much crippled in that respect. A horse " short
above and long below" is the perfection of shape in this particular,

OF THS

JNIVERST'

POINTS OF THE HORSE. 25

but he is not very commonly met with. Where length below is
seen, there is generally too much space between the last rib and
the hip, while, on the other hand, coupled with a short back, we
too often see the legs all "jumped up together," and the action
short and stumpy. Next to these points in the middlepiece- it is
important to pay attention to the upper line of the back, which
should bend down a little behind the withers, and then swell out
very gently to the junction with the loins, which can hardly be
too wide and muscular. The inexperienced eye will often be
deceived by the hips, for if these are narrow the muscles rise above
them, and make the loin and back look stronger than they really
are, the contrary being the case where the hips are wide and
ragged. This latter formation, though not so elegant as the level
hip, is prized by the man who wishes to be carried well to hounds,
and he will jump at a horse which would be passed over with con-
tempt by the tyro as " a great raw-boned brute." A slightly-arched
loin is essential to the power of carrying weight ; a much-arched,
or " hog" back, is almost sure to give uneasy action from its want
of elasticity.

IN EXAMINING THE HIND-QUARTER, so much depends upon the
breed, and the purposes to which the animal is to be put, that only
a few general remarks can be given. Thus, for high speed, there
should be plenty of length in the two bones which unite at the
stifle-joint, without which the stride must be more or less limited
in extent. The exact position of the hip-joint not being easily
detected, the tyro has some difficulty in estimating the length from
it to the stifle-joint, but he can readily measure the length from
the root of the tail, either with his eye or with a tape, if he cannot
depend upon his organ of sight. In a flat outline this will come
to twenty-four inches in a horse of fifteen hands three inches, but
measured round the surface it will be two inches more. Again,
the lower thigh, or gaskin, should be of about the same length j but
if measured from the stifle to the point of the hock, it will be fully
twenty-eight inches in a well-made horse of high breeding. These
measurements, however, will be much greater in proportion than
those of the cart-horse, who requires strength before all things,
and whose stride is of no consequence whatever. In him, the
length of the upper, or true thigh is generally as great as that of the
thoroughbred, but the lower thigh, is much shorter, and the horse
stands with a much straighter hind leg, and consequently with his
hocks making a very slight angle. Muscular quarters and gaskins
are desirable in all breeds j for without strong propellers, no kind
of work to which the horse is put can be duly performed. The
judge of a horse generally likes to look at the quarters behind, so
as to get a good view of their volume, and unless they come close
together, and leave no hollow below the anus, he suspects that
3

26 THE HORSE.

i

there is a want of constitution, and rejects the animal on that
account. But not only are muscles of full size required, but there
must be strong joints to bear the strain which these exert, and one
of the most important of all the points of the horse is the hock.
This should be of good size, but clean and flat, without any gum-
miness or thoroughpins, and with a. good clean point standing clear
of the rest of the joint; the " curby place" and the situation of
spavin should be free from enlargement ; but to detect these dis-
eases a considerable amount of practice is required. Lastly, the
hocks should be well let down, which depends upon the length of
the thigh, and insures a short cannon-bone. The pasterns and
feet should be formed in correspondence with those of the fore
extremity, to which I have already alluded.

Such are the recognised points to be desired in the horse; but in
spite of the general opinion of good judges being in favor of them,
as I have described, no one can predicate with certainty that a horse
possessing them all in perfection will have a corresponding degree
of action out of doors. No one who has bought many horses will
be content with an inspection in the stable, even if the light is as
good as that of the open air, for he well knows that there is often
a vast difference between the estimate of the value of a horse which
he forms indoors and out. Much of this depends upon the temper
of the individual, for if he is dull and heavy he will not " make a
good show," though still he may be capable of being sufficiently
excited by hounds, and many such horses are invaluable hunters.
Independently, however, of this element, it will be sometimes found
that the frame which looks nearly perfectly symmetrical while at
rest, becomes awkward and comparatively unsightly while in mo-
tion; and the horse which is expected to move well will often be
sent back to his stall with " That will do, thank you," after a
single run.

PROPORTIONS OF THE VARIOUS POINTS.

THE PROPORTIONS of the component parts of the horse, as I havo
already remarked, vary a good deal in the different breeds. The
following, however, may be taken as the most perfect ; but they
refer especially to the racer, hunter, and hack, as well as to the
lighter and more blood-like harness horses, and must not be strictly
applied to the draught-horse in any of his varieties : —

This scale is drawn in inches, and, in the outline, the horse is
supposed to be fifteen hands three inches, or sixty-three inches
aigh. The measurements are the average of those carefully taken
from six horses considered to be of perfect symmetry. Two of
these were celebrated stallions, two thoroughbred hunters, and two
chargers of great value.

PROPORTIONS OF VARIOUS POINTS.

27

indies.

Height at withers and croup .... 63

Length from shoulder-point to quarter 66
From the lowest part of chest to the

ground 36

From the elbow-point to the ground . 39
From the withers to the pole, just be-
hind the ears, in a straight line . . 30
The same measured along the crest . 32

Length of head 22

Width across the forehead 9£

Inches.

From the withers to the hip . . . . 22
From the sti«le to the point of the

hock, in the attitude shown in the

plan 28

From the root of tail to stifle-joint . 26
From the point of the hock to the

ground 22£

Length of arm from the elbow to the

pisiform-bone 19J

From the pisiform-bone to the ground 19J

Girth varies from 76 to 79.

Circumference of fore cannon-bone. 7£, 8, 8, 8, 8£, and 9 inches.

Circumference of arm just below the elbow, 16£ to 18 inches.

On comparing these measurements with those of Eclipse, as
recorded by St. Bel, it will appear that there is some considerable
variation from those of that celebrated horse, which he is said to
have measured during life, and to have also checked his dimensions
after death. Thus, though Eclipse was very low before, and yet
was sixty-six inches high, his head was twenty-two inches long,
being the same as the average length of the six horses given by
myself, though they are three inches lower at the withers, and at
least five inches lower at the croup. Again, though thus shown
to be particularly short, it must have been of extraordinary width ;
for, according to the same authority, it measured one foot across
below the eyes; but, as Mr. Percivall remarks, this must be a
mistake for above the eyes. Indeed, I cannot help thinking, in

28 THE HORSE.

accordance with the opinions of the above distinguished English
veterinarian, that in other respects " there appears some discord-
ance in his admeasurements'' of Eclipse. Nevertheless, it may
safely be assumed, according to Mr. Percivall's summing up, that
" he was a big horse in every sense of the word ; he was tall in
.stature, lengthy and capacious in body, and large in his limbs.
I For a big horse his head was small, and partook of the Arabian
character. His neck was unusually long. His shoulder was
strong, sufficiently oblique, and though not remarkable for, net
deficient in, depth. His chest was circular. He rose very little
in his withers, being higher behind than before. His back was
lengthy, and over the loins reached. His quarters were straight,
square, and extended. His limbs were lengthy and broad, and
his' joints large, in particular his arms and thighs were long and
muscular, and his knees and hocks broad and well formed."

The scale which I have given likewise differs in many particulars,
though only slightly, from that which is usually found in treatises
on the horse; but I have preferred trusting to Nature herself
rather than to the observations of previous writers, which may be
consulted by the reader at any time.

MATURITY.

THE HORSE COMPLETES HIS DENTITION at five years old, when
he may be said to be mature. At eight or nine years the lower
teeth lose their marks, or black concavities, after which there is no
reliable evidence of age, which can, however, be tolerably accurately
guessed at from the length of the front teeth or nippers, and from
the general appearance of the horse, especially about the eyes, as
will be hereafter shown.

MARES ARE VERY COMMONLY ALLOWED TO BREED in their
third year, being put to the horse as two year olds. They often,
however, come "in season" as yearlings, and many would then
breed if allowed to be covered. It is found by experience that the
foal robs the dam of some part of the nourishment which is destined
by nature to develop the maternal frame, and hence the young
mare is injured in size and substance if she breeds before she has
come very near to maturity.

AVERAGE AGE.

THE AVERAGE AGE of the horse, when allowed to live without
the risk of accidents and disease which he incurs in his usual work,
is about twenty-five years. Instances of greater longevity are
recorded on good authority, and there is reason to believe that
occasionally he has reached to thirty-five or even forty years, but
these are rare exceptions, and there are few which live beyond the
twenty-eighth year, while a large proportion die before the twenty-
fifth. Stallions are over-fed and under-exercised in proportion, so

MOULTING— MENTAL DEVELOPMENT— STOMACH. 29

that it is no wonder they become diseased, and seldom die from
old age } but brood-mares are not so mismanaged, and it is found
that they become quite worn out soon after their twentieth year ;
and even if allowed to live they waste away and die by degrees,
generally somewhere between their twenty-third and twenty-eighth
year.

PERIODICAL MOULTING.

JHE HORSE SHEDS HIS COAT once a year in all countries, and
in our climate a second half-moult is performed in the autumn,
when the summer short coat is partially shed. This second change
consists, however, chiefly in a growth of the already existing hairs,
which become coarser and longer, especially about the legs and
under-parts of the body. At the same time the coat loses its gloss,
and the color is less rich, blacks becoming rusty brown, and bays
more yellow or sandy-colored than before. The hair of the mane
and tail is constantly in a state of growth, and is not shed period-
ically.

MENTAL DEVELOPMENT.

IN MENTAL DEVELOPM'ENT the horse ranks below the dog, but
he is capable of a considerable degree of education, though in
countries where he is kept constantly confined he does not appear
to great advantage in this respect. That he may be made to'
understand what is said to him is clear enough from the mode of
managing farm-horses, which are all taught to obey the voice. I
have on one occasion seen a circus-horse walk, trot, and gallop at
the word of command, and change his paces on the instant; but
this feat I have never known performed by any other exhibitor,
nor do I think it would easily be imitated. It requires a high
order of intellect to distinguish between the three paces and
change them on the instant, and if I had not myself witnessed the
performance on two several occasions I should scarcely have cred-
ited it. The brain of this animal does not require much rest by
sleep, and four or five hours in quiet are sufficient to keep him in
health if he is not very hard worked. He readily sleeps standing,
and ' some individuals never lie down ; but this habit of sleeping
standing should not be encouraged, as it greatly distresses the legs,
and tends to produce fever of the feet, or some other, mischief ir»
the lower extremities.

SMALL STOMACH.

ONE OF THE GREATEST PECULIARITIES in the structure of the
horse is the small size of his stomach, which is also of a verj
simple nature. He is likewise without a gall bladder, showing
that the digestion must be continuous and not interrupted by dis-
tinct intervals, as in the ruminants and carnivora. Nature has
thus framed this animal, in order that he may be at all times able
2*

30 THE HORSE.

to exert his utmost speed, which he could not do with the mass of
provender, in his stomach which is carried by the cow or sheep.
The same provision is shown in the udder of the mare, which 13
not larger than that of the goat or sheep.

All these several characteristics of the horse will be more mi-
nutely considered under the different heads to which they each
belong; but they are here grouped together to give a better general
idea of the animal which is under examination.

CHAPTER III.

THE HORSES OF THE EAST.

The Barb — The Egyptian Horse — The Horses of Dongola and
Abyssinia — Other African Horses — The Modern Arab — The
Persian Horse — The Turkish Horse-^- Other Asiatic Horses —
The Australian Horse.

FOR THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTIONS of Oriental varieties of
the horse I am indebted to the accounts of travellers, having only
seen one or two of them, and those only as single specimens, with
the exception of the Arab.

THE BARB.

THIS KIND is named after the country in which it is found,
which is rather an extensive one, comprehending the states of
Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Fez, and Morocco, all lying on the northern
coast of Africa to the west of Egypt. Vegetation is very luxu-
rious in the valleys watered by the streams which descend from
the Atlas Mountains in their course to the Mediterranean, and
grass is abundant in the early spring and autumn, but in the
summer season the great heat burns it all up ; and therefore the
horce is dependent upon the care of man for fodder during a great
part of the year. Berenger describes the true Barb as follows : —

" The fore-hand is long, slender, and badly furnished with
mane ; but the neck rises distinctly and boldly out of the withers ;
the head is small and lean ; ears, of good size, and well placed ;
shoulders, light, obliquely sloping, and broad ; withers, thin and
high; loins, straight and short; flanks and ribs, round, and well
developed; haunches, strong; croup, somewhat too long; quar-
ters, muscular and full ; legs, clean, and the tendons clearly marked
and separate from the bone; pasterns, somewhat too long and
slanting; feet, sound and of good shape. In size they are lower
than the Arabs, seldom measuring more than fourteen and a half

THE BARB.

31

hands, and they have not as much spirit, speed, or endurance, al-
though in external things they are perhaps superior to him."

The GODOLPHIN ARABIAN, of which the annexed cut is a
representation, is said to have been imported into France from
Barbary, and is supposed to have been presented by the Emperor
of Morocco to Louis XIV. as a fine Barb; but he was thought so
little of in Paris that he was set to draw a cart about the streets,
from which ignoble occupation he was rescued by Mr. Coke, and
brought over to England. This gentleman gave him to a Mr.
Williams, who kept the St. James' Coffee-house, and by him he
was presented to the Earl of Godolphin for stud purposes. It

was, however, only by chance that his value was discovered ; for
being used as teazer to Hobgoblin, he was merely put to ftoxana
on the refusal of that horse to cover her, the produce being Lath,
one of the best horses of the day. The Godolphin Arabian was
of a brown bay color, and is said to have been about fifteen hands
in height. He is supposed to have been foaled about the year
1724, and died in 1753. A remarkable feature in this horse is
the height of his crest, and he is also invariably represented with
round and drooping quarters. Several portraits of him are in
existence, but all render these points in the same manner. I am

32 THE HORSE.

not aware that there are any reliable grounds for considering this
celebrated horse as a Barb rather than an Arab, and according to
the usual description of the former, his size is against the hypo-
thesis. Still, as he is generally so considered, Ivvhave added his
description to that of the Barb, leaving my readers to draw their
own conclusions.

THE EGYPTIAN HORSE.

IN THE FIRST CHAPTER I have shown that there is a strong
reason for believing that the horse was introduced to Arabia
through Egypt, and that the latter country again derived its supply
from the central regions of Africa, which probably also furnished
the Barbary States. The modern Egyptian horse is a very second-
rate animal, and, according to Burckhardt, u is ugly, of coarse shape,
and looking more like a cart-horse than a racer." He says, "Their
legs and knees, and short and thick necks, are frequent defects
among them. The head is sometimes fine ; but I never saw good
legs in an Egyptian horse. They are not able to bear any great
fatigue, but when well fed their action occasionally is more bril-
liant than that of the Arabian ; their impetuosity, however, ren-
ders them peculiarly desirable for heavy cavalry, and it is upon
this quality alone that their celebrity has ever been founded/'

There are said to be some fine breeds in the interior of the
country j but, as a rule, the Egyptian horse stands very low in the
estimation of travellers. Of late years more attention has been
paid to his breeding by the Viceroy and his subordinates, and it is
said that some considerable improvement has taken place.

THE HORSES OF DONGOLA AND ABYSSINIA.

THE DONGOLA BREED has been celebrated by that trustworthy
authority, Mr. Bruce, as of the highest symmetry, size, and
strength. He also praises highly their temper and docility, but
seems to know nothing of their actual performances. Other wri-
ters, however, find fault with their want of substance, and pro-
nounce them to be deficient in stoutness.

THE ABYSSINIAN HORSE is generally described as of good siz<3
and power, but I know of no reliable authority on which to depend
in reference to particular points.

OTHER AFRICAN HORSES.

BESIDES THE ABOVE DISTINCT BREEDS of African horses there
are several others which are not clearly made out, but to which
individual travellers have alluded as, in their opinion, decided
varieties of the animal. Thus Mr. Tully speaks of the Bornou
horse as superior both to the Barb and Arab, but his statement is
not verified by travellers of later date. The South African horse,
used by the Kafirs in the recent wars with the Boors of the Cape

THE MODERN ARAB. , 33

of Good Hope, is a most wiry and useful animal ; but there is no
doubt that he has been greatly altered from the original form of
the native horse by crosses with the English and Arabian breeds,
which have been obtained by theft. In the early days of this set-
tlement the native horse was Very small, seldom reaching to four-
teen hands, and though hardy and capable of standing a good deal
of work, yet plain and unsightly in appearance. The colonists
have so improved this original stock that they can now furnish
several thousand horses annually for exportation, averaging fifteen
hands in height, and of very superior form and action. They
show a great deal of Arabian blood, but many of them bear a
strong resemblance to the thorough-bred English horse, several of
which breed have been at various times introduced into the colony.

THE MODERN ARAB.

THE CONTROVERSY relating to the value of this breed in the
stud has raged with such vehemence that it is difficult to obtain
an unprejudiced opinion upon it. One thing, however, is quite
clear, namely, that to it in a great measure we owe the pre-eminence
of our English thorough-bred. But how long it would take to
bring a modern Arab, even of the highest caste, to the state of
perfection in which we find our own West Australians and Stock-
wells it would be difficult to say. This subject, however, will be
better discussed in treating of the English breed itself.

ALT BEY, who has investigated the subject with great acuteness,
and who has had opportunities beyond the reach of ordinary wri-
ters, describes six distinct breeds of Arabs. " The first," he says,
" named the ' Dgelfe/ is found in Arabia Felix. They are rare at
Damascus, but pretty common in the neighborhood of Anaze.
They are remarkable for speed and fire, yet mild as lambs; they
support hunger and thirst for a long time, are of lofty stature,
narrow in the chest, but deep in the girth, and with long ears. A
colt of this breed at two years old will cost in his own country two
thousand Turkish piastres.

" The second breed, called ' Seclaoni,' comes from the eastern
part of the Desert, resembles the ' Dgelfe' of Anaze in appear-
ance, but is not quite so highly valued.

l< Next comes the ' Mefki/ handsome, though not so swift as the
two former breeds, and more resembling the Andalusian in figure.
They are very common about Damascus.

" Then the Sabi resembles the Mef ki ; and the fifth breed, called
Fridi, is very common, but it is necessary to try them well, for
they are often vicious, and do not possess the excellent qualities of
the other breeds.

" Sixth, comes the Nejdi, from the neighborhood of Bussorah,
and if they do not surpass, they at least equal, the ' Dgelfe of

3-i THE HORSE.

Anaze, and Seclaoni.' Horses of this breed are little known at
Damascus, and connoisseurs assert that they are incomparable;
thus their value is arbitrary, and always exceeds two thousand
piastres."

The first and last of these breeds are those which are most sought
after by East Indian sportsmen ; and Colonel Bower, who is one of
their strongest admirers, tells us that he once possessed a three-
year-old colt which stood fifteen hands and an inch at that age.
He describes him as having " the stereotyped assortment of Eastern
beauties : could stick his nose in a tumbler, and looked the gentle-
man all over; remarkably muscular, and as stately in his bearing
as an autocrat, but his clean flat wiry legs, measuring eight inches
round the shank below the knee, had nothing English in their
composition. This was a pure Anaze Arab, but his career in the
field was cut short by his casting himself in his' stall, and dislocat-
ing his hip." It will be seen that no mention is here made of the
breed which has been so long familiar to those who read our mo-
dern histories of the horse as that called " Kochlani" or " Kailhan,"
descended from the stud of Mahomet, who is supposed by m^ny
historians to have laid the foundation of the Arabian pedigrees.
There is a tradition that the Prophet, being desirous of selecting
mares for his stud, had a number of them which had been used as
chargers kept for two days without water. At the end of that
time, when mad with thirst, they were set at liberty, and at the
moment when they were close to the coveted water, his trumpets
sounded a war charge, which had such an effect upon five of them
that they abandoned the water, and gallopped to the spot where
they expected to meet with the still greater excitement of war.
These five were therefore selected to form the foundation of his
stud, and from them it is supposed that the race called " Kochlani"
are descended. There is a slight similarity between this name and
that of the second in the list enumerated by Ali Bey, and perhaps
his " Seclaoni" may be identical with the " Kochlani" of previous
writers. It is asserted by Oriental travellers that pedigrees exist
which can be traced five hundred years back, and in the highest
breeds there is no doubt that at present great care is taken, and
many ceremonies performed at the covering of the mare. After
the birth of the foal, a certificate is always duly made out by the
local authority, and this must be done within seven days of its
being dropped.

ARABIA is, in great measure, made up of rocky mountains and
sandy deserts ; but in Arabia Felix there are numerous valleys of
remarkable fertility ; though it is chiefly on the limited oasis sur-
rounding each well or spring of water that the Arab horses are
dependent for their food. It is found even in this country that a
very luxuriant herbage does not suit the horse, whose frame be-

THE MODERN ARAB.

35

comes coarse and heavy if he is reared upon the succulent grasses
of rich meadows, and therefore it is probable that much of the
wiryness of leg and lightness of frame in the Arab is due to the
sandy soil in which the grasses of these oases take their roots.
Besides this, the dry air may have something to do with the devel-
opment of muscle and tendon, while the soft sands of the desert
render it unnecessary to protect the feet with iron shoes, and thus
they are enabled to grow into the form which nature has designed
for them as the most suitable to bear the superincumbent weight.

CHABAN," AW ARABIAN STALLION.

PURE ARABS are considerably smaller than our modern tho-
rough-breds, seldom exceeding 14 hands 2 inches in height. The
head is remarkable for the width across the forehead, which is also
full and square, while the muzzle is finer, the face more hollowed
out, and the jaws more fully developed in their proportions than
in any other breed with which we are acquainted. The eye is full
and soft, yet sparkling with animation on the slightest excitement;
the ear is small; the neck arched ; the shoulders oblique, but mus-
cular ; the withers moderately high and thin ; the chest rather
light in girth, but the back ribs deep in proportion, and the hips.

36 THE HORSE.

though narrow, well united to the back by a rounded mass of pow-
erful muscles. The croup is high, and the tail set on with a con-
siderable arch. The bones of the legs are large in proportion to
the size, and the tendons full and free, the suspensory ligaments
being particularly strong and clean. The hocks are large and free
both from curbs and spavins; and, lastly, the feet, though small,
are sound, and capable of bearing an amount of battering which
few well-bred English horses can sustain. The prefixed engraving
of " Chaban," an Arabian stallion, shows most of these points
extremely well, and the general characteristics of the breed are
particularly well indicated by the artist, who took the sketch from
a celebrated Arabian of high caste in the stud of the King of
Wurtemburg.

FROM THE FULL DEVELOPMENT of the brain in this breed it
might be expected d priori, that the amount of intelligence and
courage possessed by them would be far above the average ; and
such is the result of experience. Most of them are extremely
docile, and in their native plains, where they pass their lives in
constant communion with their masters, they are possessed of tine
tempers; but if they are highly fed, and at the same time deprived
of exercise and cruelly treated, their nervous system is so sensitive
that they rebel, and when they fight they persevere to the death.
A vicious Arabian is, therefore, a very unmanageable brute, and
difficult to cure of his bad propensities. Good treatment, however,
has its effect upon him, and when he once shows his forgiveness he
may be depended on by the individual that he takes into his good
graces. This trait has been well exemplified in the savage Arabian
lately tamed by Mr. Rarey, and in a still more marked manner in
former years in the case of Chillaby, who was, if possible, more
savage than Cruiser, and yet was so completely tamed by Hughes,
the celebrated circus-horse trainer, that he was able to exhibit him
as a trained horse, and was never once disappointed by him. This
is, I believe, more than Mr. Rarey can say of the above well-known
savage horse, which was one of the first he operated on in this
country.

THE rooD of this kind of horse is of a very dry though nour-
ishing nature, and neither when at liberty nor when tied up can
he get much water, the prevalent opinion being that an unlimited
supply of this fluid injures his shape, and interferes with his wind.
It is said that the Arab horse is only fed twice a-day ; but I con-
clude that this only refers to his allowance of corn, and that in
the intervals he is permitted to pick lip what little dry herbage
the soil affords. Wonderful stories are told of the distances which
young colts are compelled to go when first mounted, but I confess
that I look with great suspicion upon these travellers' tales. About
five or six pounds of barley or beans, or a mixture of the two, con-

THE MODERN ARAB. 37

stitute the dai'y allowance of corn, which is about the weight of
half a peck of good oats, and would be considered poor feed by
our English horses, unless the proportion of beans is very large.

THE COLORS of the Arabian horses are mostly bay, chestnut,
and gray, but occasionally black. The skin itself of the gray
horses is of a deep slate color, and the manes and tails are darker
than the rest of the body.

THE SPEED of the Arabs, which have recently been brought
over to this country, is undoubtedly not nearly equal to that of
our thorough-bred horses for courses of moderate length, that is,
not exceeding two miles ; and there is no reason to believe that at
longer distances there would be an essential difference in the result.
In the Goodwood Cup an allowance is made them of a stone, yet
no Arab has ever had a chance of winning, and as far as this test
goes they are proved to be inferior to the French and American
horses. In India a difference of weight, varying from 1 stone to
1 stone 7 pounds, is made in favor of Arabs as against imported
English horses, " in order to bring the two together" in racing
parlance, yet even then few Arabs can compete with the second-
rate horses which are imported from this country. Colonel Bower
tells us that " in India the weights range from 7£ stone to 10
stone, and no uncommon timing for Arabs is 2 minutes and 54
seconds the mile and a half; 3 minutes and 52 seconds the 2
miles — it has been done in 3 minutes and 48 seconds, and the Arab
that did it was once my property, and his name was the Child of
the Islands. He was a daisy-cutter, and yet I have ridden him
over the roughest ground, and never detected him in a trip. A
pleasanter, safer hack could not be, and a fleeter Arab the world
never saw. He stood 14 hands 2 inches, bay with black points,
wiry limbs, very muscular all over, and measured 7f inches round
a fore leg of the finest bone and flattest sinew." This time is as
good as that of the average of our Derbys, but the test is a very
fallacious one, and unless the time is taken over the same course,
and that in the same running condition, no comparison can pos-
sibly be drawn.

Captain Shakspear, in his recently published work on the
" Wild Sports of India," gives the following most minute descrip-
tion of the Arab, as he is now met with in India, As it differs in
some particulars from the accounts of other observers, I extract it
entire. The price of a good Arab, he says, varies from 150?. to
200£., and there is plenty of choice in the Bombay and Bengal
markets.

" The points of the highest caste Arab horse, as compared with
the English thorough-bred,\re as follow : the head is more beauti-
fully formed, and more intelligent ; the forehead broader ; the
muzzle finer; the eye more prominent, more sleepy-looking in
4

38 THE HORSE.

repose, more brilliant when the animal is excited. The ear is
more beautifully pricked, and of exquisite shape and sensitiveness.
On the back of the trained hunter, the rider scarcely requires to
keep his eye on anything but the ears of his horse, which give
indications of everything that his ever- watchful eye catches sight
of. The nostril is not always so open in a state of rest, and indeed
often looks thick and closed ; but in excitement, and when the
lungs are in full play from the animal being at speed, it expands
greatly, and the membrane shows scarlet and as if on fire. The
game-cock throttle^-that most exquisite formation of the throat
and jaws of the blood-horse — is not so commonly seen in the Arab
as in the thorough-bred English racehorse ; nor is the head quite
so lean. The jaws, for the size of the head, are perhaps more
apart, giving more room for the expansion of the windpipe. The
point where the head is put on to the neck is quite as delicate as
in the English horse. This junction has much more to do with
the mouth of the horse than most people are aware of, and on it
depends the pleasure or otherwise of the rider. The bones, from
the eye down towards the lower part of the head, should not be
too concave, or of a deer's form ; for this in the Arab as in the
English horse denotes a violent temper, though it is very beautiful
to look at. Proceeding to the neck, we notice that the Arab stal-
lion has rarely the crest that an English stallion has. He has a
strong, light, and muscular neck, a little short, perhaps, compared
to the other, and thick. In the pure breeds, the neck runs into
the shoulders very gradually; and generally, if the horse has a
pretty good crest, comes down rather perpendicularly into the
shoulders ; but often, if he is a little ewe-necked, which is not
uncommon with the Arab, it runs in too straight, and low down
in the shoulders. The Arab, however, rarely carries his head,
when he is being ridden, so high in proportion as the English.
He is not so well topped, which I attribute to the different way he
is reared, and to his not being broken in regularly, like the Eng-
lish horse, before he is put to work. His shoulders are not so flat
and thin, and he is thicker through in these parts generally for
his size than the English thorough-bred horse. His girth does
not show so deep, that is, he does not look so deep over the heart ;
but between the knees and behind the saddle, where the English
horse very often falls off, the Arab is barrel-ribbed; and this gives
him his wonderful endurance and his great constitutional points.
This also prevents him from getting knocked up in severe training
or under short allowance of food, and in long marches. His chest
is quite broad enough and deep enough for either strength or
bottom. The scapula, or shoulder-blade, is both in length and
backward inclination, compared to the humerus, or upper bone of
the arm, quite as fine in the high-caste Arab as in the English

THE MODERN ARAB. 39

horse ; while both bones are generally better furnished with mus-
cles, better developed, and feel firmer to the hand. But some of
the very fastest Arabs have their fore legs very much under them;
indeed, so much that no judge would buy an English horse so
made. Yet, whether it be that this form admits of the joints
between these bones becoming more opened, when the horse
extends himself, or whatever be the cause, it is a fact that blood-
horses thus made are almost always fast horses. The upper part
of their shoulder-blade seems to run back under the front part of
the saddle, when they are going their best. This formation is
most common in the lower-sized Arab, and apparently makes up^
to him for his deficiency in height. The very finest-actioned
Arabs have had this peculiarity of form. They are rather apt
to become chafed at the elbow-points by the girths, and almost
require to have saddles made on purpose for them. The elbow-
point, that essential bone, which for the sake of leverage should
be prominent, is fine in the Arab, and generally plays clear of the
body. The fore-arm is strong and muscular, and is pretty long ;
the knee square, with a good speedy cut for the size of the animal,
equal to the English horse ; while below the knee the Arab shines
very conspicuously, having a degree of power there, both in the
suspensory ligaments and flexor tendons, far superior, in proportion
to his size, to the English horse. These are distinct and away
from the shank-bone ; they give a very deep leg, and act mechani-
cally to great advantage. The bone looks small, but then it is
very dense, the hollow which contains the marrow being very
small, and the material solid, more like ivory than bone, heavy,
and close-grained. The flexor tendons are nearly as large and as
thick as the canna bone. The pasterns and their joints are quite
-in keeping with the bones above them, and are not so long, straight,
and weak as those of the English horse. The feet are generally
in the same proportion : but the Arabs themselves appear to be
very careless in their treatment of them. The body or centre piece
of the Arab horse has rarely too great length. This is a very
uncommon fault in the pure breed; and there is no breed of horses
that are more even in this respect than the Arab. Behind this,
we come to a great peculiarity in the breed — his croup. I might
say an Arab horse is known by it : he is so much more beautifully
made in his hind quarters, and in the way his tail is put on, than
most other breeds. His loins are good ; he is well coupled ; his
quarters are powerful, and his tail carried high ; and this even in
castes that have very little more than a high-bred stallion to recom-
mend them. The straight-dropped hind leg is always a recom-
mendation, and almost all racing Arabs have it; and this, when
extended, brings the hind foot under the stirrup, and the pro-
pellers being of this shape give a vast stride, without fear of over-

40 THE HORSE.

reach. The thighs and hocks are good; the latter very rarely
know either kind of spavin cr curbs. The points and processes
are pre-eminently well adapted for the attachment of the muscles ;
while the flexor tendons of the hind legs generally correspond with
those of the fore. The hocks are not so much let down, nor the
hind legs so greyhound-like, as in the thorough-bred English horse.
In stride, too, he is somewhat different, inasmuch as it is a rounder
way of going, and is not so extended or so near the ground, but is
more like a bound. However, there are exceptions ; and I have
bred pure Arabs whose stride, for their size, was very extended,
and quite like that of English racehorses."

THE MARE is commonly supposed to be more highly prized by
the Arabs than the" stallion ; but this idea is said to be unfounded
by the celebrated Abd el Kader, in a highly interesting letter to
General Daumas, which is published in the fifth number of JBaily's
Magazine of Sports. He remarks :

"It is true that the foal proceeds from the sire and from the
dam, but the experience of ages has proved that the essential parts
of the body — such as the bones, the tendons, the nerves, and the
veins — proceed always from the sire. This is beyond all doubt.
The meanest Arab knows now that any malady specially belonging
to the bones, under which the sire may be suffering at the time of
covering, will be perpetuated in his produce, such as splints, bone
and blood spavins, the shape of the bones, and all diseases of the
vertebral column. The dam may give to her produce color, and a
certain amount of resemblance in form, the foal naturally partak-
ing of some of the qualities of the animal which had so long
borne it; but it is an incontestable fact, that it is the sire who gives
strength to the bones, substance to the tendons, vigor to the nerves,
rapidity of pace, in short, all the principal qualities. He also
communicates what may be called moral qualities, and if he be
unquestionably of high blood the foal is preserved from vice. Our
fathers have said, El aond por ma audouche Mela — 'A horse of
noble race has no vices/ An Arab will lend his stud horse gra-
tuitously ; he never accepts payment for his services. To hire out
a stud horse for money is, in the eyes of an Arab, an unworthy
action, and is contrary to the generosity for which he is renowned,
and although the law allows it, I have never known an instance of
it. But though the Arab lends his stud horse gratuitously, he
does not do so to the first comer, nor for any mare. No; the sup-
pliant is often obliged to make use of the intercession of persons
of great interest, or even of his wives, if he would not see his re-
quest refused. On the other hand, the Arabs are very difficult in
their choice of a stud horse, and if they cannot find one of pure
blood, they prefer leaving their mares unproductive rather than
put them to a common horse. To procure a good sire they do not

THE PERSIAN HORSE. 41

hesitate to travel any distance. The preceding has already inti-
mated to you my conclusion, that the sire has more to do with the
foal than the dam. And my conclusion is identical with the uni-
versal opinion of the Arabs. They say, El Mr ilebal el fahal —
'The foal follows the sire/ "

In corroboration of this opinion, he describes the Arab horses
as distinguished under the following heads : — " El Horr, El Had-
jim, El Mekueref, and El Berdoune. El Horr is that in which
sire and dam are both of noble race ; that takes the lead. El
Hadjim is that in which the sire is noble and the dam of common
race ; it is considered less than El Horr, its name Hadjim, ' defec-
tive/ being derived from the word ' Hurdji^s,' which signifies
faulty. El Mekueref is that in which the dam is high bred and
the sire is half bred j although this approaches the Hadjim, it is
of much less value. The name of this class is derived from ' haraf'
mixed. El Hadjim is superior in quality on the same principle
that a man whose father is white and whose mother is a negress is
superior to him whose mother is white and whose father is a negro.
El Berdoune is that class in which both sire and dam are badly
bred. This animal is a stranger to our country. The value of a
horse is in its breeding."

THE PEESIAN HORSE.

SIR JOHN MALCOLM and Sir Robert Ker Porter, both of .whom
resided many years in Persia, are the chief authorities on this
subject. The former says : — " A variety of horses are produced
in Persia. The inhabitants of the districts which border on the
Gulf still preserve here those races of animals which their ances-
tors brought from the opposite shore of Arabia. In Fars and Irak
they have a mixed breed from the Arabian, which though stronger
is still a small horse compared with either the Toorkoman or Kho-
rassan breed, which are most prized by the soldiers of Persia.
Both these latter races have also a great proportion of Arabian
blood." Sir Robert thus alludes to them : — " The Persian horses
never exceed fourteen or fourteen and a half hands high; yet
certainly on the whole they are taller than Arabs. Those of the
Desert and country about Hillah seem very small, but are full of
bone, and of good speed. General custom feeds and waters them
only at sunrise and sunset, when they are cleaned. Their usual
provender is barley and chopped straw, which, if the animals are
picketed, is put into a nosebag and hung from their heads ; but if
stabled, it is thrown into a lozenge-shaped hole, left in the thick-
ness of the mud wall for that purpose, but much higher up than
the line of our mangers, and then the animal eats at his leisure.
Hay is a kind of food not known here. The bedding of the horse
consists of his dung. After being exposed to the drying influence
4*

42 THE HORSE.

of the sun during the day, it becomes pulverized, and in that state
is nightly spread under him. Little of it touches his body, that
being covered by his clothing, a large nummud from the head to
the tail, and bound firmly round his body by a very long surcingle.
But this apparel is only for cold weather ; in the warmer season
the night-clothes are of a lighter substance, and during the heat
of the day the animal is kept entirely under shade. At night he
is tied in the court-yard. The horses' heads are attached to the
place of security by double ropes from their halters, and the heels
of their hinder legs are confined by cords of twisted hair, fastened
to iron rings and pegs driven into the earth. The same custom
prevailed in the tipie of Xenophon, and for the same reason, to
secure them from being able to attack and maim each other, the
whole stud generally consisting of stallions. Their keepers, how-
ever, always sleep in their rugs amongst them to prevent accidents,
and sometimes notwithstanding all their care they manage to break
loose, and then the combat ensues. A general neighing, screaming,
kicking, and snorting soon raise the groom, and the scene for a
while is terrible. Indeed no one can conceive the sudden uproar
of such a moment who has not been in Eastern countries to hear
it, and then all who have must bear me witness that the noise is
tremendous. They seize, bite, and kick each other with the most
determined fury, and frequently cannot be separated before their
heads .and haunches stream with blood."

THE TURKISH HORSE.

THIS VARIETY seems to be merely the Arab developed by higher
food into a larger size and more massive proportions. The horses
of Constantinople are often sixteen hands in height, with very
elegant proportions and a crupper more highly developed than that
of the Arab. They are said to be extremely docile, and the two
specimens which I have seen imported into this country certainly
bore out this character, both of them, though stallions, being as
quiet as any English geldings. They had very high crests and
arched necks; and this is said to be one of the characteristics of
the breed. In the records of the turf in this country, many of
the most celebrated sires are mentioned as Turks; but though
imported from Turkey, it is very probable that some of these were
genuine Arabs.

OTHER ASIATIC HORSES.

THE HORSES OF TOORKISTAN are described by Sir R. K. Porter
as scanty in barrel, long in the leg, with ewe necks and large heads.
When crossed with those of Persia, they, however, are said by him
to produce a most magnificent animal, all elegance and elasticity,
and of a stronger form and somewhat larger size than the best

OTHER ASIATIC HORSES. 43

Arabians. Sir Alexander Burns attributes to them, on the other
hand, a very high crest, and large and bony though somewhat
long bodies. He says, also, that in Bokhara there is a breed of
Kuzzak horses, sturdy and small, with shaggy coats and very long
manes and tails, much and deservedly admired.

THE TARTAR HORSES are small and narrow, with long necks,
weak legs, large heads, and light middles. Nevertheless they are
described as fast and untiring, and of the most hardy nature, so
that they can support themselves on a quantity and quality of food
upon which even our donkeys would starve.

IN VARIOUS PARTS OF TARTARY horses are found in a wild
state, and present a rough inelegant form not unlike that of our
New Forest ponies. In them the characteristics of the domesti-
cated Tartar horse already described are exhibited in a marked
manner, and there is every reason to believe that the two breeds
are identical, and that the ranks of the latter are recruited from
the enormous herds of wild horses which are found in countless
thousands on the edges of the vast deserts of the country. They
are generally of a red color, with a black stripe along the back,
and manes and tails of the latter color, but almost always reddish
at the roots of the dock and edges of the mane. The Tartars eat
the flesh both of the wild and domesticated horse, and are said to
cook the meat under their saddles. They also manufacture a drink
called koumiss from the milk obtained from the mare, which is
fermented and distilled into an intoxicating beverage.

IN so VAST A COUNTRY AS INDIA, it might be expected that
numerous breeds of horses would be found, varying almost as much
as the climates and soils of Bengal and Cabool. In the immediate
neighborhood of the three presidencies imported and country-bred
Arab, as well as Persian and Turkooman horses, are common
enough, as also are importations from the Cape of Good Hope,
Australia, and Van Dieman's Land. English horses are not nearly
so numerous, the expense and risk of the voyage deterring most
people from the speculation, the doubtful nature of which may be
estimated from the fact that the insurance is twenty-four to twenty-
five per cent., and this only insures the landing of the animal alive;
for if it is so wasted and worn as to die an hour afterwards, the pol-
icy is of no value to the insured. Williamson, in his Wild Sports
of the East, describes the native Bengal breeds in the following
terms : — u They have generally Roman noses, and sharp, narrow
foreheads, much white in their eyes, ill-shaped ears, square heads,
thin necks, narrow chests, shallow girths, lank bellies, cat hams,
goose rumps, and switch tails ! Some occasionally may be found
in every respect well shaped. They are hardy and fleet, but inca-
pable of carrying great weights. Their vice is proverbial ; yet
until they arrive at four or five years they are often very docile

44 THE HORSE.

and gentle ; after that period they, for the most part, are given to
rearing, kicking, biting, and a thousand equally disagreeable
habits." Other writers have defined the several breeds found
throughout the southern parts of India, and named them also, as
Toorky, Go&akee, Tazsee, &c. ; but I understand from good author-
ity that there are really no such breeds in existence now, and
probably they were only called into being by the active imagina-
tions of inventive writers. Large breeding studs were kept by
some of the native princes, but these were mainly dependent upon
imported Arabs and Persians, and could claim no peculiar strain
as their own. The same mixture of blood prevails in the present
day, with the exception of the horses in the northern provinces.

THE BIRMAN HORSE is very small, being seldom higher than
thirteen hands, and it is said that some specimens are less than
eleven. The same remark applies also to those of CHINA, SIAM,
and JAVA.

THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE.

THE IRISHMAN'S FIFTH QUARTER OF THE WORLD is now
abundantly supplied with horses of the first class, in size, speed,
and stoutness, though little more than half a century ago the ani-
mal was altogether unknown there. At first, from the proximity
of India and the Cape of Good Hope, the horses of these colonies,
and those of inferior value only, were imported into the new settle-
ment; but about the year 1835 great efrorts were made by several
enterprising settlers, both in the Island of Van Dieman and also
on the continent of Australia, and several horses of good breeding
were imported from this country, especially by Mr. Wilmore in
the former island. It was soon found that the climate is admirably
suited to this animal, and there are now colonial-bred horses,
adapted for the turf and the road, as well as for agricultural pur-
poses, superior in soundness and probably in stoutness, even if
they are deficient in face, as compared with the British thorough-
bred. As far as I know, no Australian horse has been imported
into England, so that we have no means of comparing the two on
terms advantageous to the mother country ; nor possibly can we
altogether depend upon the glowing accounts which are furnished
us of the appearance and performances of our Antipodean rivals.
Still I am inclined to believe that as the soil and climate are ad-
mitted to improve the appearance of the imported horses, as indeed
they do all our domestic animals, and as disease of all kinds is
extremely rare, so it will be found that in all good qualities the
Australian horse is at least on a par with our own. Their breeders
are so spirited and determined that neither money nor trouble is
spared in procuring the best blood, an evidence of which is afforded
by the fact that at the recent sale of Lord Londesborough's stud,
the large sum of 3120 guineas (about $15,000) was invested for

THE SOUTH AMERICAN HORSE. 45

Australia. This, probably, is the heaviest price yet paid at one
sale by any colonial breeder, but numerous smaller speculations
have been going on for the last twenty years. Hence, whatever
position is attained by our friends over the water, they will en-
tirely owe to the parent country; and I strongly suspect that
before long we shall have to go to them to procure sound horses
of high breeding for our own studs.

CHAPTER IV.
THE HORSES OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

The. South American Horse — The Mustang — The Indian Pony —
The Canadian Horse — The Morgan Horse — The American
Trotter — The Narraganset Pacer — The American Thorough-
bred— The Vermont Cart-Horse — The Conestoga Draught-
Horse.

THE SOUTH AMERICAN HORSE.
FOR SOME TIME AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, at the

conclusion of the fifteenth century, the horse was entirely unknown
in that hemisphere, but according to Azara a few specimens were
introduced there by the Spaniards in the year 1535, and in the
year 1537 several were shipped to Paraguay. From these have
been bred the countless herds which have since spread over the
whole southern part of the western world, and passing the Isthmus
of Panama have wandered into North America. In both these
divisions the horse runs wild, wherever there are plains suitable to
him, and not yet brought under cultivation ] but it is in the south
that the wild horse is to be found in the greatest numbers, on the
extensive plains which stretch almost unbroken from the shores of
La Plata to Patagonia. Here herds numbering some thousands in
each are to be met with, each under the guidance of a master stal-
lion, who enforces entire submission to his will as long as he has
the power to do so. Here the native Gaucho has only to throw
his lasso, and he can at any time supply himself with a horse which
will carry him for miles at a hand gallop, when he changes him
for another, and is thus always mounted at a cheap and easy rate.
In this way Captain Head rode all across the continent from one
shore to the other, nearly using up one horse in the course of fifty
or sixty miles, and then looking out for another before the first
was so spent as to be unable to assist him in making the exchange.
These wild horses greatly resemble their Spanish ancestors in make
and shape. They are said to be possessed of a fair amount of

4G THE HORSE.

speed, but not above the average of foreign breeds. They are,
however, from their roving habits, in excellent wind, and it is said
that a Gaucho has been known to ride one fresh caught nearly a
hundred miles without 'drawing bit.

THE MUSTANG, OR WILD HORSE OF NORTH AMERICA.

LIKE THE WILD HORSES OF SOUTH AMERICA, those of Mexico
and California are in all probability descended from Spanish blood,
and indeed it is impossible now to discover, with anything like
certainty, the source of the Indian Ponies, large herds of which
run wild in the northern and north-western parts of this extensive
continent. So little do the Americans now know or care about
these wild horses, that the late Mr. Herbert, who has treated of
the American Horse in two vols. quarto, omits all mention of them,
excepting the most cursory allusion to the Mustang as the origin
of the Indian Pony, in common with the Canadian horse. I shall,
therefore, not weary my readers with extracts from Mr. Catlin's
somewhat fanciful writings, but at once proceed to allude to the
modern domesticated breeds of horses met with in the United
States and Canada.

ACCORDING TO MR. HERBERT, who seems to have taken great
pains to arrive at the truth, " with the one solitary exception of
the Norman horse in Canada, no special breeds have ever taken
root as such, or been bred, or even attempted to be bred, in them
purity, in any part of America. In Canada East the Norman
horse, imported by the early settlers, was bred for many generations
entirely unmixed; and, as the general agricultural horse of the
province, exists, yet so stunted in size by the cold climate and the
rough usage to which he has been subjected for centuries, but in
no wise degenerated, for he possesses all the honesty, courage, en-
durance, hardihood, soundness of constitution, and characteristic
excellence of feet and legs of his progenitor." Besides this native
Canadian there are also, among the more active kinds, the Morgan
horse, the American trotter, the Narraganset pacer, and the tho-
rough-bred descended from English imported horses, with scarcely
any admixture of native blood ; and of the agricultural varieties,
the Vermont and Conestoga draught-horses, in addition to several
others not so easily made out.

THE INDIAN PONY.

THE INDIAN PONY, which seldom or never exceeds thirteen
hands in height, is remarkable for activity and strength, as com-
pared with its size, appearing, like its Scotch congener, to be almost
overwhelmed with its rider, whose feet nearly touch the ground,
yet moving under its load with freedom. It has a high crest,
and a flowing mane and tail, with a proud carriage of the head of

THE CANADIAN HORSE.

47

a very pleasing character. The body is strongly built, and the legs
and feet are made of the most lasting materials. Large herds of
these ponies run wild in the prairies of the north-west, and many
are brought into Canada for the use of the inhabitants.

THE CANADIAN HORSE.

THE CANADIAN HORSE.

THE CANADIAN HORSE is generally about fourteen to fifteen
hands high, and is a remarkably hardy animal, capable of travelling
very long distances, but in his pure condition not above the average
in speed. When crossed, however, with a thorough-bred horse, he
combines the speed of the latter with his own endurance and iron
constitution and legs, and in this way a great many of the best
American trotters are bred. Mr. Herbert says, " His crest is lofty,
and his demeanor proud and courageous; his breast is full and
broad ; his shoulders strong, though somewhat straight, and a little
inclined to be heavy ; his back broad, and his croup round, fleshy,
and muscular; his ribs are not, however, so much arched, nor are
they so well closed up, as his general shape and build would lead

43 THE HORSE.

one to expect; his legs and feet are admirable — the bone large and
flat, and the sinews big and nervous as steel springs ; his feet seem
almost unconscious of disease ; his fetlocks are shaggy ; his mane
voluminous and massive, not seldom, if untrained, falling on both
sides of his neck, and his tail abundant, both having a peculiar
crimpled wave, if I may so express myself, the like of which I
never saw in any horse which had not some strain of his blood." I
give a sketch on the preceding page of one of these horses, showing
the shape and action peculiar to them. It is said by good judges
to be an excellent likeness.

THE MOSGAN HORSE.

THE MORGAN HORSE has recently been paraded in America as
a distinct strain, kept pure in its own district for more than half a
century, and descended from a single horse, in the possession of
Mr. Justin Morgan, a schoolmaster in Vermont. In the present
day the " Morgans'* are so much sought after that in the year 1856
the Agricultural Society of Vermont offered a prize for the best
essay on the subject, which was awarded to Mr. Linsley, an inha-
bitant of the same state. According to this authority, the founder
of the family, or strain, was got by a horse called " True Briton,"
which was said to have been stolen, and whose pedigree is there-
fore doubtful. Mr. Linsley endeavors to prove, however, that he
was a son of the English thorough-bred horse Traveller, which he
assumes to be identical with the son of Partner, known as Morton's
Old Traveller, giving as his authority a pedigree inserted in the
Albany " Cultivator" of 1846. The same authority is also ad-
duced to prove that the dam of True Briton and also of Justin
Morgan's horse were of nearly pure English blood, and that the
latter was descended from the famous " Cub" mare ; but the facts
adduced seem of the most doubtful nature, and I believe that the
Morgan horse would in this country be considered as undoubtedly
half-bred.

Mr. Linsley describes the founder of the Morgan strain in the
following terms : — He " was about fourteen hands high, and weighed
about nine hundred and fifty pounds. His color was dark bay,
with black legs, mane, and tail. He had no white hair upon him.
His mane and tail were coarse and heavy, but not so massive as
has been sometimes described; the hair of both was straight, and
not inclined to curl. His head was good, not extremely small, but
lean and bony, the face straight, forehead broad, ears small, and
very fine, but set rather wide apart. His eyes were medium size,
very dark, and prominent, and showed no white round the edge of
the lid" (Qy. iris?). "His nostrils were very large, the muzzle
small, and the lips close and firm. His back and legs were per-
haps his most noticeable points. The former was very short, tho

THE MORGAN HORSE. 40

shoulder-blades and thigh-bones being very long and oblique, and
the loins exceedingly broad and muscular. His body was rathe*
long, round, and deap, close ribbed up ; chest deep and wide, with
the breast-bone projecting a good deal in front. His legs were
short, close jointed, thin, but very wide, hard and free from meat,
with muscles that were remarkably large for a horse of his size,
and this superabundance of muscle manifested itself at every step.
His hair was short, and at almost all seasons soft and glossy. He
had a little long hair about the fetlocks, and for two or three inches
above the fetlock on the back side of the legs; the rest of his
limbs were entirely free from it. His feet were small, but well
shaped, and he was in every respect perfectly sound and free from
blemish. He was a very fast walker. In trotting his gait was
slow and smooth, and his step short and nervous ; he was not what
in these days would be called fast, and we think it doubtful whether
he could trot a mile much, if any, within four minutes, though it
is claimed by many that he could trot it in three. Although he
raised his feet but little, he never stumbled. His proud, bold, and
fearless style of movement, and his vigorous untiring action, have
perhaps never been surpassed."

He describes him as being fast for short distances, by which he
explains that he means a quarter of a mile, which he says was the
usual distance run in those days. From this celebrated horse are
descended, more or less remotely, "Black Hawk," " Ethan Allen,"
"American Eagle," and a host of horses celebrated for gameness,
and many of them for fast-trotting powers. But those who dis-
pute the claims of Mr. Justin Morgan's horse to be considered the
founder of the family, assert that before his time a similar horse
prevailed in this district which was made up of crosses between
the Canadian horse and the English thorough-bred. I shall, how-
ever, leave this much-vexed question for the Americans to settle
among themselves, contenting myself with a description of the mo-
dern Morgan horse as he is recognised throughout the states of
America. He is generally, though not universally, admitted to be
very stout and enduring, with good action, especially in the trot,
and great hardness of constitution. He shows very little evidence
of pure blood ; indeed it may be said that the reverse is the case, as
he invariably possesses a thick and long mane and tail, with a con-
siderable curl in both, signs which may be truly said are fatal to
his claims. In height he seldom exceeds fifteen hands. His frame
is corky, but not remarkably well put together, there being gene-
rally a deficiency in the coupling of the back and loins. The fore-
head is very light, and carried high, somewhat in the fashion of
the Canadians, but not so heavy in the crest and junction of the
neck to the shoulder, though the setting of the head is equally
thick. On the whole, the Morgan horse may be described as ex-
5 D

50 THE HORSE.

tremely useful, but deficient in what we call "quality," in propor-
tion to the absence of thorough blood.

THE AMERICAN TROTTER.

THE TRUE MODERN TROTTING HORSE is a most remarkable
instance of what may be done by keeping an animal to one kind
of work for generations, and selecting the specimens best fitted for
it to breed from. In this country a thorough-bred horse, or even
one of nearly pure blood, could not be found at any price to trot a
mile in three minutes, yet in America there are plenty, of blood
almost entirely derived from the English turf horse, which will
perform the distance in two minutes and forty seconds, and some
in considerably less time. In America private and public trotting
matches in harness have been for many years the chief amusement
of the town population, and, until very recently, when flat racing
or running, as it is called there, has been more developed, a fast
trotter fetched a higher price than any other description of horse.
Trotting matches are, in fact, the national sport, just as racing is
that of our own country. Latterly, however, the amusement has
been somewhat on the decline, the aristocratic classes holding them-
selves aloof, and patronizing the turf in preference. Still there is
no diminution in the pace of their trotters, and, on the contrary,
the celebrated Flora Temple has recently made tho best time on
record, having, on the 15th of October, 1859. when fourteen years
old, done a third mile heat in two minutes, nineteen and three-
quarter seconds, and having, in June, 1861, performed three sepa-
rate mile heats in the wonderfully short time of seven minutes,
six and a half seconds.*

Mr. Herbert, in his quarto work on " The Horse of America,"
clearly shows the reason why our transatlantic cousins excel us in
their trotters, and why they take to this species of amusement in
preference to others. After enumerating several which do not
appear to us quite so cogent as to him, he more pertinently says,
u Another reason, inferior in practical truth to the others adduced,
but physically superior, is this, — that before American trotters
could be generally used in Great Britain, the whole system of
British road-making must be altered, which is not likely to occur.
On an ordinary English macadamized turnpike, which is exactly
the same as the hardest central part of the New York Third Ave-
nue, without any soft track alongside of it, an American trotter
would pound his shoes off in an hour's trot, and his feet off in a
week's driving ; and this is doubtless, whatever may be said of the
objections heretofore offered, one which must operate for ever
against the general use of trotters after the American fashion,

* Since the above was written the renowned " Dexter" has eclipsed all
previous records, having trotted three separate mile heats in 6m. 5s., and a
mile in the unprecedented time of 2m. 17£s. — EDITOR.

THE AMERICAN TROTTER. 51

unless they be trained and kept exclusively for sporting purposes.
This, however, is no more, but even less likely to occur than the
total alteration of the whole system of English road-making, and
the entire change of the tastes and habits of the English people :
since the point which renders the trotting horse so popular here
would then be wanting, namely, his equal adaptability to ordinary
road driving and purposes of general utility, and to occasional
matching and turf amusements of a peculiar though inferior descrip-
tion" This is the true cause of the " decline and fall" of trotting
horses in England, for in the early part of the nineteenth century
there were ten good performers on the trot for one now. The pace
is not a natural one, and in its highest perfection, especially, it
must be developed by constant practice. But this is forbidden on
our modern roads, which, as Mr. Herbert truly remarks, would
ruin the legs and feet of any horse ridden or driven at such a pace
as to do a mile in two minutes and thirty seconds. I fully believe
that the horses of America have sounder legs and feet than those
of our own country, partly from being kept cooler in their stables,
partly from their being less stimulated by inordinate quantities of
oats and beans, but chiefly from their ancestors having been less
injured by hard roads than those of our own. If this is the case
we must have in every succeeding generation more and more diffi-
culty in getting sound roadsters, and such, I believe, is really
the fact.

BY MANY people it is supposed that the American trotter is a
distinct breed or strain of horses, and that we can in this country
easily obtain plenty of horses able to do their mile '" within the
thirties," by importing individuals and breeding from them. This
hypothesis, however, appears to be unfounded according to the
evidence of Mr. Herbert, as recorded in his " magnum opus," and
that of other writers in the New York sporting press. The former
gentleman, who is "well up" on this subject, says: — "And first
.we shall find that the time trotter in America is neither an original
animal of a peculiar and distinct breed, nor even an animal of very
long existence since his first creation. Secondly, we shall find
that in an almost incredibly short space of time, owing to the great
demand for and universal popularity of the animal, united to a
perfectly devised, and now ubiquitously understood, system of
breaking, training, and driving him so as to develop all his quali-
ties to the utmost, the trotting horse of high speed, good endurance,
showy style of going, and fine figure, has become from a rarity a
creature of every-day occurrence, to be met with by dozens in the
eastern and middle states, and scarcely any longer regarded as a
trotter, unless he can do his mile in somewhere about two minutes
and a half. Thirdly, it will appear that the trotting horse is, in
no possible sense, a distinct race, breed, or family of the horse ;

52 THE HORSE.

and that his qualities as a trotter cannot be ascribed or traced to
his origin from, or connection with, any one blood more than an-
other. It is true, and it is to be regretted, that of trotting horses
the pedigrees have been so little alluded to, and probably from the
nature of circumstances are so seldom attainable, that few, indeed,
can be directly traced to any distance in blood. Enough is known,
however, to show that some horses of first-rate powers have come
from the Canadian or Norman-French stock ; some from the ordi-
nary undistinguished country horse of the southernmost of the mid-
land states ; some from the Vermont family ; some from the Indian
pony; and lastly, some mainly, if- not entirely, from the thorough-
bred. To no one of these families can any superiority be attributed
as producing trotters of great speed. All have shown their speci-
mens by means of which to claim their share in the production.
Only it may be affirmed, generally, that while some very famous
trotting horses have been nearly, if not entirely, thorough-bred, the
low, lazy, lounging, daisy-cutting gait and action of the full-blooded
horse of Oriental blood is not generally compatible with great trot-
ting action or speed. Still it is true that the best time-trotters
have not the round, high-stepped action which is prized in carriage-
horses, or parade-horses for show, and which probably originated
and existed to the greatest extent in the Flemish or the Hanove-
rian horse of the coldest of all imaginable strains of blood; and that
they have in a great measure the long reaching stride, the quick
gather, and the comparatively low step of the thorough-bred/'

THE NARRAGANSET PACER.

IT IS SUPPOSED that this beautiful variety of the American
horse, which is now nearly or quite extinct, is descended from the
Spanish horse. There are several traditions afloat in support of
this and other theories, but by general consent it is admitted that
the above theory as to his origin is the true one. According to
this, he was introduced into New England by Governor Hobinson,
from Andalusia, and for many years the, breed was kept up for the
supply of Cuba, the voyage being much shorter than that from the
mother country, Spain. These horses were of good size and natural
pacers, the action being on alternate sides, but remarkably easy,
which is more than can always be said of the modern rackers 01
pacers. As the roads improved, however, in the West India
islands, carriages were introduced, and then, the demand ceasing
almost entirely, the breed was neglected, and is now unknown in
its pure form.

THE AMERICAN THOROUGH-BRED.

UNTIL THE ENGLISH THOROUGH-BRED Horse is described, it is
scarcely possible to enter fully into the pedigree of the American,

THE AMERICAN THOROUGH-BRED. 53

descended as the latter is from stock imported from the mother
country. But, taking the fact for granted, I may proceed to allude
to the progress which has been made in the United States, from
the date of the first importation. It appears that shortly prior to
the year 1750, a Mr. Ogle, the G-overnor of Maryland, was in pos-
session of Spark, presented to him by Lord Baltimore. About the
same time he also imported Queen Mab, by Musgrove's gray Arab;
and, soon afterwards, Colonel Tasker obtained Selima, daughter
of the Godolphin Arabian; while Colonel Colville's Miss Colville,
known in the English Stud Book as Wilkes* Old Hautboy mare,
Colonel Taylor's Jenny Cameron, and Routh's Crab, were severally
introduced into the colony. In 1747, Monkey, by the Lonsdale
bay Arab, though in his twenty-second year, crossed the Atlantic,
and got some good stock, followed during the next year by Jolly
Roger, by Roundhead, out of a Partner mare. About 1764, Fear-
nought, a son of Regulus and Silvertail, and therefore of the very
highest English blood, went to America, and within a few years
of that date Morton's Traveller, by Partner, out of a mare by the
Bloody Buttocks Arabian, which completes the list of the importa-
tions prior to the War of Independence. It must be observed,
that, before the year 1829, no Turf Register existed in America,
and hence there is not the same guarantee for the fidelity of a
pedigree as in England, where there are authentic records which
reach to a much earlier period. Moreover, the war upset the
homes of so many families, that multitudes of documents were lost;
but, nevertheless, I believe sufficient has been preserved to prove
the authenticity of the pedigrees belonging to the horses which I
have enumerated, and whose progeny can be traced down to the
present day, their blood being mingled with that of numerous im-
portations of a more recent date. The love of racing was very soon
implanted in the colonists of Maryland and Virginia, from whom
it spread to North and South Carolina, and in these southern states
the sport has been kept up to the present day with great spirit.
Tennessee was inoculated with the virus of the racing mania soon
after its first settlement, as also may be said of Kentucky, both
states having possessed some very celebrated horses at various
times. New York joined in at a much later period than the southern
states, no organized racing-club existing there until after the com-
mencement of the present century; although there were small
racecourses at Newmarket and Jamaica before the Revolution.
But the energy of the true Yankee sent the New Yorkites ahead,
and they soon became worthy rivals of the southern statesmen.
From 1815 to 1845, the great stables of the North and South
were carried on under a most honorable rivalry ; but at the second
of these dates, it so happened that a vast number of the most ener-
5 *

54 THE HORSE.

getic supporters of the turf in the northern states withdrew from
the arena, and, as they disappeared, none filled the gaps, except
a few professed trainers and jockeys, who carried racing on entirely
as a business, and regardless of that honorable spirit which had
previously distinguished it. Trotting also came into fashion, and
the fanatics preached a crusade against both, which took double
effect upon the sport, already tottering to its fall. It may indeed
be said, that from 1845 to 1855, racing in America was confined
entirely to the south ; but about 1855 or 1856 a new jockey-club
was established in New York, and its members laid out a new race-
course on Long Island; but still the second effort was not equal to
the first, and New Orleans has taken the wind altogether out of
the Long Island sails, by the spirited attempt which has been
made by Mr. Ten Broeck to match his stud against the first Eng-
lish horses on their own ground. That he has failed in carrying
off the Derby with Umpire is no proof of the general inferiority
of American horses to those of England, any more than his other
great successes are enough to insure a conviction of the opposite
condition in any unprejudiced mind. Umpire might have been
an exceptional horse, and granting to him the high form which he
was last year (1859) assured to possess, it would prove nothing
quoad the general form of the horses of his country. Still it
cannot be denied that they are much nearer to our own than was
believed to be the case before Mr. Ten Broeck came among us; but
how near they are is yet a vexed question, which will take some
time to settle.

THE AMERICAN THOROUGH-BRED HORSE is said to be much
stouter than the modern English strains ; and without doubt Mr.
Ten Broeck's Prioress can stay better than most English horses,
though she is not considered by the Americans themselves to be
quite up to the best staying form which they possess. This sub-
ject, however, will be better considered after the performances
of the English horse are carefully examined. It must be remem-
bered that, with the exception of the horses recently brought over
to this country, we have no means of comparison beyond the time
test, which is not a reliable one ; firstly, because we have no time-
races here; and, secondly, because none of our long distances are
run from end to end. As far as I have had an opportunity of
seeing, and with the single exception of Charleston, all Mr. Ten
Broeck's horses have been extremely narrow, the crack Umpire in
particular being " like two deal boards nailed together," as the
"men of stable mind" say here. His hips are the narrowest 1
ever saw in a horse supposed to be of first class, and those of
Prioress are not much more developed. The celebrated horse,
Lexington, who is out of the same mare as Umpire, is also reported
to have been very narrow in the hips, so that probably this pecu-

VERMONT AND CONESTOGA HORSES. 55

liarity runs throughout that strain of blood, but whether derived
from Alice Carneal or from Boston (who got both Lexington and
Lecompte, the latter the sire of Umpire) I cannot say. Neverthe-
less, unless the time-test is utterly fallacious, both Lexington and
Lecompte must have been stout, for they have each done four
miles, under seven stone two, in seven minutes twenty-six seconds,
with a start similar to that adopted in England. Lexington, with
the same kind of start, has performed the same task in seven min-
utes twenty-three and a half seconds, and with a running start
against time, in the extraordinarily short time of seven minute?
nineteen and three-quarter seconds.*

THE VERMONT CART-HORSE.

A DISTINCT BREED of draught-horses under this name is de-
scribed by Mr. Herbert as existing in Vermont and the adjacent
country, though now, he says, less marked than it was prior to the
introduction of railroads. I cannot, however, find any other
authority for it, nor do I quite agree with the above writer in
thinking the breed, if he rightly describes it, as identical with the
Cleveland Bay. He says, " These are the very models of what
draught-horses should be ; combining immense power with great
quickness, a very respectable turn of speed, fine show, and good
action. These animals have almost invariably lofty crests, thin
withers, and well set on heads ; and although they are emphati-
cally draught-horses, they have none of that shagginess of mane,
tail, and fetlocks, which indicates a descent from the black horse
of J Lincolnshire, and none of that peculiar curliness or waviness
which marks the existence of Canadian or Norman blood for many
generations, and which is discoverable in the manes and tails of
very many of the horses which claim to be pure Morgans. The
peculiar characteristic, however, of these horses, is the shortness
of their backs, the roundness of their barrels, and the closeness of
their ribbing up. One would say that they are ponies until he
comes to stand beside them, when he is astonished to find that they
are oftener over than under sixteen hands in height."

THE CONESTOGA DRAUGHT-HORSE.

THE LAST on the list of American horses is that known under
the above name, which was given to it from being produced in the
valley of Conestoga, within the state of Pennsylvania. It is a very
large muscular horse, often reaching to seventeen hands and up-
wards, and closely resembling the heaviest breeds of German and

*In a race against time (October 17th, 1867), Kentucky, the famous
son of Lexington, then four years old, ran 4 miles in 7 min. 31f sec. The
first two miles were run in 3 min. 36 sec., the first three in 5 min. 29 sec.
Kentucky carried a weight of 120 Ibs.

56

THE HORSE.

CONE8TOGA DRAUGHT-HORSE.

Flemish cart-horses. The early settlers of this part of the United
States were mostly Germans, and they either brought over with
them some of the horses of their country, or else they have since
selected from those within their reach the animals most resembling
in appearance their old favorites when in their fatherland. There
is, however, no record of the origin of the breed, and all that can
be done is to describe it as it now exists.

THE ACCOMPANYING sketch embodies the general appearance
of these horses, and by comparing it with the London dray-horse,
it will be seen that it differs only slightly, having the same heavy
outline of form, united with similar comparatively light limbs, but
not burdened with the mountains of flesh and heavy crests which
have been produced in England for purposes of show. In Penn-
sylvania, these horses are chiefly used for wagons, and some few
of them, when of inferior shape, for the canal traffic. They are
good honest workers, and are quicker and lighter in their action
than might be expected from their weight. Indeed, some of them
are still used for heavy carriages ; but even in Pennsylvania, for

EARLY MATURITY. 57

quick work, they are generally replaced by the Vermont horse, or
some nondescript of mixed blood, with which America is com-
pletely overrun.

In color they follow the Flemish horses, except that black is rare
among them, but like the Flemish they are free from chestnut, and
the larger proportion of them are bay, brown, or iron grays.

CHAPTER V.

THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE.

Early Maturity — Object of Encouraging the Breed — Essentials in
the Thorough-bred — Purity of Blood — External Formation —
Height — Color — Coat, Mane, and Tail.

EARLY MATURITY.

IT is AN UNDENIABLE fact, as I believe, that preternaturally
early maturity is incompatible with lasting qualities of any kind ;
but, though the same rule generally holds good throughout nature,
there are some exceptions. Thus, the oak is more lasting than the
larch, and the elephant outlives the horse, but the goose and the
duck, which arrive at maturity in the same number of months, do
not live through a corresponding series of years. The forcing pro-
cess in gardening is always productive of tenderness, whether the
produce be the cucumber or the sea-kale, and this tenderness is
only another name for imperfect formation to resist decay. In the
days of Eclipse and Childers they were permitted to attain their
full growth without forcing, and, not being wanted till five years
old, their ligaments, tendons, and bones had plenty of time to be
consolidated before they were submitted to the strains and jerks of
the extended gallop. There is also reason to believe that they
were not nearly so much or so soon stimulated by large feeds of
oats, as is now invariably the custom, but that they were allowed
to remain at grass, with the shelter of a hovel, during the first
three or four years of their lives. All this is now changed ; the
foal is filled with corn as soon as he will eat it, and at the end of
the first year he is furnished as much as the old-fashioned three-
year-old. One chief difficulty of the trainer now is to keep his
horse sound, and, unfortunately, as disease is in most cases heredi-
tary, and too many unsound stallions are bred from, the difficulty
is yearly on the increase. Without doubt roaring is far more
common than it used to be, and the possession of enlarged joints,
and back sinews, is the rule instead of the exception. During the

58 THE HORSE.

last ten years, the Derby has five times been won by an unsound
animal, which the trainer was almost immediately afterwards obliged
to put out of work, either from diseased feet or a break-down, and
yet few breeders think of refusing to use such horses as these.
Nevertheless, good legs and feet, and a hearty constitution, are no
small recommendations, and Mr. Merry may thank them for win-
ning him the great prize of the year 1860, with Thormanby, a son
of that wonderful mare Alice Hawthorne. Thormanby, however,
is not an instance of a colt having been reserved till he was arrived
at his growth, for there are few horses which have been more used,
having run fourteen times as a two-year-old; but his naturally
excellent legs and feet, and the fine down on which he is trained,
have enabled him to pull through unscathed. Now the reliance
which was placed by his backers on these good qualities, proves
that he is an exception to the rule ; for if they were at all common,
they would be of comparatively little advantage. The truth really
is, that the average racehorse of modern times is of such forced
growth, that he is unable to bear the wear and tear of training as
he used to do, and hence a much larger percentage of unsound
animals is to be met with. He is bred mainly for speed, super-
added to which is as much stoutness and soundness of constitution
as can be procured among the most speedy horses at the service
of the breeder. By a perseverance in this method of selection, he
has undoubtedly become more speedy, and less lasting in propor-
tion to his speed, that is to say, he cannot be extended for as long
a time as he used to bear with impunity. But that he cannot
cover as much ground in a given time as formerly is, I think, an
error, — for there is every reason to believe that any distance may
now be run in as short a time at least, as either in the middle of
the last century or the beginning of this.

OBJECT OF ENCOURAGING THE BREED OF HORSES.

THE GREAT OBJECT of encouraging the breed of racehorses is,
however, lost sight of, if suitable crosses for hunting, cavalry, and
hack-mares cannot be obtained from their ranks. In these three
kinds, soundness of the feet and legs is all important, together with
a capacity to bear a continuation of severe work. These qualities
are highly developed in the Arab, and until lately were met with
in his descendants on the English turf. Even now a horse with a
stain in his pedigree will not bear the amount of training which a
thorough-bred will sustain, his health and spirits soon giving way
if forced to go through the work which the racehorse requires to
make him " fit." But the legs and feet of the latter are the draw-
backs to his use, and the trainer of the present day will generally
be sadly taxed to make them last through a dry summer. Our
modern roads are also much harder since the introduction of mac-

OBJE.CT OP ENCOURAGING THE BREED. 59

adamization, and thus, in proportion to our greater demands, is the
absence of the material to meet them. A hack that is not pretty
well bred is now neglected, except for high weights, because his
paces are not soft and pleasant, and he does not satisfy the eye.
But how many of the fashionable sort will bear constant use on
the road without becoming lame ? And how many sound horses
are there to be met with out of a hundred, taken at random from
the ranks of any kind tolerably well bred ? Every horse proprietor
will tell you, scarcely five per cent.; and some will even go so far
as to say, that a sound horse is utterly unknown. In considering
the principles and practice of breeding, I shall again refer to this
subject; but I wish now to impress upon my readers that while
the racehorse of 1860 is as fast as ever, as stout as ever, and as
good looking as ever, he is made of more perishable materials in
proportion as he conies to maturity at an earlier period. Any of
our modern two-year-olds would probably give two stone, and a
beating to Eclipse at the same age, but if afterwards they were put
to half-bred mares for the purpose of getting hacks, chargers, or
hunters, the stock of Eclipse or Childers would be much more
valuable than any which we have at present. We are sadly in
want of sound and well bred stallions for general purposes, and if
the government of the country does not soon interfere, and adopt
some " means of furnishing these islands with them, we shall be
beaten on our own ground, and shall have to import sound useful
horses from Belgium, France, Hungary, or Prussia, whichever
country can best spare them. The old-fashioned and sound tho-
rough-bred horse has been the means of improving the above three
breeds; and even now we possess horses which are perfect in every
other respect but soundness, being excellent hacks, hunters, and
light carriage-horses, and often all in one. This last kind is the
perfection of the horse ; and if many such could be produced it
would be a great advantage, because most people would like a horse
which could " make himself generally useful," if such an animal
could be obtained. Without high-breeding, however, this is im-
possible ; and yet with most of our purest strains, though it is
attainable for a time, the condition in which it exists does not last
long, in consequence of the effect of the hard road upon their soft
legs or contracted feet. Consequently, as I have already remarked,
there is a necessity for government interference to produce such a
breed of thorough-bred horses, by careful selection, as shall give
us the above three kinds of horses useful in civil life, from which
may be culled a plentiful supply of cavalry horses, whenever wanted;
for the very same qualities are demanded in all, and what will suit
the one will be equally advantageous to the other.

But even though the thorough-bred horse is well fitted to com-
pete with others in all cases where speed is the chief point of trial —

60 THE HORSE.

as ill flat-racing, steeple-chasing, hunting, &c., — yet he is not so
well qualified for some kinds of harness-work, or for road-work of
any kind, as the horse expressly bred for these purposes. There
is no doubt that thorough-bred horses might be selected and bred
expressly for this kind of work, and would excel all others, because
originally their limbs and constitutions were at least as sound as,
or perhaps even sounder than, any other class of horses; but while
they are selected and bred solely for speed, without much reference
to these other qualities, it is useless to expect much improvement ;
but on the contrary, they may be expected to become yearly more
and more soft and yielding. For many purposes the Eastern horse
is wholly unfit — as, for instance, for heavy and dead pulls ; here
his high courage, light weight, and hasty temper are adverse to
the performance of the task, and he is far excelled by the old Eng-
lish, or modern improved cart-horse. No thorough-bred horse
would try again and again at a dead pull like many of our best
breeds of cart-horses ; and therefore he is little calculated for work
which requires this slow struggling kind of exertion. The pull of
the Eastern horse, or his descendant, is a snatch ; and though it
may to a certain extent be modified by use, yet it can never be
brought up to the standard of the English cart-horse, even if the
weight of carcase and size and strength of limb of the former
could be sufficiently increased.

ESSENTIALS IN THE THOROUGH-BRED.
SUCH THEN ARE THE GENERAL QUALITIES of the thorOUgh-bred

horse and the purposes to which he can be beneficially applied. It
remains now to consider the formation and specific characteristics
best adapted to the turf, which is his chief arena ; and also to the
hunting-field, which now absorbs a very large number of his breed.
Finally, it will be necessary to consider him as a means of improv-
ing other breeds, such as the cavalry-charger, hack and harness
horse, but these subjects will fall under the respective heads here
mentioned.

PURITY OF BLOOD.

IN THE FIRST PLACE PURITY OF BLOOD must be considered as a
sine qua non, for without it a horse cannot be considered thorough-
bred, and therefore we have only to ascertain the exact meaning
of the term " blood." It is not to be supposed that there is any
real difference between the blood of the thorough-bred horse, and
that of the half-bred animal ; no one could discriminate between
the two by any known means ; the term " blood" is here synony-
mous with breed, and by purity of blood is meant purity in the
breeding of the individual animal under consideration ; that is to
say, that the horse which is entirely bred from one source is pure
from any mixture with any other, and may be a pure Suffolk

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 61

Punch, or a pure Clydesdale, or a pure thorough-bred horse. But
all these terms are comparative, since there is no such animal as a
perfectly purely bred horse of any breed, whether cart-horse, hack,
or racehorse ; all have been produced from an admixture with
other kinds, and though now kept as pure as possible, yet they
were originally compounded from varying elements ; and thus the
racehorse of 1700, was obtained from a mixture of Turks, Arabs,
and Barbs. Even the best and purest thorough-breds are stained
with some slight cross with the old English or Spanish horse, as I
have heretofore shown, and therefore it is only by comparison that
the word pure is applicable to them or any others. But since the
thorough-bred horse, as he is called, has long been bred for the
race-course, and selections have been made with that view alone,
it is reasonable to suppose that this breed is the best for that pur-
pose, and that a stain of any other is a deviation from the clearest
stream into one more muddy, and therefore impure; the conse-
quence is, that the animal bred from the impure source fails in
some of the essential characteristics of the pure breed, and is in
so far useless for this particular object. Now, iu practice this is
found to be the case, for in every instance it has resulted that the
horse bred with the slightest deviation from the sources indicated
by the stud-book, is unable to compete in lasting power with those
which are entirely of pure blood. Hence it is established as a
rule, that for racing purposes every horse must be thorough-bred;
that is, as I have already explained, descended from a sire and
dam whose names are met with in the stud-book.

EXTERNAL FORMATION.

NEXT COMES THE EXTERNAL SHAPE or conformation of the
racehorse, which is a subject very much studied by those who have
the selection and management of them. Experienced trainers, and
those who have watched the performances of the celebrities of the
turf for successive years, will tell you that " the horse can run in
all forms/' and so no doubt he can as an exception, but the rule
nevertheless is, that there is a standard which should be regarded
as the best suited for the race-course, and this will vary somewhat
according to the performance which is required of each individual.
There is no doubt that the most skilful selection is not always at-
tended with success, and the statistics of the turf do not lead us
to believe that £1000 invested under the advice of John Scott or
John Day, in the purchase of a yearling, will always bring a re-
muneration. Indeed, the contrary has so often been the case-, that
high-priced yearlings are generally regarded with suspicion, when
they make their first appearance on the course. The winner of
the Derby of 1860 went a-begging, and was at last bought for a
very moderate price. So also with Butterfly, the winner of the Oaks,
6

62

THE HORSE.

no store was set upon her until she came to be tried; and even on
the morning of the race she was not generally thought good enough
to win. The celebrated Blink Bonny was a mean-looking mare, and
, would not have fetched £50 at Tattersall's, from her appearance

liiiiffiiii^1,11 —

alone, and that wonderful animal Fisherman was never liked till he
proved his powers. Still, it cannot be denied that a good judge will
select the ten best horses out of twenty, or perhaps out of a hundred ;
but he will possibly leave the very best out of his list. The theo-
retical rule is simple enough, but it requires great experience, and
a good eye to carry it out in practice. It is simply this, that,
cseteris paribus, the horse which is formed in the mould most like
that of the greatest number of good racehorses, will run the best.
Thus, supposing it is found that out of fifty good horses, forty-
nine have neat heads, light necks, deep chests, oblique shoulders,
long racing hind-quarters, strong hocks, &c., the presumption will
be that a horse resembling those forty-nine in shape, will also re-
semble them in speed and endurance. On the other hand, it is

EXTERNAL FORMATIOX. 63

admitted on the turf, that high-breeding- is of more consequence
than external shape, and that of two horses, one perfect in shape,
but of an inferior strain of blood, and the other of the most win-
ning blood, but not so well formed in shape, the latter will be the
most likely to perform to the satisfaction of his owner on the race-
course. On this principle the proverb has been framed and handed
down to us, that " an ounce of blood is worth a pound of bone,"
and with the above explanation such is really the case. But in
spite of all this recognised superiority of blood, it is indisputable
that for the highest degree of success there must be not only high
purity of blood, and that of the most winning strains, but there must
also be a frame of the most useful character, if not always of the
most elegant form. Many of our very best horses have been plain,
and even coarse-looking — as, for instance, most of the Melbournes,
and especially that very fast horse, Sir Tatton Sykes } but in spite
of their plainness, all their points are good and useful, and the
deficiency is in elegance, not in real utility. On the other hand,
there are some strains which unite elegance with utility, such
as the fast and stout Venisons, which are remarkable for their
beautiful frames and neat Arabian heads. But there must always
be a distinction made between what is really useful and what is
only agreeable to t,he eye. There are some characteristics which,
over and above their mechanical advantages, indicate high-breeding,
and as such are regarded with especial favor by purchasers. For
these a term has of late years been invented, the meaning of which
is well understood, but somewhat difficult to define. Thus, we
hear it often remarked, that a particular horse is deficient in "qua-
lity," or that he has it in perfection ; and in proportion to the one
or the other of these conditions is he meant to be praised or con-
demned. It is not simply a word synonymous with "breeding,"
for a horse may show high breeding, and yet be deficient in "qua-
lity," but if with a look which convinces you that he has a pure
pedigree, he conjoins a perfect symmetry in all his parts, and in
the shapes displayed by the thorough-bred, he then comes up to
the description which stamps a horse in these days with the highest
seal of approbation, for " he has plenty of quality."

But what is the recognised form of the racehorse ? I must here
explain to the tyro that the word " form" is used with two different
significations by racing men, and like the word " box" is very puz-
zling to foreigners. In the common acceptation it is synonymous
with " shape," and merely means the mechanical development of
the individual. But in the language of the turf, when we say that
a^horse is "in form," we intend to convey to our hearers that he
is in high condition and fit to run. So again, the word is used in
still another sense, for we speak of a horse's " form" when we wish
to allude to his powers on the turf, as compared with other well-

64

THE HORSE.

known animals. Thus, if it is supposed that two three-year-olds,
carrying the same weight, would run a mile-and-a-half, and come in
abreast, it is said, that "the form" of the one is equal to that of
the other. It is necessary, therefore, in order to make a descrip-
tion intelligible, when using the term in its mechanical significa-
tion, to add the adjective, external, although, at first sight, it may
appear to be an instance of tautology, for it might be alleged that
internal forms can only be ascertained by dissection. With this
explanation, I must now proceed to discuss what are generally con-
sidered to be the best shapes, for the purpose of combining speed
with stoutness, remembering that we are examining the thorough-
bred horse, and are not alluding to any other. As an instance of
a very opposite conformation to that of Fisherman at page 62, I
insert here a portrait of Saunterer, both after careful paintings by

Mr. Barraud. These are generally admitted to have been the two
best horses of their time, yet it is scarcely possible to imagine a
greater difference to exist in first-class animals, than is displayed
by them. Fisherman, short and strong, looks more like a hunter
than a racehorse ; while Saunterer, long and elegant, appears in-

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 65

capable of carrying more than ten stone. The student will do
well to study these animals carefully, but it must not be omitted
that the portrait of Fisherman was taken after he was thrown out
of training.

THE BODY or trunk is the grand centre of all the muscular pul-
lies and bony levers, which are used to move the horse, and it
must, therefore, first come under consideration, although, as a
matter of convenience, the horseman generally commences with
the head. It is quite true that it in turn receives its orders from
the brain, as will be hereafter explained, in treating of the nervous
system, but as a mere machine it may be regarded independently
of that organ altogether. It must, however, be viewed in three
different aspects, inasmuch as it has three different offices to per-
form. These are, first, to carry its load, and propel it by means
of the levers connected with it. Secondly, to afford room for the
heart and lungs to perform their functions in its " chest," without
interfering ^with the play of the shoulders; and, thirdly, to lodge
an efficient apparatus of nutrition. The first of these divisions
comprehends THE BACK, LOINS, AND CROUP ; the second is THE
CHEST ; and the third may be considered under the head of THE

BACK-RIBS, FLANK, AND BELLY.

THE BACK, LOINS, AND CROUP of the race-horse, as indeed of
all horses but those used exclusively for draught, are generally
described as necessarily moulded more or less in the form of an
arch. Every architect is aware that this formation is best adapted
to carry weight. A straight-backed greyhound is by some expe-
rienced coursers, preferred to one which has a slight arch in that
part ; but in this animal there is no weight to be carried beyond
that of his own carcase, and, therefore, even granting the supe-
riority in him of a straight loin (which I do not), there is no
analogy between the two animals. Nor do I believe altogether in
the received theory which attaches importance to the arched loin,
because of its greater capacity for bearing weight from its mechani-
cal form. Practically I concede, as an admitted fact, that a horse
with this construction of frame will carry weight better than one
which has a hollow loin ; but, on examining the skeleton of each,
it will be seen that in neither are the bodies of the vertebrae in
this part of the spine arranged so as to form an arch, or if there
is one, it has its concavity, not its convexity upwards, which cer-
tainly will not conduce to its weight-bearing powers. The fact
really is, that in the arched loin the spinous processes are unusually
long, and are raised into a crest like the high withers. By this
development of bone an extra space is afforded, for both the lodg-
ment and attachment of muscles, and herein is the secret of the
extra power. Between the pelvis and the bodies of the vertebrae
a true arch is formed, and according to the slope or fall of the
6* E

66 THE HORSE.

quarters will it be useful in carrying weight;. but this is quite
irrespective of the loin, which may be arched or flat in conjunction
with either formation. It is, however, most common to find an
arched loin united with an inclined pelvis, and when the two are
found together, the horse possessing this formation may be con-
sidered so far as "up to weight." Sometimes we see the pelvis
inclined, but the tail set on high, and the loin hollow, and then we
may surely predicate that there will be a want of power in these
parts, and that the seven stone of Lord Redesdale will be quite
sufficient for the animal to carry. With this objectionable shape,
there is a hollow on each side of the croup, which is very charac-
teristic of the defect, and which is carefully eschewed by the expe-
rienced horseman. If the spine between the two supports afforded
by the fore and hind extremities were really an arch, length would
but little affect it, for we know that an arch of ninety feet span, is
.no stronger than one of a hundred feet, if both are properly con-
structed; but being nearly a straight line, with its component parts
kept in their proper places, by a series of levers and pullies, length
tells most unfavorably; and " a short back, with plenty of length
below," is the height of the horseman's ambition to possess.

Mr. Percivall has fallen into a strange error in estimating tne
advantages of a long back, as may be readily seen on an examina-
tion of the following passage : — " Regarding the dorsal portion of
the spine, with its superimposed burthen, as a pole or lever, sup-
ported in front by the fore limbs, and behind by the back limbs,
after the manner of a barrel of beer, or a sedan between its bearers;
it is manifest, that the greater its length, the greater must be the
leverage, and consequent reduction of the weight of the burthen.
On this principle, the legs of the long-backed horse are actually
sustaining less load than those of the short-backed horse, even
though their riders or burthens may be of equivalent weights, from
the circumstance of their operating at a greater distance from the
load." The fallacy of this argument is apparent to every person
who has the slightest knowledge of mechanical powers; but as my
readers may not at all be in a position to estimate its value, I shall
just make a few observations upon it, as I have heard it adduced
on several occasions, to support the advantage of a long back. Now
we will suppose a weight of 500 pounds on a plank, supported upon
four props, two being five feet from the other two, and the pairs
one foot apart, resembling, in fact, the relative position of the feet
of a horse. Let the whole be arranged on a weighing machine, so
that only the four legs touch its table, and take the weight. Then
remove the two pairs of legs to a distance of six feet, and again
take the weight. According to Mr. Percivall it ought to be less
than before, but, tested by actual experiment, there will not be the
hundredth part of a grain variation, even if the instrument is sum-

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 67

ciently delicate to register that weight. A. and B. carry a weight
between them, suspended to a pole, and they find it more conve-
nient to have that pole tolerably long, because they can shift the
weight from one to the other more easily than with a shorter one,
but they carry the same weight in either case. A. can raise it by
means of his long lever more easily than with a short one, but he
can only effect this by making use of B.'s hand as a fulcrum, and
for the moment throwing the weight off himself upon it, while B.
returns the compliment in his turn, and both are relieved. For
the mere purpose of carrying weight, therefore, a short back is to
be preferred ; but there is a limitation put to this by the necessity
for length of limb to give pace, and if the legs are too long for the
back, the action of the fore-quarter is impeded by the hind, and
vice versa. Hence, in all horses, a reasonable length is preferred,
and this will vary according to the occasion for weight-carrying
power. In the thorough-bred horse, pace is essential, and his back
must consequently be of sufficient length to allow the free use of
such limbs as will give stride enough to develop it. We shall
hereafter find, that the cart-horse may have a much shorter back,
even though he has no weight to carry, but he requires strong
couplings of the hind and fore-quarter for the former to act upon,
in dragging heavy weights, and as in him pace, beyond the walk,
is never required, a short back may be allowed to be a great advan-
tage, without any attendant evil.

The most important elements of strength in the back and loins
are the depth and breadth of its muscles, for they, and not the
bones, as I have shown, are the real mechanical means by which
not only weight is carried but propelled. Now to lodge these mus-
cles, there must be high spinous processes, wide hips, and such a
formation of the ribs as to give width at their upper parts. Gene-
rally speaking the two last coincide, but sometimes the hips stand
out in a very "ragged" or prominent position, while the ribs are
flat. This formation, however, comes next to the most approved
combination, and is far better than the narrow hips and flat sides
which we now see in too many of our thorough-bred horses. In
connection with this division of the body may be taken the croup,
the upper outline of which is formed by the prolongation of the
spine towards the root of the tail; but the essential parts are made
up by the pelvis. It is very generally assumed that in order to
develop high speed, the pelvis must be long, and this I believe to
be perfectly true ; but the length need not be in a perfectly hori-
zontal direction, and is I think much better if developed at an
inclination of about twenty-five degrees, that is to say, with a con-
siderable fall. With this formation there may be the same length
for the attachment of muscles, and the same leverage in their action
on the thigh, for the situation of the hip joint (or round bone) is

68 THE HORSE.

not altered in relation to them, though it is lower and more forward
in reference to the spine. Hence the muscles which draw the
thigh forward have more power, and also act much more quickly,
giving that rapid, thrust of the hind legs forward which is essential
to good and strong action. With the perfectly horizontal croup
you may have a long sweeping stroke which tells over such a course
as Newmarket, but you very rarely meet with a quick coupling and
uncoupling, unless the pelvis is set on the sacrum or continuation
of the spine, at a considerable angle, so as to give the quarters
more or less droop. Most of our best horses have exhibited this
formation, while a great number of very handsome, but utterly
useless brutes, might be enumerated which possess the high croup
of the Arab in an exaggerated condition, of which Mr. Gratwick's
Ethiopian is a good example. If the portraits of the Godolphin
Barb are at all to be depended on, we are indebted to him for the
introduction of this useful, though not particularly elegant shape,
and I believe that it is in this direction, and in point of size, that
he has been so useful in the stud. The eye is captivated by the
animal, which, as the dealers say, " has both ends up ;" and expe-
rience teaches every horseman, who will profit by it, that both the
stargazer and the high-crouped horse are to be avoided. In select-
ing the thorough-bred horse, then, choose such as have a deep and
wide back and loin, avoiding either the " roach back," which causes
that part to be inflexible, and the hollow one, which tends to give
way too much under weight, but regarding as most desirable such
a width of ribs and hips, and depth of spinous processes as shall
give sufficient lodgment for muscles, and looking also for a proper
length of spine, not too short for stride, nor too long for strength.
Lastly, let the pelvis be attached at such an angle as to give a slight
droop to the quarters, whether the tail be set on in correspondence
with it or not, for the dock does not always come out of the pelvis
in the same position viewed in relation to that part alone.

Some of the above opinions are in opposition to those of Mr.
Percivall, who objects to a great width of hip in the race-horse,
and also asserts that he cannot be too lengthy and straight in his
quarters. He says, " Although the race-horse may prove disadvan-
tageously broad across his hips, I believe he will never be found
either too lengthy or too straight in his quarters; by which I mean
the length and elevation of an imaginary line carried from either
hip to the point of his quarter, or of another carried from the sum-
mit of his rump to the root of his hock. Such straight formation
of quarter implies small degree of inclination in the position of the
pelvis, the effect of which is extension o»f the angles between the
pelvis and the femoral bones, and corresponding increase of the dis-
tances between the pelvis and the stifles in front, and between the
pelvis and hocks behind; thereby augmenting the dimensions of

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 69

the muscles running between these salient points, and at the &ame
time furnishing them with, under the circumstances, the greatest
advantages in their action. Length and straightness in the quar-
ters must therefore be regarded as characteristic attributes of the
race-horse." Of the probability of meeting with too great a width
of hip in the race-horse I am extremely doubtful, and until I see
it I shall continue sceptical. The Melbournes, which have this
part wider than in any other strain, are certainly not to be despised,
and, in spite^of Mr. Percivall, I must, on the contrary, continue to
admire them, whenever they are to be found j my chief regret is,
that wide hips are so scarce among the descendants of that horse.

THE SECOND DIVISION OF THE BODY, OR THE CHEST, in the

thorough-bred horse, must afford sufficient room for the heart and
lungs, but it must not be too wide, or it will interfere with the free
play of the shoulder-blade as it glides on the side. An open bosom
is regarded as a sure sign of want of pace by every racing man of
experience, and I know of no single exception. One of the finest two-
year olds I ever saw in every other respect was Lord Standbroke's
Rose de Florence ; but I could have laid any reasonable odds that
she would be deficient in pace, because she was made as wide as a
cart-horse between the forelegs, and so she proved to be on trial.
A horse of fifteen hands three, or sixteen hands when in stud con-
dition should measure at least seventy-four inches, and should be
wide through the part where the rider's knees come on the saddle;
but below this the ribs should rapidly shelve inwards, and in this
way allow the shoulder points to come closer together, and the
elbows to act without being " tied." The anatomy of this part is
treated of elsewhere, and I am now regarding it simply in propor-
tion to the rest of the body. Anatomically, and considered per se,
a round or barrel-like chest is the best, because it admits of more
free expansion and contraction, but when either high speed or
smooth action is required, this formation is objectionable for the
reasons I have given above, and in all cases it is to be avoided in
the thorough-bred horse, while in some other breeds it must be
looked for with great anxiety. It has been proved that good wind
may be obtained from a chest possessing great depth without much
width, and in some cases with a very narrow bosom, as in the cele-
brated Crucifix (dam of Priam) ; and as the opposite proportions
are incompatible with speed, they must on that account be alto-
gether rejected. THE WITHERS are generally thin, and sometimes
raised quite into a razor-like form, which, however, is a defect, as
it is attended with no advantages to counterbalance the difficulty
which it presents in the way of the saddler, who is constantly being
called on to prevent his tree hurting the horse's back. A mode-
rate development of the spinous processes is required to give attach-
ment to the muscles which support the neck and move the shoulder,

70 THE HORSE.

but the excessive height which we sometimes see is not of the
slightest avail for this purpose.

THE NEXT AND LAST COMPONENT PARTS of the hody are THE
BACK-RIBS, PLANK, AND BELLY. Here we have chiefly to consider
the proper lodgment of the organs of nutrition ; but there is also
the junction of the fore and hind quarters to come under review.
For both these purposes the back-ribs should be long, or, as such
a formation is generally called, " deep," so as not only to give pro-
tection to the contents of the belly, but to afford a strong attach-
ment to the muscles which connect the chest to the hips. The
space, also, between the latter and the last rib should not be large,
or there will be an element of weakness ; but if too limited, the
action in the gallop will be confined, and the hind legs will not be
brought sufficiently forward. About the breadth of the hand is
the proper allowance to make for this space in a horse of average
size and make, and either more or less than this may be considered
a defect. To obtain this formation, the ribs themselves must be
set wide apart, and not huddled up together, as you sometimes see,
leaving a great space between the last and the hip. When the
back-ribs are long, the lower outline of the belly swells consider-
ably below the level of the girth-place, and a very elegant shape
is developed, as well as one generally united with a hardy consti-
tution. Sometimes, it is true, the two are not combined, and now
and then we meet with a very good feeder and robust animal with
shallow back ribs ; but the rule may be considered to be as I have
stated it, and the purchaser will do well to attend to it in making
his selection, when he knows nothing of the character of the indi-
vidual. For fast road-work, where the failure of the legs is gene-
rally the limit to the amount of work, a very heavy carcase is an
objection, as it increases the weight upon them ; and an overtopped
harness-horse — that is, one with a body too big for his legs — is a
most worthless brute ; but in the thorough-bred there is seldom
this formation, and the tendency is, on the other hand, to be too
light in the flank, rather than too deep. A light-carcased or
herring-gutted horse when " set" for the race-course or the fast
hunting country looks cut in two, and his performances generally
correspond with his appearance.

PROJECTING FORWARD with a beautiful sweep, the neck comes
out of the chest in this kind of horse with a most elegant outline.
Of a greater length than in any other, it is also proportionally
thin; but both these dimensions may easily be exaggerated, a very
long and thin neck being objectionable, and rarely corresponding
with good wind. The lines resemble greatly those of the neck of
the gamecock ; and when there is a decided angle about three or
four inches from the jaw, the horse is said to be " cock-throppled,"
and it is then generelly supposed that he is more than usually

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 71

liable to become a roarer or a whistler. The curve of this part a
good deal depends upon the breaking and subsequent riding, differ-
ent hands producing a great variation in the carriage; but if the
bones are so formed and connected together that the natural curve
has its concavity upwards, it is almost impossible to produce a
proper bend in the other direction, though still much may be ac-
^complished by, perseverance. A "ewe neck," as this is called, is
Tvery objectionable on this account; but it is very often combined
with speed, fine action, and great gameness. More depends upon
the junction between the head and neck, than upon the latter in
itself, for by long-continued perseverance, it may be made so supple
as to bend at the rider's will ; but if the jaws are too narrow to
allow the head to bend upon the neck, no means that can be apT
plied will make any impression, and the result is that the mouth is
spoiled, and frequently the temper also. A large and free wind-
pipe, that is, one of sufficient diameter for the passage of air, and
not tied down by any bands of fascia, will be necessary for good
wind ; and this point should specially be examined.

IN THE HEAD is contained the organ of intelligence, which is
also the chief seat of that nervous energy which animates the
whole body. Here also are the eyes, and the external apertures of
the breathing apparatus ; so that the form of this part of the body
is of great importance. Size is power, and, cseteris paribus, a large
brain is to be regarded as a most valuable adjunct. Hence the
head should be wide above the eyes, as well as between the ears,
and somewhat full or projecting in the forehead also, in order to
give lodgment to a brain of good volume. It is the great develop-
ment of this organ in the thorough-bred and his Eastern relations,
that gives the extraordinary stoutness and fire for which they are
so remarkable ; and therefore a horse of this breed deficient in
volume of brain will be found in these respects no better than his
low-bred rivals. In every other part, the weight should be reduced
to the minimum necessary for carrying on the functions peculiar
to it, save only the eye, a very small one being generally found to
be prone to disease. The thorough-bred horse has a beautifully
full and gazelle-like eye; but in this organ many half-bred animals
are quite equal to him — the eye of the cart-horse, however, show-
ing the opposite extreme. A very prominent or unnaturally con-
vex eye, called a " buck eye," is not to be regarded as desirable,
being an evidence of shortness of sight, and therefore not to be
confounded with the full and soft expression indicative of good
manners, high courage when roused, and soundness. Next to the
eyes in importance are the nostrils, which should be open, and
when the horse has galloppe'd should stand out stiffly, showing the
red lining membrane, and admitting the air freely. Of course,
even the smallest nostrils are of larger area than the windpipe ;

72 THE HORSE.

but there is generally a coincidence between their size and that of
the internal passages higher up, and on that accounts patent nos-
tril is to be looked for with some anxiety. I have known some
horses with small nostrils possess excellent wind, because in them
the internal conformation was of full size, and if, as I before re-
marked, the area of the two nostrils together is always much
greater than that of the windpipe, they cannot in themselves offer
any impediment to breathing. Without a trial, however, as the
internal passages cannot be measured, the size of the nostrils must
be accepted as the best guide to that of the more essential parts,
and practically this is sufficient for general purposes, only inferior
to an actual trial. The ears should be moderately long, thin, and
not inclined to "lop." The muzzle should be fine; but in those
very pointed jaws, which their owners regard with so much pride,
as " small enough to drink out of a quart pot," the nostrils are
seldom large enough, and hence they are to be regarded with great
suspicion, beautiful as they undoubtedly are. A slight concavity
in the front line, descending from the forehead to the front of the
muzzle, is regarded as a mark of breeding, and, if not too marked,
deservedly so; but a very deep concavity is often attended with a
vicious temper. Lastly, a lean and wide lower jaw should not be
omitted as a -grand desideratum ; the former point is merely a sign
of breeding, but the latter is (as I before remarked in describing
the neck) essential to the proper bending of the one part on the
other. The experienced horseman always passes his fingers be-
tween the angles, and if there is not plenty of room, he knows that
the head cannot be well carried, and he is inclined to suspect that
the larynx will be impeded in its functions, and that, consequently,
respiration will be affected either by roaring, whistling, or some or
other of the many forms of " making a noise." With all these
dimensions, which may, comparatively, readily be described, there
should be combined a cheerful and airy expression of countenance,
without any appearance of vice. The thorough-bred horse is not
often too sluggish, and it is not in that direction that we should
look for infirmities of temper ; nor is it easy to describe the marks
or signs by which vice of any kind can be at once recognised from
the mere expression. Still the horseman will do well to study the
countenance of this as well as other breeds of horses, and he will
find, in course of time, that no little assistance will be derived
from it.

THE SHOULDER-BLADE is, like the head, peculiarly formed in
the Eastern horse, having greater obliquity in its position, and a
superior length and breadth, as compared with all others. For the
reasons which may be alleged for the desirability of these character-
istics, I must refer to pages 21-22, where I have already given them.
Suffice it to observe, that an obliquely-placed and broad blade, well

EXTERNAL FORMATION. 73

clothed with muscles, is the desirable formation of this part, added
to a well-developed " point," as the prominence at the joint between
the blade and true arm-bone is called by the horseman. If this is
too level and smooth, the muscles which are attached to it have
not sufficient leverage ; while if it is very ragged and prominent,
it is a mark of diseased or excessive growth of bone, and is gene<
rally attended with a stiffness of the part. Indeed, in examining
a shoulder blade, freedom of action is to be regarded much more
than its exact position when at rest ; for if you have the desired
effect, it matters not (except for breeding purposes) whether it is
exceptional or not; and, as a matter of course, it is better to have
a freely-playing shoulder which when at rest is too upright than a
perfectly formed one confined to its place, as we sometimes see it.
The oblique shoulder-blade is specially required in all horses which
come down upon their fore legs after a spring, whether this is in
the gallop, or the leap, or the trot, for the use of it is by its elas-
ticity to break the jar which is thereby occasioned. The upright
form is stronger, as the weight is placed more directly over the
column which bears it, but it allows of less elasticity under the
sudden shock given by the impetus of the body as it approaches
the earth, and for this reason is only suited to the slow work of the
cart-horse, or heavy machiner. In conjunction with -the oblique,
and therefore long blade, is always found a long true arm, which
is sometimes so extended backward as to place the elbow absolutely
in the way of the girths, and then perhaps may be considered as
too long, especially as it throws the weight of the fore-quarter
much in front of the fore legs, and tends to make the horse pos-
sessing it somewhat unsafe, unless his action is particularly free.
This part also should be well clothed with muscles.

THE PORE ARM OR ARM, as it is generally called, is not re-
markable for any great peculiarities, but it is somewhat larger in
proportion to the cannon bone than in other breeds.

THE KNEE is broad and deep, from before backwards, and the
leg below the knee is peculiarly free from that contraction or
" tying in" which in the cart-horse and allied breeds is so objec-
tionable, being an element of weakness when the joint is exposed
to the strains incidental to fast work of any kind. So also a bend-
ing backwards of the joint called the " calf-knee," common in the
cart-horse, is condemned in the race-horse for the same reason.

THE BONE OF THE LEG both in the fore and hind-quarter is
small, but of compact substance, while the suspensory ligament
and back sinew are so large, and stand out so freely, as to appear
to form quite one-half of the leg. The fetlock joints are clean
and of good size, the pasterns long and elastic, and the feet though
small as compared with other breeds, yet large enough for the
7

74 THE HORSE.

weight they have to carry, their horny covei.ng being also tough
and compact.

IN THE HIND-QUARTER the Eastern horse and his descendants
excel all others in symmetry and in the length of the various parts
composing it. Comparing the cart-horse with the subject of the
present investigation, one is struck with the greatly increased
length of the thighs of the latter, approaching almost to the pro-
portions of the greyhound. In the cart-horse, when walking, the
stifle joint can hardly be seen, while in the race-horse it is brought
out prominently at every step. This gives the stride necessary for
pace, and the fast strain of blood known as that of Selim, and his
brothers Castrel and Rubens, possesses this peculiarity in a marked
manner, though from the high position of the stifle in them, and
their straight hocks, many people lose sight of this peculiarity.
With regard to the hocks of a race-horse, they should be of full
size, clean, and as a matter of course, free from curbs or spavins.
They are also generally considered to require very long points, that
is to say, the projecting lever to which the ham-string is attached
should be long. From an examination of many race-horses I am
satisfied that for speed this may be over-done, for though power is
gained by it, quickness is sacrificed; and a very long point to the
hock is apt -to give long, dull, and dwelling action, entirely oppo-
site to quick pace, though perhaps telling over a long flat. All
are agreed that the gaskin or lower thigh must be muscular, and
both for beauty and effect this is a most important point. In other
respects, the hind-quarter of the thorough-bred should resemble
that of any other variety of the species.

THE WHOLE of these points should be in proportion to one an-
other; that is to say, the formation of the horse should be " true."
He should not have long well-developed hind-quarters, with an
upright, weak, or confined fore-quarter. Nor will the converse
serve, for however well formed the shoulder may be, the horse will
not go well unless he has a similar formation in the propellers. It
is of great importance, therefore, that the race-horse should have
all his various points in true relative development ; and that there
shall not be the hind-quarter of a long racing-like horse, with the
thick confined shoulder which would suit a stride less reaching in
its nature. A remarkable instance of the advantages of such a
formation is exhibited in Saunterer, whose frame is not charac-
terized by power or any other special perfection, but being per-
fectly true in his formation he was one of the best, if not the very
best, horse of his year, as he proved by his various achievements.
At page 64 will be found an engraving of him, copied from one of
the best portraits I ever saw, by Mr. H. Barraud, which should be
carefully examined.

HEIGHT— COLOR— COAT, MANE, AND TAIL. 75

HEIGHT.

IN HEIGHT the v race-horse varies from fifteen hands to sixteen
and a half, or even seventeen hands; but the general height of our
best horses is about fifteen hands three inches. Few first-class
performers have exceeded the height of Surplice, who is sixteen
hands one inch, as is also another Derby winner, Wild Dayrell.
Sir Tatton Sykes was fifteen and a half hands ; and between his
height and that of Surplice may be ranged every great winner for
the last ten or twelve years. This average, therefore, may fairly be
laid down as the best height for the race-horse, though it cannot
be denied that for some small and confined courses — as, for in-
stance, that of Chester, a smaller horse of little more than fifteen
hands height has a better chance, as being more capable of turn-
ing round the constantly recurring angles or bends.

COLOR.

THE COLOR of the thorough-bred horse is now generally bay,
brown, or chestnut, one or other of which will occur in ninety-
nine cases out of a hundred. Gray is not common, but sometimes
appears, as in the recent case of Chanticleer and many of his stock.
Black also occasionally makes its appearance, but not more fre-
quently than gray. Roans, duns, sorrels, &c., are now quite ex-
ploded, and the above five colors may be said to complete the list
of those seen on the race-course. Sometimes these colors are
mixed with a good deal of white, in the shape of blazes on the
face, or white legs and feet ; or even all these marks may occur,
and the horse may have little more than his body of a brown, bay,
or chestnut. Most people, however, prefer a self color, with as
little white as possible ; and nothing but the great success of a
horse's stock would induce breeders to resort to him if they were
largely endowed with white. Gray hairs mixed in the coat, as
in the Venison's, are rather approved of than otherwise ; but they
do not amount to a roan, in which the gray hairs are equal, or even
more than that, to those of the other color mixed with thorn.

COAT, MANE, AND TAIL.

THE TEXTURE of the coat and skin is a great proof of high
breeding, and in the absence of the pedigree would be highly re- ,
garded ; but when that is satisfactory it is of no use descending to
the examination of an inferior proof; and, therefore, except as a
sign of health, the skin is seldom considered. In all thorough-
bred horses, however, it is thinner, and the hair more silky than
in common breeds ; and the veins are more apparent under the
skin, partly from its thinness, but also from their extra size and
number of branches. This network of veins is of importance in
allowing the circulation to be carried on during high exertions,

76 THE HORSE.

when, if the blood could not accumulate in them, it Tould often
choke the deep vessels of the heart and lungs ; but by collecting
on the surface great relief is afforded, and the horse is able to
maintain such a high and long-continued speed as would be im-
practicable without their help. Hence, these points are not useful
as a mere mark of breed, but as essential to the very purpose for
which that breed was established.

THE MANE AND TAIL should be silky and not curly, though a
slight wave is often seen. A decided curl is almost universally a
mark of degradation, and shows a stain in the pedigree as clearly
as any sign can do. Here, however, as in other cases, the clear
tracing of that all-powerful proof of breeding will upset all reason-
ing founded upon inferior data. The setting on of the tail is often
regarded as of great importance, but it is chiefly with reference to
appearances ; for the horse is not dependent for action or power
upon this appendage. Nor is strength of dock of any certain value
as a sign, for I have known some very stout horses with flaccid
and loosely pendent tails ; but still it may be accepted as a general
rule, that when the muscles of the tail are weak, those of the rest
of the body are likely to be so also.

CHAPTER VI.
ON THE LOCOMOTIVE ACTION IN THE VARIOUS PACES.

Natural and Acquired Paces — Distribution of Weight — Attitude
assumed in Standing — Mode of Progression — The Walk —
Trot— Canter— Hand-Gallop— Extended Gallop— The Amble—
Racking, Pacing, and Running — The Paces of the Manege —
Leaping.

NATURAL AND ACQUIRED PACES.

IN A STATE OF NATURE it is probable that the horse only pos-
sesses two paces, namely, the walk and the gallop ; but when he is
the produce of a domesticated sire and dam, even before he is
handled, he will generally show a slight tendency to trot, and
sometimes to amble, rack, or pace, if any of his progenitors have
been remarkable for these artificial modes of progression. In this
country, however, it may be assumed that the horse, without being
taught, walks, trots, and gallops, more or less perfectly, according
to his formation and temperament.

DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT.

EXCEPT IN THE GALLOP AND CANTER, in the fast trot, and in
leaping, the weight of the horse is borne by two or more of the legs,

DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT. 77

and we shall find that in consequence of the projection forwards
of the head and neck, the larger moiety is sustained by the fore
leg (or legs) than by the hind. This can easily be demonstrated
in the act of standing ; but the same rule which applies to that
position will also serve for any other.

It is important to the horsemaster to ascertain the circumstances
which will change these proportions, because he finds practically
that, in road work, the fore legs wear out faster than the hind, and
consequently any means by which the weight on them can be re-
duced will be a gain to him in a pecuniary point of view. M.
Baucher placed a horse with his fore and hind legs on separate
weighing machines, and found that a hack mare when left to
assume her own attitude, weighed on the fore scales 210 kilo-
grammes, while her hind quarters drew only 174, the total weight
of the animal being 384 kilogrammes, each of which is equal to
21bs. 2ozs. 4drs. 16grs. avoirdupois. By depressing the head so
as to bring the nose to a level with the chest, eight additional
kilogrammes were added to the front scales, while the raising of
that part to the height of the withers transferred ten kilogrammes
to the hindermost scales. Again, by raising and drawing back the
head, in a similar way to the action of the bearing rein, eight kilo-
grammes were transferred from the fore to the hind scales, and this
should not be forgotten in discussing the merits and demerits of
that much-abused instrument of torture. M. Baucher then mounted
the mare, when it was found that his weight, which was sixty-four
kilogrammes, was placed in the proportion of forty-one kilogrammes
on the fore quarters to twenty-three on the hind. A considerable
change was of course produced by leaning backward, and by using
the reins in the manner of the bearing rein, the former transfer-
ring ten kilogrammes from the fore to the hind quarters, and the
latter act adding eight more.

EVERY PRACTISED horseman knows that his horse's fore legs
will suffer in proportion to the weight which is thrown on them,
while their relief is an additional source of strain to the hind legs.
The spavined, and more especially the curby-hocked horse, relieves
these parts by using his fore legs to carry more than their proper
proportion of -weight, while the animal affected with any painful
disease of the fore limbs carries almost all the weight of his body
on his hind legs, which are advanced under him in the most pecu-
liar manner. The value of artificially changing the natural car-
riage of the horse, so as to make his hind legs come forward and
carry more than their own share of weight, is chiefly felt in
chargers, hacks, and harness horses, while, on the contrary, it is
injurious to the hunter and the race-horse, whose hind quarters
bear the greatest strain.
7*

78 THE HORSE.

THE ATTITUDE .ASSUMED IN STANDING.

STANDING may be considered under two heads, the first com-
prising the attitude naturally assumed by the horse when inclined
to rest himself, and the second that forced upon him by education,
for the sake either of appearances, or to keep him ready to start at
a moment's notice, as in the cavalry horse. WJien standing free
or naturally the horse always rests one leg, and that generally a
hind one, changing from one to the other as each becomes tired in
its turn. In the forced attitude all four are on the ground, and
each supports its share of the superincumbent weight. In either
case the different joints are kept from bending, by the almost in-
voluntary combined action of the flexor and extensor muscles,
which will keep him standing even in sleep, in which respect he
differs from the human subject. The oblique position of the
pasterns affords a considerable aid, but without the semi-involun-
tary support afforded by the muscles, the stifle and hock joints
behind, and the shoulder and elbow before, would inevitably give
way.

MODE OF PROGRESSION.

IN MOVING FORWARD, whatever the pace may be, the hind
quarters are the main propellers, and thrust the body forward on
the fore legs, which serve as imperfect segments of wheels, each in
its turn making a revolution forwards and backwards through a
segment of a circle, like a pendulum. This forward motion is
either effected by one hind leg at a time, as in the walk, trot,
amble, and rack, or by the two, nearly if not quite synchronously,
as in the canter, gallop, and leap. In any case, the hind legs (or
leg) must be drawn forwards under the body, or the body thrust
backwards upon them, when a contraction of various muscles tends
to straighten them, and as they are fixed upon the ground, which
acts as a fulcrum, the body must give way, and thus passes forward
with a speed and force proportionate to the muscular power exerted.
In the various paces this mechanical action is differently effected
in detail, but the principle is the same in all those contained in
each class to which I have alluded. In the first, the weight is
borne by the hind and fore quarters between them, while propul-
sion is effected by one side of the former ; but in the second, it is
taken at intervals by the fore and hind limbs, the latter propelling
it with great force, and the former serving as props to it when it
comes to the ground from the air, and also causing it to rebound
for another interval of time.

THE WALK.

THERE ARE TWO questions involved in this pace which have led
to discussions without end. Firstly, there is that connected with
the order of sequence in which the feet are moved. Secondly, that

THE WALK. 79

relating to the part of the foot which first touches the ground.
Of each of these, therefore, I must enter into a particular de-
scription.

IN EXAMINING THE ORDER OF SEQUENCE in which the feet are
taken off the ground, it appears to me that a very simple matter
has been converted into a complicated one. No one with a grain
of observation can dispute that all the four legs in this pace move
separately, and not, as in the trot and amble, by twos of opposite
or the same sides. Solleysell, however, says that "in a walk the
horse lifts the near fore leg and far hind leg together" and Perci-
vall, in quoting this passage, calls him " this true observer of Na-
ture ;" but, nevertheless, the latter author goes on to disprove the
correctness of the very passage he has just quoted, though he does
not seem very clear upon the subject. His description is as fol-
lows:— " At the mandate of the will to move forward, the fore leg
is first put in motion, the order of succession in the walk appearing
to be this : — supposing the right or off fore leg to move first, that is
no sooner carried off the ground than the left or near hind foot is
raised, the former being placed upon the ground prior to the latter.
The two remaining feet move in respect to each other, in the same
order of time, the left or near fore after the off hind, the right or
off hind after the near fore; it being observable that as each
hind foot follows in the line of movement of its corresponding fore
foot, the latter would very often get struck by the former, did it
not quit its place immediately prior to the other being placed upon,
partly or entirely, the same ground." Can anything be more con-
fused than this jumble of words, which is solely so because it is
desired to make the horse begin with a fore foot in preference to a
hind one. Any one who examines the action of the feet of one
side only will have no difficulty in perceiving that the hind foot in
raised from the ground and moved forward for half its stride before
the fore foot is disturbed, the same order being observed on the other
side in succession. Hence, if the horse is started from the stand-
ing position with all the feet on the ground, it follows that he must
begin with a hind foot, because with whichever of the sides he
starts he lifts the hind foot half a pace before the fore foot, as is
admitted by Percivall himself, for he says, " the latter (fore foot)
would often get struck by the former (hind foot) did it not quit its
place immediately prior to the other being placed upon, partly or
entirely, the same ground." It is very difficult to convey a correct
idea of this fact by illustration, because the eye has become accus-
tomed to the erroneous view which is conventionally received by
artists. However, with the assistance of Mr. Zwecker, who has
himself studied the subject carefully, I am enabled to present the
following engraving, which, though apparently awkward and un-
graceful, is literally correct. Here the near hind foot (1) is just

80

THE HORSE.

STARTING FOR THE WAtK.

about to be placed on the ground, on the spot which the near fore
foot (2) has just left. The off hind foot (3) will follow next in
succession, and lastly the off fore foot (4) will complete the ca-
dence. But if each fore foot leaves the ground just as the corres-
ponding hind foot is finishing its stride, it follows as a matter of
necessity, if the action is carried on throughout in the same way,
that in starting from a point of rest the hind foot of one side or
other is the one to begin the walk. Next follows the fore foot on
the same side, then the opposite hind foot, and lastly the fore foot
of the opposite side. The order of progression, be it observed, is
the same, whether the description commences with the hind or fore
foot, and the argument is after all of little consequence ; but the
truth is really, as was observed by Borelli, that the hind foot is the
first to move when the horse starts into a walk from a state of rest
in which all four feet are placed as in ordinary standing. There
may be positions in grazing where the fore foot advances first ; but
then the pace cannot be considered as the customary walk.

IN THE ACCOMPANYING OUTLINE the horse is represented in
the manner usually accepted by artists, with the near fore foot (2)
in the air, and apparently leading off. But if, as I have endeavored
to show, the hind foot must of necessity start first, although this

THE WALK.

81

i 4 1

RECEIVED INTERPRETATION OF THE TVALK.

engraving affords to the eye of the observer the most graceful and
striking position which is taken up in the walk, yet it is not the
one with which the horse commences that pace. Here the near
hind foot (1) has already been brought forward and placed on the
ground, on or near the spot occupied by the fore foot, which is in
the air; the off hind foot (3) is just about to leave the ground,
having expended its share of progressive force, and the weight of
the body is borne by the off fore foot and the near hind one.
Whenever a fore foot starts first (which, as I have already re-
marked, may occasionally occur, as, for instance, in grazing, or
when the weight is unnaturally thrown upon the fore quarters),
the attitude is most constrained, and the proper sequence, or ca-
dence, if the animal is forced into a quicker pace, is not fallen into
without a most grotesque degree of rolling, which conveys to the
eye a full idea of the forced nature of the pace. Mr. Zwecker
has endeavored to fix this upon paper in the annexed engraving,
but though I fully admit that the drawing is correct, I confess that
I am not satisfied with the result of his labors. However, it may
serve to convey to my readers the fact which I wish to impress

82

THE HORSE.

upon the mind, viz., that a walk in which either fore leg com-,
mences the cadence is unnatural, or, at all events, exceptional.

I HAVE THUS ENDEAVORED TO SHOW (and it may, I think, be
considered as the most simple mode of describing the pace) that,
as a rule, when the horse is starting from a state of rest into a
walk he commences with one of the hind feet, the particular one
chosen being that which at the time bears the least weight of the
body upon it. Next follows the fore foot of the same side, then the
opposite hind foot, and lastly the fore foot also of the opposite side.

4 1

EXCEPTIONAL MOD* 07 STARTING.

WHEN ONCE IT is SHOWN that the hind foot almost touches
the heel of the foot which precedes it, before the latter is raised,
of which a moment's observation will satisfy any careful observer,
the order of sequence becomes clear enough, and, as I set out with
observing, a subject which is generally made extremely complicated
becomes as simple as possible. In nine hundred and ninety-nine
cases out of a thousand the horse starts on the walk with a hind
foot, and the only exception is when he is, from circumstances, at
the time in an unnatural attitude.

THE SECOND QUESTION in dispute to which I have alluded is
that involving the part of the foot which first touches the ground

THE WALK. 83

- in this pace. In this country veterinary writers have generally
considered that in the sound foot the toe first reaches the ground,
and undoubtedly Mr. Percivall is no exception, for he says at page
143 of his Lectures, "-To the eye of the observer there is the
slightest perceptible difference between the toe and heels coming
to the ground in favor of the former, a difference that need not
disturb the horseman's good old rule, that a horse in his walk
should place his foot fairly and flatly down." This theory has,
as far as I know, never been admitted by practised horsemen, and
in the year 1855, in describing the perfect hack, at page 526 of
"British Rural Sports," I wrote as follows : " The walk should be
safe and pleasant, the fore foot well lifted and deposited on its
heel." The first veterinary surgeon, however, who combated the
opinions of his brethren, was Mr. Lupton (a disciple of Mr.
Gamgee), who early in the year 1858, inserted in the Edinburgh
Veterinary Review the following " Physiological Reflections on the
Position assumed by the Fore Foot of the Horse in the varied
Movements of the Limb" : —

" 1. The foot of a living horse in a state of rest remains firmly
on the ground,. that is the toe and the heel are on the ground at
one and the same time ; but if during this position the extensor
muscles were to contract, then the toe would be raised from the
ground ; and if, on the other hand, the flexor muscles were to
contract, then the heel would be raised from the ground. Now,
during progression, the first movement which takes place is the
contraction of the flexor muscles, by which (together with the
muscles of the arm) the foot is raised, the toe being the last
part of that organ raised from the ground. The foot is now in
a position to be sent forward, which is brought about by the
contraction of the extensor muscles ; the foot is then thrown out
as far as the flexor muscles will admit, and when at the greatest
allowable point of tension, the heel is brought in apposition with
the ground. The flexors now in their turn contract, the heel is
first raised from the ground, and lastly the toe, which brings me
back to the point I started from.

"2. Viewing the leg of a horse as a piece of mechanism (allow-
ing the leg to be even in a state of anchylosis), and comparing it
to the spoke of a wheel, during the revolutions of which the pos-
terior part of the inferior extremity, or, in other words, that part
which is attached to the tier, comes in contact with the ground
first ] if in the place of the spoke the above-mentioned leg of the
horse were there placed, the heel in that case would come in con-
tact with the ground first, and the toe last.

" 3. As to the anatomy of the foot.

" The foot is composed of the os pedis, os naviculare, and a
small portion superiorly of the os corona. Between the alae of the

84 THE HORSE.

os pedis we have the frog and the fibrous frog, in fact, a beautiful
elastic cushion ; and postero-laterally the lateral cartilages, readily
yielding on the application of pressure. Seeing this arrangement,
I naturally seek to find the cause of its existence, and I suggest
that it is there in order, by coming in contact with the ground,
first to break the concussive effect, likely, if being hard and un-
yielding as the formation at the toe, to be productive of much cost
to the animal frame.

" 4. The progress of action is from the heel to the toe. For
example, man, during progression, puts his heel to the ground
first; the ox also places his heels similarly on the ground first, and
dogs bring their pads in contact with the ground first; does it not,
then, seem undeniable, when reasoning by analogy, that the horse
similarly brings his heels to the ground first ?

" During progression, the body moves forward ; during which
movement the toe, as evident to every observer, leaves the ground
last, that is, when the flexors are contracting. If such be the case,
then, for the toe to come in contact with the ground first, as some
affirm, and the heel last, is a retrograde and impossible movement.

" Three principal impressions are made on the foot during pro-
gression, namely:

" 1. On the heel, when great expansion and yielding takes place,
owing to the pressure on the frog, which is forced upwards, causing
the ultimate expansion of the walls of the hoof, &c.

" 2. On the middle part of the foot, when the bones bear the
weight of the body. The flexors and extensors being, for the in-
stant, in a state of quietude, i. e. neither of them are extending or
contracting.

" 3. On the toe, when the animal gives a push, by which an
impetus is given to send the body forwards.

" The foot comes on the ground nearly flat, I admit, but the
heel is for an instant on the ground before the toe.

" I humbly assert, in conclusion, that the progress of action is
from the heel to the toe, and not from the toe to the heel."

It appears to me that argument is here thrown away, for as it
is admitted by both sides that the toe and heel are each in certain
cases placed on the ground first, it is manifest that either may be
in aH. Observation, therefore, and not theoretical argument, must
determine under what circumstances the foot is deposited with its
toe on the ground, and vice versa. Mr. Spooner, and nearly the
whole of the London school, say that the toe touches first in all
cases but in the disease known as laminitis ; Mr. Lupton, Mr
Gramgee, and the Edinburgh new school, assert, on the contrary,
that, as a rule, the heel touches the ground a shade the first. Their
assertions reach to all paces ; but here I think a mistake is com-
mitted, for I am confident that in trotting, the toe touches the

THE WALK. 85

ground slightly before the heel in a large proportion of cases. In
the walk 1 am quite satisfied that Mr. Lupton and his followers
are right, and that the heel is presented to the ground in all good
walkers, but so slightly first as to escape the notice of careless
observers. If the toe is not raised it is apt to tip the inequalities
of the ground, and we have that disagreeable sensation of inse-
curity in the walk which a bad hack invariably gives. Many
horses go very close to the ground, but if the extensors turn the
toe well up in bringing the leg forward, however closely to the
ground it is carried, it is safely deposited on it. On the contrary,
a high action, with the heel raised, is never safe, either on the
walk or the trot. It is quite contrary to the experience of horse-
men out of the veterinary profession to assert that either toe-action
or heel-action is invariably met with in sound horses, and I believe
the facts to be as I have stated them. That in laminitis the toe
is raised in an exaggerated form no one will deny, but the extent
is far greater than any one supposes to exist in a healthy foot.
I have possessed one or two horses which, though perfectly sound,
would wear out the heels of their shoes before their toes, and one
of them was a high-stepping mare with remarkably good feet. Now
the friction in all cases after the foot is put down must be greater
on the toe than the heel, because it scrapes the ground, more or
less, as it leaves it. When, therefore, the heel is worn out first, it
proves that this part touches the ground first, though the converse
does not hold good, for the reason which I have given.

Having discussed these two questions, I come now to examine
what is done in each movement of the legs, independently of the
order of their going, and of the above toe and heel controversy,
and shall proceed to consider in what the good walk differs from
the bad.

WRITERS ON THE HORSE divide each movement of the leg into
three acts, consisting of the lift, the swing, and the grounding.
In the first act, the foot is raised; in the second, it is thrust for-
ward ; and in the third, it is firmly but lightly deposited on the
ground. But these may severally be well performed, and yet the
horse be a bad walker, because his body is not well balanced on
the legs in contact with the ground while the other or others are
moving. A good walker should take short quick steps, with his
hind legs well under him, and then he will be able to plant his fore
feet firmly but lightly on the ground in succession. If his stride is
too long, his hind legs cannot be always well under him, because they
must be wide apart when both are on the ground j and the body can-
not then be balanced securely, because there is too long an interval
elapsing while the one hind leg is passing the other. Hence, in such
a horse, there is a waddling movement from side to side, so often
seen in the thorough-bred horse, whose full tail shows it very niani-
8

86 THE HORSE.

festly, but whose rider feels the inconvenience much more clearly
than it is seen by the uninterested looker-on. The clever hack, on
the contrary, moves forward without his body deviating a hair's
breadth from the line in which it is progressing, neither undulating
to the right and left nor up and down. The rider of a first-rate
hack should be able to carry a full glass of wine in his hand for
any distance without spilling a drop; and if the action on the walk
is not smooth enough for this, it cannot be considered as approach-
ing to perfection. Many horses step short and quick, and yet do
not walk well, because their shoulders have not liberty enough to
thrust their arms forward during the act of swinging the leg; and
hence the pace is slow, for the foot is put down very near to the
spot from which it was lifted. In choosing a good walker, there-
fore, see that his feet are lifted smartly, that they are well thrust
forward, and placed firmly but lightly on the ground. Look at
him well from behind, and observe whether he hits himself on the
fetlock joints as one foot passes the other; and at the same time
examine whether, as he lifts his fore feet, he turns them out, or
" dishes," which is a very serious fault, in consequence of the loss
of time which it occasions. In most horses the hind foot oversteps
the place from which the corresponding fore foot has been removed;
but in a good hack this should not exceed an inch, or the pace will
not be smooth and smart, as I have already observed. Very few
walkers actually touch one foot with the other, as in the trot, nor
do they overreach with violence so as to injure their heels; the
only objection, therefore, is to the length of stride, which I have
shown to produce an uneasy effect upon the rider. But whenever
the horse appears to move as if his fore feet are in the way of the
hind, he will rarely, even with the best tuition, become a pleasant
and safe hack.

THE RATE OP WALKING is very seldom quite five miles an
hour, though horses are to be found which will accomplish the
distance in that time, or even less. Many will do a mile in twelve
minutes and a half; but to get beyond this is a very difficult task.
Indeed, there are few horses which in their walk will bear pressing
to the utmost speed of which they are capable, without breaking.
It may, I think, be assumed, that the average pace of good walkers
is about four miles and a half to four miles and three-quarters
per hour.

THE TROT.

THIS PACE may be described under three heads, namely, the jog
trot, the true trot, and the flying trot. In all three the diagonal
limbs move exactly together, but in the first the time during which
each foot is on the ground is much greater than that in which it
is in the air. In the second the contrary is the case; while, in the
third, the horse is carried completely off his legs for a considerable

THE TROT. 87

space of time, between the several bounds which are made by the
two feet of opposite sides as they touch the ground in succession.
The jog trot seems to come naturally to the horse when he is first
mounted ; and, as long as he is fresh and fiery, the colt will main-
tain this pace, unless he is permitted to exceed it. He will prefer
it to the walk for a long time ; and it is only by good hands, com-
bined with patience, that a spirited colt can be made to walk ; for
he can generally jog quite as slowly, and often much more so.
Farmers are very apt to accustom their young horses to the jog
trot, because they find by experience that it does not injure their
legs or feet ; but to a rider unaccustomed to this pace it is by no
means an easy one. In the true trot, as exemplified below, the
feet are on the ground a comparatively short space of time, the
body being carried so rapidly forward that they are moved off
almost as soon as they are deposited on it. By examining this out-
line, it will be seen that the position of the fore and hind limbs of
the two opposite sides exactly corresponds, and this will be the
case, whatever may be the period of the action in which the ob-
servation is made. As in the walk, each step may be divided into
three acts ; but I see no advantage in thus attempting to separate
or analyze what must be considered in its totality, if it is to be re-
garded with any advantage to the observer. In the flying trot,
which is well shown in the portrait of Flora Temple, at page 489,
all the legs are for a very short period of time off the ground, as is
there delineated, but still there is always an exact correspondence
between the position of the fore and hind legs of opposite sides.
The chief difference between these three varieties of the trot con-
sists in the rapidity of the propulsion which is going on. This in
the first is very slight; and the more elastic the fetlock joints, the
better and softer is this pace. The feet are raised, and the legs
are rounded or bent ; but the body is not thrust forward nor are
the shoulders moved in the same direction to any appreciable ex-
tent. The consequence is, that the feet are deposited again very
close to the spot from which they are taken, and the pace is as
slow as the walk. In the true trot, if it is well performed, the
hind legs must be moved as rapidly as, and with more force than,
the fore legs, because they have more work to do in propelling the
body, the latter having only to sustain it during the operation.
Good judges, therefore, regard the hind action as of even more
importance than that of the knees and shoulders; for if the former
do not drive the body well forward, good pace cannot be obtained,
nor will it be easy and rhythmical. In this kind of trot elastic
fetlocks are fatal to speed, as they prevent the instantaneous effect
upon the body of the muscular contractions of the hind limbs, and
cause the action to be dwelling and slow. Very fast trotters are,
therefore, rough in their "feel" to the rider, and are not suited

THE HORSE.

ACTION IN THE TRUE TROT.

for the purposes of pleasure. Indeed, no one would mount one of
them from choice; but when they possess good mouths, they are
pleasant enough to drive. ''In examining trotting action, regard
should be paid to the plane through which each limb passes, for if
this is not parallel with that of the median line of the body the
action is not true and smooth, and there is great risk of one limb
cutting the other. This is best seen by watching the trot from
behind as well as before, which gives an opportunity of investi-
gating the movements of both pairs of limbs. Every horse should
be so made that, when he stands, his fore canna bones should be
quite parallel ; but in order to be so, as they stand closer together
than his elbows, they must form a slight angle with the arm at the
knee j and hence, as this part is bent, there is always a slight ten-
dency to turn out the foot, the exaggerated form of which is called
" dishing/' The observer will, therefore, do well to ascertain the
extent to which this should be carried, or he will be apt to con-
demn a perfect goer as a "disher," from finding that he turns out
his toes in bending the knee, though only in the trifling degree
ordained by nature. If, in bending by the hand the fore foot to
the elbow, the inner heel of the shoe is in contact with the outside
of the arm, there will not be too much turning out of the foot, and

THE TROT— THE CANTER. 89

the purchaser need not be afraid of this defect existing in the
horse he is examining. Provided the fetlocks and canna-bones are
not actually touched or "hit" in trotting, the fore-legs cannot be
moved too closely together ; but if they pass very near to one an-
other in a fat dealer's horse, it may be suspected that when he is
reduced in flesh to a proper working condition, boots will be neces-
sary. A practised eye is required to judge of this correctly, and,
if there is any doubt, one had better be consulted.

The Norfolk trotter of the present day has very perfect action,
intermediate between the pointed and flying trot of the American
horse, and the round high knee-action of the London park-horse.
Even he, however, is not nearly so pleasant to ride as the tho-
rough-bred, when the latter can trot at all j but many of this breed
have been so long accustomed to the gallop, that their trot is a
most imperfect pace. When they do perform it properly, it gives
a most delightful feel, and no rider for pleasure, if money is at his
. command, should " throw his leg" over any but a thorough-bred,
or one nearly pure in blood.

THE CANTER.

THE CANTER is a thoroughly artificial pace, at first extremely
tiring to the horse, and generally only to be produced in him bjt
the restraint of a powerful bit, which compels him to throw a great
part of his weight on his haunches. It is very difficult to describe
or define this pace, either in a pen-and-ink sketch or by the aid of
the painter. Indeed it is often quite a matter of opinion to decide
whether a horse is cantering or galloping. Many writers, and
among them Mr. Blaine, have attempted to draw a distinction, by
confining the canter to the pace which is executed without the feet
ever leaving the ground altogether ; but this definition is not gene-
rally admitted and followed, and many a horse whose canter would be
readily allowed by all horsemen to be true, may be seen to leave the
ground entirely for a certain interval of time, however small it may be.
There is so great a variety, in the modes adopted by different horses
for performing the canter, that no single description will suffice,
nor indeed is it easy, as I before observed, to define any one of
them. ^Sometimes the carriage is extremely elegant, the hind legs
well under the body, and all moving like clockwork, with the head
bent on the neck, and the mouth playing lightly on the bit.
"When such a pace is performed with the right leg leading, the
canter is exactly adapted for the female seat, in which the right
shoulder is of necessity slightly advanced, and it is therefore the
object of the breaker to obtain it. But it is only in those horses
which combine a free use of their limbs with fine temper and good
mouths, that such a pace can be developed, and if any one of these
qualities is deficient it is useless to attempt to teach them. On
8*

90

THE HORSE.

the other hand, the pony or galloway will often canter without
throwing any extra weight on his hind legs, with a loose rein and
extended neck. This kind of pace may be detected by the ear on
a turnpike road, by the quick pat-ter-ring sound which is evolved.
It is extremely easy to the horseman, but is not so well adapted to
female equestrianism, as it jerks the body in an ungraceful manner.
The true canter, as adapted for ladies, is indicated below, though

THE CANTER.

it is so difficult to represent, that it is not so clearly done as might
be wished. When the off leg leads off, the near one has to bear
more than its share of work, and hence, unless a change is occa-
sionally made, the fetlock joint of that leg is almost sure to suffer.
Ladies should therefore either trot for a part of their daily rides,
or teach themselves and their horses to change the lead from that
with the off leg to that with the near.

THE HAND GALLOP.

BETWEEN THE CANTER and the true gallop there intervenes a
pace which may be easily confounded with either, unless Mr.
Elaine's definition of the canter is accepted, when the hand gallop

THE EXTENDED GALLOP.

91

can easily be distinguished from it. This pace is merely a slow
and measured gallop, in which for a very short period all the lega
leave the ground, but in which the propulsion is steadily given,
and not with those snatches or jerks which are necessary to de-
velop the high speed of the extended gallop. The body also is
not nearer the ground than in the act of standing, and this may be
considered as one of the best distinctions between the hand gallop
and the extended stride of the faster pace. The French writers
distinguish between the two by asserting that in the hand gallop
there are three beats, while in the flying gallop two only are per-
formed ; but in practice there is no such variation.

THE EXTENDED GALLOP.

ACCORDING TO MOST OBSERVERS, this pace is a succession of
leaps, smoothly and rhythmically performed, but Mr. Percivall has
shown that there is a considerable difference between the two ac-
tions. He says in his lectures, — " In galloping a horse, in hunt-

RECEIVED INTERPRETATION OF THE GALLOP.

ing, for example, the rider needs no person to tell him of the mo-
ment when his horse is taking a leap, however trifling it may be ;
his own sensations inform him of every grip or furrow his horse
leaps in his course, and should he have occasion to make a succes-
sion of such jumps, the rider's sensations in his saddle are of a
very different — very uneasy — kind, compared to such as he expe-
riences during the act of galloping. This arises from two causes :
from the spring or movement of the body necessary to produce the
leap being more forcible or sudden than that required for the gallop,
and from the latter being created and continued rather by the sue-

92 THE HORSE.

cessive action of the two hind feet at one moment, and of that of
the two fore feet at the next moment, than from the synchronous
efforts of either biped, as happens in the leap. The two great
propellers of the animal machine — the hind feet — are in the leap
required to act simultaneously, to make one grand propulsory
effort; not so in the gallop, that being a movement requiring main-
taining, not by synchronous exhausting efforts of the hind feet,
but in swift succession, first by one, then by the other; and the
same as regards the office performed by the fore limbs, which latter
probably amounts to little more in effect than the sustentation of
the fore parts of the body. The vault into the air required for
the leap is only to be effected by extraordinary subitaneous effort,
but the stride of the gallop, requiring frequent repetition, does
aot exact this effort — amounts, in fact, to no more than a sort of
lift from the ground, multiplied into a reiteration of forcible bear-
ings forward, maintaining, increasing, or diminishing the momen-
tum of speed, effectuated by throwing the hind feet as far forward
underneath the body as possible, plunging them one after the other
with inappreciable rapidity into the earth, and thus by two strenuous
thrusts against the ground, one in aid of the other, working the ani-
mal machine in its fleet — almost flying — course. In the gallop as in
the trot, no sooner is a certain momentum acquired, than by each
successive propulsion of the hind feet the body is sprung or lifted
off the ground, flying as it appears in the air, and the greater the
speed, the more this volitation becomes apparent. Hence the ap-
pellation given to the pace, manifestly the utmost speed, of FLYING
GALLOP. Even this, however, according to my judgment, is an
action different from leaping. When a horse leaps or jumps in his
gallop, — which he will do sometimes when he is beany and has but
just emerged out of his stable, — he is said to buck, because his
action then resembles that of the deer, in whom the gallop might
with a great deal more propriety be called a succession of leaps :
even the deer, however, cannot continue this bucking action after
being driven into his speed, or in a state of fatigue, showing that in
him it is to be regarded rather as a gambol than as his proper work-
ing onward action. And that the hind and fore feet in pairs are
not grounded synchronously, I think admits of a demonstration in
two ways : first, by the position they assume one in advance of the
other in the gallop ; secondly, by the clatter the steps of a horse
in the gallop are known to make upon hard or resonant ground,
and which may be heard either by a spectator or by the rider him-
self. Whence we probably derive the phrase, a rattling gallop."

But while I agree with Mr. Percivall that there is a difference
between the act of leaping and galloping, as performed by the
horse, I do not quite see that it is an abuse of terms to describe
the gallop as a " succession of leaps" — that they are not precisely

THE GALLOP. 93

Bimilar to those made in overcoming an obstacle does not necessa-
rily make them other than leaps. The word leap is not defined in
our dictionaries so as to confine its meaning beyond that appertain-
ing to its synonym, spring, and probably even Mr. Percivall would
not deny that in the gallop, the horse, as well as the deer, makes
a succession of springs. The dispute is founded, as is so often the
case, upon a want of agreement as to the meaning of a word, and
not on a difference of opinion as the essence of the act itself.
Blaine, Percivall, and every careful observer of the horse in action,
well know that in the act of galloping the horse leaves the print
of his hind feet one in advance of the other, while in leaping he
generally, in fact almost invariably, makes them opposite one
another. There is a contradiction apparent in Percivall's remarks
about the deer's gallop, which in one place he observes "might
with a great deal more propriety be called a succession of leaps,"
while in the next sentence he says that this " bucking action" in
the deer " is to be regarded rather as a gambol than as his proper
working onward action." The deer's gallop very closely resembles
that of the horse, but as he is a stronget and higher leaper, espe-
cially in proportion to his size, he can continue those bounds with
the hind legs opposite each other much longer and with more ad-
vantage than the horse, who seldom makes more than two or three

»
in succession.

To REPRESENT THE GALLOP pictorially in a perfectly correct
manner is almost impossible. At all events it has never yet been
accomplished, the ordinary and received interpretation being alto-
gether erroneous. When carefully watched, the horse in full
gallop will be seen to extend himself very much, but not nearly to
the length which is assigned to him by artists. To give the idea
of high speed the hind legs are thrust backward and the fore legs
forward in a most unnatural position, which if it could be assumed
in reality would inevitably lead to a fall, and most probably to a
broken back. It is somewhat difficult to obtain a good view of a
horse at his best pace, without watching him through a race-glass
at a distance of a quarter of a mile at least, for if the eye is nearer
to him than this the passage of the body by it is so quick that no
analysis can be made of the position of the several parts. But at
the above distance it may be readily seen that the horse never as-
sumes the attitude in which he is generally represented, of which
an example is given at the beginning of this article. When the
hind legs are thrust backwards, the fore feet are raised and more or
less curled up under the knees, as it is manifest must be the case
to enable them to be brought forward without raising the body
from the ground. In the next act, as the hind feet are brought
under the body the fore legs are thrust straight before it ; and so
whichever period is chosen for the representation, the complete

94

THE HORSE.

extension so generally adopted must be inaccurate. It may be said
that this is meant to represent the moment when all the feet are in
the air, and theoretically it is possible that there may be a time
when all the feet are extended; because, as in the fast gallop the
stride is twenty-four feet long, while the horse only measures six-
teen from foot to foot, it follows that he must pass through eight
feet without touching the ground, and during that time, as of ne-
cessity his legs must move faster than his body, the fore legs may
change their position from the curled up one described above to
the extended one represented by all painters as proper to the gal-
lop. Observation alone can therefore settle this question ; but, as
I before remarked, a race-glass at a distance of a quarter of a mile
enables a careful observer to satisfy himself that our received
ideas of the extended gallop are incorrect. Nevertheless, if a
proper interpretation is given, the eye at once rebels, and on ex-

CORRECT VIEW OP THE GALLOP.

animation of such a figure as we here give, founded on perfectly
correct principles, the mind refuses its assent to the idea of great
pace, which is that which is desired to be given. These facts are
well known to artists, and some of them, including the celebrated
Leech, have tried the experiment of drawing the galloping horse
properly ; but their entire want of success shows the impossibility
of the performance.

As IN THE CANTER so in the gallop a lead is always made of one
leg before the other, and as one fires the other changes place with
it. A good, true, and strong galloper will seldom require this re-
lief, but a weak one, especially if not completely broken, will effect

THE AMBLE— RACKING, ETC. 95

the change continually. Sometimes this causes the Igss of a race,
for it cannot be done without interfering with the action, and con-
sequently with the pace. A good horseman prefers that his horse
should not confine himself to one lead, but he does not like him to
change after he has once started, for the above reason. The right
leg in front is more easy even to the male rider than the left, but
not materially so, and except for female equestrianism no horse
T ghould be taught to lead invariably with the right leg either in the
gallop or canter. In the change the truth or harmony of action is
often disturbed, and the horse jerks himself and his rider in a
disagreeable manner, which is another reason why the change of
legs should not be encouraged.

THERE is A GREAT VARIATION in the length of the stride, and
in the rounding or bending upwards of the foot under the knee.
Sometimes even in a fast gallop the distance between the prints of
the same feet will be no more than sixteen feet, while in others it
will measure twenty-four, twenty-five, or even twenty-six feet.
The first is too short for any race-horse ; but a moderately short
stride enables the horse to get off with a quicker start, and to
ascend and descend hills better than a very long one. Where,
however, a distance of level ground is to be covered a long stride
tells, and a horse possessing it has a great advantage over one
whose gallop is short, however quick and smart it may be. For
this long stride there must be length of limbs, especially of the
two bones meeting at the stifle joint; and this is the perfection of
the form of the race-horse, as I have already described at page 73.

THE AMBLE.

LIKE THE TROT, this pace is performed by two legs alternately
moving in exact correspondence with each other. Instead, how-
ever, of these being of opposite sides, they are of the same side,
and one lateral half of the body is moved forward while the weight
of the whole is supported on the other. The pace is altogether
unnatural to the wild horse, but in some domestic breeds it has
become naturalized, and the foal will in them display the amble
long before it is taught anything by the hand of man. In the
cameleopard the amble is the only kind of progression, whether
the animal goes slowly or fast ; and in dogs, especially in pointers,
greyhounds, and Newfoundlands, this pace is occasionally displayed.
Formerly an ambling palfrey was in great request for ladies' use,
but in the present day the pace is not regarded with favor by any
of the inhabitants of the British Isles.

BACKING, OB PACING, AND BUNNING.

IN THIS COUNTRY no other paces are recognised than the five
which I have already described, but in America a fast kind of

96 THE HORSE.

amble is distinguished by the name of racking, or pacing. It is
performed by two legs of the same side acting synchronously as in
the amble, but they are moved with much more rapidity, and the
result is a speed greater than that of the fastest trot, by several
seconds in the mile. This will be apparent on consulting the re-
cord of the best performances of the American horses, at pp. 504-6,
where Pocahontas, a pacer, is set down as doing a mile in 2 minutes
17 \ seconds, while their fastest mile trot on record occupied 2
minutes 19f seconds. Running is an indescribable kind of trot,
in which the limbs do not move regularly together, but each seems
to act independently as in the walk. The consequence is that it is
impossible for the rider of a running horse to rise in his stirrups,
but the action being very easy there is no occasion for this relief.
It is not capable of being performed at a slow rate, and it is gene-
rally produced among horses which are ridden without a saddle,
and in which as a consequence the riders do not relieve themselves
and their horses by rising in it.

THE PACES OF THE MANEGE.

IN THE MILITARY SCHOOLS OF RIDING a variety of paces are
taught even in the present day, but the old riding masters adopted
many more, which are now discontinued. Some of them are in-
tended to enable the soldier to use his sword or spear with double
advantage, as the volte and semi-volte, but the majority of those
still retained are for the purpose of carrying out the combined evo-
lutions necessary to cavalry. The " passage," for instance, is a
side movement, that enables a number of horses to be changed
from jclose to open order, which would be a difficult task to per-
form with horses not taught to perform it. Backing is likewise
necessary for similar purposes ; but this should always be taught
to every horse, whether used by the military or by civilians. A
minute description, however, of the several paces of the manege
would occupy too much space here, and is only useful to the cavalry
soldier, who will learn their nature much better from practical in-
struction by the riding-master of his regiment.

LEAPING, OK JUMPING.

THE DESCRIPTION of this act given by Mr. Percivall is most
unsatisfactory. He says, " The leap is either a sudden spring into
the air, in which the feet quit the ground simultaneously, or else
it is an act compounded of an imperfect rear and kick in quick or
slow succession, according to the manner in which it is performed.
The leap can hardly be regarded as an act of progression ; con\-
monly it being in a forward direction, undoubtedly progress is
made by it, but it is possible for it to amount to no more than a
jump or a bound off, and upon the same ground, as is the care

LEAPING, OR JUMPING. 97

when a horse is said to 'buck' in his leaping, that is, to come
down upon or near to the spot from which he arose/' Now in
this sentence, short as it is, I maintain that several misstatements
are made ; as I shall proceed to show. To begin with the latter
part. If a horse is properly said to " buck" in his leaping, it is
evident that the two cannot be synonymous, or there would be no
occasion for the distinction, and therefore if "bucking" means
jumping up and coming down on the same ground, which is the
general acceptation of the term, leaping cannot mean the same,
which it is said sometimes to do by Mr. Percivall in the quotation
which I have adduced. When a horse simply "bucks" in his
play he does not leap forward, but springs into the air, and even
then he generally makes some progression. When he "bucks"
in his leaps, he must progress, because he begins on one side of
the obstacle to be overcome, -and finishes on the other. It is not
meant that he then acts exactly as he does in play, or when viciously
trying to dislodge his rider, but that his action resembles to a con-
siderable extent this true bucking, in which little .or no progres-
sion is made. I therefore hold that Percivall's exception is not
founded in truth ; and that the act of leaping necessarily implies
progression, for without it the perpendicular spring into the air is
properly distinguished by the term bucking, as admitted by Perci-
vall himself. Then, turning back to the first sentence, I think
every careful observer will admit that in the leap, whatever may
be its kind, the feet do not quit the ground simultaneously. Mani-
festly in the standing or slow leap the fore feet rise first, unless
the horse " bucks," when all rise almost but not quite at the same
moment. A careful examination of the mechanism of the horse
will show that this must be the case, because, as the fore legs are
straight to the last, there is no spring in them, and if they were
not first raised by the action of the loins and haunches, as in rear-
ing, they would remain on the ground until they were dragged by
the hind quarters turning a somerset over them. In the human
body, as the legs are ordinarily kept straight, they must be bent
before a spring can be taken, for even the angular ankle joint re-
quires a bent knee to enable it to act upon the toes. In the horse
the fore leg resembles that of man in this respect, but the hind
leg in the standing position is bent at the stifle and hock, and is
then exactly like a man's when he is prepared to take a standing
jump. As a consequence of this the fore quarter of the horse
when he is standing must be raised by the hind, since it has no
angles to give a spring with, and if so it must leave the ground
first, as I have already shown. The flying leap may readily be
seen to be accomplished by the fore feet leaving the ground first,
and no one I believe disputes this, so that it is unnecessary to dis-
cuss it.

9 G

98 THE HORSE.

It may, therefore, I think, be asserted with truth that the leap
is always made by the horse raising his fore quarter, and then sud-
denly and powerfully straightening his hind limbs; with the ground
as a fulcrum he propels his whole body forwards, and more or less
upwards, according to the height of the obstacle to be overcome.
In descending from the height to which the whole body has been
raised, there is a considerable variation in the relative periods of
time at which the fore and hind feet touch the ground. Some-
times the fore feet come down almost perpendicularly, and so far
before the hind that they have to bear the whole force of the
united momentum and gravity before the hind ones reach the
ground, and then a very slight mistake will occasion a fall. At
others they come down "all fours," that is, all the feet touching
the ground at the same moment, occasioning a great shock both to
horse and rider, and also a considerable loss of time in getting
away again into the stride. In the best style the horse touches
ground with his fore feet first, but being well extended they are
in a position to do no more than act as a spring to break the shock,
and the hind legs coming down immediately afterwards bear nearly
the whole force of momentum and gravity, which the fore legs are
unable to do safely, as I have already shown.

Mr. Percivall is also in error as to the width of ground which
horses have been known to clear ; for he gives twenty-two feet as
an extraordinary effort in a steeplechase, whereas such a distance
is covered by any hurdle-jumper in ordinary practice, as I have
twenty times proved by careful measurement. I have myself seen
thirty-two and thirty-three feet cleared by steeplechasers, and it
is well known that Proceed and Chandler covered respectively
thirty-seven and thirty-nine feet in two separate steeplechases. So
a jump six feet in height is a very great performance, being eight
inches higher than the withers of a horse of sixteen hands. Some-
thing more than this has however been done, and I myself once
saw a horse clear a stone wall two or three inches above six feet
high, with the slightest possible touch of one stone with a hind
foot, but sufficient to dislodge it. Very few horses, however, can
be relied on to cover more than twenty-five feet in width, and four
feet, or four feet sii inches in height, and an average hunter will
not often do so much, especially if at all tired by a long run, or if
without the excitement attendant on the chase.

THEORY OF GENERATION. 99

CHAPTER VII.
THE PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING APPLICABLE TO THE ftORSE.

Theory of Generation — In-and-in Breeding — Out- Crossing , Advan-
tages and Disadvantages of each Plan — Causes of a "Hit" —
Importance of Health and Soundness in both Sire and Dam —
Best Age to Breed Jrom — Influence of Sire and Dam respectively —
Choice of Sire and Dam — The Kind of Horse most likely to be
Profitable to the Breeder — Concluding Remarks on Breeding.

THEORY OF GENERATION.

THE IMPORTANCE of understanding the principles upon which
the breeding of the horse should be conducted is so great that
every one who superintends a stud, however small, should study
them carefully. To do this with advantage, he must investigate
the changes which take place after the union between the sexes,
and must endeavor to ascertain the influence which the sire and
dam respectively exert upon their offspring.

In the year 1855, while engaged in preparing the article on
the breeding of the horse in " British Rural Sports," I carefully
drew up the following epitome of the laws which govern the gene-
ration of the mammalia. Since then, the subject has constantly
been before me ; but, in spite of the numerous investigations car-
ried on by other observers, I have seen no reason to modify, in any
material degree, what I then wrote ; and I shall, therefore, to pre-
vent confusion, insert it entire, what slight additions may be neces-
sary being included within parentheses.

1. THE UNION of the sexes is, in all the higher animals, neces-
sary for reproduction ; the male and female each taking their re-
spective share.

2. THE OFFICE OF THE MALE is to secrete the semen in the
testes, and emit it into the uterus of the female (in or near which
organ), it comes in contact with the ovum of the female — which
remains sterile without it.

3. THE FEMALE forms the ovum in the ovary, and at regular
times, varying in different animals, this descends into the uterus,
for the purpose of fructification, on receiving the stimulus and ad-
dition of the sperm-cell of the semen.

4. THE SEMEN consists of two portions — the spermatozoa, which
have an automatic power of moving from place to place, by which
quality it is believed that the semen is carried to the ovum ; and
the sperm-cells, which are intended to co-operate with the germ-
cell of the ovum in forming the embryo.

5. THE OVUM consists of the germ-cell, intended to form part

100 THE HORSE.

of the embryo, — and of the yolk, which nourishes both, until the
vessels of the mother take upon themselves the task • or, in ovip-
arous animals, till hatching takes place, and external food is to be
obtained. The ovum is carried down by the contractile power of
the fallopian tubes from the ovary to the uterus, and hence it does
not require automatic particles like the semen.

6. THE EMBRYO, or young animal, is the result of the contact
of the semen with the ovum, immediately after which the sperm-
cell of the former is absorbed into the germ-cell of the latter. Upon
this a tendency to increase or " grow" is established and supported
at first, by the nutriment contained in the yolk of the ovum, until
the embryo has attached itself to the walls of the uterus, from
which it afterwards absorbs its nourishment by the intervention
of the placenta.

7. As THE MALE AND FEMALE each furnish their quota to the
formation of the embryo, it is reasonable to expect that each shall
be represented in it, which is found to be the case in nature ; but
as the food of the embryo entirely depends upon the mother, it may
be expected that the health of the offspring and its constitutional
powers will be more in accordance with her state than with that
of the father ; yet since the sire furnishes one-half of the original
germ, it is not surprising that in external and general character
there is retained & fac-simile, to a certain extent, of him.

8. THE OVUM OF MAMMALIA differs from that of birds chiefly
in the greater size of the yolk of the latter, because in them this
body is intended to support the growth of the embryo from the
time of the full formation of the egg until the period of hatching.
On the other hand, in mammalia the placenta conveys nourish-
ment from the internal surface of the uterus to the embryo during
the whole time which elapses between the entrance of the ovum
into the uterus and its birth. This period embraces nearly the
whole of the interval between conception and birth, and is called
uiero-gestation.

9. IN ALL THE MAMMALIA THERE is A PERIODICAL " HEAT,"
marked by certain discharges in the female, and sometimes by other
remarkable symptoms in the male (as in the rutting of the deer).
In the former it is accompanied in all healthy subjects by the de-
scent of an ovum or ova into the uterus ; and in both there is a
strong desire for sexual intercourse, which never takes place at
other times in them (with the single exception of the genus Di-
mana).

10. THE SEMEN retains its fructifying power for some days, if it
is contained within the walls of the uterus or vagina, but soon ceases
to be fruitful if kept in any other vessel. Hence, although the
latter part of the time of heat is the best for the union of the sexes,
because then the ovum is ready for the contact with the semen,

THEORY OF GENERATION. 101

yet if the semen reaches the uterus first, it will still cause a fruit-
ful impregnation, because it remains there (or in the fallopian
tubes) uninjured until the descent of the ovum.

11. THE INFLUENCE OF THE MALE upon the embryo is partly
dependent upon the fact, that he furnishes a portion of its sub-
stance in the. shape of the sperm-coll, but also in great measure
upon the effect exerted upon the nervous system of the mother by
him. Hence, the preponderance of one or other of the parents
will, in great measure, depend upon the greater or less strength of
nervous system in each. No general law is known by which this
can be measured, nor is anything known of the laws which regu-
late the temperament, bodily or mental power, color or conforma-
tion, of the resulting offspring.

12. ACQUIRED QUALITIES are transmitted, whether they belong
to the sire or dam, and also both bodily and mental. As bad qua-
lities are quite as easily transmitted as good ones, if not more so,
it is necessary to take care that in selecting a male to improve the
stock he is free from bad points, as well as furnished with good
ones. It is known by experience that the good or bad points of
the progenitors of the sire or dam are almost as likely to appear
again in the offspring as those of the immediate parents in whom
they are dormant. Hence, in breeding, the rule is, that like pro-
duces like, or the likeness of some ancestor.

13. THE PURER OR LESS MIXED the breed the more likely it
is to be transmitted unaltered to the offspring. Hence, whichever
parent is of the purest blood will be generally more represented in
the offspring ; but as the male is usually more carefully selected
and of purer blood than the female, it generally follows that he
exerts more influence than she does; the reverse being the case
when she is of more unmixed blood than the sire.

14. BREEDING " IN-AND-IN" is injurious to mankind, and has
always been forbidden by the Divine law, as well as by most hu-
man lawgivers. On the other hand, it prevails extensively in a
state of nature with all gregarious animals (such as the hoise),
among whom the strongest male retains his daughters and grand-
daughters until deprived of his harem by younger and stronger
rivals. Hence, in those of our domestic animals which are natu-
rally gregarious, it is reasonable to conclude that breeding u in-and-
in" is not prejudicial, because it is in conformity with their natural
instincts, if not carried farther by art than nature teaches by her
example. Now, in nature, we find about two consecutive crosses
of the same blood is the usual extent to which it is carried, as the
life of the animal is the limit; and it is a remarkable fact, that in
practice, a conclusion has been arrived at which exactly coincides
with these natural laws. " Once in and once out" is the rule for
breeding given by Mr. Smith in his work on the breeding for the

102 THE HORSE.

turf; but twice in will be found to be more in accordance with the
practice of our most successful (early) breeders.

15. THE INFLUENCE OF THE FIRST IMPREGNATION Seems to

extend to the subsequent ones ; this has been proved by several
experiments, and is especially marked in the equine genus. In the
series of examples, preserved in the museum of the College of Sur-
geons, the markings of the male quagga, when united with the
ordinary mare, are continued clearly for three generations beyond
the one in which the quagga was the actual sire ; and they are so
clear as to leave the question settled without a doubt.

16. WHEN SOME OF THE ELEMENTS of which an individual
sire is composed are in a cordance with others making up those of
the dam, they coalesce in such a kindred way as to make what is
called " a hit." On the other hand, when they are too incongru-
ous, an animal is the result wholly unfitted for the task he is in-
tended to perform.

THESE PRINCIPLES, together with the observations following upon
them, have been quoted verbatim, at great length, by the late Mr.
Herbert, in his elaborate quarto work on " The Horse of America,"
with the very flattering testimony that he had done so "not for
the purpose of avoiding trouble, or sparing time, but because he
conceives the principles laid down to be correct throughout, the
reasoning logical and cogent, the examples well taken, and the de-
ductions such as can scarcely be denied." In support of this
opinion, he adduces several instances in which a " hit" has occurred
in America by carrying out the last axiom in the preceding list.
Thus he says, at page 260 of his second volume, " I think myself
that it is made clear by recent events, and that such is shown to be
the case by the tables of racing stock given at the close of the first
volume, that, previous to the last quarter of a century, the Ame-
rican turfman was probably breeding in too much of the old Vir-
ginia and South Carolina ante-revolutionary stock, and that the
American racehorse has been improved by the recent cross of mo-
dern English blood. It is also worthy of remark, that every one
of the four most successful of modern English stallions in this
country which have most decidedly hit with our old stock — Levia-
than, Sarpedon, Priam, and Glencoe — all trace back to several
crosses of Herod blood; Grlenoe and Priam not less than three or
four several times each to croeses of Partner blood, and directly
several times over to the Godolphin Barb, or Arabian, which are
the very strains from which our Virginian stock derives its pecu-
liar excellence. It is farther worthy of remark, that two stallions
have decidedly hit with the imported English mare Reel, as proved
by her progeny, Lecompte and Prioress, respectively to Boston and
Sovereign. Now Reel, through Glencoe, Catton, Gohanna, and
Smolensko, has herself no less than seven distinct strains of Herod

IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 103

blood. Boston, as every one knows, traces directly through Timo-
leon, Sir Archy, Dionied, Florizel, to Herod. Sovereign, also,
through Einilius, his sire, has Herod on both lines as his paternal
and maternal g.g.g. sire; and Tartar, the sire of Herod, a third
time, in one remove yet farther back. Now this would go to jus-
tify Stonehenge's opinion that the recurrence to the same original
old strains of blood, when such strains have been sufficiently inter-
mixed and rsndered new by other more recent crosses, is not inju-
rious, but of great advantage ; and that, on the whole, it is better,
cceteris paribus, to do such than to try experiments with extreme
out-crosses."

IN-AND-IN BREEDING.

WHEN ANY NEW BREED of animals is first introduced into this
country, in-and-in breeding (by which is to be understood the pair-
ing of relations within the degree of second cousins twice or more
in succession) can scarcely be avoided ; and hence, when first the
value of the Arab was generally recognised, the breeder of the
racehorse of those days could not well avoid having recourse to
the plan. Thus we find, in the early pages of the Stud-book, con-
stant instances of very close in-breeding, often carried to such an
extent as to become incestuous. The result was our modern tho-
rough-bred -} but it does not follow that because the plan answered
in producing that celebrated kind of animal, it will be equally
successful in keeping up the breed in its original perfection. In
" British Rural Sports," I have given a series of examples of suc-
cess resulting from each plan, which I shall not now repeat, merely
remarking that the opinion which I formed from an attentive ex-
amination of them remains unchanged. This opinion was expressed
in the following words : —

" If the whole of the pedigrees to which I have drawn atten-
tion are attentively examined, the breeder can have no hesitation
in coming to the conclusion, that in-breeding, carried out once or
twice, is not only not a bad practice, but is likely to be attended
with g<>ad results. Let him ask what horses have been the most
remarkable of late years as stallions, and, with very few exceptions,
he will find they were considerably in-bred. It has been remarked,
that the Touchstone and Defence blood almost always hits with the
Selim ; but it is forgotten that the one was already crossed with
that horse, and the other with his brother Rubens. On the other
hand, the Whisker blood in the Colonel has not succeeded so well,
it being made up of much crossed and more distinctly related parti-
cles, and therefore not hitting with the Selim and Castrel blood,
like his cousins, Touchstone and Defence. It has, however, par-
tially succeeded when in-bred to the Waxy and Buzzard blood, as
in Chatham and Fugleman, who both reunite these three strains.
The same applies to Coronation, who unites the Whalebone blood

104 THE HORSE.

in Sir Hercules with that of Rubens in Ruby ; but as Waxy and
Buzzard, the respective ancestors of all these horses, were both
grandsons of Herod, and great-grandsons of Snap, it only strength-
ens the argument in favor of in-breeding. This conclusion is in
accordance with the 14th and 15th axioms, which embody the
state of our present knowledge of the theory of generation ; and
if they are examined, they will be seen to bear upon the present
subject, so as to lead one to advise the carrying out of the practice
of in-and-in breeding to the same extent as has been found so suc-
cessful in the instances which I have given. Purity of blood is
intimately connected with the practice, because the nearer it is to
one standard, the more unmixed it is, and by consequence the more
fully it is represented in the produce. Hence, it is doubly needful
to take care that this pure blood is of a good kind ; because if bad,
it will perpetuate its bad qualities just as closely as it would the
good, or perhaps still more so."

I have nothing to add to these remarks ; and if I were to adduce
the few instances in their support which can have occurred since
1855-6, when they were written, I should add little to the mass of
evidence which I have already collected. An appeal -to the past
can only be answered in the way which I have recorded ; for the
evidence of repeated success in resorting to the practice of in-breed-
ing is too strong to be gainsaid. We will now consider whether
the effects of an out-cross are of superior or equal value.

OUT-CROSSING.

BETWEEN IN-AND-IN BREEDING, which I have denned as the
pairing of animals within the relationship of second cousins, and
the opposite extreme of uniting those which are not at all allied in
blood, there are many degrees ; but as, in the thorough-bred horse,
there are scarcely two in the Stud-book which cannot be traced
back to the same stock in one or more lines, we do not generally
understand " a cross" to demand absolute distinctness of blood.
For instance, Teddington is generally considered as the result of
as marked a cross as we ever met with in the modern Stud-book.
For five generations, the same name never appears in the pedigree*
tables of his sire and dam ; but in the sixth, we find the name of
Sir Peter occur three times on the side of his sire, and twice on
that of his dam, besides six other lines of Herod blood on the part
of the sire, and eight on that of the dam. Here, therefore, there
was a return to the original lines of blood, which had been in-bred
twice each, after five successive departures from them as far as
could be effected in this particular kind of horse. The last are
called " crosses," though not being exactly the reverse of in-breed-
ing, for the reason, as I before remarked, that an absolute freedom
from relationship is not to be found, or, if so, extremely rarely

ADVANTAGES, ETC. 105

Breeders very often fancy that they put two animals together
which are without any corresponding lines or strains of blood in
their composition ; whereas, in point of fact, the relationship exists
only four or five degrees off. The horse and mare are, perhaps,
fourth or fifth cousins, often second or third ; but, in examining
the Stud-book, the blood of the sire, grandsire, and great-grandsire
is apt to be forgotten, because it is not given, the name only being
mentioned In the book to which I have already alluded, I have
inserted a long series of pedigree tables, drawn out to the sixth
generation, with a reference also to the earlier pedigrees; by
which, at one glance, the breeder may see how constantly, in
going back, the same names occur in every table. Eclipse, Herod,
and Conductor, the three contemporary descendants of the Darley
Arab, the Byerly Turk, and the Godolphin Barb, or one of their
immediate descendants, will be seen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh
remove of all our thorough-bred horses, and often the names of all
three will be found repeated four, five, or six times apiece ; ye,t the
horse itself whose pedigree is being examined, as in the instance
of Teddington, is considered to be the produce of a cross, and is
not, therefore said to be in-bred.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH PLAN.

HAVING THUS EXPLAINED the meaning of the two terms, and
having, in "British Rural Sports," collected a series of examples
of success in crossing nearly equal in number to those adduced in
which in-breeding had been resorted to advantageously, I shall
now proceed to say a few words upon the probable advantages to
be derived from each plan. In the first place, it may be laid
down that nearly an equal number of good horses have lately been
bred by adopting either mode of proceeding ; but no first-rate horse
has appeared whose parents were incestuously allied. In the second
place, it may be gathered from experiments with horses and other
domestic animals, that very close in-breeding, continued for any
length of time, is apt to develop the weak points in the constitu-
tions of the breed in which it is adopted. The cautious breeder,
therefore will do well to avoid running this risk, and will strive to
obtain what he wants without having recourse to the practice,
though, at the same time, he will make up his mind that it is
unwise to sacrifice a single point with this view. Experience
tells us that it is useless to expect to develop a new property or
quality in the next generation, by putting a female entirely
deprived of it to a male which possesses it even in a marked
degree. Some instances of success will attend the adoption of
this course, but as a rule it cannot be relied on in the majority of
instances. Thus, a slow, stout mare, containing no lines of fast
Hood in her pedigree, will not be likely to breed a fast colt, though

106 THE HOUSE.

put to a flying stallion, whose blood is not stout in a considerable
proportion of his ancestry. Two or three consecutive crosses with
the same or similar blood will almost of a surety effect the object;
but the first will rarely do so. Again, we know, if we put two
animals together, equally in-bred or equally crossed, the produce
is, on the whole, as likely to resemble the one parent as the other,
though there may be a difference of opinion as to particular points.
But, if not thus equally composed of similar elements, the more
in-bred parent will be represented in a greater proportion than
the crossed one ; and hence it follows, that if it is desired to keep
up the qualities of the horse or mare in his or her descendant, the
mate must be selected, if possible, less in-bred than he or she is.
West Australian himself and his stock are excellent examples of
this theory. His sire, Melbourne, was the result of a series of
crosses ; while his dam, Mowerina, was in-bred to Whalebone and
Whisker, own brothers ; and her sire and dam were second cousins.
The result has been, that both in " The West" and in his stock
the Whalebone element has been universally manifested, and not
the slightest trace of Melbourne has ever appeared, as far as my
knowledge of his stock allows me to judge. This is in perfect
accordance with the 13th anxiom in the epitome of the laws
which govern the breeding of our domestic animals. (See page
101.)

CAUSES OF A "HIT."

A " HIT," in breeding, is understood to mean an instance of suc-
cess ; but though it often occurs, the reason for it is not always
very clear. My own belief is that it generally results, as I have
laid down in the 16th axiom, from the reunion of lines which have
been often kept separate for several generations. Thus, it is a
fact (so patent that every writer on the breeding of the horse, of
late years, has admitted its truth), that the Touchstone and Sultan
blood have almost invariably hit. The reason, granting the pre-
mises which I lay down, is plain enough — each goes back to Selim,
the former through the dam of his sire, Camel, and the latter being
son of that horse. Many other examples of a similar nature might
be adduced, though not observed so extensively as in the case of
Touchstone, because few horses have been put to so many mares
as he has. I do not mean to assert that no hit can occur without
such a reunion of previously separated lines, but I believe that,
under other circumstances, it will rarely be found to show itself;
and if, as I before observed, there is a relationship between all
thorough-bred horses, either remote or near, there must be ' this
reunion to some extent. This, however, is not what I mean ; the
return must be to a line only removed two, three, or four genera-
tions, in order to be at all marked; and if more than these inter-

A "HIT"— SOUNDNESS OF PARENTS. 107

vals exist, the hit cannot be said to depend upon the reunion, since
this must occur in all cases ; and what is common to all cannot be
instanced as a particular cause of any subsequent result.

THE FACT REALLY is, as proved by thousands of examples, that
by putting A and B together, the produce is not necessarily made
up of half of each. Both parents have qualities belonging to the
several members of a long line of ancestors, and their son (or
daughter) may possibly be made up of as many as seven propor-
tions of one parent, and one proportion of the other. It generally
happens, that if there is any considerable degree of consanguinity,
or even a great resemblance in form, to some of the ancestry on
each side, the produce will draw together those elements, and will
be made up of the characteristics peculiar to them in a very large
proportion. This accounts for the preponderance of the Touch-
stone form in the West Australian stock ; while the same horse is
overpowered in Orlando and his stock, by the greater infusion of
Selim blood in the dam Vulture, who is removed exactly in the
same degree as Touchstone from Selim and his brother Castrel;
and the two latter, therefore, have more influence on the stock than
the former. Here, then, we have two remarkable instances, which
each show a hit from the reunion of strains after two out-crosses ;
while, at the same time, they severally display an example of two
lines overpowering one in the stock of the same horse. It may be
argued, that in each case it is the blood of the dam which has
overpowered that of the sire, — West Australian being by Mel-
bourne, out of a daughter of Touchstone; while Orlando is by
Touchstone, out of a mare descended from two lines of Selim and
his brother Castrel. Now, I am myself a great believer in the in-
fluence of the dam over her progeny, and therefore I should be
ready to accept this argument, were it not that, under ordinary
circumstances, both Melbourne and Touchstone have been sure to
reproduce their likenesses in their several sons and daughters.
Every racing man who has been on the turf while the Melbournes
and Touchstones were in their glory, was able, in almost all in-
stances, to say at the first glance, " That is a Melbourne or a Touch-
stone colt or filly." But, in the cases of Orlando and West Aus-
tralian, the resemblance to their respective sires was not apparent;
and, as I before observed, it is still less visible in their stock. In
the language of the stud, this is called " going back" to a particular
strain; and it is so constantly observable, that there is no necessity
for dwelling further upon it.

IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH AND SOUNDNESS IN BOTH SIRE
AND DAM.

OUR PRESENT BREED OF HORSES is undoubtedly less healthy
than that of our ancestors; and this tendency to unsoundness is

108 THE HORSE.

not marked in any particular department of the animal economy,
but the defect shows itself wherever the strain is the greatest from
the nature of the work which the animal has to perform. Thus,
the racehorse becomes a roarer, or his legs and feet give way. The
hunter fails chiefly in his wind or his hocks, because he is not used
much on hard ground, and therefore his fore legs are not severely
tried, as in the case with the racer, who often has to extend him-
self over a course rendered almost as hard as a turnpike-road by
the heat of a July or August sun. The harness-horse often be-
comes a roarer, from the heavy weights that he has to draw, espe-
cially if his windpipe is impeded by his head being confined by
the bearing-rein. The hack, again, suffers chiefly in his legs, from
our hard Macadamised roads ; while the cart-horse becomes unsound
in his hocks or his feet, the former parts being strained by his
severe pulls, and the latter being battered and bruised against the
ground, from having to bear the enormous weight of his carcass.
But it is among our well-bred horses that unsoundness is the most
frequent ; and in them, I believe, it may be traced to the constant
breeding from sires and dams which have been thrown out of train-
ing, in consequence of a break-down, or " making a noise," or from
some other form of disease. It is quite true, that roaring is not
necessarily transmitted from father to son ; and it is also manifest
that there are several causes which produce it, some of which are
purely accidental, and are not likely to be handed down to the next
generation. The same remarks, apply to the eyes; but, in the main,
it may be concluded that disease is hereditary, and that a sound
horse is far more likely to get healthy stock than an unsound one.
In the mare, probably, health is still more essential; but if the
breeder regards his future success, whether he is establishing a
stud of racehorses, or of those devoted to any kind of slower work,
he will carefully eschew every kind of unsoundness, and especially
those which are of a constitutional character. If a horse gets
blind in an attack of influenza, or if, without any previous indica-
tions of inflammation, he breaks down from an accidental cause,
the defect may be passed over, perhaps; but, on the contrary, when
the blindness comes on in the form of ordinary cataract, or the
break-down is only the final giving-way in a leg which has been
long amiss, I should strongly advise an avoidance of the horse
which has displayed either the one or the other. I believe that a
government inspection of all horses and mares used for breeding
purposes would be a great national good ; and I look forward to its
establishment, at no distant time, as the only probable means of
insuring greater soundness in our breeds of horses. I would not
have the liberty of the subject interfered with. Let every man
breed what he likes, but I would not let him foist the produce on
the public as sound, when they are almost sure to go amiss as soon

BEST AGE TO BREED FROM. 109

as they are worked. Ships must now all be registered at Lloyd's,
in the classes to which they are entitled by their condition ; and
horses, as well as mares, should be registered in the same way,
according to the opinion which the government inspector may form
as to their health and the probability of getting or producing sound
and useful foals. The purchaser would call for the registration-
mark, when he asked for the pedigree of the horse he was about
to buy; and if it was not a favorable one, he would, of course, be
placed upon his guard. If this plan could be carried out in prac-
tice, as well as it looks on paper, much good might be done, I am
assured ; but we all know that inspectors are but mortals, and that
they are liable to be biassed in more ways than one. Still, I be-
lieve that the evil is becoming so glaring, that something must
soon be done ; and I see no other mode so likely as this to be ad-
vantageous to the interests of the purchaser and user of the horse.

BEST AGE TO BREED FROM.

THE GENERAL OPINION throughout England is, that one or
other of the parents should be of mature age; and that if a very
young mare is chosen, the horse should not be less than eight, ten,
or twelve years old. If both are very young or very old, the pro
duce is generally small and weakly ; but by adopting the plan above-
mentioned, the services of young and old may be fully utilized. A
great many of our very best performers on the turf have been got
by old stallions ; as, for instance, Whisker, son of Waxy, in his
twenty-second year ; Emilius, son of Orville, in his twentieth ;
Voltigeur and Newminster, whose sires were respectively twenty-one
and seventeen ; Blink Bonny, who was got by Melbourne, in his
twentieth year; and Wild Dayrell, by Ion, when seventeen years old.
To these may be added, Gemma di Vergy, Lifeboat, and Gunboat,
three celebrated sons of Sir Hercules, and all got by him after he
was twenty years old — the last named when he was twenty-five
years of age. So, also, many were out of old mares ; including
Priam, whose dam was twenty when she dropped him; Crucifix,
the daughter of Octaviana, when twenty-two years old ; Lottery,
out of Mandane, in her twentieth year ; and Brutandorf, produced
by the same mare when she was twenty-two. From these instances,
the breeder may conclude that age is no bar to success, if matched
with youth on the other side; but the instances of success in breed-
ing from two aged parents are rare indeed. It is next to be ascer-
tained what is the earliest age at which this animal can be relied
on for breeding ; and here, again, example is better than theory.
The most remarkable instance of moderate success in adopting this
plan is in that of The Ugly Buck, whose dam, Monstr6sity, was
put to Venison when only a two-year-old. The horse, also, was
not more than seven, and the dam of Monstrosity bred her in her
10

110 THE HORSE.

fourth year. But though Ugly Buck promised well as a two-year-
old, he failed in his subsequent career, and his example is not, there-
fore, to be considered as at all conclusive. Still, his is a most ex-
traordinary instance, and as such it should not be lost sight of.
There are many cases in which the first produce of a mare has been
her best; such as, in former times, Mark Anthony, Conductor,
Shuttle Pope, Filho da Puta, Sultan, Pericles, Oiseau, Doctor Syn-
tax, Manfred, and Pantaloon. Nevertheless, these may be con-
sidered to be exceptions, and a large majority of the brood inares
in the Stud-book are credited with their most successful produce
subsequently to their first. The rule generally adopted is to wait
till the mare is three years old before breeding from her, and then
to put her to a horse of at least full maturity — that is to say, seven
or eight years old.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE SIRE AND DAM RESPECTIVELY.

I HAVE ALREADY, at page 40, alluded to this question as relating
to the breeding of the Arab horse in his native country, and have
there shown that the opinions held by Abd-el-Kader, in modern
days, do not coincide with those which have long been supposed
to be general in Arabia. In the passage which I have there
quoted, this celebrated chief attempts to define the exact part which
each parent takes in producing the foal, but he goes still farther in
subsequent answers to the questions asked by General Daumas, in
relation to the value put by the Arabs on their stallions and mares
respectively. To these Abd-el-Kader replies as follows: "It is
true that Arabs prefer mares to horses, but only for the following
reasons : the first is that they look at the profit which may arise
from a mare as very considerable. Some Arabs have realized as
much as 20,000 dollars from the produce of one mare. They have
a proverb that ' the fountain-head of riches is a mare that produces
a mare/ This is corroborated by the prophet Mahomet, who says,
' Let mares be preferred, their bellies are a treasure, their backs the
seat of honor/ The greatest blessing is an intelligent wife or a
mare that produces plenty of foals." These words are thus ex-
plained by commentators : Their bellies are a treasure because the
mare by her produce increases the riches of her master; and their
backs are the seat of honor, because the pace of a mare is easier
than that of a horse ; and there be those that say it is sufficiently
so as in time to render a horseman effeminate. The second reason
is that a mare does not neigh in war, that she bears hunger, thirst,
and heat better than a horse, and that therefore she is more useful
to people whose riches consist in camels and sheep. Now all the
world knows that our camels and sheep thrive only in the desert,
where the soil is so arid that Arabs drinking chiefly milk find water
eeldom oftener than every eight or ten days, in consequence of the

INFLUENCE OF SIRE AND DAM. Ill

distance between the pasturages, which are only to be found in the
neighborhood of wells. The mare is like the serpent, their pow-
ers increase in hot weather and in arid countries. Serpents which
live in cold or watery countries have little venom or courage, so
that their bite is seldom mortal, whereas those that live in hot
countries are more irritable, and the virulence of their poison is
increased. Whilst the horse can less easily bear the heat of the
sun, the mare, doubtless from constitutional causes, finds her ener-
gies increase with the greatest heat. The third reason is that the
mare requires less care and less nourishment. The owner can lead
and turn her out to graze with the sheep and camels, and he is not
obliged to have a person constantly watching her; whereas a horse
cannot do without being highly fed, and he cannot be turned out
without an attendant for obvious reasons. These are the true rea-
sons of an Arab's preference for mares. It does not arise from
the foal inheriting the qualities of the dam rather than those of the
sire ; it does not proceed from its being better at all times and
under all circumstances to ride a mare rather than a horse ; but it
is based upon material interests, and on the necessities enforced by
the description of life which Arabs lead. It- must, however, be
admitted that a horse is more noble than a mare. He is stronger,
more courageous, and faster. That a horse is stronger than a mare
is thus proved. If both were struck by the same mortal wound
a mare would fall at once, but a horse would seldom drop until he
had carried his rider into safety. I saw a mare struck by a ball
on the leg ; the bone was broken ; unable to bear the pain she fell
immediately. A horse was hit in the same manner j the broken
limb hung only by the skin ; he continued his course, supporting
himself on his sound leg, until he bore his rider from the battle-
field and then fell. The Arabs prefer mares to horses for the rea-
sons I have given, and those reasons are sufficient to show why
amongst us the value attached to the possession of a mare is greater
than that they attach to the possession of a horse, even though the
breeding of each were the same ; for whilst on the one hand the
foal takes more after the sire than the dam, on the other the pro-
prietor of a horse cannot gain in many years as much as the pro-
prietor of a mare can gain in one year if she throw a foal.
However, when a horse has displayed any extraordinary qualities,
it often happens that he will not be parted with, probably pro-
ducing to his master in the way of booty or otherwise as much as
the most valuable mare. I saw amongst the Annazas, a tribe ex-
tending from Bagdad to Syria, horses so beyond all price that it
was almost impossible to purchase them, and certainly impossible
to pay ready money for them. These animals, of a fabulous value,
are sold only to the highest personages, or to rich merchants who
pay for them by thirty or forty instalments, or by a perpetual rent

112 THE HORSE.

settled on the vendor or his decendants. The birth of a horse can
never be considered a misfortune by an Arab, however much he
may prefer a mare for the material advantages which they procure.
Mares almost always produce, and it is on that account principally
that they are preferred. I repeat it — the birth of an animal that
guarantees its master against humiliation can never be considered
a misfortune. A poet says : ' My brothers reproach me with my
debts, yet I never contracted one but for an honorable purpose.
In giving the bread of heaven to all, in purchasing a horse of noble
race, and buying a slave to attend upon me." — Bailey's Magazine
of Sports, June, 1860.

MY OWN BELIEF in this matter, founded upon observations made
during a long series of years on the horse as well as the dog, is
that no rule can be laid down with any certainty. Much depends
upon the comparative physical power and strength of constitution
in each parent, even more perhaps than the composition of the
blood. There have been many instances of two brothers being
used in the stud, both among horses and greyhounds, in which one
has almost invariably got his stock resembling himself in all par-
ticulars, not even excluding color, while the descendants of the
other have rarely been recognisable as his. Thus among horses
the Touchstones have been mostly brown or dark bay, and as a lot
have shown a high form as racehorses, while the Launcelots have
been of all colors, and have been below mediocrity on the turf.
Several examples of the same nature may be quoted from among
greyhounds, such as Ranter, Gripsey Prince, and Gripsey Royal,
three brothers whose stock were as different as possible, but the
fact is so generally recognised that it is not necessary to dwell upon
it. Now surely this difference in the power of transmitting the
likeness of the sire, when the blood is exactly the same as it is
observed to extend over large numbers, can only depend upon a
variation in individual power. Not only does this apply to the
males, but the females also show the same difference. Some mares
have gone on producing foals which afterwards turned out first-
class whatever horse they were put to, as, for instance, Phryne
(dam of whmers by Pantaloon, Melbourne, and The Flying Dutch-
man), Barbelle, who produced Van Tromp by Lanercost, De Witt
by The Provost, and The Flying Dutchman by Bay Middleton.
Alice Hawthorne, successively as well as successfully put to Bird-
catcher, Melbourne, Touchstone, Windhound, Melbourne or Wind-
hound, and Sweetmeat; and lastly, Ellerdale, dam of Ellington
and Ellermere, and Grildermire by Flying Dutchman, Summerside
by West Australian, and Wardersinarke by Birdcatcher. On ap-
pealing to the greyhound, also, we see some remarkable instances
within the last few years, of which Mr. Jardine's Ladylike and
Mr. Randell's Riot may be considered as very strong cases in point.

CHOICE OF SIRE AND DAM. 113

The latter bitch also may be instanced as having been extremely
successful in the stud, while her own brother, Ranter, in the same
kennel, was a total failure. There must consequently be something
more than mere breeding to produce a successful result, and this I
am inclined to think resides in the strength of the constitution
possessed by the individual.

BUT EVEN SUPPOSING the horse or mare displays this constitu-
tional power, there is something which controls it, as we have seen
ID the two cases already instanced of Orlando and West Australian.
In the former horse the influence of the sire, great as it usually
has been shown to be, was compelled to succumb to the combina-
tion of the three lines traceable to Selim and his brother Castrel,
while in the other this same horse Touchstone prevailed (still,
however, on the side of the dam) apparently only because there
was a combination of two very recently separated lines of Waxy
blood through his sons Whalebone and Whisker. The second of
these examples is the more worthy of note, because in tracing
back the lines of the sire and dam, the name of Trumpeter from
whom Melbourne is lineally descended is met with three times in
the pedigree of the former, and four times in that of the latter.
Here then but for the nearness of the two lines of Waxy I should
have expected the produce to follow the Trunipator strain through
Melbourne, but as I have already observed, beyond the third re-
move this influence is very much weakened. We may therefore
come to the conclusion that it is not always superior strength of
constitution, nor the greater purity or antiquity of the blood which
determines the influence to be expected by either parent, but that
sometimes the one and sometimes the other is the cause. And as
the former cannot well be determined, the latter is the foundation
for the plans of the breeder, who will on the whole do well to fol-
low the maxims first laid down by that celebrated breeder of horses
and cattle, the second Earl Spencer, whose opinions were in con-
formity with the 13th axiom for breeders which I have inserted at
page 101.

CHOICE OF SIRE AND DAM.

THE NECESSITY FOR HEALTH in each parent has already been
insisted on, but beyond this point, which is generally admitted,
there are several others to be attended to. Thus, since the pre-
ponderance of either over the form and temper of the progeny will,
in all probability, fall to that one which has the superior purity of
blood, it follows that if the breeder wishes to alter in any important
particular the qualities possessed by his mare, he must select a
horse which is either better bred or some of whose lines will coa-
lesce with those of the dam's, which it is desired to perpetuate.
Thus, supposing a mare to be made up of four lines, two of which
10*

114 THE HORSE.

are decidedly bad, and one which is so good as to attract the notice
of her owner, then let him look around and select some horse in
whose pedigree is to be found a similar strain, taking care that the
relationship is not so close as to lead to disappointment on the score
of the bad effects attributable to in-breeding. But there are many
brood mares not in the Stud-book, whose pedigrees are not ascer-
tainable, and in their case this rule will not apply. Here a different
plan must be pursued, and a horse must be chosen whose shape,
action, or temper coincides with the particular quality which it is
desired to perpetuate. I am strongly inclined to believe that it is
comparatively of little use to look about for sires who possess those
qualities in which the dam is deficient. Such a course of proceed-
ing has so constantly ended in disappointment, within my own
knowledge, that I believe I am justified in condemning it. A stal-
lion (whether horse or greyhound, the same is observable) is known
to have been very fast, or very stout, as the case may be, and hav-
ing obtained the one character or the other, breeders have supposed
that they have only to send mares deficient in either quality, and
they would insure its development in the produce. If the mare or
bitch happens to possess among her ancestry stout or fast lines of
blood, the produce will display the one or the other, if she is put to
a horse possessing them j but, on the contrary, if the lines of the
dam are all fast, or all stout, no first cross with a sire possessing
the opposite qualities will be likely to have any effect, though no
doubt there are some few exceptions to this, as to all other rules.
The instances in support of this position are so numerous within
my own knowledge, that I should scarcely be able to make a be-
ginning, and every one draws upon his own experience, or who
will examine the " Stud Book" and the " Coursing Calendar" will
find examples without end throughout every volume of each. It
would be invidious to select any stallion now in this country, but
among those which have been well tried here in the stud, and are
here no longer, may be mentioned the Flying Dutchman. This
horse was well known to have been himself not only fast, but stout,
and, as a consequence, even those breeders who are aware of the
necessity for regarding both of these qualities were induced to
breed from him, expecting that the result would be to give them
similar stock in the next generation. The contrary, however, was
the case. In many cases speed was developed, but in almost every
instance, without an exception, that speed was not allied with stay-
ing power. The unlooked-for result has been attributed to his
sire, Bay Middleton, whose stock have been notoriously flashy • but
if the pedigree of Barbelle, his dam, is carefully examined, a still
stronger reason may be assigned. If her lines are traced back five
generations, it will be seen that out of her thirty-two progenitors
in that remove fourteen are descended from Herod or his sire,

CHOICE OF SIRE' AND DAM. 115

Tartar, and these in addition to the already overflowing quantum
of the same blood in Bay Middleton himself. Now I am a great
admirer of the blood of Herod, and I believe him to be one of the
chief foundations of the high form of our modern horses ; but its
peculiar characteristic is speed, not stoutness, and it requires a
combination with the stouter blood of Eclipse, or some other horse
of that strain, to make the possessor capable of staying a distance.
With these fast lines the produce of Barbelle has always been fast,
but it can scarcely occasion surprise that her stoutest son, Van
Tromp, sho ild be by Lanercost, nor that Orlando, with his double
lines of Selim and Castrel blood, should get a mere half-miler like
Zuyder Zee. The Flying Dutchman was, no doubt, a grand per-
former himself, but his may be regarded as a somewhat exceptional
case, and this opinion is supported by the failure of his own bro-
ther (Vanderdecken) on the turf, although cast in a mould which
would lead one to expect a still greater success.

IN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PERFORMANCES of the ancestry
of both sire and dam, regard must also be had to their size, as this
element is considered of much importance. Neither a large nor a
small sire or dam will perpetuate the likeness of himself or herself
unless descended from a breed which is either the one or the other.
It only leads to disappointment to breed from a tall stallion or
mare if either is only accidentally so, and not belonging to a breed
generally possessing the same characteristics. Many a small mare
or bitch has surprised her owner by producing him animals much
larger than herself, but on tracing her pedigree it will almost al-
ways be found to contain the names of animals of above the average
size. Moderately small mares are generally of a stronger consti-
tution than very large ones, and on that account they will often
answer the purposes of the stud better than larger animals, pro-
vided they are of a sort usually cast in the mould which is desired.
This should never be lost sight of by the breeder, and where, as
in breeding thorough-breds, the pedigree can be traced far enough
for this purpose, there is no excuse for neglecting the circumstance.

THE ABOVE PRECAUTIONS are sufficient in all those cases where
the pedigree is attainable, but there are many brood mares, as I
before remarked, in which nothing is known of their antecedents.
Here, the breeder can only act upon the general rule that " like
produces like/' and cannot take advantage of the addition which
I have made to the 12th axiom, at page 101, of the words, "or the
likeness of some ancestor." In such cases, for the reason which I
have given, disappointment will constantly attend upon the first
experiments, and until the mare has produced her first foal, and he
has gone on to his third or fourth year, the value of the dam can
hardly b<* ascertained. Breeding is always, more or le,ss, a lottery.

116 THE HORSE.

but when it is carried on with dams of unknown parentage, it is
ten times more so than it need be. Were I to commence the
establishment of a breeding stud, whether of cart or carriage
horses, hacks or hunters, I would never introduce a single mare
whose dam and grand-dam as well as the sire and grand-sire would
not be produceable as good specimens of their respective Kinds.
Beyond the second remove there would always be some difficulty in
going with the lower-bred mares, but I would certainly go as far
as this in all cases. If the sire and dam, grand-sire and grand-
dam, were, on the whole, of desirable form and performances, I
would choose the produce as a brood mare, but not otherwise ; and
though, of course, I should be obliged to pass over some important
defects in individuals, I would not do so if they were common to
all, or nearly all, of the four. In this way I should expect to do
more than by simply choosing " a great roomy mare" without
knowing her pedigree, in the belief that she would be sure to re-
produce her likeness.

THE KIND OF HORSE MOST PROFITABLE FOR THE BREEDER
TO CHOOSE.

WHEN A PERSON makes up his mind to bestow his attention on
the breeding of horses as a speculation, it behooves him to consider
what kind is best suited to the nature of his land and the length
of his purse, as well as to his own knowledge of horses. Unless
he has plenty of fine upland grass and a command of money, it is
quite useless for him to think of the race-horse ; nor will he do
well, without these concomitants, to dabble in hunters. Cart-horses,
now-a-days, pay well when there is work for them to do up to their
third or fourth year ; and carriage-horses are likewise a good specu-
lation, when the land is suitable to their development. No one,
however, should turn his attention to the breeding of hacks on a
large scale, since they will almost inevitably cost more than they
will fetch at five years old. The farmer who keeps one or two " nag "
mares is the only person who can be said to rear hacks without
loss ; and he only does so, because he begins to use them for his own
slow work as soon as they are three years old. Even in his case,
however, I much doubt whether the same food which has been
given the colts would not have been turned to greater profit if given
to horned cattle ; and the only thing which can be said in favor of
the former is, that they eat coarse grass which the latter will refuse.
To make the breeding of the horse turn out profitably, the hack
and inferior kind of harness-horse ought to be the culls from a lot
of colts intended for the hunting-field, and then, the one with the
other, they may be made to pay.

THE BROOD MARE AND HER FOAL. 117

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON BREEDING.

THE ANGRY DISCUSSIONS which have taken place in the year
1860, between Lord Redesdale and Admiral Rous, indicate plainly
what is the general opinion on the subject of the diminution in
the stoutness of our horses. Breeders, therefore, should turn their
attention to this point, and should be doubly careful to avoid
weedy or diseased sires and dams. It cannot be denied that our
modern thorough-breds possess size and speed ; but they certainly
do not shine in staying powers, as I have already more than once
remarked. But there are some strains particularly free from this
defect, and these I have endeavored to point out. It should not,
moreover, be forgotten that though the thorough-bred horse will
bear more work, especially at high speed, than any other kind, yet
he can only do this if well fed and warmly housed. Being a
native of a warm and dry climate, he requires to be protected from
the weather j and the young stock must be well reared in all re-
spects, or they will never pay. If, therefore, the breeder is not
determined to put up warm hovels in every paddock, and if he is
stingy of his corn, he had far better let his stud of mares be com-
posed of lower bred animals. If a thorough-bred horse and a
donkey are both fed upon the lowest quantity and quality of food
which will keep the latter in condition, the donkey would beat its
high-bred antagonist over a distance of ground — that is to say, sup-
posing the experiment to be continued long enough to produce a
permanent effect upon the two animals. A cart-horse colt, or one
of any kind of low blood, will do well enough if reared, till he is
put to work, upon grass and hay • but a race-horse or hunter, of
high breeding, would show a badly-developed frame, and be com-
paratively worthless for his particular kind of work, if he were not
allowed his corn from the time that he is weaned.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE BROOD MARE AND HER FOAL.

The Hovel and Paddock — General Management of the Brood-
Mare — Treatment when in Foal — After Foaling — Early Man-
agement of the Foal — Weaning.

HAVING ALREADY ALLUDED to the principles which should
guide the breeder in the choice of his mares, I need not further
allude to them beyond the remark that, independently of those
which 1 have indicated, he must take care that they are each pos-
sessed of a frame suitable to carry a foal, and of a constitution
hardy enough to sustain the drain upon the system caused by the

118 THE HORSE.

young animal, both before and after birth. If the pelvis and back
ribs are not large and deep, the foetus will not have room to be de*
veloped and brought into the world ; and unless the mare is a good
feeder, and is also furnished with an udder which will give suffi-
cient milk, she will not afford enough nourishment to her foal,
which will, therefore, be weakly and badly developed in its pro-
portions. The shape may be easily detected beforehand, but the
constitution and milking properties cannot so well be predicated,
though the experienced eye and hand of the stud-groom will
enable him to give a tolerably correct guess.

HOVEL AND PADDOCK.

IP THE BREEDER is about to undertake the production of a
number of horses of any kind, he must establish a regular stud-
farm, which for all horses should be on sound upland, with a sub-
soil of chalk or gravel. The presence of fine white clovers is in
itself almost sufficient to show that the soil will be suitable to the
horse; but, if possible, there should be an absolute practical know-
ledge that the situation has agreed with the animal, before any
heavy investment is made. If the surface fall is good, draining
may not be necessary, but in most cases the herbage will be greatly
improved by the introduction of tiles. Low, marshy situations may
serve during the autumn months to freshen up a stall horse, but
they are utterly unfit for the rearing of young stock, and should
be carefully avoided. If the stud is highly bred, and the feeding
is to be good, the colts will be very mischievous, and unless care
is taken to make the fences safe, they will break bounds, or injure
themselves in the attempt. Deep ditches are very unsafe, for the
mare as well as her foal are -very apt to get cast in them, with a
serious or fatal injury as the result. Posts and rails answer well
enough, where timber is plentiful, but, in the long run, they are
expensive from the necessity for constant repairs. Banks with thorn
hedges on the top are the very best of all means for enclosing the
paddocks, and are even better than stone walls, which, however, are
excellent for the purpose if they have the soil raised against their
bases, without which the foal is liable to slip up against their sur-
face, and thus sometimes blemish his knees. There is a great
difference of opinion as to the size necessary for the paddocks, and
the number of mares which should be allowed in each. In some
well conducted stud-farms, as, for instance, in that belonging to the
Rawcliffe Company, near York, the enclosures are very large, and
a dozen, or even as many as eighteen, mares and their foals are
turned out together as soon as the weather permits, and the spring
grass grows high enough. In others, as at t;he Hampton Court and
Middle Park establishments, the paddocks are each only calcu-
lated to take three or four mares and their foals ; and the yearlings,

HOVEL AND PADDOCK. 119

also, are never allowed to exceed four in any one paddock. Mr.
Martin, the clever and experienced manager of the first-named stud,
is of opinion that colts should have room enough to gallop, and
thus early accustom their joints and sinews to bear the strains which
they must, sometime or other, be subjected to. On the other hand,
the argument is held that in a small paddock the foal gallops quite
as much as in the larger one, and puts his joints to the strain in '
stopping himself at the corners, whilst there is less injury from
other accidental causes, such as kicks and the jamming of a lot
together in a narrow gateway. On the whole I am inclined to be- ;
lieve that the latter plan is the best, for experience shows that a
well-fed foal will gallop daily, for hours together, even in a two
acre paddock.

AT FOALING TIME each mare must have a separate hovel or
loose-box, but as, practically, it is found that she always gives
some few hours' notice of her approaching parturition, it is the
custom to bring her into the close neighborhood of the house of
the stud -groom at night, so that he may be at hand to render her
assistance, if necessary. Any loose-box answers for that purpose,
if it does not open to a warm stable, which would render it too
hot for an animal which has been for months exposed to the open
air. But after foaling the mare will also require a hovel to her-
self for six weeks or two months, when the foal will be strong
enough to take care of itself in running among other mares.
Indeed, at all times, the mares should at night be in separate hovels,
even when during the day they run in the same paddock with two
or three others. This hovel should be about twelve to fifteen feet
long, and not less than ten feet wide. The height may easily be
too great, because in the early spring the weather is often so
severe that the mare cannot impart sufficient heat to a very large
volume of air. From eight to nine feet will therefore be ample,
the former being well suited to the larger area which I have given
above, and the latter to the smaller. It is a very common plan,
when economy is much studied, to build four hovels back to back,
at the angles formed by four small runs, by which a saving in the
internal walls is effected. This, however, necessitates a northerly
or easterly aspect for two out of the four, either of which is objec-
tionable. Two hovels may readily be placed side by side :n the
most desirable situation, and these may be made to open into
separate runs. The walls should be built of brick or stone, which-
ever is locally the cheaper material, or where gorse is abundant
they may be formed from it, being the cheapest of all.

In some counties what is called "wattle and dab" is very
generally employed for outbuildings of this kind, and when they
are roofed with thatch, which carries the water well off the sides,
it answers very well. It is composed of common wood quarter-

120 THE HORSE.

ings, with the uprights connected together by transverse bars like
the rounds of a ladder, about eight inches apart. When the
whole framework is put together thus, some soil, which should be
clay or loam, is well worked together with straw and water into a
tenacious mixture, which is forked over each transverse bar in
succession, and the whole smoothed down till it assumes a regular
and even surface. Cottages and outbuildings are put up in this
way in Devonshire and Dorsetshire at very little expense, straw
costing the farmer little or nothing, either for the walls or the
roof, and the wood being also the produce of his own land. The
labor, therefore, is the only part which costs money, and that is
not paid for at a very high rate, where wages rarely exceed nine
shillings a week. When gorse is used, it is adopted in the follow-
ing way: — The door-posts and uprights are first fixed, and should
be either of oak — which is best — or of good sound Memel fir;
they should be about six inches by four, and should be fixed six
feet apart, with three feet sunk in the ground. After thus fixing
the framework, and putting on the wall-plate and rafters, the whole
internal surface is made good by nailing split poles of larch, or
otfcer timber, closely together across the uprights, taking especial
care to round off the ends when they appear at the door-posts.
Thus the whole of the interior is tolerably smooth, and no accident
can happen from the foal getting his leg into any crevice between
the poles, if care is taken to nail them securely, and to leave no
space between them. When this internal framework is finished,
the gorse is applied outside, as follows : It is first cut into small
branches, leaving a foot-stalk to each, about twelve or fifteen inches
in length : these branches are arranged in layers between the up-
rights, the stalks pointing upwards and inwards, and the prickly
ends downwards and outwards. When, by a succession of layers
of these brushy stalks, a height of eighteen inches has been raised,
a stout and tough pole, about the size of an ordinary broom-stick,
and six feet long, is laid upon the middle of the gorse, and so as
to confino it against the split poles and between the uprights. The
workmen kneel upon this pole, and by its means compress the
gorse into the smallest possible compass, and while thus pressed
down, and against the internal framework, it is confined to the lat-
ter by five or six loops of strong copper wire. When this is pro-
perly done, the gorse is so firmly confined, and withal so closely
packed, that neither wind nor rain can penetrate, nor can all the
mischief-loving powers of the foal withdraw a single stalk. After
fixing the first layer, a second is built up in the same way, and
when neatly done the exterior is as level as a brick wall ; but if
there are any very prominent branches they may be sheared off
with the common shears, or taken off with the ordinary hedging
bill-hook. When it is desired to make the exterior look very

HOVEL AND PADDOCK. 121

smooth, a hay-trusser's knife is used; but the natural ends, though
not so level, are a much better defence, and last longer than the
cut gorse. In the interior the stalks sometimes project, and if so
they must be smoothly trimmed off. The roof should be covered
in with some material, which is cool in summer and warm in win-
ter, and for this purpose, therefore, nothing is so bad as slate, or
so good as thatch. Objections are sometimes made to the latter
material that it harbors vermin, but if the mares are well fed, I
must doubt their ever becoming lousy, unless these parasites are
introduced by some animal from without. In any case, tiles are
preferable to slates, and on the average they are also cheaper.
Pantiles are not easily made proof against the wind, but plane-
tiles, when properly pointed, are quite air-tight, and are far warmer
in cold weather than slates, while they are also cooler in summer.
The door should be at least four feet or four feet six inches wide,
and seven feet to seven feet six inches high, with all the angles to
the sides and top of the frame rounded off to prevent accident
from striking the hip or head. The door, of oak or elm, should
be cut in half across the middle, so as to allow the lower half to
be shut, while the upper, being open, admits a free supply of air.
A small window should be inserted in the wall, for light and ven-
tilation when the door is closed. When straw is abundant it is
usual to leave the floor in its natural state, the litter absorbing all
that falls from the mare and foal, and being changed often enough
to keep the place dry. In case, however, this cannot be done, the
flooring should be similar to that for ordinary stables, that is to
say, laid with bricks or pebbles, clinkers being much too expen-
sive for such a purpose. Where chalk is abundant, it forms an
excellent floor, if a drain is cut all round the building, and the soil
being taken out to the depth of nearly a foot, the chalk is filled
in to a little above the level of the natural surface, and is then
well rammed down, a drain and trap being inserted in the middle.
The last point which requires consideration is the kind of manger
which is best adapted to the use of the mare and her foal, if the
latter is to be fed in the way proper to thorough-bred stock. In
any case, a wooden manger of the ordinary kind should be fixed,
with a staple for the rack-chain to fasten her up. A hay rack
should be so arranged that it can be filled from the outside without
difficulty; which is easily managed by building a little wooden
excrescence on to one of the outer walls, leaving a hole in the latter
for the mare to feed herself through. A wooden lid, covered with
zinc, lifts up and permits the introduction of the fodder without
the necessity for carrying a fork into the hovel, which will some-
times injure the mare or her foal. Well-bred young animals of
this species are so mischievous that when shut up they will jump
into any place which can possibly hold them, and many a broken
11

122 THE HORSE.

leg or back lias ensued from an open hay-rack, placed near the
ground, attracting the gambols of a foal. A few wooden bars
nailed across the opening effectually prevents this, while the addi-
tion of a low manger in another corner provides for the feeding
of the foal with kibbled oats, if such should be the plan adopted,
and the fourth is occupied by a water-tank. External to the
hovel, the only provision necessary is a yard, which may be omitted
if the paddock is always dry from the land being well drained.
Unless this is the case, however, the yard should always be pro-
vided, as there are many days throughout the year when the
weather is fine enough over head to allow of the foal being turned
out of doors with advantage, if it can be protected from the wet
grass or wetter soil. A yard is, therefore, truly valuable in the
absence of a dry soil, and it should be paved with bricks, stones,
or pebbles, well covered with a layer of litter, to prevent slips and
strains.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE BROOD MARE.

WHEN IT HAS BEEN DECIDED to breed from a mare, if she is
not already thrown out of work, it will often be necessary to cool
her down, by turning her out to grass and taking away her corn,
before she will become stinted. Thorough-bred mares are not, as
a rule, allowed to take the horse while in work ; but sometimes
they are so constantly " in use/' that no other means will enable
the trainer to go on with his work of preparation. There is a won-
derful difference in this respect: some animals are rarely uin use,"
once or twice a year being the outside ; while others are so every
nine days throughout the spring, — the average, perhaps, being in
that state at about intervals of two or three months from the time
of shedding their coats till the beginning of autumn. Again, some
are not upset in their work by this natural process ; while others
refuse to feed, lose condition, and cannot be depended on for half
their usual exertions. Either extreme requires a change of feed-
ing ; for, on the one hand, the cool temperament is excited by the
freedom of a run at grass, and on the other, the warmer one is
benefited by losing the heating qualities of her corn. At all events,
it is found, in practice, that though the majority of maiden mares
will become stinted while at work, yet that a large number require
a run at grass before they will become in foal. As I before re-
marked, thorough-bred mares are generally entirely devoted to the
stud from the time that they are put to the horse ; but there are
many others of lower breeding which their owners desire to work
on for some months afterwards. It is often apparent that the legs
of a hack or harness-mare are wearing out, and her owner decides
upon having a foal from her, but wishes to avoid the expense of
keep from the spring, when he puts her to the horse, till the next

TREATMENT WHEN IN FOAL. 123

January or February, varying, of course, with the time of foaling.
All mares are the better for slow work up to within two months
of foaling ; 'but they should not be ridden or driven so fast as to
occasion exhaustion. Cart-mares are generally used to within a
few days of their time, taking care to keep them at light work and
to avoid straining them. With these precautions, if the legs keep
tolerably sound, a mare may be made to earn her keep for nine
months out of the eleven which are the duration of her pregnancy.
THE TIME of sending the mare to the horse will vary with the
purposes for which her produce is intended. If for racing, it is
desired that she shall foal as soon as possible after the first of
January; and as she carries her foal about eleven months, the first
time of her being " in use" after the first of February is the period
chosen for her. All other horses take their age from the first of
May; and as this is the time when the young grass begins to be
forward enough for the use of the mare, the breeder is not anxious
to get his half-bred foals dropped much before that time. As,
however, mares are very uncertain animals, he will do well to take
advantage of the first opportunity after March, as by putting off
the visit to the horse, he may be disappointed altogether, or the
foal may be dropped so late, that winter sets in before it has ac-
quired strength to bear it. These remarks apply to maiden mares
only ; those which have dropped a foal are generally put to the
horse nine or ten days afterwards, when almost every mare is in
season. For this reason, valuable thorough-bred mares are often
sent to foal at the place where the sire stands who is intended to
be used next time. The travelling to him so soon after foaling
would be injurious to both the dam and her foal, and hence the
precaution I have named is adopted. The mare then remains to
be tried at intervals of nine days, and when she is stinted, the foal
is strong enough to bear any length of journey with impunity.
Mares and their foals commonly travel by road twenty miles, or
even more, for this purpose; but they do not often exceed that
distance, and about fifteen miles a day is quite as much as a nine
days' old foal can compass without injury, and that done very
quietly, the mare being led at a slow pace all the way.

TREATMENT WHEN IN FOAL.

WHEN THE MARE is IN FOAL, if not intended to be kept at
work, she should be turned out in good pasture; but it should not
be so rich and succulent as to disagree with her stomach, or make
her unwieldy from fat. The former mistake is a constant cause
of miscarriage, the bowels becoming relaxed from the improper
nature of the food. On the other hand, if it is not sufficiently
good, the mare will become thin, and will starve her foal in its
growth. Mares that have been corned highly all their lives should

124 THE HORSE.

have a feed or two daily, after they are six months gone, and espe-
cially if the autumnal grasses are not rich and plentiful. Most
half-bred animals, however, do very well till about Christmas;
after which, hay and corn, with a few carrots, should be liberally
given them, still allowing them to pick up what grass they can find
in their paddocks. Excessive fat is a state of disease, and inter-
feres with the due nutrition of the foetus, while it is very danger-
ous at foaling-time, when it not only interferes with the process,
but also tends to produce fever. Supposing the mare to be at
work, she should have some kind of green food — lucerne being the
best, and vetches, perhaps, the worst for the purpose, the latter
being too heating, especially to the organs contained within the
pelvis. Any of the grasses or clovers answer well; and, after they
are done, carrots form an excellent succedaneum, given sliced in a
bran mash every night. By adopting these articles of food, the
mare is kept free from inflammation, and yet the foal is well
nourished, which are the two essential points to be considered.

EXCITEMENT OF EVERY KIND is a fertile source of "slipping"
the foal ; and everything which is at all likely to have that effect
should be carefully avoided. The smell of blood is said to have a
very prejudicial influence in this way; and there is no doubt that
one mare miscarrying will in some mode affect others in proximity
to her. Possibly the same cause may act on all ; but it seems to
be generally concluded that the act is really contagious, either from
what is called sympathy, or in some^other as inexplicable way. If
a mare has " slipped" a foal in a previous pregnancy, double care
should be taken, as she will be far more likely to do so again than
another which has hitherto escaped the accident. It occurs most
frequently about the fourth or fi£th month, therefore extra care
should be taken at that time. The suspected individual should be
kept quiet by herself; but it is better to allow her the run of a
small retired paddock, than to confine her to her hovel, where, for
want of exercise, she will become restless and anxious. Purging
physic should not be given, unless it is absolutely necessary; and
if the bowels are so confined as to require some stimulus of this
kind, and bran mashes and other changes in the food fail to pro-
duce any effect, choice should be made of the mildest aperient
which is likely to answer the purpose. With regard to the ma-
nagement of the mare in parturition, I shall leave its consideration
to my colleague, who will, doubtless, be of the same opinion as
myself, that, if assistance is demanded, it is safer to have recourse
at once to a properly educated veterinary surgeon. Stud grooms
who have had much experience will sometimes be able to aid
Nature with advantage ; but, in the long run, they will probably
do more harm than good, if they attempt any serious interference.

EARLY TREATMENT OF THE FOAL. 125

TREATMENT AFTER FOALING.

IN A HEALTHY STATE the mare very soon recovers the efforts
which she has made in bringing forth the foal ; and, in fine wea-
ther, she may he allowed to enter her paddock on the second day
afterwards, which is generally soon enough to suit the strength of
the foal, though occasionally the young animal is very active within
six hours after it comes into the world. For a couple of months,
or perhaps less in some cases, the mare and foal are better kept in
a paddock by themselves ; but in a large stud this is difficult when
the foals come very quickly ; and then several mares of quiet tem-
perament are put together, still keeping separate those which are
shy or vicious. Until the mare can get plenty of grass, she should
have carrots, bran mashes, and a feed or two of oats, which at first
are better given in the shape of gruel — the water with which this
is made having the chill taken off. Rye-grass is cultivated and cut
for the mares daily by those who have early foals ; but, though it
is better than hay, it is not equal to good upland clover-grass.
Lucerne is excellent, but it cannot be grown so early as rye. I
have already described, at page 123, the proper time for again
putting the mare to the horse, so that I need not enter into that
subject here. During the remainder
of the time of suckling, no special
treatment is required, except to see
that the mare is well fed and protected
from the weather. At weaning-time,
she sometimes requires a dose or two
of cooling medicine ; but generally she
is so nearly dry, that no interference

is required. MARE AND FOAL.

EARLY TREATMENT OF THE FOAL.

IF THE YOUNG ANIMAL is well formed and healthy, it will re-
quire no attention beyond that which I have specified as necessary
for the dam. There are, however, several accidents to which it is
liable ; such as rupture either at the navel or flank, inversion of
the feet, &c. ; all of which will be treated of in their proper places.
About -the time of the mare being " in use," the foal is _ generally
purged a good deal, and a warm drench will often be required. ^ At
the end of a month, or sometimes earlier, the foal will eat bruised
oats ; and highly-bred young stock are generally allowed, from this
time, first a single quartern, and then by degrees two quarterns of
oats. Half-breds, and even cart-horses, would be the better for this
stimulus to development ; but if it is begun, it should be continued ;
and, unless the foal shows such promise that it is expected to turn
out extraordinarily well, the extra expense will not be reimbursed.
11*

126 THE HORSE.

The half-peck of oats cannot be put down as costing less than six
pounds a year; and thus, at five years of age, the colt will have
cost thirty pounds more than if he had been fed on hay and grass
alone. Now, between a race-horse reared on corn, and another
confined to hay and grass, the difference in value would be a thou-
sand per cent.; and in first-class hunters, though not so great as
this, it would be very considerable. But among inferior horses, on
the average, it would scarcely reach the sum I have named as the
prime cost of the oats ; and, therefore, though in the depth of
winter a quartern or half a peck is generally given with a little bran,
yet, when there is good grass, this is neither necessary nor is it
economical. Shelter from the weather should, however, be afforded
to colts of all classes during the winter season ; and unless they
have this, they soon grow out of form and lose flesh, however well
they may be fed. It is now fully recognised that warmth and pro-
tection from the rain encourage the growth of all our domestic
animals; but in none are they more influential than in the one
which I am now discussing. A colt neglected in its first winter
never recovers its proper shape, nor does it grow into the size and
strength of body and limbs which naturally appertain to its breed.
Independently, therefore, of the cruelty in exposing the young
animal to a climate for which it is not fitted, the plan does not
pay; and on the latter account, if not on the former, even the
most heartless, who consider their own interests, will make suitable
provision for protecting their young horse-stock from the inclem-
ency of our winter climate.

THE FOAL SHOULD BE HANDLED from the very first week of its
existence ; but there is no occasion to use it roughly in accustom-
ing it to the pressure of the hand on all parts of its body and
limbs. If this process is very gradually commenced, no resistance
will at any time be offered, and the foal will allow its feet to be
picked up, and its head and ears to be rubbed, without taking
offence. Grooms are sometimes in the habit of showing off their
powers in this way, by taking the foal up in their arms ; but this
can do no good, and may possibly lead to injury of the walls of the
abdomen. About the fourth or fifth month, and before weaning is
commenced, a light head-collar should be put on ; and after the
foal is accustomed to its pressure, by repeatedly handling the part
on successive days, a leading-rein should be buckled on, and the
young thing enticed to follow the groom without any absolute co-
ercion. At the same time, it must be made to feel that resistance
is useless ; and if it begins to pull, it must on no account be al-
lowed to get away, the groom yielding as long as the foal pulls
straight back, but coercing it gently with a side strain. A care-
fully handled foal will rarely give any trouble in this way ; but
there is an astonishing variation in the power which different men

OF THK

IVERSITT )}

WEANING. 127

have over the animal creation. Some will again control without
using the slightest violence, while others will be always fighting
with their charge, and after all will not be able to do nearly as
much with them as their more quiet and clever rivals. The latter
class should never be allowed to have anything to do with young
horses ; and though there may be occasional exceptions which re-
quire severe measures, yet if once a man is found resorting to vio-
lence with a foal which he has had the management of from the
first, he should, in my opinion, be removed from his post; or, at
all events, he should be carefully watched, and a repetition of the
offence ought to be considered as a notice to quit. Long before
the coming among us of Mr. Rarey, this was recognised amongst
the most extensive breeders of horses in this country ; and though
cruelty was not unknown among them, any more than it is now, it
was fully recognised as not only an unnecessary but an unsatis
factory means of mastering the horse.

THE WEANING AND AFTER TREATMENT OF THE FOAL.

THE USUAL AGE FOR WEANING the foal is about the end of the
sixth month, that time being selected because the dam is generally
about " half gone " with her next foal, and cannot bear the double
drain upon her system. Nor does the foal benefit much by the
milk after this age, the teeth and stomach being quite strong
enough to crop and digest the succulent grasses that are to be had
from August to October, those being the months during which the
several breeds attain the middle of their first year. If the autumn
is a dry one, and grass is scanty, a few steamed turnips or carrots
may be mixed with bran, and given to the foal night and morning;
but, as a rule, unless it is to be highly forced into its growth for
the purpose of early racing, it will require only the grass which it
can pick up when it is turned out. Three or four foals are gene-
rally placed together in the same paddock for company, and in this
way they miss their dams far less than if confined by themselves.
Care should be taken that nothing is left within their reach which
can do injury, every fence and gate being carefully examined to.
see that -no projecting bolt, nail, or rail is likely to lay hold of their
bodies or limbs as they gallop about in their play. Foals of all
ages are mischievous animals, and the better fed they are the
more inclined they seem to lay hold of anything which attracts
their notice.

BESIDES THE SHELTER OF A HOVEL, which I have already in-
sisted on, the foal requires throughout its first winter good feed-
ing proportioned to its breeding and the purposes for which it is
intended. Racing colts are allowed three or four feeds of bruised
oats, with steamed carrots or turnips, and sometimes steamed hay;
but the general plan is to give as much as they will eat of the best

128 THE HORSE.

upland hay, in its natural state, after they have finished their allow-
ance of corn. Young stock intended to be sold as hunters and first-
class carriage-horses are always allowed half a peck of bruised oats,
and a few carrots and turnips will not be thrown away upon them.
Hacks, and inferior young stock of all kinds, get through the winter
upon hay and barley-straw, part being sometimes cut into chaff,
and mixed with a quartern of bran, daily; and if they are very low
in flesh, a few oats being added. During severe frosts the straw-
yard is the best place for the foal, on account of the hardness of
the ground in the fields, and here he will easily keep himself warm
and dry, and he can be attended to according to his wants. Let
the breeder, however, constantly bear in mind that a check given
to the growth in the first winter is never afterwards entirely reco-
vered, and that if the colt which has experienced it turns out well
he would have been still better without it.

CHAPTER IX.
• THE BREAKING OF THE COLT.

Mr. Rarey's Principles and Practice — Ordinary Method oj Break-
ing for the Saddle — Superiority of the Latter when properly
carried out — Breaking to Harness.

THE YEAR 1858 will ever be memorable in the annals of the
English stable for the success of Mr. Rarey and his partner, Mr.
Groodenough, in extracting 25,000£. from the pockets of English
horsemen by the promise of a new method of breaking and train-
ing the animal which they all loved so well, but so often found not
quite obedient to their wills. The plans by which obedience was
to be insured were kept a profound secret, but to prove Mr. Rarey's
power, the French coaching stallion, Stafford, the English thorough-
bred, Cruiser, and a gray colt in the possession of Mr. Anderson,
of Piccadilly, all notoriously vicious, were privately subdued, and
afterwards exhibited in public. . Subscribers were invited to pay
ten guineas each, with the engagement that as soon as five hundred
names were put down, the American would teach them in classes,
each subscriber binding himself, under a heavy penalty, to keep
the secret. The result was that eleven hundred ladies and gentle-
men paid their money, and kept their promise so well that until
the appearance of a small shilling volume, „ published by Messrs.
Routledge & Co., which detailed the whole process, in the very
words given to the American public some years before by Mr.

MR. RARET'S MODE OF BREAKING. 129

Rarey, no one but the subscribers bad any certain knowledge of tbe
secret, altbougb it subsequently appeared that it had oozed out,
and had been propounded in several directions as a rival scheme
of much older date. However, it is not now my intention to at-
tempt the discovery of the inventor of the system generally known
as Rarey 's, niy sole object being to ascertain its real worth in
breaking young stock, and in remedying or curing the vices to
which older horses are occasionally subject. It will be seen here-
after that though I think the plan of great service in some cases,
I doubt its utility as an aid to the breaker j but, having cost the
country far more than 25,000£, and having received the approval
of hundreds of experienced horsemen, it would ill become me to
pass the subject over without giving reasons for the conclusions to
which I have arrived. I was not one of the original subscribers,
but I have seen Mr. Rarey exhibit his extraordinary powers over
the horse more than a dozen times, so that I am in a position to
form an opinion upon the whole process as compared with our ordi-
nary English methods, with which I have also long been practi-
cally acquainted.

IN HIS PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS Mr. Rarey always commenced
by some introductory remarks on the natural history of the horse,
in which there was nothing to impress the auditor with any great
respect for his powers. At the end of this act, which was evi-
dently intended to kill time, we were put in possession of the
three fundamental principles of the new theory of the proper
management of the horse, namely : —

First, " That he is so constituted by nature that he will not offer
resistance to any demand made of him which he fully compre-
hends, if made in a way consistent with the laws of his nature."

Secondly, " That he has no consciousness of his strength beyond
his experience, and can be handled according to our will without
force."

Thirdly, " That we can, in compliance with the laws of his na-
ture, by which he examines all things new to him, take any object,
however frightful, around, over, or on him, that does not inflict
pain, without causing him to fear."

No one will, I believe, dispute the first two of these principles,
which have certainly nothing very novel in them. The third,
when promulgated, was more opposed to our experience, and a de-
monstration of its truth was naturally enough required before it
was accepted. To comply with this demand horse after horse was
submitted to an exhausting and painful proof, which I shall pre-
sently describe, and then certainly anything which did not inflict
pain was borne without apparently producing fear. This, there-
fore, was proving the letter of the third principle ; but was the
spirit of it established ? The words just quoted, if they mean

I

130 THE HORSE.

anything, signify that is only necessary to allow a horse to exa-
mine the drum and he will show no fear of it. But is this the
real fact ? I trow not. Before a high-couraged horse will allow
a drum to be beaten on his back he must either submit to a long
course of training under the old system, or he must go through
the royal road of Mr. Rarey, of which nothing whatever is said
in the three principles alluded to. Take an ordinary hunter after
he is exhausted by a long run, and he will bear the noise of a
drum, or any other alarming agent, to which he would, when fresh
and active, show the greatest objection. Why,' then, should we
be astonished that a shorter method of exhausting the nervous
energy should have the same effect, even if it is shown in a still
more remarkable manner, as we shall presently see it is ? As far,
therefore, as Mr. Rarey's principles are concerned I have little to
say against them, except that if the third is meant to apply to the
exhibition of the drum beaten on the backs of his several subjects,
it is not very ingenuous in the language which is used.

BEFORE MR. RAREY CAME TO ENGLAND he had, as I have
already remarked, published in America a little pamphlet which
described his several plans for driving a colt from pasture ; — driv-
ing into a stable and haltering, and the kind of halter used, &c.
It also contained an account of an experiment with a robe, show-
ing that the horse, as soon as he discovers by his senses that an
object has no power or will to hurt him, goes up to it, and soon
becomes regardless of its presence. All these remarks, however,
have no interest for my readers, as they are of no utility whatever,
and the sole remaining contents of the pages which were published
by Messrs. Routledge, and received with so much interest in this
country, were the directions for throwing the horse, and afterwards
handling, or " gentling" him, as the American operator calls the
stroking the limbs, which he always puts into practice after the
horse is down. If this" little book had been published a few months
earlier it would have entirely destroyed the pecuniary prospects
of the partners, but coming late as it did, it prevented the pay-
ment of any more ten guinea subscriptions, and reduced the charge
for the sight of the process to guinea and half-guinea tickets for
seats at the Alhambra. I shall, therefore, proceed to describe the
casting process, as witnessed by myself, and then examine into its
nature and effect upon the horse, whether in breaking or taming
him.

THE APPARATUS which is required is, first of all, an ordinary
snaffle or straight bit in the mouth, without which nothing could
be done with any vicious horse ; and if any animal -is to be " Ra-
reyfied," the preliminary operation is to get this into the mouth.
Stafford was brought to Mr. Rarey with the aid of guide-ropes,
which were fastened to his head and held by grooms on each side

THE LEG STRAP. 131

In him, therefore, this first essential point was accomplished.
Cruiser also had a halter, strengthened with iron, and in him also
there was a means of laying hold of the head, which was eagerly
seized by the operator. The plan adopted in his case was to fix
an iron staple to the door-post, and then running through this a
strong leather strap, to which a spring hook was attached, the op-
portunity was seized when the horse came open-mouthed to the
door, and he was securely laid hold of and drawn up to the staple,
so as to compel him to allow the introduction of a bit. The gray
colt at Mr. Anderson's was bitted ; but the zebra was loose in his
cage, and I do not at all know how the gag in which he was ex-
hibited was forced into his mouth, but I believe it was effected
by a rope thrown round his neck and drawn up to the bars of his
cage.

THE SECOND PART of the apparatus is the leg-strap for the
near fore leg, being very similar to a stirrup-leather, which, with
the addition of a strong loop, can be made to answer the same
purpose very well. Before applying this strap, which at once
makes the horse harmless for oifence, he must be rendered ap-
proachable, which, in ordinary animals, is effected merely with
the aid of the bridle. In Stafford, however, as I before remarked,
guide-ropes were used; and in the case of Cruiser, he was enticed
up to a wagon loaded with hay, under which was Mr. Rarey, and
through the wheel of which this leg-strap was quietly and cau-

RAREY'S LEG STRAP. No. 1.

tiously buckled on his leg. As soon as this is done the horse is
innocent of all mischief except with his teeth, for he cannot kick
on three legs, and even his mouth may be kept away from the
operator by drawing on the off rein. To bring him speedily to
submit to the power of the operator, the other leg must also be
confined, which is effected by first buckling on a surcingle, as re-
presented in the last engraving, and then catching the off fetlock
in the running noose of leg-strap No. 2, which is made in the an-
nexed form. Provided with this second strap in his pocket, and hav-
ing already applied the leg-strap No. 1, and the surcingle as shown

132

THE HORSE.

MR. RAREY'S STRAP. No. 2.

above, the subject under manipulation is either induced to drop
his off foot into the noose, or it is slipped round his ankle, while
the off rein is held by the other hand to keep the teeth off the
operator. As soon as this loop is firmly drawn round the leg, the

CRUISER WITH THE LEG STRAP AND SURCINGLE ON.

other end is slipped through the surcingle under the belly, and

CRUISER IN THE POWER OF HIS MASTER. 133

entire control of the horse is only a work of time. The arrange-
ment of these straps is well shown in the engraving, where Crui-
ser is sketched ready for the final struggle. Up to this time, almost

CRUISER IN THE POWER OF HIS

every horse will be tolerably quiet and unresisting, some squeal-
ing when any approach is made to their elbows to tighten the sur-
cingle, and others when the strap No. 2 is slipped through it. Few
however, plunge much ; and if they are made to hop on three legs,
they are able to go on for so long a time, without producing the neces-
sary amount of fatigue, that the operator would be tired before his
pupil. It is at this stage — that is to say, with the use of the leg-
strap No. 1 — that the predecessors of Mr. Rarey stopped, and they
consequently failed to gain the absolute control which he bas in-
variably obtained with the slight, but really important, additions
which he has made, and which he uses in the ingenious manner
which I shall now describe. It may be observed that, with a vio-
lent horse, it is always better to let him feel his want of power for
doing mischief with the near fore leg strapped up, and the slight
degree of fatigue which' a few minutes' hopping will produce, be-
12

134 THE HORSE.

fore the second strap is called into play, especially if the operator
has not acquired great skill in the use of the apparatus. When
this is done, and the second strap is applied, and slipped through
the surcingle, as shown at page 133, taking care to put a stout
glove on the right hand, the left rein is taken in the left hand, and
gently jerked — using, if necessary, the usual slight stimulus with
the tongue, to make the horse move, which he can only do by

THE HORSE BOUNDING ON HIS HIND LEGS.

raising the off fore leg off the ground in the action known as hop-
ping. The moment this begins, the right hand firmly draws the
off leg up to the surcingle, and keeps it there, when the horse must
either bound into the air on his hind legs, or he must go down on
the ground, supported from falling on his side in the attitude of
kneeling. To avoid mischief, therefore, the loose box 'or yard
where the operation is carried on should be thickly bedded with
straw; for no knee-caps are stout enough to protect the joints from
injury on hard ground; nor, if they escape being bruised, will the
shock to the body on falling be at all safe. Even straw can hardly
be relied on, if the floor beneath is of brick, stone, pebbles, or
hard natural soil ; for it is apt to give way during the struggles of

THE HORSE ON HIS KNEES.

135

the horse, and allow the knees to reach it without the intended
protection. When, therefore, there is no tanned riding-school, or
other similar surface, at command, a good solid bed of manure
(which is always to be had wherever horses are) should be spread
a foot thick at least, and over this clean straw may be laid. To
return to the subject of the operation, whom we left with the alter-
native of bounding in the air on his hind legs, or falling on his
knees in the annexed attitude, the chief art in managing this part
of the process is to keep firm hold of the strap attached to the off
leg close to the surcingle ; the hand being protected by the glove,
can easily prevent it from slipping through during the struggles
of the horse, and at the same time serves as a point d'appui for
the operator, so that he can follow the movements of the bounding
animal in whatever direction he may progress. The operator must
on no account attempt to stand away from his patient, nor must he
advance before the girth-place ; but keeping close to this, he is in

THE HORSE ON HIS KNEES, ABOUT TO FALL ON HIS SIDE.

no danger, provided he has the sense and the ability to give way
if the horse should throw himself down towards his side. The

136 THE HORSE.

rein, being still held in the left hand, prevents the horse falling
away from the operator, and is also used by him as a means of
guiding the animal, if he happens to progress in a direction which
is not desired. Nothing else is to be attempted till the horse has
quite exhausted all his energies, which those possessed of high
courage will soon do ; but low-bred animals are very apt to turn
sulky, and, refusing to plunge, remain on their knees, in spite of
every kind of stimulus which can be given them short of severe
punishment with the whip, which is to be avoided, as opposed
to the principles on which the whole process is founded. By
taking time with these brutes, they may always be made to tire
themselves, for the kneeling position is very irksome to them,
and the most stubborn will give a plunge now and then to .re-
lieve themselves, though they will not follow up one with another
as speedily as a thorough-bred. Sooner or later (the time vary-
ing from ten minutes to two or three hours), the tail begins to
tremble, the flanks heave, and a profuse perspiration breaks out,
which are signs that the horse of himself desires the recumbent
position, and will lie down of his own accord, if not pulled over
by the right hand of the operator. Mr. Rarey, in his public exhi-
bitions, has never, so far as I am aware, waited for this to take
place, but, perhaps to prevent wearying his audience, has always
pulled his patient over on his side as soon as he could accomplish
the feat. In many cases, this impatience has led to a partial
failure ; the horse, not being tired out, has refused to submit, and
it has only been after repeating the process once or twice that com-
plete control has been obtained. Those gentlemen, therefore, who
wish to try the experiment for themselves, will do well to avoid
any risk of a repetition, which they may not be able to manage
with the dexterity of the great American tamer. Le* them wait
till the horse is thoroughly tired, and then only interfere to such
an extent as to keep him leaning towards their r'.de, by laying hold
of the right rein instead of the left, as shown in the engraving at
page 134; and drawing the head away from themselves. Mr.
Rarey generally used the right hand for this purpose, when he
wished to throw his patient before he was exhausted, because he
could in that way employ more force j and, at the same time, his
dexterity was such, that, if a bound was made, he was always
ready to hold the strap attached to the off foot before the horse
could get fairly on his hind legs. In whichever way the task is
accomplished, the effect is apparently the same — the horse lies ex-
tended on his side, panting and sweating, in the most exhausted
condition ; but, of course, showing more of these symptoms of
distress the longer he has been kept resisting the restraints put
upon him. Now comes the test of the practical ability of the ope-
rator ; for whereas before he had only plain directions to carry out,

HINTS TO OPERATORS. 137

he has at this stage to judge how far his efforts are successful. If
he takes off the straps too soon, the patient is patient no longer,
but rises rapidly, and perhaps rewards him by planting a severe
blow on his ribs. It is here that Mr. Rarey displayed his great
skill to perfection. Apparently by intuition, he knew when his
pupil was mastered; but, as he was always ready to explain, it was
really by two symptoms that he judged whether he had gained the
mastery or not. One of these was the expression of the eye, which
it would be difficult to describe, and which experience alone could
adequately convey to those who wish to understand it; but the
other, being readily tested, is within the reach of every one. This
consists in the entire flaccidity of the muscles of the neck and
limbs; and until this is ascertained to have been obtained, the
straps should not be entirely removed. Mr. Rarey's plan of pro-
ceeding at this stage was the following. A second or two after the
horse went down, he let him raise his head, and then dragged it
down again to the ground by the mane. On repeating this once,
twice, or thrice, the animal would give in as far as that part was
concerned ; and being rewarded with a pat of the hand, the head
remained still on the ground, and that part was " gentled/' Next
removing the leg straps, the fore legs were separately gently
rubbed downwards; and on being lifted, and let fall, as if dead,
they also were passed as in a similar satisfactory state. The ope-
rator then going round by the back, proceeded to gentle the hind
limbs; and though, in vicious horses, he sometimes had narrow
escapes of being kicked, yet by his great activity and clever mode
of seizing his opportunity, he always succeeded in keeping out of
harm's way. Finally, the operator passed in front of the legs, and
performed all the usual " clap-traps" of putting his head between
them, knocking the hind and fore shoes together, standing on the
body, &c. While in this state, the horse lies in the attitude and
with the expression which is very well represented in the accom-
panying sketch, and there he will gladly lie as long as he is per-
mitted to do so. But he is not to be allowed to recruit his powers ;
and as soon as he had gone through the tricks which I have
described, Mr. Rarey made him rise, and then showed that the
power which he had gained was not lost as soon as the animal stood
on his legs again. Calling for a saddle, it was in every case shown
to the horse, and put first on his head, then on his neck, and finally
in its proper place. The animal then always submitted to be
mounted, and even allowed the dangerous plan recommended and
adopted by Mr. Rarey, of standing close to the hind-quarter while
putting the foot in the stirrup, to be carried out without kicking,
which before the " Rareyfication" most of the vicious brutes ope-
rated on in public would probably have done.

BY THIS PLAN, it is indisputable that any active man, of good
12*

138

THE HORSE.

THE HORSE TAMED.

temper, but possessed of firmness and courage, and accustomed to
deal with horses, may gain such a control over even the most
vicious, that he can do what he likes with them in-doors. No one
who has examined into the matter can doubt Mr. Rarey's power,
nor can he refuse him the merit of improving upon the old system
of controlling the horse, by the addition of the second leg strap,
which adds so much to the power of the human arm, that the most
violent and muscular horse has no chance whatever. The secret
lies in two essential features } first, that the horse must never be
coerced or resisted unless the man is certain of success in control-
ling him ; and, secondly, that when the former is thoroughly con-
vinced of his powerless condition, and his muscles are tired out,
the latter interferes and relieves him of his trammels, " gentles"
him, gives him kind words, and at length encourages him to rise.
The effect is marvellous — the most vicious brute, who would pre-
viously tear any man to pieces, after he is thus first coerced, and
then " gentled" and relieved, appears to grow fond of his master,
and follows him about like a dog. Clearly, therefore, Mr. Rarey
may be considered as having been eminently successful in pro-
pounding a system of horse-taming ; but it by no means follows
that his process is equally, or even at all, useful in horse-breaking.

RAREY'S METHOD. 139

THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS, also, which remain to be con-
sidered in relation to the method which I have described. First,
is it permanent quoad the individual who has carried it out?
Secondly, does the vicious horse who has been subdued and
"gentled" by one man, show the same absence of vice towards
others ? And thirdly, is he injured in any way by the operation ?
On the first of these points there appears to be strong evidence
that, if the operator gives occasionally a very slight reminder of
his powers, the effect of one, two, or three lessons, repeated at
short intervals, will continue for at least a year or two. There are
numerous instances which have come to my knowledge of horses
resuming their vicious habits within two or three months of re-
ceiving such a lesson from Mr. Rarey, that they would allow him
to do what he liked with them ; but in the case of the savage
Cruiser, there is reason to believe that he never once rebelled
against his master from the time that he first gave in. In his case,
however, the operation was repeated hundreds of times ; and there-
fore it does not go so far as I have stated to be the rule, but others
might be adduced which keep strictly within it ; and there are
also private individuals who have practised on horses which have
never been exhibited in public who have kept up their control
unimpaired. The evidence in favor of the lasting nature of the con-
trolling power, when exercised by the operator himself, is too strong
to be gainsaid : and the first question may, I think, be safely
answered in the affirmative. But in reference to the second, the
evidence is all the other way; and on putting Cruiser into the
witness-box he would tell us that he has several times turned against
his groom, and put his life in danger. Still, it must be remembered
that, prior to his treatment by " Rarey fication," no man dared enter
his box ; and on comparing his two states, before and afterwards,
it may be truly said, that though not absolutely cured of his vicious
propensities, he is comparatively so. Probably the same conclusion
may be arrived at in those cases which are related of relapses from
virtue to vice; but, at all events, such instances are numerous
enough, and attested in -a manner so respectable, that every pos-
sessor of a coerced horse should be always on his guard. The last
question is somewhat difficult to answer, because the injury, if real,
is not apparent. The chief means of testing the effect is on the
powers of race-horses, several of which have felt Mr. Rarey's
straps, and been controlled by his master hand. Now, I believe
there is no instance of a horse which has gone through the opera-
tion doing any good subsequently on the turf. All have shown
either a want of speed or heart ; and whatever has been the cause
of this, they have run behind those animals whose form was con-
sidered by good judges to have been previously inferior to them.
Thus, Mr. Merry's Miss Finch, when she first appeared, beat sev-

140 THE HORSE.

eral fields of first class two-year-olds } and it was generally believed,
when she afterwards was beaten, that it was only because her
temper was so bad. Yet when this defect was so far remedied by
the process I am considering, that Mr. M. Dawson could ride her
constantly as a hack without much inconvenience,, she never re-
covered her racing powers, and neither in private (as I have been
informed), nor in public, certainly, did she ever exhibit any
approach to her former speed.

ON THE WHOLE, THEREFORE, it may fairly be concluded that
Mr. Rarey's plans are well adapted for the control of vicious horses,
supposing they are not subsequently wanted for the turf, in which
case the utility of the process is very questionable. As, however,
all our horses are not vicious, and as by the casting and gentling
nothing more is effected than a general control, it remains to be
considered how far this is useful in breaking colts for general pur-
poses. My own belief is that it acts by producing in the horse a
compound feeling of fear and gratitude, the former being the re-
sult of his fruitless efforts to get rid of the controlling hand of
man, and the latter being established from finding that hand re-
lieve him of his straps and then caress and " gentle" him. If,
therefore, any horse, even without vice, is required to exhibit to
his master or mistress any relations more intimate than those which
are usually practised in this country, great advantage will result
from the establishment of this fear and gratitude. With the ex-
ception, however, of cavalry and circus horses, we generally con-
tent ourselves with that amount of intercourse which is acquired
in the saddle, and we do not want our hacks to exhibit tricks, nor
do we require them to follow us about at liberty like our dogs. It
has been attempted to show that this particular plan gets rid of a
great deal of cruelty to the horse, but this is altogether unfounded,
for long before the great American trainer made his appearance,
writers on the horse had denounced its use, and though many
cruelly severe breakers and grooms existed, as they still exist, yet
they were exceptions to the general rule. Cavalry horses, especially
when on service, are required to submit to the control of the men
in many ways which are never in demand for hacking or hunting,
and the mere power of compelling the horse to lie down and re-
main on the ground is worth a great deal of trouble to acquire.
As far as they are concerned, I think the use of Mr. Rarey's
straps most valuable } and it must be remembered that this was all
that the Canadian military authorities certified in their recom-
mendations which Mr. Rarey brought with him across the Atlantic.
The clever management of his partner, Mr. Goodenough, and the
profound secrecy maintained for so long, carried the public away
far beyond this, and, as in the fable of the fox who had lost his
tail, all those who had spent their ten guineas were anxious to

ORDINARY ENGLISH METHOD. 141

place their friends in the same predicament. This is the only way
in which I can account for the extraordinary conclusions to which
so many practised horsemen arrived in 1858. Since that time, it
is true, the fashion has subsided, and a more temperate view has
been taken, the general opinion of good judges being, I believe,
pretty much in accordance with those which I have always held
publicly and privately, and which I have here endeavored to con-
vey to my readers.

BEFORE PROCEEDING TO INQUIRE into the merits of Mr. Ra-
rey's plan as compared with our own mode of breaking, it will be
well to describe what the latter is, and then ascertain which is the
best mode of carrying out our object. No horseman in this country
would dream of using the animal he intends to ride or drive with-
out the control of a bit, and although he may aid this powerful
instrument with his voice, his leg, his whip, or his spur, yet it
always has been, and still is, the chief agent in the management of
the horse. Again, no colt is to be considered as broken until his
rider or driver has altered his paces, and given him such an action
in the walk, trot, canter, and gallop, or in some two or three of
these paces, that he has become pleasant and safe. Now the plans
which I have just described do not effect either of these objects,
indeed their tendency is rather to interfere with the making of a
good mouth, for the bit will sometimes cut the angles of the lips,
and in this way tend to make it afterwards dull. I do not mean to
assert that this is necessarily carried far enough by Mr. Rarey to
make his plan objectionable on that account, but merely that if
anything is done towards breaking a colt, it is injurious rather than
beneficial, with the single exception of the establishment of a
mental control, which, as I shall presently show, is not wanted in
more than one or two per thousand of our horses.

THE ORDINARY ENGLISH METHOD OF BREAKING FOR THE

SADDLE.

IN THIS COUNTRY the breaker of the hack is not only supposed
to produce in his pupil what is called a good " mouth," but also to
teach him the use of his legs, so as to give a pleasant feel to his
rider in the walk, trot, and gallop, and in the canter, where spe*
cially required. The racehorse is only " mouthed" and " backed,"
his subsequent education being confided to the trainer; and the
hunter, in addition to these developments, is taught to get over
the various fences which he is likely to meet with, in a clever
manner. Each class must, therefore, go through the same pre-
liminary process, which consists in producing a good mouth, and
in making the colt bear his rider patiently in the saddle. To effect
these objects when the colt is running at large he must be caught
and haltered, and I shall now proceed to show how the matter is

142

THE HORSE.

effected ab initw. In doing this it will be necessary to examine
into the best apparatus for carrying it out.

THE HALTER, which in this country is generally first used, is
the ordinary one, made of hemp-webbing, for the head, with a run-
ning eye in the back of the nose-piece, in which runs a stout rope
attached to the head. Thorough-bred colts are always made to
carry a light leather head-stall from the end of their first year,
and so, indeed, are all well-bred yearlings of any value. The large
mass of colts run unhaltered till they are to be broken, which is
generally commenced when they are three-year-olds. Ponies and
small hacks are then often taken into use, the latter being quietly
ridden by the breeder for his own purposes till they are four or
five years old, when they are sold. Mr. Karey recommends for all

MB. RAREt'S HALTER OR BRIDLE FOR COLTS.

RAREY'S METHOD. 143

purposes a leathern halter, made like an ordinary head-stall, but
rather lighter. This is at once put on the colt, and by buckling
a leading-strap to the nose-band, either before or behind, anything
may be done which is required, short of mounting. Two small
billets and buckles attach any bit which may be selected to the
rings which connect the cheek pieces to the nose-band, and thus
the halter is converted into a very useful breaking bridle. It
wants, however, the stiff padded nose-band of the cavesson, but
this is only required with very violent and determined colts. The
above engraving represents Mr. Rarey's halter-bridle, with his
ordinary breaking bit.

THE BIT which is usually employed in England for colts is a
heavy smooth snaffle, with a tongue-piece and keys depending from,
its central link. For racing colts a very excellent bit has lately
been extensively introduced, consisting in a mere smooth ring of
iron, with a loop on the upper part for attachment to the head-
stall, in the same way as in Mr. Rarey's bridle. In front of this
loop the ring is introduced into the mouth, and the back of the
circle takes the leading rein, which is thus allowed to slip on either
side, and keep a secure hold of the jaw, however much the colt
may pull at it. I have a dislike to the snaffle for colts, because I
have found it constantly pressing on one corner of the mouth more
than the other, the animal putting his head on one side, and lean-
ing upon that half of the mouthpiece, so as to relieve each side of
the jaw alternately, instead of allowing the two divisions of the
snaffle to bear equally on the angles of the mouth. I much prefer
a bit made with an unjointed mouthpiece, curved in a segment of a
circle, with the usual tongue-piece and keys attached to the middle by
a roller. This curved mouthpiece should have smooth rings turned
upon it, which will prevent the horse from rubbing his lips from
side to side, and tend to form a very pleasant and delicate mouth.
I have known it used with great success in breaking hundreds of
colts, and I have myself found its advantages in a great number
of horses, young as well as old. These, together with a martin-
gale, buckling on to the bit, are all that are required for making
the mouth.

IN ADDITION to the apparatus for this part of the colt's educa-
tion, arrangements must also be made for accustoming him to bear
the weight of the rider, and for attaching the bit to some part of
Uie body. In commencing the breaking it is customary to put on
merely a roller with a leathern surcingle over it, kept in its place
by a crupper, which, for facility of putting on, should have a buckle
on one side. In front of the surcingle, on each side, two buckles are
stitched, serving to attach the reins either high up, or even crossed
over the withers, or low down, or sometimes both high and low.
Until within the last thirty or forty years, what is called a dumb

144 THE HORSE.

jockey was always attached to the roller, but this is generally now
dispensed with, though with the elastic reins introduced by Mr.
Blackwell I think it may be made very useful. Lastly, to the
crupper long hanging straps are attached, so as to accustom the
young animal to the pressure of the coat or habit. Provided with
this apparatus, and with a long leading rein of webbing, the breaker
is prepared to subdue the wildest colt.

THE FIRST tfaiNG TO BE DONE is to get a halter or headstall
on, which is only to be effected either in a stable or similar enclosed
place, or among a herd of other horses, when the colt is so closely
packed in that he cannot move. Every one must have seen the
Welsh and Irish drovers rush into the middle of a herd, and seiz-
ing an unbroken colt round the neck, hold him till a halter is
slipped over his head. The same plan greatly facilitates the hal-
tering of any colt; but a couple of steady horses are quite enough
to keep a colt steady in any building or small yard. The breaker
arranges so as to have .one on each side, and then going up between
them, he has the colt held for him while he very slowly and quietly
insinuates his hand, with the head of the halter in it, over the
neck, just behind the ears. With a little dexterity, this is soon
done, and then the nose-band being slipped into its place, a good
hold can be secured. Every horseman must, however, agree with
Mr. Rarey, that the rope halter with a running noose is most im-
proper, and that a leathern headstall should always be chosen. It
is quite true, that a single turn of the cord of the halter into a
half-hitch prevents all mischief, and this is done by good breakers;
but the headstall or cavesson should be put on as soon as possible,
and the former may be worn constantly till the breaking is com-
plete. With the leading-rein attached to the nose-band, the breaker
can now restrain the colt from getting away ; and, by kind words
and gentle treatment, the young animal soon becomes accustomed
to his presence, and will allow him to approach and handle him all
over. When this is borne easily, he may be led out about the
fields', and green lanes if there are any; but while he continues to
resent the approach of moving objects by violent bounds, nothing
should be put in his mouth out-of-doors. If he is very wild and
.\ngovernable, he may be made ,to trot gently round and round in
a circle on some soft ground, the breaker at first following him up,
but soon being enabled to "longe" him while standing in the cen-
tre. After a day or two, the breaking-bit already described may
be slipped into his mouth, and attached in the way shown in the
engraving at page 142. It should, however, only be allowed to
hang there without reins at first, and it may either be kept on
while the colt is being led about, pr for an hour or two daily while
in the stable. In this way the jaw and lips become accustomed to
the pressure of the bit, and lose the painful sensation which it at

t
BREAKING— BAUCHER'S METHOD. 115

first occasions. If, on the other hand, the reins are at once buckled
on, and are then strained tightly back to the surcingle, or dumb-
jockey, the delicate mucous membrane becomes sore, and even
ulcerated, and the foundation is laid for that dull, unyielding
mouth which is so objectionable on every account.

IT SHOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN, that the mouth is the foun-
dation upon which all the subsequent proceedings are to be con-
ducted. A horse may naturally have fine action, and he may be
so framed that, if he were properly bitted, he would be a delight-
ful hack or hunter; but if his mouth is spoiled in breaking, his
fine action is thrown away, because it cannot be regulated and
controlled by such a trifling exercise of strength in the hand and
arm as is consistent with riding for pleasure. Many a pulling
brute has won a steeplechase, or shown to advantage in the hunt-
ing-field, with a professional " up," which would not be ridden for
ten minutes by an amateur who could afford to make his own selec-
tion. Hence, the first thing which the breaker has to set about
is the formation of a good mouth; and this is exactly what Mr.
Rarey's plans fail to provide, and, indeed, it is what they interfere
with in a great degree, as I have observed at page 143. Well,
then, let us examine into the received mode of obtaining a good
mouth in England. M. Baucher has carried the European prin-
ciples of producing it to a very high degree, and it will be neces-
sary to allude to his plans also; but, on the whole, I cannot but
think them superfluous for ordinary purposes, and should be per-
fectly content with a horse broken in the best English methods,
which now combine the "supplings" of the great French breaker
with the old dea*d pressure . adopted in the methods of our ances-
tors. The difference between the two is mainly this, that we in
England content ourselves with confining the head by the reins in
a position which, while it does not compel the horse to lean upon
his bit, yet makes him try to avoid its pressure by bending his
neck, and thus rendering its muscles supple. M. Baucher, on the
contrary, prefers that the whole of this suppling shall be per-
formed by the pressure of the breaker's hand ; and, doubtless, his
is the best plan, if the man employed is competent to the task,
and the time thus devoted can be afforded. It takes a fortnight
or three weeks to " make " a horse's mouth, so far as to fit him to
bear the hands of his rider, in either way; but as less than two
hours a day during that time will not suffice, and as in the one
case the horse supples himself, while in the other a man must
effect the change, M. Baucher's method costs twenty-eight hours
of skilled labor, -in addition to subsequent breaking, and it is there-
fore very expensive. The course of proceedings which good Eng-
lish breakers now adopt is as follows. The bit having been allowed
for some days to remain in the mouth without reins, as already de-
13 K

146 THE HORSE.

scribed, the breaker next proceeds to attach a rein to it in the
ordinary way, and to buckle this loosely to the surcingle or dumb-
jockey, whichever he may employ. Mr. Blackwell's india-rubber
reins are thought very highly of by some for this purpose ; but, as
far as I have tried them, I prefer plain leather, because I object to
constant pressure, however slight, upon the mouth. A drop of
water falling constantly and regularly upon a stone will wear it
away sooner than the same quantity dashed at once upon it; and, in
the same manner, permanent gentle pressure upon the mouth is more
irksome than a more severe occasional pull. The great art consists
in shortening the reins so gradually, that the pressure can always be
avoided by bending the neck, and this the horse soon learns to do;
and thus, at one and the same time, he gains control over his mus-
cles, and inures his jaws and lips to the bit. It is generally neces-
sary, while the "bitting" is going on, whether in the stable or at
exercise, to fix the head down by a martingale, buckled to each side
of the bit j for without this the horse, in his struggles to get rid of his
restraints, will often toss his head so high as to do himself a serious
injury. If the mouthing is conducted in the stable, the horse is either
put into a loose-box (which is the best plan), or he is turned round
in his stall, and kept in that position by buckling the ordinary pillar
reins to each side of the bit. At first, the reins should hardly
confine the head at all beyond the position in which it is naturally
carried when the horse is excited ; but each day a hole or two may
be taken up, until such pressure is made, that the horse has a ten-
dency to relieve his neck and shoulders by advancing his fore legs
and rounding his neck. The best plan is to put on the breaking
tackle for an hour in the stable, then loose the reins for a quarter
of an hour ; after which the colt may be led out for his regular
daily exercise, and may be " longed" with the reins buckled more
or less tightly, according to the experience of the breaker and the
condition of the mouth. In most cases, the process is hurried far
too much ; the breaker contracts to do all that is required for a
given sum, varying from one guinea to three, and it is his object
to spend as little time over each of his pupils as will serve to make
them barely rideable. This is objectionable in principle, though
it is very difficult to know how to improve upon it without running
the risk of extortion ; but when a colt is to be broken for the use of
the owner, or any of his family, he will do well to see that plenty
of time is devoted to the formation of the mouth', and this I have
already said should extend to a fortnight. If the breeder has a
lot of colts which are to be placed in the breaker's hands, the latter
can, with the assistance of a few lads, go on with a dozen at the
same time, and in that way too great an outlay of money is avoided;
but if there is only one in his hands, he can hardly do justice to
his employer at the ordinary rate. Hitherto I have only alluded

BREAKING. 147

to longeing, without describing it or alluding to the object with
which it is adopted. I must now, however, say something more
about it, because in this stage it becomes an important element of
success. It may be remembered, that I have laid down a fortnight
as the least interval which should elapse from the commencement
of breaking before the colt is fit to be backed with safety to the
breaker or his assistant. Not that he may not be ridden in much
less time than this, but that if he is, it will be at the expense of
his mouth. Longeing is a means of at once giving exercise in a
short space of time, and also of accustoming the colt to use his
limbs while some degree of pressure is made on the mouth by the
bit, without giving himself pain from moving the head. Now,
the act of keeping this part still necessitates an even and smooth
style of going, and so all things work together to produce the
pleasant feel which is given to the rider by a perfect hack. A
good mouth may be acquired in the stable, but it is soon spoiled
out-of-doors, either by longeing in a hurried manner, or by the bad
hands of the rider, whether breaker or subsequent user. To keep
it, great care is required at every stage of breaking ; and none but
a man possessed of head, temper, seat, and hands can finish a colt
as he should be turned out. Longeing, therefore, I hold to be a
most important part of the art of breaking ; and its absence from
Mr. Rarey's principles and practice shows that he has taken the
dull pulling* mouth of the American horse as his model, and not
the beautifully yielding, yet steady one of the English hack. In
the United States, where Mr. Rarey acquired his extraordinary
powers, riding is little practised ; and those horses which are used
have leathern mouths, and are ridden with three legs, rather than
with a pair of legs and a pair of hands, as with us. We need not,
therefore, be surprised that he has altogether overlooked the im-
portance of acquiring a fine mouth, and has regarded the mere
control over the horse, in some way or other, no matter how, as
the sole object to be desired in breaking. At length, when the
breaker is satisfied that the colt has gained the power over his
limbs at all paces, which he will have gradually given him in his
daily longes, by increasing the tightness of the reins and accele-
rating the pace, (taking care to change the directions of the cir-
cles,) he thinks it time to give his pupil the finishing lessons,
which can only be done in the saddle. Before mounting, however,
he is enabled to teach the colt the meaning of each pressure of the
rein, which at first is utterly unintelligible. By taking both in
each hand, and pressing backwards, he 'causes him to back ; and
by drawing them forward, to proceed in that direction. The right
hand moved to the right, makes the colt move his head, and after-
wards his body, towards that side, and vice versa with the left
hand. In this way, all is prepared for the mounting, which should

148 THE HORSE.

be first attempted when the colt is somewhat tired after a long and
steady longe. The breaker should, during the last week's daily
exercise, put on a saddle instead of a roller and surcingle, keeping
it in its place by loose girths and a crupper. Every day he should
bear occasionally upon the stirrups, smacking them against the
saddle, and thus accustoming the colt to noises, and also to pres-
sure on his back. When all is ready, he has only to put his foot
in the stirrup, standing with his back to the shoulder, and then,
after partially rising two or three times, and coming down again,
he finally plants himself firmly in the saddle. Most careful break-
ers have a roll of cloth buckled firmly in front of their saddles ;
and with this precaution, even if the colt bucks or kicks, it is
almost impossible for him to dislodge them. When thus mounted,
the breaker should be in no hurry, but let the colt get accustomed
to the intruder. Let him wait till the pupil has somewhat reco-
vered from the shock, and then only let him urge him forward at
as slow a pace as he likes. If all has been conducted well through-
out the preliminary stages, and the colt is good-tempered, he will
walk away quietly enough, and generally no trouble will be given
for a day or two ; when, probably, there will be some slight fight,
which may be either in causing the pupil to go where he does not
want to go, or in making him face some object which frightens
him. At first, neither whip nor spur should be used, for the ob-
ject of neither is understood; and if the colt will "not readily
move forward, he should be led or driven by an assistant, and not
whipped or spurred by his rider. In process of time, however, he
is made gradually to understand these signs by the tact of the
breaker; and then if he offends, he must be punished accordingly,
but it must always be remembered that the fault must be met im-
mediately, or not at all.

THE AMUSING AND EXPERIENCED author of " The Horse and
his Rider" has drawn attention to the misconception of the differ-
ences in character between a wild horse and a tame one, which is
entertained in this country. He says : " It is generally conceived
that in the difficulty of sticking on to the back of a horse there
exist three degrees of comparison, namely :

" 1. That it is rather difficult to ride a horse that has been
broken in.

" 2. That it is exceedingly difficult to ride a tame one that has
not been broken in.

" 3. That it must be almost impossible to mount and ride a wild
horse just caught, that has never been broken in.

" We will, however, humbly venture to assert that, in certain
instances, the three steps of this little ladder might be reversed.

" 1. In a state of nature the horse is such a zealous advocate of
our popular principle of 'self-government/ he is so desirous to

BREAKING. 149

maintain his ' independence/ that although he will allow almost
any quadruped, even wolves and lions, to approach within a certain
distance, yet the moment he sees a man, though on horseback, he
instinctively turns his tail towards him, and, when followed, gal-
lops away.

" If, consequently, by the triumph of reason over instinct, he be
caught, saddled, and if all of a sudden, to his vast astonishment,
he finds sitting astride his back, with a cigar in his mouth, the very
human being he has always been avoiding, his first and almost only
feeling is that of fear, and, accordingly, if he be retained by the
bridle, instantaneously, by a series of jumps on all four legs, he
makes impromptu his first hurried, untaught, unpractised effort to
dislocate a rider. But if, instead of being as it were invited to
perform these unsophisticated antics, he be allowed, or rather by
whip and severe spurs, be propelled to do what he most ardently
desires, namely, run away, his power of resistance is over, and his
subjection inevitable. For at the top of his speed, just as when
swimming, a horse can neither rear, kick, nor plunge, and accord-
ingly at his best pace he proceeds on his sure road to ruin, until
not only all his wind is pumped out of him, but after that, until
twisted hide-thong and sharp iron have converted his terror of
man into an ardent desire to be obedient to his will. In fact, like
a small nation that has unsuccessfully been contending against a
great one, he wishes to put an end to the horrors of war, and to
sue for the blessings of peace.

" 2. If a domestic horse that has never been broken in be sud-
denly saddled and mounted, the rider has greater difficulties to
encounter than those just described ; for the animal is not only
gifted by nature with all the propensities of the wild horse to re-
ject man, but, from being better fed, he has greater strength to
indulge in them ; besides which he enjoys the immense advantage
of being in a civilized, or, in plainer terms, an enclosed country.
Accordingly, instead of being forced to run away, his rider is par-
ticularly afraid lest he should do so, simply because he -knows that
the remedy which would cure the wild horse would probably kill
him. In fact, the difference to the rider between an open and an
enclosed field of battle is exactly that which a naval officer feels in
scudding in a gale of wind out of sight of land, and in being
caught among sand-banks and rocks in a narrow channel.

" 3. Of all descriptions of horses, wild and tame, by far the most
difficult to ride is that young British thorough-bred colt of two or
three years old that has been regularly ' broken in ' by himself,
without giving the slightest warning, to jump away sideways, spin
round, and at the same moment kick off his rider. This feat is a
beautiful and well arranged combination of nature and of art. Like
the pugilistic champion of England — Tom Sayers — he is a pro-
13*

150 THE HORSE.

fessional performer, gifted with so much strength and activity, and
skilful in so many quick, artful tricks and dodges, that any country
practitioner that comes to deal with him is no sooner up than
down, to rise from his mother earth with a vague, bewildered, in-
coherent idea as to what had befallen him, or ' how he got there/

" If a horse of this description and a wild one in his own
country were to be mounted there simultaneously, each by an
equally good rider, both the quadrupeds, probably at the same
moment, would be seen to run away ; the Briton forever, to gain
his liberty; the other quadruped, just as surely, to lose it I"

Nothing can better convey to the reader the difficulties which
the English horse-breaker has to contend with, than this extract
from the pages of Sir F. B. Head, who has had ample opportuni-
ties of judging both the varieties of the species which he describes.
It shows the necessity for the cautious proceedings which I have
endeavored to describe as the proper mode of breaking our young
horses, and which I am satisfied will enable the breaker to perform
his task in a way which will be satisfactory to his employer. It
may, however, be worth while to examine into the methods adopted
in the French school, as first introduced by M. Baucher.

His "METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP" was published nearly
twenty years ago, and has been generally received on the continent,
where the principles of the manage have always been more highly
prized than in this country. The author tells us, as his first prin-
ciple, "that all the resistances of young horses spring from a
physical cause, and that this cause only becomes a moral one by
the awkwardness, ignorance, and brutality of the rider. In fact,
besides the natural stiffness peculiar to all horses, each of them
has a peculiar conformation, the greater or less perfection of which
constitutes the degree of harmony that exists between the forces
and the weight. The want of this harmony occasions the un-
gracefulness of their paces, the difficulty of their movements — in
a word, all the obstacles to a good education." To remove these
defects, M. Baucher adopts certain methods of suppling the neck,
in which he considers the chief obstacle to perfect action resides.
Without going into the long details of the various supplings. it will
be sufficient to describe the general division of the work which the
author considers necessary. This, he thinks, must extend to two
months, divided into one hundred and twenty lessons of half an
hour each, two being given each day. During the first series of
eight lessons, the breaker will devote twenty minutes to the sta-
tionary exercise for the flexions of the jaw and neck, which can
hardly be efficiently described without the illustrations given in
the book itself. During the remaining ten minutes, he will make
the horse go forward at a walk, without trying to animate him ;
applying himself all the time to keeping the horse's head in a per-

BREAKING TO HARNESS. 151

pendicular position. In the second series, comprising ten days, the
first fifteen minutes will be occupied in stationary supplings and
backings, followed by an equal time devoted to moving straight
ahead in the walk and trot. The rider, while taking care to keep
the head in good place, will commence a slight opposition of hand
and legs, in order to give regularity to the paces. The third series,
making up twelve days, will combine the previous supplings with
pirouettes ; while the fourth and fifth series, making up the whole
time, will go on to develop the various elementary paces of the
manege. Now, in all this, it appears to me that we have only our
best English modes of breaking carried out to excess ; and I am
yet to learn that any great novelty has been introduced by this
standard authority of the French school.

SUPERIORITY OF THE ORDINARY METHOD.

IT WILL READILY BE GATHERED from what I have already writ-
ten that for breaking the average colt I greatly prefer the methods
which have been in use for many years in this country. Mr. Ra-
rey is entitled to every credit for introducing a novel mode of con-
trolling a vicious horse, which is also of service in training cavalry
and circus horses. Beyond these departments, however, his plans
effect no good as far as my judgment goes, and instead of improv-
ing the mouth they have a tendency to injure it. I have shown
that time and patience are grand elements of success in horse-
breaking, and that it is a disadvantage to hasten the process, which
is all that Mr. Rarey pretends to effect. We do not want to man-
age our horses without reins, but on the contrary to guide them
and stop them with the slightest possible touch consistent with the
equilibrium to be maintained in the saddle. Hence the first object
is the formation of a good mouth, and as this requires a consider-
able time to develop, there are ample opportunities for gradually
accustoming the colt to the presence and control of his master
while it is being produced. If several breakers were to be pitted
against each other as to which should first ride a high-spirited
unbroken colt, undoubtedly Mr. Rarey would come off victorious ;
but, on the other hand, I would back against any horse broken by
his method, another which had been submitted to a good breaker
on the old English plan, if the palm was to be given to that one
which should prove to have the most perfect mouth and action.

BREAKING TO HARNESS.

THE EARLY PROCEEDINGS in breaking a colt to harness are
exactly the same as for the saddle, and indeed it is well in all cases
to make him handy to ride before he is put into the break. We
may therefore assume that this has been done, or at all events that
a good mouth has been made, and the colt handled and accustomed

152 THE HORSE.

to bear the hip-straps hanging loosely over his sides prior to put-
ting him in harness.

THERE is SOME DIFFERENCE OF OPINION among breakers as to
the best plan of conducting this operation. Some contend that for
every kind of harness the horse ought to be put in with another,
who will compel him to move or stop at the will of the driver.
Others assert that on the contrary, every young horse should be
put in first by himself, and then if he refuse to move he can be
allowed to wait till he is tired of inactivity, which practically he
soon is. My own opinion is founded upon more than twenty years'
experience with all sorts of horses, and I am persuaded that by far
the safest and best method is to put every horse into double harness
first. Many farmers break their colts in by putting them to plough
between two other horses, but the pull at this work is too dead for
well-bred colts, and many jibbers are produced in this way. Every
high-couraged horse has a tendency to jump forward on the first
impulse to do so, and feeling the restraint of the collar he is irri-
tated to increase his pull, whereby his shoulders are galled, causing
him to dislike his work from the pain which he suffers. It is quite
possible to break in a colt of average good temper for single har-
ness without putting him first into double, but the plan is always
attended with danger to both horse and driver, and I should
strongly caution my readers against it. Even after two or three
lessons in the double break, which have been quietly submitted to,
the colt often turns restive when put in by himself, but still by
that time he knows what he has to do, and is not made sulky by
being punished without cause.

THE APPARATUS necessary for breaking to harness consists of,
1st, a set of strong double and single harness, made in the ordinary
way, except that the crupper for the colt should buckle on one
side ; 2dly, a double break of the ordinary construction ; but it is
a safe plan to have the whole space between the fore carriage and
the splinter-bar made up with iron rods so close together that if a
horse kicks he cannot get his legs hung over the bar; 3dly, a
single break, to be hereafter described.

BEFORE THE COLT is put to draw he should be accustomed to
the pressure of the harness, and as a matter of course in any case
he must have this put on him. Every groom ought to know how
to do this, but at the same time in a colt he should be cautioned
to proceed slowly and quietly, so as not to frighten him. Mr.
Rarey's plan of showing the horse everything which is to be put on
him is a very good one, and taking advantage of it, before the collar
is slipped over the head a little time may be allowed for the future
wearer of it to smell it and examine it with his eyes also. Many
breakers, to avoid the danger of alarming their pupils by putting
the collar over their heads, have this part made to open at the

BREAKING TO HARNESS. 153

withers, where a buckle secures it after it has been slipped up
under the neck. But collars made in this way are not so firm as
when constructed in the ordinary mode, and are more liable to
punish the shoulders; so that what is gained in one way is lost in
the other. A quiet and handy man can always slip a collar over
a horse's head if he will take time, and especially if he has pre-
viously handled the animal and made him accustomed to his pre-
sence. As soon as this part of the harness is in its place the pad
and crupper must be gently put on the back, and then quietly
raising the tail with every hair gathered and firmly grasped in the
left hand the right slips the crupper under it, and as soon as this
is done the left drops the tail and assists the right to buckle the
two parts together. In the previous breaking the colt has been
accustomed to the crupper, so that there is no occasion for extra
care in this part now. The pad is then drawn forward to its place,
the bellyband buckled, and the rest of the harness being put on in
the ordinary way, the colt is allowed to feel it for a few minutes,
and should then be led out in a yard or other convenient place for
an hour. The general practice is after this to put him to at once,
but it is far better if the colt is at all shy to take off the harness
and postpone the commencement of actual breaking till the
next day.

THE ACTUAL PUTTING TO is managed differently in double and
single harness, but as I have endeavored to show that the former
should always precede the latter, I shall commence by describing
it. In breaking to double harness a steady old horse should be
provided, usually called a break-horse. All that is wanted is an
animal of good courage and free from vice, who will draw steadily
off on the slightest notice, and will stop firmly when required.
Some old horses which have had a great deal of practice in the
break will assist their masters in a wonderful manner. If a colt
kicks over the pole they will press against the intruding leg and
cause him so much pain that he remains quiet till he is relieved.
Indeed, it matters not what the attempt is, they defeat it by some
counter manoeuvre, but these horses are rare and fortunately are
by no means essential to success. Before attaching the colt the
break-horse should be put to, and it is usual to place him on the
near side Then, having the break conveniently situated for start-
ing, the colt is brought out with a halter on and the cord knotted
to his tracebearer, so as to give a good hold in case he plunges or
kicks. The pole-piece is then loosely buckled up, after which the
inside trace is slipped over the roller bolt, and then the breaksman
pushing the quarters forcibly inwards the outside trace is carefully
adjusted and the pole-piece buckled up to its proper length.
Quickly but quietly and without fuss the reins are crossed and
buckled, and the ends being taken by the breaker he mounts to

154 THE HORSE.

the box, gives the word to the break-horse to move, and the break
is quietly started without any notice to the colt, or effort on his
part. In the great majority of instances no resistance is made,
and all goes on smoothly for some time. The break should be
driven slowly for three or four miles, and then the breaksman who
assists the breaker going to the side of the colt pulls him round
by the halter as the breaker drives the break-horse in a wide circle
for turning. In returning the horses should be stopped and started
again several times, and if the colt is pretty handy the turning
may be repeated once or twice, but more than an hour's drive
should not be attempted for fear of galling the shoulders, to pre-
vent which the inside of the collar should be well oiled on all occa-
sions just before starting. When taking the young horse out the
process of putting to should be exactly reversed. A repetition of
this lesson, and constant turning into narrow lanes and crowded
streets, together with uphill and downhill work, will soon make the
young horse handy in double harness, though for town work a con-
siderable time must elapse before he can be depended on in a
crush, especially without a steady companion. No horse should
be depended upon until he has been roused either by accidental
circumstances, or, if these do not present themselves, by an appli-
cation of the whip, for it often happens that a colt will go quietly
enough while his temper is unruffled, but when it is once upset he
shows fight until he is conquered or himself gains the victory.
Now it is far better that this should occur while in the hands of
the breaker than after he is sent home as thoroughly perfect in
harness.

WHEN THE COLT has had five or six lessons in double harness,
and has been made to show the nature of his temper in the way
I have just described, he may safely be put in the shafts, but not
till then. The single-break is a stoutly-built two-wheeled vehicle,
with strong and straight ash shafts. It should be so "high as to
preclude the possibility of the horse kicking over the drawing-
bar; and though occasionally it will happen that a clever animal
will kick very high indeed, yet there are few that will get over a
bar three feet from the ground. A kicking-strap and safety-rein
should always be used, for fear of accidents; and a breaker of
experience generally uses the driving-rein in the cheek and the
safety-rein in the lower bar; both being held in the same way as
for four horses. No bearing-rein should be employed; and the
tugs should be made open above, so as to drop the shafts into them.
With these precautions, there is no difficulty in putting a colt into
single harness; but, if at all stubborn, he may not be easily made
to start, having no break horse to take him off. Usually, however,
when five or six lessons in double harness have been given, the
colt walks off quietly enough; but, after one or two lessons, he

STABLES— SITUATION AND ASPECT. 155

discovers that what is to be done must be done by him unassisted,
and he is then very apt to give himself airs, if his temper is at all
inclined to be bad. Kicking may be kept under by the kicking-
strap; running away may be restrained by the bit; but jibbing in
single harness is very difficult to get over. If necessary, an out-
rigger may be applied to the break, and a second horse put on;
but it is better to exercise the patience by quietly sitting still,
when, after a short time, the jibber generally moves on of his own
accord. Beyond these expedients, nothing more is required than
time and practice.

CHAPTER X.
STABLES.

Situation and Aspect — Foundations — Stalls versus Loose Boxes —
Hay Chamber and Granary — Doors and Windows — Drainage
and Water Supply — Ventilation and Lighting — Stable Fittings —
Harness Room — Coach-House — Servants1 Rooms — Ground
Plans of Stables — Necessity for Airing New Stables.

SITUATION AND ASPECT.

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT POINTS to be regarded in the choice
of a situation, are, first, the power of excluding damp; and, sec-
ondly, the best means of keeping up a tolerably even temperature
in winter and summer. It is seldom that the stables are fixed
without regard to the convenience of the inmates of the house
itself, the corner most out of sight being the one usually selected
as good enough for them. It should not, however, be forgotten,
that the horse is a native of a dry country, and cannot be kept in
health in a damp situation either in-doors or out. Nothing, ex-
cept starvation, tells injuriously so soon upon the horse as damp
when exposed to it — he loses all life and spirit; work soon tires
him ; his coat stares ; he will scarcely look at his food, and he be-
comes rapidly emaciated, severe disease, often in the shape of some
prevailing epidemic, showing itself after a short time, and gene-
rally soon ending in death. Grease and cracked heels, swelled
legs, hide bound, inflamed eyes, and coughs and colds, are the
evils which attend damp, when exhibited only in a slight degree ;
but these are sufficient to interfere with the use of the horse, and,
irrespective of other reasons, as domestic comfort is greatly de-
pendent on the carriage being always at command, the stables
should not be sacrificed, as they too often are, to a fancy for keep-
ing them out of sight.

156 THE HORSE.

IN CHOOSING THE SITUATION, therefore, a spot should be looked
out which will be high enough to allow of perfect drainage at all
seasons of the year. No periodically overflowing brook should
ever be allowed to discharge its contents into the foundations, for
even if the floor of the stable itself is kept above the water, yet
the soil underneath will be saturated, and acting like a sponge,
will allow the damp to creep up the walls incessantly. Sometimes,
in order to keep the stables well out of sight, a hollow is chosen,
and the floor is then excavated below the level of the surrounding
surface. The consequence is, that even in a summer-storm, the
rain-fall of the surrounding land finds its way — either into the
stable, or around it; and the effect is equally injurious in either.
Concrete under the floor, and courses of slate at the bottom of the
walls, will do something to meet the evil; but it is better to avoid
it altogether by choosing a site at least two or three feet out of
the way of all flood- water, and with a good fall into a sewer or
adjacent running stream.

As TO THE ASPECT, there is some difference of opinion whether
it should be northerly or southerly, all being adverse to a direc-
tion either due east or west; the former being too cold, and the
latter too hot. As far as I know, all writers on the subject have
preferred a southerly aspect, until the recent appearance of Mr.
Miles' " General Remarks on Stables," in which valuable work an
opinion is expressed that "the prevailing desire to have the front
of the stable due south is a mistake." The reasons for coming to
this conclusion are grounded upon the fact, which is undeniable,
that a more even temperature can be maintained if the situation
is sufficiently sheltered from the stroke of the wind. No doubt,
a southerly aspect allows the sun to enter with great power in the
summer; but my experience does not lead me to believe that flies
are less likely to get in through a door or window open to the
north, than through similar openings looking south. Mr. Miles
even objects to the heat of a winter's sun, which, he says, in the
middle of the day makes the stable almost as hot as in the sum-
mer ; the heat being often suddenly succeeded by a degree of cold
approaching the freezing point. Here, again, I certainly cannot
follow him, and I should hail with pleasure any beams of the sun
which show themselves between November and March, either in
the stable or kennel. Animal life is always benefited by the direct
rays of the sun, although, when the heat produced by them is in-
tense, the mischief done is so great as to counteract the advantage.
Still, in the winters of this country, such a thing is not, in my
opinion, to be dreamt of, as a properly ventilated stable becoming
too hot, and I look upon Mr. Miles' conclusions as being consider-
ably strained when he is arguing in favor of a northerly aspect.
I do not mean to assert that, on the whole, he is wrong, but that

M

$y
I

N

FOUNDATIONS— STALLS. 157

his arguments are based upon certain assumed facts which I hesi-
tate to accept. It should not be forgotten that his own stable,
which is undoubtedly a pet one, was accidentally built to face the
north ; and, therefore, while, on the one hand, his experience of
the advantages of this aspect should be accepted with all respect;
on the other, it may be conceded that he naturally has a tendency
to overlook the disadvantages because they are inevitable.

FOUNDATIONS.

IN MOST CASES stables are not built of more than the basement
story, with a loft over, which is generally, almost entirely, con-
structed in the roof; the walls, therefore, are not high, and do not
require deep foundations, even if they are built on clay, which is
more liable to cause cracks, &c., than any other species of soil of a
uniform character. It is a very common plan, on this account, to
lay the foundations of any kind of coarse and stony material ; but if
this is done, a course of broken slates should be laid in cement a
little above the level of the ground ; or, instead of this, a course
or two of hard bricks should be laid in the same material, so as to
prevent the damp from striking up the walls by capillary attrac-
tion. A neglect of this precaution has, in several instances within
my town knowledge, kept stables damp in spite of attention to
drainage and a resort to all sorts of expedients which could be car-
ried out subsequent to the building of the walls.

STALLS AND LOOSE BOXES.

WITH REGARD TO THE NUMBER of stalls or loose boxes which
should be grouped together in one apartment, there is little differ-
ence of opinion now-a-days among practical men, that more than
from four to six horses should not be allowed to stand together.
The former number is the better; but sometimes there may be
circumstances which will excuse the latter being adopted ; as, for
instance, when this number are kept, and the space occupied by a
partition-wall is an object. Even then, however, a boarded parti-
tion may be introduced, and as it will not occupy an additional
room, there is no objection on that account. When a larger num-
ber of horses are stabled together, there is great difficulty in keep-
ing up an even temperature, unless, as in the case of omnibus and
cab horses, the same number are nearly always absent at work. In
private stables, however, all or nearly all the horses are often out
at once, and then in a large space the temperature is reduced so
much, that when they return, two or three at a time, followed by
others, and compel the doors to be constantly opened and shut,
there is, first of all, danger of chilling each as he comes in, and if
he escapes this, of producing that injurious effect when the next
horse conies home. Practically it is found that the long row of
14

158 THE HORSE.

stalls does not conduce to the health of the horses, and although
it may please the eye of the master to look down a long line of
valuable animals, this arrangement is by no means to be recom-
mended. Either two stalls with a loose box at one or both sides,
or, perhaps, as I said before, even four stalls with a similar arrange-
ment of loose boxes, should be the aim of the builder of a stable
for general private work, and in this, as well as in all other cases,
appearances should be sacrificed to utility.

OF LATE YEARS there has been a great demand for loose boxes,
and every private horse-keeper who could afford the extra space,
has adopted the plan, at all events for a large proportion of his
stud. For hunters and race-horses, when they are doing severe
work, there can be no doubt that the quiet and liberty allowed in
a box are far preferable to the restraint of a stall, where the horse
is constantly liable to be disturbed by the ingress and egress of
men and horses. In the stall, also, there must be a slope (though
not necessarily a great one), from before backwards, so as to pro-
vide for surface drainage ; and this compels the horse who is tied
to the manger to stand with his hind feet lower than his fore,
which is a tiresome position if continued for any length of time, and
which therefore induces so many to stand back to the full length
of their reins. But the horse is a social animal, and does not like
solitary confinement any more than the dog; indeed, some which
will do well when placed in a stall, will even refuse their food, and
actually lose condition, if removed to a loose box, out of sight of
companions. If therefore the quiet and comparative liberty of a
loose box can be combined with the society of the stall, the only
objections to each are got rid of, and the best kind of accommoda-
tion for the horse is provided, though even in a loose box it is not
always desirable to leave the inmate loose.

IN LARGE STABLES intended for business purposes, such as for
omnibus, cab, and wagon horses, loose boxes are out of the ques-
tion, on account of the area which they require, extra width being
necessary for the horse to turn round in, inasmuch as he cannot in
them put his head over the travis, as he always does while turning
in a stall. A full-sized animal must have his box at least 10 feet
wide by 12 long, which gives an area of 120 superficial feet, in-
stead of 80 or 85, the area required for a six-foot stall, including
the gangway. Indeed, the above dimensions are scarcely large
enough for a box, a roomy one being from 15 to 18 feet long by at
least ten feet wide. Again, the consumption of straw in a box is
much greater than in a stall, the droppings of the horse not being
deposited in any one place, as in the latter, but scattered all over
the surface, and spoiling the litter whereon they may happen to
lie. For these reasons loose, boxes are not introduced into any

HAY CHAMBER AND GRANARY. 159

stables but those for race-horses, hunters, and in a certain propor-
tion for hacks and carriage horses. In every large establishment
a small number must be set aside for the sick and lame, but I am
now solely discussing their merits as applied to horses doing work.

HAY CHAMBER AND GRANARY.

IN EVERY STABLE conducted economically, whether in town or
country, a space should be allotted for storing hay, straw, and corn.
Hay and straw are either sold by the ton or by the load, which is
two cwt. less, and on that account the loft should always hold at
least a ton of hay, and the same quantity of straw, because if a
smaller bulk is purchased, it cannot be obtained at the regular
market price. Now a ton of hay cut into trusses will nearly occupy
the space over an ordinary loose box, supposing that the walls of
the loft are not carried up far above the floor, and every additional
yard in height of wall allows stowage for another ton. Straw occu-
pies more space by nearly one-half, and it may be calculated that
a loft formed entirely in a tiled roof of the usual pitch, must have
an area equal to two roomy loose boxes, or two stalls and a box, to
stow away a ton of hay tmd a ton of straw, and even then there
will be little space for any other purpose. To find room for a
corn-bruiser and chaff-cutter, as well as for a stock of oats, a
granary with an area at least as large as a loose box should be ar-
ranged, and with these conveniences a stable may be said to be
complete — that is to say, with dry and airy stowage-room, some-
where, amounting altogether to about 2000 cubical feet. If the
number of horses kept is larger than three or four, the hay-chamber
need not generally- be increased to any great extent, because the
hay and corn are purchased by the ton or load ; but it is often a
great convenience to have accommodations for two or three months'
provender, and therefore it is always well to be provided with space
enough for that purpose, if it can be so arranged.

WITH THESE CALCULATIONS TO GUIDE HIM, the builder has
next to consider where he shall fix the stowage-room which I have
said will be necessary. Formerly a loft was almost always provided
over the stable, in which the provender was keptj but in those
days, when high racks were in vogue, a trap-door was left over
them to keep them supplied, and the consequence was, that, in the
first place, the horses were continually annoyed with the dust fall-
ing through, and, in the second, the hay was injured by the vapor
from the stable reaching it through the same opening. On these
accounts a great outcry was raised against placing the loft in this
situation ; and stable-architects insisted upon a hay chamber, as it
was called, being built on the. ground-floor, or at all events in some
other situation than that usually allotted to it. There was great
sense in this precaution, and for a time credit was due to the pro-

160 THE HORSE.

moters of the improvement ; but on the subsequent introduction of
low racks (which the grooms did not object to when they had to bring
their hay in through the stable door^ and the simultaneous dismissal
of the openings over them to the loft, the objections to the old
situation of the latter were done away with; and the objections of
the grooms having been removed, no opposition could be offered
by them, and thus it has come to pass that in most of our best
stables low racks are established without openings over them, and
with the hay and straw stowed in a loft overhead, perfectly pro-
tected from injury from the stable emanations, by means of a sound
floor and a good ceiling beneath it. The fodder so placed does
good instead of harm, inasmuch as being a bad conductor of heat
it tends to keep the stable cool in summer and warm in winter.
Arrangements are easily made for throwing it down through a
shaft in some convenient spot, clear of the horses ; and as it can
more readily be filled from the cart or wagon through the window
than a chamber on the ground, labor is economised also. On the
whole therefore it may be laid down that if low racks are adopted,
which I shall hereafter show are the best on every account, the
loft should be placed over the stable, while even if high ones are
preferred, it may be fixed in the same situation, provided no open-
ings which will allow the passage of dust and steam are left above
them.

THE CONSTRUCTION of the hay chamber should be such as will
provide for getting the hay and straw into it; for the daily supply
of these articles out of it into the stable can always be easily ma-
naged without mechanical assistance. Mr. Miles, in the work
which I have already quoted, suggests the introduction of a spout
leading down from the loft to the manger, so as to convey the corn
and chaff into it; but I have a great objection to any plan which
allows of a direct communication from the one to the other, and as
neither corn nor chaff is a bulky article, it is easy for the groom to
carry them in his sieve. Moreover, each feed of corn should be
sifted and examined for stones, which cannot so well be done in
the bulk. I should therefore strongly advise the planner of a
stable to avoid all such premiums upon laziness, and to keep the
ceiling of his stable perfectly intact, except for the purpose of
carrying off the obnoxious gases which are the product of respi
ration.

THE GRANARY, however, will require several fittings ; and, in
the first place, it should be so constructed as to be mice-proof. If
the walls are soundly built, no mice can gnaw through them, but
even if they are of soft materials, a lining of Roman cement will
exclude mice altogether. This article also keeps the corn dry,
and forms an excellent floor, as well as lining for the walls. If
the granary is on the ground, instead of using boards, which bar-

FLOORS, DOORS, AND WINDOWS.

161

bor vermin of all kinds, lay a course of bricks edgeways upon
concrete, and then upon the former have an inch of lloman cement
carefully laid, and take care to allow time for it to harden. When
this is done, corn may be stored without fear of loss by mice, and
all that is necessary is to turn it over every fortnight if at all new,
or once a month if dry. Few grooms are to be trusted with an un-
limited supply of oats, as they will almost all waste them in some way
or other. It is better therefore to shut off a part of the granary
with open lattice or wire-work, admitting a fr,ee current of air, but
not allowing anything large enough to contain corn to pass. At
stated intervals the allowance of corn may be taken out and kept
in the other part of the granary till wanted. Here also should be
fixed a corn-bruiser and chaff-cutter, and also a bin for oats, beans,
and chaff.

MATERIALS FOR FLOORS, DOORS, AND WINDOWS.

AN ATTEMPT has recently been made to revive the old plan of
laying an open or perforated wooden floor so as to allow the urine
to pass through, and thus keep the litter dry. Mr. Haycock, in
his " Gentleman's Stable Manual," is a strong advocate for this
plan, but I cannot say that I am impressed with his arguments in
its favor. That it may save the litter to some extent is clear enough,
but it only does so at the expense of cleanliness, for as the wood
absorbs a great deal of the urine in its descent, ammonia is con-
stantly being given off, and the stable is never sweet. For this
reason these floors were abandoned in the early part of the present
century, when they were extensively tried, and I should much
regret their general re-introduction. It may be laid down that no
material should be used for stable floors which absorbs the urine,
but to select one which in itself is liable to decomposition is doubly
wrong.

THE DOORS of stables are generally made
of yellow, or, as it is called in the midland
districts, red deal. Sometimes elm is used,
but it is very liable to cast or warp. Unless
the proprietor is very particular about ap-
pearances, what is called a "ledge door" is
considered sufficient, the rails being of inch-
and-half stuff, and the boards which are only
nailed on, from three-quarters of an inch to
one inch thick. The ordinary thumb-latch
is very apt to catch in the skin of the horse
as he passes through, causing often a severe
wound, and on that account a sunk catch is
preferred which drops into a recess made
for it in the door-frame, but this is not
14* L

DOOR FOB LOOSE BOX.

162

THE HORSE.

adapted for a " ledge door," a frame at least two inches in thick-
ness being necessary to allow of the lock being let in. For loos£
boxes a door may be made with the upper half of open iron work
as in the annexed engraving, but these are expensive and can only
be adopted when money is not considered. In a door of this con-
struction the hinges are so arranged that with a rounded edge to
the frame there is no sharp projection, and even when wide open
the hip of the horse passing through cannot possibly be injured.
No door should be less than three feet six inches wide and seven
feet high, and the outer door is better if made three feet nine or
even four feet in the clear.

ALL STABLE WINDOWS should be of iron, and if they are cast
with iron bars six inches apart from centre to centre, no horse will
break the glass. Every other bar may be made to project so as to
form the framework for the glass, and in this way serve a double
purpose. In building new stables I should always prefer to place
the windows close to the ceiling and above the mangers, so as to
give the horse the fresh air where he wants it. If they are made
to open in a valvular form, as represented below, on the same prin-
ciple as has long been adopted in church windows, and as I have
for years recommended for lighting and ventilating kennels, there
is no down draught, and every advantage is obtained from the fresh
air without the disadvantage which ensues when it blows down
upon the back or loins. In the engraving (a) represents the win-
dow perfectly closed, in the state
admitting light but no air ; (6)
shows the same window opened
as far as the framework will allow,
intermediate degrees being regu-
lated by the ratched rod (c), which
is fixed to the upper edge of the
frame, and catches on the top rail
of the sash. Iron frames of this
shape may be obtained by order
order of any iron-founder, or they
may be made of wood. The glass
must be guarded with bars either
fixed to the sashes themselves or
to the framework. It will be seen
in the figure (6) that I have indi-
cated with an arrow the direction
which the air inevitably takes as
it enters the stable. Of course
these windows may be fixed in any wall other than that at the
head of the horse, but I prefer the latter as being the nearest to
the nostrils where the air is wanted for the purpose of respiration.

VENTILATING WINDOWS.

DRAINAGE.

163

The size should be about two feet square. The additional cost is
very trifling when it is considered that no other openings need be
provided for the admission of air.

DRAINAGE AND WATEK SUPPLY.

NEXT IN IMPORTANCE to the choice of the situation and aspect,
is the method to be adopted in draining the stable. The former
cannot well be altered, but the latter may, and therefore I have
placed it second. To ensure the perfect performance of the office
of cleansing the stable, the first thing to be done is to provide a
means of receiving the liquid which constantly must fall upon the
flooring, consisting partly of the urine of the horses, and partly
of the water used in keeping them clean. Several plans are adopted
for this purpose, some of which are founded upon true principles
of economy, while others are wasteful in the extreme. In towns
and cities provided with sewers and water pipes, liquid manure is
seldom worth the cost of removing it, and hence in them there is
no choice, and the whole of the liquids flowing through the drains
must pass off into the common sewers. Even here, however, a
catch pit should be provided somewhere outside the stable, without
which the traps will either become clogged if made gas-tight, or
they will admit the foul emanations from the common sewer if
they are so arranged as to allow of the free flow of drainage from
the stable into them. Such a pit as that represented below will

SECTION OP CATCH PIT.

serve all the purposes required, and if it is regularly cleaned out
once a week by the groom there will never be an overflow, while
in no case can any gas pass through it from the sewers. It is
merely a square pit lined with brick or stone and cemented. The
eize must depend on the number of horses, but if made on the cal-

164 THE HORSE.

culation of one cubical foot per horse up to four horses, and half
an additional foot for each horse beyond this number it will fulfil
all the conditions required. The principle on which it acts is as
follows : The liquid drainage enters from the stable at (a), and
falls into the inner half of the pit, marked (6), which is separated
from the other half by an iron partition (c). This is fixed above
in a stone or iron lid (c?), which, being fitted in a frame at the top
of the pit, effectually closes it except when taken up by the
groom for the purpose of removing the solid contents at (b). The
sides of the iron partition (c) should run in grooves cut in the ce-
ment lining the pit, which it should pretty accurately fit, but only
so as to keep all solid matter from passing through. A space of
from two to four inches according to the size of the pit is left be-
neath the iron partition and the bottom or floor, and through this
the liquid passes, filling the outer half (e) and overflowing through
the pipe (/) as fast as ft has run in at (a), the same level being
always maintained in the two halves of the pit. With this simple
apparatus properly constructed all internal stench traps may be
done away with, and the iron surface-drains which I shall pre-
sently describe alone introduced.

THE FIRST THING in all stables is to provide for the rapid removal
of any fluid which falls upon the litter, whether it be urine or
water used in washing legs or floor. Without this damp arises and
the health of the inmates suffers in proportion. Foul gas, such as
is given ofl' from decomposing matters in sewers, is no doubt preju-
dicial, but damp is still more so ; and while I would be careful to
guard against the former 1 would still more cautiously attend to
the exclusion of the latter. Hence it is that I would exclude all
internal traps ] and every one who has watched the proceedings of
his own stablemen will have seen how constantly, if they know
their business, they are obliged to clean out the stench traps if
they are furnished with them, or on the contrary how slowly these
articles allow the fluids to pass off if they are not thus attended to.
Even the old-fashioned simple plan of making the stalls to fall
rapidly to an open gutter, and carrying this straight behind the
horses through an opening in the wall to the manure-hole, will
answer better than neglected stench traps ; and as it is always wise
to count upon the occasional carelessness of the men, it is expe-
dient to arrange on this basis if it is practicable, which I know by
experience it is, by the adoption of the catch-pit I have described.
In the country such a pit may be interposed between a liquid
manure tank and the stable, or it may simply be placed outside,
taking care that the drain (/") has some safety valve to allow of
the escape of any gas which is generated beyond it either in the
liquid manure cistern or in the drain which carries away its con*
tents, whatever they may be. No trap will prevent the passage of

DRAINAGE— WATER SUPPLY— VENTILATION. 165

gas if the pressure is greater than that of the atmosphere, and in
many cases decomposing animal matter at a high temperature
evolves gas under one considerably greater. The best stench trap
will then be offensive, but a bad one choked with solid matter will
be doubly so. By thus doing away with all internal traps, and
simply using wrought iron gutters of the annexed form, which are

SURFACE GUTTER.

provided with moveable covers, that allow of their being regularly
cleaned out with a common besom, such perfect drainage may be
attained that the stable neither smells badly nor feels at all damp.
It will be seen that angular joints are forged so as to connect the
stall drains with those at the backs of the horses, and in this way
there is no difficulty whatever in keeping the litter perfectly dry
excepting just at the spot where the urine or water first falls. If
the drain at the backs of the horses is a very long one it must be
sunk beneath the surface and carried on by means of glazed
earthenware or iron pipes, with grated openings behind each horse
(not trapped), but the iron gutters above described are quite suffi-
cient to provide for three or four horses.

WATER-PIPES, where there is no pump, must be laid in the
ground so as to be out of the reach of frost, and should be furnished
with a good-sized cistern in or near the saddle-room, where it can
be kept from freezing. The system of laying on water pipes to
the mangers, by which they may be readily filled, is a good one,
but it costs money and is by no means necessary. If the iron sur-
face drains which I have described are used no flushing is required,
a besom easily cleaning them out, but pipe drains are certainly the
better for a good flushing now and then. Hard pump water is not
so good for drinking as soft or river water, but in many situations
nothing else can be obtained. When soft water is within reach it
may easily be conducted into a cistern in the saddle-room, where
its temperature will be always nearly that of the stable.

VENTILATION AND LIGHTING.

I HAVE ALREADY entered to some extent upon the best form of
windows for stabling, and have shown how far they may be applied
to the purpose of supplying air from without. Sometimes, how-
ever, there are already in the building windows of the ordinary
construction ; and in that case it will be necessary to introduce
ventilators, of some shape or other, to admit the external air. In
all cases, some provision should be made for preventing any

166 . THE HORSE.

draught falling upon the horses, and for regulating the amount of
air. The common round tube, with a bend at a right angle
downwards on the outside of the wall, is the cheapest form in which
this can be done ; but it is very apt to be rendered totally inefficient
by being stuffed with hay in cold weather, and left in this state
ever afterwards. Several patents have been lately taken out for
getting a down-draught by the side of the up-draught tube ; of
which Mr. Moir's four-sectioned plan is, perhaps, the best. In
this a large tube of iron is made to descend from the apex of the
roof to the stable ceiling ; and being divided into four tubes by
iron plates, which rise above the top, the wind always descends
through one or two of these tubes whenever there is the slightest
air moving. Unfortunately, however, it happens that when it is
most wanted it is totally inactive — namely, in the hot calm days of
summer. Ventilation is always easy enough when there is a wind
blowing; and, indeed, the difficulty then is to moderate it ; but it
is when there is no air moving that stables become so hot and close.
I have known these down-current tubes tried in all sorts of places,
including stables, kennels, work-rooms, cigar-divans, &c. j but 1
have always found that, without the power of moderating the down-
draught by closing-valves placed at the bottom of the tubes, they
are not only useless in calm weather, but highly dangerous in a
wind. Now, horses have not the sense to close valves, when a
wind rises in the night, and grooms are absent from 8 o'clock P.
M. till 6 A. M., during which time a whole stableful of horses may
be chilled to an alarming extent. Hence, if adopted, I should
never venture to leave these ventilators open during the night, and
this would take away from their efficiency sufficiently to forbid their
use. I greatly prefer the valvular window which I have described
at page 16lj, for the introduction of air, and a plain ventilating
shaft, such as I shall presently allude to, for carrying off the foul
air. Failing the window from any cause, nothing is better than a
latticed ventilator, which should be fixed in the head wall, or in
either of the side walls, near the head.

HAVING THUS PROVIDED for the admission of fresh atmospheric
air, the next thing to do is to carry it off, when it has been used
for the purposes of respiration. As I before remarked, it is not
safe to depend upon the wind for this purpose ; and the only re-
maining agent is the diminution in its specific gravity when air is
warmed by respiration. By taking advantage of this principle,
the foul air is carried off from the upper parts of the stable if a
shaft is fixed there for its passage. Sometimes a small shaft is in-
troduced over the head of each horse; but in practice it is found
that one large shaft, about a foot square, will purify a stable con-
taining four or five horses. It is better to fix this about the mid-
dle of the stable, as regards its length, but near the heads of the

VENTILATING SHAFT.

16?

^ / \

VENTILATING SHAFT.

horses, as shown in the above section of a stalled stable. The tube
may be made of wood — and, indeed, this material is better than
iron, because it does not condense the steam as it ascends nearly
so much as metal, and there is less dropping of water from it. The
upper end of this shaft should be guarded from down-draughts,
either by a cowl which will turn with the wind, or by a covered
ventilator of galvanized iron fixed on the ridge of the roof, the
price of which will depend on
the size. At the bottom, a sheet
of iron, considerably larger than
the shaft, should be fixed about
three inches below the mouth, so
as to prevent any down-draught
striking the horses; and also to
catch any drip from the conden-
sation of the steam of the stable,
as it comes in contact with the
interior of the shaft. This, however, will be almost entirely
avoided by making the shaft of wood, as I have already mentioned.
Loose boxes must be ventilated separately, if they are not open to
the stable j but if they are, the same shaft will take off their foul air
as is used for the stalls, provided there are not more than four or
five horses in the same space. A shaft about six inches in diam-
eter is amply large enough for one box ; and this, with the venti-

HEAD OF SHAFT.

168

THE HORSE.

lating window or the separate ventilator I have described, will
keep any box in a healthy condition, if its drainage is properly
attended to. There is a very eommon notion that no ascending
shaft will remove the carbonic-acid gas, which is one of the results
of respiration, because its specific gravity is so great that it lies
close to the floor. This, however, is a fallacy in practice, though
perfectly correct in theory, because all gases have a tendency to
mix rapidly together; and hence, although t^e weight of pure
carbonic acid gas is so great that it may be poured from one glass
into another, yet, as it is given gradually off by the lungs, it does
not remain separate, but mixes with the bulk of air in the stable,
and is carried off with it. For this reason, there is not the slightest
necessity to admit the fresh air near the bottom of the stable, as is
sometimes contended for. If it is attempted, nothing can prevent
a draught falling upon the bodies of the horses when they are
lying down, and they inevitably catch cold. If the upper regions
are kept pure, the whole air soon mixes; and thus, when the open-
ings are fixed near the ceiling, as I have described, all the good
which is wanted from them is obtained without any risk of draught.

STABLE FITTINGS.

THERE ARE TWO MODES OF
SEPARATING stalls from each
other; that most commonly
adopted in private stables being
the travis, whilst in cavalry and
cab stables the hanging bail is
used for the sake of economy
of money and space. The latter
being considerably cheaper than
the former, I shall describe it first.
All that is necessary is a strong
pole of ash, oak, or elm, which is
fixed about three feet from the
ground between the horses, one
end being attached to the manger
by a strong iron hook and eye,
and the other being either sus-
pended from the ceiling by a
chain or attached to a post, reach-
ing from the ground to the ceiling
in such a way that, if the horse
gets fixed under or over it, he ca'n
readily be relieved by striking
upwards the ring (a), which
liberates the hook (Z>) and allows
the ball (c) to fall to the ground.

STABLE FITTINGS. 169

A better plan is to use a plank of elm instead of a po.e for the
bail, and the difference of cost is not very great. I have myself
adopted this plan with advantage in a two-stalled stable, which is
too narrow for a travis, the whole width for two horses being barely
ten feet. Here, of course, two stalls would be unsafe, for no horse
can be accommodated properly with less than five feet six inches
from inside to inside of stall-posts, and this would require eleven
feet six inches, being eighteen inches more than I had to do with.
I find that a plank of elm, one inch and a half in thickness and
eighteen inches deep, will protect a horse very effectually from the
kicks of his neighbor; and as I happen to have had an inveterate
kicker in one of the stalls for six months, without injury to her
fellow, the trial has been a pretty severe one. The hangings at
each end are just the same as for bails, a chain, in my stable,
descending from the ceiling, and no tail-post being used on account
of the propensities of the mare in question. She would have de-
molished any fixed post behind her in a single night; but the
hanging plank of elm not being a fixture, gave way to her blows,
and she soon left it alone. If the horse is tied up with one rein
only, he can bite his neighbor with great facility over the bail,
but two reins are just as efficient with hanging bails as with a
travis, and these should never be neglected.

THE LENGTH OF THE TRAVIS should never be less than six feet
six inches, and if the stable is fourteen feet deep, which it ought at
least to be, the travis may be seven feet long with advantage. Be-
yond this length it should not extend except in very roomy stables,
as there is danger of straining the back in turning out of a nar-
row gangway into the stall. No travis should be less than seven
feet in height at the head, and four feet six, or five feet at the
tail-post. If lower than this, the horses can bite each other over
the head, or kick over the tail, and so become hung, from -which
latter accident serious mischief may ensue. The tail-post is gene-
rally made only to reach high enough to take the ring for the pil-
lar reins, but it is far firmer if carried to the ceiling. When the
stable is to be built from the ground, the tail-posts may be made
to economize wood in the flooring-joists above, as they diminish
their length by one-half. A moderately stout beam, say eight
inches by four, is carried from end to end, and into this the posts
are framed, while the joists, running in the direction of the stalls,
are only seven feet" long each, for which a very small scantling
will suffice, even if heavy weights of hay and straw are placed in
the loft. This is a great consideration, as the floor of the loft re-
quiring to be made strong, the joists, when fourteen or fifteen feet
long, should be at least ten inches deep. If wooden posts are sunk
into the ground, which they must be if short, they soon decay,
whereas, when they reach the ceiling, as I have advised, they may
15

170 THE HORSE.

be dowelled into a stone rising above the floor, a:, d thus escape
destruction. Charring the part buried is the usual expedient
adopted to prevent decay, but though it acts beneficially to some
extent, it does not long put off the decomposition oi the woody
matter by the damp of the floor.

A GANGWAY BAIL is sometimes used in stables, when valuable
horses are kept in stalls, such as hunters and race-horses. It is
merely a strong piece of oak which is dropped into a mortice in
the stall-post at one end, and into another made in the wall oppo-
site ; so that, if either of the 'horses gets loose, he cannot reach
his neighbors. It also serves to prevent two horses from hanging
back and kicking at each other, -which vicious animals will some-
times do.

THE MANGERS AND RACKS are now almost invariably made of
the form, as shown on p. 172, whether of wood or iron ;* the addi-
tion of a separate cavity for water, bran mashes, or gruel, being a
modern invention. With the single exception of Mr. Miles, I am
not aware of any recent authority on the subject who has written
in favor of the old high rack, and after about fifteen years' expe-
rience of each in my own stables, I can confidently recommend
the low position for its manifold advantages both to the horse and
his master. ' The above-named writer gives as the reasons for his
preference of the high rack, " that besides the chance there is of
a horse getting his feet into a low rack, when he is either frolic-
some or alarmed, it is open to the objection that he is constantly
hanging his head over his food, and breathing on it while he is
feeding, which renders the undermost portion of it moist and
warm, and makes him reluctant to consume the whole." Now the
first of these objections may be tenable, for, no doubt, a horse can
get his feet into a low rack, but so he can into his manger, and as
this must be placed low, no farther harm is done in the one case
than in the other. Moreover, the rack being placed in the corner
is not so likely to receive the feet as the manger in the middle.
But, in either case, if the bottom is strong enough to bear the
weight, which it ought to be, no mischief is done, and the horse
gets down again when he likes. The second objection I contend
to be wholly without foundation, and I do this after carefully try-
ing the experiment for a month, with the same four horses, tended
by the same men, and doing the same kind of work. It so hap-
pened that in the year 1845 I required two additional stalls; and
at that time having high racks in my own three-stalled stable, I
hired one of two stalls close adjoining. In this I placed two of
the three horses for a month, and carefully weighed the hay which

* t. e. In England. In this country the high racks are generally pre-
ferred.— EDITOR.

STABLE FITTINGS. 171

was consumed by them during that period, at the sane time weigh-
ing that eaten by the other three horses in the three-stalled stable.
At the end of the month I changed the two horses for two of those
in the three- stalled stable, and again weighed the hay consumed
by each. The result was, in round numbers, a saving of ten
pounds of hay per week per horse, and this was done without any
further limitation than the judgment of the head groom, who,
moreover, was prejudiced in favor of high racks. I immediately
introduced low racks into my own stables, and have used them
since with the greatest satisfaction and advantage. Such is the
result of my own experience, and I find that all those of my ac-
quaintance who have tried the low racks, are strongly impressed
with their advantages, nor have I ever known an accident result
from them. The only place where they are dangerous is in the
loose box of the brood mare with her foal, where the latter may
damage itself by getting into the manger, but against this risk I
have cautioned the breeder at page 122. In those stables where
a long wooden manger is fixed, the alteration of a part to form the
low rack is easily accomplished, and the saving in hay will soon
pay for the trifling outlay.

WITH REGARD TO THE MATERIAL of which the racks and
mangers should be made, I am not quite so settled in my convic-
tions. Wood is undoubtedly the cheapest, and it has the advan-
tage in its favor that the horse, in laying hold of the cap with his
teeth, when he is being dressed, which most high-couraged horses
do, wears them out much less rapidly than with the iron manger.
This objection is met by making the cap so wide that the horse's
jaw will not embrace it, and with this modification I have nothing
to allege against the metal but its price, — while it has the advan-
tage that mice cannot gnaw through it, and that it does not become
decomposed by remaining constantly damp, which is the case with
wood. The iron is generally lined with enamel, but as I believe
that its oxide is absolutely advantageous to the health of the horse
when taken into the stomach with his food, I do not care whether
this additional expense is incurred or not. The enamel always
looks and is clean, which is in its favor, but, as I said before, this
is its only real advantage. With these preliminary observations,
I shall describe each, so that in fitting up a stable the proprietor
may take his choice.

(1.) WOODEN MANGERS may be economically made in part of
elm or deal, and in part of oak, which latter wood should always
be used for the capping, on account of the wear occasioned by the
teeth, and for the bottoms, to prevent decay. The top of the cap
should be from 3 ft. 3 in. to 3 ft. 6 in. from the. ground, and the
manger itself should be 13 inches wide at the top and 9 inches at
the bottom; depth 11 inches. The caps should be 4 inches deep

172

THE HORSE.

and 3 inches wide, and these should be firmly wedged into the
wall or travis at each end. The bottoms may be of inch oak, and
the backs, ends, and fronts, of inch elm, or, if deal is used, they
should be a little stouter. Supposing low racks to be introduced
also of wood, they should be 2 feet wide, and should project 5
inches beyond the manger, making them 18 inches deep inside.
An oak post must be dropped into the floor at the junction of the
two, so as to give strength at this part, and the two caps may be
strongly nailed or bolted to the top of this. The rack is generally
made from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 3 in. deep outside, which leaves a space
below sufficient to insure the free passage of seeds and dust.

(2.) IRON MANGERS are made of the same dimensions as the
above, but in general the capping of the rack is continuous with
that of the manger, as shown in the engraving on this page.
Both are five inches wide, to prevent the horse laying hold of the
iron and thus wearing down his teeth. A water-tank occupies
one end of the space at the head of the stall, the manger the
middle, and the rack the other end, — the two former being
generally enamelled inside. The addition of the tank is in favor
of iron as a material; for water remaining in wood soon rots it,
and hence even if wooden mangers are preferred, the tank, if
adopted, must be of iron.

THE ONLY REMAINING FITTING yet to be described is the enam-
elled tile, which is now very generally introduced in first-class
stables at the'heads of the stall above the mangers. I cannot say
that I see any great advantage in them, as a coat of sound Roman
cement will be as impervious to all kinds of diseased secretions as
the best enamel, — that is to say, when each is washed. Neverthe-
less, I have shown these tiles in the annexed engraving of a couple

IRON FITTINGS FOR STALLS AND LOOSE BOX.

of stalls and a loose box, which is taken from the pattern plan ex-
hibited at the St. Pancras Iron works. Here all the iron fittings

HARNESS-ROOM. 17o

which I have already described are introduced, and my reader may
judge for himself of their appearance, which is certainly, in my
opinion, extremely neat and well adapted to the requirements of
the horse. The stalls show the iron manger, rack, and trough, as
described at page 170. The floor is laid with blue paviors, cut to
fit the wrought-iron gutters alluded to at page 165. The loose box
is lined with inch deal, and the partition from the stalls is of open
iron-work. This also shows the corner manger-rack and trough
suitable for a loose box. The only objection that I know to these
very complete fittings is on the score of expense.

I HAVE ALREADY SAID that I object to corn and chaff-shoots
arranged so as to open into the manger, on account of the dust which
they bring down. If the corn and chaff are kept upstairs, a shoot
may be arranged so as to deliver them at or near the gangway, the
particular spot chosen depending on circumstances which will vary
with almost every stable. A granary, or corn-room, on the ground
floor, does not admit of a shoot.

THE WALLS of a stable should be lined, whenever they come in
contact with the horse, with inch elm or deal. Without this, in
cold weather, the brick or stone, whether plastered or not, is too
cold, and if a delicate horse lies down with his loins against it, he
will probably be attacked with rheumatism, or perhaps with in-
flammation of the kidneys. Usually, also, as I have already ob-
served at page 172, the head wall above the manger is lined either
with boards or enamelled plates, which have lately been introduced
as being cleaner than boards, as they undoubtedly are. They are
either of enamelled iron, nailed on to boarding, or of vitrified plates
set in cement, the latter being cheaper and having nearly the same
appearance.

HARNESS-KOOM.

EVERY HARNESS-ROOM should be provided either with a stove or
open fireplace, in order to dry the saddles, harness, and clothing, when
they come in wet. If, also, it can be so arranged that a supply of
hot water can be obtained, by fitting a boiler to the back of the
fire, the groom will be always provided with what he must occa-
sionally obtain from some source or other. No establishment can
be considered complete which does not provide plenty of hot water
when wanted; and if it is heated in the saddle-room, so much the
better.

WHEN THE SADDLES AND HARNESS are cleaned, they must be
put away till wanted; and here they must be protected from injury,
either in the shape of scratches, damp, or dust. Harness and
saddle brackets are made either of wood or iron ; the former being
the cheaper, but the surface they present being necessarily larger,
they do not allow the stuffing to dry so well as iron brackets, which
are made to turn up and form a hook below, on which bridles may
15*

174 THE HORSE.

be hung. This is a capital plan where space is scanty, but other-
wise it is not to be recommended. Where a long cupboard can be
separated off by hanging doors, either of glass or panel, the har-
ness and saddlery can be kept in very nice order; and even a cur-,
tain of cloth or canvas will serve a similar purpose, when drawn
across in front of them. In addition to the brackets, bridle hooks,
either single or double, must be attached to the walls, to hang the
bridles, stirrup leathers, &c.,to. Masters who are particular about
their stable arrangements have many other fittings, such as wheels
for whip-lashes to hang over, &c. &c.; but those which I have
enumerated are the essentials for a harness-room intended for use
rather than show. A double hook suspended from the ceiling,
where it can be used to hang dirty harness on while washing it, is
extremely useful; but any groom who understands his business
will suggest something of the kind, according to circumstances.

COACH HOUSE.

IN THE COACH HOUSE mere standing room is all that is neces-
sary to provide if the harness-room stove is made to answer the
double purpose of airing both, which should always be managed.
Open carriages may be kept in tolerably good order without any
stove, but the lining of close carriages soon becomes mouldy unless
heat in some form or other be applied.

SERVANTS' BOOMS.

LITTLE NEED BE HERE SAID of the servants' rooms, but I cer-
tainly agree with Mr. Miles in his objection to placing them over
the horses. Quiet is essential to the sleep of these animals, and if
grooms are to be walking over head at all hours their sleep must
necessarily be disturbed. It is always well to have a groom's room
within hearing of his horses, so that if any of them get cast, or are
taken ill, he may be able at once to go to their assistance, but this
can readily be done without placing any lodging rooms over the
stalls or boxes.

GROUND PLANS OF STABLES.

IN DECIDING ON THE BEST ground plan for stabling a great deal
must always depend upon the kind and number of horses to be
placed in it. In the following plans I shall consider the two ex-
tremes afforded by those for racehorses or hunters on the one hand,
and on the other by the hack or harness stable for two or three
horses where space is a great object. As a general rule racehorses
and hunters require a loose box each, because they are often
greatly distressed, and must then have entire rest and quiet to
enable them to recover themselves. They are also a great many
hours together in the stable, and being called upon for great exer-
tions when out they ought to have plenty of air when indoors

GROUND PLAN OF STABLE.

175

The best proportions for their boxes are sixteen to eighteen feet
long by twelve feet wide and nine or ten high, but these are per-
haps a little above the average. Nevertheless I have given these
in the annexed plan of a

C OVERE D RIDE
OPEN IN THE MIDDLE

FEET.
RACING OR HUNTING STABLE.

It is divided into four separate stables thirty-six feet long and eigh-
teen wide, in which three or even four loose boxes may be separated
by partitions nine feet high with open iron tops, as shown at page
172, or one or more may be divided by travises into six stalls each
six feet wide. I have already alluded to the fittings for each, and
therefore I need say nothing more here beyond alluding to the
plan itself.*

* The plan on the ensuing page, of a stable belonging to Mr. Samuel R.
Phillips, of Philadelphia, was selected after a careful examination, as
being unusually well arranged for four or five horses. It has now accom-
modations for five horses, but it could be made very convenient for four
by taking out the partition between the fourth and fifth stalls, thus making
three stalls and a loose box. — EDITOR.

176

THE HORSE.

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PLAN OF STABLK FOR FOUR OR FIVE HORSES.

A Stalls.

B Hay-Rack.

C Carriage House.

D Doors.

E Closet for harness, with glass doors.

F Stairs to the Hay Loft, &c.

G Manger.

II Stench Trap.

W Windows.

NECESSITY FOE AIRING NEW STABLES.

To PUT HORSES INTO NEW STABLES without Airing them is to
give them cold or rheumatism. Indeed those which have been
merely uninhabited for some months are not fit for horses that are
accustomed to be kept warm and dry, without taking the following
precautions. If the walls are very new some open stoves should
be kept burning for at least a we.ek, not with the windows and doors
shut, as is often done, but with a good current of air blowing
through the whole building. In the absence of regular stoves
loose bricks may be built up so as to allow a good draught of air
through the coals or wood burnt in them, and thus to give out as
much heat as is wanted. For stables that have merely been closed
for a month or two a fire kindled on the floor and kept burning for
a few hours will suffice, but when the horses are first brought in,
their beds should previously be made up ready for them, and then
the doors, windows and other ventilators should all be shut till the
stable becomes thoroughly warmed by the natural heat of their
bodies, which it soon is. When this is accomplished, if the wea-

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Ground Plan of Stable of Fairman Rogers, Philaddphia.

(176)

FEEDING. . 177

ther is warm, the ventilators should be opened as usual, and the
windows also if necessary ; but it is better to err on the safe side,
and not to do this till the groom is perfectly satisfied that his
charge are all comfortably warm.

CHAPTER XI.
STABLE MANAGEMENT.

Theory and Practice of Feeding and Watering — Dressing or Groom-
ing— Clipping, Singeing, and Trimming — Use and Application
of Bandages — Management of the Feet — Daily Exercise — Pro-
per Temperature— Remedies for Stable Vices and Bad Habits —
Preparation for Work — Ordinary Sweating — The Turkish
Bath — Physic — Final Preparation — Treatment after Work —
Summering — -Care of Saddlery and Harness.

IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES, my attention will be specially di-
rected to the management of private stables ; and therefore the
race-horse, the omnibus and cab horse, and the poster, will not pass
under review. Those who are engaged in their superintendence
make it their business to ascertain what is best to be done ; and,
whether they do or not, each of them fancies that he knows better
than any one else how to effect his object.

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF FEEDING AND DRINK.

IN ADAPTING the quantity and quality of horse-keep to the wants
of each horse, regard must be paid first of all to the small size
of this animal's stomach, which affects all alike ; secondly, to
the work for which he is designed; and thirdly, to the peculiar
constitution of each individual. From the first of these causes the
horse must never be allowed to fast for any long period if it can
possibly be avoided, it being found from experience that at the end
of four hours his stomach is empty, and the whole frame becomes
exhausted, while the appetite is frequently so impaired if he is
kept fasting for a longer period that when food is presented to him
it will not be taken. Previously to the introduction of railroads
harness-horses were often required to do long distances in the day,
and it was found that if the whole journey must be performed
without stopping to bait, it exhausted the horse less to increase
the pace up to nine or ten miles an hour than to dawdle over the
ground on an empty stomach. If two horses are driven or ridden
fifty or sixty miles under similar conditions as to the weight they
have to draw or carry, and the one is taken at the rate of six miles

M

178 THE HORSE. *

an hour, which will keep him fasting from eight and a half to ten
hours according to the distance, while the other is travelled fast
enough to do it in six or seven hours, the latter will be less ex-
hausted than the former, though even he would be all the better
for a feed in the middle of the journey, the time devoted to this
act being easily picked up by the increased energy which would
be given by the corn. No horseman of experience is ignorant of
these facts, and after a long day the hunting man who knows what
he is about will always be seen on the look out for a feed of corn
or a pint of oatmeal for his hunter, before he attends to his own
wants. The human stomach will bear hunger far better than that
of the horse, and if the rider feels his appetite pretty keen, he may
be satisfied that the animal which carries him is still more in want
of food. The kind of work which the horse is intended for affects
not only the quantity of food required, but also its quality. Thus
very fast work, as in racing and hunting, strains the muscular
system as well as the heart and lungs to the utmost, and therefore
the food which is best fitted for the development of the former to
the highest degree consists of those kinds which present the ele-
ments contained in the muscular tissue in the largest proportions
consistent with the due performance of the digestive powers. These
are found in oats and beans, but nature herself teaches every ani-
mal instinctively to keep within such limits as are safe, and hence
it is found that though every horse will greedily devour a peck or
a peck and a half of corn daily, yet he will not go beyond this
quantity even though it is not sufficient for his wants, and in spite
of his being deprived of every other kind of food. The demands
of his muscular system are supplied by the corn, but there are
pertain saline matters in hay which are not found in the former,
and being necessary for the performance of several important func-
tions the stomach receives its warning through the appetite and
no more corn is received into it. On the other hand, the hard-
worked horse fed on hay alone craves for corn, and will greedily
devour almost any quantity put in his manger until he upsets his
digestive powers, when the appetite for it ceases. It is found by
experience that a certain proportion of hay and corn is best adapted
to each horse according to the work he has to do, and his own par-
ticular constitution, so that in laying down rules for feeding it is
necessary first of all to ascertain what demands will be likely to be
made upon the system. Few owners of carriage-horses would like
to see them driven to the door with their muscles showing the
lines between them as they ought to do in a race-horse when fit to
run. Such a state of high training as will put the latter in con-
dition would be impracticable for the former without wearing his
legs out, and not only destroying his rounded and level appearance
but taking away the air of high spirit and life which tsnds so

FEEDING. 179

much to gratify the eye. Hence the feeding suited to give the
one nothing but muscle is not fitted for the other, who must have
more hay and less oats, as well as less work. So also in deciding
upon the proportion, if any, of oats and beans, regard must be had
to the amount of work which is demanded, for there can be no
doubt that while admitting the good effects of beans in large quan-
tities upon the severely tried cab or omnibus horse, they are inju-
rious to the carriage-horse, whose blood soon becomes heated under
their constant use. Lastly, the peculiar constitution of each horse
must be studied before it can be known whether the average quan-
tity and quality of food which will suit the majority of horses
doing the same kind of work, will be enough or too much for him.
Some washy animals pass their food through them so quickly that
they do not absorb from it one-half of the nutritive elements con-
tained in it. These must be fed largely if they are kept at work,
and those articles of food must be selected for them which have a
tendency rather to confine the bowels than to relax them. Inde-
pendently of this extreme case it never can with certainty be pro-
nounced beforehand what amount of food will keep an untried
horse in condition, but in a large stable an average can easily be
struck, and it is this quantity alone which can be estimated here.
The blood of a horse fed on highly nitrogenized food does not differ
on analysis from that of another which has been kept on the oppo-
site kind of diet. Physiological research, however, tells us that
muscle is chiefly composed of fibrine, and that every time a bundle
of its fibres contracts a certain expenditure of this material is made,
calling for a corresponding supply from the blood, which cannot
be afforded unless the food contains it. Hence the badly fed horse
if worked soon loses his flesh, and not only becomes free from fat,
but also presents a contracted condition of all his muscles. And
thus science is confirmed by every-day experience, and the fact is
generally admitted that to increase the muscular powers of a horse
he must have a sufficient supply of nitrogenized food. As I have
remarked above, the nutrition of muscle requires fibrine — but in
addition the brain and nerves must be supplied with fatty matter,
phosphorus, and albumen. The bones demand gelatine and earthy
salts, and the maintenance of heat cannot be effected without car-
bon in some shape or other. But it is chiefly with nitrogenized
food that we have to deal in considering the present question,
there being plenty of the other substances I have mentioned in all
the varieties of food which are not largely composed of fibrine. It
may therefore be taken for granted that the hardly worked horse
requires oats or beans, or both mixed together in varying propor-
tions, together with such an amount of hay as will supply him with
the starch, gum, sugar, fat, and saline matters which his system
requires, while on the other hand the idle animal does not use his

180 THE HORSE.

muscular system to any extent, and therefore does not require much
or any oats or beans.

SALT is the only kind of seasoning which has stood the test of
experience in this country, and even it is by no means generally
employed. Some grooms give an ounce of common salt in the
water daily, others give it by sprinkling it on the hay, while a
third set lea've a lump of rock salt constantly in the manger for
the horse to lick. The last is the only really safe and useful mode
of using this article, and I am persuaded that all horses will thrive
better if they are allowed a lump of rock salt constantly within
their reach. The quantity which is thus taken is by no means
large, for rock salt does not easily dissolve by the mere contact of
the moist tongue. A lump weighing two or three pounds is placed
in the manger, and it will generally be found that a pound will
last nearly a month, but there is a great variation in the quantity
consumed by different horses.

THE WATER which is given to the horse will materially affect
his condition if it is not suitable to him in quality or quantity, or
if he is allowed to take it when heated by work. Thirst is most
distressing to this animal, and if he has not his water regularly
when his stomach demands it, he will not only refuse his solid
food, but he will drink inordinately when he has the opportunity,
causing colic or founder to supervene. For this reason it has
lately been the fashion to provide iron tanks on a level with the
manger, which are intended to be kept constantly full, and indeed
some are arranged with cisterns and ball-cocks for that purpose.
But those who contend for this constant supply have overlooked
the fact that every horse when he first comes into the stable is
unfit to be allowed to " take his fill" of water, and yet he will be
sure to do so if the water tank is open to him. Undoubtedly for
horses which are never heated by work the tank is perfectly safe,
because as they never become thirsty, since they prevent the full
development of the appetite by drinking small quantities as it
arises, so they are never induced to do themselves an injury by
imbibing large quantities of water at any time. On the other
hand, working horses are kept out of the stable without water for
five or six hours on the average , and when they come in they are
not only very thirsty, but they are generally in a state in which a
full draught of fluid will seriously injure them. For this reason
I think the tank unsuited to the ordinary private stable, though
of course it is easy to prevent mischief by taking care either to
have a cover over it, which is kept down till the horse is cool, or
to let off the water for a similar period. The question is one in-
volving a choice of evils incidental to carelessness, and it is doubt-
ful whether in the long run the horse is more likely to be injured
by being allowed to fill himself with water at the time I have

WATER. 181

alluded to, or by being deprived of his proper allowance of it at
regular intervals. Nothing is more easy for the master to detect,
when he visits his stable (as he should do at uncertain hours),
than a state of thirst. Few horses are allowed as much corn as
they will eat, and the rattling of the sieve or bin will make every
occupant of a stall place himself in an attitude of expectation.
But if the lifting of a bucket produces the same eager look, and
especially at any hour but the usual time of watering, it may at
once be concluded that the horse is not regularly and sufficiently
supplied with fluid, and it will generally be found that his condi-
tion suffers accordingly. It is astonishing how little water will
suffice if it is given at regular intervals, and it is the neglect of
this periodical supply which produces the craving that leads to
dangerous repletion. If it is decided to adopt the tank, provision
should also be made for emptying it readily, without calling upon
the groom to bale it out with a teacup, which I have actually seen
done in one particular stable, the owner of which prided himself
on the perfection of his arrangements. If the water only came
into contact with the iron, no great harm would ensue, because
the oxyde formed by the union of the oxygen in the water with
the metal itself, in the shape of common rust, is by no means pre-
judicial to health. But no iron manger containing water will long
remain free from decomposing vegetable matter, unless it is regu-
larly scrubbed out daily, because the horse, as he holds his head
over it during his feeding, drops particles of hay, corn, &c., into
the water, and this being raised in temperature to that of the sta-
ble, soon dissolves the starch and other ingredients which are
prone to decomposition. The consequence is that the sides of the
tank become foul, -being covered with a thick slime, which not
only renders the water nauseous to the horse, but also makes it
prejudicial to his health. For this reason a waste-pipe and stop-
cock are absolutely essential, for by their aid alone can the groom
be expected to do his duty.

THE QUANTITY OF WATER which will be imbibed by horses
varies veven more than that of their solid food, yet ignorant grooms
are too apt to give all alike. The most strenuous advocate for the
continuous supply would doubtless make an exception at those
limes when horses are just about to be severely galloped, as in
Itunting or racing; and on the other hand, almost all grooms who
know their business allow their charge to fill themselves at night,
and also give them a liberal allowance when they have done their
rrork and are dressed and cooled down after it. I have found in
my own stable, in measuring the actual quantity of water drunk
by the horses, that even among those which are doing the same
amount of work and eating similar food both in quantity and
quality, the water will vary from two buckets a day to nearly five.
16

182 THE HORSE.

If salt is given, it will produce considerable thirst at firs:, but
after a time this effect ceases, and I have not found it in the long
run make much difference. Green food will also make less altera-
tion in the desire for water than might be expected, which may
be accounted for by the fact that it increases the secretions of
urine and perspiration, and also acts gently on the bowels; so
that, Chough more fluid is taken into the system with the green
food, yet a proportionably large quantity passes off. It is, how-
ever, necessa-ry to be cautious in the allowance of water to horses
which have just begun to eat grass, for if given in the usual quan-
tity on a stomach full of green food, it will very probably bring
on an atcack of colic. As a rule, no horse should go to any
moderately fast work with more than half a bucket of water in
him, and that should have been swallowed at least an hour. This
subject, however, will be better considered under the next head.

THE QUALITY OF WATER best suited to the horse is one mode-
rately soft, but it should not be rain water collected in tanks,
which soon becomes full of decomposing vegetable matter. I have
known the health of a whole stable full of horses seriously injured
by using rain water, as was proved by the fact that its filtration
through charcoal, gravel, and sand soon restored the animals to a
fair state of health, without any alteration in their solid food or
work. On the other hand, very hard water disagrees almost to
an equal extent, often producing the state of the skin known as
" hide-bound," and sometimes affecting the bowels in the form of
serious diarrhoea. But in course of time most sound horses be-
come accustomed to hard water, and then a change to that which
is soft must be carefully avoided whenever work is to be demanded
of them. Thus in sending hunters or harnessrhorses used in fast
work from home, when they have been accustomed to either kind
of water, it often happens that their health is upset, and this is
quite as likely to occur when the change is from hard to soft, as
from soft to hard water. Trainers of valuable race-horses are so
aware of this fact, that irrespective of the risk of poisoning, which
they thereby avoid, they take water with them, knowing the inju-
rious effects likely to be produced by a sudden change.

THE PROPER TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER given in the stable
is a matter of serious importance, and the effect of a bucketful of
cold water to a horse just come in from his work is very serious.
Even in a state of rest cold water will often produce cramp or colic,
so that careful grooms never give it by any chance without warm-
ing it, either by the addition of a little hot water, called " chilling"
it, or by letting it stand for some hours in the stable or saddle-
room. If the former method is adopted, it should not be made to
feel actually warm, for in that state it nauseates a delicate feeder,

I

DRESSING, OR GROOMING. 133

but it should merely have the chill taken off, so that in dipping
the hand into it, no sensation of cold is produced.

DRESSING, OR GROOMING.

BY THE TERM DRESSING is generally understood the purifica-
tion of the skin, which the horse requires. He is never in the
highest health unless the pores are kept free from the scurf which
forms on them whenever he sweats, and the object of the strapping
which he receives at the hands of his groom is to get rid of this
mechanical obstruction, as well as to brace the nerves of the sur-
face by the friction of the brush or whisp. This dressing must be
renewed daily, even if the horse has not been sweated, and each
time that he comes in from work it is necessary to repeat it. The
former operation is or should be conducted in the same manner
every day, but the latter will vary according to the state of the
animal when he comes in, that is to say, depending upon whether
he has been sweated and is cool again, or if he is still wet, or has
been in the rain with or without exercise enough to warm him, or
lastly, if he has been ridden or driven through dirty roads or over
a deep country. Each of these conditions will therefore require a
separate consideration.

THE USUAL MORNING'S DRESSING is commenced either as soon
as the horse has done his early feed, or on coming in from exer-
cise, if such is allowed or enjoyed. The utility of grooming after
work cannot be denied, for it would be absurd to contend that a
horse coming in wet and dirty should be left in that state till the
next day; but it is perhaps necessary to explain to the idle groom
that it is not a mere polishing of the surface of the coat which is
wanted, but a deep steady pressure of the brush into the roots of
the hair, so as to remove all the scurf which collects around them
and clogs the pores, through which the sweat ought to be allowed
to exude freely. Practically it is found that an hour's good strap-
ping daily, not only gives a polish to the coat, but it causes the
secretion of a fine oil, which has a tendency to throw off water,
and thus may save the horse exposed to the rain from catching
cold. Moreover, it certainly stimulates the nerves so as to enable
them to bear exposure to the weather, which would otherwise tell
injuriously on an animal which is covered up with thick clothing
in-doors, and stripped of everything, even of the long coat which
nature gives him, when he is submitted to the " pelting of the piti-
less storm.'' When the horse is turned out to grass, he is washed
by every shower of rain, and though his coat continues to look
dirty on the surface, yet the skin itself is braced by the winds and
cleansed by the waters of heaven. Not so, however, in-doors.
Here his clothing keeps his coat short, and keeps up a continual
state of insensible perspiration, the watery particles of which pass

184 THE HORSE.

off through :he woollen rug or serge, leaving the salts and animal
matters behind, as is apparent on examining the internal surface
of any clothing which has been worn for any length of time with-
out washing, when it will be found to be lined with scurf, and
matted with oily animal matters. There are many drugs which
will give a gloss to the skin, but they will diminish instead of
increasing its capability to bear exposure, and hence their use is
altogether forbidden by those who know their injurious effects.
The horse which is little used requires dressing to take the place
of exercise, and if he has plenty of good strapping, his coat will
look like satin; but the hunter and the hack or harness-horse,
exposed to all weathers, must be carefully groomed and receive
plenty of elbow grease, or his coat will look hollow and stand out
like "the quills of the fretful porcupine," whenever he is allowed
to stand for a few minutes in a cool wind.

THE FIRST THING WHICH THE GROOM does in commencing his
morning's task is to turn the horse round in his stall, and fold the
quarter piece back upon itself, so as to expose the whole of the
fore quarters. Then, taking his brush in the hand nearest the
head, whichever side he begins with, he works away at the head
and face till he has thoroughly cleansed those parts, carefully
clearing out the dust and dirt from the roots of the ears, where it
is very apt to lodge, and continually cleaning his brush with the
curry-comb held in the other hand. Next proceeding to the neck,
he works at that part in the same way, turning the mane over to
the other side, and then going to the shoulders, bosom, and legs,
and finishing off with a whisp of hay slightly damp, instead of the
brush. Having thoroughly worked at this half of the body, the
horse is turned round in his stall, and the hind quarters and flank
treated in the same way, the clothing being removed entirely while
this is going on. In the spring and autumn, when the coat is
being shed, the brush should never be used, and the whisp alone
should be depended on. Nothing spoils the look of the new coat so
surely as the brush, except perhaps the currycomb ; but this latter
should not, under any circumstances, touch the skin of a horse
when it is in proper order, and it is scarcely necessary to forbid its
use when the coat is being shed, at which time it would be posi-
tively cruel, as well as injurious to the appearance. The brush
and whisp having effectually cleansed the skin, and given the hair
itself a certain amount of polish, the finishing stroke is put to the
dressing by means of the linen rubber, with the addition, in well-
managed stables, of the leather. Either or both of these in suc-
cession are steadily passed over the surface in the direction of the
hair of each part, and then the quarter piece or rug, as the case
may be, is replaced, taking care to throw it lightly in front of its
proper place, and then to draw it steadily backwards, so as not to

DRESSING, OR GROOMING. . 185

disturb the propel position of a hair. The roller is smoothly put
on, being first laid on the back double, and then the offside is turned
over into its place, when the straps being laid hold of under the
belly, it is properly tightened and the quarter piece smoothed
beneath it. This completes the dressing of the body, but there
are several minor points still to be attended to. A clean sponge
is squeezed out, and with it the nostrils, eyes, and anus are sponged
clean, and, if necessary, the mane is damped so as to enable the
groom to comb and brush it smoothly down on its right side. The
tail also is carefully combed out, beginning at the lower end, if it
is a full one, and not touching the top until the bottom is smoothly
arranged. Lastly, the legs and feet are attended to, the stopping,
or whatever may be in the latter, being picked out, the legs washed
if stained, and then carefully rubbed dry. Many grooms, when
they have white legs to keep clean, begin the dressing by washing
them, and then putting on flannel bandages, they leave them on
till they have done the body, when they are taken off and the legs
rubbed with the leather and linen rubber, till they are quite dry,
finishing with plenty of hand rubbing if they are at all inclined
to fill. All this being done, the litter is put straight, and the horse
is ready to have his second feed. A good deal of muscular exer-
tion, and laid out in the right way, is necessary for the due per-
formance of the groom's daily task. There is no royal road to
make a horse's coat, when in work, really look well, and not less
than an hour's hard strapping will suffice for this daily. White and
light gray horses will take up even more time than this, as with
all the care that can be exercised the thighs and legs will occa-
sionally become stained by lying in the dung dropped during the
night. Soap and water laid on warm, and well rubbed, will get
rid of a great deal of the brown color left, and if it is not suffered
to increase by successive layers, it may be removed with compara-
tive ease. The slight tinge which remains may be got rid of by
the aid of washerwoman's blue, a bag of which is to be dipped into
clean water and the skin washed with this after the soap has been
got rid of. A little experience is required to ascertain the exact
amount of blue, but one or two experiments will soon teach an« in-
telligent groom.

WHENEVER A HORSE is WANTED to go out, he must again be
whisped over before his saddle or his harness is put on. The groom
strips the whole of the clothes off, turns him round in the stall,
and carefully clears all the dust away from the ears and head with
the rubber ; then, proceeding regularly backwards, the whole body
is smoothed over, and the saddle and bridle or harness put on.
Lastly, th 3 feet are picked, and an oil-brush is rubbed over the
outside of the hoofs, to give them a neat appearance, when the
16*

186 THr HORSE.

pillar reins are buckled to the bit on each side> and the horse is
left till he is wanted.

DRESSING AFTER WORK depends upon the state in which the
horse is returned to the stable, when he may be cool and clean, or
in a profuse sweat still going on, or with his sweat dried in, or
completely smothered with dirt, or wet from rain, but chilled rather
than too hot ; or lastly, when exhausted from a severe run or other
hard work.

WHEN THE HORSE RETURNS COOL AND CLEAN, the groom throws
his rug lightly over his quarters, and, taking a bucket and a brush
he proceeds to pick and wash out the feet, standing on the near
side, with his back to the horse's head, so that he can use his left
hand to hold the feet, and his right for the brush. If the legs
are quite clean, there is no necessity for washing them at all; but
most grooms do so as a matter of course, and if they are properly
dried afterwards, there is no objection to the plan. Hunters, and
valuable horses of all kinds, are immediately protected by flannel
bandages ; but in ordinary stables the legs are merely partially
dried with a rubber, and are left in that state till the horse is
dressed over. If the work has been continued for more than four
or five hours without feeding, it will be well to put on flannel band-
ages, and let the horse have a feed of corn ; but, otherwise, it is
Better to finish the dressing first. The cloth being removed, a
whisp of hay is taken in the hand, and first the head and neck, and
then the body, is dressed over ; finishing off with the rubber, as
previously described. The clothing is then put on, the legs thor-
oughly dried, the litter put straight, and the task is finished.

WHEN BROUGHT IN STILL SWEATING PROFUSELY, if the weather
is warm, the horse must be led about in the shade, with the sad-
dle on, till he is nearly or quite dry; for if he is put into the stable
before he is cool, he will break out again as badly as ever, and if
the saddle is removed the back will become sore. A hemp halter
is cooler and more handy than a head-collar, and it is usually em-
ployed out of doors for all purposes connected with cleaning. In
the winter, this exposure to the air out of doors is not necessary ;
and, indeed, it would often be dangerous, the stable being gener-
ally cool enough to stop all tendency to sweat, even with a light
rug on. At this season, therefore, after the legs are washed and
the bandages put on, which they should be whenever the horse is
in a sweat, the dressing may be conducted in the usual way, in the
expectation, which will seldom be disappointed, that at the end cf
half t.u hour's strapping, the skin will have become quite cool, and
will look all the better for the profuse cleansing which it has re-
ceived by means of the watery fluid given off by it. A scraper
will be necessary, which may be either of wood or iron ; and with
this all the superfluous moisture is at once scraped from the sur-

DRESSING, OR GROOMING. 187

face, which greatly facilitates the process of drying. Two men
ought then to set to work, each taking a side, and working first at
the head, and then gradually backwards. In this way, no part is
allowed to chill, and the moisture is removed as rapidly as possi-
ble. In the use of the whisp, the rubbing need not always be
hard ; and it should be chiefly against the direction of the hair
till it is nearly dry, when the proper direction is again taken.
There is a good deal of art in drying a sweating horse, and nothing
but experience and practical teaching will give it. As a gen-
eral rule, it takes two men nearly three-quarters of an hour to
thoroughly dress a horse coming in profusely sweating, supposing
the weather to be only moderately warm. In very hot weather,
such an attempt would be quite fruitless, and the only resource is
to wait patiently till the effects of exercise are abated sufficiently
to allow of the ordinary clothing being worn. Experience soon
tells the groom how soon he can venture to begin, and no rule can
possibly be laid down which will supply the place of this valuable
power. Even when the horse is taken in, he must not at first be
clothed, but he must be dressed without anything on him ; and in
summer he must often be left for some time afterwards in a naked
state. When there is a good open yard shaded from the sun, the
dressing should be done out of doors; and when this can be
managed, it may be commenced much sooner than in the stable,
unless this is a very cool one. Slight muscular action, either by
walking, or in some other shape, is necessary to prevent conges-
tion of blood in the internal organs ; but it matters not whether it
is effected by simply leading the horse about, or by stirring him up,
as is always the case in dressing even the dullest animal. In other
respects, there is no difference from the plan last described.

WHEN THE SWEAT is COMPLETELY DRIED IN, the hair is full
of powdery matter, which must be thoroughly brushed out, before
the skin will look well or the horse be properly dressed. To do
this, nothing more is required than the use of the brush previously
to the whisping over; but a good deal of time must be spent in
getting rid of all the foreign matters left behind on the evapora-
tion of the watery particles of the sweat. There is an amount of
grease in it which makes the powder stick to the hair, and no-
thing but hard ^oor will get it away. For this reason, many grooms
adopt the plan of washing their horses all over with soap and
water, when they come home in this state ; and although I prefer
dry rubbing, I would rather have water used than let the skin re-
main full of dry sweat. A common water brush is generally used,
or, if the coat is thin, a sponge will be far better. No time must
be lost in the operation ; and unless two men can be spared, the
rug must he thrown on as soon as the water is scraped off with the
scraper, an 1 the skin is just partially dried. In this state he may

188 THE HORSE.

be left for a few minutes j attention, in the meantime, being paid
to the thorough drying of the head and neck, which cannot well
be clothed advantageously. These parts soon dry; for in washing
them there is no occasion to wet the mane, which may be turned
over to the other side while each is being cleaned, and the ordinary
coat of the head and neck holds very little water. After they
are made comfortable, the cloth is turned partly back over the
loins, and the shoulders, ribs, and bosom are dried with the whisp
and rubber ; after which the whole is stripped off, and the hind
quarters thoroughly dried.

A HORSE SMOTHERED IN DIRT is by careless grooms too often
left to dry with it all on ; and then it is brushed out, or, if idle-
ness reigns triumphant, a besom is taken in hand for the purpose.
Where the particles of mud are few and far between, and are
already dry or nearly so, there is no objection to their being re-
moved by friction alone j but if they are wet and (as they gener-
ally are) in large masses, water must be used to get rid of them ;
and the whole of the legs, belly, flank, and tail will often require a
good slushing with a brush and water before the dirt is removed —
the tail being placed in the bucket itself, if it is a long one, and
thoroughly cleansed in that way. A scraper is then employed to
get rid of the water, the legs are superficially rubbed and then
bandaged, the clothing is thrown on, and the dressing may be com
menced as usual.

IN CASE THE SKIN is WET FROM RAIN, whether the work has
been fast or not, it is seldom necessary to provide against a continu-
ance of the moisture, for the chill of the rain will generally pre-
vent any tendency to break out in a sweat. The horse is, therefore,
at once taken into the stable, and, if very wet, he is scraped ; after
which he is rubbed over, and his clothing put on while his legs are
being attended to, by washing, bandaging, &c. The dressing is
then conducted as in the case of the horse coming in sweating in
cool weather.

AN EXHAUSTED HORSE demands a'l" the resources of the groom's
art, without which he will suffer in more ways than one. An
extreme case seldom occurs, except in hunters, who require the
greatest care to bring them round after a severe run. On coming
into the stable, if their powers have been taxed to the utmost, and
their ears are cold and drooping, the first thing to be done is to get
these warm by friction ; an assistant, in the meantime, preparing
some gruel, while another puts some warm flannel bandages on the
legs. It is wonderful what a restorative is found in the friction of
the ears, after a few minutes of which, a moderately tired horse
will look quite a different animal, evidently enjoying the process,
and dropping his head to the hands of the groom with the most
perfect air of enjoyment. Where, however, there is only one

CLIPPING vs. LONG COATS. 189

groom for the whole task, the bandages should be put on first —
that is to say, as soon as the clothing is thrown on ; then the gruel
should be given, and as soon as this is swallowed the ears should
be warmed by friction. No attempt at dressing should be made
till the gruel is taken and the ears are warm ; and if they cannot
be restored to their proper temperature, a warm cordial of ale and
spices should at once be given. Usually, however, there is no
occasion for this ; and, after getting the stomach attended to, the
skin of the body begins to recover its natural temperature, and the
extremities become warm again. In the course of an hour, the
dressing may generally be effected; but no time should be lost in
it, and the skin must not on any account be chilled. After it is
done, a feed of oats and a few split beans may be given, if the
appetite seems inclined to return; but sometimes, when the ex-
haustion is excessive, no solid food can be taken with safety till the
next day ; and gruel, with cordials, must be resorted to as the only
kind of support which the stomach will bear.

CLIPPING, SINGEING, AND TRIMMING.

THE COAT or THE HORSE is changed twice a year, the long
hair of winter coming off in April and May, or sometimes earlier,
when the stables are warm, and there is no exposure to severe cold.
A slight sweat hastens this shedding, as every horseman knows by
experience, and even in harness the hairs are cast in the face of
the driver to his great annoyance on a windy day. Clipped horses
are longer than others in shedding their coats, and present a most
disagreeable mottled appearance, which makes the state still more
noticeable. The long hair on the legs is about a month later in
coming off, and indeed it will not fall till midsummer, unless some
more violent means than are used in ordinary dressing are adopted.
With some breeds and individuals the winter coat is not very much
longer and coarser than that of the summer ; but all, save blind
horses, show more or less difference in favor of the summer coat.
Curiously enough, horses which are totally deprived of sight, have
almost invariably a good winter's coat, often better than that which
they show at other seasons ; but why this is so no one has ever
been able to explain, though I have never known the fact disputed.
About the middle of October, or early in November, the summer
coat is thrown off; but some of the hair appears to remain as a
sort of undercoat, among which the long, coarse hairs of winter
make their appearance. These continue growing for six weeks or
two months if they are clipped or singed, and even after Christ-
mas, if the weather is cold and the skin is much exposed, there
will be an evident increase in length of some of the hair. In
accordance with the growth of this on the body is that of the hair
on the legs, which become feathered all the way down below the

190 THE HORSE.

knees in the forelegs, and half way down the backs of the canna
bones in the hind legs. Low-bred horses have more hair on these
parts than thorough-breds ; but even these latter, if they are not
stabled tolerably warmly, exhibit a great deal of hair on their legs.
Those who can see no possibility of improving on nature come to
the conclusion that this long hair is a defence against the cold,
which ought not to be removed, and they argue that clipping and
singeing are on that account to be rejected altogether. But these
gentlemen forget that the horse in his native plains has always a
short coat, and that the winds and rains, which cause him here to
throw out an extra protection, are not natural to him. Moreover,
if the animal is left to follow his own impulses, even when turned
out in this country, he will be all the better for his long coat, for
while it has the great advantage of protecting him from the cold,
it is not wetted by sweat, because he does not voluntarily gallop
long and fast enough to produce that secretion. The natural pro-
tection is therefore undoubtedly good for the horse when left in a
state of nature \ but when man steps in and requires the use of
the horse for such work as will sweat him severely, he discovers
that a long coat produces such great exhaustion, both during work
and after it, that it entirely forbids the employment of the horse
for hunting, or any fast work. I have myself many times found it
impossible to extend a horse for any distance on account of his long
coat, which distressed him so much as to make him blow directly,
whereas on removing it with the clipping scissors he could gallop
as lightly as a race-horse, and be able to go as fast and as far
again as before. When this happens in the course of the week
following the previous failure, the only change made being in the
coat, there can be no mistake made, and a constant repetition of
the same result leaves no room for dispute as to the beneficial effects
of removing the hair. But, say the opponents of the plan, " All
this may be true, yet it is unsafe to expose the clipped horse after
he has been warmed, or indeed at any time/' Experience tells a
very different tale, and informs us that so far from making the
horse more liable to cold, clipping and singeing render him far less
so. Suppose one of ourselves to be exposed to a cold wind, should
we rather have on a thin dry coat or a thick wet one ? Assuredly
the former, and undoubtedly the wearer of it would be less liable
to cold than he who has the wet one on. So with the horse. As
long as his winter coat can be kept dry he is protected by it, and
the slow worker, who is not made to pull such heavy weight as to
sweat him, will be all the better for its protection, but the moment
the pace is sufficiently accelerated to warm the skin the sweat pours
forth, and is kept up in-doors by the matted mass of moist hair
with which the horse is covered. In former days I have had horses
wet for weeks together, from the impossibility of getting them dry

CLIPPING vs. LONG COATS. 191

in the intervals of their work. They would break out afresh when
apparently cool, and by no possible means could they be thoroughly
dried. This, of course, wasted their flesh to a frightful extent, but
on clipping them it was soon put on again, showing the great
advantage of the plan. A chronic cough almost always accom-
panies this state of constant sweat, and it will be lucky for the
owner of a horse so treated if it does not become acute and put an
end to the miserable existence of the poor ill-treated brute. The
case is not always fairly put, as, for instance, by Stewart, in his
Stable Economy, at page 120, where he says, " A long coat takes
up a deal of moisture, and is difficult to dry ; but whether wet or
dry it affords some defence to the skin, which is laid bare to every
breath of air when deprived of its natural covering. Every one
must know from himself whether wet clothing and a wet skin, or
no clothing and a wet skin, is the most disagreeable and danger-
ous. It is true that clipping saves the groom a great deal of labor.
He can dry the horse in half the time, and with less than half of
the exertion which a long coat requires ; but it makes his atten-
tion' and activity more necessary, for the horse is almost sure to
catch cold, if not dried immediately. When well clothed with
hair he is in less danger, and not so much dependent on the care
of his groom." Now, I maintain that this passage is full of falla-
cies and misstatements. The comparison is not between wet cloth-
ing and a wet skin, and no clothing and a wet skin ; but, as I have
before observed, between a wet long coat and a dry short one. The
clipping removes the tendency to sweat, or if this secretion is
poured out it ceases directly the exercise which produced it is
stopped. But taking Mr. Stewart on his own terms, who has not
experienced the relief which is afforded by taking off wet gloves
and exposing the naked hands to the same amount of wind and
cold ? This is exactly the case as he puts it, and tells directly
against his argument; but it is scarcely worth while to discuss the
subject at any length, for I know no horseman of experience in
the present day who does not advocate the use of the scissors or
the lamp, whenever the winter coat is much longer than that of
summer. That horses are occasionally to be met with which show
little or no change in the autumn I know full well; but these are
the exceptions to the rule, being few and far between. The vast
majority would have their hair from one to two inches long if left
•in its natural state, and they would then be wholly unfit for the
uses to which they were put. We may therefore consider that it
is admitted to be the best plan to shorten the coat in the autumn,
and all I have to do is to discuss the best modes of effecting the
purpose, with a view to decide whether clipping or singeing is to
be preferred.

CLTPPING is seldom performed by any but the professed artist,

192 THE HORSE.

inasmuch as it requires great practice to make the shortened coat
look even and smooth. When a horse is well clipped his skin should
look as level and almost as glossy as if he had on his ordinary
summer coat ; but inferior performers are apt to leave ridges in
various directions, marking each cut of the scissors. It should not
be done till the new hair has attained nearly its full length, for it
cannot be repeated at short intervals like singeing. If it is
attempted too soon the new coat grows unequally, and the skin in
a fortnight's time looks rough and ragged. A comb and two or
three pairs of variously curved scissors are all that are required,
with the exception of a singeing lamp, which must be used at
last to remove any loose hairs which may have escaped the blades
of the scissors. Two men generally work together, so as to get the
operation over in from sixteen to twenty hours, which time it will
take to clip an averaged-sized horse properly. These men were
formerly in great demand at the clipping season, and it was extra-
ordinary how little rest sufficed for them, but now the use of the
gas singeing-lamp has nearly superseded that of the scissors, and
clippers are not so much sought after. While the process is going
on, the horse ought to be clothed as far as possible, careful men
removing only as much of the quarter piece as is sufficient to
expose the part they are working at and no more. As soon as the
whole body is gone over as well as the legs, the singeing-lamp is
lightly passed over the surface, which will leave the hair burned to
such an extent as to require either washing or a sweat, which lat-
ter is generally adopted, in the belief that it has a tendency to
prevent cold. My own opinion is that this is a fallacy, and that
soap and water used quickly and rapidly, followed up by a good
strapping and the use of plenty of warm clothing, is far less likely
to chill the horse than the exhaustion consequent upon a sweat.
I have tried the plan repeatedly, and known it tried by others still
more frequently, but I have never heard of any ill effects resulting.
Very often a sweat is exceedingly inconvenient, either from the
difficulty in getting ground, as happens in towns, or from the in-
firm state of the legs. But soap and water can always be obtained,
and if carefully used there is not the slightest danger attending
them. Of course, after the removal of a long coat the skin requires
an extra protection in-doors in the shape of a double allowance of
clothing, and it will be necessary to avoid standing still out of doors,
though, as I before remarked, on the whole the risk of taking
cold by horses worked hard enough to sweat them is less if they
are clipped than if they have their long coats on.

SINGEING requires less practice than clipping, but it cannot be
done without some little experience of its difficulties, and a novice
generally burns the skin as well as the hair. To keep a horse's
coat in good order it must be singed several times in the course of

SINGEING— SHAVING—TRIMMING. 193

the autumn, beginning as soon as the new growth has attained a
length of half an inch beyond what is usual. The singeing-lamp
is then passed lightly over the whole body, and soap and water
being used, as I have described under the head of clipping, or a
sweat given if that plan is preferred, the coat is left for a fortnight
or three weeks till it has grown another half-inch, when the pro-
cess is repeated, and again a third, and even a fourth time if
necessary. On account of these repeated applications of the lamp,
the professed singer is not so often employed as the clipper, espe-
cially as the former's work is not so difficult to perform as that of
the latter.

The lamp now in common use is attached to a wide copper cornb
made like a rake in principle, and so arranged that the teeth raise
the hair and draw the ends into the flame. Where gas is procur-
able the comb is attached to the gas-pipe by a flexible tube, and
the lamp consists merely in a number of holes perforated along the
edge of the comb, so that a series of jets of gas are lighted, and
burn so strongly, that the coat is completely removed as near the
skin as the teeth of the comb raise it. If gas cannot be obtained,
a wide wick of cotton is inserted in a flat holder, and the ends pro-
truding to the level of the teeth, while a reservoir filled with naphtha
supplies them with that inflammable fluid, a constant flame is main-
tained, but not nearly equal in strength to that from gas. As the
coat is not allowed to grow so long before it is singed, so the cloth-
ing need not be much increased after its removal, and, indeed, in
well regulated stables there is little or no change required. Singe-
ing is performed in less than one quarter the time of clipping, and
a shilling's worth of naphtha is enough for one horse, unless his
coat is unusually long.

SHAVING was introduced some years ago to a limited extent, but
it requires so long a confinement of the horse after it is performed,
that it was soon abandoned. The hair is lathered and cut off with
the razor as closely as from the human chin, and unless this is
done exactly at the right time, the growth subsequently is too short
or too long. Instances have been known in which horses have
remained naked until the next spring, and were thereby rendered
perfectly useless, as they were chilled directly their clothing was
removed. The only advantage in shaving over clipping is to be
found in the reduced labor required ; a good razor, or rather set
of razors, soon going over the surface. But the invention of singe-
ing did away with this superiority, and the shaving of horses is
therefore one of the fashions of a day which have now disappeared.

TRIMMING. The jaws, nostrils, ears, legs, mane and tail, are all
more or less subjected to the care of the groom, who removes
superfluous hairs from each or all by various means, as follows : —
, nostrils, and ears are singed, the last named not being
17 N

194 THE HORSE.

touched inside, as the internal hairs are clearly a protection of the
delicate lining membrane of the ear from the cold and wet. The
long bristles of the nostrils may either be cut off, pulled out, or
singed off, but the first plan is the easiest and the most humane.
There are, also, some bristles about the eyes which are generally
removed, but it is very doubtful whether many an eye would not
be saved from a blow in the dark if they were left untouched.
Fashion, however, dictates their removal, and her orders must
generally be complied with. The hair which grows an inch or
more in length beneath the jaw, being of the same nature as the
rest of the coat, can only be singed off with advantage, and it
should be done as fast as it grows, especially if the singeing is not
universal, or there will be a different color presented in these parts.
Nothing gives a horse such a low-bred appearance as a goat-like
beard, and the trimming of this part alone will completely alter the
character of the animal where th3 hair has been at all long. The
legs are trimmed partly by singeing, and partly either by clipping
or pulling out the hairs. Great dexterity is required to manage
this performance in a workmanlike manner, so as to avoid the stale
and poster-like appearance which is presented by a leg clipped all
over (without a corresponding clipping of the body), and at the
same time to remove all, or nearly all, the superfluous hair. In
the summer, a clipped leg is totally inadmissible, and even from
the legs of a badly-bred horse the hair may be pulled by gradually
working at it for a little time every day with the fingers, armed
with powdered resin. This prevents the hair slipping through
them, and by its aid such a firm hold may be obtained that, as I
said before, perseverance will enable the groom to clear the legs
entirely, with the exception, generally, of a strong lock of hair
behind the pastern. When this is very obstinate, it is allowable to
use the scissors to clear away the hair below the horny growth
which is found there, but there should always be left a slight
fringe round this, so as to avoid the sharp and stiff outline presented
by the clipped leg. In the winter, the arms and backs of the
knees, as well as the bosom and the insides of the quarters, will
generally want singeing, whether the body is submitted to the lamp
or not; but in the summer, even if any long hairs are left there,
they are easily removed by the hand armed with resin. Unless
general clipping or singeing is practised, the front surfaces of the
legs do not require trimming at any season of the year.

The mane is not now usually cut, but formerly it was a very
common practice to " hog" it, that is, to cut it to a sharp-pointed
ridge, sticking straight upwards from the crest, and giving that
part the appearance of extraordinary height. Sometimes, how-
ever, the mane is very thick, and then for the sake of appearances
it is necessary to thin it, which is done by twisting a small lock

TRIMMING. 195

i

at a time round the comb, and pulling it out ; this gives some
little pain, but apparently not much, and evidently not more than
the trimming of the legs, and not so much as in pulling out the
feelers or bristles growing from the nostrils. A small lock of the
mane is generally cut just behind the ears where the head of the
bridle rests, as it would otherwise lie beneath that part in an un-
tidy manner.

In trimming the tail various methods are adopted, when it is
cut square; for if the hairs are allowed to grow to the full length,
no interference is necessary beyond an occasional clipping of their
points to prevent them from breaking or splitting. A square tail,
however, whether long or short, demands the careful use of the
scissors or knife, without which the horse to which it belongs is
sadly disfigured. Two modes are practised, — in the first the tail
is carefully combed out, and then allowing it to fall in its natural
position, it is gathered up in the hand just above the part to be
cut off, and here a sharp knife is drawn across it backwards and
forwards without notching it, till it passes clean through. The
tail is then released, and any loose hairs projecting are removed
with the scissors. The second mode is not so easy, but when well
carried out is more satisfactory to the eye, inasmuch as it is capa-
ble of giving a sharper and" more defined edge to the square tail.
As in the first method, the tail is carefully combed out; it is then
held by an assistant's hand, placed beneath the root of the dock,
as nearly as may be in the position which it assumes in the animal
out of doors. While thus poised the operator takes a pair of
sharp scissors, and holding the blades horizontally open, he in-
sinuates one of them through the middle of the tail at the place
to be cut, passing it straight backwards, and cutting the hair
quite level from the central line to the outside on his own left.
Then reversing the blades, and keeping to the same level, he cuts
towards the right, and if he has a good eye and can use his hands
in accordance with its dictates, he will have presented a very
prettily squared tail. On the other hand, if these organs are
defective, or if he wants experience, he will have notched the end
of the tail in a most unsightly manner. If the groom wishes to
try his hand in this operation, he should get hold of a long tail,
and begin far below the point where the squared end is intended
finally to be. This will afford him five or six experimental cuts,
and if he cannot satisfy himself, as he nears the proper length,
that he will be likely to succeed, he can still call in the aid of a
more skilful operator before it is too late. The hair of the tail
grows so slowly, that two or three months are required to remove
the disfigurement which is sometimes caused in this way, and con-
sequently it behooves the groom to be doubly careful, for his own
sake as well as his master's.

196 THE HORSE.

To make the mane lie smoothly on its proper side, which it
sometimes obstinately refuses to do, it must be plaited in small
locks, and the ends loaded with lead, if it cannot be made to lie
down without. An experienced groom, however, will generally
succeed in so managing the plaits that they lie close to the neck,
which is all that can be effected by the aid of lead, but some-
times the hair is so obstinate that nothing else will effect the
object in view. *

USE AND APPLICATION OF BANDAGES.

BANDAGES are applied to the legs of the horse for three differ-
ent purposes. First, to give support to the blood-vessels and
synovial capsules; secondly, as a vehicle for applying cold lotions;
and thirdly, for drying and warming them.

For the mere purpose of support either linen or flannel bandages
may be put on, according to the weather, and the tendency to
inflammation. The legs of seasoned old horses are seldom so prone
to become hot as those of young ones, and excepting in very
warm weather, flannel bandages seem to suit them better than
linen. On the contrary, if flannel is applied to the legs of a colt,
even if they are not inclined to inflame, they will become hot and
uncomfortable, and he will learn to tear them off, in which some
horses become perfect adepts. Whichever kind of bandage is put
on, it should be previously tightly rolled with the strings inwards,
then taking it in the right hand, and unwrapping about six inches,
they are laid against the canna bone on the side nearest to the
groom, so that the folds shall have a tendency to unroll from him
and not to him. While the left hand keeps the end from slip-
ping, the right passes the roll of bandage closely round the leg
till it meets the left, when the latter, still pressing the end against
the leg, lays hold of the roll, and allows the right to be brought
back to meet it on the other side. After which the coils are re-
peated till the whole bandage is run out and the leg encased, one
row being slightly above or below the level of the next, as may
be required. The great art consists in avoiding unequal pressure,
and yet giving sufficient to accomplish the purpose for which
bandaging is designed. From the projection backwards of the
pastern -joints it is impossible to make the folds lie perfectly
smooth, and there must be loose parts, which however are covered
over by the next turn. No written description, however, will
suffice to teach this little operation, and the young groom should
watch a good bandager, and imitate him as exactly as he can.
The strings at the end serve to tie the bandage on, and these also
must neither be so tight as to cut the leg, nor so loose as to allow
the bandage to fall down.

When cold lotions are to be applied by means of bandages, linen

BANDAGES— MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. 197

is the proper material, as flannel is too. bad a conductor of heat, by
evaporation, for the purpose. The whole bandage, after being
rolled up rather tightly, should be dipped in cold water, or in
the lotion which may be recommended, and then while quite wet
it is to be applied in the way which I have just described. The
following lotion is useful for the purpose : —

Take of Tincture of Arnica a wine-glassful.
" Nitre } oz.
" Sal Ammoniac 1 oz.
" Water half a bucketful.

Mix and use by dipping the bandages in before applying them, and by
wetting them with this solution afterwards by means of a sponge.

If the groom is careful, he may remove inflammation of the legs
better by means of dipping them in cold water, or the above lotion
may be applied with a sponge every half-hour, holding each leg
over the bucket, than with the aid of bandages. A cold douche
by means of a forcing garden engine is also extremely beneficial to
the legs, but it must be used out of doors, as it will wet the litter
and the walls of the stall if the water is splashed over them within
doors.

FOR DRYING AND WARMING THE LEGS when the horse is being
dressed, flannel is the only proper material for bandages. Its mode
of application is not of much consequence, provided the bandages
are put on rather loosely, for tight pressure has a tendency to
prevent the return of natural heat, which is so much desired.
After wetting the legs the bandages should be applied somewhat
more tightly, so as to absorb the moisture as much as possible.

MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET.

IN THE STABLED HORSE THE FEET require constant care, for
they are not only artificially shod, but they are allowed to stand
on a material which is a much worse conductor of heat than the
surface of the earth, by nature designed to bear them. Hence, if
neglected, they either become hard and brittle, or they are allowed
to be constantly wet, and then the soft covering of the frog is de-
composed, and emits a disagreeably smelling discharge, which soon
wastes it away, leaving no other protection to the sensible organ
beneath, and constituting what is called an ordinary thrush.
Again, it is found by experience, that not only must the shoes be
renewed as they wear out, but even if no work is done, and conse-
quently they are not reduced in size, they no longer fit at the ex-
piration of about three weeks, and they must then be removed, to
allow of a portion of the sole and crust being cut away before they
are again put on. The groom must therefore attend to the follow-
ing points: — First, to prevent the feet from becoming too dry;
secondly, to take measures against their becoming thrushy from
17*

198 THE HORSE.

wet; thirdly, to see that the shoes are removed at the end of every
three weeks, or more frequently if necessary; and fourthly, to
examine carefully every day that they are securely nailed on with-
out any of the clenches having started up from the surface, so as
to endanger the other leg.

DRYNESS OF THE FEET is prevented by the use of what is called
stopping, which is composed either of cow-dung alone, or cow-dung
and clay mixed, or of cow-dung and pitch. The first is by far the
most powerful application, but it moistens the sole too much if
employed every night, and then produces the opposite evil in the
shape of thrush. A mixture of equal parts of cow-dung and clay
may be used every night with advantage, and this I believe to be
the best of all stoppings. It should be kept in a strong box of
wood, about a foot long and eight inches wide, with a handle across
the top, and it should be applied the last thing at night to the soles
of the fore feet only, by means of a thin piece of wood, a foot long
and a couple of inches wide, with which the space within the shoe
is completely stuffed. If the feet are obstinately dry, in spite of
repeated stoppings with cow-dung alone, which will rarely be the
case, a table-spoonful of salt may be added to the cow-dung, and
this will never fail. For most horses stopping with cow-dung alone
once a week is sufficient, but the groom can judge for himself, by
their appearance, of the number of stoppings required. If three
parts of cow-dung and one of clay are used, the feet may be stopped
twice a week, or, perhaps, every other night, and if equal parts of
each are adopted as the composition, almost any feet will bear being
stopped every other night, with the exception of flat or pumiced
soles, which should never be stopped at all. On the night before
shoeing, every horse, even if he has flat soles, will be the better for
having his feet stopped, the application softening the horn so as
to allow the smith to use his knife to slice it without breaking it
into crumbling fragments. Several patents have been taken out
for felt pads, to be soaked in water, and then inserted in the hollow
of the shoe, but they do not answer nearly so well as cow-dung
stopping, which has far more emollient qualities than mere water. I
believe nothing has yet been discovered which has qualities at all
equal to this old-fashioned natural remedy.

THRUSHES are prevented by keeping the frogs free from ragged
layers of the elastic substance of which they are partly composed,
and at the same time by maintaining a dry state of the litter on
which the horse stands. I am not now considering the manage-
ment of the horse at grass, where thrushes are generally produced
when the weather is very wet, or when the pasture is of too marshy
a character, but the frogs of the stabled horse, which ought never
to be allowed to be so moist as to become decomposed. Some
ulcerated conditions of the frog which are still considered to come

MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. 199

under the general denomination " thrush," are due to severe in-
ternal disease of the bones of the foot, and are not caused by mois-
ture at all. Still these are rare exceptions, and the ordinary thrush
of the stable may be considered as invariably caused in the latter
way. Cases are also occasionally to be met with, in which, from
general grossness of the system, the sensible frog throws off part
of its horny covering, and secretes a foul matter instead. The
management of these diseased conditions comes within the province
of the veterinarian, and I shall therefore not enter upon its con-
sideration ; but the prevention of the mere decomposition of the
external surface by moisture is a part of the duties of the groom,
and so is the application of the proper remedies for it, as soon as
the nature of the case is clearly made out. Here antiseptic astrin-
gents, which are quite out of place in inflammatory thrush, are the
only useful applications, and by their means alone can the decom-
position be stopped. Of these Sir W. Burnett's solution of chloride
of zinc is the best, but in mild cases, Condy's fluid, which is the
permanganate of potass, will answer well, and is not so poisonous
in its nature if carelessly left about. Friar's Balsam, with as much
of the sulphate of zinc dissolved in it as it will take up, is the old-
fashioned grooms' remedy for thrush, and a very good one it is if
carefully insinuated into the cleft of the frog on a piece of tow
wetted with it. The grand principle, however, is to prevent thrush
rather than to cure it, but when horses are bought, or come home
from grass with it, the curative method must be carried out.

THE REMOVAL OP THE SHOES at regular intervals, whether they
are worn out or not, is a most important part of the duties of the
groom. On examining the shape of the foot it will be seen that
the diameter of the circle in contact with the shoe is greater than
that of the coronet, and hence as the shoe is forced away from its
original position by the growth of the horji it confines the walls
to the extent of the difference between the diameter of the foot at
its old position and that of the part which it now occupies. For
if two lines from the surface of the coronet on each side were
continued through the outside surface of the crust to the new seat
of the shoe, they would be far from parallel, and yet the shoe nails
must have been carried on in perfect parallel lines on account of
the unyielding nature of iron. For this reason a shoe, when it
has not been removed at the end of a month, will be found to lie
within the heel of one side or the other, by which to some extent
contraction is prevented, but at the expense of the heel, into
which the corresponding part of the shoe has entered. This is a
frequent cause of corns, and horses which have once been subject
to that disease should have their shoes removed once a fortnight.

ONE or THE MOST ANNOYING ACCIDENTS to the horseman is
the loss of a shoe, whether it happens in the hunting field or on

200 THE HORSE.

the road. Some horses can scarcely be prevented by any care of
their grooms from pulling off a shoe in hunting when they get
into deep ground, but on the road there is no such excuse, and the
frequent loss of a shoe by the hack or harness-horse is sufficient
to condemn the groom of carelessness in this particular. Every
morning when the feet are picked out it is easy to look the shoes
over and feel if they are tight. The clenches also ought to be
examined, and if they are not raised at all it may safely be predi-
cated that the day's journey will be completed without the shoe
being lost. A raised clench may severely cut a horse on the inside
of the other leg, and in those who are predisposed to "speedy
cut" it may cause severe injury, and perhaps occasion a fall of the
most dangerous character.

DAILY EXEKCISE.

WITHOUT REGULAR EXERCISE no horse can long be kept in
health, and I believe that as far as this point is concerned even
those which are hard-worked would be the better for half an
hour's airing every morning as soon as they have been fed and
before they are dressed. But those masters who are particular
about the mouths of the animals they ride or drive, find that the
hands of their grooms are generally so heavy that they spoil the
delicate "feel" on which the comfort and pleasure of riding and
driving so much depends. Hence in such cases the poor horse is
condemned to confinement in his stable, not only on the day when
he is to be ridden or driven, but on those also when he is to be
idle. The health of the body is sacrificed to the maintenance of
that delicate condition of the mouth which is so highly prized by
good horsemen and accomplished whips, and I confess that I plead
guilty to having for a long series of years acted on this principle.
A fair share of health may be maintained without exercise if the
work is never interrupted for more than a single day, and at the
same time there being only one pair of hands to interfere with
the mouth, its delicacy is not impaired, that is to say if they are
not as bad as those of the groom. Sometimes a large and smooth
snaffle is allowed as an exercise bridle, in the hope that it cannot
injure the mouth, but even this will do mischief if the weight of
the rider is thrown upon it, as is too often the case. Leaving out
of the question this objection to the adoption of exercise, there
can be no doubt that a daily walk out of doors for half an hour
or an hour, especially if it can be managed on turf, will be of the
greatest service to the horse's health.

PROPER TEMPERATURE OF THE STABLE.

THERE is SCARCELY ANY POINT upon which there is so much
difference of opinion, as in relation to the temperature of stables,

PROPER TEMPERATURE OF STABLE. 201

Some contend for an amount of heat which would raise Fahren-
heit's thermometer to 65° or 70°, while others would never have
their stables, if they could help it, above 45°. So much depends
upon the kind of horse in them, and the work he has to do, that
is to say, whether he is much exposed to the cold or not, that no
rule can be laid down which is applicable to all stables, but I be-
lieve it may be asserted that none should be above 60°, or below
50°, if it can be avoided. There are days in the summer season,
when the air out of doors in the shade stands at 90° or 95°, and,
of course, in such weather, it is impossible, even with the doors
and windows wide open, to keep the stable at a lower degree, or
even within several points of those above stated. So also, with a
thermometer scarcely above zero, it will be difficult to keep the
air wholesome, and yet to prevent its temperature falling lower
than 45°, which, at such seasons, feels very warm to those who
come in from the external air. But, with these exceptions, I
think the rule which I have laid down is a good one. The warmer
the stable, the better the coat looks, till it is exposed to the
weather, and even if it is so, it will take no injury if the horse is
kept moving, but if not, it soon becomes chilled, and not only
does the general health suffer, but the appearance also. There is,
however, another, and very serious objection to hot stables, con-
sisting in their ill-effect upon the legs and feet, which inflame
much more readily in a warm atmosphere than in a cool one. I
have often known horses stand severe rattling for months together,
while standing in a stable which was so cold as to make their coats
as rough as badgers, but when removed to warmer quarters, they
have at once gone " all to pieces," their legs or feet becoming in-
flamed from missing the refrigerating effect of cool air after their
daily work. The body may easily be kept warm enough by extra
clothing, and, if necessary, a hood and breastplate may be worn
all day and all night, but not even wet bandages will cool the legs
if they are surrounded by hot air. On the whole, therefore,' for
the private gentleman's stable, including those for hunters, hacks,
and carriage horses, I should advise a regular temperature to be
preserved as near 55° of Fahrenheit as possible. In coming in
from the external air this will appear very warm to the sensations,
but it is far below the high state of heat at which many of our
stables were kept, until within the last few years. I have often
known 70° to 75° of Fahrenheit insisted on as the lowest, which
would suffice to get a hunter into condition, but practice proves
the reverse, and that with plenty of clothing he will do in a cool
stable of the temperature I have recommended, far better than in
one possessing a higher range. The celebrated " Nimrod" (Mr.
Apperley) was a great advoeate for a hot stable, which he thought
onght never to be reduced much below 70° or 75°; but his

202 THE HORSE.

opinions, valuable as they undoubtedly are in the main, cannot be
looked upon as in all points to be relied on.

REMEDIES FOR STABLE VICES AND BAD HABITS.

CRIB-BITING is a diseased condition of the stomach, for which
there has never yet been a cure discovered, except on the princi-
ple of restraint. It may, therefore, be considered under the pre-
sent head. In crib-biting the teeth are applied to some fixed
object — generally the manger, so as to afford a fulcrum for the
muscles of the neck to act from, and by preventing this, or by
contriving so that the contraction of the muscles of the neck shall
give pain, the vicious habit is got rid of for the time. The most
common method is to buckle a leather strap so tightly round the
neck, just behind the jaw, that when the horse attempts to crib,
he tightens the muscles of that part, and these being pressed
against the strap, occasion such pain that the act is not completely
carried out, and even if it is on the first occasion, the attempt is
not repeated. The strap is buckled sufficiently tight to do this,
without much impeding the act of swallowing, or the flow of
blood from the head, through the jugular veins to the body; but
in confirmed cribbers no ordinary pressure will suffice, and then
the head often becomes affected from the impediment which is
caused to the return of the blood from the brain to the heart. To
remedy this defect Mr. Cook, Saddler, of Long Acre, two or three
years ago, invented a neck strap, containing a number of prongs,
which pass through holes in a spring guard, and unless this is
strongly pressed, they do not touch the skin. It is applied by
throat straps to an ordinary head collar, and in slight cases it is
found to answer most perfectly, but when the vice has become
confirmed, and the desire to indulge in it is very strong, the pain
occasioned by the prongs is endured, and no effect at all is pro-
duced. It is not therefore of much use, as the common strap
does no injury in those cases where Mr. Cook's is effectual, and
the latter will not avail when the plain strap is forbidden, on ac-
count of the extreme pressure required. I cannot, therefore, re-
commend any plan but such as will totally prevent the prehension
of the manger, and this is accomplished by one of two ways. In
the first of these, the manger itself is either concealed, or the
corn and hay are placed on the ground, in a space slightly sepa-
rated from the rest of the stall by a row of bricks, or other similar
bodies, which cannot be laid hold of. To the concealed manger
and rack there is the objection, that while the Horse is feeding, he
can go on cribbing without interruption, and as this is the time
chiefly chosen for the act, success is only partly achieved. Plac-
ing the food on the ground is entirely successful in stopping the
habit, but it leads to some waste of provender, as the horse is apt

CRIBBING— KICKING. 203

to tread upon it, after which he will refuse to eat it. By far the
best preventive, in my opinion, is the bar muzzle, consisting in an
iron frame work, covering the lips and nose, and suspended from
the head by a leather head collar, so that the lips can reach the

BAR MUZZLE FOR CRIB-BITERS.

corn or hay, but the teeth are too wide to pass through the bars
and seize the manger. This mechanical contrivance is entirely
harmless, and perfectly effectual, the sole objection to it being
the fact tha,t it proclaims the wearer to every one who looks into
the stable as a cribber. This may be a valid reason for rejecting
its use for dealers' horses, but in a gentleman's stable, utility and
humanity ought to have precedence of such a feeble argument.
When the bar muzzle is adopted, it should always be kept on,
excepting, of course, when the bridle replaces it for work or exer-
cise, or while the head is being dressed.

KICKING THE WALL OR STALL POST is sometimes a very annoy-
ing trick, and though not always done in a vicious manner, it is
objectionable, because the kicker is liable to lame himself, or one
of his neighbors. In mares it is often of a sexual nature, and in
them it is much more common than in geldings, — the extent to
which it is carried by them being generally greatest at the begin-
ning and end of their being " in use." At such times some mares
go almost mad, if they have an irritating neighbor, who keeps
smelling them, and I once had one who kicked herself to pieces in
a paroxysm of this kind, which nothing but tying up the fore-leg
could restrain. There are several remedies in common use, but
none can be relied on in all cases. Foremost among these is the

204 THE HORSE.

use of gorse, nailed to the stall-post, which will almost invariably
quiet a low-bred animal, especially if a gelding, but high-bred
mares will sometimes kick at it all the more, for the punishment
they receive. A padded leather strap, buckled round the canna
bone, with a common sinker attached to it, or, instead of this, a
few links of heavy chain, will generally keep the horse from kick-
ing, because in making the attempt he gives his coronet and pastern
a heavy blow. If, however, this plan is unsuccessful, it is liable to
cause lameness, from the inflammation produced by the blows,
and, therefore, the effect must be carefully watched. Few horses
kick out with both legs, and a pair of hobbles buckled round the
hind fetlocks will, in a vast majority of cases, put an end to the
trick as long as they are worn, without any risk, or producing
any serious annoyance, save only what is inseparably connected
with the prohibition of the indulgence in the desire to kick. A
narrow strap buckled round the part just above the hock, so as to
confine the ham string, will have the desired effect, by giving in-
tense pain when any attempt to strike out is made, but is a most
annoying infliction to the horse, and generally prevents his lying
down, from the necessity which there is for bending the hock, in
reaching the ground. I should, therefore, give the preference to
the bunch of gorse, or if that is not readily procurable, to the sinker
of wood, or iron suspended to a strap round the leg.

IN SCRATCHING THE EAR with the hind foot, the horse is very
apt to get his leg over the collar rein, if the sinker is not heavy
enough to keep the rein tightly strained between the head collar
and the ring in the manger. Impatient animals, also, which are
continually pawing at their litter, will sometimes get one of their
fore feet over it, but this is not so serious an accident. To pre-
vent the mischief occasioned in either case by the struggles to get
free, especially when the hind leg is thus caught, the rings for the
collar reins are sometimes made to draw down with a spring-catch,
which releases them when pulled in that direction, but in no other.
When, however, the sinker is properly weighted, it is almost im-
possible for such an accident to occur j and this simple invention
has now become obsolete.

TEARING THE CLOTHES OFF is by no means an unusual stable
habit, and it is one very difficult to cure. There are two effectual
preventives, however : one of which consists in the regular employ-
ment of a rough horsehair cloth, made like that for hops, outside
the rug, and which is so disagreeable to the teeth, that no horse
will attempt to tear it ; the other is carried out by means of a pole
of ash, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, with an iron
sye attached to each end. One of these is fastened, by means of
a short leathern strap and buckle, to the side of the roller-pad,

STABLE VICES. 205

while the other has a strap or chain about a foot long, which
attaches it to the head collar. The pole should reach about fifteen
inches beyond the point of the shoulder, and it should be fixed on
the side which is generally uppermost when the horse lies down,
so as not to be under him in that position. It is a very simple and
cheap apparatus, and any village blacksmith can make and apply
it. The following engraving will illustrate my meaning better than
the most detailed description without it.

REMEDY FOR TEARING THE CLOTHES.

WEAVING is a mark of an irritable nervous system, beyond
which it is harmless, but quite incurable. It consists in. a perpetual
moving of the head from one side of the manger to the other, with
an action like that of a wild beast in his den. The constant friction
soon wears out the collar-reins when there are two, and on that
account a single rein may be adopted in this particular instance
with advantage.

EATING THE LITTER is a peculiar appetite, which chiefly occurs
either in those horses which are kept short of hay on account of
their tendency to fatten, or when the animal possessing it has been
18

206 THE HORSE.

stabled for a very long time together and requires a change. In
the former case nothing but the muzzle will be of the slightest
service, but in the latter a run at grass, or soiling indoors for a
month or two, will remedy the disorder of the stomach. Rock salt
in the manger will sometimes have the desired effect, producing a
degree of thirst which will make dry litter distasteful.

KICKING AND BITING savagely are marks of actual vice, and
scarcely come within the limits of the present section. Still the
groom must know how to guard against them in the best way, so
as to save himself from danger without unnecessarily punishing the
horse. There are some animals which cannot be effectually re-
strained without severity, but on the average, kindness and firm-
ness united will overcome any horse. Sometimes it is necessary
to put on the muzzle while the dressing is going on, but this is
chiefly because the skin is so irritable that the brush or whisp
excite sensations which lead to the use of the teeth or hind legs
to prevent their recurrence. In such cases as these Mr. Rarey's
method of subduing a savage horse is extremely valuable.

PREPARATION FOR WORK.

I HAVE ALREADY OBSERVED that these pages are not in-
tended to serve as a guide for the trainer of the race-horse, and
that they chiefly apply to the management of the hunter, hack,
and carriage-horse belonging to the private gentleman. The de-
scription of the mode of preparation for work will therefore include
the mode of fitting the hunter for his duties, and of getting the
hack and carriage-horse into condition, from the state in which
they are usually first brought into the stable, either from grass or
the dealer's hands.

IN THE PRESENT DAY, THE HUNTER is prepared almost as care-
fully as the race-horse or steeple-chaser, when he is intended for
any of the grass countries. Nothing short of a regular preparation
will enable a horse to go through a fast thing in Northamptonshire
or Leicestershire, and no man in his senses would ride a horse
there in the front rank, unless he was thoroughly fit. The stud-
grooni, therefore, requires for his purpose a training-ground where
he can give his horses their sweats, without which it would be
impossible to get them into condition. A very large space is not
necessary, but a very small one will not suffice, the constant turning
incidental to a limited gallop producing a great strain upon the
joints. If possible a gallop measuring at least a mile and a half
or two miles in circumference should be obtained, and with this
length, including a moderate rise in its extent so as to open the
horse's pipes well at the finish of the sweat, it is the groom's fault
if his charge is not brought out thoroughly fit when the- hunting
season commences. Of course, when making this assertion, I am

PREPARATION FOR WORK. 207

calculating that he has been allowed sufficient time, which will
depend greatly upon the state in which he finds his horses in
August. If they have been at grass, it is almost impossible to get
them ready by the middle of November, but a well summered
horse soiled in a loose-box with a proper allowance of corn, may
be thoroughly prepared by that time if he is set to work by the
middle of August. This will allow of two clear preparations, with
an intervening week for cooling physic. Should the horse be up
from grass, another month or six weeks at least will be required,
which must be employed in giving him nothing but walking exer-
cise, with a dose of physic at the beginning, and repeated at the
end of three weeks or a month. Horses at grass in the summer
are seldom allowed any corn, and the change from grass to the
more stimulating food of the stable must be made gradually, or
some of the important organs will assuredly fail. Hence the
necessity for extra time, and the addition which I have made to
the calculated period for conditioning a hunter summered indoors,
is barely sufficient for this purpose, when he is full of grass or of
the fattening food which is given to make him up for the dealers.
In either case great care and some experience are necessary in
altering the entire management of the animal, so as to give him
corn and exercise enough to prepare his frame gradually for the
strains which it will have to bear in the hunting field, without
producing inflammation. With all the objections which I hold to
physic, I must confess that here I think it to be indispensable ;
and invariably, as soon as a raw horse is settled in the stable, I
should get him thoroughly cleaned out before I began to give him
hay and corn. I have always found it advantageous just to allow
a couple of days to elapse before giving the physic, which will
serve to fill the large bowels with the new kind of food. A mash
should then be administered at night, and repeated if necessary till
it has had the desired effect in softening the dung, when the physic
may be given. Two or three days will elapse before it has set
sufficiently to allow of walking exercise ; but as soon as this can be
ordered with safety, the horse should be walked out twice a day
for an hour and a half each time, or two hours in the morning and
one in the evening, whichever may be preferred. The division of
the exercise into two periods is far better than keeping the green
horse out for so long a time as three hours, which will make him
weary ; whereas, the shorter period will not tire any horse, and a
mid-day rest will restore his whole frame, and enable him to go
out again in the evening as cheerfully as ever. I need scarcely
observe that the shoes should be attended to, and the feet put in
proper order, for three hours' walking exercise in ill-fitting shoes
will do great harm, especially to feet that are not accustomed to
their pressure. By persevering with steady slow work, and feeding

208 THE HORSE.

on a moderate allowance of hay and corn, the latter not exceeding
two feeds at first and three at the end of the month, the horse will
be ready by the middle of August to have a second dose of physic,
after which he may commence in earnest his first real preparation.
This also is chiefly confined to slow work, but if the horse is gross
he may have in the course of the four or five weeks to which it
extends, one or two sweats of moderate length and speed. Great
caution must always be exercised by the groom at this time ; on no
account should any fast work be given, unless he is satisfied that
his horse is in perfect health and in good spirits. Every increase
in the food and work should be carefully watched, and its effects
noted, so as to guide him in deciding whether he can venture to
take another step. It must be remembered that hitherto the feeds
of corn have been only three quarterns of oats daily, and the exer-
cise has not extended beyond a walk } but during the next few
weeks the former must be doubled, or nearly so, and the latter must
go on into a daily slow trot of two or three miles on turf, with an
occasional steady gallop in place of this, and, as I have before
remarked, one or two sweats if the system is overloaded with fat.
But unless the hunter is very fleshy, nothing more than slow trots
and canters will be required until after the next dose of physic.
The increase in the quantity of corn will seldom tend to put on
fat, and as the amount of hay should be small, not exceeding lOlbs.
a day, unless the horse is gross in his nature, he will have put on
muscle, and lost some of the internal fat which is so prejudicial to
condition.

THE OBJECT OF THE SWEATING PROCESS is to remove super-
fluous fatty matters, which act prejudicially in a twofold manner.
In the first place the fat itself is so much dead weight to carry,
and on the calculation that seven pounds are equal to a distance in
an average length of race, it may readily be understood that the
huge quantity of adipose tissue, which is carried by a fat horse,
will, by its weight alone, retard any attempt at high speed. But,
not only is fat to be objected to on this score ; for it is also known
by experience, that its pressure on the important internal organs,
when it is deposited around them, interferes with the proper per-
formance of their several functions. The muscles of the limbs,
when they are marbled with fat, as we see them in the slaughtered
ox and sheep, are unable to contract vigorously, but when a simi-
lar condition occurs in the muscular tissue of which the heart is
composed, violent exertions are interdicted, or, if they are attempted,
they are attended with dangerous and often fatal results. Again,
it is ascertained that sweating has a local, as well as a general
effect, and that, by producing a copious discharge of fluid from the
skin covering any particular part, there will be a removal of any
superfluous fat which may be It iged beneath it, before the rest of

SWEATING. 209

the body is perceptibly acted on. Hence, when the groom thinks
that his horse is loaded with fat about the heart, he puts on extra
" sweaters" over that part, or on the contrary, if his object is to
unload the ridge of dense adipose membrane, which constitutes a
high crest, he puts on two or three extra hoods, and sweats chiefly
in that region of the body. The local effect of these partial
sweats is, perhaps, a good deal overrated, but undoubtedly there is
some foundation for the general belief. The use of clothing for
sweating is not nearly so frequent as it used to be, even in racing
stables, and horses are not now drawn so fine, by a great deal, as
they were twenty or thirty years ago. At that time runners in
the Derby, or in any other great race, when they were saddled,
looked like living skeletons, and to an eye unaccustomed to the
hard lines presented by their limbs, the beauty of their forms was
entirely gone. Now a different system prevails ; the object is not
to reduce the horse as much as he will bear, but to bring him out
as big as he can be, consistently with good wind. The celebrated
trainer, John Scott, has shown what can be done in this way, and
his example is now generally followed. So also with hunters,
although they are often required to do more, perhaps, than any
other variety of the horse, and in the grass countries are made aa
fit as if they were going to run in a steeplechase, yet they are
brought to covert looking big and full of muscle, without any
pretensions to be considered as drawn fine. Still the sweat, either
in clothes or without them, must be occasionally carried out, or the
internal organs will continue loaded with fat, as is natural to them
when they have been for some time in a state of rest, coupled with
high feeding. 'The use and amount of sweaters must be propor-
tioned to the constitutional peculiarities of the individual ; in one
horse a slow gallop will produce a perfect lather on the skin, while
in another treated in all respects in the same way, there shall be
hardly a hair turned. So also the effect of apparently the same
degree of sweating on different horses is very variable, producing
a great relief in one case, and scarcely any in another. The groom
must not attempt to carry out any fixed rule, but must watch the
effect of each day's work, and increase or diminish the amount
next day according to circumstances.

As i BEFORE REMARKED, a sweat may be with clothes or with-
out, the object in each case being not so much to do a certain
amount of work, but to get rid of a fixed quantity of superfluous
fat and humors. On the other hand, a gallop has quite the oppo-
site end in view, being intended to brace the muscles, heart, blood-
vessels and lungs, by stimulating them to act in an extraordinary
degree, but without any view to reduce the weight of the body or
any part of it. In a sweat, therefore, the pace is slow and long
continued ; no exertion is made to render it smart, or to develop
18* o

210 THE HORSE.

action in any shape, the whole attention of the groom being devoted
to the single object which is connected with the removal of fat.
It is usual, therefore, to send the horse along at a slow, steady,
hand-gallop for four miles, or in very gross animals for five or six,
the last half mile only being done at anything like a fast pace, and
even then the horse should not be extended to the utmost, on
account of the great extra weight he has to carry, if he has two or
three sweating blankets on. It is quite necessary to bear in mind
this special object of the sweat, inasmuch as it has lately become
the fashion to sweat without either clothing or exercise, by means
of the Turkish bath. The opponents of this practice contend that
it can never supersede the old plan, because, though it will get rid
of superfluities, it will nbt develop muscle ; but they forget that it
is not used for the latter purpose, but is solely confined to the one
object, which by the employment of sweating blankets out of doors
is accompanied with considerable risk. The Turkish bath is, in
fact, a means to one end only, and must not be employed for any
other. No horse could have his muscles and heart, his wind and
limbs, made more wiry and enduring than before by any number of
baths; but he may be put into a condition which shall fit him for
being so, without the risk to the legs and feet which a number of
sweats in heavy clothing will always cause. No wonder, therefore,
that trainers eagerly resort to the use of the bath, especially as
every year their horses seem to be getting more and more liable to
break down. It is quite true that the old fashioned sweat com-
bines muscular exercise with the process of unloading the system,
but in so doing, the time of the groom is the only thing saved, and
no one would take that into the calculation, as being worthy of
consideration. In the new mode, when he is too gross, the horse
is sweated on one day, and on the next he may be galloped, if
necessary, the bath producing so little fatigue, that he may have
any amount of exercise directly after it, to which he is accustomed.
Newmarket trainers are not very easily induced to adopt a novelty,
but many of them have made up their minds as to the advantages
of the bath, and several of those who are to be regarded as the
highest authorities, have erected one on their premises. In resort-
ing to the bath at first the attempt was made to save doubtful legs
only, but the good effect was soon found to extend beyond this, and
in almost all cases where there would be any necessity for sweats
and clothing, the Turkish bath is adopted instead, by those who
'have the means at their disposal. I shall, therefore, describe each
of these plans in detail.

ORDINARY SWEATING.

WHEN -THE OLD FASHIONED SWEAT is intended to be given, and
it is not proposed to reduce any part in particular, it is usual to

SWEATING. 211

put on an old rug next the skin, or, in large stables, a sheet kept ex-
pressly for the purpose, and hence called a "sweater;" then an
old hood and breast-cloth, next a second quarter-piece is put on,
and even a third in some cases, and lastly, a complete set of clothing
over all, the saddle, as usual, completing the arrangement. If any
special part is to be reduced, as, for instance, the brisket or bosom,
an extra cloth is folded like a shawl, and the ends being crossed
over the withers, it is kept in its place under the breast-cloth, by
the pressure of the saddle ; or a rug may be folded and placed
round the chest, without extending to the loins, in case the heart
is supposed to be oppressed with fat. All these points of detail
will call upon the groom for an exercise of ingenuity and tact, and
if he possesses these qualities, he will have no difficulty in placing
his sweaters where they will be required. When they are all
securely fixed the horse is ridden out, and after walking for a short
time to empty himself, he is started off to go his sweat, which is
generally four miles, doing three quarters of the distance at a slow,
pace, and then being set going a little faster, and at last brought
out to his top-speed, if in full training, or nearly so if in his second
preparation. By his top-speed, however, is not to be understood
the very outside pace which can be got out of the horse, but only
such a speed as is short of that by so much as will preserve his
stride in full vigor, and prevent that over-pacing which leads to
the rupture of muscular or tendinous structure. In his first prepa-
ration he should seldom be extended, and it is better to increase
the distance rather than to accelerate the speed beyond the steady
gallop ; but few horses refuse to sweat at a slow pace in this stage
of training.

As SOON as he has finished the distance, the trainer examines
his state, and either directs him to be walked or trotted on to the
rubbing place, which should be a box set apart for the purpose,
either on the training-ground or at the usual stables ; or if the
ground is at a distance from any available stable, the shelter of a
haystack or high hedge should be sought for. The full benefit of
the sweat is not obtained unless the fluid is scraped off before it
has had time to be re-absorbed, which is the result, if it is allowed to
remain on the skin after this has ceased to give out any fluid. Its
vessels in that case, instead of perspiring, adopt the opposite ex-
treme, and appropriate the sweat by their own power of absorption ;
thus doing away with the chief benefit which was expected and
desired from the sweat itself. When the hand of the groom, ap-
plied to the shoulder of the horse under his breast-cloth, tells him
that the sweat is coming kindly, the horse may have a couple of
rugs heaped upon him, and be suffered to give out fluid for a very
few minutes only; but if it does not break out at once, three or four
must be put on him, and he must wait a quarter of an hour or

212 THE HORSE.

twenty minutes before he is fit to scrape. If he sweats freely, the
groom in charge of his head may rub his ears and wipe his eyes,
so as to refresh him slightly; but if there is any difficulty in bring-
ing on the sweat this will only retard the process, and he may be
allowed to stand quite quietly, and without any attempt to refresh
him by the above little attentions, or by rubbing his legs, or wiping
his thighs or bosom. As soon as the groom is satisfied, the hood
is taken off, and the head and neck rapidly scraped, together with
the bosom, from which the breast-cloth is removed, and the rugs and
quarter-piece turned back so as to expose the whole neck and the
points of the shoulders. One or two strappers may be employed
in scraping and afterwards drying this part, besides the one holding
the bridle ; but if the horse is quiet enough, this may be removed,
and the head dressed all the more effectually. A very few minutes
suffice for drying this half of the horse, when the bridle should be
readjusted, and the quarter-piece and sweaters wholly turned off
over the croup ; upon this the strappers again set to work with their
scrapers and rubbers, they soon get rid of every particle of sweat,
and have the coat perfectly dry and smooth. Much depends upon
the stage of training; in the early part, the sweat is profuse, thick,
and soapy, and takes more time to dry; while in the latter stages,
when the horse is getting fit, it is watery and scanty, the horse will
scarcely scrape, and dries without the slightest trouble. This is a
good sign of condition, and the necessity for a repetition of the
sweat may generally be gathered by the appearance of the fluid,
which, when thick and lathery, shows that there is much gross fat
in the system requiring removal ; but. nevertheless, it also shows
that great care must be taken in the process, lest mischief should
be done, by calling upon nature too rapidly while the animal is in
this fat state, and liable to inflammation of all kinds. After rub-
bing all the coat dry, and smoothing it down with the leather
rubber, the usual clothing should be put on, and the horse allowed
his exercise, which he may have as usual, care being taken that
he does not catch cold if the weather is severe. The reason why
the horse is taken out again is, that if he were left in the warm
stable he would break out into a second sweat, and if he were placed
in a cool one he would surely take cold. Walking exercise, there-
fore, with a short canter, is adopted as a means of avoiding both
of these injurious conditions; but he should not continue it longer
than to put him into a cool state, and restore his nerves and blood-
vessels to their usual condition. The length of ground and pace
for sweating vary with the age, condition, and purpose for which
the horse is trained, the maximum length being six miles, and the
minimum two to three, with a speed varying with every individual
case, and depending upon the age, breed, and action of the horse,
as well as his constitution and legs, and the state of preparation in

THE TURKISH BATH. 213

which he is. Sweats are given at periods varying from once a
week to once a fortnight after the first preparation, but seldom so
often during that time. When sweats are given without clothing,
they are in other respects just the same as described above, and
the strappers are required in a similar way to dry the horse at
once ; but the quantity of sweat is not nearly so great, and two
good hands will generally suffice for the purpose. In almost all
cases, even where clothing is not used, it is heaped on when the
horse is taken into the stable, in order to encourage the flow of
perspiration.

THE TURKISH BATH.

THE TURKISH BATH when employed for horses, requiies two
boxes to be prepared, contiguous to each other, and, if economy is
an object, to the saddle-room also, in order that one fire shall serve
for all. The annexed plan has been carried out on this principle,
the fire-place A being placed in the saddle-room, and heating it, as
well as a boiler for hot water. It is sunk eighteen inches beneath
the floor of the saddle-room, so as to allow of the commencement
of the flue at B entering the bath-room, with its bottom two feet
from the floor of that apartment, and to pass beneath the final exit
of the flue, as it leaves to enter the chimney at F. The flue is
supported on arches, clear of the wall, from B to C rising two
inches in the foot, so that when it reaches the corner C, its bottom
is four feet from the ground. It is built exactly like the usual
flue of a hot-house, with dampers, and all the arrangements pecu-
liar to that apparatus. From C to J) it may be either on arches,
or supported on slate built into the wall, as the heat is from this
point not sufficient to crack that material. At D the bottom is
about six feet high, and when it reaches the entrance B, it will
give plenty of head room for a horse to pass beneath. On this
side it is built in the wall, but still on arches so as to expose as
large a radiating surface as possible, and serves to heat the other
box H to the temperature required to prepare the horse for his
Bweat. Finally, it passes along the upper part of the fourth wall,
in which also it is built in the same manner, and makes its exit
over the part where it entered, at F. Here the flues are so arranged
by dampers, that the current of warm air may either be directed
along the flue B C D E F, or it may be turned off into the chim-
ney F, entirely or partially. Ventilators must be introduced freely
in the walls, so as to give plenty of fresh air when it is required,
or to shut it off completely, to raise the temperature to the proper
degree before the horse is admitted. One or two valves, in addi-
tion to the door I, all capable of being opened and closed at will,
must also be fixed in the wall, between the boxes Gr and H, and
by their means, added to the heat given off by the flue in it, this
preparatory-box may be heated to 80° or 90° of Fahrenheit, so as

214

THE HORSE.

to bring on a gentle action of the skin, before the horse is intro-
duced to the actual sweating-box — Gr. The preparatory-box, H,
may be fitted up like a common loose-box, and may be used as
such, whenever the bath is not required, but the latter should have

THE TURKISH BATH. 215

no manger or any other projecting body of metal, for when the
heat is raised to 160°, the contact with the teeth and tongue is by
no means pleasant. Tan forms the best material for the floor, or, if
this cannot readily be obtained, sawdust will answer nearly as well,
if the wetted parts are changed after each bath. A brick floor
feels too warm to the feet, and when the bath is given very hot, it
may injure them, if uncovered by some non-conductor of heat, so
tliat it is better to avoid all risk, by using tan or sawdust. With
this apparatus in working order, and the fire lighted in the stove
A, the box H is heated to 80° or 90° of Fahrenheit, by robbing
Gr of its warm air through the open door I, and the valves in the
wall between the two to which I have already alluded. As soon
as this is prepared, the horse is brought into it with his clothing
on, and allowed to remain for a short time, which may be twenty
minutes, half an hour, or an hour, according to the state of his
skin, and the warmth of the box. As soon as he is settled in it,
the clothes may all be removed, and here he may remain, with a
whisp of hay in the rack, to amijse him, and chilled water in the
tank, till his skin shows evident symptoms of breaking out, and the
bath is prepared, that is, until the latter is raised to a temperature
of 140° at the least. To effect this the door I and the adjacent
valves may have been closed, if necessary; for a small box once
raised to 80° or 90°, will keep its temperature with the horse in it
for the time which is required. The groom must be careful not
on any account to take his charge into the bath till his skin is
beginning to sweat, for if he does, the blood may be driven too
forcibly to the brain, without the relief which is afforded by the
natural discharge from the skin, and dangerous mischief may be
produced. On being taken into the bath Gr, a bucket of chilled
water is placed within reach, and he is tied up with his head in
the corner nearest the entrance door, which must be left open, so
as to allow him plenty of fresh air. In about a quarter of an hour
the sweat begins to pour out in large volumes, and this should be
encouraged by friction with the hand, which may be guarded with
horsehair gloves. As it becomes very profuse, a scraper may be
applied occasionally, but two grooms, each with horsehair gloves
on, will be able to remove it by keeping up continuous, deep, and
steady pressure upon the skin, so as at once to squeeze out the
watery particles from the hair, and to remove any scurf and other
tenacious matters which accumulate there. According to the
amount of reduction which is required to be made in the fatty de-
posits, and to the action of the skin, will be the time required to
be devoted to this operation, but in general it is completed in half
an hour. Some horses, however, have been kept sweating for a
full hour, as I am informed, without apparent injury, and have
afterwards gone out to exercise as full of life as ever. Indeed, it

216 THE HORSE.

is said that the effect is usually to increase the spirits and liveli-
ness of all the horses subnitted to it. During the operation of the
bath, the preparatory room should have had its doors and windows
thrown freely open, and it should be left in this state when the
horse returns to it, some grooms liking to have a strong draught
through it while the horse is being cooled. In this process there
is a considerable variation in the practices adopted in those stables
where this novel kind of sweating is introduced. Some grooms
wash the horse all over with cold water ; others dash the water
over the whole body the moment he comes from the bath, while
a third set content themselves with the free admission of a current
of cold air to the skin. Time must determine which of these plans
is the best, but I am told on excellent authority, that they have
all been tried with advantage. /The fact is that when the skin is
sweating freely under the stimulus of heat, and before its vessels
are beginning to flag in their action, cold in any shape may be ap-
plied, so long as it is not continued long enough to reduce the
pulse below its natural standard. Again, there are some grooms,
who, after they have applied cold water, return the horse to the
bath for a few minutes, the air in it being reduced to about 100°
of Fahrenheit, and on bringing him out, take him at once to his
box or stall, when he is dressed as usual, till he is perfectly dry,
after which he is clothed and fed.

As MAY NATURALLY BE EXPECTED, "the stable mind" is very
much agitated by this innovation on established usages. On the
one hand, it is argued by the thick-and-thin supporters of the bath,
that, with the aid of walking exercise alone, and without a single
gallop, a horse may be got into perfect condition, either for the
race-course or the hunting-field. I have been told by a gentleman
whose authority is fairly to be relied on, that he has ridden a
stableful of horses thus prepared, in the front ranks of the crack
countries, and that he never was so well carried in his life. None
of them were galloped, except by himself; and until the season
(1860-1) began, not one of them had been taken off a walk, as far
as he knew, and he said he had the greatest confidence in his
groom. On the other hand, the opponents of the bath hold that
it only removes fat and fluids of all kinds, and that fast work must
be given to the same extent as without it, the additional sweat
produced by the former exhausting the horse very materially, to
the prejudice of his condition. As far as my own opinion goes, I
am inclined to believe that the truth lies between these opposite
extremes; and that though a horse may be made light and airy by
means of the bath and walking exercise alone, his muscles cannot
be braced and rendered bigger, as they are by actual fast work.
Incredible as it may appear, I have been told on very high author-
ity, that a horse sweated twi :e, or even three times in the week,

THE TURKISH BATH— PHYSIC. 217

will do as much work, and as fast too, as if he had not gone through
the process. If the bath has removed all fat and humor, he will
not sweat in his gallops ; and if any of either is left, it will do him
no harm to get rid of it. Indeed, after all, the difference from the
old plan of sweating in the stable without exercise is not very great
in principle ; and that was always found to be of service when the
legs or feet were unsound. Under that plan, the horse was heavily
clothed, and being just gently trotted, was taken -back to his box,
loaded with more clothes until he sweated freely, and was thus re-
lieved of his fat without being galloped.

PHYSIC.

IN MY PREVIOUS REMARKS I have alluded to physic as neces-
sary for the purpose of getting rid of the food which the horse may
have been taking, before he comes into the stable, without injury,
but the effects of which are somewhat in opposition to the condi-
tion required for hard work. In addition to this object, however,
physic is given with several other purposes in view ; but these may
be said to bring it within the province of the veterinarian rather
than of the groom. Thus, in the horse recently brought up from
grass, it will often be necessary to expel worms ; and though the
experienced groom may be able to do this without risk, yet it is
scarcely safe to recommend the young hand to attempt the task.
At all events, if he does, he must be guided by the directions given
in another part of this book ; and I shall merely direct my attention
to the effects of physic — firstly, in getting rid of injurious food;
secondly, in cooling the stomach and general system, and thus
enabling the latter to bear the increased stimulus afforded by extra
food; and thirdly, to get rid of internal fat and humors in conjunc-
tion with sweating.

TO THE EFFECTS OF PHYSIC IN GETTING RID OF INJURIOUS

FOOD, I have already alluded; but I may here mention two or three
circumstances which will serve to modify the dose, or to forbid it
altogether. Curiously enough, when a horse comes in from grass,
his bowels being in the usual loose state which accompanies that
kind of feeding, he will generally require more aloes than when
fed upon dry food. The reason of this seeming paradox is simple
enough : his bowels have become accustomed to the stimulus pre-
sented by grass to their lining membrane, and are not easily roused
to action by aloes, which is only a vegetable, still more stimulating,
it is true, but simply in degree. A man accustomed to drink, will
not be so much affected by swallowing a pint of brandy, even if he
is already half drunk, as a perfectly sober man would be, if he had
not previously been inured by long usage to its effects. The groom
must not, therefore, fancy that a physic-ball of three drachms, or
even sometimes four drachms, will be sure to act on a horse of
19

215 THE HORSE.

average size and constitution, just up from grass; for he will find
from four and a half to five and a half drach'ms more likely to serve
his purpose. Unless he knows the constitution of the animal, he
had better content himself with the former; but generally this
quantify will not have much appreciable effect beyond a very gentle
clearing out of the bowels. No mash is necessary, because the
grass has already prepared the bowels quite sufficiently. Of course,
if the horse is already too low in flesh, no physic should be given
at this time'.

THE COOLING POWERS OF PHYSIC are those which render it
particularly valuable in aiding the preparation of the horse for fast
work. If at any time the legs become hot, a dose will carry off
the plethoric condition which shows itself in this way, and the rest
which must be 'given after it will assist in relieving them. At
this time, a mash should always precede the physic; and a second
on the following night will often be necessary before the dose can
safely be given. The same effect would be produced by perma-
nently taking away some of the corn ; but this would put an end
to the preparation altogether, and it is to avoid this alternative
that the physic is given. The old plan was in all cases to give a
course of three doses, at intervals of nine days, to every horse when
first taken into work; but if plenty of walking exercise is used, and
the corn is gradually increased, with an ounce of nitre in the mash
every Saturday night, this routine is quite unnecessary, and a
couple of doses at the intervals I have fixed will suffice. Very
gross, lusty horses will, perhaps, require one, or even two addi-
tional doses; and, on the contrary, light herring-gutted animals
will do without any. The art of the groom consists in fixing upon
the proper quantum, beyond or below which he ought not to go.

THE THIRD OBJECT OF PHYSIC is that which is superseded by
the use of the Turkish bath, with much less injury to the system.
Both act by removing superfluous fluids from the body, through
the agency of the blood-vessels, absorbents, and secreting organs ;
all of which must co-operate in either case. The fluids lie stored
up in the meshes of the cellular membrane, either in the shape of
oily or watery matters. To remove them, the blood in circulation
must first be called upon to part with some of its corresponding
materials, which it does either through the mucous membrane of
the bowels, when physic is given, or by means of the skin, when
sweating is adopted. This sudden drain from the blood is then
made up from the store which has been previously taken from it,
and laid by in case of such an emergency ; and thus, though the ex-
ternal means employed are very different, the real effect is the
same. Both drain the blood of large quantities of water, contain-
ing certain soluble matters ; and this sudden call upon the vital
fluid compels its vessels to fall back upon the stored-up materials

PHYSIC— FINAL PREPARATION. 219

which are lodged around the heart and other internal organs, and
which it is the grand object of the training-groom to remove.

BUT THE EFFECTS OF PHYSIC are not always so simple and inno-
cent as those to which I have alluded. A strong horse is some-
times over-purged by a very mild dose, and a weak one will occa-
sionally die from this cause. Hence, this agent should not be idly
used ; and not only is it actually dangerous to life in some few
cases, but it weakens the tone of the stomach in many more. Still,
in the majority of horses, a well-mixed physic-ball, carefully given,
and followed by proper management, will freshen the digestive
organs rather than weaken them, and may be regarded as a most
valuable addition to the resources of the groom. «

FINAL PREPARATION.

To GET A HUNTER THOROUGHLY FIT, he must not only have
gone through the preparatory work which I have described, but
he must undergo a further winding up, according to the old-
established rule on the subject, and irrespective of the vexed ques-
tions connected with the Turkish bath, which may be considered
to be yet in abeyance. Having had a gentle dose of physic at the
end of his first preparation, he is proceeded with as follows: —
Every day he is walked out for three or four hours, either at one
or two periods of the day. If he is thorough-bred, he will bear
some brisk gallops and one or two sweats, with or without clothing,
every week ; but half-breeds do not stand much fast work, and are
better confined to walking and trotting exercise, with an occasional
spirt of half a mile. These low-bred animals cannot bear any liber-
ties to be taken with their systems ; and I am told that with them
the Turkish bath is far more effectual than with the horse of pure
Eastern blood. I can easily imagine this, as I know how badly
the former class bear reduction, and yet how important it is to
clear their wind. The feeding should be confined to oats and hay,
with a bran-mash on Saturday night. About five quarterns of
oats will, on the average, suffice ; but no rule can be laid down,
nor can it be positively asserted that no beans should be given.
In some cases the appetite is so bad, that without them enough
corn will not be taken ; and this is especially true with reference
to those old horses which have been accustomed to beans for many
years. When the feet and legs, as well as the wind, are all sound,
beans may be allowed without fear ; but when there is a screw
loose in any of these departments, they produce inflammation there,
and should be carefully avoided. Ten pounds of hay may also be
laid down as the average quantity of this article suited to the
hunter; but here, also, no absolute rule can be carried out. Some
horses would "drop in two," as the grooms say, if only allowed ten
'pounds of hay daily; while others would look quite lusty with that
quantity. A handful of chaff with each feed of corn is all that

220 THE HORSE.

should be given of this article, as more than this is apt to fill the
horse out in the middle of the day. Towards the end of this pe-
riod, which may extend to five or six weeks, the horse gradually
gets into high condition, and at any time, on a day's notice, he
may be ready for the hunting-field. All that is required is to give
him no hay on that morning, but to feed him twice on his usual
allowance of corn, with a few go-downs of water only each time.
The hunter does not require to be " set" overnight, like the race-
horse, and he may advantageously be given his usual weight of
hay at the bedding him up the night before j but if he has any
tendency to eat his litter, it is prudent at all times, but more espe-
cially then, to put a muzzle on him late at night, when he has
eaten his hay.

HACKS AND HARNESS-HORSES demand nearly as much time
and care to prepare them for their work, especially in relation to
the amount of corn which is allowed them. They seldom want so
much as five quarterns daily; but whatever quantity they may re-
quire, it should not be given them until they are gradually accus-
tomed to its use. So also with regard to the hammering of their
feet and legs on the road, it will be found that these demand sea-
soning as much as their wind and muscles. If this is not attended
to, the best formed legs and feet will become inflamed, and a valua-
ble horse may be lamed, when, with proper care, he might be made
to do his work with ease. Our own bodies, when untrained to bear
the blows of the fist, show the marks of the glove clearly enough;
but in the course of time, when the skin has gradually become
inured to the stimulus, even the terrible right hand of Tom Sayers
would fail to leave its mark upon the ribs of a well-trained opponent.
This difference in the result of the application of physical force
arises partly from the tendency to inflammation being subdued by
temperate living and abundant exercise, and partly from the nerves
and vessels of the skin becoming habituated to the blows which
they receive. So also with the hack and harness-horse ; when first
they are brought into the stable, their vessels are full of gross hu-
mors, and their feet and legs have long been accustomed only to
the soft and elastic turf upon which they have been reared. They
are, therefore, prone to inflammation in every way : and until their
systems have been hardened by plenty of exercise, and their legs
and feet have been gradually inured to our hard roads, they should
be kept from every kind of fast work.

TREATMENT AFTER WORK.

AFTER WORK the horse requires to be treated according to its
nature and the extent to which it has been carried. Thus the
hunter may demand remedies for exhaustion, blows on the legs,
thorns in the legs, overreaches, cuts, &c. ; but the hack and car-

TREATMENT AFTER WORK. 221

riage-horse will only need the ordinary grooming, which has been
described at page 183 ; that is to say, provided the feet are not in
pain from ill-fitting shoes.

EXHAUSTION is sometimes so great that before any food can be
taken a cordial must be given, in the shape either of a warm ball,
or a quart of warm spiced ale. Generally, however, some gruel
will suffice, when aided by a warm box and the other comforts
which are afforded by the groom, including dressing> clothing,
bandaging, &c.

BLOWS on the legs are reduced by hot fomentations, continued
for half an hour at a time, and repeated at intervals of one, two,
or three hours, in proportion to the severity of the mischief. Cold
applications are too apt to relieve the skin and cellular membrane
beneath it at the expense of the joints, and I have never seen them
of much service. Nothing, I believe, is so valuable in all blows
received in the hunting-field as hot fomentation, but it should be
thoroughly carried out, and not done by halves, as it too often is
by careless grooms. It no doubt has a tendency to increase the
swelling for a time, but in doing this the blood is drawn to the
surface, and internal mischief is often prevented. I have had
young horses come home with their knees and shins terribly
bruised over timber and stone walls, but though the fomentation
with hot water has enlarged the knees to a frightful size, there
has been no lameness on the next day; and the swelling has gra-
dually disappeared, leaving the joints as free as ever at the expira-
tion of forty-eight hours. On the other hand, I have tried cold
wet bandages for similar injuries, but I have invariably found that
they gave present relief to a slight extent, but left the limbs stiff
and rheumatic often for the next two or three weeks. The addi-
tion of a little tincture of arnica to the water for fomentation is a
great improvement when it is at hand, and I should always advise
the hunting groom to keep a stock of it by him during the season.
A wineglassful is enough for half a bucket of hot water.

THORNS are most troublesome to the groom, and it is often a
question of great doubt whether to persevere in the endeavor to
remove them, or to leave them alone until they manifest themselves
by the inflammation they produce. When the hunter comes home,
his legs should be carefully examined while they are wet (that is
to say, if his exhausted condition does not forbid the loss of time) ;
and if the hand clearly detects any projection, search should at
once be made with a view to the removal of the foreign body.
Usually, however, the thorn has buried itself, and it is only when
it has produced some considerable degree of inflammation that
attention is drawn to the spot. When lameness is shown in any
of the limbs on coming home from hunting, the groom always is
inclined to suspect a thorn as the cause of mischief, and I have
19*

222 THE HORSE.

known the penknife used in half-a-dozen different places to cut
down upon what was supposed to be a buried thorn, which was
never discovered, for the plain reason that no such matter was
present in the leg.

OVERREACHES must be dried up as quickly as possible, and
should not be treated like common wounds, for the reason that the
horny substance of the foot, when it becomes softened and decom-
posed by the matter flowing from a wound near it, acts like a
poison upon the ulcerated surface. It is better, therefore, to apply
a little friar's balsam, or "some other astringent, such as sugar of
lead, rather than to use wet bandages or bran poultices, which I
have sometimes known to be applied.

SIMPLE AS WELL AS CONTUSED CUTS are far better treated in
the horse with hot fomentations than by any attempt to heal them
at once. Unless they are very extensive or deep, the only point
in which they are to be regarded is with reference to the blemish
which they may leave. Sometimes the edges gape so wide, that a
stitch or two must be inserted, but in such a case it is better to
intrust the operation to a competent veterinary surgeon.

SUMMERING.

UNTIL MR. APPERLY first drew attention to this subject, forty
years ago, at which period those horses which were not required
to work through the summer, were invariably turned out to grass ;
hunters, as a regular rule, were stripped of their clothing in April,
and sent to grass on or about the first of May, that is, as soon as
the first young blades showed themselves, this kind of food being
supposed to be particularly advantageous to them, from its cooling
powers.

The sudden change from a warm stable to the cold nights often
met with in May frequently produced inflammation of the lungs
or bowels, and this alone was sufficient to cause the plan to be looked
on with great suspicion as soon as it was shown that it was by no
means absolutely necessary. But not only was this danger incurred ;
for even if the hunter remained in good health during the summer,
yet when he came up in August he was so fat and unwieldy from
eating the succulent grasses of that season, that he was quite unfit
to be ridden, and had to go through a series of severe sweats,
which he was ill able to bear. Considering the slow pace at which
hunting was carried on in the eighteenth century, a horse recently
up from grass, if he had been allowed corn while out of doors, as
was generally done, was able to go through a run, though it might
be at the expense of the coat tails worn by his rider, which were
liberally lathered with soapy sweat. But in the present day, when
the> hunter requires to be as fit as a race-horse, he must have the
same amount of preparation ; and we all know what sort of chance

SUMMERING. 223

a horse would have of winning a race in November if he is eating
nothing but grass in August. Indeed, a fast run in Leicestershire
is even more trying to condition than an ordinary race, because,
though the pace is not quite so good, it is more true, and lasts four
or five times as long. Hence the old plan has been almost uni-
versally given up, and the hunter is summered in a loose box,
where he is generally "soiled" on vetches, lucerne, and clover.
Moreover, it is found by practical experience, that far more good
may be done in renovating the legs in-doors than out at this season
of the year. In the winter, cold, starvation, and soft ground all
combine to restore the legs to a cool and healthy state; and a run
from October to May will do far more good than the same time
passed in a loose box. But during the summer the ground is hard,
the sun shines fully upon the legs, so as to inflame them if they
have any tendency that way, and the grasses are so succulent that
the body becomes heavy and the blood full of gross humors, both
of which last conditions tell with double force upon the legs and
feet. Again, the flies which are so tormenting to horses in June,
July, and August, cause them often to gallop about in the most
frantic manner, and thus not only is another obstacle presented to
their improvement, but it very often causes these parts to become
worse than in the season. But some will say that much of this
risk may be avoided by turning the hunter out into the marshes,
where the soil is always cool, soft, and moist. This is quite true;
nevertheless, the gain to the legs is at the expense of the general
system, which- is so completely upset by moist grasses, that instead
of eight or nine weeks it will require as many months to eradicate
their ill effects. As far as the hunter is concerned, there can be
no question in my mind that a loose box is the proper place for
him during the summer ; and that he should be allowed a yard to
run into if it can possibly be so arranged admits of little doubt,
but if this is inconvenient, the Nimrodian plan of confining him
in the ordinary loose box is to be accepted in its entirety. The
hack or harness horse does not receive so much injury from a
summer's run as the hunter, but if he requires rest for his legs, it
is far better to turn him out in the winter season than during the
opposite division of the year. Nevertheless, as there are still some
advocates of the summer's run at grass, I shall give directions for
it, as well as for the soiling in the stable, as advised by " Nimrod."
SOILING is conducted as follows : — At the conclusion of the hunt-
ing season the horse is gradually cooled down, either by removing
his clothing in the stable, and letting him first stand there naked
for two or three weeks, or by putting him with it on into a moder-
ately warm loose box, and after he has been there a day or two
taking it away by degrees. At the same time he is deprived of his
corn, and fed upon hay only ; but this change also must not be too

224 THE HORSE.

sudden, demanding a month for its complete carrying out, which
will bring the time on to the beginning or middle of the month of
May. A large airy loose box should then be provided, the floor
being covered with six inches of tan or sand, and the door being
so arranged that in warm weather it may be left open, a chain being
drawn across from post to post. Here the horse is left for a few
days till he is thoroughly accustomed to his new berth, and his
coat is full of dust and scurf, when he may have a dose of physic,
and while under its effects his legs may be blistered, or dressed
with iodine ointment, or some of the many applications which are
used for the purpose of producing absorption of the morbid de-
posits which have been thrown out during the winter.

AFTER THE PHYSIO is SET, green food of some kind may be
commenced, consisting of Italian rye grass, young vetches, or
lucerne, or, if these cannot be obtained, of ordinary meadow grass.
At first an equal quantity of hay must be allowed for old hunters,
or the change from dry food to green will produce too great an
effect on the bowels. Young and hearty horses will, however, be
none the worse for this j and, indeed, when they are turned out,
all have to bear the change in its fullest extent. I am not fond
of vetches for soiling horses, as they either purge them when they
are young, or heat them too much when their seed-pods are fully
developed. For working horses the latter condition is especially
suited, as they have the effect of beans, and when green food is
wanted merely to renovate the stomach without depending on its
soiling properties, I see no objection to them. But for hunters
when soiled heating food is to be avoided, and on that account I
cannot see the advantage of vetches to this kind of horse. As
there is no galloping over hard ground the shoes may be removed
altogether, and even tips may be dispensed with. The feet should
be pared out nicely, the blacksmith removing all broken fragments
of horn, and inspecting them afterwards at least once a month.
Now is the time to attend to any early symptoms of sand crack,
seedy toe, &c., prompt measures at this season often leading to a
prevention of these annoying evils. If the horse is not more than
ten or twelve years old, his corn may be stopped altogether while
he is eating green food in June and July, but a favorite old hunter
should be indulged with a couple of quarterns daily, or he will
probably lose flesh to a great extent. The young horse is always
prone to inflammation, which a cooling treatment will remove, but
the old one is more seasoned, and he will get more harm from being
lowered in his general system than the benefit to his legs will re-
pay. By the month of August all these plans will have co-
operated to produce the desired effect; the legs are cool and fine,
and the lumps and bumps incidental to the hunting-field have en-
tirely disappeared. If they have been very extensive, two or three

SUMMERING. 225

doses of physic should have been given, but in general one dose as
ordered at the beginning of the soiling, and another at the end,
when the commencement of training takes its turn, will be suffi-
cient. I have now brought the horse to the middle of the month
of August, at which time the preparation for work, described at
page 206, et sequitur, must be commenced in earnest.

TURNING OUT TO GRASS, OR PASTURING, demands some little*
attention, which however horses seldom receive. Excepting in
the height of summer it is a very dangerous practice to turn a pre-
viously warmly clothed and stabled animal into the fields without
gradually accustoming him to the change of climate. The aver-
age temperature of our spring nights is not more than 40° of
Fahrenheit, and frequently this degree of cold is united with a
keen wind and sharp rain. Even if a hovel is provided, the horse
is almost sure to get wet before he betakes himself to its protec-
tion, and its door being necessarily open the wind can enter freely
It is therefore found that at all other seasons but the summer
quarter two or three weeks at least must be devoted to the harden-
ing of the skin to bear the climate out of doors. This is done by
first of all removing the clothes by degrees, avoiding all attempts
at dressing, so as to allow the scurf to accumulate and protect the
skin, and then changing the warm stable for a cooler box, which
may be closed at first, and day by day left more and more open to
the weather by admitting the air through its various apertures.
If the horse is of a delicate constitution, and the weather is cold
and wet, the turning out should be delayed till there should be a
change for the better, or if it is decided on at all risks the precau-
tion should be taken for the first two or three nights to bring him
under some dry shelter, avoiding, of course, a warm stable, as
doubly injurious.

WHEN UNSOUNDNESS OF THE FEET OR LEGS is the inducement
to turn out, and the time at which it is desirable to do this is the
summer season, the choice should fall upon a marsh. Hard ground
will increase the mischief, and, between July and September, al-
though it may be soft just at one particular time, it cannot be
expected to remain so long. In any case some precaution should
be taken against the horse galloping about on his first being let
loose, which, from the joy he experiences at getting his liberty,
he almost invariably does. To prevent this, the legs should be
blistered a few days before, so as to seize the opportunity when
they are swollen, stiff, and sore, and when, as a natural conse-
quence, a gallop would be so extremely painful as to be altogether
out of the question. A cradle must be kept on to prevent blem-
ishes, but this is no more objectionable out of doors than in. In
almost every case this application would be necessary for the dis-
eased condition of til e extremities, whether the horse was turned

P

226

THE HORSE.

out or not ; but it is better to seize the opportunity while the lega
are still stiff and sore. Fetters or hobbles may be put on the fore-
legs with the same object, if the feet only are the seat of mis-
chief; but to inflamed joints or back sinews they are not so well
suited, from the pressure they produce on the former, and the
strains which they cause to the latter. After a few days' liberty,

THE HUNTER TURNED OUT TO GRASS.

the tendency to gallop will be lost, and as the legs gradually re-
cover their elasticity the horse is not so prone to overdo himself
in his exercise, and will generally remain content with a moderate
pace; or, if the legs are very unsound, the blister may be re-
peated.

THE RENOVATION OF THE HEALTH, when this has been broken
down by disease or hard work, is best effected on good sound up-
lands. The herbage on salt marshes will sometimes agree with
the horse even better than ordinary meadow grass, but this forms
the exception to the rule, and is not to be relied on in general.
In selecting a run in such a case care should be taken that the
herbage is of the desired nature, the best proof of which is that
it has agreed with horses in previous seasons. Experienced judges
can generally pronounce upon the probability of the desired result

SUMMERING— CAKE OF SADDLERY. 227

after inspecting the situation, but on the whole their opinion,
however well founded, is not so much to be relied on as the fact
that horses have actually become fresh while turned out there.

THE FORE FEET should always be protected by "tips," which
are merely short shoes reaching only two-thirds of the way to the
heels, which are then left uncovered. The object is to avoid the
risk of breaking away the toes, which is incurred whenever the
foot is battered on hard ground, as it often is when it is stamped
continually, as horses are very apt to do, on the bare surface which
is kept dry beneath a sheltering tree. Here the flies are very apt
to collect around the horses, and to get rid of their annoyance the
legs are constantly in motion. If the full shoe is left on, the hind
toe is very apt to catch its heel in deep ground, and tear it wholly
or partially off; and, moreover, it is too often neglected, and either
the heels press into the sole, producing corns, or they confine the
frog, and lead to disease of that important organ. Tips may safely
be left on without removal for two or three months, whereas shoes
require attending to every three or four weeks. The hind shoes
are always taken off, partly because the hind feet are not so liable
to be broken at the toes, but chiefly because they would be dan-
gerous to other animals if they were left on from the severe dam-
age which is done by a kick with an armed heel.

HORSES WHOSE JUGULAR VEINS have become obliterated from
adhesive inflammation following bleeding, are unfit to be turned
out in consequence of the difficulty which is presented to the re-
turn of the blood from the head by its low position in grazing.
So also those which have recently suffered from staggers should
not be sent out to grass, for fear of the position causing a return
of the disease.

CARE OF SADDLERY AND HARNESS.

THE MANAGEMENT OF SADDLERY must have a treble object.
First, the groom should take care that he does nothing which shall
injure the horse. Secondly, he must have a due regard to his
master's comfort in using it. And, thirdly, he must please the
eye. I must therefore show how each of these purposes can best
be effected.

To AVOID INJURING THE HORSE the groom should begin when
he first comes in from work, and before lie removes the saddle or
collar. It is ascertained by experience that if these are taken off
when the skin beneath them is hot and sweating, inflammation will
almost surely follow, while by leaving them loosely in their places
for a short time no injurious effect is perceived. If a groom who
is master of his business is watched when his horses come in, he
will be seen to loosen their girths and lift the saddles from their
backs for a second, rep' \cing them loosely, and leaving them there

228 THE HORSE.

while he takes off the bridles and makes his arrangements for
dressing. In harness-horses everything but the collars may be
taken off, and after turning them to remove the harness and traces,
they may be replaced and left as near to the shoulder as the posi-
tion of the horse with his head in the manger will allow. This
rule should be invariably followed whenever horses come into the
stable after having done any amount of work. If they have
merely gone out for a short airing, and the skin beneath the saddle
or collar is not even damp, there is no occasion for the precaution,
and the saddle or collar may at once be removed. The next thing
to be done to the saddlery in reference to the horse's comfort is to
dry the lining carefully before it is again used. Even the lining
of harness-pads should be attended to, and in the winter this cannot
be done without placing each before the fire. After the serge
lining is dry, it is an excellent plan to beat the stuffing with a
stick, so as to remove the powdery particles left by the sweat,
which soon clog up the interstices and form a matted cake with
the woollen materials used if they are allowed to remain.

IN ATTENDING TO THE COMFORT OF THE MASTER the groom

must take care to keep all the leather which comes in contact with
the hands or legs perfectly supple, yet so clean that no stain is left
behind. Nothing is more annoying than to get off the saddle for
the purpose of paying a morning call, and find the insides of a
light pair of trousers stained all the way down. This is perfectly
inexcusable, and its occurrence marks the ignorance and careless-
ness of a servant in the most unmistakeable manner. The same
remark applies to the reins, which never ought to soil a pair of
white gloves. Whenever blacking. is applied to harness it is
impossible altogether to prevent the tendency to leave a stain, but
if it is carefully put on, and well brushed, as long as it is kept dry
it may be lightly handled with impunity. If buckles are to be
altered, the gloves must suffer, and for this reason, when gentlemen
drive their own horses, they generally prefer brown driving reins,
which may be treated in the same way as riding reins, and kept
clean accordingly. The following directions for cleaning saddles
and riding bridles, and also for brown driving reins, or any other
parts of the harness made of undyed leather, will serve the pur-
pose extremely well. As long as the leather remains dry and
clean it needs no attention, but when it is wetted, either by rain,
or by the water necessary for cleaning it from road dust, it becomes
hard and stiff, and must be softened with some kind of oily matter.
Neat's-foot oil is that usually employed, but for saddles it is rather
of too greasy a nature, being apt to leave a mark on the trousers
if it has been liberally applied. The best application is deer's
suet, whi'jh should be gently warmed and rubbed in before the
leather ir quite dry again, after being wetted ; that is to say, while

CAEE OP SADDLERY AND HARNESS. 229

it remains limp, for if it is held to the fire long enough, all wet
leather becomes hard and stiff. A very little oil or suet will suf-
fice, if it is used as soon as the leather is nearly dry, after each
wetting, but when leather has been left for days in a dry place
after being thoroughly wet, it becomes so stiff that nothing but a
good soaking with oil will restore its pliability, and even with this
it remains stiff to a certain extent, unless it is very slightly damped>
in conjunction with the use of the oil. Vegetable oils, with the
single exception of castor oil, are too much inclined to become
hard to suit leather, and none but the latter should ever be em-
ployed. Its nauseous smell is an objection to it, but otherwise it
will answer the purpose almost as well as neat's-foot. Horse-fat,
if used carefully, and in very small quantities, is a capital applica-
tion, but one liberal dressing with it spoils the look of leather,
giving it a sodden appearance, which it never recovers.

TO MAKE SADDLERY AND HARNESS LOOK WELL to the eye,

several receipts, and directions for using them, are necessary ; in-
cluding the following, for avoiding injury from chemical decom-
position : —

(1.) Do not allow brass or plated furniture to be within reach
of the air of the stable ; for the ammonia given off from the urine
will tarnish them. Gas, also, is prejudicial; and if it is burned
in the harness-room, it should be contained within a glass chamber,
which has a ventilating shaft, so as to carry off the products of
combustion into the external air. Gas stoves are particularly pre-
judicial ; and, indeed, so are all stoves which allow the fumes
given off by the coals to pass into the room. »

(2.) As soon as possible after the harness is taken off, if the
weather is fine, take a leather, kept specially for the purpose, and
wipe off the dust ; sponging with a damp sponge those parts which
are soiled with sweat. If the traces, belly-band, &c., are splashed
with mud, wash them at once j on no account soaking them in
water, or using more of it than is necessary. Dry them, as far as
possible, with the leathers. If the black dye with which the
leather is stained has come off to any serious extent, a little of a
solution of green copperas may be used, but this is not often neces-
sary. Unbuckle the bits from the bridle, put them in clean water
for a short time, then take them out, and remove every particle of
dirt from them. Dry with the leather, and rub a very little neat's-
foot oil on them. Before they are used again, they must be polished
with the dry leather, aided by a little silver sand, if they have
become at all rusty. The curb-chain will always want rubbing
loosely in the hand with a little silver sand, finishing with the
leather.

BLACK HARNESS must be kept constantly polished by hand-
brushing it with some composition specially prepared for the pur-
20

230 THE HORSE. •,

pose. This must be of a greasy or waxy nature, to prevent the
rain from dissolving it, and washing it off upon the coat of the
horse. One or other of the following compositions will answer the
purpose :

RECIPES FOB HARNESS BLACKING.

No. 1.

Spirit of Turpentine . . . 1 pt.

Beeswax . . . • 4 oz.

Prussian Blue . . • ' . 1 oz.

Lamp Black . . . £ oz.

Slice the wax very thin, put it in a jar and pour on the turpentine. Let
it stand twenty-four hours, then grind the other ingredients together on a
stone or marble slab, and mix carefully up. It must be kept in a covered
tin box.

No. 2.

Take the above composition and add the following, which improves the
polish : —

Spirit Varnish . ,V ,. 1 pt.

Gum Benzoin . . » ,2 oz.

Soft Soap . . . 1 oz.

Melt together in a water bath, and when thoroughly incorporated mix all
together on a stone and cover up directly.

CHAPTER XII.

RIDING.

Mounting and Dismounting — The Seat — Management of the
Reins — Modes of Starting the Horse into his Various Paces —
Riding to Hounds — Out-door Vices and Bad Habits.

MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING.
THE CELEBRATED RAREY

has recently given us a new
light upon the subject, which
is quite at variance with those
directions which have hitherto
been considered to be the cor-
rect ones in this country. Thus,
Captain Richardson, in his val-
uable work on Horsemanship,
advises as follows : — " Stand
opposite the near fore-foot of
the horse, place 4he left hand
on the neck near to the withers, having the back of the hand to the

MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 231

horse's head, and the reins lying in front of the hand. Take up
the reins with the right hand, put the little finger of the left hand
between them, and draw them through until you feel the mouth
of the horse ; turn the remainder of the reins along the inside of
the left hand, let it fall over the fore-finger on the off-side, and
place the thumb upon the reins. Twist a lock of the mane round
the thumb or fore-finger, and close the hand firmly upon the reins.
Take the stirrup in the right hand, and place the left toe in it as
far as the ball ; let the knee press against the flap of the saddle,
to prevent the point of the toe from irritating the side of the horse;
seize the cantle of the saddle with the right hand, and springing
up from the right toe, throw the right leg clear over the horse,
coming gently into the saddle by staying the weight of the body
with the right hand resting on the right side of the pommel of the
saddle ; put the right toe in the stirrup. " Now this is in the main
applicable to a man of five feet ten inches or six feet, but to a
snorter individual attempting to mount a horse of fifteen hands
three inches, it is an impossibility, simply because he cannot reach
the cantle from the same position which enables him to hold the
stirrup in the left hand. The Captain is also wrong, in my opinion,
in directing that the body should be raised into the saddle directly
from the ground, with one movement. This will always bring the
rider down into the saddle with a very awkward jerk; and the
proper direction is to raise the body straight up till both feet are
on a level with the stirrup-iron, and then with the left leg held
against the flap of the saddle by the left hand on the pommel, the
right leg is easily thrown over the cantle, and the body may be
kept in the first position until the horse is quiet, if he is plunging
or rearing. A short man can generally place his foot in the stir-
rup while held in his hand, but it should be known that all cannot
do this, because I have seen young riders much vexed at finding
that they could not possibly do what is directed. Most of our
writers on horsemanship are of the military school, and endeavor
to cut every one's cloth by their own coats. They are able to do
certain things easily, and so are their men, because they are mostly
of the height already specified, but as sportsmen and civil eques-
trians are of all heights, I shall endeavor to accommodate my re-
marks to all heights and classes. In all cases the rider should
stand at the shoulder, though with a short man it is much easier
to mount a tall horse from the hind-quarter, but the danger of
kicking is very great ; and even in mounting with " a leg," in the
jockey style, I have known the thigh very nearly broken by a
kick. If the hand can steady the stirrup it should do so, but if
the person is too short, the foot can be placed in the stirrup with-
out its aid; then taking the reins between the fingers, much as
directed in the passage already quoted, and grasping a lock of the

232 THE HORSE.

mane with the finger and thumb, the body is raised till the right
foot is brought to a level with the left, when the right hand seizes
the cantle, and with the left grasping the pommel, the body is
steadied for a short time, which, in the ordinary mount, is almost
imperceptible, but in a fidgety horse is sometimes of considerable
length. The leg is now thrown gently over the saddle, and as it
reaches the cantle the hand is withdrawn, after which the body
sinks into the saddle in an easy and graceful manner. The right
foot is then placed in the stirrup, with or without the aid of the
right hand holding it.

SUCH is THE ENGLISH METHOD. Mr. Rarey, in opposition to
this plan, advises that the right hand and arm shall be thrown over
the saddle, the horseman standing with his back to the quarters,
and thus incurring the chance of being severely kicked.

THE SEAT.

THE POSITION OF THE rider in the saddle, called " the seat,"
admits of several variations according to the purpose to which he
is devoted, but it is mainly influenced by the length of the stir-
rups. In the military style these (are so long that the weight of
the body is conveyed to the saddle by the inside of the thighs, or
" fork" alone, while in that adopted in the East this part scarcely
touches the saddle, and the breech and feet distribute the weight
between them. Colonel Greenwood, who is the only military writer
on horsemanship that can be taken as a guide for the road, tells
us — " There is one direction which I think applies to all seats.
Turn the thigh from the hip, so as to bring the hollow to the sad-
dle ; this places the foot straight to the front, with the heel out
and the toe in. Trotting without stirrups on the thigh only, with
the heel down and the toe up, shoulders back, a snaffle rein in
each hand like a rough-rider, is the best possible position for sit-
ting." Now the latter part of this is quite true, but the former is
not quite consistent with my own experience, for if the short
stirrups of the Eastern horseman are adopted, the hollow of the
thigh cannot be brought to the saddle, yet this style he admits is
" admirable in its way." Dismissing then the military seat for
which Colonel Greenwood's directions may suffice, I may assert
that, in the ordinary English style, there are four points necessary
to be considered; namely, (1) the position of the weight, which will
be mainly influenced by (2) the position of the knees well forward
on the flap, (3) the proper length of the stirrup-leathers, and (4)
the carriage of the body. If the weight is not laid upon the
middle of the saddle, which is the axis of the "see-saw" motion
made in the gallop, it has to be raised at every stride, and thus
additional labor is thrown on the horse. With long stirrups in the
military style this is of necessity done ; but, with short stirrups.

MANAGEMENT OF THE REINS. 233

the knees are often .placed on the flaps behind the leathers, and
then the breech remains close to the cantle and sometimes almost
overlapping it. To get the length of leather adapted to most men,
though there are occasionally exceptions, the rider should sit well
on his fork, and then the stirrups should be taken up or let down
till they just touch the ankle bone. For road riding this enables
the hollow of the thigh to touch the saddle, because the ball of the
foot being on the stirrup, the heel is down an inch and a half below
it; whilst, in the hunting-field, as the stirrup is worn "home," the
knee is carried higher and more forward on the saddle, and the
weight is distributed between it, the breech, and the foot. With
regard to the carriage of the body, all the directions in the world
will not make it easy, and without the supervision of a master, or
a friend, to point out defects, no one can be sure that he is sitting
in a good, much less an elegant style. It is not possible even to
know that the shoulders are square, or that the body is not carried
on one side, defects which I have known persisted in for years
without the slightest consciousness of them on the part of the
rider, who would gladly have rectified them if he had known of
their existence. One rule may, however, be given, namely, that
no effort should be made to move in any direction, and that, on
the contrary, every endeavor should be directed to keep the body
and legs as still as the action of the horse will allow, bearing in
mind that the opposite extreme of stiffness is almost equally bad.

MANAGEMENT OF THE REINS.

THERE ARE THREE DISTINCT MODES of holding and managing
the reins. In the first, adopted by the military school, the left
hand does all, without any assistance from the right, which is occu-
pied with the sword, lance, or carbine. In the second, the left
hand holds the reins, aided occasionally by the right ; and in the
third, or " two-handed method," the reins are permanently held
one in each hand. The first of these is only needed in the manlge^
and I therefore shall not allude to it ; while the last requires no
description, further than to mention that it is the mode adopted
by the colt-breaker, and that it gives far more control over the
mouth than either of the others. As single and double reins
are differently placed in the hand, a description of each will be
necessary.

THE SINGLE REIN is held by placing all the fingers but the first
between the two leathers, and then, making both turn over that
one, they are firmly held by pressing the thumb against it. This
gives a firm grasp, and at the same time allows of either being
pulled tighter than the other by turning the wrist. To shorten
the^grasp, the right hand has only to lay hold of the loose part of
the* rein, and then the left, sliding forwards towards the neck, can
20*

234 THE HORSE.

close wherever it may be desired. In order to be sure that the
elbow is held against the side, the thumb should always point
towards the horse's ears ; and the nearer the little finger can be
carried to the pommel of the saddle the better. In using the
single rein, the management of the mouth, if a good one, is easy
enough ; nevertheless, there are various directions for the purpose
adopted in different schools, which are dependent upon altogether
conflicting principles. Every tyro knows that the horse turns to
the left by pulling the left rein, and to the right by pulling the
opposite one ; and the problem to be solved is to do this by one
hand only. Now, this with the single rein is easily effected by
raising the thumb towards the right shoulder, when the right rein is
to be pulled, or by drawing the little finger towards the fork for the
left; in both cases by a turn of the wrist, without lifting the whole
hand. But over and above this action on the mouth, and in many
cases independent of it, is a movement which, in trained horses,
is capable of much greater delicacy, and which depends upon the
sensibility of the skin of the neck for its due performance. It is
effected by turning the whole hand to the right or left, without
any wrist action, so as to press the right rein against the neck, in
order to cause a turn to the left, and the left rein against the neck
for the opposite purpose ; at the same time rather slackening the
reins, so as not to bear upon the mouth by so doing. In this way
a horse may be turned with a much greater degree of nicety and
smoothness than by acting on the corner of his mouth. But
highly-broken horses, such as the military troop-horses, are often
too much used to their bits to answer to this slight and delicate
manipulation; and therefore it is eschewed by Captain Richardson,
as well as by Colonel Greenwood, but, strangely enough, for oppo-
site reasons, and each attempting to substitute a very different
process for it. I am well aware that some horses can never be
taught it, but must always have a bearing made on the mouth
before they will turn ; yet, when it can be inculcated, it makes the
animal so tractable and agreeable to ride, that it is a highly desira-
ble accomplishment; and I cannot, therefore, join in condemning
its use, but should rejoice if it could in all cases be fully developed.
THE DOUBLE REIN is usually held by those who ride for plea-
sure in this country as follows : — Begin by taking up the snaffle-
rein, and place the fore and middle fingers between its two por-
tions; then lay hold of the curb-rein, and either hook it loosely
on to the little finger, if not immediately wanted, or draw it up to
the requisite degree of tightness and turn it over the fore finger,
when it will lie upon the snaffle-rein, and, together with it, will be
gripped by the thumb. By adopting this plan, the curb-rein is
always at the command of the right hand ; and it may be shortened
or let out in a moment, which is of constant occurrence in every

MANAGEMENT OF THE REINS— STARTING TO TROT. 235

day's ride. The hand is held as with the single rein, with the
thumb pointing to the horse's ears ; in turning, however, there is
much less power of bearing on either side of the bit by raising
the thumb or lowering the little finger, because the distance be-
tween the snaffle-reins is only half what it was, and therefore the
mode of turning by pressure upon the neck is doubly desirable;
and hence its general adoption in those' cases where double-reined
bridles are used, as in the field and on the road. Sometimes, to
obviate this objection, the snaffle-reins are placed as in the single-
reined bridle, outside the little finger, and then the curb is hooked
over the ring-finger, between the snaffle-reins, so as to allow of the
full manipulation of the mouth by the hand, without bearing upon
the neck. But the objection to this is, that the curb cannot be
shortened without releasing the snaffle ; and therefore the horse
must either be ridden on the curb alone while this process is be-
ing effected, or his head must be loosed altogether; whereas, in
the other mode, his mouth is still under the control of the snaffle
all the time that the curb is being let out or taken in.

THE ATTAINMENT OF " GOOD HANDS/' by which is to be under-
stood a light and delicate handling of the reins, is, or ought to
be, the aim of every rider. The most delicate mouth in the world
is soon spoilt by bearing heavily on it, as is too often done by
grooms, and, indeed, by the average run of our horsemen. So
also in hunting, if the horse is not allowed his head in making his
effort, he will be almost sure to fail in exactly doing what he
meant, and will hit timber, if he is put at that class of fence,
or will drop his hind legs into the ditch, if there is one. Bad
riders use the reins as a means of balancing themselves in the
saddle, and this is especially done in the hunting-field, where they
would be utterly unable to maintain their seats without the aid thus
afforded to the proper grip and balance. Every one in learning to
ride ought to be taught to go through all the paces, and to jump
the bar without any reins in his hand ; and when he finds he is
able to do without them, he will learn to use them only in the way
for which they are intended.

MODES OF STARTING THE HORSE INTO HIS VARIOUS
PACES.

To MAKE A HORSE start off in a quick walk, when he is not
inclined to do so, either from being too fresh or too raw, is by no
means an easy task. I have often ridden one for several days in
succession, before I could make him settle down to a fair walk,
and even then the slightest excitement would upset all my apparent
previous progress. This is especially true of those horses pos-
sessed of such elastic joints, that they could "jog" at a rate much
slower than they could walk. Here restraint by the bridle is out

236 THE HORSE.

of the question, and any excitement by the voice or heel increases
the jog into a full trot, without passing through any intermediate
stage. The difficulty consists in the fact that for a perfect walk
the head must be at liberty, and when this is allowed to a generous
horse, he is inclined to go off at a rate faster than suffices for the
pace in question. The only plan, therefore, is to ride such horses
quietly, till they are leg weary, whatever the number of hours may
be required, and then it is possible to loose their heads without
| their taking advantage of the liberty to go off "at score/' In-
deed, in the walk, the head should never be much confined, and
yet the rider should not entirely leave it uncontrolled; the finest
possible touch is enough, so that on any trip the hand is at once
informed of it by the drop of the head, when, by a sudden jerk of
the bridle, not too forcible, it rouses the horse, and prevents his
falling. It is not that he is kept up by pulling the rein, but that
he is roused by it and made to exert himself, for many horses seem
regardless of falls, and would be down twenty times a day if they
were not stimulated by the heel and bit. Confinement of the head
in the walk is absolutely injurious, and more frequently causes a
fall than saves one. A good walker will go on nodding his head
to each step, more or less as it is a long or a short one; and if this
nodding is prevented by the heavy hand of the rider, the fore-foot
is not properly stretched forward, the step is crippled, and very
often the toe strikes the ground; when, if the head were at liberty,
it would clear it well. In horses which are apt to stumble in the
walk, I have generally found that a loose rein, with the curb held
ready for a check, is the safest plan ; and then the horse soon finds
that he is punished the moment he stumbles, and in a very short
time he learns to recover himself almost before he is reminded.
I do not like the spur or the whip so well, because the use of either
makes the horse spring forward, and often blunder again in his
hurry to avoid this kind of punishment. The check of the curb,
on the other hand, makes him recover himself without extra
progress, or rather by partially stopping him, and thus he is better
able to avoid his fall. The body is allowed to yield slightly to the
motions of the horse, but not to waddle from side to side, as is
sometimes seen. Some horses do not stir the rider at all, while
others throw him about and fatigue him greatly; and this may
generally be foretold when the tail sways much from side to side
in the walk, which is caused by the over- long stride of the horse,
a very desirable accomplishment in the race-horse or hunter, but
not in the hack.

THE JOG TROT is a pace that there is seldom any difficulty in
effecting, and on the contrary, as I have just observed, the rider is
often engaged for hours or days in breaking the young horse of it.

THE REGULAR TROT is generally easy to produce, but sometimes

STARTING TO TROT. 237

when the canter has been much adopted, it is not so readily effected.
The best plan is as follows : — Take hold of both the reins of the
snaffle, and bear firmly, but steadily, upon the mouth, lean slightly
forwards in the saddle, press the legs against the horse's sides, and
use the peculiar click of the tongue, which serves as an encour-
agement to the horse on all occasions. If properly trained, he
will now fall at once into the trot, but if he breaks into a canter
or gallop, he must be checked and restrained into a wak, or a
" jog-trot." Where the horse has been much used to canter, and
can go at that pace as slowly as he walks, there is often great diffi-
culty in making him trot, for no restraint, short of a total halt,
will prevent the canter. In such cases, laying hold of an ear will
often succeed, by making the animal drop his head, which move-
ment interferes with the canter, and generally leads to a trot. The
rising in the stirrups is generally practised in civil life, as being
far less fatiguing to both horse and rider; but in(the military
schools the opposite style is inculcated, because among a troop of
horse it has a very bad effect if a number of men are bobbing up
and down, out of all time. If it were possible for all to rise to-
gether, perhaps the offence against military precision might be
pardoned ; but as horses will not all step together, so men cannot
all rise at the same moment, and the consequence is that they are
doomed to bump upon the sheep-skins in a very tiresome manner,
fatiguing alike to man and horse. This rising in the saddle of itself,
encourages horses which have been accustomed to it to trot in
preference to any other pace, and .they understand the faintest in-
dication of it as a sign that this particular pace is to be commenced,
and trot accordingly. The civilian's mode of riding the trot is as
follows : — At the precise moment when the hind and fore legs are
making their effort to throw the horse forward in progression, the
body of the rider is thrown forcibly into the air, in some horses to
so great an extent as to make a young rider feel as if he never
should come down again. After reaching the utmost height, how-
ever, the body falls, and reaches the saddle just in time to catch
the next effort, and so on as long as the trot lasts. In this way, the
horse absolutely carries no weight at all during half his time, and
the action and reaction are of such a nature that the trot is accel-
erated rather than retarded by the weight. No horse can fairly
trot above twelve miles or thirteen miles an hour without this rising,
though he may run or pace in the American style, so that it is not
only to save the rider's bones but also to ease the horse that this
practice has been introduced, and holds its ground in spite of the
want of military sanction. It is here as with the seat ; utility is
sacrificed to appearances; and whenever the long and weak seat of
the barrack-yard is supplanted by the firm seat of ttie civilian, I
shall expect to see the rising in the trot abandoned, but certainly

238 THE HORSE.

not till then. The military length is not now what it was thirty
years ago; and perhaps some time or other soldiers may adopt the
rise, but I am afraid not until they have produced many thousands
more sore backs than they need have done if they had never prac-
tised it. In the trot, the foot should bear strongly on the stirrup,
with the heel well down, and the ball of the foot pressing on the
foot-piece of the stirrup, so that the elasticity of the ankle takes off"
the jar, and prevents the double rise, which in some rough horses
is very apt to be produced. The knees should always be main-
tained exactly in the same place, without that shifting motion which
is so common with bad riders, and the legs should be held perpen-
dicularly from the knee downwards. The chest should be well
forward, and the waist in, the rise nearly upright, but slightly
forward, and as easily as can be effected without effort on the part
of the rider, and rather restraining than adding to the throw of
the horse.

GrOOD HANDS and a quiet seat only, with the aid of a curb bit
properly adapted to the mouth, are required to develop the canter,
by restraining the gallop ; but to make a horse start off at once,
with a lead of either leg as desired, is altogether another matter.
To do this, the canter with either leg leading must first be com-
pletely taught, so that there is no difficulty in making the horse
display that particular pace at any time. Then just at the moment
before starting, pull the rein, and press the heel on the side oppo-
site to the leg which it is desired the horse should lead. The rea-
son of this is obvious enough ; every horse in starting to canter
(and many even in the canter itself) turns himself slightly across
his line of progress, in order to enable him to lead with that leg
which he thereby advances. Thus supposing a horse is going to
lead off with the off-foreleg, he turns his head to the left and his
croup to the right, and then easily gets his off-leg before and his
near-leg behind into the line which is being taken. Now, to com-
pel him to repeat this action, it is only necessary to turn him in
the same way, by pulling his head to the left, and by touching
him with the left heel, after which he is made to canter by excit-
ing him with the voice or whip, whilst at the same moment he is
restrained by the curb. When once this lead is commenced, the
hold on the curb and pressure on the legs may be quite equal ; but
if, while the canter is maintained, it is desired to change the lead-
ing leg, the horse must be collected and roused by the bit and voice,
and then reversing the pull of the reins and the leg-pressure, from
that previously practised, so as to turn the horse in the opposite
way to that in which he was started, he will generally be compelled
10 change his lead, which is called " changing his leg." The seat
in this space is a very easy one, the knees taking a very gentle hold
of the saddle, the feet not bearing strongly upon the stirrups, and

THE GALLOP. 239

the body tolerably upright in the saddle. The hands must not be
too low, but should keep a very gentle but constant pressure upon
the bit, and should, if there is the slightest tendency to drop the
canter, rouse the mouth by a very slight reminder, and also stimu-
late the spirits by the voice or whip.

THE GALLOP being generally, though not always, his fastest
pace, the horse may be forced into it readily enough by the stimu-
lus of the voice, whip, or spurs. Sometimes very fast trotters can-
not gallop so fast as they can trot, but these are rare exceptions,
and need not be considered in any other light. It is therefore
useless to describe the mode of starting this pace ; but some allu-
sion may advantageously be made to the best method of riding it.
There are two seats adopted, the ordinary one being to sit down
into the saddle and keep as close to it as possible, but another
being also practised called standing in the stirrups. The former is
the usual seat, and it is only in racing or in the very fast gallop
at other times that the latter is adopted. In sitting down the feet
may be either resting on the ball of the toe, as in the other paces,
or with the stirrup " home" to the boot, as is common in all field-
riding. The body is thrown easily and slightly back, the knees
take firm hold, the rider being careful not to grip the horse so tight
as to distress him, which fault I have known very muscular men
often commit. The hands should be low, with sufficient pull at the
mouth to restrain, but not to annoy him and make him "fight;"
and if he is inclined to get his head down too much, or the re-
verse, they must be raised or lowered accordingly. When the
standing in the stirrups is to be practised, the weight is thrown
upon them, steadying it with the knees and thighs, which should
keep firm hold of the saddle. The seat of the body is carried well
back, while at the same time the loin is slightly arched; but by
this combined action the weight is not hanging over the shoulder
of the horse, as it would be, and often is, when the breech is raised
from the saddle and brought almost over the pommel, with the
eyes of the rider looking down his horse's forehead, or .very nearly
so. If a jockey of more than seven or eight stone, with a good
seat, is watched, it will be seen that his leg does not descend
straight from the knee, but that it is slightly thrown back from
that line, and consequently that his centre of gravity is behind it,
so that he can, by stiffening the joint, carry his body as far behind it
as his stirrup is, without ceasing to stand in it. Very light jockeys
adopt a somewhat different seat, riding with longer stirrups and
throwing their weight greatly on the muscles of the thigh, while
they raise the breech entirely from the saddle, but only for a com-
paratively small distance. This gives them a strong hold of their
horses, without which, being so small, they could not ride them.
Standing in the stirrups cannot long be maintained without fatigue

240 THE HORSE.

to the rider, and it is only adopted in racing or in short gallops
over bad ground, as in hunting, when there is a deep piece of fal-
low, or a steep hill, or any other kind of ground calculated to tire
the horse.

RIDING TO HOUNDS.

THE KIND OF SEAT generally adopted in riding to hounds has
been already described, and I need not therefore allude to it again.
I may, however, remind the tyro that the less he depends upon
balance, and the stronger hold he can get of the saddle with his
knees and calves, the more likely he will be to avoid a fall without
his horse coming down also. If this accident happens, a loose seat
sometimes befriends the rider by causing him to be thrown out of
the way of the horse, but in the long run the man who has a strong
grip of his saddle will fare the best. Good hands and judgment
are equally necessary, and the combination of these three qualities
makes up the finished performer across country, always supposing
the presence of nerve in addition.

THERE ARE CERTAIN RULES adopted in all hunting countries,
which must be stringently carried out in order to insure the safety
of the hounds and horsemen, and avoid those disputes which would
otherwise constantly occur between riders jealous of each other's
prowess. These may be summed up in the following plain direc-
tions : —

WHEN NEAR THE HOUNDS keep to the right or left of them, and
not directly behind, where you are always in danger of riding over
some of the tail hounds. So also when the pack are crossing a
thick fence, when there is often only one gap weak enough to allow
of their getting over, avoid its proximity, and take a place at least
a dozen yards off.

INDEPENDENTLY of hounds, every rider should take a line of
his own, or if he is unable to do this and must follow a leader, let
him keep such a distance behind that if a fall takes place he can
avoid jumping upon him. In a large field of horsemen, every one
cannot possibly take a different line, nor is it easy to keep always
at a safe distance ; but at big places there is generally some hesita-
tion, and a proper interval can be maintained. No one should
attempt to pass his neighbor either on the right or left of the line
he has chosen, when near a fence; but of course this is not to de-
prive him of his chance of taking the lead in the middle of a large
enclosure, when a little racing can do no harm. By the adoption
of this rule, jostling and crowding at a weak place are avoided,
which without it would be sure to lead to serious accidents.

USE YOUR JUDGMENT in saving your horse in deep ground,
making up for the apparent loss by putting him along whenever a
sound headland or good turf can be obtained. It is not going
straight over sound land that distresses a horse, but the making

RIDING TO HOUNDS. 241

use of him over deep ground, and at the wrong time Many men
seem to know no difference between sound turf and -jotten or wet
arable, and will kick their horses along over high ridgc-and-furrow
in a wet clay district, at a pace which no horse can bear for more
than a mile or two in such a country. A workman would look
out for headlands or footpaths, &c. ; and would, by a slight detour,
gain upon those who disdained to leave the line even for a few
yards. Wet and sticky ridge-and-furrow tires a horse dreadfully,
and the consequence is, that if he is pushed over it he speedily
loses his powers and wind, and falls in a very ugly way at the first
fence he comes to of a size above the average. Hence, every man
who aspires to go well to hounds must learn to be a "judge of
pace," and should endeavor to make out the signs of distress, and
the best way of avoiding it. So much depends upon condition
and breeding, that it is very difficult for a man with a strange horse
to know what liberties he may take with him. Some well-bred
ones will be blown, yet if nursed they will come again and again,
while the dunghill-animal will give up when once he has lost his
wind, and is gone for that day at least. In ascending steep banks,
a careful and active horseman will dismount and lead his horse up,
and by so doing often gains a mile or two upon his less humane
and cautious antagonist. In ascending hills it is often expedient
to make a zigzag; but in descending you can never go too straight,
as the opposite course often leads to a dangerous slip on the side,
with a crushed knee or ankle as a consequence. Few horses fall
forwards, and they always manage to save themselves by slipping
down on their haunches. This is a point of great importance, and
should always be strictly attended to.

THERE ARE TWO GENERAL DIRECTIONS, which will serve for
almost all descriptions of fence. These are, that if a height is to
be overcome, the horse should be taken slowly up to it, in a col-
lected manner, with his haunches well under him. On the other
hand, width requires impetus, and the pace should be forced
during the last few strides up to a very high rate. Under the
former head may be classed timber (in all the varieties of gates,
single posts and rails, stiles, and palings), walls, strong pleached
fences, and banks. To the latter belong water in all shapes,
double posts-and-rails, bullfinches, and those' fences with a ditch
on both sides, as well as those which have a wide one on the land-
ing side. In addition to these there are the actual standing leap,
seldom practised in the present day, the creeping style, the " on
and off" leap, and the " drop/' which is a variety of the standing
leap.

IN COLLECTING THE HORSE, and properly putting him at his
fence, there is a great art, and nothing but practice will give it in
perfection. Double-posts-and-rails require a great deal of collect-
21 Q

242 THE HORSE.

ing and rousii.g, and the horse must go pretty fast at them, as also
must he at all wide jumps, including water in all its forms. One
essential is, that the horse shall have confidence in his rider j for
if he thinks he may turn to the right or left he will most probably
do so, unless he is very fond of jumping. Nervous men commu-
nicate their feelings to their horses, and though it may be difficult
to explain how it is done, there is no doubt of the fact. It is re-
markable how soon horses find out what kind of man they carry,
and how they alter under different hands. This is partly owing
to a mismanagement of the mouth, but in great measure also to
the trepidation of the rider. Unless, therefore, he has full confi-
dence in his own courage, he need never expect his horse to go
steadily and straight at his fences. The collecting is much easier
than the management of the bit at the leap itself, for there are two
opposite things to be done, and the delicate point is to hit the mo-
ment of change from one to the other to a nicety. The first is to
" catch hold of the horse's head/' as it is called — that is, to bear
more or less upon the mouth, pull the horse on his haunches and
rouse him, either by voice, heel, or whip. This lasts till the mo-
ment of the effort made to rise over the obstacle, when the head
should be released, so that the horse may have all his bodily powers
at his command. If the head is confined the haunches do not act
fully, because in making the spring the head is protruded, and pain
is given by the bit if it is still held fast; and hence, to avoid the
pain, the extension does not take place, the leap is not made with
sufficient spring or power, and the horse alights too near the ditch,
if there is one, or possibly in it. But in releasing the head judg-
ment is required, for if the rein is too loose the horse is apt to
alight in such a position that he is " all abroad," and without great
help he will often fall ; hence, most good performers, though tbey
do not absolutely confine the head, yet they keep a very gentle and
delicate hold of the mouth, and not only thus prevent the horse
over-extending himself, but are also prepared to assist him if he is
inclined to fall. This is the finished style of riding, and is only in
the power of a man with a good seat as well as good hai ds. Both
are wanted, because without the former it is impossib e to avoid
"riding the bridle" — that is, holding on by it as well as by the
saddle ; and without good hands that delicate management of the
bridle which I have attempted to describe is impracticable. What
is called " lifting" the horse is sometimes attempted with the bit,
but I do not recognise its utility. When a horse is likely to touch
the top bar of a gate, or in any way to use too small an effort, a
stroke of the whip down the shoulder is the best lift. Rousing
and collecting are quite distinct from lifting, which I believe to be
a myth altogether. In creeping, good hands and quietness in the
saddle are the chief elements of success, and without them both,

OUT-DOOR VICES— SET ING. 243

no one is likely to do much in this particular style ; hence it is
that so few men can " creep" well, even though they have horses
accustomed to it under other hands. When the horse has heen
thoroughly taught to creep, his head may almost be left without
control, merely guiding him quietly to the gap, and then letting
him take his own way; but where the horse has to be made to
creep, a rein should be taken in each hand, and the head guided
as if with a silken thread, to the right or left, or wherever the ani-
mal is required to go. These remarks will perhaps be useful to all
who have no experienced friend ready to afford a practical demon-
stration of the same fundamental points. One actual lesson in the
field is worth all the reading in the world; but, in default of this,
the preceding observations will serve to assist the young aspirant
for honors in riding to hounds.

OUT-DOOR VICES AND BAD HABITS.

OUT-DOOR VICES depend upon the temper of the individual, and
include shying, rearing, kicking, lying down, plunging or buck-
ing, shouldering, and running away. Bad habits arise from a de-
fective formation of the body, and are confined to stumbling and
cutting.

SHYING generally arises from timidity, but sometimes it is united
with cunning, which induces the animal to assume a fear of some
object for the sole purpose of finding an excuse for turning round.
The usual cause of shying is doubtless the presence of some object
to which the colt has not been accustomed, and if he has buck
eyes, which render him short-sighted, it will be difficult to con-
vince him of the innocent nature of the novel object. There are
endless peculiarities in shying horses, some being dreadfully
alarmed by one kind of object, which to others is not at all for-
midable. When a horse finds that he gains his object by turning
round, he will often repeat the turning without cause, pretending
to be alarmed, and looking out for excuses for it. This is not at
all uncommon, and with timid riders leads to a discontinuance of
the ride, by which the horse gains his end for the time, and re-
peats the trick on the first occasion. In genuine shying from fear
the eyes are generally more or less defective; but sometimes this
is not the cause, which is founded upon a general irritability of
the nervous system. Thus, there are many horses which never
shy at meeting tilted wagons, or other similarly alarming objects,
but which almost drop with fear on a small bird flying out of a
hedge, or any other startling sound. These last are also worse,
because they give no notice to the rider, whereas the ordinary
shyer almost always shows by his ears that he is prepared to turn
round.

THE BEST PLAN OF TREATMENT which can be adopted, is to

244 THE HORSE.

take as little notice as possible of tlie shying, and t be especially
careful not to show any fear of its recurrence when a ragon appears
in the distance. When the horse begins to show alarm, but not
till then, the rider should speak encouragingly to him, and, if
necessary, with a severe tone, which may even be supported by the
use of the whip or spurs, if his onward progress cannot be other-
wise maintained. The principle which should be carried out is to
adopt such measures as will get the horse to pass the object at
which he shies somehow or other, and this should be effected with
as little violence as possible, always commending in an encouraging
tone as soon as the purpose is gained. Nothing has so great a
tendency to keep up the habit as the plan so common among igno-
rant grooms, of chastising the shyer after he has passed the object
of his alarm. If he can be persuaded to go quietly up to it and
examine it with his muzzle as well as with his eyes, great good will
be effected; but this can seldom be done with moving wagons, and
heaps or stones are generally only alarming from defect of vision,
so that each time they assume a new phase to the active imagina-
tion of the timid animal.

REARING is seldom met with excepting among raw colts, or if it
is continued to a later period it is generally incurable. When exist-
ing in an aggravated form it is a most dangerous vice, 'as a fall
backwards over the rider has often led to fatal consequences.

THE USUAL REMEDY for it in the colt is the ordinary running
martingale, which will keep down the rearer who is merely in-
dulging in his playful fancies. When, however, the vice has be-
come confirmed, nothing short of severe punishment will be of any
service, and the horsebreaker generally resorts to the plan of knock-
ing the horse down as he rises by a blow between the ears with a
loaded crop. This stuns the horse for a time, and alarms him so
much that he is often cured by one act of the kind; but it is at-
tended with some danger of injuring the horse, and the rider does
not always escape. Another plan adopted by active breakers is to
wait till the horse is just on the balance, and then slipping off to
the left, it is easy to pull him over backwards; but this also is often
followed by severe injury to the horse when the ground is hard.
I have almost invariably found that bad rearers have very supple
necks, which increases the difficulty of keeping them down by any
kind of martingale, and probably this will account for the habit
having become inveterate. A stiff-necked horse can scarcely rise
high if his head is confined even by the running martingale ; but
when the side-straps are tightly buckled to the bit, he is effectually
restrained, whereas with a loose neck the head can be so bent in
to the brisket that no obstacle is offered. In such cases I have
known a cavesson with the noseband lined with sharp prickers,
and the martingale buckled to it ; a m^«t effectual prevention, as

OUT-DOOR VICES. 245

the slightest pull opens it, presses the prickers into the aose and
gives acute pain. Whenever the rider finds a horse inclined to
rise, he should at once lean forward, and after ineffectually trying
the martingale to keep the horse down, he must loose his head,
or he will be almost sure to bring him Jbackwards and cause a
severe fall.

FOR KICKERS, except when the habit is merely a mode of letting
off superfluous spirits, severity is the only remedy, and a strong
application of the whip down the shoulder the best means of using
it. At the same time the snaffle-reins ought to be firmly held, and
by their means the head kept up, for there is always a tendency
to lower this part in the act of kicking ; the gag snaffle is very
effectual for this purpose.

LYING DOWN is rare in the present day, being chiefly confined
to under-bred horses and Welsh ponies, which are gradually going
out of use. The spur is the only means likely to keep a stubborn
brute up ; but in some cases its application is followed by the ani-
mal throwing himself down suddenly, instead of gradually.

PLUNGING may be described as a series of bounds into the air,
which when they are made up and down in the same place, or
nearly so, are called " bucking," from their resemblance to the
playful antics of the deer. A bucking horse is very difficult to sit,
but by sawing the mouth with a twisted snaffle it may generally
be stopped at once.

BY SHOULDERING is understood the attempt to crush the leg of
the rider against a wall, which some ill-tempered horses are fond
of doing. It is easily avoided by pulling the horse's head round
to the wall, instead of from it,

RUNNING AWAY is too well known to need description. In
some horses it is a species of temporary madness, and scarcely any
bit, however severe, will stop them. When there is room and
scope enough, the remedy is simple, but, unfortunately, runaway
horses generally choose a crowded thoroughfare to indulge their
fancies in. A gallop to a stand-still, with the free use of the spur
or whip at the latter part of it, will sometimes prevent a recurrence
of this vicious act ; but where the tendency is very strong it will
have little effect. Punishing bits only make some high-couraged
horses worse, but the majority of runaways would be dangerous
with a plain snaffle only, and yet there are some which will go
quietly enough in it, while the adoption of a curb will rouse their
tempers at once. Of course they can only be ridden with great
care and judgment, and must never be roused unnecessarily. For-
tunately the mouths of horses are now made so much more care-
fully than in former times, and their management is so much better
understood, that we seldom hear of or see an accident from this
cause, either in the saddle or in harness. The most essential part
21*

246 THE HORSE.

of the treatment of a runaway is the proper selection of a bit, which
should be sufficient to control him without exciting opposition from
the pain it gives.

STUMBLING arises from a variety of causes, and the nature of
any particular case should be thoroughly investigated before any
remedy for it is attempted. Sometimes it is merely dependent
upon low or " daisy cutting" action, and then it is possible that it
may not be attended with danger. I have known many horses
which would stumble at least every half-mile, but yet they would
travel for years with sound knees, the other leg being always ready
to catch the weight. In other cases a stumble would only occur
at rare intervals, but if the trip was made it was rarely recovered,
and a fall was almost sure to follow. Again, it happens with some
horses that when they are fresh out of the stable, their action is
high and safe, but after a few miles the extensors of the leg tire,
and they are constantly making a mistake. Inexperienced judges
are very apt to examine the action of the fore legs alone, while that
of the hind quarter is of quite as much importance to safety, and
is more so as regards the ease of the rider. Lameness is a frequent
source of a fall, from the tendency to put the foot too soon to the
ground in order to take the weight off the other. And lastly,
upright pasterns will produce stumbling, when the shoulders are
so formed that the foot is put down too near the centre of gravity.

THE BEST PLANS FOR REMEDYING these several conditions are
as follows. If the cause is weakness of the extensors no care can
be of much service, all that can be done being to be on the look
out for a trip, and then to take the weight off the fore quarter as
much as possible by sitting well back, at the same time using such
an amount of sudden pressure on the bit as to cause the horse to
exert himself, without any attempt to keep up the head by me-
chanical force, which is an impossibility. When laziness is the
cause, the stimulus of the spur or whip will suffice, and it often
happens that a horse is safe enough at his top pace while a slower
one is full of danger. In lameness of course the remedy is to wait
till the foot or feet are sound again.

CUTTING depends either upon the legs being set on too near
together, or on their joints not acting in a proper hinge-like manner.
Many horses cut when in low condition, but are quite free from
the defect when in flesh, and in such cases it is only necessary to
let them wear a boot until they have had time enough to become
fresh. Wherever horses " go close" care should be taken that the
shoes do not project beyond the hoof, and the clenches of the nails
should be carefully watched, the groom seeing that they are filed
down by the smith if they stand up at all above the level of the
horn. Cutting may take place either on the prominent part of the
fetlock-joint, or midway between it and the knee, or just below

OUT-DOOR VICES.

247

the latter, which is called " speedy cutting," and is very apt to
cause a fall. A. boot should be fitted to the leg in either case, and
worn till the part is thoroughly healed and all swelling has disap-
peared, when if any likely method of treatment has been adopted
the horse may be tried without it, but no journey should be under-
taken without one in the pocket in case it may be needed. A pe-
culiar method of shoeing, called a feather-edged shoe, will often
prevent this bad habit as long as it is adopted.

THE

ANATOMY OF THE HORSE

CHAPTER XIII.

CLASSIFICATION OP THE VARIOUS ORGANS, AND PHYSIOLOGY
OF THE SKELETON.

Classification of the various Organs — Structure of Bone — Of tht
Skeleton in General — The Artificial Skeleton — Number of Bones
composing the Skeleton — General Anatomy of the Spinal Column
— Of the Head and Face— Of the Hyoid Arch— Of the Thoracic
Arch and Anterior Extremities — Of the Pelvic Arch and Hind
Extremities — Of the Tail — Of the Fore and Hind Extremities
considered as Organs of Support and Locomotion.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE VARIOUS ORGANS.

THE BODY OF THE HORSE, like all the vertebrate animals, may
be considered as made up of several distinct apparatuses or systems.
Of these, the first is a machine composed of the bony SKELETON,
or framework, the various parts of which are united by JOINTS,
and moved by MUSCLES. Secondly, there are contained within
the thorax the organs which supply the whole body with the means
of nutrition in the form of blood, and purify this fluid. Thirdly,
in the abdomen are presented to view the important organs which
assimilate the food to the condition of the blood; while in the ad-
joining cavity, the pelvis, are the urinary and generative appara-
tuses. Fourthly, the nervous system may be considered, as com-
prising the grand centre of the mental faculties, and, also, as pre-
siding over and controlling the whole of the functions performed
by the several organs; and fifthly, certain special organs, as, for
example, those of sense, and, likewise, the foot will complete the
circle.

OF THE STRUCTURE OF BONE.

THE BONES are composed of a tissue peculiar to them, enveloped
by a membrane, the periosteum. They contain a semi-fluid of a

(248)

STRUCTURE OF BONE. 249

fatty nature, the marrow, and are pierced in various directions by
blood-vessels and nerves.

THE PROPER TISSUE of the bones is made up of two distinct
substances, either of which may be removed by artificial means,
leaving the other entire. If, for instance, a bone is submitted to
the heat of a furnace, it retains its shape and rigidity, but becomes
much whiter in color, and is rendered extremely ''. rittle. In fact,^
the mineral salts entering into its composition are Jeft, but the ani-
mal matter binding them together is completely decomposed and
carried off in a gaseous form. On the other hand, by immersing
a bone for two or three weeks in diluted hydrochloric acid, the
earthy salts are dissolved, while the animal matter is untouched.
Here the bone retains its original shape, but it is soft and flexible;
and instead of presenting its usual opaque yellowish-white color,
it is semi-transparent, and resembles the ordinary gelatine of the
shops. According to Berzilius, bone is chemically composed of
the following constituents — namely, cartilage, reducible to gelatine
by boiling ; blood-vessels ; phosphate of lime ; carbonate of lime ;
fluate of lime ; phosphate of magnesia ; soda and chloride of
sodium.

Considered mechanically, the bones form the framework of the
animal machine. In the limbs they are hollow cylinders, admirably
fitted by their shape and texture to resist violence and support
weight. In the trunk and head they are flattened and arched, to
protect the contents of the cavities they form, and to provide an
extensive surface for the attachment of muscles. In certain situa-
tions their exterior is raised into projections called processes, which
serve as levers for the muscles to act upon ; in others they are
grooved into smooth surfaces for the easy gliding of tendons, when
these are stretched between the fleshy part of a muscle and one of
its attachments. Lastly, they sometimes present a large hollow for
the lodgment of the belly of a muscle, as in the case of the scapula.

When microscopically examined, bone is seen to be made up of
a dense and homogeneous substance (basis substance), in which
are numberless minute cells (corpuscles of Purkinje). The basis
substance is partially fibrous and slightly lamellated, the layers '
being concentric in long bones and parallel in flat; it is traversed
in all directions (more especially in the long axis, where there is
one) by canals (Haversian canals), which frequently branch and
inosculate, giving passage to vessels and nerves. In certain situa-
tions the lamellae separate, and leave between them spaces of va-
rious sizes, called cancelli. Besides entering into the composition
of the basis substance, the lamellae are collected concentrically
round the Haversian canals, the boundaries of which they form,
generally to the extent of ten to fifteen layers. Both the compact
and spongy tissues are, therefore, composed of the same elementary

250 THE HORSE.

structure, the former being especially intended to afford resistance
to violence with as little weight as is consistent with its office, for
which reason it is hollowed into a tube; while the latter is enlarged
as much as possible without unnecessarily adding to its weight,
the problem being solved by its development in a cellular form.

The Periosteum is a dense fibrous membrane which covers every
part of the surface of the bones, excepting their extremities when
^hey enter into the composition of a joint, its place being then
occupied by cartilage. When this membrane covers the bones of
the skull it is called pericranium, and when it invests the cartilages
of the ribs it receives the name perichondrium. It is full of blood-
vessels, especially in the young, and they freely communicate with
those of the surrounding soft parts. Hence it is extremely liable
to inflammation, either caused by injury to itself or to the parts
which cover it.

The marrow, or medullary substance, is contained in the cavities
formed within the bones, being of a yellow color and oily nature
in the shafts of the long bones } and more or less red, from the ad-
mixture with blood, in the flat and irregular bones, and in the
heads of the long bones. It is contained within the areolar meshes
of a membrane, which lines these cavities, answering to the perios-
teum, which has been already described. This medullary mem-
brane is of excessive tenuity, and is composed of blood-vessels rami-
fying in fine cellular tissues. The use of marrow in the animal
economy is not very clearly demonstrated.

In the embryo, all the bones originally exist in the state of car-
tilage, being soft and flexible. By degrees vascular canals are
developed within its substance, by the union of its cells in rows.
These concentrate towards some one or more points, which in a
long bone are one in the centre of the shaft and one at eacli ex-
tremity. ' Starting from this point (punctum ossificationis) , fibres
run out, embracing clusters of cells, and sending branches between
the individuals composing each group. In this manner the net-
work, characteristic of bone, is formed, the cells uniting to form
the permanent areol» and Haversian canals. At first the contents
of the cells are transparent, then granular, and finally opaque, from
the pressure of amorphous mineral matter. The several ossified
portions are quite distinct for a long time in the young animal, and
may readily be separated by boiling or maceration.

OF THE SKELETON IN GENERAL.

THE NAME SKELETON has been given from the Greek word
ffxlMw (to dry^), it being the only part of the body which will bear
desiccation without change of form. In the vertebrata it is an in-
ternal bony framework, but in the Crustacea it invests the soft
parts, and forms an insensible covering to them, while at the same

THE SKELETON. 251

time it serves the purpose of locomotion. In both these divisions
of the animal kingdom the skeleton forms a series of arches or
rings, capable of moving on each other, but so firmly attached as
to secure protection to the important organs contained within them.
In the horse, as in all the higher mammalia, these rings or arches
are double — one set, the superior, being continuous throughout the
whole length of the animal from the head to the root of the tail,
and containing the nervous system ; while the other lying below,
but closely connected to them, is interrupted in certain localities,
being found to exist chiefly in three regions : — 1st, where it forms
the jaws and bone of the tongue; 2d, where, by means of the ribs
and sternum, it constitutes the thorax and its appendages, the an-
terior extremities ; and, thirdly, where, in the shape of the pelvic
arch, it protects the organs of generation, and, through the poste-
rior extremities prolonged from it, assists in locomotion. The
superior of these arches, from containing the brain, and its pro-
longation, the spinal cord, is called the neural arch. The inferior
is termed the haemal arch (al/za, blood), because it protects the
heart and its large blood-vessels as the latter pass from the thorax
towards the head and posterior extremities. In all the vertebrata
the neural arch consists of one continuous cavity, defended from
end to end by bony plates, strongly joined together; and in some
of the lower forms (lizards) the haemal arch is nearly as complete,
these animals having cervical ribs ; while the dugong and some
others are furnished with ribs in their tails. Consequently, it is
fair to consider the whole skeleton in the superior forms of the
animal kingdom as composed of two series of arched plates, firmly
united together, but still allowing more or less motion, and serving
to protect the centres of the nervous and sanguineous systems,
from which they have received their names.

THE ARTIFICIAL SKELETON.

THE BONES of the Horse, as of the other mammalia, may be
preserved with their natural ligamentous attachments connecting
them in a dry state, in which condition the skeleton is called a
natural one. It is usual, however, to macerate them so long that
all the soft parts readily separate, leaving the bones without any
of the ligaments or cartilages which are firmly fixed to them during
life. They are then put together by wires, &c., the cartilages being
represented by leather and cork. In this way it often happens
that the proportions are not exactly preserved, and, on reference
to an articulated skeleton in any museum, the inexperienced eye
may be greatly misled. Thus it is very common to represent the
thorax in the artificial skeleton as much shallower than it is in
nature, where its lower margin is on the average about midway
between the top of the withers and the ground. Again, in the

252 THE HORSE.

fresh state, the intervertebral fibro-cartilage is in so.ne parts of the
spine of considerable thickness ; and if the proper substance is not
artificially supplied, the skeleton will be too short, or if too .thick
a material is added it will be too long. In the engraving of the
skeleton occupying the opposite page, which is drawn from the
skeleton in the Museum of the Veterinary College of London, the
spine is correctly represented, but the thorax is too shallow, and
the scapula, together with the whole fore extremity, is placed too
far forward.

NUMBER OF BONES COMPOSING THE SKELETON.

THE SKELETON is composed of two hundred and forty-seven
separate bones, which are united by joints to form the spine, tho-
rax, pelvis, tail, and fore and hind extremities. The spine is
finished anteriorly by the head, which is divided into the cranium
and face, and contains the teeth. Suspended from the head is the
os hyoides, which completes the number of bon^. Thus : —
THE SPINE consists of 7 cervical, 18 dorsal, and 6 lumbar ver-
tebrae—Total 31

THE THORAX is made up of the dorsal vertebrae, with 18 ribs

on each side, and the sternum in the middle — Total . . 37
THE PELVIS comprises 2 ossa innominata (or ilium, ischium,

and pubes), and 1 sacrum — Total 3

THE TAIL contains on the average 17 bones 17

THE FORE EXTREMITY is made up on each side of the scapula,
humerus, os brachii, and 8 carpal bones, 3 metacarpal, os
suffraginis, os coronae, os pedis, os naviculare, 2 ossa sesa-

moidea — Total on both sides 40

THE HIND EXTREMITY has the femur, patella, tibia, fibula, 6
tarsal bones, 3 metatarsals, os suffraginis, os coronse, os
pedis, os naviculare, 2 ossa sesamoidea — Total .... 38

BONES OF THE CRANIUM 10

BONES OF THE FACE AND LOWER JAW 18

TEETH 40

BONES OF THE INTERNAL EAR, 4 in each organ 8

Os HYOIDES, OR BONE OF THE TONGUE, made up of five sec-
tions 5

Grand total 247

GENERAL ANATOMY OF THE SPINAL COLUMN.

THE VERTEBRAL OR SPINAL COLUMN is the first rudiment of
internal skeleton seen in the lower vertebrate animals, and this
constitutes the type of that great division of the animal kingdom.
In the horse, also, it is the portion of the skeleton first developed
in the embryo, and forms the centre around which all the other

S S g 2 g g 3 g {f, 5£ g g s 5 S 5 S 5 S 5 -s .» .» r» « f" .*• « i* r

« SPINAL COLUMN— HEAD AND FACE. 253

parts arc framed. At its first appearance it is a cartilaginous
cylinder, surrounding and protecting the primitive trace of tlie
nervous system ; but as the embryo increases in growth, points of
ossification are developed corresponding to each vertebra, the whole
tube being finally divided into distinct pieces called vertebrae, to
which the bones of the head are a prolongation, corresponding in
their nature, though differing outwardly in form.

The vertebrae, are divisible into true and false, the former reach-
ing from the head to the pelvis, and the latter extending thence
backward, being respectively called the sacrum and coccyx.

T7ie true vertebrse comprise the 7 cervical, 18 dorsal, and 6 lum-
bar vertebrae. Each consists of a body, from which two laminae
or plates project upwards, terminating in a spinous process. In
addition to these are two lateral projections (transverse processes),
which serve the purpose of firmly connecting the vertebras together
by means of the muscles attached to them, and also to the ribs and
extremities below. Lastly, each vertebra has two small surfaces
before and the same number behind (articular surfaces), which
form distinct joints between them.

Between the body, the laminae, and the spinous process, is an
opening, more or less triangular in shape, in which lie the spinal
cord and its investments. The edges of this opening are attached
to those before and behind by ligamentous tissues (ligamenta sub-
flava), which, opposite each intervertebral space, are pierced by
openings on each side to give exit to the vertebral nerves passing
out to the exterior of the body and to the extremities. Opposite
to these openings the bone is notched above and below, and these
intervertebral notches complete the parts common to the whole
series. Thus the vertebral or spinal column serves as a firmlv se-
cured but flexible tube for the lodgment of the spinal cord, ^ -hile
at the same time it gives passage to its nerves. By this forn ation
it is far less liable to injury, and also more useful as an aid to loco-
motion, than if it were made of one solid piece of bone, which, from
its length, would be readily broken.

OF THE HEAD AND FACE, AND OF THE HYOID ARCH.

MODERN ANATOMISTS, following out the idea first suggested by
Maclise and Owen, consider the head as made up of six vertebrae;
the posterior one, or that nearest to the neck, being the occipital
bone, the next two being made up of the temporal bone, and the
ultimate vertebrae consisting of the sphenoid and aethmoid bones.
This is a somewhat fanciful hypothesis, when worked out in detail ;
but it is obvious that the several bones of the skull subserve the
same purposes as the vertebrae, and resemble those parts of the
skeleton in forming a series of irregular arches to protect the
22

254 THE HORSE.

brain, the division into separate pieces being far more secure than
if the whole were in one.

FIG. 1.— PROFILE VIEW OF THE HEAD AND FACE.

1. Occiput. 7. Malar bone.

2. Parietal bone. 8. Posterior maxillary bone.
A Frontal bone. 9—11. Nasal bone.

»4. Petrous portion of temporal bone. 10. Anterior maxillary bone.

5. Zygomatic arch. 11. Temporal fosoa.

6. Lachrymal bone. 12, 13. Lower jaw.

THE BONES OF THE FACE, including the lower jaw and os
hyoides, depend from the neural arch or brain-case much in the
same way as the ribs and pelvic bones posterior to them are at-
tached to the vertebrae, and though they enclose organs of less vital
importance, yet they are perfectly analogous to these parts in their
types and in the offices which they perform.

OF THE THORACIC ARCH AND ANTERIOR EXTREMITIES.

LYING IN THE HORSE AT SOME DISTANCE POSTERIORLY to the
three first segments of the haemal arch (the bones of the face, lower
jaw, and os hyoides), and separated from them by the neck, where
there is a hiatus, the thoracic arch and anterior extremities de-
pend from the vertebrae corresponding to them. In many of the
higher vertebrates the fore extremity is firmly united by a joint
to the thorax, and may be considered with it ; but in the horse it
is only attached by muscles, the thorax being slung between the
upper edges of the blade-bones by means of two broad sheets of
muscular fibres. Hence the collar-bone is entirely absent in this
animal j and thus, while he is free from dislocations and fractures
of that bone, to which he would be constantly* subject if it were
present, he is rendered more liable to strains and rheumatic in-
flammations of the muscular sling, by which freedom of action is
impaired.

THE SKELETON. 255

IN THE ARTICULATED SKELETON it is usual to consider the
thorax as made up by the eighteen dorsal vertebrae superiorly, the
eighteen ribs and their cartilages on each side, and the sternum
with its cartilages below. But the cavity of the thorax, as bounded
by the diaphragm posteriorly, is not nearly so large as would be
supposed from a consideration of the dry skeleton, for though the
diaphragm is attached to the twelve posterior ribs near their car-
tilages, yet its surface is so convex towards the thoracic cavity,
that a very large space within the bony thorax is really occupied
by the abdominal organs.

THE PELVIC ARCH AND HIND EXTREMITIES.

BEHIND THE THORAX occurs a second interval corresponding
to the loins, where the haemal arch is deficient; but at the pelvis
the circle is completed by the bones of the ischium, ilium, and
pubes, united to the sacrum above, and having the hind extremi-
ties firmly articulated to them at*the hip joints. The pelvis con-
stitutes not only a firm and solid case for the protection of the
large blood-vessels, and of the urinary and genital organs, but it is
also intimately connected with locomotion, to which the posterior
extremities largely contribute.

THE TAIL.

THIS ORGAN appears to be intended chiefly to protect the body
from insects ; but it also serves to some extent as an aid in bal-
ancing the body when rapidly moving in any new direction. It is
made up of from fifteen to eighteen bones.

THE FORE AND HIND EXTREMITIES CONSIDERED AS
ORGANS OF SUPPORT AND LOCOMOTION.

REGARDING THE LIMBS AS MEANS OP SUPPORT, it must be re-
membered that the fore limbs are nearer the centre of gravity,
and, therefore, sustain more weight than the hind. The fore
quarter is suspended between the bases of the two shoulder-blades,
chiefly by the serrati magni, and in such a way as to require no
special muscular contraction. The four parts of which the limb
itself is composed being bent at various angles, are prevented from
giving way by the muscular actions of the extensors of the hu-
merus and ulna, the carpus (or knee) having little tendency to
yield, and the pastern being supported by the flexor muscles and
suspensory ligament. The hinder limbs, though sustaining less
weight, are not so favorably circumstanced for this purpose, the
angles between their several parts being generally more acute.
But if these are attentively regarded, there is not so much differ-
ence as is generally supposed. Thus, the first joint, the ilio-fe-
moral, forms a less acute angle than its analogue, the shoulder

256 THE HORSE.

joint. Again, though the stifle joint is considerably bent, it is not
more so than the elbow joint, which will be clear on comparing
the two in the skeleton given at page 252. The chief disadvan-
tage sustained by the hind limbs as means of support will be found
in the hock, as compared with the knee, the latter being nearly
straight, while the former is much bent ; but as it has a long lever
to assist it (the os calcis), and as this is kept in position by the
powerful hamstring muscles, each of which serves its purpose far
more completely than the flexor of the carpus inserted in the os
pisiforme, it may readily be understood that the hind limb is not
greatly at a disadvantage in supporting the weight of the body.

As AGENTS OF LOCOMOTION, the offices of the fore and hind
limbs are widely different. Each has been already described as
consisting of four sections, bent at angles on each other. In the
fore limb these angles are framed to serve as springs, so that when
the feet touch the ground, they are enabled to adapt themselves so
as to avoid altering the line of progression of the body. In those
animals which have small and short fore legs, as the kangaroo and
hare, the most rapid locomotion ever consists in a series of curves ;
whereas, in the horse at full speed, the body progresses in one
straight line, owing to this elastic structure of the anterior limbs.
So, also, in descending from an extraordinary leap, the springy ac-
tion of the fore limbs of the horse is so powerful that he can get
off again without dwelling, whereas the kangaroo and hare must
depend almost entirely upon their hind legs, and consequently stop
for a second after their descent. On the other hand, the angular
formation of the hind limbs is intended to enable the animal to
drive its whole body forward, by first flexing all the joints, and
thus drawing the feet under the belly ; and then suddenly ex-
tending them with the feet fixed in the ground, the weight is ne-
cessarily propelled. Or if the feet are not fixed they are lashed
out backwards, developing the action so well known as " kicking."
The difference between the powers displayed by the two limbs, in
straightening their component parts, is well displayed in comparing
kicking with the striking out of the fore foot, which is common
enough among vicious horses. It is true that the latter will some-
times cause a severe blow ; but it could very rarely break a limb,
which is the least amount of mischief to be apprehended from the
full force of a lash out with the hinder limb.

THE TEETH.

257

CHAPTER XIV.
THE TEETH.

THE TEETH are developed within their appropriate cavities or
sockets, which are found exactly corresponding with their number
in the upper and lower jaws, being narrower in the lower than in
the upper. Before birth they are nearly all in a state of incom-
plete growth, covered and concealed by the gums, but soon after-
wards they rise through it in pairs, the first set, or milk teeth,
being in course of time superseded by the permanent teeth as in
all the mammalia. The following is the formula of the complete
dentition of the horse : —

Incisors §, canine |, molars |^.

EACH TOOTH is developed within its corresponding cavity in the
jaw, and is made up of three distinct substances — cement, enamel,
and dentine. The cement of the
horse's tooth (sometimes called
crusta petrosa) closely corresponds
in texture with his bone, and,
like it, is traversed by vascular
canals. The enamel is the hardest
constituent of the tooth, and con-
sists of earthy matter arranged in
the animal matrix, but contained
in canals, so as to give the
striated appearance which it pre-
sents on splitting it open. Den-
tine has an organized animal ba-
sis, presenting extremely minute
tubes and cells, and containing
earthly particles, which are partly
blended with the animal matter in
its interspaces, and partly con-
tained in a granular state within
its cells. These three substances
are shown in the annexed section
of an incisor tooth, see Fig. 2,
which is of the natural size.

IN THE MOLAR teeth the ar-
rangement of these three sub-
stances is the same, except that the
cement and enamel dip down into
two or more cavities instead of one, and are also reflected in a sinu-
ous manner upon the sides. This inequality in the hardness of the
22* R

PlQ. 2. — SECTION OF INCT80R.

c. Cement on external surface.

c. Cement reflected within the cavity
e. Knamel also reflected.

d. Dentine.

s. Tartar, colored black by decomposi
tion of food, contained within the
cavity.

258 THE HORSE.

component parts of these teeth causes them to wear away with
different degrees of rapidity, and thus leaves a rough surface,
which materially aids in grinding down the hard grain which
forms a large portion of the animal's food. In the upper jaw, the
table presented by each molar tooth is much larger than those of
the correspohding lower teeth, and therefore it is easy to distinguish
the one from the other.

THE TEMPORARY OR MILK INCISORS differ in shape a good deal
from the permanent set. The milk teeth are altogether much
smaller, but especially in the neck, which is constricted in them,
whilst in the permanent set, which go on growing as they wear out,
the diameter is nearly the same throughout. The former are also
whiter in color, and have grooves or indentations on their outer
surfaces, running towards the gum. Lastly, the mark on the table
is much slighter than in the permanent teeth. The temporary
molars are not distinguishable from the permanent teeth of that
class.

AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS ARRANGEMENT OF PARTS, the

teeth, as they wear down, present a different appearance according
to the extent to which their attrition has reached. On this fact is
founded a means of arriving at a knowledge of the age of the
horse after he has shed his milk teeth, which as a rule he does in
pairs at certain fixed periods. In order, therefore, to be able to
estimate the age of the horse from his teeth, it is necessary to
ascertain, as nearly as may be, the exact time at which he puts up
each pair of his milk or sucking teeth, and afterwards the periods
at which they are replaced by the permanent teeth. Finally, it
becomes the province of the veterinarian to lay down rules for
ascertaining the age from the degree of attrition which the per-
manent teeth have undergone. For these several purposes, the
horse's mouth must be studied from the earliest period of his life
up to old age.

In horseman's language the incisors are called nippers, the
canine teeth tushes, and the molars grinders.

BY THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR the colt has cut his twelve
nippers and sixteen grinders, which usually pierce the gums at the
following months. Before birth, the eight anterior grinders have
generally shown themselves, followed about a weeek after foaling
by the two central nippers. At the end of the first month another
grinder makes its appearance all round, and in the middle of the
second the next nipper shows itself. By the end of the second
month the central nippers have attained their full size, and the
second are about half-grown, requiring another month to overtake
their fellows. Between the sixth and ninth months the corner
nippers are cut, and towards the end of the first year reach their
full size. This first set of nippers consists of teeth considerably

THE TEETH. 259

smaller in size than the permanent teeth and somewhat different
in shape. They are more rounded in front, and hollow towards
the mouth, the outer edge being at first much higfrer than the
inner. As they wear down, these two edges soon become level,
but the corner nippers maintain this appearance for a long time.
At six months the central nippers are almost level, with the black
"mark" in their middle wide and faint; and about the ninth
month the next nipper on each side above and below is also worn
down almost to a level surface.

DURING THE SECOND YEAR the following changes take place :—
In the first month, and sometimes towards the end of the first
year, a fourth grinder is cut all round, which commences the set
of permanent teeth, the three first molars only being shed. At a
year and a half, the mark in the central nippers is much worn out,
and has become very faint; the second is also worn flat, but is not
so faint; and the corner nippers are flat, but present the mark
clearly enough. In colts which have been reared on corn and
much hay, the wearing down proceeds more rapidly than in those
fed upon grass alone.

THE THIRD YEAR is occupied by the commencement of the
se.cond dentition, which is effected in the same order in which the

FlQ. 3. — THREE-YEAR-OLD MOUTH.

B. Anterior maxillary bone. 3. 3. Corner milk teeth, still showing ceo-

1. 1 Central permanent nippers, nearly tral mark.

full-grown. 4. 4. Tushes concealed within tho jaw.

2. 2. Milk teeth worn down.

milk teeth made their appearance. Both sets are contained within
the jaw at birth, the permanent teeth being small and only par-

260

THE HORSE.

tially developed, and lying deeper than the milk teeth. As the
mouth grows, it becomes too large for its first set of teeth ; and the
roots of these being pressed upon by the growth of the permanent
set, their fangs are absorbed, and allow the new teeth to show
themselves, either in the places of the former, or by their sides, in
which case they are known by the name of wolf's teeth. This
change proceeds in the same order as the cutting of the milk
teeth, commencing with the first grinder, which is shed and re-
placed by a permanent tooth early in the third year, a fifth grinder
(permanent) making its appearance about the same time. Towards
the end of this year the sixth grinder shows itself, but grows very
slowly, and the central nippers above and below fall out, and are
replaced by permanent ones, which, as before remarked, are con-
siderably larger in size and somewhat different in form.

AT THREE YEARS the mouth presents the appearance shown on
the preceding page, the development of the permanent teeth vary-
ing a good deal in different individuals. At three years and four
or six months, the next nipper all round falls out, and is replaced
by the permanent tooth. The corner nippers are much worn, and
the mark in them is nearly obliterated. About this time also the
second grinder is shed.

AT FOUR YEARS OF AGE, the mouth should differ from that

FlO. 4. — MOUTH OF THE COLT AT FOUR AND A HALF TEARS.

A. Anterior maxillary bone. of growth, with the edges of the

1. 1. Central nippers, considerably worn cavity sharp, and the mark very

down. plain.

2. 2. The next pair, fully developed, with 4. 4. The tushes showing themselves through

their edges slightly worn. the gum, but not full-grown.

3. 3. Corner permanent nippers, in a state

represented in fig. 3 in the following particulars : — The central
nippers begin to lose their sharp edges, and have grown consider-

THE TEETH, v 261

ably in substance. The next nipper all round lias grown nearly
to its full size, but not quite, and its edges are still sharp, with the
mark deep and very plain. The corner milk nippers still remain,
unless they have been knocked out for purposes of fraud, which
is sometimes done to hasten the growth of the permanent teeth,
and give the horse the appearance of being four or five months
older than he is.

BETWEEN FOUR AND A HALF AND FIVE YEARS, the corner
nippers are shed, and the tush protrudes through the gum These
changes are shown at fig. 4.

AT FIVE YEARS, the mouth is complete in the number of its
teeth; and from this date it becomes necessary to study their
aspect in both jaws. Fig. 5 shows the upper teeth at this age, by
comparing which with fig. 4 the slight growth in the half-year

FlG. 5. — UPPER NIPPERS AND TUSHES AT FIVE YEARS OLD.

1. 1. Central nippers, with the mark 3. 3. Corner nippers, with the edges very

still unobliterated. slightly worn.

2. 2. Next nippers, with the mark still 4. 4. Tushes, well developed, and still show-

plainer, ing the groove on the outside plainly.

may be traced. In the lower teeth of the same mouth, the edges
of the Central cavities are much more worn away, the central
nipper having only a small black speck in the middle of a smooth
surface, while the next is much worn, and the corner teeth, though
showing the mark very plainly, bear evidence of having been used.
The tush is much grown, with its outer surface regularly convex,
and its inner concave, the edges being sharp and well defined. The

262

THE HORSE.

PIG. 6. — LOWER NIPPERS AND TUSHES AT FIVE TEARS OLD.

1. 1. Central nippers, with their marks 3. 3. Corner nippers, with the mark plainly

almost entirely worn out. seen, but the edges partially worn.

2. 2. Next nippers, showing marks par- 4. 4. Tushes, with the grooves inside almost

tially worn. obliterated.

sixth molar is at its furl" growth, and the third is shed to make
room for the permanent tooth in its place. These two last-named
teeth should always be examined in cases where there is any doubt
about the age. After five years, no further shedding occurs in
any of the teeth.

FlQ. 7. — THE LOWER NIPPERS AND TUSHES OF A SIX-YEAR-OLD HORSE.

B. The lower jaw.

1. 1. The central nippers, with the

marks worn out.

2. 2. The next nippers, with the marks

disappearing.
8. 3. The corner nippers, showing the

mark plainly enough, but with the
edges of the cavity considerably
worn.

1. The tushes, standing up three-quarters
of an inch, with their points only
slightly blunted.

THE TEETH. 2G3

THE SIX-YEAR-OLD MOUTH is the last upon which any great
reliance can be placed, if it is desired to ascertain the age of the
horse to a nicety; but by attentively studying both jaws, a near
approximation to the truth may be arrived at. It is ascertained
that the nippers of the upper jaw take about two years longer to
wear out than those of the lower; so that until the horse is eight
years old, his age may be ascertained by referring to them, nearly
as well as by the lower nippers at six. But as different horses
wear out their teeth with varying rapidity, it is found that this
test cannot be implicitly relied on ; and in crib-biters' or wind-
suckers the upper teeth wear out wonderfully soon. Fig. 7 is
taken from the lower jaw of a six-year-old horse, showing the marks
of the central nippers almost obliterated, but still presenting con-
centric circles, of discolored brown tartar in the middle ; next to
which is the cement, then the enamel, and the dentine, with a thin
layer of enamel outside. Up to this age, the nippers stand nearly
perpendicular to each other, the two sets presenting a slight con-
vexity when viewed together, as seen in figure on p. 254. After-
wards the nippers gradually extend themselves in a straight line
from each jaw, and, in the very old horse, form an acute angle
between them.

FlG. 8. — UPPER N1PPKRS IN THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD HORSE.

A. Anterior maxillary bone. 3. 3. Corner nippers, showing the mark

1. 1. Central nippers, worn to a plane plainly enough.

surface. 4. 4. Tushes, more worn down than in

2. 2. Next pair, still showing a slight the lower jaw of the six-year-old

remnant of the cavity. mouth.

AT ABOUT THE EIGHTH YEAR, the upper nippers present the

264 THE HORSE.

same appearance as already described in the lower nippers at six
years old. Both tushes are considerably worn away at their points,
and the upper ones% more so than the lower.

AT NINE YEARS OF AGE the upper middle nippers are worn
down completely. The next pair have a slight mark left, but
their surfaces are quite level, and the corner nippers have only a
black stain, without any central depression.

FlG. 9. — LOWER NIPPERS AND LEFT TUSH OP A VERY OLD HORSE, THE RIGHT HAVING
FALLEN OUT.

AFTER NINE YEARS the age of the horse can only be guessed
at from his teeth, which gradually grow in length, and are more
in a line with the jaw. The section of each nipper presented to
the eye becomes more and more triangular instead of being oval,
as seen in figs. 7 and 8 j but after about the twelfth year the
triangular section disappears, and the tooth becomes nearly round.
In accordance with the increase of length is the color of the
tooth altered, being of a dirty yellow in very old horses, with
occasional streaks of brown and black. The tushes wear down to
a very small size, and very often one or both drop out.

ALLUSION HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE to the practice of re-
moving the milk nippers for the purpose of inducing a more rapid
growth of the next set, which, however, is not materially affected
by the operation ; but dishonest dealers have recourse to another
deception, called bishoping, by which an aged horse may be passed
off upon an inexperienced person for a six-year old. The plan
adopted is to cut off all the nippers with a saw to the proper length,
and then with a cutting instrument the operator scoops out an oval

THE TEETH. 265

cavity in the corner nippers, which is afterwards burnt with a hot
iron until it is quite black. It is extremely easy to detect the
imposition by carefully comparing tjie corner nippers with the next,
when it will be seen that there is no gradation from the centre to
the corner nippers, but that the four middle ones are exactly alike,
while the corners present a large black cavity, without a distinct
white edge to it, the dentine being generally encroached upon with-
out any regularity in the concentric rings. Moreover, on com-
paring the lower with the upper nippers, unless the operator has
performed on the latter also, they will be found to be considerably
more worn than the lower, the reverse of which ought naturally to
be the case. Occasionally a clever operator will burn all the teeth
to a properly regulated depth, and then a practised eye alone will
detect the imposition. In the present day there is not so great a
demand for six-year-old horses as was formerly the case, and pur-
chasers are contented with a nine or ten-year-old mouth if the legs
and constitution are fresh. Hence bishoping is seldom attempted
excepting with horses beyond the age of eleven or twelve; and the
mere use of the burning-iron without cutting off the teeth will
seldom answer the purposes of the " coper." Formerly it was very
common to see mouths with the corner nippers burnt to show a
" good mark," and nothing else done to them; but, for the reasons
given above, the plan is now almost entirely abandoned.

IRREGULARITIES in the growth of teeth are by no means un-
common in the horse, often caused by the practice of punching
out the milk teeth to hasten the growth of the permanent set.
Instead of having this effect, however, the teeth are induced to
take a wrong direction, and not meeting their fellows they do not
wear down as they naturally should. In punching out the corner
nipper it is very often broken off, and the fang is allowed to remain
in the socket. The consequence is that the picking up of the food
does not hasten the removal of the fang of the milk tooth, and in-
stead of accelerating the growth of the permanent tooth in the
natural position, it retards it and sometimes drives it to seek a
passage through the gums behind its proper socket. Here, not
meeting the corresponding nipper of the upper jaw, it grows like
a tush, and has sometimes been mistaken for a second tooth of that
kind. Some horses are naturally formed with "pig jaws" — that
is to say, with the upper longer than the lower — and in these cases
the whole set of teeth grow to a great length, and interfere with
the prehension of the food.

23

266 THE HORSE.

CHAPTER XV.

OF THE JOINTS AND MUSCLE, — THE TISSUES ENTERING INTO
THEIR COMPOSITION.

Joint* — Cartilage. — Fibrous Tissue — Physiology of Muscle.

THE JOINTS.

THE JOINTS are all formed between two or more separate bones,
having a soft and elastic substance interposed, whose structure
varies with the amount of motion. Where this is extensive, as in
the joints of the limbs, the adjacent surfaces are covered with a
peculiar kind of cartilage arranged in a thin and very smooth layer
upon them. In addition to this protection against friction and
vibration, the bones are firmly bound together by strong bands of
white fibrous inelastic tissue under the general name of ligaments,
each bundle receiving a distinct appellation. In those situations
where the motion is limited, a mixture of cartilage and fibrous
tissue is inserted between the ends of the bones and attached to
both, as in the vertebrae, ischio-pubic symphysis, &c. ] while in
order to reduce the vibration and friction in certain important
joints fibro-cartilages are introduced, with both surfaces free, arid
in contact only with the usual layer of cartilage, as in the stifle and
jaw. A lubricating fluid (called synovia) is required to reduce
the amount of friction ; and to produce it, as well as to keep it
within proper limits, a membrane (synovial) is developed. This
is attached to each bone in a peculiar manner, to be presently de-
scribed. Lastly, an elastic fibrous tissue (yellow) is met with in
certain situations, the most remarkable being the great ligament
of the neck.

CARTILAGE.

TRUE CARTILAGE (which is familiarly known to all when it shows
the large white masses in a breast of veal, as dressed for the table)
is a homogeneous, white, semi-transparent substance, possessing a
certain amount of elasticity, and easily cut with a knife. In the
early embryo it exists as the sole foundation of the skeleton-, bone
being afterwards deposited in its meshes and finally substituted for
it. This is called temporary cartilage. In after life it "invests
those parts of the bones which enter into the composition of the
joints (articular cartilage, which is what we are considering just
now), and also forms the costal cartilages, the ensiform and carini-
form cartilages, and those of the larynx, trachea, and nose. Re-
ticular or membraniform cartilage, differing slightly from true
cartilage, is met with in the Eustachian tube, the external ear,
and the epiglottis.

CARTILAGE. 267

STRUCTURE. — On putting a slice of true cartilage ".inder the mi-
croscope, it is seen to consist of a number of minute cells disseminated
through a vitreous substance. The cells are oval, oblong, or poly-
hedral in shape, and more or less flattened by packing. The mem-
brane forming the cell-wall is usually blended with the matrix, but
sometimes consists of concentric layers. White fibres usually en-
close the mass of cells, and even dip sometimes into those cells
more superficially placed. The cells or corpuscles are contained in
hollow cavities, called lacunas. Sometimes they do not entirely fill
up the lacunae, so that a vacant space is left. The corpuscles are
usually dispersed in groups, varying in size and form, through the
matrix ; the groups towards the surface of the cartilage are gene-
rally flattened conformably with the surface. In articular car-
tilage, the matrix in a thin section appears dim and presents a
granular aspect, the cells and nuclei of which are small. The pa-
rent-cells enclose two or three younger cells. The groups they
form are flattened near the surface, and lie parallel with it. In the
internal part of this cartilage the cells assume a linear direction,
and point towards the surface. Near its attached surface cartilage
blends with the bone, the cells and nuclei of which become sur-
rounded by little granular bodies, which seem to be the rudimen-
tary deposit of bone. In costal -cartilage the cells are very large;
they contain two or more nuclei, which are clear and transparent,
and some contain a few oil globules. The cells, internally situated,
form oblong groups, disposed in lines radiating to the circum-
ference. We observe a great quantity of intercellular tissue, in
the form of white fibrous structure, the fibres of which are parallel
and straight.

PERICHONDRIUM (xsp}', around, and %6vdpo$, cartilage}, is a
white fibrous substance, 'which covers the external surface of all
cartilages, except those of the joints. In this membrane the blood-
vessels which supply the cartilage with blood, ramify. It is analo-
gous to the periosteum which covers the external surface of bones.

NERVES. — No nerves have been traced into any of the car-
tilages; they are destitute of sensation while free from inflam-
mation.

BLOOD-VESSELS. — Cartilage is non-vascular; it receives its nou-
rishment from the bone and perichondrium by imbibition. The
law of endosmose coming into operation when the tissue is thick,
as in the costal cartilages, canals are formed through which the
vessels pass to supply the parts which are too far 'removed from
the perichondrium. In articular cartilages no vessels enter. When
cartilage is removed by mechanical mtens, or by absorption, it is
not regenerated, and when fractured, as in the ribs, there is no
reunion by cartilage, but by fibrous, or most frequently by osseous
deposition.

268 THE HORSE.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. — True cartilage contains three-fifths
of its weight of water. It is ascertained that the cells and the in-
termediate substance are composed of different materials. The
membranes of the cartilage cells are not resolved by boiling, and
offer a lengthened resistance to alkalies and acids. The contents
of the cells coagulate in water and dilute acids, and are dissolved
by alkalies. The intermediate substance consists of chondrin,
which differs from gelatine in not being precipitated by the mine-
ral acids.

FIBROUS TISSUE.

FIBROUS TISSUE exists very generally throughout the body,
being composed of fibres of extreme minuteness. It is found
under three forms, as white fibrous tissue, yellow fibrous tissue, and
red fibrous tissue.

WHITE FIBROUS TISSUE is composed of cylindrical fibres of ex-
ceeding minuteness, transparent and undulating. They are col-
lected first into small fasciculi and then into larger bundles, which,
according to their arrangement, compose thin layers or membranes,
ligamentous bands or tendons. The, membraneous form is seen in
the periosteum and perichondrium, the fasciae covering various
organs, the membrane of the brain, &c. — Ligaments are glistening
and inelastic bands composed of fasciculi of fibrous tissue generally
ranged side by side, sometimes interwoven with each other. These
fasciculi are held together by separate fibres, or by areolar tissue.
They are of all forms, from the round band to the expanded mem-
brane known as a capsular ligament. — Tendons are constructed
like ligaments, but usually in larger and more rounded bundles.
Sometimes- they are spread out in the form of aponeuroses.

YELLOW FIBROUS TISSUE is also known as elastic tissue, from its
most prominent physical characteristic, in which it differs from
white fibrous tissue. It is so elastic that it may be drawn out to
double its natural length, without losing its power of returning to
its original dimensions. Its fibres are transparent, brittle, flat or
polyhedral in shape, colorless when single, but yellowish when ag-
gregated in masses. When this tissue is cut or torn, the fibres
become curved at their extremities in a peculiar manner. It is
met with in the ligamenta subflava of the vertebrae, the liga-
mentum colli, the chordae vocales, and membranes of the larynx and
trachea, and the middle coat of the arteries.

RED FIBROUS TISSUE, also called contractile tissue from its pos-
sessing the power of contracting under certain stimulants, is inter-
mediate between yellow fibrous tissue and muscular fibre. Its
fibres are cylindrical, transparent, of a reddish color, and collected
in bundles. It has no connection with the joints, but is met with
in the iris, around certain excretory ducts, and in the coats of the
veins.

FIBROUS TISSUE— PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE. 269

Chemical Composition. — The flexibility of fibrous tissue is owin"1
to the presence of water in it, of which it contains about two-thirds
of its weight. A tendon or ligament will readily dry and become
brhtle. Acetic acid causes it to swell up, and here the acid dis-
clo.es the existence of nuclei and elastic fibres. It is chiefly com-
posed of gelatine, which is extracted by boiling.

Blood-vessels. — White fibrous tissue contains few blood-vessels.
They usually follow the course of the fasciculi; in ligaments they
run in a longitudinal direction, sending off communicating branches
across the fasciculi, and eventually forming an open network.
The periosteum is much more vascular, but the vessels do not
strictly belong to the membrane, as the ramifications found in it
are chiefly intended for supplying blood to the bone which it
covers.

Nerves. — Small tendons contain no nerves, and large ones only
small filaments. In the periosteum, nerves are abundant; they
exist there chiefly for supplying the bones with sensibility. The
pain caused in rheumatism, which is an intensely painful disease,
is a proof of the sensibility of white fibrous tissue.

PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE.

WITH trifling exceptions the whole of the movements of the
body and limbs are performed by the agency of that peculiar sub-
stance, known in our butchers' shops as " flesh/' and recognised
by anatomists as muscular tissue. This constitutes thethief bulk
of the soft parts external to the three great cavities (the cranial,
thoracic, and abdominal), and in the half-starved subject of the
knacker or highly-trained race-horse, in which the fat has almost
entirely disappeared, the ordinary observer will detect nothing
but muscles (with their tendons) and bones beneath the skin
covering the limbs. On the trunk they are spread out into layers
varying in thickness, sometimes interrupted by flat tendons, so as
to form, at the same time, a protection to the organs within, easily
capable of .extension or contraction, and a means of moving the
several parts upon each other.

TENDONS resemble ligamenti in being composed of white fibrous
tissue, described at page 268. They serve to connect muscle with
bone, and are useful as affording an agent for this purpose of much
less compass than muscle itself, and also of a structure not so easily
injured by external violence. Thus they are generally met with
around the joints, the muscular substance chiefly occupying the
space between them. There are three varieties of tendon — 1.
Funicular, consisting of cord-like bands ; 2. Fascicular, including
bands of a flatter and more expanded nature; and 3. Aponeurotic,
which are membrai ous, and are chiefly met with around the ab-
domen. The fibres are firmly attached to the bones, which gener-
23*

270 THE H RSE.

ally present rough surfaces for this purpose, and are also closely
incorporated with the periosteum. This union is so strong, that
it very rarely gives way; and when extreme violence is used,
either the bone itself breaks, or the tendon sna£s in its middle.
Tendons are non-elastic.

To THE NAKED EYE, an ordinary muscle appears to be com-
posed of a number of small bundles of fibres, arranged in parallel
lines, and connected by a fine membrane. These bundles may
still further be separated into what seem at first to be elementary
fibres ; but when placed in the microscope, they are found to be
themselves made up of finer fibres united into fasciculi by delicate
filaments. These ultimate fibrillse are polyhedral in section, ac-
cording to the observations of Mr. Bowman, so as to pack closely
together, and are variable in size in different classes and genera of
animals. They also differ in appearance, one class presenting
stripes while the other is without them. The former includes all
the muscles whose movements are under the control of the will as
well as those of the heart, and some of the fibres of the oesophagus,
while the latter is composed of the muscles investing the stomach,
intestines, bladder, &c., which are comprehended under the gene-
ral term involuntary.

THE SARCOLEMMA is the name given by Mr. Bowman to the
areolar tissue investing each fibre, sometimes also called myolemma.
It is verv delicate and transparent, but tough and elastic; in
general it has no appearance of any specific structure, but some-
times it presents an aspect as if there was an interweaving of fila-
ments.

WHEN A FIBRILLA of striated muscle is examined under the
microscope of a high magnifying power, it is seen to present a
beaded appearance as if made up of a linear aggregation of dis-
tinct cells, alternately light and dark. When the fibrilla is
relaxed, each cell is longer than it is broad; but, during the
action of the muscle, it assumes the opposite dimensions, the increase
in one diameter being always in proportion to the diminution of
the other. As the contraction takes place the substance becomes
firmer than before, but the bulk remains the same, the mass
merely gaining in thickness what it has lost in length. The
application of certain stimulating agents will produce the contraction
for a certain period after life is destroyed, varying according to
the vitality of the animal experimented upon and the nature cf the
individual muscle. This is called irritability in the striated
muscles, which exhibit powerful contractions, alternating with re-
laxations— while in the involuntary muscles a more steady, per-
manent, and moderate contraction is met with, to which the name
of tonicity has been given.

PURE MUSCULAR FIBRE appears to be identical in composition

PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE. 271

with the fibrine of the blood, being made up of about seventy-
seven parts water, fifteen and a half parts fibrine, and seven and a
half parts of fixed salts. The whole of the flesh of the body is
largely supplied with blood, and it is found by experiment, on the
one hand, that if this is cut off contraction ceases very speedily
after; and on the other, that in proportion to the amount of mus-
cular action will be the demand for fresh supplies of blood. None
of the striated muscles, except of the heart and the muscles of
respiration, can go on acting without intervals of rest, during
which, repairs in« their structure are effected. If, therefore, the
voluntary muscles are to be brought into the highest state of vigor
and development of size, they must be regularly exercised and
rested at proper intervals. During the former condition blood is
attracted to them, and at the same time that fluid itself is ren-
dered more fit for the purposes of nutrition ; while, during the
latter period, the increased flow of blood continuing allows for a
complete reparation of the tissues. Thus we find the muscles of
the well-trained racehorse full and firm to the touch ; but if suffi-
cient intervals of rest are not allowed between his gallops, they
will present a very different feel, being flabby and wasted, and in-
dicating that he has been " overmarked."

THE VOLUNTARY muscles assume various shapes, according to
their positions and offices. Sometimes they are merely long strips
of muscular tissue, with a very short tendon at each end, as in the
levator humeri, and are then called fusiform. At others their
fibres radiate as in the latissimus dorsi, which is thence called a
radiating muscle. A third set are called penniform, from their
fibres being attached to one side of a tendon, or bipenniform, when
they are fixed to both sides like the full tail or wing feather of a
bird. A muscle with two masses of its tissue connected in the
middle by a tendon is called digastric.

IN DESCRIBING EACH MUSCLE, it is usual to speak of it as having
an origin from one bone, or set of bones, and an insertion into
another, the former term being generally assigned to the more
fixed division of the two. This is, however, merely for the sake
of convenience, and is entirely arbitrary.

BURS^E Mucos^E, which are shut sacs, varying in size from that
of a pea to a moderate pear, and lined with synovial membrane,
are placed on all the prominent points of bone over which tendons
glide. Thus there is a large one on the point of the hock, and
another on the elbow, both of which sometimes inflame and
become filled with synovia, constituting the states known as
capped hock and elbow. A third situation is just above the
sesamoid bones, where the swelling from inflammation receives the
name of windgall. Where, as in the legs, the tendons have to
glide to a great extent, they are invested with SYNOVIAL SHEATHS.

079

THE HORSE.

which are bound down by white fibrous tissue at the points where
the strain is the greatest. In the LIMBS the muscles are bound up
into masses by strong but thin layers of intercrossed white fibrous
tissue, which receives the name of FASCIA. In the horse this is
very firmly attached to the surface of the muscles beneath, and
greatly interferes with the clean dissection of them.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE THORAX.

Contents of the Thorax — The Blood — General Plan of the
• Circulation — The Veins — Physiology of Respiration.

CONTENTS OF THE THORAX.

THE THORAX, OR CHEST, is that cavity formed by the bodies of
the dorsal vertebrse superiorly; by the ribs and their cartilages
with the connecting muscles laterally; by the sternum inferiorly;
by the diaphragm posteriorly, and by the inner margins of the first

ribs and body of the first dorsal
vertebra anteriorly. It contains
the central parts of the import-
ant organs of circulation and
respiration, and gives passage to
the oesophagus, as it connects
the pharynx with the stomach.
As these lie within it, they are
allowed to play freely in per-
forming their functions, by being
enveloped by smooth serous mem-
branes, called the pleura and the
pericardium, the latter being
also protected by a fibrous layer.
A section of the thorax, as shown
in the plan, fig 10 will give some
idea of the relative situation of
these organs and their invest-
ments, as well as of the shape of
the cavity itself in this direction.
The heart is shown at A, lying
between the two bags of the
pleura, in the space called the
mediastinum. The lungs are shown at B B, covered by a fine
serous membrane (H H), pleura pulmonalis, except at their foots,

b 10. 10. — SECTIONAL PLAIT OP THORAX AND ITS
CONTENTS (THROUGHOUT ITS GIRTH-PLACE).

A. Heart.

B. B. Lungs.

C. K. D. F. Walls of the thorax.
G. G. Pleura costalis.

H. H. Pleura pulmonalis.

THE THORAX— THE BLOOD. 273

where the air-tubes and blood-vessels pass into their substance.
This portion of the pleura is continuous with the serous membrane
lining the ribs (G Gr, pleura costalis), which thus allows them to
expand and contract freely, by allowing one surface to glide against
the other. Thus, the pleura on each side covering the lungs, and
reflected thence to the inside of the ribs, and the thoracic side of
the diaphragm, £orins a shut sac or bag, which in the natural state
contains only sufficient serum to lubricate its walls ; but in disease
this is often increased to an enormous extent, ending in dropsy of
the chest, or in a collection of pus when the membrane is greatly
inflamed.

As the walls of the thorax expand by the action of the muscles
which move the ribs, as well as by the contraction of the diaphragm,
rendering its thoracic surface less convex, the cavity is enlarged
and air is drawn in through the trachea, constituting the act of
inspiration. On the other hand the contraction of the walls, and
the forcing upwards against the diaphragm of the stomach and
liver, by the action of the abdominal muscles, reduces the size of
the thorax, forces out the air, and induces expiration. The repe-
tition of these two actions is known by the general term respiration.

Before proceeding to describe the heart and lungs, it will be
necessary to examine the blood, for transmitting which fluid to all
parts of the body the heart and its vessels are formed; while, for
its proper aeration, the lungs, windpipe, and larynx, are intended
by nature.

THE BLOOD.

THE BLOOD, supplied from the food by the digestive process
hereafter to be described, furnishes all the tissues of the body with
a constantly renewed stream of the materials which they severally
require, whether for their nutrition or for the functions of secre-
tion and excretion performed by the various organs devoted to
these purposes. It is necessary, therefore, that this fluid should
be ci mposed of elementary matters capable of combining to form
the materials required, or of those substances ready prepared.
Thus, the muscles demand for their proper action fibrine and oxy-
gen, both of which are largely combined in arterial blood, while
the nervous system cannot respond to the calls of its grand centre
without having a due supply of fatty matter, also, in combination
with the oxygen obtained by respiration, which, however, is not
only intended to afford this gas, but also to remove the carbon
that would otherwise accumulate to a prejudicial extent. For
these several purposes the blood must be supplied with liquid ele-
ments by absorption from the digestive organs, and with its oxy-
gen, by imbibition through the delicate membrane lining the lungs
on which it is spread as it passes through the system of blood-

s

274 THE HORSE.

vessels specially set apart for that purpose. When it is considered
that the stomach, bowels, liver, pancreas, and spleen, are all occu-
pied almost solely in supplying the fluid with its grosser materials,
and that the heart, lungs, kidneys, and skin, are constantly engaged
in circulating it, supplying it with oxygen, and purifying it from
noxious salts and gases, its importance in the animal economy may
be estimated as it deserves.

As IT CIRCULATES in, or immediately after it is drawn from, its
appropriate vessels, the blood consists of an opaque, thickish fluid,
composed of water, fibrine, albumen, and various salts, and called
Liquor sanguinis, colored red, by having suspended in it a quan-
tity of corpuscles of a peculiar nature, some being without any
color. When drawn from an artery or vein, and allowed to remain
at rest for a few minutes, a coagulation takes place, by which the
blood is separated into the clot (coagulum) and the serum. The
former is composed of fibrine, having entangled in its meshes the
corpuscles; and the latter is the liquor sanguinis, without its fibrine.
The blood corpuscles of the horse measure about the five-hundredth
part of a line in diameter, being considerably larger than those of
man, whose diameter is only the four-hundred-and-thirtieth part
of a line ; those of the ass being still smaller, though only slightly
so. As in all of the mammalia but the camels, these bodies are
circular flattened discs, and are of the same size (nearly) in all
animals of the same species, whatever may be the age or sex. Ac-
cording to Messrs. Prevost and Dumas, the blood of the horse con-
tains less solid matter than that of man, in the proportion of 9.20
to 12.92 in 1000 parts. The temperature is also lower by about
two degrees of the centigrade thermometer, the pulse slower in the
proportion of 56 to 72, and the respirations 16 per minute against
18 in our own species. The shade of color in the red corpuscles
depends upon the proportion of carbonic acid and oxygen com-
bined with them. If the former preponderates, a deep purple-red
is developed, known as that of venous blood; while a liberal supply
of oxygen develops the bright scarlet peculiar to arterial blood.
The saline matters dissolved in the liquor sanguinis consist of the
chlorides of sodium and potassium (which comprise more than one-
half of the whole salts), the tribasic-phosphate of soda, the phos-
phates of magnesia and lime, sulphate of soda, and a little of the
phosphate and oxyde of iron.

GENERAL PLAN OF THE CIRCULATION.

THE BLOOD is CIRCULATED through the body, for the purposes
of nutrition and secretion, by means of one forcing-pump, and
through the lungs, for its proper aerafion, by another; the two
being united to form the heart. This organ is therefore a com-
pound machine, though the two pumps are joined together, so as

GENERAL PLAN OF THE CIRCULATION.

275

to appear to the casual observer to be one single organ. In com-
mon language, the heart of the mammalia is said to have two sides,
each of which is a forcing-pump ; but the blood, before it passes
from one side to the other, has to circulate through one or other
of the sets of vessels found in the general organs of the body, and
in the lungs, as the case may
be. This is shown at fig. 11,
where the blood, commencing
with the capillaries on the gene-
ral surface at (A), passes through
the veins which finally end in
the vena cava (B), arid enters
the right auricle (C). From
this it is pumped into (D) the
right ventricle, which, contract-
ing in its turn, forces it on into
the pulmonary artery (E), spread-
ing out upon the lining mem-
brane of the lungs, to form the
capillaries of that organ at F,
from which it is returned to the
left auricle (Gr) through the pul-
monary veins. From the left
auricle it is driven on to the left
ventricle; and this, by its power-
ful contractions, forces the blood
through the aorta (I), and the
arteries of the whole body, to
the capillaries (A), from which
the description commenced. But
though this organ is thus made
up of two pumps, yet they are

united into one organ, and the two auricles and two ventricles
each contract at the same moment, causing only a double sound to
be heard, instead of a quadruple one, when the ear is applied to
the chest. In the diagram it will be seen that one-half of the
cavities and vessels is shaded, indicating that it contains dark
blood, while the other contains blood of a bright red color. But
though we commonly call the one venous, and the other arterial,
the distinction only applies to the general circulation ; for that of
the lungs is exactly the reverse, the pulmonary artery (E) contain-
ing dark blood, and the pulmonary veins bringing it back to the
heart after it is purified, and has again received oxygen sufficient
to develop the scarlet color again. Between the auricles and ven-
tricles, and again at the openings of the latter cavities into their
respective arteries, valves of a form peculiar to each are placed, so

FlG. 11.— PLAN OF THE CIRCULATION.

A. Capillaries on the general surface.
3. Vena cava.

C. Right auricle.

D. Right ventricle.

E. Pulmonary artery.

F. Capillaries of the lungs, uniting to form

the pulmonary veins, which enter

G. The left auricle.
H. The left ventricle.

I. The aorta posterior, dividing into small-
er arteries, and united with the capil-
laries at A.

J. The trunk of the aorta anterior.

276 THE HORSE.

as to allow of the free passage onwards of the blood, but not of its
return by regurgitation. If they become diseased, the action of
the heart is impeded, and the circulation of the blood is more or
less seriously interfered with. So, also, if the muscular fibres, of
which the walls of the auricles and in much thicker layers of the
ventricles, are composed, become weak by want of proper exercise,
or from the deposit of fat in their interspaces, a corresponding de-
gree of mischief is effected in the passage of the blood. The force
with which the left ventricle contracts may be estimated from the
fact, that if a pipe is inserted in the carotid artery of a horse, and
held perpendicularly, the blood will rise in it to a height of ten
feet; and the rapidity of his circulation is such, that a saline sub-
stance will pass from the veins of the upper part of the body to
those of the lower in little more than twenty seconds. Now, as
this transmission can only take place through the current that re-
turns to the heart, and passes thence through the lungs and back
again, afterwards being forced into the lower vessels through the
aorta, it follows that every particle of this fluid passes completely
through the whole circulation in the above short period of time.

THE VEINS.

THE VEINS generally correspond with the arteries, the blood of
which they return to the heart. Thus, there is a large vein which
conveys all the blood from the anterior half of the body supplied
by the anterior aorta, and this is called vena cava anterior. In a
similar manner the posterior vena cava is made up of veins which
accompany the several arteries that are found throughout the body,
with one remarkable exception connected with the secretion of bile.

ALTHOUGH, IN GENERAL, the veins and arteries correspond in
their ramifications, yet there is a large class of superficial veins
which are not accompanied by any of the latter vessels. In horses
which for many generations have been accustomed to fast work,
these superficial veins are strongly developed, and are particularly
plain in the Arab and his descendants. As a consequence of this,
and of the fact that many of the arteries are accompanied by two
veins, the whole number of veins is much greater than that of the
arteries, and the internal area of the former may be considered to
be nearly double that of the latter. In their walls the veins are
much thinner than the arteries, though, like them, they have three
coats, the serous and cellular being very similar in structure, but
the fibrous is very much thinner and devoid of muscular fibres.
A feature peculiar to the veins is the existence of valves, which
are sometimes single, at others double, and occasionally arranged
in threes and fours around the interior of the large veins. They
vary in numbers, and are altogether absent in the pulmonary veins,
in the venae cavse, and the vena portse.

BREATHING. 277

PHYSIOLOGY OF RESPIRATION.

THE ESSENCE of the act of breathing consists in the absorption
of oxygen from the air, and the excretion of carbonic acid from
the blood which is circulated through it. In a state of rest this
interchange must go on with regularity, for carbonic acid is con-
stantly developed by the decay of the tissues, arising from the
peculiar necessities of the muscular and nervous tissues, and by
the conversion of the carbon of the food which appears to be
required for the development of heat. But when the muscles
of the whole body are called into play with unusual rapidity and
force, the development of carbonic acid is largely augmented, and
thus, not only is there a necessity for extra means of excreting
the carbonic acid, but there is also a demand for more oxygen to
unite with the carbon, which is the result of the disintegration
of the muscular fibres employed. Hence the acts of respiration
are more complete and rapid during exercise than in a state of
rest, and while much more carbonic acid is given off, a greater
volume of oxygen is absorbed from the air which is inspired.

IT is FOUND BY EXPERIMENT that if venous blood is exposed
to the action of oxygen, through a thin membrane such as blad-
der, it absorbs a portion of that gas, and changes its color from
dark red to a bright scarlet. This is in accordance with the re-
cognised laws of endosmose and exosmose; and as the blood cir-
culates in very fine streams within the vessels of the lungs, whose
walls are much thinner than an ordinary bladder, it may readily
be understood that it is placed in more favorable circumstances
for this interchange of gases than when tied up in a large mass
within a comparatively thick membrane. On examining the
structure of the lungs, they are found to be made up of a pair
of cellular sacs, communicating with the trachea, which admits
air into them ; and these sacs are furnished with a fine network
of capillary vessels distributed on their walls, and on those of the
numerous cellular partitions of which they are composed. Thus
the blood, as it enters the lungs in a venous state, is submitted
under very favorable circumstances to the agency of atmospheric
air ; it readily absorbs the oxygen while it gives off large volumes
of carbonic acid gas, the result of the combination of previously
absorbed oxygen with the carbon given off by the various organs
of the body already allunded to.

THE EXACT CHEMICAL CHANGES which have taken place in the
atmospheric air exhaled from the lungs and in the blood itself are
believed to be as follows : 1. A certain portion of oxygen has dis-
appeared from the air. 2. It has received a considerable volume
of carbonic acid. 3. It has absorbed fresh nitrogen. 4. It has
parted with some of the nitrogen of which it was previously made
up The last two changes cannot readily be demonstrated, but are
24

278 THE HORSE.

inferred from the fact that, under varying conditions of the body,
the nitrogen in the exhaled air may be either above or below the
proper proportional. Besides these, the air also receives a con-
siderable quantity of moisture, and some organic matters, which
in certain cases are largely increased. The changes in the blood
are not so fully known ; but it is now the general opinion of phy-
siologists that the formation of carbonic acid does not take place
in the lungs, but that the blood arrives there surcharged with it
already made, and not with carbon, as was formerly believed. The
action chiefly consists in the excretion of this carbonic acid, and
in the absorption of oxygen, which is stored up for the several
purposes for which it is required in the course of its circulation
through the body. Magnus demonstrated by experiment that
arterial and venous blood contain very different quantities of car-
bonic acid, oxygen, and nitrogen in a free state, for on obtaining,
by means of the air-pump, a volume of the gas contained in each
kind of blood, and analyzing them, he found them to be made up
as follows : —

Arterial. Venous.

Carbonic acid 62*3 71 '6

Oxygen 23-2 15 3

Nitrogen 14-5 13-1

It appears, therefore, that in passing through the capillaries, the
gas in the arterial blood loses about eight per cent, of oxygen, and
receives about nine per cent, of carbonic acid, which action is re-
versed as it passes through the lungs.

CHAPTER XVII.
THE ABDOMINAL AND PELVIC VISCERA.

The Abdomen and its Contents — Physiology of Digestion — Absorp-
tion— Structure of Glands and Physiology of Secretion — Depu-
ration and its Office in the Animal Economy — The Stomach —
The Intestines — Liver — Spleen — Pancreas — Kidney — Pelvis —
Bladder — Organs of Generation, Male and Female.

THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS.

LYING IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE THORAX, from which they
are separated only by the diaphragm, are the important organs of
digestion, and the space in which they are closely packed is called
the abdomen. This part is capable of being distended downwards
and sideways to an enormous extent, or of contracting till the lower

THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS. 279

walls approach very closely to the upper. The anterior boundary,
as before remarked, is the diaphragm, the plane of which moves
considerably in active respiration, causing the flanks, or postero-
lateral walls of the abdomen, to rise and fall, in a corresponding
manner, and thus to indicate the extent of distress in an exhausted
animal, or any peculiarity of breathing, as in " broken wind," or
in the several inflammatory conditions of the lungs. Posteriorly,
the boundary is an open one, being the anterior boundary of the
pelvis, and corresponding with the brim of that cavity. Superiorly
are the crura of the diaphragm, the lumbar vertebra, and psoas
and iliacus muscles ; and laterally, as well as inferiorly, the ab-
dominal muscles, and cartilages of the false ribs. Although the
abdominal muscles are capable of great dilatation, yet in the
natural condition they maintain a gentle curve only from their
pelvic to their costal attachments, and hence the depth and width
of the back-ribs and pelvis are the measure of the ordinary
capacity of the abdomen. Shallow and narrow back-ribs give a
small abdominal cavity, and generally speaking, a correspondingly
weak condition of the digestive organs; for though this rule is
not invariable, yet it is one which may be held as a sufficient guide
for practical purposes. Instances do occur of stout and hearty
horses possessed of contracted middle pieces, but they are so rare
as to be merely objects of curiosity. The small space which is
devoted to the organs of digestion in the horse whose back ribs
are shallow will be readily understood by reference to the annexed
section, in which the enormous mass of intestines and the liver
have been removed, leaving only the stomach and spleen. When
the walls of the abdomen are distended laterally and downwards,
as they always are in horses at grass, the capacity of the abdomen
is at least doubled.

THE CONTENTS OF THE ABDOMEN are the stomach, the liver,
the pancreas, the spleen, the small and large intestines, the mesen-
teric glands and chyliferous ducts, and the kidneys, together with
their vessels and nerves. Some of these organs are fixed close to
the spine, as the kidneys and pancreas; but the others glide upon
each other as they are alternately empty or full, and to facilitate*
this motion they are (like the lungs) invested with a serous coat,
the peritoneum. They may be divided into the hollow organs,
which form one continuous tube (the alimentary), and the solid
viscera, which, with the exception of the spleen, are all of a '
glandular structure, though differing in their minute anatomy.
The alimentary canal consists throughout of three distinct layers :
the external serous coat (peritoneal}, the middle or muscular coat,
and the internal mucous coat, which are united by cellular mem-
brane, sometimes regarded as forming two distract additional coats.

280 THE HORSE.

PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION.

BEFORE PROCEEDING TO EXAMINE into the anatomy of the ab-
dominal organs, it may be well to investigate the nature of the
processes which are carried out by them. To do this, the food must
be traced from its prehension by the lips and teeth to its expul-
sion from the anus. Thus, commencing with the mouth, we find
it there ground into a coarse pulp, and mixed with the saliva,
which acts as a kind of ferment in converting the starchy matters,
which form so large a proportion of the horse's food, into sugar,
and, with the aid of the gastric juice, into the proteine compounds
necessary for the formation of flesh. Perfect mastication and
insalivation are therefore highly important processes to healthy
digestion. When it reaches the stomach, the food undergoes still
further changes by the agency of the gastric juice and of mace-
ration ; but this organ being small in the horse, it cannot remain
there long enough to be converted into perfect chyme (the result
of the first process of digestion), but is passed on into the duo-
denum for that purpose. Here it is further elaborated, and re-
ceives the bile and pancreatic juice, which are poured out through
their ducts opening on the internal surface of this intestine. The
nutricious parts of the food are now gradually converted into chyle;
and as it passes into the jejunum and ilium, it is there absorbed
by the lymphatics (here called lacteals), whose mouths open upon
the villi thickly lining this part of the canal. These unite into
one duct (the thoracic^, and the chyle is by it carried into the
veins through an opening at the junction of the left vena cava an-
terior, with the allary vein. From the small intestines, the food,
minus its nutritive portions, is passed on into the large intestines,
and finally reaches the rectum and anus, in the form known as
faeces. The peculiar offices performed by the bile and pancreatic
fluid will be described under the sections treating of each of those
organs.

THE ABSORPTION OF FLUID from the interior of the alimentary
canal is effected in two different modes — first, by the lacteals, which
take up the chyle through their open mouths ; secondly, by the
veins, which absorb it through their walls by the process known
as endosmose. In the former case the chyle is at once carried to
the heart; but in the latter, it passes through the liver, and be-
comes purified and chemically altered in that organ. The lacteals
pass through the mesenteric glands, which lie between the layers
of the mesentery.

STRUCTURE OF GLANDS AND PHYSIOLOGY OF
SECRETION.

A GLAND may be defined to be an organ whose office it is to
separate from the blood some peculiar substance, which is poured

THE GLANDS— DEPURATION. 281

out through an excretory duct, whose internal surface is continu-
ous with the mucous membrane, or skin. A simple gland is, in
fact, nothing more than a pouch of mucous membrane ; and a col-
lection of these pouches constitutes a compound one, which, if the
groups of which it is composed are loosely bound together like
grapes, as in the salivary glands, is called conglomerate ; while, if
they are united into a solid mass, such as the liver, the term con-
globate is applied.

BY SECRETION is understood the process of separation of various
matters from the blood ; the term being also applied to the pro-
ducts of the process, such as saliva, bile, &c., which are commonly
known as secretions. These are all removed from the blood for
one or two purposes — first, in order to be employed for some ul-
terior object in the various processes going on in the body, either
for its own preservation, or that of others ; or, secondly, as being
injurious to its welfare, and therefore to be discarded. The term
secretion is sometimes confined to the former, while the latter
action receives the distinguishing term excretion : but as in many
cases the fluid which is removed as being injurious to the system
is also used for beneficial purposes the distinction is not capable
of being strictly maintained. The nature of the process is es-
sentially the same in all cases, being carried out by the development
of simple cells, each possessing its own independent vitality. These
cells select certain ingredients from the blood, and then set them
free by the rupture of their walls ; and being situated on the free
surface of the lining membrane of the gland, which is continuous
with the mucous membrane or skin, the secreted fluid gradually
reaches the one or the other. It is impossible, at present, to ascer-
tain the precise means by which each gland is made up of cells
having special powers of selection j but that the fact is so, is
capable of demonstration. Thus, the cells of the liver select the
elements of bile ] those of the salivary glands, saliva ] and so on.
But, as we shall hereafter find, there are minute points of differ-
ence in the arrangement of these cells in the different glands. It
,is now ascertained that the elements of the various secretions
exist in the blood ; and therefore the office of the glands is con-
fined to the selection and separation of their products, and they
have little or nothing to do with their conversion.

DEPURATION, AND ITS OFFICE IN THE ANIMAL
ECONOMY.

THE WHOLE OF THE VARIOUS SECRETIONS which go on in the
body are necessary for the due preservation of its health ; but the
most important of the class alluded to above as excretions, must be re-
moved from the blood or death will speedily ensue. Thus, if saliva
and gastric juice, as well as the other secretions aiding digestion,
24*

282 THE HORSE.

are not mixed with the food, the nutrition of the body will be
imperfectly carried on, and its health will suffer. But if the ele-
ment of bile and urine are retained in the blood, not only is the
system upset, but absolute death is produced in severe cases.
Hence it follows, that attention to the state of the organs of
depuration, or excretion, is of more importance even to those of
secretion, using these terms in the sense explained in the last para-
graph. The chief organs of depuration are the lungs, which re-
move carbon from the blood ; the liver, which secretes the bile ;
the kidneys which get rid of the urea ; and the skin, which relieves
it of its superfluous watery and some small proportion of its solid
particles. Experiment shows that the retention of carbon, or urea,
in the blood is speedily followed by death ; while the non-secretion
of bile, if entire, poisons the system; and in milder cases, its
absence from the alimentary canal interferes with the due elabora-
tion of the chyle.

THE STOMACH.

THE STOMACH is situated on the left side of the abdominal
cavity, immediately behind the diaphragm. It resembles in shape
the bag of the Scotch bag-pipes, having two openings, two curva-
tures (a lesser and a greater), two surfaces, and two sacs, which
are generally divided by a constriction. Its volume varies with
its contents, but in the horse of average size it will not contain
more than three gallons, while the stomach of man, whose weight
is only one-eighth that of the horse, holds three quarts.

THE INTESTINES.

THE INTESTINES, large and small, constitute a hollow tube,
very variable in diameter, and measuring from eighty to ninety feet
in length in an average-sized horse. They extend from the stomach
to the anus ; and though nature has only divided them into two
portions, the small and large, yet anatomists have subdivided each
of these into three more, namely, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum
— ccecum, colon, and rectum.

THE SMALL INTESTINES are about seventy feet long, and vary
from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, except at their
commencement, where there is a considerable dilatation, forming
a sort of ventriculus or lesser stomach. They are gathered up
into folds, in consequence of the mesentery, which attaches them
to the superior walls of the abdomen, being of very limited extent
as compared with their length ; and thus they may be described
as presenting two curves, a lesser mesenteric curvature, and an
outer or free one covered by the peritoneum. The outer layer of
the muscular coat consists only of a few and scattered fibres, while
the inner one is circular in its arrangement, and though thin as

INTESTINES— LIVER— SPLEEN. 283

compared with the stomach, yet it is easily distinguished. The
mucous coat is gathered into a few longitudinal folds when empty,
which are very marked at its commencement ; but there are no
valvular appendages as in the human intestines. It is everywhere
studded with villi or little projections, like the pile of velvet,
through the open mouths of which the chyle is taken up, and be-
neath it are numerous glands named after their discoverers.

THE LARGE INTESTINES, as their name implies, are of much
greater diameter than the small; but they are not above one-third
of their length. Instead of being convoluted, they are puckered
into pouches by a peculiar arrangement of the longitudinal mus-
cular fibres, which are collected into bundles or cords, and being
shorter than the intestine, gather it up into cells. The mucous
membrane also has very few villi, which become more and more
rare towards the rectum.

THE LIVER.

THIS IMPORTANT ORGAN is in close contact with the right side
of the diaphragm. It is of an irregular figure thick in the middle
and thin at the edges ; divided into three lobes ; convex on its an-
terior surface, where it is adapted to the concave aspect of the dia-
phragm ; concave posteriorly. The color is that which is so well
known, and peculiar to itself. It is everywhere invested by the
peritoneum, excepting the spaces occupied by the large veins as
they enter and pass out, and the coronary ligament which sus-
pends it, as well as the three other folds of peritoneum, which
have also received particular names.

THE FUNCTION of the liver is doubtless chiefly of a depuratory
nature, but the soapy nature of the bile seems to be destined to aid
in dissolving the fatty materials which are contained in the food,
and to stimulate the intestines to perform their duties.

THE SPLEEN.

THE SPLEEN can scarcely be considered as a gland, inasmuch as
it has no excretory duct, but it contains within its substance a
number of little bodies, called Malpighian corpuscles, which most
probably perform the same office as the absorbent glands. Its
weight as compared with the whole body is about the same as in
man, whose spleen weighs six ounces, while that of the horse rarely
exceeds three pounds. It is attached by the lesser omentum (a
told of the peritoneum) to the stomach, and occupies the left side
of that organ. It is covered by a serous coat continuous with the
peritoneum, and its internal structure is spongy, and made up of
cells which contain a large quantity of blood.

THE FUNCTION of the spleen is not positively ascertained, but it
is believed to perform the office of a reservoir for the blood re-
quired by the stoma?h, with which it is closely connected by a set

284 THE HORSE.

of vessels (vasa brevia), and also to effect some change m the blood
itself.

THE PANCREAS.

THE PANCREAS is an elongated gland resembling in structure
the salivary glands, placed close to the spine, above the stomach.
It has two excretory ducts, which carry the pancreatic fluid se-
creted by it into the duodenum through a valvular opening com-
mon to it and the hepatic duct. THE USE of the pancreatic fluid
appears to be similar to that of the saliva.

THE KIDNEYS.

THE KIDNEYS are two oval organs situated beneath the psoas
muscles, and only retained in their position by the fatty cellular
membrane which envelops them, and by the upward pressure of
the other abdominal viscera below them. The right kidney is
completely within the ribs, but the left scarcely advances at all
beyond the eighteenth rib : each averages about forty ounces in
weight, but there is a considerable variation in size and form.
Unlike the corresponding organ in the cow, the horse's kidney is
not split up into lobules, though there is some little irregularity of
outline and surface.

THE PELVIS.

THE CAVITY OP THE BODY known as the pelvis is situated be-
hind the abdomen, with which it communicates freely, each being
lined by a continuation of the peritoneum. A ridge of bone (the
brim of the pelvis) is the line of demarcation anteriorly. The
sacrum and os coccygis bound it superiorly, the anus posteriorly,
and the ossa innominata inferiorly and laterally. It contains the
bladder and rectum in both sexes, and in each the organs of gene-
ration peculiar to it.

THE BLADDER.

THE BLADDER is a musculo-membranous bag destined to contain
the urine as it is gradually received from the ureters, which bring
it down from the kidneys. It lies in the middle of the pelvis,
occupying also more or less of the abdomen according to its con-
dition in point of repletion or emptiness. It is of an oval shape,
with its posterior extremity somewhat more pointed than the other,
and called its neck. At this point it gives origin to the urethra,
a canal for carrying off the urine. It receives the two ureters at
its superior surface, about an inch in front of the neck, where they
pierce the several coats in an oblique direction forming a complete
valve which prevents the return of the urine, and so invisible that
the presence of two openings is scarcely ever suspected by the
ordinary observer. Only about one-third of the bladder is covered
by the peritoneum the remainder being made up solely of the

ORGANS OF GENERATION. 285

muscular and mucous coats which compose all the hollow viscera.
It is retained in its place by the cellular membrane which connects
it with the lower walls of the pelvis, posteriorly by the urethra,
and by the folds of the peritoneum which are continued from it
to the sides of the pelvis, and are called the broad ligaments of the
bladder.

THE ORGANS OF GENERATION, MALE AND FEMALE.

THE MALE ORGANS OF GENERATION consist of the testes and
their ducts the vasa deferentia, the latter conveying the semen to
the urethra or to the vesiculse seminales, which are oval bags con-
nected with the upper surface of the neck of the bladder. Here
the seminal fluid is stored up for use, and when wanted is conveyed
into the vagina by means of the external organ or penis. The
anatomy of the testicles is that which mainly concerns the horse-
master, as they are generally removed by operation. They are
contained within the scrotum, which is externally composed of
skin wrinkled in the foal, but subsequently distended by the size
and weight of its contents. Beneath this is a layer of a pale yel-
lowish fibrous membrane called the dartos, which envelops the
testes and forms a separation between them. A thin coat of cellu-
lar membrane alone separates this from the double serous mem-
brane, the tunica vaginalis, which almost entirely envelops each
testis just as the pleura does the lung. In the early stages of foetal
life the testes are contained within the abdomen above the perito-
neum, but being attached to the scrotum by a thin muscle (the
cremaster) they are gradually dragged downwards through the
inguinal canal and each brings a double layer of peritoneum, which
continues its connection through life, so that fluid injected into
the cavity of the tunica vaginalis will flow into the peritoneum.
Hence inguinal hernia in the horse becomes scrotal in a very short
space of time, and rarely remains confined to the former position.
The testicles with their appendages, the vesiculse seminales, form
the semen by the usual process of secretion. They are of about
the size of a duck's egg, and besides their attachment by the re-
flexions of the tunica vaginalis to the scrotum, they have also the
spermatic cord which suspends them to the inguinal canal through
which it passes. This cord it is which is divided in castration,
and it is well to ascertain its component parts. They are, 1st.
The artery which supplies the testicles with blood, and is of con-
siderable size and tortuous in its course. 2d. The artery of the
cord, small and unimportant. 3d. The veins which accompany
these arteries. 4th. The nerves and absorbents, the division of
the former giving great pain and causing a slight shock to the
system. 5th. The vas deferens or duct carrying the semen to the
urethra, and possessing walls of such thickness that it feels like

286 THE HORSE.

whipcord under the finger. These several parts are connected
together by cellular membrane and covered by the two layers of
reflected peritoneum, namely, the tunica vaginalis and tunica vagi-
nalis reflexa, by the thin layer of cremaster muscle, as well as by
a fourth investment, a continuation of the superficial fascia of the
abdomen. All these parts must be divided before the canal is
reached, for operating in castration.

THE FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION are essentially the ova
ries, the uterus and its appendages forming the bed in which the
embryo is nurtured to maturity. The ovaries are two small oval
bodies, about the size of large walnuts, situated behind the kid-
neys, and having the fimbriated extremities of the fallopian tubes
hanging loose.y adjacent to them. These tubes, one on each side,
terminate in the uterus, which is of a remarkable shape in the
mare. It consists of a body and two horns. The body has a
mouth, or os, which opens into the end of the vagina, while, in
itself, it is oblong, and in the unimpregnated state it is entirely
contained within the pelvis. Anteriorly it divides into two horns
(cornua), which diverge towards the loins, turning upwards, and
lying under the wings of the ossa ilii (see fig. facing p. 251). They
terminate in rounded extremities. Each cornu receives the fallo-
pian tube of its own side, the opening being so small as scarcely
to admit a silver probe. The vagina lies between the bladder and
rectum, and is about eighteen inches in length ; it is lined with
mucous membrane, and surrounded with muscular fibres, which
form the sphincter vaginae.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE NERVES AND SPECIAL ORGANS.

The Nerves — The Organ of Smell — The Eye — The Ear —
The Organ of Touch — The Foot.

THE NERVES.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM may be compared to the fuel that
heats the water of the steam-engine, and converts that apparently
most simple and innocent fluid into the powerful agent which is
capable of developing almost any amount of force. This fuel,
however, is itself inactive until it is endowed with life by the
agency of fire j and, in the same way, the nervous system of the
animal being must be provided with the living principle, of whose
nature we can only judge by its effects when present, and by the
cessation of all action when absent. There are many processes

NERVOUS SYSTEM— NOSE— EYE. 287

which are carried on in the animal as in the vegetable without the
necessity for any direct stimulus from a nervous centre, such as
the growth of each separate tissue throughout the body, which
takes place in the former, just as it does in the latter, by a species
of cell-development and metamorphosis independent of nervous
energy ; but though this growth is thus accomplished, yet it would
soon be starved out for want of pabulum, were it not for the supply
of food to the stomach, which requires the mandate of the nervous
system for its performance, and so on with every corresponding
action of the body.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM is made up of two distinct substances,
one grey in color, and granular in structure, which is the seat of
all nervous power ; the other white and fibrous, which is the tele-
graph wire by which this power is communicated. Sometimes the
grey matter envelops the white, and at others it is enclosed within
it, but in every case each has its peculiar office, as above men-
tioned. Each collection of grey matter is called a ganglion, what-
ever its shape may be ; but the white fibres may be either in the
form of commissures for connecting the ganglia together, or they
may be agents for communicating with other organs, and are then
called nerves.

THE ORGAN OF SMELL.

THE NOSE of the horse, like all the solipedes, is endowed with a
sensibility far greater than that of man ; but in this respect he is
not equal to many other animals, such as the dog and cat kinds,
and the sole use which he makes of this sense is in the selection
of his food.

THE EYE.

THE ORGAN OF SIGHT may be considered as consisting first of
all of an optical instrument very similar to the camera obscura,
now so commonly used in photography, and secondly of the parts
which are employed to move, adjust, and protect it from injury.

THE EYE itself consists of three transparent humors, which
answer the purpose of the lens of the camera, by collecting the rays
of light upon the back of the eye. These are the aqueous in front,
the crystalline lens in the middle, and the vitreous humor behind.
The first is a perfectly transparent and limpid fluid, secreted by
the lining of the chamber in which it lies, and capable of being
rapidly renewed in case of a puncture letting it out. The lens, on
the contrary, has the consistence of very hard jelly, and is
arranged in concentric layers, like the coats of an onion. It is
merely a double convex lens, precisely like that of the camera in
its action, and is the chief agent in producing the impression of an
object upon the sensitive part of the eye. Behind it is the vitre-
ous humor, composed, like the aqueous, of a limpid fluid, but in-

288 THE HORSE.

stead of being unconfined except by the walls of the chamber in
which it lies, it is bound up in a network of transparent cells,
which give it the consistency and appearance of a delicate jelly.
Upon the perfect transparency and proper shape of these humors
depends the sight of the animal j but in addition to the risk of
blindness from any defect in these parts, if the investing coats or
membranes are inflamed or disorganized, their functions are not
performed, and the sight is either impaired or destroyed. Thus
the rays of light may be fairly collected, so as to throw the impres-
sion of every object within the sphere of vision upon the back of
the eye, and yet the horse may be blind, because the retina or
expansion of the optic nerve 'is disorganized by disease. When
inflammation attacks the coats of the eye, it generally extends to
the investments of the humors, and to the substance of the lens
itself, producing cataract or opacity of that part, but it is possible
to have the sight impaired from a mere defect of shape in the
anterior coat, so as to make the surface too convex and thus alter
the focus of the sight. This is the " buck-eye," which leads to
shying, and is perfectly incurable. The membranes are, first, the
cornea, a perfectly transparent coat, placed in front of the eye, and
inserted, like a watch glass, in the schlerotic coat covering the
posterior four-fifths of the globe. The latter is a white fibrous
membrane, strong and inelastic, so as to afford protection to the
parts within it from external violence. This forms the white of
the eye, which, however, is only occasionally visible in the horse.
Beneath the schlerotic is the choroid coat, consisting of a network
of blood vessels, and lined with a black pigment, which again has
on its internal surface, at the part opposite the pupil, a greenish-
white iridiscent lining, called tapetum lucidum, or luminous carpet.
Lastly, within the whole of this surface is spread a beautiful
expansion of the optic nerve, called the retina, which receives the
impressions derived from the rays of light, forming a distinct figure
upon it exactly similar to the objects which are presented to it,
except in point of size, and in being inverted. Beyond these parts,
there is a provision made for moderating the rays of light according "
to their intensity. This is effected by means of an opaque septum,
pierced with an oval hole — the former being called the iris, and
the latter the pupil. The substance of the iris itself is composed
of contractile tissue, which has the power of expanding or contract-
ing the pupil in obedience to the impression produced upon the
retina, and thus, if the eye is examined in a strong light, the pupil
will appear large when shaded by the hand, but contracts immedi-
ately on exposing the eye. The horse's iris is brown, varying
somewhat in shade in different individuals, and at the upper part
of the pupil it presents one or two little floating appendages, which
serve to moderate the sun's rays. Sometimes the brown color is

THE EYE— THE EAR. 289

absent, and the iris is either partially or entirely white, in which
case it is called a " wall eye ;" but though this is considered
unsightly, it does not interfere with vision. The iris is stretched
across the chamber of the aqueous humor, and is thus enabled to
act freely. There are many other delicate structures worthy of
being examined, but want of space must prevent any further allu-
sion to them.

THE APPENDAGES of the eye are 1st. The conjunctiva or mem-
brane protecting the exposed surface of the eye. 2d. The eyelids.
3d. The membrana nictitans or haw. 4th. The muscles of the
eye. 5th. The lacrymal apparatus. The conjunctiva covers the
whole front of the eye, being thin, and perfectly transparent in a
healthy state, but on the occurrence of inflammation speedily be-
coming red and puffy. It is reflected from this face to the inside
of the eyelids, and the whole membrane is extremely liable to in-
flammation from any external irritation. The eyelids have nothing
very remarkable about them, being merely cartilaginous shutters
covered with fine skin, and lined with conjunctiva, and raised and
lowered by muscles peculiar to them. The membrana nictitans or
haw is a cartilage lying just within the inner corner of the eye,
but capable of being thrust outwards so as to partially cover it
when the muscles retract the eye, and for want of space drive it
forward. This happens whenever the eye is irritated either by
an insect, or by the dust or hayseeds which are so often deposi-
ted upon the conjunctiva, and which, causing the eye to be drawn
back, displace the fat deposited in the back of the orbit, and this
again pushes forward the haw. For this reason, in all irritable
states of the eye, the haw is prominent, but it by no means follows
that its removal will diminish the irritation ; on the contrary, the
usual effect is to increase it, and the operation is not only useless,
but injurious. The muscles move the eye in all directions, and
have the peculiar property of keeping the long diameter of the
pupil always nearly in a line parallel with the horizon. Practi-
cally they are not of any great importance. The lacrymal appa-
ratus consists of the lacrymal gland, situated beneath the outer
wall of the orbit, and secreting the tears, which are intended to
wash the conjunctiva clear of any foreign body. The secretion is
thrown out upon its surface through a number of small ducts, and,
traversing from the outer angle to the inner, is conducted through
two small openings in the lids to the lacrymal sac, and from that
by the nasal duct to the nose.

THE EAR.

THIS ORGAN is divided into the external ear for collecting the
waves of sound, and conveying them inwards, and the internal ear
which is situated within the petrous part of the temporal bone.
25 T

290 THE HORSE.

The latf/er is a very complicated and delicate orga j ; but its forma-
tion does not differ in any essential features from that of the other
vertebrate animals, nor are the diseases attacking it in the horse
of any particular importance, so that its description will be omitted.

THE ORGAN OF TOUCH.

THE SENSE OF TOUCH is necessary for the proper appreciation
of the mechanical form and nature of the objects placed in appo-
sition to the body, and of their temperature. It is seated gener-
ally in the terminations of the nerves of sensation on the skin ; but
there are certain parts specially endowed with these nerves, which
iu the horse are the lips and the four extremities.

EVERY PART OF THE SKIN is sensible to impressions from ex-
ternal objects, but the sense of touch, such as we possess in the
fingers, can only be said to reside in the lips, and partially in the
feet. All these parts are profusely supplied with nerves of sensa-
tion, and the horse may often be observed to use them in ex-
amining external objects, especially his lips, which are the most
delicate of his organs of touch. Mr. Rarey has lately drawn special
attention to this subject; but it has long been known to those
who are familiar with the habits of the horse. The feet are also
largely supplied with nerves, though not to the same extent as the
human fingers, and being covered with horny matter, the sensi-
bility of the surface is greatly reduced \ still there can be no doubt
that the horse uses them occasionally in making out the nature of
objects presented to him, and this is especially the case with the
fore feet, though it will sometimes happen that the hind extremi-
ties are used for the same purpose, as for instance, in ascertaining
the nature of a hard body before kicking at it.

THE FOOT.

IT is NECESSARY TO EXAMINE the structure of the foot most
carefully, not as an object of curiosity connected with the sense of
touch, but on account of the numberless diseases and accidents to
which it is subject. No part of the horse is so liable to the effects
of hard work and mismanagement as this, and there is conse-
quently none which more requires our care both in health and
disease.

THE PARTS, entering into the composition of the foot, will be
better understood by a reference to the annexed section of the
phalanges or fingers terminating the metacarpal or metatarsal
bones, as the case may be, with their investments. It will be seen
that there is very little space between the pedal bone and the
crust, which, together with the sole, forms a horny case or
natural shoe, for the sensible and delicate investmer. ts of the
bone. So small is this space, that when inflammation takes place

THE FOOT.

291

FlG. 12 — SECTION OF THE PARTS ENTERING INTO THE COMPOSITION OP THE FOOT AND THE
FETLOCK AND PASTERN JOINTS.

A. Os suffraginis. H. Cleft of frog.

B. Os corona?. I. Side of frog cleft.

C. Os pedis.

D. Os naviculare.

E. E. The perforans and perforatus tendons.
G. Inferior sesarnoideal ligament.

J. Sole.

K. Crust.

L. Coronary substance.

there is no room for any swelling (the invariable accompaniment
of that disease), and intense pain is occasioned, as well as rapid
disorganization of the structure itself. The horny case is
attached to the foot by a delicate membrane, which lies in folds
upon the pedal bone, and it can be torn away by violence, or when
putrefaction has commenced, with great ease. These parts are
separately displayed. The several parts which we shall have to
examine, commencing from without, are — 1. The horny case or
hoof; 2. The parts which secrete it; 3. The arteries which supply
it with blood ; and 4. The pedal bone and cartilages, as well as
the navicular bone, which it encases.

THE HOOF consists of three distinct parts, which, though in the
recent state they are inseparably united, may be readily separated
after maceration for a few days. These are the external wall or
crust, the sole or slightly concave surface forming the bottom or
floor of the case, and the triangular central portion of this called
the frog. ^he crust reaches from the edge of the hairy skin to
the ground, and averages about three inches and a half in depth.

292

THE HORSE.

The front is the toe, the back the heel, and the inta-mediate part
the quarter on each side. It is said by Bracy Clark to be a
segment of a cylinder, but it is really narrower at the top than at

FlG. 13. — THE HOOF.

A. Outer surface of crust.

B. Inner surface of crust.

C. Upper surface of sole.

D. Part corresponding with

the cleft of the frog.

E. Coronary band.

FlG. 14. — FRONT VIEW OF THE FOOT, WITH THE
HOOF REMOVED.

A. Coronary substance.

B. Laminae.

the bottom, and it should rather be described as a section of a
truncated cone. When examined from the side, the anterior sur-
face should form an angle of about forty -five degrees with the line
of the sole, and the upper edge or coronary band should join the
sole, so as to leave a moderate substance at the heel ; for if too
great the foot does not expand, and is liable to disease from that
cause } or if too thin and narrow, the foot is weak and gives way
downwards, ending in a convexity of the sole instead of the
reverse. The front of the crust is rather more than half an inch
in thickness, and in a strong foot of average size gradually

diminishing to the quarters, at
the back of which it is generally
barely a quarter of an inch
thick, especially at the inner of
the two. This proportion is
however confined to the fere
foot, for in the hind there is
little difference between the toe
and quarters in point of thick-
ness. The superior border, or
coronary band, is marked by its
whitish color. On its external

FIG. 15.— THE UNDER SURFACE OF TH« FOOT. surface it resembles the crust
A. cieft of frog. below } but internally it differs

C.' Cleft between heels. in being smoothly excavated,

THE FOOT. 293

whilst the crust exhibits perpendicular striae, corresponding
with the laminae; but this is not well shown in Fig. 13. In
examining the cut of the sole, Fig. 15, it will be seen that the
crust is bent inwards towards the frog at the heel on each side ;
there are the bars, which in the natural foot appear as sharpened
prominences, extending from the heels into the centre of the foot,
between the sole and the frog, and which are useful as buttresses,
supporting the crust from being crushed inwards by the superin-
cumbent weight. The sole is the plate at the bottom of the foot,
which should be slightly concave downwards, and is fixed to the
inner edge of the crust, and the outer sides of the bars, and not to
their lower surfaces. Its usual thickness is about one-sixth of an
inch, but it will vary greatly in different horses, and it is thicker
where it runs back between the bars and the crust. It is secreted
in plates, which can readily be separated with a knife in that
direction. The frog is the prominent, triangular, and elastic
substance, which fills up the space between the heels posteriorly,
the bars on each side, and the sole in front. In the middle is a
longitudinal fissflre, called the cleft, the sides of which should
form an angle of about forty-five degrees. In front of this cleft
is a solid wedge of the elastic horny substance, constituting the
frog, which lies immediately beneath the navicular bone and
has received the name of the cushion. Posteriorly it is spread
out into a thin band on each side which covers the bulbs of
the heels, and passes round the upper part of the wall constituting
the coronary frog-band of Bracy Clark, which is continuous with
the coronary substance. The structure of the horn which forms
these three divisions, varies a good deal. In the crust it is fibrous,
somewhat resembling whalebone in this respect, but not ^uite so
hard ] these bristly fibres are united by a gelatinous substance, but
they are arranged so as to lie in straight lines descending from the
coronary circle to the ground. The wall may, therefore, be
considered as composed of hairs agglutinated together, and each
secreted by one of the villi, which are so thickly spread over the
surface of the coronary circle. The sole is also fibrous, but not
nearly so much so as the wall \ and the fibres are not arranged in
so parallel a manner, taking rather an oblique direction from
behind forwards, and being more easily separated into scales.
The frog differs from both, in possessing finer fibres and in smaller
quantity, in comparison with the gelatine, which formation renders
it more soft and elastic and also more prone to decomposition.
The horny matter is sometimes colored a grayish brown, some-
times white, and sometimes marbled by a mixture of the two
colors.

THE HOOF is developed by secretion, which has its seat in the
coronary substance and laminae. It consists in a pouring out on
25*

294

THE HORSE.

their surface of a plasma, in which roun led cells develop them-
selves, in correspondence with the villi from which the secretion is
poured out. These cells are arranged in layers, corresponding
with the secretory surface. In the crust this growth takes place
from the superior border to the inferior, but in the sole and frog,
from the internal surface to the external. This growth is constant
through the life of the animal, and it would give the hoof an
excessive development if it were not either for the wear of the soil
in the unshod horse, or of the action of the smith's knife in the
shod one ; but the increase of the wall being solely from above
downwards, it does not require any reduction on its external sur-
face. The coronary substance, sometimes called the coronary liga-
ment, is a fibro-cartilaginous band intervening between the skin of

the leg and the hoof, covered
with cuticle externally, and with
villi, which form a secretory sur-
face on the edge towards the
hoof. It is most liberally sup-
plied with blood, as we shall
presently see, and is attached to
the upper part of the coffin bone
and extensor tendon by cellular
tissue. It gradually becomes
thinner as it descends upon the
pedal bone, and ends in puckers
or folds, which are continuous
with those of the laminae, and
are not even separable from them
by maceration. The laminse
thus continuing upon the pedal
bone, consist of about five hun-
dred parallel folds or plaits,
plentifully supplied with blood,
and forming a secretory surface,
which aids the coronary sub-
stance to form the horn. They
lie upon an elastic substratum
of fibrous periosteum, which is
of great service in taking off the
jar from the foot in its batter-
ing upon hard roads, for it ap-
pears that the weight of the
body is suspended from these
plates, and not carried upon the
sole. The laminae are continu-
ous at the toe with the sensible

FlO. 16. — VIEW OP VESSELS OF THE FOOT, IN-
JECTED.

1. Plantar vein.

2. Plantar artery.

3. Branches to the coronary substance and

laminae.

4. Posterior division of plantar artery.

5. Perpendicular branch.

6. Anastomosis with opposite plantar artery.

THE FOOT.

295

sole, which is a vascular membrane covering the floor of tne
pedal bone, and secreting the horny sole. In the centre of the
posterior part of this is the sensible frog, which is of nearly the
same shape as the horny frog, and is still more liberally supplied
with blood than the sensible sole.
THE ARTERIES supplying
these vascular structures with
blood, and the veins taking it
back, are of great importance,
and doubly so because it is in
these vessels that an operation is
often performed in inflammation
of the foot, calculated to afford
relief by a local abstraction of
blood. Commencing with the
large metacarpal artery, which
is the continuation of the radial
below the knee, we find it de-
scending by the side of the
tendo-perforatus under the pos-
terior-annular ligament. Imme-
diately above the fetlock joint
it splits into three branches ; the
middle one passing to the deep
parts of the leg, and the two
others, forming the plantar arte-
ries, descend on each side the
postero- lateral parts of the cor-
onary substance. Here they
divide into two leading portions,
the anterior running round to
meet its fellow of the opposite
side, and giving off with it a
complete fringe of vessels, which
are displayed in the accompanying representation of an injected
preparation of the foot. The branches uniting in front of the foot
and encircling the coronary ligament are called the superior cor-
onary circle. The posterior division of the plantar artery gives off,
opposite the pastern joint, the artery of the frog, which descends
obliquely inwards through the substance of the sensible frog, and
divides into two branches within it, after which it supplies the whole
of that substance with numerous vessels, and then goes on to the sole,
to which it gives off a number of radiating branches. After giving
off the artery of the frog, the plantar artery ends posteriorly in the
lateral laminal branch which passes through the foramen in the
ala of the os pedis, and supplies the laminae. Thus the whole of

FlO. 17.— VIEW OF THE ARTERIES OF THE FROG
AND SOLE, INJECTED.

A. Lower porous surface of pedal bone.

B. Lateral surface of pedal bone.

C. C. The plantar veins.

D. D. The plantar arteries.

E. Lateral cartilage contracted by drying.

F. Veins of the frog, injected.

296 THE HORSE.

these structures are full of blood-vessels, for not only are the
arteries above described ramifying thus extensively upon them,
but the blood is returned by corresponding veins.

BESIDES THE PEDAL AND NAVICULAR BONES, there are also
two cartilaginous plates at the back of each ala of the pedal bone,
which are of considerable importance. These have been called by
the late Professor Coleman the lateral and inferior cartilages,
whilst others have given them the name of the true and false.
The lateral cartilages extend backwards and outwards from the
posterior and upper borders of the coffin or pedal bone. They are
united in front with the expanded terminations of the extensor
tendon, and by cellular membrane with the lower end of the os
coronas. Posteriorly they wind upwards around the ala of the
pedal bone, to which they are firmly fixed, forming the foundation
for the heel. But in addition to these lateral or true cartilages,
there are also two others, of a fibro-cartilaginous nature, which
commence from the sides of the former and proceed forwards
towards the heels of the pedal bone, and spread inwards upon the
surface of the tendo-perforans. They are scarcely worthy of being
described as distinct cartilages, and appear more like ordinary
condensed cellular membrane.

It will thus be seen that the foot of the horse is a most compli-
cated structure, which is liable to derangement whenever the hoof
or horny case is interfered with, and this may occur either from
mismanagement in shoeing, causing mechanical injury, or from
inflammation of the secreting surface, which will end in the for-
mation of imperfect horn, or from punctures or other wounds of
the foot. Perhaps in no organ does an injury so soon produce a
return at compound interest, for the inevitable first result is a mal-
formation of the hoof, and this again only adds to the original
mischief. Hence it is that in the foot, more than in any other
paro even, prevention is better than cure, for in many of its
diseases it happens that a cure cannot be obtained without rest ;
and yet it is also the fact that the secretion of horn will not go on
perfectly without the stimulus of necessity afforded by exercise.
The position of the leg is such that its veins have a hard task tc
psrform at all times in returning the blood from the feet, but when
the horse is not exercised at all they become doubly sluggish, and
congestion in them is almost sure to occur.

THE

DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

AND

THE ACCIDENTS TO WHICH HE IS LIABLE,
WITH THEIR TREATMENT.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE DISEASES AND INJURIES OP BONE.

General Remarks — Splints— Ringbone and Sidebone — Ossification
of the Lateral Cartilages — Bone Spavin — Exostosis of the Hu-
merus and Scapula — Fistula of the Withers — Poll Evil — Caries
of the Jaw — Osteo Sarcoma — Fractures.

GENERAL REMARKS.

THE DISEASES OP BONE are not commonly attended by any con-
stitutional disturbance, and neither require an examination of
general symptoms, nor the adoption of any but local treatment,
beyond that attention to the health which is always necessary.
They may all be included under the heads of, — 1st. Exostosis, or
increased growth of bone. 2d. Caries, or ulceration. 3d. Anchy-
losis, or unnatural union of two bones, in consequence of exostosis,
or caries, or both. 4th. Fractures, or disunion by external force.
Malignant diseases of the bone also occur very rarely in the horse,
so that it will be scarcely necessary to occupy any space with their
description, especially as they are perfectly incurable.

EXOSTOSIS is the result of increased action in the nutrition of
the part, and is much more prevalent in young horses than in old.
Indeed, after six or seven years of age it is very rarely met with,
and never attacks the bones at that age for the first time. It may
be recognised by a hard swelling of the part, which in recent cases
is painful on pressure ; but sometimes its site cannot be reached
with the finger, and the disease can then only be detected by its
effects. A blow upon any of the bones, when unprotected by any-
thing but skin, will produce inflammation followed by exostosis •

(297)

298 THE HORSE.

but the most ordinary cause is the over-stimulus of hard work.
Heavy horses are more prone to exostosis than light ones, partly
from the weight of their bodies and their high lumbering action
jarring their limbs in a greater degree, but also from the more
spongy and open texture of their bones, which admit of the pres-
sure of large blood-vessels within them, and are thus more liable
to congestion, and consequent morbid secretion. Exostosis is shown
in the form*of splints, ring and sidebone, and ossified lateral car-
tilages, as well as in the growths which occur occasionally in other
parts of the body which have received no distinguishing name.
The vitality of the new growth in exostosis is less than that of
healthy bone, and as a consequence, when excessive inflammation is
set up in the part, it will often die and be separated by absorption.

CARIES (ulceration) occurs as a consequence of inflammation, and
in the horse either results from external injury, as in poll evil and
fistulous withers, or from mismanagement, as in navicular disease,
which latter affection will be considered under the diseases of the
foot. It is always attended with pain, and in severe cases with the
formation of sufficient matter to require an outlet, but in very re-
stricted ulcerations, such as occur in navicular disease, the pus
passes into the joint, and is reabsorbed with the synovia.

ANCHYLOSIS, when it is the result of caries in the two adjacent
surfaces of a joint, produces union between them, but in the horse
it is generally of a secondary kind, the result of bony growths
(exostosis), thrown out from the surfaces of the two bones near
the joint, which coalescing, unite into one mass, and thus destroy
all motion.

SPLINTS.

THE STRICT DEFINITION of this disease is " an exostosis from
the lower part of the small metacarpal bone, connecting it by bony
union with the large metacarpal bone," but among horsemen, any
bony growth from the cannon bone is considered a splint, and the
latter is almost as common as the former. The regular splint rarely
attacks the outer small metacarpal bone alone, but sometimes in
very bad cases both are implicated in the disease. It is difficult
to give a valid reason for this greater frequency of splint on the
inside than on the out, but it is commonly said that the inner
splint bone receives more of the weight of the body than the outer
one, and that it is more under the centre of gravity, but as it is
merely suspended from the carpus, and is not supported from below
(in any way, mediately or directly), this can produce no injurious
effect upon it. The fact is so. however, whatever may be the cause.

The symptoms of splint are generally a greater or less degree of
lameness during its formation, but sometimes it may go on to attain
a large size without any such result, especially if its growth is slow,

SPLINTS. 299

and the horse is not severely worked. It is conuionly remarked
that a splint is of no consequence unless its situation is such as to
inteifere with the back sinews, or suspensory ligament, and although
it is quite true, as has been asserted by learned veterinarians, that
the splint is far removed from the former, and seldom interferes
with the latter, yet it is almost always directly connected with the
attachments of the sheath of the tendon, and this being stretched
every time the leg is extended will occasion the pain which is ex-
pressed by the limp in the action. The size of the morbid growth
has no relation with the amount, or even with the existence of
lameness, for a very small splint will often be far more productive
of this symptom than a very large one. In examining a leg it is
often only after careful manipulation in the flexed condition that
a small bony tumor (of the size perhaps only of a garden pea) can
be detected, but when once the finger presses upon it, the horse
will almost invariably be found to flinch, and usually it will be
thrown out just where the sheath of the tendon is attached. Here
there is no union between the small and large metacarpal bones,
and the injury is confined to the inflammation produced in the
sheath, which will generally go off after proper treatment and rest.
These small bony growths are not very uncommonly met with in
the hind legs, but they are not recognised there as splints. No
constitutional symptoms are met with in these cases, and they must
be 'ascertained by the local symptoms alone. Unless the splint is
in the way of the action of the other foot, and the skin on its sur-
face is bruised by repeated blows, there is seldom any swelling of
the soft parts, but when this occurs, the skin and cellular mem-
brane become puffed and hot, and extreme lameness is the result,
temporarily aggravated by every blow.

The treatment of a splint will depend upon the state in which
it exists, and upon the purpose to which the horse possessing it is
destined. If no lameness exists, and the blemish is not objected
to, it is far better not to meddle with it, for in the course of a few
years it will disappear by absorption as a matter of course.
Moreover it often happens that in attempting to remove a splint
by some irritating application, extensive inflammation is set up in
the fibrous strictures attached to it, and lameness, which was not
previously in existence, is thenceforth a most troublesome attend-
ant. If, however, the horse is for sale, in which case the exist-
ence of a splint would be regarded with suspicion, or if lameness
has shown itself, it will be necessary to adopt measures likely to
effect the absorption of the morbid growth, and these are chiefly
two : — 1st, Sub-cutaneous scarification, or without, a seton, or the
seton alone ; and 2d. Counter-irritation by means of some form of
blister. If the soft parts covering the splint are much inflamed,
the horse should have his corn taken away, and a dose of physio

300 THE HORSE.

given him, during which a wet bandage should be kdpt constantly
applied, and indeed, in any case of splint severe enough to require
operation, the cooling remedies mentioned above should be adopted
beforehand. The operation is performed with a probe-pointed
narrow knife, shaped like a scimetar, with the cutting edge on the
convex side. A small opening is made in the skin about an inch
below the splint, and just large enough to admit the knife, which
is then introduced and pushed upwards with its flat side towards
the skin, till it reaches the tumor, when the convex edge is turned
towards this, and several extensive scarifications are made in the
periosteum covering it, after which the knife is withdrawn and a
fine seton-needle is introduced in its place, and passed upwards
until it reaches above the splint, when it is pushed through, and
the tape drawn out, and properly secured with a bandage. Of
course the horse must be cast and properly secured before resorting
to the knife. In the course of ten days or a fortnight, the tape
may be withdrawn, and the splint will almost invariably disappear.
Sometimes the seton is tried without the scarification, but it is not
nearly so successful, and is nearly as troublesome an operation. In
most cases both of these operations are unnecessary, and the
application of the following blister (which has a tendency to
produce absorption, independently of its counter irritative powers)
will have the desired effect.

Take of Biniodide of Mercury .... 1 drachm

Lard 1 ounce. Mix,

and after cutting the hair short, rub a little into the skin covering
the splint, every night, until a free watery discharge is produced
from the surface. To facilitate this the leg should be fomented
with very hot water every morning and afternoon, and this should
be continued for several days after the ointment has been dis-
continued. The horse will not gnaw the skin after this applica-
tion, and it is a very useful one for general purposes, when
counter-irritation is required to produce absorption. If, after a
week's interval, the splint does not appear much reduced in size,
the ointment should be re-applied, and repeated at similar inter-
vals till the swelling is removed. When the bony growth is very
extensive, neither scarification nor counter-irritation will be of
much service, and the leg must be fired, and afterwards repeatedly
blistered, but even with the best and most energetic treatment,
the part will seldom become sufficiently sound to stand anything
but slow work.

RINGBONE AND SIDEBONE.

RINGBONE AND SIDEBONE both consist in the throwing out of
bony matter about the joints of the os eoronse ; the former name
being given to the disease when it attacks that between it and

KINGBONE— OSSIFICATION OF CARTILAGES. 301

the os suffraginis, and the latter when the seat is the parts around
its union with the os pedis or coffin bone. Very often, and espe-
cially in heavy cart or dray horses, ringbone and sideboae co-exist
in the same leg, where the three bones are completely arichylosed,
and in which, during life, the only action was in the fetlock joint.
The disease attacks the hind leg as well as the fore ; but it is
more common in the latter than in the former.

The symptoms are a greater or less enlargement of the leg, of a
hard and unyielding nature, either immediately above the coronet,
as in sidebone, or a little higher, as in ringbone. In the latter
case, if thoroughly established, it surrounds the joint, whence the
name of ringbone ; but in the early stages it appears at certain
points from which it spreads all round. Sidebone is seldom so
extensive, and usually attacks the postero-lateral parts of the os
coronee, where the swelling is defined, and, except in very hairy-
legged or gummy-heeled horses, can easily be felt. In the early
stages the action is not impeded, but there is more or less soreness
or lameness. After much bone is thrown out, the joints are either
completely fixed or their movements are extremely limited.

The treatment in the early stage is precisely similar to that for
splint; but the operation of scarifying the periosteum requires
great care and some knowledge of the anatomy of these joints, or
the knife will pierce the capsular, ligament, and increase the evil
it was intended to relieve. A seton without the scarification will
often be of service, and for sidebone, firing in the early stage will
be serviceable, though it is objectionable on account of the blemish
it leaves behind. The biniodide of mercury ointment already
described is most useful in slight cases*, but in severe ones it will
rather tend to aggravate the growth, and when anchylosis has
taken place, nothing but time and patience for the subsidence of
the inflammation will avail. When this has taken place, and the
joint is fixed, a high-heeled shoe will enable the horse to work,
with some awkwardness it is true, and the addition of a leather
sole, will to some extent take off the jar, which occurs in a greatly
increased ratio when the elastic action of the pastern joints is
destroyed.

OSSIFICATION OF THE LATERAL CARTILAGES.

THIS is COMMONLY KNOWN as ossification of the cartilages, or
false ringbone, no other cartilages being subject to ossification,
and these being therefore known par excellence as the cartilages.
In heavy cart-horses it often co-exists with ringbone and sidebone,
especially the latter ; but it also attacks well-bred carriage-horses,
and high-actioned hacks, which are comparatively free from those
diseases.

The symptoms are more or less enlargement of the back of the
26

302 THE HORSE.

coronet, and heel, the part feeling unnaturally hard and irregu-
lar or lumpy. If recent, there is generally increased heat on
careful examination with the hand ; but in old standing cases
there is nothing of the kind to be detected. Lameness is not
always present, but if the horse is rattled over hard ground, he
will be more likely to show the effects on the next day, by going
short and sore, than if he were free from this disease.

The treatment should be confined to recent cases, for n old
standing ones, unless lameness shows itself, it is better to avoid
any interference. A seton, with rest, has sometimes proved very
efficacious, even in confirmed ossification, and repeated dressings
with the biriiodide of mercury ointment, will, in those cases where
the inflammation does not run very high, afford the best chance
of causing the absorption of some of the .bone, for a complete cure
is never effected. When there is much heat in the part, bleeding
from the foot may be adopted, and afterwards, the application of
cloths dipped in cold water, with the addition of a glass of tincture
of arnica to quart of water. In confirmed cases, where the parts
have become Callous, a leather sole to the shoe will take off the
vibration, and should be used during the summer season. Scari-
fication of the skin covering the enlargement with a lancet, encour-
aging the bleeding by warm water, and followed by the use of
cold water as soon as the bleeding has ceased, will sometimes do
wonders in recent cases. The scarification should be repeated at
intervals of five or six days, taking care to avoid injury to the
coronary substance near the hoofs, which is sometimes followed
by troublesome sores.

BONE SPAVIN

THIS DISEASE, so frequently the cause of lameness in those
horses which use their hocks severely (as for example race-horses,
hunters, carriage-horses, and more particularly cart-horses), con-
sists in exostosis from the adjacent external surfaces of the tarsal
bones, always showing itself at the inner side of the -hock joint,
on the scaphoid and cuneiform bones, and extending to the head of
the internal small metatarsal bone. As in the case of splint, the
occurrence of exostosis on the internal rather than on the external
side of the hock has been accounted for by the supposition that
increased weight is thrown upon the internal small metatarsal bone,
from the turning up of tLe outer heel of the shoe, which is the
common .practice of smiths. It appears to me, however, that the
contrary is the case, and that though more stress is laid upon the
foot on that side, there is less weight on the inner side of the hock,
which has a tendency to spring open in that direction. This will
cause a strain upon the ligaments connecting the tarsal bones, and
nature coming to their aid throws out bone, which ultimately sub-

BONE SPAVIN. 303

stitutes anchylosis for ligamentous union betwet n these bones. In
all the actions of the hind leg, from the natural shape of the hock,
and more especially in those horses which are naturally " cow-
hocked," there is a tendency to yield inwards rather than in the
opposite direction. The consequence is that there is more strain
upon the ligamentous fibres which connect the scaphoid with the
two cuneiform and the internal metatarsal, than upon those uniting
the cuboid with the os calcis and external metatarsal bone. Hence,
although exostosis does sometimes show itself in other parts of the
tarsal bones, it here, as in the fore leg, is almost always confined
to what is called the " spavin place," namely, the contiguous sur-
faces of the scaphoid, cuneiform, and internal metatarsal bones.
In very bad cases the articular cartilage becomes involved, and
there is not only an external casing of new bone, but the internal
surfaces absolutely coalesce or anchylose.

THE SYMPTOMS of spavin are a hard substance showing itself
beyond the proper level of the hock joint. There may or may not
be lameness, but if bone is thrown out the disease is established.
In recent cases whenever the horse is worked he will after rest
limp in his action, but the lameness soon goes off, and does not
show itself again until the part has been suffered to become stiff
by a rest of an hour or two. The lameness is very remarkable,
and differs greatly from that shown in any other disease. The leg
is drawn up with a quick catch, and yet there is a dragging of the
limb, indicating not only pain in the joint, but a want of action in
it. " In the early stages the latter is not clearly developed, but
afterwards it is so well marked that a spavin may be pronounced
to exist without an examination of the joint. Where lameness is
not established, great care should be exercised in pronouncing on
the existence of spavin, for some hocks are naturally formed with
prominent heads of the internal metatarsal bones, and the inexpe-
rienced eye and hand are very apt to mistake these for exostosis.
In such cases, by comparing the two hocks it will generally be
seen that they are both exactly alike, while in spavin, although
both joints may be the. seat of mischief, yet they will seldom mani-
fest the disease to the same extent.

The treatment should be directed to the abatement of the inflam-
mation which gives rise to the pain, and also to promote absorption
of the new growth. Veterinary surgeons are very apt to assert
that the disease cannot be cured, and that a spavined horse will
always remain the subject of it, and therefore unsound. But prac-
tically it is known that many a hock which has been the seat of
undoubted spavin loses all external enlargement, and no lameness
is shown in it, although tried most severely through a series of
years. Still on dissection after death, the ligaments will not show
their natural white and glistening structure, and the ta: sal bones

304 THE HORSE.

will be to a certain extent united by anchylosis. In rery bad
cases there will be also caries of the articulatory surfaces, and with
it inflammation of the synovial membranes, which may and often
does exist without the caries. Now as these are much more for-
midable diseases than exostosis, and far more difficult either to
cure or palliate, it follows that although certain remedies will be
generally successful with genuine bone spavin (exostosis), yet they
will fail when the above complication exists. The treatment must
therefore be adapted to the exact nature and extent of the disease.
Prior to the adoption of any plan the joint should be rested, the
outer heel of the shoe should be lowered, the corn should be taken
away, and the system cooled by appropriate treatment. After
these precautions are taken, the next thing is to decide upon the
remedies which will be suited to the case. They consist in — 1.
Blisters, which have a tendency to cause absorption ; 2. Firing; 3.
Setons, with or without subcutaneous scarification ; 4. Division of
the nerve. If there is simply a slight exostosis, with little lameness,
and no evidence of the joint being implicated, the biniodide of mer-
cury may be applied as described at page 300. Repeated dressings
will be necessary, and the joint must have at least two months' abso-
lute rest, the horse being placed in a loose box. This remedy is
often successful, but it will fail utterly where the exostosis is ex-
tensive, or there is caries, or even severe inflammation of the
synovial membrane. Arsenic, sulphuric acid, and other caustic
applications, have been counted as infallible cures; but while they
are just as certain to produce a blemish as firing, the extent to
which the inflammation and sloughing, caused by them, go is far
more completely beyond our control. Arsenic has been known to
destroy the joint, by producing a slough of the synovial membrane,
and it is said that the sulphuric acid, which, however, is often very
successful, has had a similar unfortunate result ; but of its being
followed by serious blemishes there is abundant proof. Firing is
the safest, and, therefore, the usual plan adopted for spavin, and
on the first intimation of the disease it is often adopted without
any necessity for having recourse to so disfiguring a process. Its
chief advantage is, that while it is a certain means of establishing
a strong counter-irritation, it has no tendency to cause any increase
of inflammation in the structures beneath the skin, and therefore
the good it does is unalloyed by any counterbalancing evil. It is
now the fashion to deny its use, and horsemasters are often tempted
to try some substitute for it in the hope of escaping a blemish; but
too often they are compelled to submit to it at last, and probably
after the disease has been aggravated by some " unfailing" remedy.
If there is a strong desire expressed to avoid a blemish, the vete-
rinary surgeon is perfectly warranted in doing all in his power to
effect a cure without the use of the irons; but the mere fashion of

SPAVIN— SHOULDER-JOINT LAMENESS. 305

the day should not induce him to decry a plan which has for so
many years been proved to be successful. In human surgery the
same course has been adopted, and for the last thirty or forty
years the actual cautery has been voted "barbarous" in this
country. Now, however, a counter current is setting in, and it is
the general opinion of the first hospital surgeons of the day that,
in certain diseases of the joints, no remedy is nearly so efficacious.
All sorts of attempts are made to render the use of the hot iron
less repugnant to the senses; but in the case of the horse it is only
necessary to measure its comparative utility and the amount of
pain which it gives. The former has been already considered, and
as to the latter, if the irons are properly heated, I much doubt
whether their action is not less painful than that of any other
counter-irritant. Setons, perhaps, give less pain if skilfully in-
serted, and they are admirable remedies, having nearly the same
beneficial effects as firing, and leaving a far slighter blemisli. They
should be passed beneath a considerable track of the skin, covering
the " spavin place," and the tape requires to be smeared with blis-
tering cerate to produce sufficient irritation. Their use by them-
selves is often sufficient, but when preceded by subcutaneous
scarification they seem to act even more certainly than firing.

The method of operation is similar to that described for splints,
but it requires more knowledge of the anatomy of the parts to
avoid doing mischief by cutting into one of the joints. There is
always afterwards considerable effusion into the subcutaneous
cellular membrane, demanding two or three months for its removal;
but as the spavined horse requires that interval of rest, this is of
little or no consequence. When the disease has gone so far that
no method of treatment will remove it, the nerve above the hock
may be divided, which will enable the horse to work without pain
for a time, but the disease goes on the faster, and the benefit
derived is only temporary.

EXOSTOSIS OF THE HUMERUS AND SCAPULA.*

THE HEADS OF THE BONES adjacent to most of the joints of the
body are more or less subject to exostosis, though not so frequently
as those of the pastern bones and tarsus. Next to these probably
comes the shoulder joint, the neighborhood of which is often the seat
of this disease. The left scapula and humerus of a horse are often
completely anchylosed, and of course there co-exists a proportionate

* Shoulder-joint lameness, as it is generally called, is much more frequent
than formerly, generally resulting in ulceration of the bone. It is readily
seen by standing before the horse, and is at once detected by holding up the
sound 'member from the ground and forcing the animal to stand upon the
lame one. This is a more serious affection than simple sprain of the mus-
cles of the shoulder. — EDITOR.

306 THE HORSE.

amount of lameness during the progress of the disease, while after
the anchylosis takes place the want of action is complete. An
examination by the hand of the point of the shoulder would readily
detect so large a growth of bone as this ; but smaller ones are often
thrown out beneath the mass of muscles surrounding the shoulder
joint, and consequently beyond the reach of the most accomplished
finger. The treatment should be on the same principle as for
spavin, omitting the subcutaneous scarification, which is not here
practicable on account of the nature of the joint. Blisters, and
especially with the biniodide of mercury, will be the most likely to
succeed, but in most cases the cure will be only partial.

FISTULA OF THE WITHERS.*

WHEN A SADDLE has been allowed to press upon the spinous
processes of the dorsal vertebrae, it produces inflammation, which,
if neglected, leads to the formation of an abscess. But the situa-
tion of the part is such that the matter cannot escape, even if the
skin over the points of the bones is perforated, and it has a ten-
dency, by the force of gravity, to burrow down among the muscles
which connect the shoulder-blade with the trunk. The conse-
quence is, that there is extensive inflammation, and often lameness
of the shoulder, which could readily have been prevented by using
proper care before the mischief was done, or removed by the adop-
tion of suitable treatment afterwards before the disease is con-
firmed.

The symptoms in the early stage (that is, before a fistula is
established) are merely an enlargement of the ends of the spinous
processes, accompanied by heat and tenderness, but these go on
until an abscess forms, which may be known to the touch by the
fluctuating nature of the sensation which it gives on pressure
by the fingers of each hand. As soon as this is made out, an
opening should be made as low down as possible on the right side,
taking care that it will allow all the matter to run out as fast as it
forms. The reason why the right side should be chosen is, that
most horses lie down on that side ; but if the subject of fistulous
withers is in the habit of lying on the left side, the opening
should be made there in preference. When an actual fistula has
been established, and the matter points before or behind the
shoulder-blade, a sufficiently large opening should at once be made,
taking care again that there is no pouch below it which will
permit any accumulation. It is better to divide even important
muscles than to suffer this to exist. In recent cases the establish-
ment of this dependent opening will alone suffice to effect a cure ;
but in those of long standing, the lining of the fistulous passage

* Commonly called in the United States, Thiselo. — EDITOR.

POLL EVIL— CARIES OF THE JAW. 307

or passages has become converted into a substance almost resem-
bling cartilage, and refuses to throw out healthy granulations, so
as to lead to adhesion of its walls. Here a stimulus must be
applied to their interior, which may be either mechanical, in the
shape of a seton tape passed through from end to end and left
there, or chemical, by means of injections. The latter are best
composed of chloride of zinc diluted with water. One drachm of
this should be mixed in a pint of water, and carefully injected
into every part of the sinus twice or thrice a week.

POLL EVIL.

POLL EVIL is exactly similar in its nature to fistulous withers,
being produced by a blow on the prominent ridge, which is situ-
ated on the top of the poll. The blow is generally produced in
the stable, by the horse suddenly lifting his head and striking it
against a low beam or the lintel of the door. Or it may be caused by
frequently straining against the halter rein, and thus producing
irritation and inflammation of the part. As the ligamentum colli
is attached above, and anterior to, the inflamed part, when matter
forms it is confined and gives intense pain; besides which, it is a long
time before it opens a passage by natural means. The symptoms
are a painful swelling on the poll, of a soft nature, accompanied by
the sense of fluctuation on examination, just like that described as
accompanying fistulous withers. The treatment must be precisely
similar to that described in the last section ; but as the matter
when formed lies very close to the spinal cord, some caution must
be exercised in adopting stimulating injections, which are apt to
produce severe inflammation, likely to extend to these important
structures. So also in opening it, the knife should not be carried
deeply into the situation of the spinal marrow, which here lies
exposed, and is easily divided (as in the operation known by the
name of pithing), but it should be used in a slanting manner, again
selecting the right side in preference to the left. A seton is here
the safest plan for promoting granulation and adhesion, and as the
tistulous track is seldom very long, the tape will work its way
gradually out, by which time the cure is effected.

CARIES OF THE JAW.

THE UPPER JAW, FROM ITS EXPOSED SITUATION, and the
lower from the same cause, and also from the abuse of the bit,
are liable to mechanical injury, which ends in caries (ulceration),
or sometimes in necrosis (mortification) of the part. Caries of
the lower jaw, between the tushes and grinders, is extremely
common, owing to the barbarous punishment which is inflicted by
the use of long levers to curb bits, together with light curb chains.
The bony plate forming the roof of the mouth is also often injured

308 THE HORSE.

by the pressure of the part when a tight noseband is employed to
keep the mouth shut. Either may be known by the existence of a
sore of a peculiar character ; there is a depression indicating a loss
of substance, and in this lies a mass of unhealthy granulation
(proud flesh), which is not attached to the surrounding surface,
being only fixed to the bottomofthe cavity, or perhaps partially on one
side. A watery and offensive discharge goes on constantly, but
this is lost in the saliva, and very often the only circumstance that
draws attention to the disease is the constant bleeding from the
mouth, on the slightest contact of the bit. When this occurs, the
mouth being full of pink froth, it should be carefully examined,
and the state of things here described will generally be found to
exist. The treatment should consist in the adoption of a bit
pressing upon another part of the mouth, changing the curb for a
snaffle. The wound should be kept open by the use of caustic
(lunar) daily, which should be pushed deeply into it for couple of
seconds, and will destroy the unhealthy granulations. By con-
tinuing these measures, taking care not to do more with the
caustic than necessary to keep down the fungous growth, a cure
can always be effected in course of time, without the aid of the
trephine or chisel to cut away the diseased bone.

OSTEO SAKCOMA.*

THE JAWS are occasionally attacked by a malignant growth from
their cellular structure of a substance partaking of the nature both
of cartilage and bone. It increases sometimes to an enormous size,
and forms a large irregular tumor, which interferes terribly with
their functions, often growing so as to prevent the closure of the
teeth. The symptoms are entirely local, and when a large, unwieldy,
and irregularly hard swelling on either of the jaws is met with, it
may safely be set down as belonging to this class of disease. No
treatment is of any avail except excision, which can rarely be carried
through without rendering the horse unserviceable for his ordinary
duties.

FRACTURES.

BONES are not unfrequently broken in the horse ; but as the
accident generally occurs either during the violent exertion of the
muscles of the limb, or from great external force, it follows that in
most cases the injury to the soft parts is so great as to forbid the
hope of a perfect reparation. When, for instance, a canna or
pastern bone gives way during the shock sustained in coming down

* Osteo Sarcoma is very frequent in the western and south-western States,
and is known by the name of " Bio HEAD" (Osteo Porosis), arising from
the deposition of too much bony matter. Treatment is unsatisfactory, as
the disease is gradual and progressive in its character, stopping mastication :
and death from starvation is the result. — EDITOR.

FRACTURES. 309

on hard ground from a leap, either at the moment of the fracture
or before the horse can be stopped, the upper end pierces the skin,
and also tears or bruises the tendons which alone connect it to the
part below. In surgical language, the fracture is a compound one ;
and from the great tendency to contraction of the muscles, the
difficulty of bringing the disunited ends into apposition (or setting
them) is immense. Moreover, the horse is very unmanageable
when an attempt is made to confine him, and the means which are
adopted to keep the fracture set must therefore be very complete
as compared with those which will serve for the restoration of ths
human being who has sustained a similar accident. Hence, unless
the animal is wanted for stud purposes alone, or unless the fracture
is a simple one, with little displacement, it will seldom be worth
the attempt to procure the union of a broken bone in the horse.
Many cases are on record in which after a fracture of a canna or
pastern bone a complete cure has been effected, but they must be
considered as exceptional, and not as affording as much encourage-
ment.

THE SYMPTOMS OF SIMPLE FRACTURE are a greater or less
degree of deformity of the limb, swelling, pain on motion, and a
peculiar grating or jarring which is felt rather than heard, and
which has received the name of u crepitus." The last symptom
can only be made out when the broken ends of the bone can be
brought together ; but when this is impossible, the alteration of
form is in itself sufficient to lead to a detection of the nature of
the accident. In fractures of the head and spine there is no
crepitus felt, and the effect upon the brain and spinal cord of
pressure will be often the sole means of coming to a correct
diagnosis. Fractures of the pelvis are very difficult to make out,
unless the ala of the ilium is broken off, which is a common acci-
dent, for here the unnatural flatness of the hip, showing itself
without any great difficulty of moving the hind leg of that side,
plainly marks that there is no dislocation, and that the case can
only be one of fracture. It is always the result of a blow, either
when the horse is cast in a stall or in passing through a narrow
door-way, or from a similar cause ; and there will therefore bo some
swelling of the soft parts which will interfere with the examination
at the time, but as nothing can be done to restore the broken
portion to its place, and as there is no doubt about the diagnosis
from dislocation, this is of little consequence. Fractures of the
ribs cannot be readily detected ; but as they almost always follow
a kick on the part, and as they do not require any treatment
unless their broken ends press upon the important viscera of the
thorax or abdomen, it will be well to wait for the symptoms which
are caused by this mechanical irritation before resorting to band-
ages, &c. When a fracture occurs in any of the bones of the

310 THE HORSE.

extremities, which are concealed by a large mass of muscle, the
total inability to use the limb, and the loose way in which it is
connected to the body, so as to allow it to be moved in any direc-
tion, indicate the general nature of the case without difficulty,
though a careful examination must be made by a skilful surgeon
before the exact particulars relating to it can be ascertained.

The treatment will depend upon the bone which is broken, and
whether the fracture is simple or compound. In most cases of
the latter description none will avail, and the horse had better be
destroyed ; but if the owner is averse to this, it will be on the
whole the best surgery, though apparently not very scientific, to
encase the parts with adhesive plasters and tow, and then treat
it as a simple fracture.

IF THE BONES OF THE SKULL are fractured, unless there are
symptoms of pressure on the brain, it is advisable to leave all to
nature, simply keeping the patient quiet and low, and if in a high
state of plethora, bleeding and physicking.

A BROKEN LOWER JAW is by no means uncommon as the result
of a kick. The best treatment is to set the fracture, and then
mould some gutta percha to it, which may be confined behind by
strips round the forehead and poll, and before by a padded strap
passed through the mouth between the nippers and tushes, and
beneath the tongue. The horse must be fed upon mashes and
steamed food.

IN FRACTURES OF THE SPINE AND PELVIS nothing can be done
beyond rest and lowering, if necessary, by bleeding and physic.

BROKEN RIBS, when they cause inflammation of the lungs or
liver by their sharp ends pressing upon these organs, may be
treated by buckling two or three ordinary rollers abreast of one
another tightly round the chest, so as to prevent the natural dila-
tation of the thorax, which takes place in inspiration, and which
keeps up the irritation by constantly moving the ends of the ribs.
The general means necessary to adopt to relieve the internal mis-
chief will depend upon its extent.

WHEN EITHER THE SCAPULA, HUMERUS, OR FEMUR is broken,
all that can be done is to sling the horse, and by bandages endeavor
to bring the limb into as natural a position as possible, and keep it
there. There must of necessity be great displacement of the ends
of the bones, and these cannot by any means be brought into appo-
sition ; but the sides in contact with one another, as they over-
ride, will unite in course of time, and this is all that can be
achieved by the utmost efforts of the veterinary surgeon.

FRACTURES of the lower part of the tibia, of the radius, of the
canna bones and the pasterns, if simple, must be treated by adjust-
ing the ends (which is the chief difficulty, and will often require
strong extension to be employed), and then adapting to the sides

FRACTURES— DISEASES OF MUSCLES, ETC. 311

of the bones splints of wood or gutta percha. If, by the aid of
assistants, the parts can be brought into a good position, these may
be carefully adjusted to maintain it, and may be kept in place by
tapes or straps fastened moderately tightly around them. It is
useless, however, to attempt a minute description of the means to
be employed, which can hardly be understood without a demon-
stration. Many horses have recovered a fair use of the limb by
the application of splints, without slinging, as they will take care
to avoid resting on that foot in consequence of the pain it gives ;
but under the care of an accomplished veterinary surgeon, slings
will afford the best chance of recovery.

CHAPTER XX.
INJURY AND DISEASES OF THE JOINTS, MUSCLES, AND TENDONS.

Diseases of Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament — Of Cartilage and
Synovial Membrane — Inflamed Tendinous Sheaths — Inflamed
Bur see Mucostz — Strains — Those of the Back and Loins — Of
the Shoulder— Of the Knee— Of the Fetlock— Of the Coffin
Joint — Of the Suspensory Ligaments — Of the Back-Sinews —
Breaking Down — Strains of the Hip- Joint, Stifle, and Hock —
Curb — Dislocation — Wounds of Joints.

DISEASES OF MUSCLE, TENDON, AND LIGAMENT.

MUSCLE is subject to simple atrophy, with or without fatty de-
generation. The disease shows itself by a wasting away of the
part, accompanied by a flabby feel to the touch. It should be
treated by friction, gentle but regular work, and steel given inter-
nally, one drachm of the sulphate of iron powdered being mixed
with the corn twice a day.

RHEUMATIC INFLAMMATION of a muscle or muscles is one of
the most common of all the diseases to which the horse is subject.
Most frequently it attacks the muscles of the shoulder, or of the
loins, sometimes both those parts being involved at the same time.
When acute it receives the name of a ckiU, and is generally brought
on by exposing the horse to a draught of air after work, or by im-
mersing him in cold water up to his belly, with a view either to
refresh him, or when the groom is lazy, to save him the trouble of
cleaning. The symptoms are lameness or inability to use the part,
the horse, when forced to do so, giving expressions of severe pain.
If the shoulder is affected, the foot is not put to the ground, and
when the leg is moved backwards and forwards by the hand, great

312 THE HORSE.

pain is evidently experienced. In severe cases there is fever with
accelerated pulse (70 to 80), accompanied often by profuse sweat-
ing, and heaving at the flanks, the legs remaining warm. After a
short time the part swells, and is excessively tender. The treat-
ment should be by a copious bleeding, if the horse is of a mode-
rately strong constitution ; indeed, in severe cases it should be
carried on till the pulse is greatly reduced, and repeated the next
day, if it returns to its original hardness and fulness. The bowels
should be acted on as soon as it is safe to do so, and if the dung
is very hard, backraking and clysters should be used, to accelerate
the action of the medicine. The best aperient is castor oil, of
which a pint may be given with an ounce of sweet spirits of nitre.
When this has acted, if the kidneys are not doing their duty, a
quarter of an ounce of nitre and a drachm of camphor may be
made into a ball and given twice a day.

CHRONIC RHEUMATISM of the muscles is similar in its nature
to the acute form, but, as its name implies, it is more lasting, and
of less severity. It often flies from one part to another, attacking
the ligaments and tendons, as well as the muscular fibres. It is
seldom much under control, and attention should be paid rather to
improve the general health than to subdue the local affection.

SMALL TUMORS, of about the size of a pea, often form upon the
tendons, especially the " back sinews" of the fore legs. They may
or may not occasion lameness, but they are always to be regarded
with suspicion. As long as they remain indolent, they are better
left alone; but when they produce inflammation and pain, the
best remedy is the biniodide of mercury ointment, described at
page 300.

DISEASES OF CARTILAGE AND SYNOVIAL MEMBKANE.

CARTILAGE is subject chiefly to ulceration. When this occurs,
its cells become enlarged and crowded with corpuscles, which brftst
and discharge their contents ; the intercellular structure at the
same time splits into bands, which, together with the corpuscles,
form a fibro-nucleated membrane on the face of the cartilage. In
old horses, the ulcerated cartilage covering the tibial surface of the
astragalus is sometimes converted into a soft fibrous substance,
which ultimately assumes the appearance of hard and dense bone,
commonly known as " porcellaneous or ivory deposit." It is ac-
companied by no symptoms of inflammation ; the sole evidence of
disease, during life, being a stiffness of the joint, and a peculiar
grating or crackling noise during all attempts at movement. When
caries of the head of a bone has caused a loss of substance, the
cartilage dies, and is gradually broken down by decomposition ;
but this cannot be said to be a disease of the cartilage itself. With
the exception of navicular disease (which will be included under

DISEASES OF CARTILAGE AND S^NOVIAL MEMBRANE. 313

fche diseases of the foot), ulceration of cartilage is not very com-
mon in the horse.

ACUTE INFLAMMATION OF THE SYNOVIAL MEMBRANE is seldom

met with ; but a chronic state, inducing an excessive secretion of
synovia, is extremely common. The most usual situation is at the
hock, where the swelling has received the name of bag-spavin and
thoroughpin ; but they also occur at the fetlock and knee joints;
in the former case being sometimes confounded with windgalls,
which are inflamed bursse mucosse.

BOG-SPAVIN is very apt to attack young horses, when they are
over-worked, before being fully seasoned ; but it may occur at all
ages. It shows itself at the inner side of the joint, because here
the ligaments are wider apart, and there is more room for disten-
sion. Its seat is the capsule between the tibia and astragalus,
which is here unprotected by any strong fibrous covering, and
readily yields to the gradual pressure of the secretion from its in-
ternal surface.

THOROUGHPIN may be either an increased secretion of the syno-
vial capsule, between the astragalus and os calcis, or between the
scaphoid and cuneiform bones, or of the bursa mucosa lying be-
tween the tendo Achillis and the tendo perforatus. In the first
of these cases, it often coexists with bog-spavin, and the synovia
may be made to fluctuate from one bag to the other, the only line
of demarcation being the astragalo-calcanean ligament.

Both bog-spavin and thoroughpin may exist, or either separately,
without occasioning lameness; but where they are just established,
there is generally some small degree of active inflammation, which
causes a slight lameness on first going out of the stable, but soon
disappearing.

The treatment should be by pressure, kept up for a long time,
by means of a carefully-adjusted truss, alternated with cold affu-
sion, and the use afterwards of tincture of arnica, diluted with
water, as a wash. Subcutaneous scarification has succeeded in
some few cases in causing the secretion to cease ; but it has so
often produced extensive inflammation of the joint, that the opera-
tion is by no means to be recommended. Blistering with biniodide
of mercury has also occasionally answered ; but no plan is so suc-
cessful, on the whole, as pressure, alternating with cold affusion.
% DELICATE YOUNG FOALS are subject to a rheumatic inflamma-
tion of their synovial membranes, specially displayed in the knees
and hocks, and apparently caused by exposure to cold. It seldom
goes on to produce disorganization of the cartilages, but the capsu-
lar ligaments are distended with thin yellow synovia, causing
considerable stiffness. The cellular tissue around the joints also
becomes osdematous, and the legs fill all the way down to the feet.
It is commonly known among breeders as the "joint evil," and
27

314 THE HORSE.

thougL in itself it is not dangerous, yet it marks the existence of
constitutional weakness which is likely to occasion some more fatal
malady. The treatment should consist in attending to the general
health by strengthening the mare, which is best done by giving
her a drachm of the sulphate of iron in her corn twice a day.
The joints of the foal should be rubbed with equal parts of soap
liniment and spirit of turpentine, and it should be assisted to stand
for the purpose of sucking at regular short intervals if unable to
help itself. In aggravated cases, however, the foal is not likely
to recover its general strength, and it may be better to destroy it,
but so long as it can stand and feeds well hopes may be enter-
tained of the joints recovering.

INFLAMED TENDINOUS SHEATHS.

EVERY PRACTICAL HORSEMAN is aware that the sheaths in
which the back sinews and other tendons are lodged are liable to
inflammation and thickening, without the tendon itself being
involved. By passing the hand down the leg, an irregular network
may be felt surrounding the tendons, which move up and down
without disturbing it ; and the surrounding cellular membrane is
also thickened, and becomes hard and unyielding. There may be
considerable heat about the part, but often it -is quite cool ; and
the disease may continue for months without any great lameness,
and with nothing to draw attention to it (excepting a slight
stiffness on leaving the stable) but the sensation communicated to
the hand. At length, an unusually severe day's work sets up
active inflammation, the leg rapidly fills, and there is so much
lameness as to cause the horse to be thrown by. — The treatment in
the early stage, should be the use of bandages, constantly kept
wet with arnica and water, and nothing but walking exercise.
After the thickening is fully established, no remedy short of
blistering, or a charge, will be of the slightest avail, with a rest of
two or three months.

INFLAMED BURSJE MUCOSJE.

THESE SYNOVIAL BAGS are liable to inflammation, either from
hard work, as in windgalls and thoroughpin, or from blows, as in
capped hock and elbow. The latter are said by some veterina-
rians to be serous abcesses; but there is no doubt that in all
horses a subcutaneous bursa exists on the cap of the elbow and
hock; and these become inflamed and filled with a very thin
synovia, when they are bruised. They never extend beyond a
certain size, and have no tendency to burst; nor are they inclined
to a healthy termination of their own accord, but go on in the
same condition from year to year.

WINDGALLS, OR PI FFS, are the most usual forms of these en-

INFLAMED BUS.E MUCOSJE. 315

largements, and may be observed in the legs (hind as well as fore)
of nearly every. hard-worked horse, after a time. Great care in the
management of the legs by bandaging will sometimes keep them
off, and some horses have naturally no tendency to form them ;
but in most cases, on examining the legs, just above the fetlock
joints, of horses at work, a little oval bag may be felt on each
side, between the back-sinew and the bone. If recent, it is soft
and puffy ; but if the work is hard, and the windgall is of long
standing, it will be as tense as a drum. The synovial bag has no
communication with the fetlock joint; but there is another sac in
front of the joint, and beneath the tendons of the extensors, which
is often enlarged, though not so much so as the seat of the true
windgall, and which is generally, though not always, continuous
with the synovial capsule of the joint. — The treatment consists in
pressure by means of bandages, and the application of cold lotions,
if the legs are hot and inflamed. Blistering and rest will remove
them entirely ; but no sooner is the horse put to work again, than
they return as badly as ever. There is no radical cure but subcu-
taneous puncture and scarification, and this will produce too much
adhesion to be advantageously applied.

THE FORM or THOROUGHPIN in which the bursa mucosa be-
tween the tendo Achillis and the tendo perforatus is inflamed and
filled with synovia, has been alluded to at page 313, and its treat-
ment is there described.

CAPPED HOCK is often the result of a bruise of the superficial
bursa, which is situated on the point of the hock, immediately
beneath the skin. It indicates either that the possessor has kicked
in the stable or in harness ; but it is more frequently caused in
the former way than in the latter. The swelling is sometimes
slight, being then just sufficient to show the point slightly enlarged,
and to give a soft, puffy sensation to the fingers, where there ought
to be nothing but bone felt beneath the skin. The bursa always
rolls freely on the bone, and when large, it can be laid hold of and
shaken like a bladder of water. — The treatment should be directed
to abate any slight inflammation that may exist, if the case is
established ; but in recent ones, it is doubly necessary to apply cold
lotions, which, however, there is some difficulty in doing, owing to
the prominent nature of the part. A piece of stout calico or fine
canvas may, however, be shaped into a cap, carefully fitting the
point of the hock; and this being tied by several pieces of tape in
front of the leg, will allow not only of the application of cold
lotions, but of pressure also. By this plan, continued for some
weeks, considerable enlargements have been removed, but they
are very apt to return on the slightest bruise. Setons through the
bursa, and injections into its cavity of stimulating applications,
have often been tried; but they generally do more harm than

316 THE HORSE.

good, and nothing can be relied on but the conjoint use of pressure
and cold applications. The best lotion is the following : —

Take of Tincture of Arnica 3 ozs.

Muriate of Ammonia 2 "

Methylated Spirit of Wine ... 4 ««

Water 3 pints. Mix.

CAPPED ELBOW is precisely similar in its nature to capped
hock, and must be treated in the same way. It is also known by
the name of capulet.

OF STRAINS.

THE FIBRES OF MUSCLES, LIGAMENTS, AND TENDONS, AND THL

FASCIA covering them, are all liable to be overstretched, and more
or less mechanically injured. This is called a strain, the symptoms
of which are similar to the inflammation of the part occurring
ideopathically. They are heat, swelling, and pain on pressure or
movement, shown by flinching in the one case, and lameness in the
other. In some cases there is considerable effusion of blood or
serum, the former occurring chiefly in the muscles, and the latter
among the torn fibres of the tendons or ligaments. The symptoms
and treatment will depend upon the part injured, which will be
found described under the following heads ; but in most cases an
embrocation composed of equal parts of laudanum, olive oil, spirit
of turpentine, and hartshorn, will be beneficial if applied after the
first active inflammation has subsided.

STRAIN OF THE BACK AND LOINS.

WHEN A YOUNG HORSE has been hunted or ridden with hounds
over any kind of fence, he is very apt to over-exert himself in his
awkward attempts to clear the obstacle, and next day he will often
show a stiffness of the loins and back, which is seated in the large
muscles connecting the pelvis with the thorax. He is said to have
"ricked his back," in the language of the stable, and if the mis-
chief is confined to the muscles alone, he may generally be per-
manently cured, though he will be more liable to a return than an
animal which has never suffered from any accident of the kind.
If, however, the spinal cord is injured, either from fracture of the
vertebrae, or from effusion of blood or serum pressing upon it, the
case is different, and a perfect cure is seldom obtained. It is,
however, very difficult to form a correct diagnosis between the one
case and the other, and the treatment may generally be conducted
with the hope that the more important organ is uninjured. When
there is complete palsy of the hind extremities, so that the horse
can neither feel nor use them in the slightest degree, the case is
hopeless. For the management of the strain of the loins, a full
bleeding should be adopted, as i generally happens that the horse

STRAINS. 317

is plethoric and full of corn. Then apply a double fold of thick
flannel or serge, dipped in warm water, to the whole £urface of the
loins, cover this over with a layer of indiaruhber sheeting, and let
it remain on, taking care to renew the water if it has become dry.
It generally produces a copious sweating from the part, followed
by a slight irritation of the skin, both of which afford relief. In
three or four days the flannel may be removed, and the embroca-
tion alluded to above rubbed in two or three times a day, which
will generally relieve the muscles so much that at the end of a
week or ten days the horse is able to move quietly about in a
loose box, and the cure may be left to time, aided by a charge on
the back.

STRAIN OF THE SHOULDER.

SHOULDER STRAIN was formerly very often chosen as the seat
of lameness in the fore extremity, solely because the case is so ob-
scure that it is beyond the knowledge of the unskilful examiner.
Nevertheless, it is by no means so uncommon as is supposed by
some writers, and perhaps it may be asserted that it is now more
frequently passed over when it really exists, than the reverse. It
generally is seated in the serratus magnus, or pectoralis transversus
muscles, but it may also occur in the triceps, or, indeed, in almost
any of the muscles around the shoulder joint. The symptoms are
very peculiar, and cannot well be mistaken by a careful observer
who has once seen a case of shoulder lameness. In all other kinds
(except the knee), the limb is freely moved while in the air, and
no pain is expressed until the foot is about to touch the ground ;
but here the lameness is greatest while the knee is being protruded,
and the limb is slung forward sideways, in a circular manner, which
gives an expression of great imbecility. It also occasions great
pain when the foot is lifted and drawn forward by the hand, just
as in rheumatism of the part (already described at page 312).
When the serratus magnus has been strained by a fall from a drop
leap, or the pectoralis transversus by a slip, causing the legs to be
widely separated, there is often great obscurity in the case ; but
the history of the accident will generally assist in forming a cor-
rect diagnosis. The treatment in the early stage will consist in
bleeding from the plate vein, to the extent of five or six quarts of
blood, followed by fomentations with hot water, if there is much
heat and swelling, and giving a dose of physic as soon as the
bowels will bear it. When the heat has disappeared, or at once,
if there is none, apply the embrocation described at page 315; and
if this does not produce relief, add to it one quarter of its bulk of
tincture of cantharides.

STRAINS OF THE KNEE.
THE KNEE, unlike its analogue in the human subject (the vrist),

27*

318 THE HORSE.

is seldom strained in the horse, in consequence of the strong liga-
ments which bind the bones of the carpus together. Still it some-
times happens that the internal lateral ligaments are overstretched,
or, in calf-kneed horses, the posterior common ligaments, or that
connecting the scaphoid with the pisiform bone, or probably all
these will suffer from over-extension. The accident may be re-
cognised by the heat and swelling of the part affected, as well as
by the pain given on using the joint. The anterior ligaments are
seldom strained, but are liable to injury from blows received in
various ways. The treatment should be conducted on the same
principles as those of strains in the shoulder. Cold applications
will seldom do anything but harm in the early stage ; but after
hot fomentations have relieved the active mischief, by encouraging
the effusion of serum into the surrounding cellular membrane, the
former may be used with advantage. When the heat and other
signs of active inflammation have disappeared, the biniodide of
'mercury ointment may be rubbed in, avoiding the back of the joint.

STRAIN OF THE FETLOCK.

THIS ACCIDENT shows itself at once, in consequence of the super-
ficial nature of the joint, by swelling, heat, soreness to the touch,
and lameness. It may be very slight or very severe, but in the
latter case it is generally complicated by strain of the back sinews,
or suspensory ligament. The treatment will be precisely on the
same plan as for strain of the knee. When the anterior ligaments
of the fetlock joint are strained and inflamed, as so often happens
with race-horses, the condition is known as "shin sore."

STRAIN OF THE COFFIN JOINT.

DISSECTION PROVES that this joint is sometimes the seat of
Strain; but it is almost impossible to ascertain its existence with
certainty during life. The diagnosis is, however, not of much
consequence, as the treatment will be the same, whether the coffin
joint, or the navicular joint is the seat of the mischief. In any
case, if severe, bleeding from the toe should be had recourse to,
folloved by cold applications around the coronet, by means of a
strip of flannel or felt, tied loosely around the pastern, and kept
constantly wet. When the heat has subsided the coronet should
be blistered.

STRAIN OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS.

THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT not being elastic like the back
sinews (which, though not in themselves extensible, are the pro-
longations of muscles v.hich have that property), is very liable to
strains, especially in tin hunter, and to a less degree in the race-
horse. The accident is readily made out, for there is local swelling

STRAINS. 319

and tenderness-, and in the well-bred horse, which is alone likely
to meet with a strain of this kind, the leg is rarely sufficiently
gummy to prevent the finger from making out the condition of the
ligaments and tendons. There is no giving away of the joints as
in " break-down," but on the contrary the leg is flexed, and if the
case is a bad one, the toe only is allowed to touch the ground. In
ordinary cases, however, there is merely slight swelling of the
suspensory ligament in a limited spot usually near its bifurcation,
or sometimes in one division only close above the sesamoid bone to
which it is attached. The horse can stand readily on that leg,
but on being trotted he limps a good deal. Sometimes, however,
there is a swelling of the feet without lameness, but in this case
the enlargement is generally due to an effusion of serum into the
cellular covering of the ligament, and not to an actual strain of its
fibres. — The treatment will depend greatly upon the extent of the
mischief; if there is no great injury done, and the enlargement
is chiefly from effusion of serum, rest and cold applications by
means of bandages or otherwise will in the course of two or three
months effect a cure. Generally, however, the case will last six
or eight months before the ligament recovers its tone ; and in a
valuable horse no attempt should be made to work him before that
time. Where the swelling is small, as it generally is, bandages
have no power over it, as the projection of the flexor tendons keeps
the pressure off the injured part. Here, dipping the leg in a
bucket of water every hour will be of far more service than a
bandage, and the sudden shock of the cold water will be doubly
efficacious. After all heat has disappeared the biniodide of
mercury may be used as a blister two or three times, and then the
horse may either be turned out, or put into a loose box for three
or four months, after which walking exercise will complete the
cure.

STRAIN OF THE BACK SINEWS.

IN THIS ACCIDENT the position of the leg is the same as in
strain of the suspensory ligament, and there is no giving way of
the joints. The flexor tendons are enlarged, hot, and tender, and
there is great lameness, the horse having the power to flex the joints
below the knee, but resolutely objecting to extend them, by bearing
what little weight is unavoidable upon his toe. The case is often
confounded with a "break-down," but it may readily be distin-
guished by the fact that in the latter the joints give way on putting
the weight upon them, whilst in mere strains they do not, and
the tendency is to the opposite extreme. Frequently after a bad
strain of the flexor tendons, the fetlock is "over shot," or beyond
the upright, in consequence of the continued flexion of the joint,
to prevent pressure upon the injured fibres, and in the manage-
ment this result should be carefully guarded against. The injury

320 THE HORSE.

is generally confined to the sheath of the tendons, which in most
cases gradually puts on an inflammatory condition for some time
before actual lameness is observed. In bad cases, however, the
ligamentous fibres which are given off by the posterior carpal
ligament to the flexor tendons are ruptured, greatly increasing the
amount of inflammation and subsequent loss of strength. In any
case the tendon feels spongy, and slightly enlarged, and there is
more or less soreness on pressure and on being trotted, but in the
latter case exercise removes the tenderness, and very often tempo-
rarily causes an absorption of the effused fluid, which is again
deposited during rest. This state of things goes on for a time, the
groom doing all in his power to alleviate it by wet bandages, &c.,
but at last a severe race or gallop brings on an extra amount of
inflammation, with or without actual strain of the fibres of the
tendon, and then there can be no doubt about the propriety of
rest and severe treatment. It often happens that both legs are
slightly affected, but one being more tender than the other, the
horse attempts to save It by changing legs, the consequence of
which is that the comparatively sound tendons are strained, and
he returns to his stable with both legs in a bad state, but with one
of them requiring immediate attention. — The treatment should be
by local bleeding (from the arm, thigh, or toe), followed at first by
warm fomentations, and in a few days by cold lotions. A high-
heeled shoe (called a patten) should be put on the foot, so as to
allow the horse to rest part of the weight upon the heel without
distressing the tendon, and this will have a tendency to prevent
him from over shooting at the fetlock joint, which he will other-
wise be very apt to do from constantly balancing his leg on the toe.
After three or four days the hot fomentations will have done what
is wanted, and a cold lotion may be applied by means of a loose
linen bandage. The best is composed as follows : —

Take of Muriate of Ammonia ; 2 oz.

Vinegar \ pint.

Methylated Spirit of Wine . . . . \ pint.

Water 2 quarts. Mix.

With this the bandage should be kept constantly wet, the applica-
tion being continued for a fortnight at least, during which time
the patient must be kept cool, by lowering his food, and giving
him a dose of physic. At the end of three weeks or a month
from the accident, the leg must be either blistered or fired, the
choice depending upon the extent of injury, and the desire to avoid
a blemish if such a feeling exists. The former is the more effica-
cious plan no doubt, but blistering will frequently suffice in mild
cases. If, however, the tendons at the end of a month continue
greatly enlarged, a cure can hardly be expected without the use of
the " irons."

BREAKING DOWN. 321

BREAKING DOWN.

GREAT CONFUSION exists among trainers as to the exact nature
of this accident, which is considered by the veterinary surgeon to
consist in an actual rupture of the suspensory ligament either
above or below the sesamoid bones, which, in fact, merely separate
this apparatus of suspension into two portions, just as the patella
intervenes between the rectus femoris and the tibia. Whichever
part of the suspensory apparatus is gone (whether the superior or
inferior sesamoidal ligament is immaterial), the fetlock and pastern
joints lose their whole inelastic support; and the flexor tendons,
together with their ligamentous fibres which they receive from the
carpus, giving way, as they must do, to allow of the accident
taking place, the toe is turned up, and the fetlock joint bears
upon the ground. This is a complete " break down ;" but there
are many cases in which the destruction of the ligamentous fibres
is not complete, and the joint, though much lowered, does not
actually touch the ground. These are still called breaks down,
and must be regarded as such, and as quite distinct from strains
of the flexor tendons. The accident generally occurs in a tired
horse, when the flexor muscles do not continue to support the liga-
ments, from which circumstance it so often happens in the last
few strides of a race. The symptoms are a partial or entire giving
way of t}ie fetlock joint downwards, so that the back of it either
touches the ground, or nearly so, when the weight is thrown upon
it. Usually, however, after the horse is pulled up, he hops on
three legs, and refuses altogether to put that which is broken down
to the ground. In a very few minutes the leg " fills" at the seat
of the accident, and becomes hot and very tender to the touch.
There can, therefore, be no doubt as to the nature of the mischief,
and the confusion to which allusion has been made is one of names
rather than of facts. Treatment can only be directed to a partial
recovery from this accident, for a horse broken down in the sense
in which the.term is here used can only be used for stud purposes
or at slow farm work. A patten shoe should at once be put on
after bleeding at the toe to a copious extent, and then fomenta-
tions followed by cold lotions should be applied, as directed in the
last section. As there must necessarily be a deformity of the leg,
there can be no objection on that score to firing, and when the
severe inflammation following the accident has subsided this opera-
tion should be thoroughly performed, so as to afford relief not only
by the counter irritation which is set up, and which lasts only for
a time, but by the rigid and unyielding case which it leaves behind
for a series of years.

x

322 THE HORSE.

STRAINS OF THE HIP JOINT, STIFLE, AND HOCK.

THE HIP JOINT, OR ROUND BONE, is liable to be strained by
the hind feet slipping and being stretched apart, or by blows
against the side of the stall, when cast, which are not sufficient to
dislocate the femur, but strain its ligaments severely. The conse-
quence is an inflammation of the joint, which is evidenced by a
dropping of one hip in going, the weight being thrown more upon
the sound side than upon the other. This is especially remarkable
on first starting, the lameness soon going off in work, but return-
ing after rest. The case, however, is a rare one, and its descrip-
tion need not, therefore, occupy much of our space. When it does
happen, it is very apt to lead to a wasting of the deep muscles of
the haunch, which nothing but compulsory work will restore to a
healthy condition. The only treatment necessary in the early
stage of strain of the hip joint is rest and cooling diet, &c. ; but,
after six weeks or two months, a gradual return to work is indis-
pensable to effect a cure.

STRAINS OF THE STIFLE, independently of blows, are rare ; but
the latter often are inflicted upon this joint in hunting, leaving
little evidence externally, so that it is almost always doubtful
whether the injury is the result of a blow or strain. The symptoms
are a swelling and tenderness of the joint, which can be ascer-
tained by a careful examination ; and on trotting the horse, there
is manifested a difficulty or stiffness in drawing forward the hind
leg under the belly. The treatment must be by bleeding and
physicking in the early stage, together with hot fomentations to the
part, continued every hour until the heat subsides. After a few
days, if the joint is still painful, a large blister should be applied,
or, what is still better, a seton should be inserted in the skin
adjacent.

THE HOCK ITSELF is liable to strain, independently of the pecu-
liar accident known as " curb/' When it occurs, there is some
heat of the part, with more or less lameness, and neither spavin,
thoroughpin, nor curb to account for them. The injury is seldom
severe, and may be relieved by fomentations for a day or two,
followed by cold lotions, as presented at page 320, for strain of the
back sinews.

CURB.

THE LOWER PART OF THE POSTERIOR SURFACE of the OS Calcis

is firmly united to the cuboid and external metatarsal bone by two
strong ligamentous bands, called the calcaneo-cuboid and calcaneo-
metatarsal ligaments. The centre of these ligaments is about
seven or eight inches below the point of the hock, and when a soft
but elastic swelling suddenly makes its appearance there, it may

CURB. 323

with certainty be asserted that a '* curb" has been thrown out. The
accident occurs somewhat suddenly ; but the swelling and inflam-
mation do not always show themselves until after a night's rest,
when the part is generally enlarged, hot, and tender. The precise
extent of the strain is of little consequence; for whatever its
nature, the treatment should be sufficiently active to reduce the
ligaments to their healthy condition. Some horses have naturally the
head of the external small metatarsal bone unusually large, and
the hock so formed that there is an angle between the large meta-
tarsal bone and the tarsus, leaving a prominence, which, however,
is hard and bony, and not soft and elastic, as is the case with curb.
Such hocks are generally inclined to throw out curbs; but there
are many exceptions, and some of the most suspicious-looking
joints have been known to stand sound for years. Curbs are seldom
thrown out by very old horses, and usually occur between the com-
mencement of breaking-in and the seventh or eighth year, though
they are not unfrequently met with in the younger colt, being occa-
sioned by his gambols over hilly ground. The treatment should
at first be studiously confined to a reduction of the inflammation ;
any attempt to procure absorption till this is effected being inju-
rious in the extreme. If there is much heat in the part, blood
may be taken from the thigh vein, the corn should be removed,
and a dose of physic given as soon as practicable. The curb
should then be kept wet (by means of a bandage lightly applied)
with the lotion recommended at page 316 for capped hocks, and
this should be continued until the inflammation is entirely gone.
During this treatment, in bad cases, a patten shoe should be kept
on, so as to keep the hock as straight as possible, and thus take
the strain off the ligaments which are affected. After the part
has become cool,, it may be reduced in size, by causing absorption
to be set up ; which is best effected by the application of mercury
and iodine (both of which possess that power), in such a shape as
to cause a blister of the skin. The biniodide of mercury has this
double advantage, and there is no application known to surgery
which will act equally well in effecting the absorption of a curb.
It should be applied in the mode recommended at page 300, and
again rubbed on at an interval of about a week, for three or four
times in succession, when it will generally be found that the ab-
sorption of the unnatural swelling is effected ; but the ligaments
remain as weak as before, and nothing but exercise (not too severe,
or it will inflame them again) will strengthen them sufficiently to
prevent a return. Friction with the hand, aided by a slightly
stimulating oil (such as neat's-foot and turpentine mixed, or neat's-
foot and oil of origanum, or, in fact, any stimulating essential oil),
will tend to strengthen the ligaments, by exciting their vessels to
throw out additional fibres ; and in course of time a curb may be

324 THE HORSE.

considered to be sufficiently restored to render it tolerably safe to
use the horse again in the same way which originally produced it.

DISLOCATION.

BY DISLOCATION is meant the forcible removal of the end of a
bone from the a'rticulating surface which it naturally occupies.
In the horse, from the strength of his ligaments, the accident is
not common ; those that do occur being chiefly in the hip joint,
and in that between the patella and the end of the femur.

DISLOCATION OF THE HIP JOINT is known by thq rigidity of
the hind leg, which cannot be moved in any direction, and is
carried by the horse when he is compelled to attempt to alter his
position. There is a flatness of the haunch below the hip, but
the crest of the ilium is still there, and by this the accident
may be diagnosed from fracture of that part. No treatment is of
the slightest avail, as the part cannot be reduced, and the horse
is useless except for stud purposes. The accident is not very
common.

DISLOCATION OP THE PATELLA sometimes becomes habitual,
occurring repeatedly in the same horse, apparently from a spas-
modic contraction of the external vastus muscle, which draws the
patella outwards, and out of the trochlea formed for it in the
lower head of the femur. When the cramp goes off, the patella
drops into its place again as stfon as the horse moves, and no
treatment is required. Occasionally, however, the dislocation is
more complete, and nothing but manual dexterity will replace the
bone in its proper situation. Great pain and uneasiness are
expressed, and the operator must encircle the haunch with his
arms and lay hold of the patella with both hands, while an assist-
ant drags forward the toe, and thus relaxes the muscles which are
inserted in it. By forcibly driving the patella into its place it
may be lifted over the ridge which it has passed, and a snap
announces the reduction.

WOUNDS OF JOINTS.

THE KNEE is the joint most frequently suffering from wound,
being liable to be cut by a fall upon it, if the ground is rough ;
and if the accident takes place when the horse is going at a rapid
pace, the skin, ligaments, and tendons may be worn through by
friction against the plain surface of a smooth turnpike road.
Whether the joint itself is injured, or only the skin, the accident
is called a " broken knee," and for convenience sake it will be
well to consider both under the present head.

WHEN A BROKEN KNEE consists merely in an abrasion of the
skin, the attention of the groom is solely directed to the restora-
tion of the hair, which will grow again as well as ever, if the

WOUNDS OF JOINTS. 325

bulbs or roots are not injured. These are situated m the internal
layer of the true skin, and therefore, whenever there is a smooth
red surface displayed, without any difference in the texture of its
parts, a confident hope may be expressed that there will be no
blemish. If the skin is penetrated, either the glistening surface
of the tendons or ligaments is apparent, or there is a soft layer of
cellular membrane, generally containing a fatty cell or two in the
middle of the wound of the skin. Even here, by proper treat-
meat, the injury may be repaired so fully, that the space uncovered
by hair cannot be recognised by the ordinary observer, and not
by any one without bending the knee and looking very carefully
at it. The best treatment is to foment the knee well with warm
water, so as to remove every particle of grit or dirt; go on with
this every hour during the first day, and at night apply a bran
poultice to the knee, which should be left on till the next morn-
ing. Then cleanse the wound, and apply a little spermaceti oint-
ment, or lard without salt, and with this keep the wound pliant
until it heals, which if slight it will in a few days. If the skin is
pierced there will generally be a growth above it of red flabby
granulations, which should be carefully kept down to its own
level (not beneath it), by the daily use of blue stone, or if neces-
sary of nitrate of silver. As soon as the wound is perfectly
healed, if the horse can be spared, the whole front of the knee-
and skin should be dressed with James' blister, which will bring
off the hair of the adjacent parts, and also encourage the growth
of that injured by the fall. In about three weeks or a month
from its application, the leg will pass muster, for there will be no
difference in the color of the old and new hair as there would
have been without the blister, and the new will also have come
on more quickly and perfectly than it otherwise would.

WHEN THE JOINT ITSELF is opened the case is much more
serious, and there is a risk not only of a serious blemish, which
can seldom be avoided, but of a permanent stiffness of the leg, the
mischief sometimes being sufficient to lead to constitutional fever,
and the local inflammation going on to the destruction of the joint
by anchylosis. The treatment should be directed to cleanse and
then close the joint, the former object being carried out by a
careful ablution with warm water, continued until there is no
doubt of all the dirt and grit having been removed. Then, if
there is only a very small opening in the capsular ligament, it
may be closed by a careful and light touch of a pointed iron
heated to a red heat. Generally, however, it is better to apply
some dry carded cotton to the wound, and a bandage over this,
leaving all on for four or five days, when it may be removed and
reapplied. The horse should be bled largely and physicked, taking
care to prevent all chance of his lying down by racking him up.
28

326 THE HORSE.

He will seldom attempt to do this, on account of the pain occa-
sioned in bending the knee, but some animals will disregard this
when tired, and will go down somehow. When the cotton is
reapplied, if there are granulations above the level of the skin,
they must be kept down as recommended in the last paragraph,
and the subsequent treatment by blister may be exactly the same.
By these means' a very extensive wound of the knee may be often
speedily cured, and the blemish will be comparatively trifling.

THE KNEE is SOMETIMES punctured by a thorn in hunting,
causing great pain and lameness. If it can be felt externally, it
is well to cut down upon it and remove it ; but groping in the dark
with the knife among important tendons in front of the knee is
not on any account to be attempted. The knee should be well
fomented, five or six times a day, until the swelling, if there is
any, subsides, and, in process of time, the thorn will either show
its base, or it will gradually free itself from its attachments and lie
beneath the skin, from which position it may be safely extracted
with the knife.

CHAPTER XXI.
DISEASES OF THE THORACIC ORGANS AND THEIR APPENDAGES.

General Remarks — Catarrh — Influenza or Distemper — Bronchitis
— Chronic Cough — Laryngitis — Roaring, Whistling, Etc. —
Pneumonia and Congestion of the Lungs — Pleurisy — Pleuro-
dynia — Phthisis — Broken Wind — Thick Wind — Spasm of the
Diaphragm — Diseases of the Heart — Diseases of the Blood Ves-
sels in the Chest and Nose.

GENERAL REMARKS.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUNDNESS in the respiratory apparatus
is so fully recognised, that in common parlance it is put before the
organs of locomotion, a popular expression being "sound, wind and
limb." It is true that good wind is useless without legs ; but the
diseases of the latter are known to be more under control than
those of the chest, and hence it is, perhaps, that the wind is so
carefully scrutinized by all purchasers of horses. There is, also,
much greater difficulty in ascertaining the condition of the lungs
and their appendages, and the ordinary observer can only judge
of them by an absolute trial ; while the state of the legs may be
seen and felt, and that of the feet can be tolerably well ascertained
by a very short run upon hard ground. So, also, with the acute
diseases of these parts j while the legs and feet manifest the

CATARRH. 327

slightest inflammation going on in them by swelling and heat, the
air-passages may be undergoing slow but sure destruction, without
giving out any sign that can be detected by any one but the prac-
tised veterinarian. In most of the diseases of the chest there is
disturbance of the breathing, even during a state of rest ; but in
some of them, as in roaring, for instance, no such evidence is
afforded, and the disease can only be detected by an examination
during, or immediately after, a severe gallop.

CATARRH, OR COLD.

CATARRH may be considered under two points of view ; either
as an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavities,
accompanied by slight general fever ; or as an ephemeral fever of
three or four days duration, complicated with this condition of the
nose. The latter is, perhaps, the more scientific definition, but
for common purposes it is more convenient to consider it as mainly
consisting in the most prominent symptom. There is invariably
some degree of feverishness, sometimes very considerable, at others
so slight as to be easily passed over. Usually the pulse is accele-
rated to about forty or fifty, the appetite is impaired, and there is
often sore throat, with more or less cough. On examining the
interior of the nostrils, they are more red than natural, at first dry
and swollen, then bedewed with a watery discharge which soon
becomes yellow, thick, and, in bad cases, purulent. The eyes are
generally involved, their conjunctival coat being injected with
blood, and often some slight weeping takes place, but there is
always an expression of sleepiness or dulness, partly owing to the
local condition of the organ, and partly to the general impairment
of the health. The disease is caused in most instances by a chill,
either in the stable or out, but sometimes, even in the mildest form,
it appears to be epidemic. The treatment will greatly depend upon
the severity of the seizure ; usually, a bran-mash containing from
six drachms to one ounce of powdered nitre in it, at night, for two
or three consecutive periods, will suffice, together with the abstrac-
tion of corn, and, if the bowels are confined, a mild dose of physic
should be given. In more severe cases, when there is cough and
considerable feverishness, a ball composed of the following ingre-
dients may be given every night : —

Take of Nitrate of Potass 2 drachms.

Tartarized Antimony 1 drachm.

Powdered Digitalis £ drachm.

Camphor lj drachm.

Linseed meal and boiling water enough to make into a ball.

If the throat is sore, an embrocation of equal parts of oil, tur-
pentine, tincture of cantharides, and hartshorn, may be rubbed in
night and morning.

328 THE HORSE.

Should the disease extend to the bronchial tubes, or substance
of the lungs, the treatment for bronchitis or pneumonia must be
adopted.

The stable should be kept cool, taking care to make up for the
difference in temperature by putting on an extra rug ; water should
be allowed ad libitum, and no corn should be given.

Sometimes the discharge becomes chronic, and it is then known
by the name ozena.

INFLUENZA, OR DISTEMPER.*

THIS MAY BE CONSIDERED TO BE an epidemic catarrh, but the
symptoms are generally more severe and leave greater prostration
of strength behind them. They also require more careful treat-
ment, which must be specially adapted to the attack, for remedies
which will arrest the disease in one year will totally fail the next
time that the epidemic prevails. The fever of late years has had
a tendency to put on the typhoid type, and bleeding, which for-
merly was often beneficial, is now completely forbidden. The symp-
toms are at first similar to those already described as pertaining to
common catarrh, but after a few days the accompanying fever is
more severe than usual, and does not abate at the customary period.
The appetite is altogether lost, and the appearance of the patient
is characteristic of severe disease rather than of a trifling cold. It
is, however, chiefly from the fact that a number of horses are seized
with similar symptoms, either at the same time or rapidly follow-
ing one another, that the disease is recognised. It usually prevails
in the spring of the year, or in a wet and unhealthy autumn.
Sometimes almost every case runs on to pneumonia, at others the
bronchial mucous membrane alone is attacked ; but in all there is
extreme debility in proportion to the apparent nature of the disease.
The ordinary appearances exhibited in recent epidemics have been
as follows : — The first thing observed is a general slight shivering,
accompanied by a staring coat. The pulse is weak, and slightly
accelerated, but not to any great extent ; the mouth feels hot ; the
eyes and the nostrils are red; the belly is tucked up; there is no
appetite; cough, to a varying extent, begins to show itself; and
there is generally a heaving of the flanks. The legs and feet are
not cold as in pneumonia, but beyond this they afford no positive
signs. The cellular membrane around the eyes, and of the legs,
generally swells about the second day, and often the head and
limbs become quite shapeless from this cause. In the early stage
the bowels are often relaxed, -but afterwards they are as frequently
confined. Sore throat is a very common complication, but it is not
by any means an invariable attendant on influenza. It is, however,

* CHOKING DISTEMPER — so called — will be found treated of under the
name of Typhoid Fever in note to chapter on fevers. — EDITOR.

INFLUENZA— BRONCHITIS. 329

somewhat difficult to ascertain its existence, as in any case there
is no appetite for food. The treatment should be conducted on the
principle of husbanding the strength, and, unless urgent symptoms
of inflammation show themselves, the less that is done the better.
If the trachea or larynx is involved only slightly, counter irrita-
tion, by means of a liquid blister, must be tried, without resorting
to strong internal medicines ; but if serious mischief ensues, the
case must, to a certain extent, be treated as it would be when
coming on without the complication of influenza, always taking
care to avoid bleeding, and merely acting on the bowels by gentle
aperients, and on the skin and kidneys by the mildest diaphoretic and
diuretic. The following is the ordinary plan of treatment adopted :

Take of Spirit of Nitric Ether 1 ounce.

Laudanum 4 drachms.

Nitrate of Potass 3 drachms.

Water 1 pint.

Mix, and give as a drench night and morning.

By constantly offering to the horse thin gruel (taking care that
it does not become sour), and no plain water, sufficient nourish-
ment may be given, as his thirst will induce him to drink.

During the stage of convalescence the greatest care must be
taken. At first, as soon as the cough has somewhat subsided, a
mild stomachic ball will be desirable, such as

Take of Extract of Gentian 6 drachms.

Powdered Ginger 2 drachms. Mix.

Afterwards, if the case goes on favorably, and the appetite returns,
the restoration may be left to nature, giving the horse by degrees
his Usual allowance of corn, and adding to his morning and evening
feed one drachm of sulphate of iron in fine powder. It must not be
attempted to give this until the appetite is pretty keen, or the horse
will be disgusted, and will probably refuse his corn altogether.

Should typhoid symptoms be clearly established, the case must
be treated according to the directions hereafter laid down for
typhus fever.

BRONCHITIS.

BRONCHITIS is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining
the bronchi, and almost invariably extending to these parts through
the trachea, from the larynx and nasal passages, which are pri-
marily affected as in ordinary cold. The membrane in the early
stage becomes filled with blood, and as a consequence the diameter
of the tubes is diminished, attended 'by some difficulty and in-
creased rapidity of breathing. After a time a frothy mucus is
poured out from it, and this still further interferes with respira-
tion, and necessitates a constant cough to get rid of it. These
symptoms are always present, but they will vary greatly in inten-
28*

330 THE HORSE.

sity, and in the rapidity with which they progress, from which cir-
cumstances bronchitis is said to be acute or chronic, as the case
may be. In the acute form there are also several variations, and
veterinary writers are in the habit of again subdividing it into
acute and sub-acute, but the two leading divisions are sufficient
for all practical purposes. It begins with the usual premonitory
appearances of a severe cold, accompanied by a staring coat, and
entire loss of appetite. The breathing is somewhat quicker than
natural, and the pulse is raised to sixty or seventy. The legs re-
main of the usual temperature, and there is a hard dry cough, the
lining membrane of the nostrils being intensely red, and in severe
cases dry and swollen. On auscultation there is a dry rattling
sound, very different from the crepitation of pneumonia, and as
soon as mucus is secreted, succeeded by gurgling, and soap-bubble
sounds, easily distinguished when once heard. If the attack goes
on favorably, the cough becomes loose, and there is a free dis-
charge of mucus, both from the lungs, as evidenced from the
nature of the cough, and from the nostrils, as shown by the run-
ning from them. On the other hand, the prognosis is unfavorable
when the breathing is very laborious, with the legs extended, and
the cough constant and ineffectual in affording relief. Should no
relief be afforded, death takes place a week or ten days after the
onset of the disease, from suffocation. The treatment should de-
pend greatly upon the urgency of the inflammation, which only an
experienced eye can judge of. If slight, nitre and tartar emetic
internally, and a blister (to one or both sides, according to the
extent of bronchi involved), will suffice, but in very severe cases
blood must be taken at the onset, or it will be impossible to control
the inflammation. Bleeding should be avoided if it is judged
prudent to do so, for of late years the type of diseases has changed
so much in the horse, that he is found to bear loss of blood badly.
Nevertheless, it is not wise to lay down the rule that it is never
desirable. The bowels must be acted on by the ordinary physic
ball, resorting to raking and clysters, if the time cannot be afforded
for the usual laxative preparation. For the special control of the
morbid state of the membrane the following ball will be found
advantageous : —

Take of Digitalis . $ drachm.

Calomel | drachm.

Tartar Emetic 60 to 80 grains.

Nitre 2 drachms.

Mix with treacle, and give twice a day.

Should the disease continue after the blister is healed, a large seton
may be put in one or both sides with advantage.

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS seldom exists except as a sequel to the
acute form, and after adopting the balls recommended for that

CHRONIC COUGH. 331

state, it may be treated by attention to the general health, a seton
in the side, and the exhibition of an expectorant ball twice a day,
composed of the following materials : —

Take of Gum Ammoniacum $ ounce.

Powdered Squill > 1 drachm.

Castile Soap ...,...*... 2 drachms.
Mix and make into a ball.

CHRONIC COUGH.

BY THIS TERM is understood a cough that comes on without
any fever or evidences of the horse having taken cold. It differs
in this respect from chronic bronchitis, which generally supervenes
upon the acute form, and is always attended in the early stage by
feverishness. It appears probable that chronic cough is dependent
upon an unnatural stimulus to the mucous membrane, for it almost
always makes its appearance when much corn is given without due
preparation, and ceases on a return to green food. It is, therefore,
very commonly termed a stomach cough. The symptoms are all
summed up in the presence of a dry cough, which is seldom mani-
fested while in the stable, but comes on whenever the breathing is
hastened by any pace beyond a walk. Two or three coughs are
then given, and the horse perhaps is able to go on with his work,
but after resting for a few minutes, and again starting, it comes on
again, and annoys the rider or driver by its tantalizing promise of
disappearance followed by disappointment. Very often this kind
of cough is caused by the irritation of worms, but any kind of dis-
order of the digestive organs appears to have the power of pro-
ducing it. The usual treatment for chronic bronchitis seems here
to be quite powerless, and the only plan of proceeding likely to be
attended with success, is to look for the cause of the irritation, and
remove it. Sometimes this will be found in a hot stable, the horse
having previously been accustomed to a cool one. Here the altera-
tion of the temperature by ten or fifteen degrees will in a few days
effect a cure, and nothing else is required. Again, it may be that
the corn has been overdone, in which case a gentle dose of physic,
followed by a diminished allowance of corn, and a bran-niash twice
a week, will be successful. If the stomach is much disordered,
green food will be the best stimulus to a healthy condition, or in
its absence a few warm cordial balls may be tried. The existence
of worms should be ascertained in doubtful cases, and if they are
present, the proper remedies must be given for their removal.
Linseed oil and spirit of turpentine, which are both excellent worm
remedies, are highly recommended in chronic cough, and whether
or not their good effect is due to their antagonism to worms, they
may be regarded as specially useful.

A very successful combination is the following mixture : —

332 THE HORSE.

Take of Spirit of Turpentine .... 2 ounces.

Mucilage of Acacia .... 6 ounces.

Gum Amraoniacum . . . . £ ounce.

Laudanum 4 ounces.

Water 2 quarts.

Mix, and give fcalf-a-pint as a drench every night : the bottle must be
well shaken before pouring out the dose.

LARYNGITIS, ROARING, WHISTLING, &c.

ONE OP THE MOST COMMON diseases among well-bred horses of
the present day, is the existence of some mechanical impediment
to the passage of the air into the lungs, causing the animal to
tl make a noise." The exact nature of the sound has little or no
practical bearing on the cause that produces it ; that is to say, it
cannot be predicated that roaring is produced by laryngitis ; nor
that whistling is the result of a palsy of some particular muscle,
but undoubtedly it may safely be asserted that all lesions of the
larynx, by which the shape and area of its opening (rima glottidis)
are altered and diminished, are sure to have a prejudicial effect
upon the wind, and either to produce roaring, whistling, wheezing,
or trumpeting, but which would result it might be difficult to say,
although the precise condition of the larynx were known, which it
cannot be during life. Until recently veterinary surgeons were

Suzzled by often finding on examination of a roarer's larynx after
eath no visible organic change in the opening, and many were led
to imagine that this part could not be the seat of the disease. On
a careful dissection, however, it is found that a muscle or muscles
whose office it is to dilate the larynx is wasted and flabby (crico-
arytenoideus lateralis and thyro-arytenoideus). The other muscles
are perhaps equally atrophied, but as their office is to close the
opening, their defects are not equally injurious, and at all events
are not shown by producing an unnatural noise. The cause of this
wasting is to be looked for in pressure upon the nerve which sup-
plies these muscles, and which passes through an opening in the
posterior ala of the thyroid cartilage, so that whatever causes a dis-
placement of that part will mechanically affect the nerve. For
these several reasons it will be necessary to examine first of all into
the several kinds of inflammation, &c., to which the larynx is sub-
ject, and then to investigate as far as we may, the nature, mode
of detection, and treatment of the several conditions known tc
horsemen by the names of roaring, whistling, &c., which are only
symptoms of one or other of the diseases to which allusion will
presently be made.

BY ACUTE LARYNGITIS is meant a more than ordinary inflam-
mation of the larynx, and not that slightly morbid condition in
which the mucous membrane of that organ is always involved in
" the passage of a cold into the chest." In the latter state the ear

CHRONIC LARYNGITIS. 333

detects no unusual sound, and indeed there is plenty of room for
the air to pass. But in true laryngitis, on placing the ear near the
throat, a harsh rasping sound is heard, which is sufficient at once
to show the nature and urgency of the symptoms. The mucous
membrane is swollen, and tinged with blood; the rima glottidis is
almost closed, and the air in passing through it produces the sound
above described, which, however, is sometimes replaced by a stridu-
lous or hissing one. In conjunction with this well-marked symp-
tom there is always a hoarse cough of a peculiar character, and
some considerable fever, with frequent respiration, and a hard, wiry
pulse of seventy to eighty. The treatment must be of the most
active kind, for not only is life threatened, but even if a fatal result
does not take place, there is great danger of permanent organic
mischief to the delicate apparatus of the larynx, generally from the
effusion of lymph into the submucous cellular membrane. A full
bleeding should at once be practised, and repeated at the end of
twelve hours if there is no relief afforded and the pulse still con-
tinues hard. The hair should be cut off the throat, and the tinc-
ture of cantharides brushed on in a pure state until a blister arises,
when the part may be constantly well fomented, to encourage the
discharge. Large doses of tartar emetic, calomel, and digitalis,
must also be given, but their amount and frequency should be left
to an experienced veterinarian, the preliminary bleeding and blis-
tering being done in his absence to save time. It is a case in
which medicine must be pushed as far as can be done with safety,
and this cannot well be left to any one who is not well acquainted
with its effects, and with the powers of the animal economy. Gruel
is the only food allowed during the acute stage, and there is seldom
time to have recourse to aperient physic until the urgent symp-
toms are abated, when an ordinary dose may be given. During
convalescence the greatest care must be taken to prevent a re-
lapse, by avoiding all excitement either by stimulating food or fast
exercise.

CHRONIC LARYNGITIS may occur as the result of the acute form
above described, or it may come on gradually, without any violent
inflammation preceding it. In either case the symptoms are simi-
lar in their nature to those met with in the acute form, but less in
degree. The noise made is not nearly so harsh, and can often
hardly be heard on the most careful examination. The peculiar
harsh, grating cough is, however, always present, and by it the
nature of the case may generally be easily made out. The disease
often accompanies strangles, although in nine cases out of ten it
is overlooked by the careless attendant. Very commonly, how-
ever, it makes its ravages in so insidious a manner that no suspi-
cion is felt of its presence, until the horse begins to make a noise,
though he must in all probability have shown by the cough peculiar

334 THE HORSE.

to the complaint, that it has been working its way for some weeks
at least. Such cases chiefly occur in the training stable, and are
due, according to my belief, to the enormous quantity of oats
which it is now the fashion to give to colts from the earliest period
of their lives, increased to seven and eight feeds a day during the
second year. Continued spirit-drinking has precisely the same
effect upon the human being, and the harsh stridulou& tough of
the confirmed drunkard marks the existence of ulceration of the
larynx, in the only way which he will allow it to be displayed, for
he is not, like the horse, made to exert his powers of running,
whether his wind is good or bad. There is, of course, a consider-
able difference between the two diseases, but there is sufficient
analogy between them to explain why the stimulus of over-corning
should affect the larynx in preference to any other part. It would
be difficult to show the connection between the two in any other
way, beyond the simple fact that roaring has become general in an
exact proportion to the prevalence of the present fashion of feed-
ing. The advocates of the plan will say that though the two have
come in together, yet it is merely a coincidence, and not a conse-
quence the one of the other ; but if it can be shown that in man
a similar cause produces a similar effect, the argument is strength-
ened to such a degree as to be almost unanswerable. But what-
ever may be the cause there can be no doubt that the treatment is
most troublesome, and often baffles the skill of the most accom-
plished veterinarian. Blistering is not so useful as counter-irrita-
tion by a seton, which must be inserted in the loose skin beneath
the jaw, as close as possible to the larynx. This alone will do
much towards the cure, but no pains must be spared to assist its
action by a cooling regimen, consisting of bran mashes, and if in
the spring or summer, green food, or in the winter, carrots. Corn
must be entirely forbidden, and the kidneys should be encouraged
to act freely by two or three drachms of nitre given in the mash
twice a day. When the case is very intractable, the nitrate of
silver may be applied to the part itself by means of a sponge fast-
ened to a piece of flexible cane or whalebone. The mouth should
then be kept open with the ordinary balling iron, and the sponge
rapidly passed to the situation of the top of the larynx, and held
there for a second, and then withdrawn. I have succeeded in cur-
ing two obstinate cases of chronic laryngitis by this plan, but some
little risk is incurred, as in one of them imminent symptoms of
suffocation presented themselves, but soon went off. I should not,
therefore, recommend the application excepting in cases where all
other means have failed, and in which there is reason to believe
that the patient is likely to become a permanent roarer or whistler.
The nitrate of silver has great power in producing resolution of
inflammation in mucous surfaces, and in this disease little or

ROARING. 335

nothing can be effected by general measures. The solution should
be from ten to fifteen grains in the ounce of distilled water.

ROARING is the bugbear of the purchaser at the hammer, and
not without good reason. The most experienced veterinarian or
dealer will often fail to ascertain its existence, in spite of all the
artifices he may call into play. Not the slightest sound is heard
during a state of quiescence, or even when the horse is trotted or
galloped for the short distance which " the ride" will afford. The
blow on the side given with due artistic effect elicits no grunt, and
yet the animal is a confirmed roarer, and not worth a shilling per-
haps for the purpose to which he is intended to be devoted. On
the other hand, many a sound horse is condemned as a roarer for
giving out the obnoxious grunt ; and though there is no doubt
that this sign may be relied on in a great many cases, yet it can-
not be accepted as either negatively or positively a certain proof.
The only real trial is the noiseless gallop on turf or plough, when
the ear can detect the slightest sound, and can distinguish its ex-
act nature, and the precise spot from which it proceeds. Many a
horse will, when he is excited, make a harsh noise in his breathing,
accompanied by a kind of " gluck," proceeding from a spasmodic
flapping of the velum palati ; but on galloping him all this goes
off, and he may probably exhibit excellent wind Such cases I
have many times known, and they would be condemned as unsound
by those who have had little experience, or are content with a
careless and inefficient trial. Stallions are particularly prone to
make this kind of noise, and it is extremely difficult to ascertain
their soundness in this respect by any means which can be safely
resorted to. The causes of roaring are of three kinds : 1st, In-
flammation, which has left a thickening or ulceration of the mucous
membrane, or a fungous growth from it ; 2d, Paralysis of the mus-
cles ; and 3d, An alteration of the shape of the cartilages of the
larynx, produced by tight reining.

In roaring produced by an ulcerated or thickened condition of
the mucous membrane, or by a fungous growth, the sound elicited
is always the same in proportion to the rapidity of respiration.
None of the ordinary expedients by which the breath is introduced
in a modified stream (such as a full meal, or pressure on the nos-
trils or windpipe), will be of much avail, and the horse roars
sturdily whenever his pace is sufficiently accelerated. If a horse
so affected can be made to grunt by the blow on the side, the
sound will always indicate the disease, for it will be harsh and
rough, and not the natural grunt of the animal. It is usually
supposed that no treatment can be of the slightest avail here j but
I believe that sometimes the continued application of nitrate of
silver, as recommended at page 334, would be followed by a cer-
tain amount of amelioration, the extent of which it is impossible

336 THE HORSE.

to guess at without a trial. In any case, when the animal is ren-
dered almost worthless by disease, it is fair to try experiments
which are neither expensive nor cruel ; and from the effect of the
remedy in those cases in which it has been used, I am led to ex-
pect that it may prove beneficial in those of longer standing.
Setons, blisters, and embrocations are all useless, as has been proved
in numberless cases; and beyond the palliation which can be
afforded by employing the horse only at such a pace as his state
will allow, nothing else can be suggested. In some cases the
roarer will be able to do ordinary harness work, which, however,
in hot weather, will try him severely ; in others he may be so
slightly affected as to be fit to hunt in a country where, from its
nature, the pace is not very severe ; but by confirmed roarers the
slow work of the cart is all that can be performed without cruelty.
Where paralysis of the 'muscles that open the rima glottidis is
the seat of the roaring, no plan has yet been suggested which is
of the slightest avail. In the first place, it is extremely difficult,
and indeed almost impossible, to diagnose the affection, and I know
of no means by which paralysis can be ascertained to exist during
life. Hence, although it is barely possible that by the use of
strychnine the nerve might be stimulated into a restoration of its
functions, yet as the case cannot be ascertained, it is scarcely wise
to give this powerful drug in the hope that it may by chance hit
the right nail on the head. This paralytic condition seems chiefly
to attack carriage horses, and probably arises from the pressure
made by the over-curved larynx upon the laryngeal nerve as it
passes through the opening in the thyroid cartilage. Many vete-
rinary writers have looked to the recurrent branch of the par
vagum to explain the loss of power, but I believe it is rather to
the laryngeal nerve that the mischief is due. It must be remem-
bered that carriage-horses are not only reined up for hours while
doing their daily work out of doors, but they are also often placed
in the same position, or even a more constrained one, by the coach-
man in the stable, in order to improve their necks. One horse of
his pair perhaps has naturally a head better set on than the other,
and he wishes to make nature bend to his wishes by compelling
the other to do that which the shape of his jaw forbids without a
sacrifice. The mouthing tackle is put on in the stable with this
view, and the poor horse is " kept on the bit" for three or four
hours early in the morning, during which time his larynx is pressed
between his narrow jaws into a most unnatural shape. The con-
sequence is either that the nerve is pressed upon, and the muscles
to which it is supplied are paralyzed, as in the condition which we
are now considering, or the cartilages are permanently disfigured,
which is the subject of the next paragraph. When the paralysis

ROARING. 337

is established, I believe no means but the internal use o; strych-
nine are at all likely to be beneficial.

An alteration in the shape of the cartilages, so as to permanently
change their form, is, I believe, the least common of all the causes
of roaring. Pressure for a very long time will be required to
effect this, and far more than suffices to paralyze the nerve. Cases,
however, are recorded, and the parts have been preserved, so that
there can be no doubt of their occasional occurrence. No treat-
ment can be of the slightest service.

Although roaring, in all its varieties, may be said to be generally
incurable, yet it may be greatly palliated by general attention to
the state of the lungs and stomach, by proper food, and by the
use, while the horse is at work, of a special contrivance, of a
most ingenious nature, published by Mr. Reeve, of Camberwell,
in the Veterinarian for 1858, but said to have been -in use for
many years among the London omnibus and cab men. At all
events, Mr. Reeve deserves the credit of having laid the matter
before the profession, and of explaining tjie true principle upon
which it acts. He says, in his paper on the subject: " I thought
it possible to so modify the atmospheric supply to the lungs, that,
during exercise, the volume of air, when it arrived at the glottis,
should not exceed that which passed through its opening when the
•horse was tranquil, and which (from the fact of the sound being
absent) does not at that time produce roaring. A strap was accord-
ingly made to pass around the nose of the horse, just over the
region of the false nostrils, and buckle beneath the lower jaw.
To the inner surface of this strap, and immediately over the false
nostril on each side, was fixed a body resembling in shape the half
of a hen's egg, cut longitudinally. When applied, these bodies
pressed upon the triangular spaces formed by the apex of the nasal
bones and upper jaw, thus closing the false nostrils, and partly
diminishing the channel of the true ones. The result was highly
gratifying • for the patient, which previously could not travel with-
out stopping every minute to take breath, now travelled, to all
appearance, without inconvenience or noise. At first, the strap
seemed slightly to annoy the horse ; and whenever it became dis-
placed, the roaring would again commence. A slight modification,
however, overcame every difficulty : the strap, instead of being
buckled around and under the jaw, was fastened on each side of
the bit; and, to prevent its descent, another was carried from its
centre, and fastened to the front of the harness-bridle/' Mr.
Reeve asserts that the effect was' all he could have wished, and
that the horse on which he tried the plan, " which previously had
been entirely useless, now performs his work in a heavy brougham,
and gives great satisfaction. The roaring is stopped, and, with
the usual speed, there appears no impediment to respiration."
29 Y

338 THE HORSE.

He concludes : " I have paid particular attention to this case, and
am inclined to think, that when by the compression we have neu-
tralized the action of the false nostrils, the object is effected with-
out the necessity of further narrowing the nasal passage."

Few people would care to drive a roarer, if they could help it,
even with the aid of the nasal compress ; but if necessity compels
such a proceeding, it is well to know how the poor animal may be
used with least annoyance to himself and his master.

HIGHBLOWING is a perfectly healthy and natural habit, and
cannot be confounded with roaring by any experienced horseman.
It is solely confined to the nostrils; and the noise is not produced
in the slightest degree during inspiration, but solely during the
expulsion of the air, which is more forcible and rapid than usual,
and accompanied by a vibratory movement of the nostrils, which
is the seat of the noise. Roaring, on the contrary, continues dur-
ing inspiration, as well as expiration ; and by this simple test the
two may readily be distinguished. Most highblowers have par-
ticularly good wind, of which the celebrated Eclipse is an exam-
ple ; for there is no doubt that he was addicted to the habit.

WHISTLING (AND PIPING, which is very similar to it), are pro-
duced by the same causes as roaring, in' an exaggerated condition.
Thus, a roarer often becomes a whistler as the rima glottidis is
more and more closed by disease; on the other hand, the whistler
is never converted into a roarer. The noise made is seldom a
decidedly shrill whistle, but it has more resemblance to that sound
than to roaring, and the name may well be retained as descriptive
of it. Whistlers are always in such a state of confirmed disease,
that treatment is out of the question — indeed, they can only be
put to the very slowest kind of work.

WHEEZING is indicative of a contracted condition of the bron-
chial tubes, which is sometimes of a spasmodic nature, and at
others is only brought on during occasional attacks after exposure
to cold. The treatment should be that recommended for chronic
bronchitis, which is the nature of the disease producing these
symptoms.

TRUMPETING is not very well defined by veterinary writers, and
I confess that I have never heard any horse make a noise which
could be compared to the trumpet, or to the note of the elephant
so called.

THE QUESTION RELATING TO THE HEREDITARY NATURE of roar-
ing is one which demands the most careful examination before a
reliable answer can be given to it. It would be necessary to select
at random a number of roaring sires and dams, and compare their
stock with that of an equal proportion of sound animals, which
would be a Herculean task, beyond the power of any private indi-
vidual. Nothirg short of this could possibly settle the dispute;

PNEUMONIA. 339

but, as far as opinion goes, it may be assumed that there are strong
authorities against the hereditary nature of the diseases which pro-
duce roaring. That it is often the result of ordinary inflamma-
tion, which in itself can scarcely be considered hereditary, is plain
enough ; and that it is also produced by mismanagement in tight
reining is also admitted, which latter kind can scarcely be supposed
to be handed down from sire to son ; but that it is safer, when
practicable, to avoid parents with any disease whatever, is patent
to all.

PNEUMONIA AND CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS.*
THE THEORETICAL DEFINITION OP PNEUMONIA IS that it COU-

sists of inflammation of the parenchyma of the lungs, independently
both of the mucous lining to the air passages, and of the serous
covering of the whole mass. The mucous membrane ceases ab-
ruptly at the terminations of the bronchial subdivisions, and
consequently the air-cells are not lined with a continuation from
it. Hence there is an extensive cellulo-fibrous area, which may
be the subject of inflammation, without implicating the mucous
surface. Until within the last fifteen or twenty years, it was com-
monly supposed that the air-cells were all lined by mucous mem-
brane, and that the parenchyma was confined to an almost infini-
tesimally thin structure, tilling up its interstices; but the microscope
has revealed the true structure of the lungs, and has shown that
there is a well-founded distinction between bronchitis and pneu-
monia, upon the ground of anatomy, as well as observation. Still,
it cannot be denied that the one seldom exists to any great extent,
or for any long period, without involving the adjacent tissue ; and
broncho-pneumonia, as well as pleuro-pneumonia, are as common
as the pure disease.

PNEUMONIA, OR PERIPNEUMONY, must be examined, with a
view, first, to its intensity, whether acute or sub-acute; and
secondly, as to its effects, which may be of little consequence, or
they may be so serious as to completely destroy the subsequent
usefulness of the patient. It is not, therefore, alone necessary to
provide against death by the treatment adopted, but due care must
also be taken that the tissue of the lungs is not disorganized by a
deposition of lymph, or of matter, so as to lead, in the one case, to
a consolidation of the air-cells, and, in the other, to the formation

* All diseases of the chest and lungs, among farmers and others, are
classed under the general head of Lung Fever. Whether the lungs be inflamed
or congested, tincture of aconite is the surest remedy, and is in fact the
most successful sedative in all diseases of the chest or lungs. Give 20 drops
every four hours, until four or five doses have been given, allowing plenty of
cold water and pure air. This last (pure air) is very important, an I should
not be overlooked. — EDITOR.

340 THE HORSE.

of a larg< abcess, and consequent destruction of substance. The
fonrier is a very common sequel of pneumonia ; and probably there
are few attacks of it without being followed by a greater or less
degree of hepatization, by which term the deposit of lymph is
known, from its causing the lungs to assume the texture of liver
(finap'). In very severe cases, gangrene of the lungs is induced ;
but as death almost always speedily follows this condition, it is not
necessary to consider it, excepting as bearing upon the fatal result.

The cause of pneumonia may be over-exertion, as in the hunting-
field, especially in an unprepared horse ; or it may come on as a
primary disease after exposure to cold; or it may follow upon
bronchitis when neglected and allowed to run on without check.
In the two first cases it appears to be produced by the great con-
gestion of blood which takes place in the fine network of vessels of
which the lungs are in great part composed. The blood in the
one case is collected by the increased necessity for its aeration with
a failing circulation, as in over-exhaustion, or in the other it is
forced inwards upon the vital organs by the chill which the skin
has received. The capillaries are then roused to act beyond their
strength, and an inflammatory condition is established as a repara-
tory effort of nature, which may possibly stop short as soon as the
object is accomplished, but more frequently goes on beyond this,
and an attack of pneumonia sets in with more or less intensity,
according to circumstances. For these reasons, when the lungs
are evidently congested, no pains should be spared to relieve them
by causing the skin to act, before the aid of nature is invoked,
since it can never be certain that she will stop short at the proper
point.

CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS is too often neglected and allowed
to go on to inflammation. Veterinary surgeons, indeed, are sel-
dom called in before this stage has run its course and inflammation
is established. It is true that every hunting man endeavors to
ascertain all the particulars relating to it, because he is constantly
in fear of having to treat it, and he would gladly benefit by the
advice and experience of those more competent to treat it than
himself. But the great mass of horsemasters are wholly ignorant
of its action, and I shall therefore endeavor to lay down instruc-
tions which may be beneficial to those who are so unlucky as to
have a horse with congested lungs, either caused by over-exertion
or by a chill, or by a combination of the two, as most frequently
happens.

When a fat " dealer's horse," that is, one made up for sale and
not for use, is ridden in a sharp burst across country, his lungs are
most unfortunately tried, for ha is not only loaded with blood con-
taining an excess of stimulating materials (or in a state of plethora,
as it is called), but his heart and blood-vessels are not prepared by

PNEUMONIA. 341

previous exercise to carry on the circulation when unusual demands
upon them are made. The consequence is that, as soon as he has
gone half a dozen miles, he not only tires, but, if pressed, his gal-
lant spirit carries him on until the blood collects and stagnates in
his lungs, from a defect in the circulating apparatus, and he be-
comes absolutely choked from a want of that decarbonization wltich
is necessary to his very existence. Air is taken freely into his
lungs, but the circulation almost ceases in them, and in spite of
his hurried breathing, as shown by his panting sides, he is almost
as completely suffocated as if a cord was tied round his neck. On
examining his eyes and nostrils they are seen to be turgid and
purple, the vessels being filled with carbonized blood, while the
heart beats rapidly but feebly, and the countenance is expressive
of anxiety and distress. In this state many a horseman finds his
steed every winter, and a pretty dilemma he is in. The question
of treatment is a serious one, even to the most experienced in such
matters, but one thing is quite clear, that the more urgent the
case the more danger there is in having recourse to the lancet.
Bleeding to the extent of a few pounds will sometimes relieve a
trifling case of exhaustion, but in a really severe one it will take
away the only chance which remains. The best plan is to give the
animal plenty of air, turn his head to the wind, and if any kind
of fermented liquor can be obtained, give him a little at once.
Neat spirits are apt to cause increased distress from spasm of the
larynx, but it is even better to risk this than to let the exhaustion
continue. If, therefore, the horse is incapable of walking to the
nearest farm-house or inn, the better plan is to leave him with a
light covering on him of some kind, and at once proceed to pro-
cure a quart of ale or wine, or spirits and water, whichever can be
obtained the most easily. One or other of these, slightly warmed
and spiced, if possible, should be poured down his throat, which
can readily be done, as he Has no power to resist, and then in a
few minutes he may generally be induced to move quietly on to-
wards the nearest stable. Here he must remain all night if the
attack is a bad one, or if he recovers soon he may be walked
quietly home. When he reaches his stable he may be treated
according to the directions given at page 188, and in the evening
or the next morning early, if the pulse rises and is hard and jerk-
ing, he may be bled with advantage, but rarely should this be done
for some hours after the first attack. Congestion is essentially
produced by debility, and although an abstraction of blood relieves
the vessels of a part of their load, it increases their weakness in
a still greater degree, and they are less able to do their work,
diminished though it may be, than they were before. Hundreds
of over-worked horses have been killed by the abuse of the lancet
29*

342 THE HORSE.

in the hunting-field, but the principle on which their treatment
should be conducted is better understood now than formerly.

WHEN CONGESTION shows itself as the result of a chill, the
following symptoms are displayed : — First and foremost there is
rapid and laborious breathing, the horse standing with his legs
wide apart, his head thrust straight forward, and his flanks heav-
ing. The skin is generally dry, but if there is any sweat it is a
cold one. The legs are icy cold, and also the ears. The whites of
the eyes and lining of the nostrils are of a purplish hue, but not
very deep in colour The pulse is slightly accelerated (from forty
to fifty), but not hard and incompressible ; and lastly, the attack
is of recent duration. These signs, however, are not to be fully
relied on as marking congestion rather than inflammation, without
having recourse to an examination of the lungs by means of the
ear. Placing it against the side of the chest, in inflammation
there would be certain marked sounds, presently to be described,
whilst in the state we are now considering they are wholly absent,
and all that is heard is the usual respiratory murmur slightly
increased in intensity. It is of the utmost importance to make
out exactly the nature of the case, for the treatment should be
very different in congestion and inflammation. If in the former
condition the blood can only be drawn into the skin, relief is at
once afforded and' all danger is at an end; but in the latter,
though some slight advantage would be gained, the progress of
the disease would not be materially checked. To produce this
determination of blood to the skin without loss of time, is some-
times very difficult; but by the application of hot water and
blankets it may generally be accomplished. Two men, supplied
with a tub of very hot water and plenty of clothing, should be
rapid in their movements, and proceed as follows : — Have an
assistant ready to strip the patient when ordered, then, dipping
a blanket in the water, it is taken out and partially wrung, leaving
as much water in its meshes as it can hold without dropping ; as
soon as it is cool enough for the human hand to bear its pressure
it should be gently, but quickly, laid upon the horse's back, and
the rug, which has just come off, while still warm, placed over
it, with two or three more over all, the number depending upon
the temperature of the air. Another smaller rug may in the same
way be wetted and applied to the neck, covering it with two or
three hoods, but taking care to avoid pressure upon the windpipe.
The legs also should be wrapped in flannel bandages, made as hot
as possible before the fire, but dry. In the course of half an hour,
if the skin of the parts uncovered does not become warm, and
show evidences of sweating coming on, another rug must be
dipped in the same \ ly, and substituted quickly for the first.

PNEUMONIA. . 343

Usually, however, the desired effect is produced within twenty
minutes, and then great care and some little tact are required to
manage the operation. If the sweating is allowed to go on
beyond a certain point exhaustion is produced, attended by almost
as much danger as inflammation ; while on the other hand, in
attempting to moderate the action of the skin, risk is incurred of a
chill, and thus upsetting all the benefit which might otherwise
have been derived. But by throwing open the doors to the
external air, which may freely be admitted as soon as gbhe skin
acts, and by reducing the number of additional rugs, the amount
of sweat given off may be kept within due bounds, and in the
course of two or three hours the previously wetted rug or blanket
may be removed, and a dry, warm one substituted for it, but the
assistants must be quick and handy in effecting the change.
Many a case of inflammation of the lungs, kidneys, or bowels might
be stopped in limine by the adoption of this plan; but the misfor-
tune is that it requires all the skill and tact of the veterinary surgeon,
first of all to diagnose the case, and afterwards to manage its treat-
ment. Still, if a master will undertake the superintendence of
the operation himself, and is accustomed to disease, there is little
risk of failure.

THE SYMPTOMS OF ACUTE PNEUMONIA are a quick and dis-
tressed respiration, averaging about sixty inspirations in the
minute. Pulse quick (from seventy to eighty-five); hard, often
small, but always compressible. Nostrils distended, and the
lining membrane red (except in the last stage, when suffocation is
imminent). Cough short, and evidently giving pain, which occa-
sions it to be checked as much as possible. Legs and ears gene-
rally cold, often icy. Feet wide apart ; evidently with an instinc-
tive desire to dilate the chest as much as possible. On putting
the ear to the chest, if the attack is very recent, there will be
merely a greatly increased respiratory murmur; but when fully
developed there may be heard a crepitant rattling, which is com-
pared to the crackling of a dried bladder; but I confess that I
could never make out the similarity between the two sounds. In
the later stages, this is succeeded by an absence of all sound,
owing to the consolidation of the lungs, or by mucous rattles
depending upou the secretion of mucus. On tapping the exterior
of the chest with the ends of the fingers (percussion), the sound
given out is dull in proportion to the extent of mischief, the effect
of pneumonia being to convert the spongy texture of the lungs
into a solid substance like liver. The treatment will greatly
depend upon the stage of the disease, the age and constitution of
the horse, and the nature of the prevailing epidemic, if there is
one. In modern days bl eding is very badly borne, either b}

344 THE HORSE.

man or horse, nevertheless few cases of genuine pneumonia will be
saved without it. Sufficient blood must be taken to make a decid-
ed impression on the circulation, without which the inflammation will
not be mastered. The quantity necessary for this cannot be fixed,
because the effect will vary so materially, that the abstraction of
three or four quarts of blood in one case will do more than double
or treble that quantity in another. A large orifice must be made
in the vein, and it must not be closed until the lining membrane
of the nose or the white of the eye is seen to have become con-
siderably paler. It may possibly even then be necessary to repeat
the operation six hours afterwards, or next day, according to the
symptoms. The rule should be followed of taking enough but
not a drop too much, for blood removed from the circulation takes
a long time to replace. With regard to medicine, tartar emetic is
the only drug which seems to have much influence over pneu-
monia, and it must be given every six hours in drachm doses,
with from half a drachm to a drachm of powdered digitalis, or
white hellebore, to keep down the pulse, and two or three
drachms of nitre, to increase the action of the kidneys. Unless
the bowels are confined no aperient should be given, and if neces-
sary only the mildest dose should be used. The diet should con-
sist of bran mashes, gruel, and a little hay, or green food if the
season of the year allows. A cool airy stable and warm clothing
are indispensable in this disease. When the first violence of the
attack has subsided, a large blister on the side of the chest will
afford great relief, and when it ceases to act, if the disease is not
entirely cured a second may be put on the other side.

SUB-ACUTE PNEUMONIA differs in no respect from the acute form,
excepting in degree, and the symptoms and treatment will vary
only in proportion.

THE TERMINATIONS of pneumonia may be death, or resolution
(by which is to be understood a disappearance of the symptoms
without leaving any mischief behind), or hepatization, or abcess.
The last-named sequel may be very serious in extent, but if an
opening is made by nature for the discharge of its contents into
the bronchial tubes the horse may recover, and his wind may be
sufficiently good for any purposes but the racecourse or the hunt-
ing field. Hepatization is always attended with thick wind, but
in other respects the health may be good, and the horse may be
suited to ordinary work. In process of time some of the lymph is
absorbed, and a considerable improvement takes place, but it never
entirely disappears, and a horse which has once suffered from
pneumonia attended by hepatization remains permanently unsound.

PLEURISY— PLEURODYNIA. 345

PLEURISY.*

THIS DISEASE is characterized by a very peculiar respiration,
the expirations being much longer than the inspirations, owing to
the pain which is given by the action of the muscles necessary for
the latter, while the former, if the chest is allowed quietly to fall,
is almost painless. Nevertheless, the breathing is quicker on the
whole than natural, being from forty to fifty per minute. The
pulse is quick, small, and incompressible. Nostrils and eyes of a
natural color, and the former are not dilated. The countenance is
anxious, and the legs are rather drawn together than extended, as
in bronchitis and pneumonia, and they are not colder than usual.
There is a short hurried cough, with great restlessness, and the
sides are always painful on pressure } but this symptom by itself is
not to be relied on, as it is present in pleurodynia, which will be
presently described.

The treatment should consist of copious bleeding, followed by a
mild purgative, and the same ball as recommended for pneumonia,
with the addition of half a drachm of calomel. Blisters are not
desirable to be applied to the sides of the thorax, as there is so
little space between the two surfaces of the pleura and the skin
that they are apt to do harm by immediately irritating the former,
rather than to act beneficially by counter-irritation of the skin. A
large rowel, may, however, be placed in the breast with advantage.

HYDROTHORAX, or water in the cavity of the chest, is one of
the sequels of chronic pleurisy, the serum thrown out being the
means by which a serous membrane relieves itself. It can be
detected by the entire absence of respiratory murmur, and by the
dullness on percussion. No treatment is of any avail but tapping,
which may be readily and safely performed (if the diagnosis is
correct) by passing a trocar between the eighth and ninth ribs,
near their cartilages. If, however, an error has been committed,
the lung is wounded, and death will probably ensue.

i PLEURODYNIA.

BETWEEN THIS DISEASE AND THE LAST there is some simi-
larity in the symptoms ; but in their nature, and in the treatment
required, they are widely separated. It is, therefore, necessary
that they should not be confounded, for in the one case blood-
letting and other active measures may be unnecessarily adopted,
and in the other a fatal result will most probably occur for want

* In all diseases the product of which is exudation, or the outpouring of
water, bleeding, purging, and other devitalizing agents should be religi-
ously abstained from. Blisters in this disease may be of some service but
should be used only when inflammation has subsided. Aconite, pure air.
ani cold water is the most successful way of curing pleurisy. — EDITOR.

346 THE HORSE.

of them. In pleuritis there is a quick pulse, with general consti-
tutional disturbance, which will serve to distinguish it from pleuro-
dynia, besides which, it is rarely that we meet with the former
without some other affection of the lungs co-existing. When,
therefore, a horse is evidently suffering from acute pain in the
walls of the thorax, unaccompanied by cough, hurried breathing,
quick pulse, or fever, it may safely be diagnosed that the nature
of the attack is a rheumatism of the intercostal muscles (pleuro-
dynia), and not pleurisy. In treating it, bleeding and tartar emetic
must be carefully avoided, and hot mustard and vinegar rubbed
into the sides will be the most likely remedy to afford relief.

PHTHISIS.

WHEN A HORSE HAS LONG BEEN SUBJECT TO A CHRONIC COUGH,
and, without losing appetite, wastes away rapidly, it may be assumed
that he is a victim to phthisis, and especially if he is narrow-
chested and has long shown signs of short wind. On examining
the chest by the ear, it will be found to give out sounds of various
kinds, depending upon the exact state of the lungs ; but in most
cases there will be great dulness on percussion, owing to the
deposit of tubercles, in which the disease consists. In a confirmed
case no treatment will avail, and the poor animal had better be
destroyed. When the attack is slight, the progress of the disease
may be stayed by counteracting inflammation in the ordinary way,
avoiding loss of blood when possible. Haemorrhage, from the
breaking down of the substance of the lung, by which a large
blood-vessel is opened, is a common result of phthisis, and will be
alluded to under the head of diseases of the vessels of the lungs,
at the end of this chapter.

BROKEN WIND.

A BROKEN-WINDED HORSE can be detected at once by any
horseman possessed of experience, from the peculiar and forcible
double expiration. Inspiration is performed as usual, then comes
a rapid but not violent act of expiration, followed by a forcible
repetition of the same, in which all the muscles of respiration,
auxiliary and ordinary, are called into play. This is, of course,
most marked when the horse has been gallopped, but even when
he is at rest the double expiration is manifest at almost any ordi-
nary distance from the observer. The disease almost (if not quite)
invariably consists in emphysema, or entrance of the air into
unnatural cells, which is retained there, as the urine is in the
bladder, from the valvular nature of the openings, and cannot be
entirely expelled, nor in the slightest degree, without calling into
play all the muscles of the chest. The presence of unchanged air
is a constant source of irritation to the lungs, and although sum-

I

BROKEN WIND— THICK WIND. 347

cient may be expired easily enough to carry on their functions
•while the body is at rest, yet instinctively there is a desire to get
rid of the surplus, and hence the two acts of respiration. Imme-
diately after this second act the muscles relax, and the flank falls
in, and this it is which catches the eye in so remarkable a manner.
On examination after death, the lungs are found to remain en-
larged, and do not collapse as in the healthy condition. They are
distended with air; and this is especially the case when the em-
physema is of the kind called interlobular, in which the air has
escaped into the cellular membrane. In the most common kind,
however, the cells are broken down, several being united together,
while the enlargement pressing upon the tube which has opened
into them diminishes its capacity, and prevents the ready escape
of air. This is the vesicular emphysema of pathologists. The
former is generally suddenly produced by a severe gallop after a
full meal, while the latter is a slow growth and often occurs at
grass, as a consequence of neglected chronic cough, the constant
muscular efforts appearing gradually to dilate the cells.

The treatment can only be palliative, as there is no recognised
cure for the disease, though M. Hew, of Chaumont, has lately pub-
lished a report of ten cases in which treatment by arsenic given
with green food or straw, and in some cases bleeding, was perfectly
successful. The arsenic was given to the extent of fifteen grains
daily, and at the end of a fortnight the symptoms of broken wind
were completely removed; but as the horses were not subsequently
watched, it is impossible to say whether the cure was permanent.
It is known, however, that one of them relapsed after three months,
but speedily yielded to a repetition of the treatment. It may cer-
tainly be worth while to try the experiment of the effect of arsenic
where a broken-winded horse is valuable in other respects. The
medicine is not expensive, and the length of time necessary for the
treatment is not very great. Broken -winded horses should be care-
fully dieted, and even then confined to slow work. The food should
be in small compass, consisting chiefly of wheat-straw chaff, with a
proper quantity of oats, and beans may be added if the animal is
not very young. The water should never be given within an hour
of going out of the stable, but it is better to leave a constant sup-
ply, when too much will never be taken. Carrots are peculiarly
suited to this disease, and a diet of bran mixed with carrots, sliced,
has sometimes been known to relieve a broken-winded horse most
materially.

THICK WIND.

THICK WIND is the horseman's term for any defective respira-
tion, unaccompanied by a noise, or by the signs of emphysema just
alluded to. It usually follows pneumonia, but it may arise from

348 THE HORSE.

chronic bronchitis, occasioning a thickening of the mucous mem
brane lining the bronchial tubes, and thus lessening their diameter,,
or it may accompany phthisis when the deposit of tubercles is ex-
tensive. No treatment will be of any service except such as will
aid the play of the lungs mechanically, by avoiding overloading
the stomach, as mentioned in the last section.

SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

SOME HORSES, when at all distressed by the severity of their
gallops, communicate to the rider a most unpleasant sensation, as
if some internal part was giving a sudden blow or flap. This is
not only a sensation, but a reality, for the diaphragm being na-
turally weak, or overstrained at some previous period, acts spas-
modically in drawing in the air. If the horse thus affected is rid-
den onwards afterwards, he will be placed in danger of suffocation
and death, either from rupture of the diaphragm, or from its cessa-
tion to act, or from its permanently contracting and refusing to
give way during expiration. There is no cure for the weakness
which tends to produce the spasm, and all that can be done is to
avoid using the horse affected with it at any very fast pace, and
over a distance of ground. Urgent symptoms may be relieved by
a cordial-drench, such as the following : —

Take of Laudanum 6 drachms.

Ether 1| ounce.

Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia . . 3 drachms.

Tincture of Ginger 3 drachms.

Ale 1 pint. Mix.

Or if there is any difficulty in giving a drench, a ball may be
made up and given —

Take of Carbonate of Ammonia .... 1 drachm.

Camphor 5 drachm.

Powdered Ginger 1 drachm.

Linseed meal and boiling water sufficient to make into a ball.

Either of the above may be repeated at the end of three hours,
if relief is not afforded. Increased strength may be given to the
diaphragm by regular slow work, and the daily mixture of a drachm
of powdered sulphate of iron with the feed of corn.

DISEASES OF THE HEART.

THE HORSE is subject to inflammation of the substance of the
heart (ca'rditis) of a rheumatic nature, and of the fibro-serous cover-
ing (pericarditis), but the symptoms are so obscure that no one but
the professional veterinarian will be likely to make them out.
Dropsy of the heart is a common disease in worn-out horses, and
hypertrophy, as well as fatty degeneration, are often met with
among well-conditioned animals.

DISEASES OF BLOOD-VESSELS. 349

DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE CHEST
AND NOSE.

THE HORSE is VERY SUBJECT TO HAEMORRHAGE from the nose,
coming on during violent exertion, and many a race has been lost
from this cause. Fat over-fed horses are the most likely to suffer
from hemorrhage; but most people are aware of the risk in-
curred in over-riding or driving them, and for this reason they
are not so often subject to this accident (for such it is rather than
a disease) as they otherwise would be. It is unnecessary to de-
scribe its symptoms, as the gush of blood renders it but too appa-
rent, and the only point necessary to inquire into is, whether the
lungs or the nasal cavities are the seat of the rupture of the vessel.
In the former case the blood comes from both nostrils, and is
frothy ; while in the latter it generally proceeds from one only,
and is perfectly fluid. The treatment should consist in cooling the
horse down by a dose of physic and a somewhat lower diet; but if
the bleeding is very persistent, and returns again and again, a
saturated solution of alum in water may be syringed up the nostril
daily, or, if this fails, an infusion of matico may be tried, which is
far more likely to succeed. It is made by pouring half a pint of
boiling water on a drachm of matico-leaves, and letting it stand till
cool, when it should be strained, and is fit for use.

HEMORRHAGE FROM THE LUNGS is a far more serious affair,
and its control requires active remedies if they are to be )f any
service. It may arise from the existence of an abscess n the
lung of a phthisical nature, which implicates some considerable
vessel; or it may be caused by the bursting of an aneurism, which
is a dilatation of a large artery, and generally occurs near the heart.
The treatment can seldom do more than prolong the life of the
patient for a short time, and it is scarcely worth while to enter
upon it. Bleeding from the jugular vein will arrest the internal
haemorrhage, and must often be resorted to in the first instance,
and there are internal medicines which will assist it, such as digi-
talis and njatico ; but, as before remarked, this only postpones the
fatal termination.

30

350 THE HORSE.

CHAPTER XXII.
DISEASES OF THE ABDOMINAL VISCERA AND THEIR APPENDAGES.

General remarks — Diseases of the Mouth and Throat — Gastritis —
Stomach Staggers — Dyspepsia — Bots — Inflammation of the
Bowels — Colic — Diarrhaa and Dysentery — Strangulation and
Rupture — Calculi in the Bowels — Worms — -Disease of the
Liver — of the Kidneys — of the Bladder — of the Organs of
Generation.

GENERAL REMARKS.

THOUGH NOT OFTEN PRODUCING what in horse-dealing is con-
sidered unsoundness, yet diseases of the abdominal viscera con-
stantly lead to death, and frequently to such a debilitated state of
the body, that the sufferer is rendered useless. Fortunately for
the purchaser, they almost always give external evidence of their
presence, for there is not only emaciation, but also a staring coat
and a flabby state pf the muscles, which is quite the reverse of the
wiry feel communicated to the hand in those instances where the
horse is " poor" from over-work in proportion to his food. In the
latter case, time and good living only are required to restore the
natural plumpness ; but in the former, the wasting will either go
on until death puts an end to the poor diseased animal, or he
will remain in a debilitated and wasted condition, utterly unfit for
hard work.

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH AND THROAT.

SEVERAL PARTS ABOUT THE MOUTH are liable to inflammation,
which would be of little consequence in itself, but that it inter-
feres with the feeding, and this for the time starves the horse,
and renders him unfit for his work, causing him to "quid" or
return his food into the manger without swallowing it. Such are
lam pas. vives or enlarged glands, barbs or paps, gigs, bladders,
and flaps, — all which are names given to the enlargements of the
salivary ducts, — and carious teeth, or inflammation of their fangs.
Besides these, the horse is also subject to sore throat, and stran-
gles, which are accompanied by constitutional disturbance, and
not only occasion " quidding," if there is any slight appetite, but
they are also generally accompanied by a loss of that function.

SORE THROAT. — When the throat inflames, as is evidenced by
fulness and hardness of this part, and there is difficulty of swal-
lowing, the skin covering it should immediately be severely sweated,
or the larynx will be involved and irreparable injury done. The
tincture of cantharides diluted with an equal part of spirit of tur-

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STRANGLES-LAMPAS. 351

pentine and a little oil, may be rubbed in with a piece of sponge,
until it produces irritation of the skin, which in a few hours will
be followed by a discharge from the part. Six or eight drachma
of nitre may also be dissolved in the water which the horse drinks,
with some difficulty, but still, as he is thirsty, he will take it.
Sometimes eating gives less pain than drinking, and then the
nitre may be given with a bran mash instead of the water.

STRANGLES. — Between the third and fifth year of the colt's life
he is generally seized with an acute swelling of the soft parts
between the branches of the lower jaw, accompanied by more or
less sore throat, cough and feverishness. These go on increasing
for some days, and then an abscess shows itself, and finally bursts.
The salivary glands are often involved, but the matter forms in
the cellular membrane external to them. The treatment should
be addressed to the control of constitutional symptoms by the
mildest measures, such as bran mashes with nitre in them, abstrac-
tion of corn, hay tea, &c. At the same time the swelling should
be poulticed for one night, or thoroughly fomented two or three
times, and then blistered with the tincture of cantharides. As
soon as the matter can plainly be felt, it may be let out with a
lancet; but it is very doubtful whether it is not the best plan to
permit the abscess to break. The bowels should be gently moved,
by giving a pint, or somewhat less, according to age, of castor oil ;
and afterwards two or three drachms of nitre, with half a drachm
of tartar emetic, may be mixed with the mash twice a day, on
which food alone the colt should be fed, in addition to gruel, and
a little grass or clover if these are to be had, or if not, a few steamed
carrots. The disease has a tendency to get well naturally, but if
it is not kept within moderate bounds it is very apt to lay the
foundation of roaring or whistling. Any chronic swelling which
is left behind, may be removed by rubbing in a weak ointment of
biniodide of mercury (one scruple or half drachm to the ounce;
see page 300).

LAMPAS is an active inflammation of the ridges, or "bars/7 in
the hoof of the mouth, generally occurring in the young horse
while he is shedding his teeth, or putting up the tushes. Some-
times, however, it comes on, independently of this cause, from
over-feeding with corn after a run at grass. The mucous mem-
brane of the roof of the mouth swells so much that it projects
below the level of the nippers, and is so tender that all hard and
dry food is refused. The treatment is extremely simple, consist-
ing in the scarification of the part with a sharp knife or lancet,
after which the swelling generally subsides, and is gone in a day
or two; but should it obstinately continue, as will sometimes
happen, a stick of lunar caustic must be gently rubbed over the
part every day until a cure is completed. This is far better than

352 THE HORSE.

the red-hot iron, which was formerly so constantly used, with
good effect it is true, and not accompanied by any cruelty, as the
mucous membrane is nearly insensible, but the caustic is more
rapid and effectual in stimulating the vessels to a healthy action,
and on that score should be preferred. If the lampas is owing to
the cutting of a grinder, relief will be afforded by a crucial inci-
sion across the protruding gum.

BARBS, PAPS, &c. — The swelling at the mouth of the ducts
may generally be relieved by a dose of physic and green food, but
should it continue, a piece of lunar caustic may be held for a
moment against the opening of the duct every second day, and
after two or three applications the thickening will certainly
disappear.

WHERE VIVES, or chronically enlarged submaxillary glands, are
met with, the application of the ointment of biniodide of mercury,
according to the directions given at page 300, will almost certainly
cause their reduction to a natural state.

GASTRITIS.

G-ASTRITIS (acute inflammation of the stomach) is extremely
rare in the horse as an idiopathic disease ; but it sometimes occurs
from eating vegetable poisons as food, or from the wilful introduc-
tion of arsenic into this organ, or, lastly, from licking off corrosive
external applications, which have been used for mange. The symp-
toms from poisoning will a good deal depend upon the article
which has been taken, but in almost all cases in which vegetable
poisons have been swallowed, there is a strange sort of drowsiness,
so that the horse does not lie down and go to sleep, but props him-
self against a wall or tree with his head hanging almost to the
ground. As the drowsiness increases he often falls down in his
attempt to rest himself more completely, and when on the ground
his breathing is loud and hard, and his sleep is so unnaturally
sound that he can scarcely be roused from it. At length con-
vulsions occur and death soon takes place. This is the ordinary
course of poisoning with yew, which is sometimes picked up with
the grass after the clippings have dried, for in its fresh state the
taste is too bitter for the palate, and the horse rejects the mouthful
of grass in which it is involved. May-weed and water parsley will
also produce nearly similar symptoms. The treatment in each
case should be by rousing the horse mechanically, and at the same
time giving him six or eight drachms of aromatic spirit of ammonia,
in a pint or two of good ale, with a little ginger in it. This may
be repeated every two hours, and the horse should be perpetually
walked abou' until the narcotic symptoms are completely gone off,
when a soun«l sleep will restore him to his natural state.

ARSENIC, when given in large doses, with an intention to destroy

STOMACH STAGGERS. 353

life, produces intense pain and thirst ; — the former, evidenced by an
eager gaze at the flanks, pawing of the ground, or rolling; and
sometimes by each of these in succession. The saliva is secreted
in increased quantities, and flows from the mouth, as the throat is
generally too sore to allow of its being swallowed. The breath
soon becomes hot and fetid, and purging then comes on of a bloody
mucus, which soon carries off the patient by exhaustion, if death
does not take place from the immediate effects of the poison on the
stomach and brain. Treatment is seldom of any avail, the most
likely remedies being large bleedings, blisters to the sides of the
chest, and plenty of thin gruel to sheathe the inflamed surface
of the mucous membrane, which is deprived of its epithelial
scales.

CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE* is sometimes employed as a wash in
mange, or to destroy lice, when it may be licked off, and will occa-
sion nearly the same symptoms as arsenic. The treatment consists
in a similar use of thin starch or gruel ; or, if the poison has
recently been given wilfully, of large quantities of white of egg.

STOMACH STAGGERS.

THE EXACT NATURE of this disease has never been 'clearly
made out, and it is now so rare, that there is little chance of its
being satisfactorily explained. , The symptoms would chiefly lead
one to suppose the brain to be implicated ; but there is so close &
sympathy between that organ and the stomach, that we can easily
account in that way for the cerebral manifestations. A theory has
been propounded, that it is seated in the par vagum, or pneumo-
gastric nerve; and as all the parts with which that nerve is con-
nected are affected, there is some ground for the hypothesis ; but
it is not supported by the demonstration of anatomy, simply, per-
haps, because of the difficulty in the way of prosecuting the
pathology of the nerves. The first onset of the disease is marked
by great heaviness of the eyes, soon going oh to drowsiness; the
head dropping into the manger, even while feeding is in progress.
It general! v makes its appearance after a long fast ; and it is sup-
posed by some writers to be owing to the demands made by the
stomach on the brain, when in an exhausted condition for want of
its usual supplies. This theory is supported by the fact that, in
the present day, when every horsemaster knows the danger of
working his horses without feeding them at intervals of five, or at
most six hours, the stomach staggers are almost unknown. Even
when the disease shows itself at grass, it is almost always mani-

* First. — Give one-half of an ounce of iodide of potassium to convert
the mercury into an iodide of the metal, which is harmless comparatively
to corrosive sublimate. Then give the white of egg, &c., spoken of in the
text. — EDITOR.

30* Z

354 THE HORSE.

fested directly after the horse is first turned out, when he gorges
himself with the much-coveted food, which has long been withheld,
and his brain is affected in a manner similar to that which follows a
long fast from every kind of fopd. In a short time, if the affection
of the brain is not relieved, that organ becomes still more severely
implicated, and convulsions or paralysis put an end to the attack.
During the course of the disease, the breathing is affected, and
there is generally an almost total cessation of the secretions of bile
and urine, which may either be the cause or the effect of the con-
dition of .the brain. With this state of uncertainty as to the
essence of the disease, it is somewhat empirical to lay down any
rules for its treatment; and, as I before remarked, it is now so
rare, that they are scarcely necessary. If care be taken to feed
the horse properly, he will never suffer from stomach staggers in
the stable ; and at grass, the attack is seldom observed until he
is beyond the reach of any remedies. Still, it may be as well to
observe, that the usual plan of proceeding has been to take away
blood, so as to relieve the brain, and to stimulate the stomach
to get rid of its load, by the use of warm aperients, such as the
following :—

Take of Barbadoes Aloes 4 to 6 drachms.

Tincture of Ginger 3 drachms.

Dissolve the. aloes in a pint of hot water, then add the tincture, and when
nearly cool give as a drench.*

DYSPEPSIA.

EVERY DOMESTIC ANIMAL suffers in health if he is constantly
fed on the same articles, and man himself, perhaps, more than
they do. Partridges are relished by him early in September, but
toujours perdrix would disgust the most inveterate lover of that
article of food. Dogs are too often made to suffer from being fed
on the same meal, flavored with similar flesh or broth, from one
month to another. It is well known that cattle and sheep must
change their pasture, or they soon lose condition ; and yet horses
are expected to go on eating oats and hay for years together with-
out injury to health; and at the same time they are often exposed
to the close air of a confined stable, and to an irregular amount of
exercise. We cannot, therefore, wonder that the master is often
told that some one or other of his horses is " a little off his feed ;"
nor should we be surprised that the constant repetition of the
panacea for this, " a dose of physic," should at length permanently
establish the condition which at first it would always alleviate.
It is a source of wonder that the appetite continues so good as it

* In addition to the treatment, I would recommend that from 15 to 20 drops
of the tincture of aconite root be given to control the heart's action, and
thereby the circulation of the blood. — EDITOR.

DYSPEPSIA— BOTS. 355

does, in the majority of horses, which are kept in the stable on
the same kind of food, always from July to May, and often
through the other months also. The use of a few small bundles
of vetches, lucerne, or clover in the spring, is supposed to be
quite sufficient to restore tone to the stomach, and undoubtedly
they are better than no change at all j but at other seasons of the
year something may be done towards the prevention of dyspepsia,
by varying the quality of the hay, and by the use of a few carrots
once or twice a week. In many stables, one rick of hay is made
to serve throughout the whole or a great part of the year, which
is a very bad plan, as a change in this important article of food is
as much required as a change of pasture when the animal is at
grass. When attention is paid to this circumstance, the appetite
will seldom fail in horses of a good constitution, if they are regu-
larly worked ; but without it, resort must occasionally be had to a
dose of physic. It is from a neglect of this precaution that so many
horses take to eat their litter, in preference to their hay ; for if the
same animal was placed in a straw-yard, without hay, for a month,
and then allowed access to both, there would be little doubt that he
would prefer the latter. Some horses are naturally so voracious,
that they are always obliged to be supplied with less than they
desire, and they seldom suffer from loss of appetite; but delicate
feeders require the greatest care in their management. When the
stomach suffers in this way, it is always desirable to try what a
complete change of food will do before resorting to medicine ; and,
if it can be obtained, green food of some kind should be chosen,
or if not, carrots, or even steamed potatoes. In place of hay,
sound wheat or barley straw may be cut into chaff, and mixed
with the carrots and corn; and to this a little malt-dust may be
added, once or twice a week, so as to alter the flavor. By con-
tinually changing the food in this way, the most dyspeptic
stomach may often be restored to its proper tone, without doing
harm with one hand while the other is doing good, as is too often
the case with medicine. The use of the fashionable " horse-
feeds " of the present day will serve the same purpose ; and if
the slight changes I have mentioned do not answer, Thorley's or
Henri's food may be tried with great probability of success.

BOTS.

THE LARVAE of the oestrus equi, a species of gadfly, are often
found in large numbers, attached by a pair of hooks with which
they are provided, to the cardiac extremity of the stomach ; they
are very rarely met with in the true digestive portion of this
organ, but sometimes in the duodenum or jejunum in small numbers.
A group of these larvae, which are popularly called bots, are repre-
sented on the next page, but sometimes nearly all the cardiac ex-

356 THE HORSE.

tremity of the stomach is occupied with them, the interstices being
occupied by little projections which are caused by those that have
let go their hold, and have been expelled with the food. Several
of these papillae are shown on the engraving, which delineates also
the appearance of the bots themselves, so that no one can fail to
recognise them when he sees them. This is important, for it often

FlG. 18. — GROUP OF BOTS ATTACHED TO THE STOMACH.

happens that a meddlesome groom when he sees them expelled
from or hanging to the verge of the anus, as they often do for a
short time, thinks it necessary to use strong medicine j whereas in
the first place he does no good, for none is known which will kill
the larva without danger to the horse, and in the second, if he will
only have a little patience, every bot will come away in the natural
course of things, and until the horse is turned out to grassj during
the season when the osstrus deposits its eggs, he will never have
another in his stomach.

THE CESTRUS EQUI comes out from the pupa state in the middle
and latter part of summer, varying according to the season, and
the female soon finds the proper nidus for her eggs in the hair of
the nearest horse turned out to grass. She manages to glue them
to the sides of the hair so firmly that no ordinary friction will get
rid of them, and her instinct teaches her to select those parts
within reach of the horse's tongue, such as the hair of the fore
legs and sides. Here they remain until the heat of the sun hatches
them, when, being no larger in diameter than a small pin, each
larva is licked off and carried down the gullet to the stomach, to
the thick epithelium of which it soon attaches itself by its hooks.
Here it remains until the next spring, having attained the size

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 357

which is represented in the engraving during the course of the
first two months of its life, and then it fulfils its allotted career,
by letting go and being carried out with the dung. On reaching
the outer air it soon assumes the chrysalis condition, and in three
or four weeks bursts its covering to become the perfect insect.

FROM THIS HISTORY it will be evident that no preventive
measures will keep off the attacks of the fly when the horse is at
grass, and, indeed, in those districts where they abound, they will
deposit their ova in the hair of the stabled horse if he is allowed
to stand still for a few minutes. The eggs are, however, easily
recognised in any horse but a chestnut, to which color they closely
assimilate, and as they are never deposited in large numbers on
the stabled horse they may readily be removed by the groom.
Unlike other parasites, they seem to do little or no harm, on
account of the insensible nature of the part of the stomach to
which they are attached, and, moreover, their presence is seldom
discovered until the season of their migration, when interference
is uncalled for. On all accounts, therefore, it is unnecessary to
enter into the question, whether it is possible to expel them; and
even if by chance one comes away prematurely it will be wise to
avoid interfering by attempting to cause the expulsion of those left
behind.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.

(Peritonitis and Enteritis.)

A REFERENCE to the cut of the abdomen and its contents, oppo-
site page 278, will explain that there are two divisions of the
abdominal serous sac, one of which lines the walls of the cavity,
and the other covers the viscera which lie in it. In human medi-
cine, when the former is inflamed, the disease is termed peritonitis,
and when the latter is the subject of inflammatory action it is
called enteritis. But though in theory this distinction is made, in
practice it is found that the one seldom exists without the other
being developed to a greater or less extent. Veterinary writers
have generally taken the nomenclature adopted in human ana-
tomy and pathology, but in regard to the inflammations of the
bowels they define peritonitis as inflammation of the peritoneal or
serous coat, and enteritis as inflammation of the muscular coat.
My own belief is, that during life it is impossible by any known
symptoms to distinguish the exact locale of any inflammation of
the bowels but that of their mucous lining, which will presently
be described, and that wherever the actual serous covering of the
bowels is involved the muscular fibres beneath it will be implicated,
but that the serious and fatal symptoms manifested in such cases
are not dependent upon the latter, but are due entirely to the
lesions of the serous coat. I have examined numberless fatal

358 THE HORSE.

cases of supposed enteritis, and have uniformly found signs of
inflammation of the serous investment, sometimes implicating the
muscular fibres beneath, and often extending to the peritoneal
lining of the walls of the abdomen, but I have ne'ver yet seen
marks of inflammation in the muscular tissue without their, serous
covering being affected to a much greater extent. I believe there-
fore that the distinction is erroneously founded, and that, theoreti-
cally, the same definition should be made of the two diseases as is in
use by human pathologists, though practically this is of little im-
portance. There is no well made out inflammation of muscular
tissue (except that, of the heart) in which the symptoms are so
urgent and so rapidly followed by a fatal issue as in the latter stages
of the disease described by Mr. Per ci vail under the head enteritis,
as follows: — "The next stage borders on delirium. The eye
acquires a wild, haggard, and unnatural stare — the pupil dilates —
his heedless and dreadful throes render approach to him quite
perilous, he is an object not only of compassion but of apprehen-
sion, and seems fast hurrying to his end — when all at once, in the
midst of agonizing torments he stands quiet, as though every pain
had left him and he were going to recover. His breathing becomes
tranquillized — his pulse sunk beyond all perception — his body
bedewed with a cold clammy sweat — he is in a tremor from head
to foot, and about the legs and ears has even a dead-like feel. The
mouth feels deadly chill — the lips drop pendulous, and the eye
seems unconscious of objects. In fine, death, not recovery, is at
hand. Mortification has seized the inflamed bowel — pain can no
longer be felt in that which a few minutes ago was the seat of
most exquisite suffering. He again becomes convulsed, and in a
few more struggles less violent than the former . he expires."
Analogy would lead any careful pathologist to suppose that such
symptoms as these are due to some lesion of a serous and not a
muscular tissue, and, as I before remarked, I have satisfied myself
that such is really the case. I have seen lymph, pus, and serum
effused in some cases of enteritis, and mortification extending to a
large surface of the peritoneal coat in others, but I have never
examined a single case without one or the other of these morbid
results. It may be said that so long as the symptoms are correctly
described their exact seat is of no consequence; but in this
instance it is probable that the ordinary definition of enteritis as an
inflammation of the muscular coat, may lead to a timid practice in
its treatment, which would be attended with the worst results. I
have no fault to find with the usual descriptions of the two
diseases, or with their ordinary treatment, but I protest against
the definition which is given of them.

AN EXAMINATION OP THE CAUSE of inflammation of the bowels
is the only means by which the one form can be distinguished

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 359

from the other. If it has been brought about from exposure to
cold, or from over-stimulating medicines given for colic, the proba-
bility is that the serous covering of the intestines themselves is
chiefly involved ; while if it has followed castration it may gener-
ally be concluded that the peritoneal lining of the abdominal
muscles has taken on inflammatory action by an immediate exten-
sion from the serous lining of the inguinal canal, which is con-
tinuous with it. In each case, however, the symptoms are as
nearly as may be the same, and without knowing the previous
history I believe no one could distinguish the one disease from the
other — nor should the treatment vary in any respect.

THE SYMPTOMS of peritoneal inflammation vary in intensity,
and in the rapidity of their development, but they usually show
themselves in the following order : — At first there is simple loss of
appetite, dulness of eye, and a general uneasiness, which are soon
followed by a slight rigor or shivering. The pulse becomes rapid,
but small and wiry, and the horse becomes very restless, pawing
his litter, and looking back at his sides in a wistful and anxious
manner. In the next stage all these signs are aggravated ; the
hind legs are used to strike at but not touch the belly; and the
horse lies dow, rolls on his back and struggles violently. The
pulse becomes quicker and harder, but is still small. The belly is
acutely tender and hard to the touch, the bowels are costive, and
the horse is constantly turning round, moaning, and regarding his
flanks with the most anxious expression of countenance. Next
comes on the stage so graphically described by Mr. Percivall in
the passage which I have quoted, the whole duration of the attack
being from twelve to forty-eight hours in acute cases, and extend-
ing to three or four days in those which are denominated sub-
acute.

In the treatment of this disease, as in all those implicating serous
membrane, blood must be taken largely, and in a full stream, the
quantity usually required to make a suitable impression being
from six to nine quarts. The belly should be fomented with very
hot water, by two men holding against it a doubled blanket, dipped
in that fluid, which should be constantly changed, to keep up the
temperature. The bowels should be back-raked, and the follow-
ing drench should be given every six hours till it operates, which
should be hastened by injections of warm water.

Take of Linseed oil 1 pint.

Laudanum 2 ounces.

If the first bleeding does not give relief in six or eight hours, it
must be repeated to the extent of three or four quarts, and at the
same time some liquid blister may be rubbed into the skin of the
abdomen, continuing the fomentations, at short intervals, under

360 THE HORSE.

that part, which will hasten its operation. The diet should be con-
fined to thin gruel or bran mashes, and no hay should be allowed
until the severity of the attack has abated.*

To DISTINGUISH this disease from colic is of the highest import-
ance, and for this purpose it will be necessary to describe the
symptoms of the latter disease, so as to compare the two together.

COLIC.

IN THIS DISEASE there is spasm of the muscular coat of the
intestines, generally confined to the caecum and colon. Various
names have been given to its different forms, such as the fret, the
gripes, spasmodic colic, flatulent colic, &c., but they all display the
above feature, and are only modifications of it, depending upon
the cause which has produced it. In spasmodic colic, the bowels
are not unnaturally distended, but in flatulent colic their distension
by gas brings on the spasm, the muscular fibres being stretched to
so great an extent as to cause them to contract irregularly and
with a morbid action. Sometimes, when the bowels are very cos-
tive, irritation is established as an effort of nature to procure the
dislodgment of the impacted faecal matters, and thus a third cause
of the disease is discovered. The exact nature »nd cause are
always to be ascertained from the history of the case, and its
symptoms, and as the treatment will especially be conducted with
a view to a removal of the cause, they are of the highest import-
ance. The symptoms in all cases of colic, by which it may be
distinguished from the last-described disease, are as follows : In
both acute pain is manifested by stamping, looking at the flanks,
and rolling; but in enteritis the pain is constant, while in colic,
there are intervals of rest, when the horse seems quite easy, and
often begins to feed. In both the poor animal strikes at his belly;
but in the former he takes great care not to touch the skin, while
in the latter (colic) he will often bring the blood by his desperate
efforts to get rid of his annoyance. In enteritis the belly is hot
and exquisitely tender to'the touch, but in colic it is not unnatur-
ally warm, and gradual pressure with a broad surface, such as the
whole hand, always is readily borne, and generally affords relief.
The pulse also is little affected in colic; and, lastly, the attack is
very much more sudden than in peritoneal inflammation.

SUCH ARE THE GENERAL SIGNS by which a case of colic may be
distinguished from inflammation of the bowels, but beyond this it
is necessary to investigate whether it is pure spasmodic colic, or
produced by flatulence, or by an obstruction in the bowels.

* Do not bleed, but substitute for it 20 drops of the tincture of aconite
root every 3 hours till 4 to 5 doses are given, and allow pure air with plenty
of cold water to drink. — EDITOR.

COLIC. 361

I

IN SPASMODIC COLIC all the above symptoms are displayed, with-
out any great distension of the abdomen ; and if the history .jf the
case is gone into, it will be found that after coming in heated the
horse has been allowed to drink cold water, or has been exposed
in an exhausted state to a draught of air.

IN FLATULENT COLIC the abdomen is enormously distended ; the
attack is not so sudden, and the pain is not so intense, being rather
to be considered, in the average of cases, as a high degree of un-
easiness, occasionally amounting to a sharp pang, than giving the
idea of agony. In aggravated attacks, the distension is so enor-
mous as to leave no doubt of the nature of the exciting cause.
Here also the spasms are often brought on by drinking cold water
while the horse is in a heated and exhausted state.

WHERE THERE is A STOPPAGE IN THE BOWELS to cause the
spasm, on questioning the groom, it will be found that the dung
for some days has been hard and in small lumps, with occasional
patches of mucus upon it. In other respects there is little to dis-
tinguish this variety from the last. ,

The treatment must in all cases be conducted on a totally differ-
ent plan to that necessary when inflammation is present. Bleeding
will be of no avail, at all events in the early stages, and before the
disease has gone on, as it sometimes will, into an inflammatory
condition. On the other hand, stimulating drugs, which would be
fatal in enteritis, will here generally succeed in causing a return
of healthy muscular action. The disease is indeed similar in its
essential features to cramp in the muscles of the human leg or
arm, the only difference being that it does not as speedily dis-
appear, because it is impossible to get at the muscular coat of the
intestines, and apply the stimulus of friction.

AS SOON AS A CASE IS CLEARLY MADE OUT TO BE OF A SPAS-
MODIC NATURE, one or other of the following drenches should be
given, the choice being made in proportion to the intensity of the
symr ;oms : —

1. Sulphuric Ether 1 ounce.

Laudanum 2 ounces.

Compound decoction of Aloes 5 ounces.

Mix and give every half hour until relief is afforded.

2. Spirit of Turpentine 4 ounces.

Linseed Oil 12 ounces.

Laudanum 1| ounce.

Mix and give every hour till the pain ceases.

3. Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia 1| ounce.

Laudanum 2 ounces.

Tincture of Ginger 1.^ ounce.

Hot Ale 1 quart.

Mix and give every hour.

31

362

THE HORSE.

Hot water should also be applied to the abdomen, as described
under the head of Enteritis, and if an enema pump is at hand,
large quantities of water, at a temperature of 1006 Fahrenheit,
should be injected per anum, until in fact the bowel will hold no
more without a dangerous amount of force.

IN FLATULENT COLIC the same remedies may be employed, but
the turpentine mixture is here especially beneficial. The use of
warm water injections will often bring away large volumes of wind,
which at once affords relief, and the attack is cured. Sometimes,
however, the distension goes on increasing, and the only chance
of recovery consists in a puncture of the caecum, as it lies high in
the right flank, where, according to French veterinary writers, it
may often be opened when greatly distended, without dividing the
serous covering. The operation, however, should only be per-
formed by an experienced hand, as it is one of great danger, and
a knowledge of the anatomy of the parts concerned is required to
select the most available situation.

THE TREATMENT OF IMPACTION must be completely a pos-
teriori, for all anterior proceedings with aperient medicines will
only aggravate the spasms. Injection of gallons of warm water,
or of gruel containing a quart of castor oil and half a pint of spirit
of turpentine, will sometimes succeed in producing a passage, and
at the same time the spasm may be relieved by the exhibition at
the mouth of one ounce of laudanum and the same quantity of
sulphuric ether. If there is any tenderness of the abdomen, or
the pulse has a tendency to quicken, it will be better to resort to
bleeding, which alone will sometimes cause the peristaltic action
to be restored in a healthy manner. The case, however, requires
great patience and judgment, and as no great good can often be
effected, it is highly necessary to avoid doing harm, which can
hardly be avoided if the remedies employed are not at once suc-
cessful.

WHEN THE URGENT SYMPTOMS of colic in any of its forms are
relieved, great care must be exercised that a relapse does not take
place from the use of improper food. The water should be care-
fully chilled, and a warm bran mash should be given, containing in it
half a feed of bruised oats. Nothing but these at moderate inter-
vals, in the shape of food or drink, should be allowed for a day
or two, and then the horse may gradually return to his customary
treatment, avoiding, of course, everything which may appear to
have contributed to the development of colic.

DIAKEHCEA AND DYSENTERY.

A DISTINCTION is attempted to be made between these two dis-
eases,— the former name being confined to an inflammation of the
mucous itembrane of the small intestines, while the latter is said

DIARRHCEA AND DYSENTERY. 363

to reside in the large. It is very difficult, however, if not impos-
sible, to distinguish the one from the other by the symptoms dur-
ing life, and in ordinary practice they may be considered as one
disease, the treatment depending in great measure on the exciting
cause. This in most cases is to be found in the use of too violent
" physic," or in' not resting the horse after it has begun to act
until some hours after it has completely " set." Sometimes it
depends on the cells of the colon having long been loaded with
faeces, which causes, at length, their mucous lining to inflame, the
consequent secretion having a tendency to loosen them arid pro-
cure their dismissal, either by solution or by the forcible contrac-
tion of the muscular coat. This last disease is known by the name
of " molten grease" to old-fashioned farriers, the clear mucus which
envelopes the lumps of faeces being supposed to be derived from
the internal fat that is generally plentifully developed in the highly
fed horses that are especially subject to the attack. For practical
purposes, therefore, we may consider the different forms under the
head of superpurgation, diarrhoea, and dysentery, meaning by the
last name that condition which is brought about by and attended
with a discharge of lumps of hard faecal matter enveloped in
mucus.

SUPERPURGATION is sometimes so severe as to place a delicate
horse in great danger. When the action of the bowels has gone
on for three or four days consecutively, and there is no disposition
to " set," the eyes become staring and glassy, the pulse is feeble,
and the heart flutters in the most distressing manner ; the mouth
has a peculiarly offensive smell, the tongue being pale and covered
with a white fur having a brown centre. The abdomen is gene-
rally tucked tightly up, but in the later stages large volumes of
gas are evolved, and it becomes tumid.

The treatment should consist in the exhibition of rice, boiled
till quite soft, and if not taken voluntarily, it should be given as a
drench, mixed into a thin liquid form with warm water. If the
case is severe, one or two ounces of laudanum may be added to si
quart of rice milk, and given every time the bowels act with vio-
lence. Or a thin gruel may be made with wheat meal, and the
laudanum be mixed with that instead of the rice. A perseverance
in these remedies will almost invariably produce the desired effect,
if they have not been deferred until the horse is very much ex-
hausted, when a pint of port wine may be substituted for the
laudanum with advantage.

IN DIARRHCEA resulting from cold, or over-exertion, the treat-
ment should be exactly like that prescribed for superpurgation,
but it will sometimes be necessary to give chalk in addition to the
remedies there allu-i )d to. The rice or flour-milk may be admin-

364 THE HORSE.

istered as food, and the following drench given by itself every
time there is a discharge of liquid faeces : —

Take of Powdered Opium 1 drachm.

Tincture of Catechu £ ounce.

Chalk Mixture 1 pint.

Mix and give as a drench.

During the action of these remedies the body must be kept
warm by proper clothing, and the legs should be encased in flan-
nel bandages, previously made hot at the fire, and renewed as they
become cold.

IN DYSENTERY (or molten grease) it is often necessary to takf
a little blood away, if there is evidence of great inflammation in
the amount of mucus surrounding the faeces, and when aperient
medicine does not at once put a stop to the cause of irritation by
bringing the lumps away from the cells of the colon. Back-raking,
and injections of two ounces of laudanum and a pint of castor oil
with gruel, should be adopted in the first instance, but they will
seldom be fully efficient without the aid of linseed oil given by the
mouth. A pint of this, with half a pint of good castor oil, will
generally produce a copious discharge of lumps, and then the irri-
tation ceases without requiring any further interference.

Whenever there is diarrhoea or dysentery present to any extent,
rice-water should be the sole drink.

STRANGULATION AND RUPTURE.

MECHANICAL VIOLENCE is done to the stomach and bowels in
various way&, but in every case the symptoms will be those of
severe inflammation of the serous coat, speedily followed by death,
if not relieved when relief is possible. Sometimes the stomach is
ruptured from over-distension — at others the small intestines have
been known to share the same fate, but the majority of cases ^re
due to strangulation of a particular portion of the bowels, by being
tied or pressed upon by some surrounding band. This may hap-
pen either from a loop of bowel being forced through an opening
in the mesentery or mesocolon, or from a band of organized lymph,
the result of previous inflammation — or from one portion of the
bowels forcing itself into another, like the inverted finger of a
glove, and the included portion being firmly contracted upon by
the exterior bowel, so as to produce dangerous pressure (intussus-
ception), or, lastly, from a portion or knuckle of intestine forcing
its way through an opening in the walls of the abdomen, and then
called hernia or rupture, which being pressed upon by the edges
of the opening becomes strangulated, and if not relieved inflames,
and then mortifies. None of these cases are amenable to treat-
ment (and indeed they cannot often be discovered with certainty
during life, the symptoms resembling those of enteritis), except

CALCULI IN THE 30WELS. 365

strangulated hernia, which should be reduced either by the pres-
sure of the hands, or by the aid of an operation with the knife —
which will be described under the chapter which treats of the seve-
ral operations. Whenever inflammation of the bowels is attended
with obstinate constipation, the walls of the abdomen should be
carefully examined, and especially the inguinal canal, scrotum, and
navel, at which points in most cases the hernia makes its appear-
ance. A swelling at any other part may, however, contain a'
knuckle of intestine, which has found its way through the abdo-
minal parietes in consequence of a natural opening existing there,
or of one having been made by some accidental puncture with a
spike of wood or iron. The swelling is generally round, or nearly
so, and gives a drum-like sound on being tapped with the fingers.
It feels hard to the touch in consequence of the contents being
constricted, but it gives no sensation of solidity, and may be gene-
rally detected by these signs. None but an educated hand can,
however, be relied on to distinguish a ventral hernia from any
other tumor. When it occurs at the scrotum or navel the case is
clear enough.

CALCULI IN THE BOWELS.

A STOPPAGE IN THE BOWELS sometimes obstinately persists, in
spite of all kinds of remedies, and, death taking place, it is found
on examination that a large calculus has blocked up the area of
the canal. Sometimes one of these calculi is found in the stomach,
but this is extremely rare. On making a section they are found
to consist of concentric layers of bran, chaff, and other hard par-
ticles of the food, mixed generally with some small proportion of
earthy matter, and arranged around some foreign body, such as a
piece of stone from the corn, or the head of a nail. Treatment is
out of the question, as it is impossible to discover the calculus
during life, and even if it could be ascertained to exist, no remedy
is known for it. Those who are curious about the composition of
these calculi, will be pleased with the following letter by Mr. Buck-
land, surgeon to the 1st Life Guards, in reply to an inquiry made
in The Field as to the composition of a calculus found in a horse
belonging to a correspondent : —

" Mr. C. Pemberton CaTter having, in his interesting letter, re-
quested me to throw some light upon this subject, I have great
pleasure in giving what little information I am able to afford, with
apologies for delay, as Aldershot camp is by no means a favorable
spot for scientific investigations or literary pursuits. As regards
the actual composition of calculi such as he has sent, we learn
from the catalogue of the museum of the Royal College of Sur-
geons that they are composed for the most part of the phosphate
of magnesia and ammonia, wivh small quantities of phosphate of
31*

366 THE HORSE.

lime. They also contain an animal and extractive matter, to which
the brown color of the calculus is owing. They also contain mu-
riates of soda, and various alkaline salts derived from the intestinal
juices. The animal matter resembles that of all other concretions,
and separates in concentric laminae when the calculus is dissolved
in an acid. In more impure varieties, grains of sand, portions of
hay, straw, &c., are frequently found imbedded in the calculus,
and there is one specimen in the museum which contains an entire
layer of vegetable hairs. Mr. Carter remarks that ' his impression
is that the calculus is made up of bran' (chemically speaking).
He is not far wrong, for we read in the College catalogue, ' Most
authorities agree that these calculi are formed from phosphate of
magnesia, contained in wheat, oats, hay, &c., and this opinion de-
rives confirmation from the circumstance that they occur most fre-
quently in millers' and brewers' horses, which are fed upon grains,
bran, and substances known to contain a much larger proportion
of magnesian salts than other vegetable matters.' Mr. Carter has
detected minute portions of wheat, oats, and hay in the calculus,
which therefore may be said to consist of two substances, viz., the
vegetable and the mineral. So much, then, for the composition
of the calculus ; now for its mechanical structure. Most decidedly
it may be compared to an onion, layer being packed over layer, so
as in section to present a ringed appearance. We may also liken
it to other objects. It has lately struck me to examine the struc-
ture of a common cricket-ball, which combines hardness, light-
ness, and elasticity in such an admirable way. Upon making a
section, I found the cricket-ball to be composed of layers, one over
the other, round a central nucleus. The layers are composed of
leather, alternated with a vegetable fibre, the nucleus being a bit
of cork. The calculus in the horse is formed in a similar way.
The nucleus in Mr. Carter's specimen is a bit of flint; in a capital
instance I have in my own collection, of a common shot, about
No. 5 size, which has been crushed by the horse's teeth, and sub-
sequently swallowed ; in another instance, of a chair nail of brass;
in another of a single oat-seed ; in another of a minute bit of
cinder, and so on, as it seems to be absolutely necessary that these
calculi should have a commencement — a starting-point. Where
is the school-boy who can make a gigantic snowball without be-
ginning with a small lump of snow or a stone, as a nucleus upon
which he builds all the rest ?

" Mr. Carter seems to wonder at the weight of the specimen, 5
Ibs. ; this is by no means a large size ; in the museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons we have a very fine collection^ of cal-
culi, the largest, taken from the intestines of a horse, weighs no
less than 17 Ibs , and is about the size and shape of an ordinary
skittle-ball. In the case where this is contained he will see many

CALCULI IN THE BOWELS— WORMS. 367

other specimens, cut in sections to show the nuclei; he will ob-
serve that calculi also form in the intestines of the camel and of
the elephant, and even in the wild horse, for there is a good speci-
men from the intestines of a Japanese wild horse. Stones, not
true calculi, are sometimes found in animals, which have been
actually swallowed by them, and have not been chemically formed
in this walking laboratory. There is a case containing several
pebbles — thirty in number — found in the stomach of a cow at
Barton-under-Needwood, Burton-on-Trent. These stones belong
to the geological formation of the neighborhood ; it is curious to
see how they have been acted on by the action of the stomach, for
they are highly glazed and polished. I have seen specimens of
gravel pebbles which I took from the gizzard of an ostrich, which
are as highly polished as an agate marble. The bird swallowed
the stones to assist its digestion; the cow out of a morbid appe-
tite. I know of a somewhat similar instance that lately happened:
A young lady was taken ill, and died of very strange symptoms ;
it was subsequently ascertained that the stomach was quite filled
with human hair, which had moulded itself into the shape of the
interior of that organ. The poor girl had naturally very long and
beautiful hair, and she had an unfortunate habit of catching the
loose hairs with her lips and swallowing them ; in time they felted
together, became a solid mass, and killed her — a warning to other
young ladies which should not be neglected. In the lower animals
we frequently find rolled balls of hair from the creatures licking
themselves. I have seen one at Bristol from a lioness ; it is formed
of hairs licked with her rough tongue from her cubs. Curious
concretions are found in goats, &c., called ' bezoar' stones; they
were formerly supposed to have medicinal virtues : of this at an-
other time. F. T. BUCKLAND."

WORMS.

INTESTINAL WORMS in the horse are chiefly of two species, both
belonging to the genus ascaris. Bots, as inhabiting the stomach,
have already been described with that organ ; and, moreover, they
should never be confounded with what are called properly and
scientifically, " worms." Of these, the larger species resembles
the common earthworm in all respects but color, which is a pinkish
white. It inhabits the small intestines, though it is sometimes,
but very rarely, found in the stomach. The symptoms are a rough,
staring, hollow coat — a craving appetite — more or less emaciation —
the passage of mucus with the faeces, and very often a small por-
tion of this remains outside the anus, and dries there. That part
generally itches, and in the attempt to rub it the tail is denuded
of hair ; but this may arise from vermin in it, or from mere irri-
tatipn of the anu« from other causes. When these several symp-

368 THE HORSE.

toms are combined, it may with some . degree of certainty be sup-
posed that there are worms in the intestines, but before proceeding
to dislodge them, it is always the wisest plan to obtain proof posi-
tive of their existence, by giving an ordinary dose of physic, when,
on watching the evacuations, one or more worms may generally be
discovered if they are present. When the case is clearly made
out the plan of treatment is as follows : —

Take of Tartar Emetic* 1 drachm.

Powdered Ginger ^ drachm.

Linseed Meal sufficient to make into a ball with boiling water.

One should be given every morning for a week, then a dose of
physic ; linseed oil being the most proper. Let the stomach rest
a week; give another course of balls and dose of physic, after
which let the horse have a drachm of sulphate of iron (powdered)
twice a day with his feed of corn.

There is no medicine which is so effectual for removing worms
in the horse as tartar emetic, and none which is so entirely innocu-
ous to the stomach. Calomel and spirit of turpentine were formerly
in use as vermifuges, but they are both dangerous drugs; the
former, if given for any length of time, causing great derangement
of the stomach and liver ; and the latter often producing consi-
derable inflammation after a single dose, if sufficiently large to
cause the expulsion of the worms. Linseed oil given in half-pint
doses every morning is also an excellent vermifuge, but not equal
to the tartar emetic. If this quantity does not relax the bowels
it may be increased until they are rendered slightly more loose
than usual, but avoiding anything like purgation.

The smaller species of intestinal worm chiefly inhabits the rec-
tum, but is occasionally found in the colon and caecum. It pro-
duces great irritation and uneasiness, but has not the same preju-
dicial effect on the health as the larger parasite. It is about one
to two inches in length, and somewhat smaller in diameter than a
crow quill. These worms are commonly distinguished as ascarides,
but both this species and the round worm belong to the genus
ascaris. The term thread worm is more correctly applied, as they
are not unlike sections of stout thread or cotton. The only symp-
tom by which their presence can be made out is the rubbing of
the tail, when if, on examination, no vermin or eruption is found
in the dock, it may be presumed that worms exist in the rectum.
The remedy for these worms is by the injection every morning for
a week of a pint of linseed oil, containing two drachms of spirit of
turpentine. This will either kill or bring away the worms, with
the exception of a few which are driven by it higher up into the

* Omit the Tartar Emetic, and substitute 2 drachms of powdered Sul-
phate of Iron. — EDITOR.

DISEASES OF THE LIVER AND KIDNEYS. 369

colon, but by waiting a week or ten days (during which time they
will have re-entered the rectum) and then repeating the process,
they may generally be entirely expelled. The sulphate of iron
must be given here, as before described.

DISEASES OF THE LIVER.

THE LIVER OF THE HORSE is less liable to disease than that of
any other domestic animal, and the symptoms of its occurrence
are so obscure that it is seldom until a post-mortem examination
that a discovery is made of its existence. This unerring guide,
however, informs us that the liver is sometimes unnaturally en-
larged and hard, at others softened, and in others again the sub-
ject of cancerous deposits. It is also attacked by inflammation,
of which the symptoms are feverishness ; rapid pulse, not hard and
generally fuller than usual; appetite bad; restlessness, and the
patient often looking round to his right side with an anxious ex-
pression, not indicative of severe pain. Slight tenderness of the
right side; but this not easily made out satisfactorily. Bowels
generally confined, but there is sometimes diarrhoea. Very fre-
quently the whites of the eyes show a tinge of yellow, but any-
thing like jaundice is unknown. The treatment must consist in
the use of calomel and opium, with mild purging, thus : —

Take of Calomel,

Powdered Opium, of each one drachm.

Linseed Meal and boiling water enough to make into a ball,
which should be given night and morning. Every other day
a pint of Linseed Oil should be administered.

The diet should if possible be confined to green food, which will do
more good than medicine ; indeed, in fine weather, a run at grass
during the day should be preferred to all other remedies, taking
care to shelter the horse at night in an airy loose-box.

DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS.

THESE ORGANS are particularly prone to disease, and are subject
to inflammation ; to diabetes, or profuse staling ; to haematuria, or
a discharge of blood, and to torpidity, or inaction.

INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS ^nephritis') is generally pro-
duced by an exposure of the loins to wet and cold, as in carriage-
horses standing about in the rain during the winter season. Some-
times it follows violent muscular exertion, and is then said to be
caused by a strain in the back, but in these cases there is probably
an exposure to cold in a state of exhaustion, or by the rupture of
a branch of the renal artery or vein, as the inflammation of one
organ can scarcely be produced by the strain of another. The
symptoms are a constant desire to void the urine, which is of a
very dark color — often almost black. Great pain, as evidenced by

2A

370 THE HORSE.

the expression of countenance and by groans, as well as by frequent
wistful looks at the loins. On pressing these parts there is some
tenderness, but not excessive, as in rheumatism. The pulse is
quick, hard, and full. The attitude of the hind quarters is pecu-
liar, the horse standing in a straddling position with his back
arched, and refusing to move without absolute compulsion. It is
sometimes difficult to distinguish nephritis from inflammation of
the neck of the bladder, but by attending to the state of the urine,
which is dark brown or black in the former case, and nearly of a
natural color in the latter, the one may be diagnosed from the
other. To make matters still more clear, the oiled hand may be
passed into the rectum, when in nephritis the bladder will be found
contracted and empty (the urine being so pungent as to irritate
that organ), while in inflammation or spasm of its neck, it will be
distended, often to a large size. The treatment to be adopted must
be active, as the disease runs a very rapid course, and speedily ends
in death if neglected. A large quantity of blood must at once be
taken. The skin must be acted on energetically, so as to draw the
blood to its surface, and if a Turkish bath (see page 215) is at
hand, it will be highly beneficial. If not, the application of hot
water, as recommended at page 342, may be tried, and in many
cases it has acted like a charm. Failing the means for carrying
out either of these remedies, the loins should be rubbed with an
embrocation consisting of olive oil, liquid ammonise and laudanum
in equal parts, but cantharides and turpentine must be carefully
avoided, as likely to be absorbed, when they would add fuel to the
fire. A fresh sheepskin should be warmed with hot (not boiling)
water, and applied over the back, and the liniment should be
rubbed in profusely every hour, restoring the skin to its place im-
mediately afterwards. Mustard is sometimes used instead of am-
monia, and as it is always at hand, it may form a good substitute,
but it is not nearly so powerful an irritant to the skin as the latter,
especially when evaporation is prevented by the sheepskin, or by
a piece of any waterproof article. A mild aperient may be given,
linseed oil being the best form, but if the bowels continue ob-
stinate, and it is necessary to repeat it, eight or ten drops of croton
oil may be added to a pint of the oil, great care being taken to
assist its action by raking and injection, the latter being also use-
ful as a fomentation to the kidneys. The diet should consist of
scalded linseed and bran mashes, no water being allowed without
containing sufficient linseed tea to make it slightly glutinous, but
not so much so as to nauseate the patient. If the symptoms are
not greatly abated in six or eight hours, the bleeding must be re-
peated, for upon this remedy the chief dependence must be placed.
A mild and soothing drench, composed of half an ounce of car-
bonate of soda, dissolved in six ounces of linseed tea, may be given

DISEASES OP THE KIDNEYS. 371

tvery six hours, but little reliance can be placed upon it. The
inflammation either abates after the bleeding, or the horse dies in
a very few hours.

DIABETES of late years has been much more frequent than was
formerly the case, and especially among race-horses and hunters,
probably owing to the enormous quantities of corn which they are
allowed in the present (Jay. But whatever may be the cause, the
symptoms are clear enough, the horse constantly staling and pass-
ing large quantities of urine each time. The treatment should be
conducted on the principle that the cause should if possible be
ascertained and removed. Mowburnt hay will often bring on dia-
betes, and new oats have a similar tendency in delicate horses. In
any case it is wise to make a total change in the food as far' as it
can possibly be done. Green meat will often check it at once, and
a bran-mash containing a few carrots has a similar chance of doing
good. With these alterations in the quality of the food attention
should also be paid to the quantity of the corn, which should be
reduced if more than a peck a day has been given, and beans should
be substituted for a part of the oats. Half a drachm of the sul-
phate of iron (powdered) should be mixed with each feed (that is,
four times a day), and the horse should be well clothed and his legs
warmly bandaged in a cool and airy (but not cold and draughty)
loose box. By attention to these directions the attack may gener-
ally be subdued in a few days, but there is always a great tendency
to its return. Should it persist in spite of the adoption of the
measures already recommended, the following ball may be tried : —

Take of Gallic Acid % drachm.

Opium 1 drachm.

Treacle and Linseed Meal enough to make into a ball, which should be
given twice a day.

HJEMATUREA, like diabetes, is easily recognised by the presence
of blood in greater or less quantities passed with the urine. It is
not, however, of the bright red color natural to pure blood, but it
is more or less dingy, and sometimes of a smoky-brown color, as
occurs in inflammation. Bloody urine, however, may often be
passed without any sign of that condition, and therefore unaccom-
panied by pain, or any other urgent symptom. The causes are
exceedingly various. Sometimes a parasitic worm (Strongylus
gigas) has been discovered, after death from hsematurea, in the
kidney, and was apparently the cause of the mischief. At others,
this organ has been found disorganized by cancer or melanosis —
and again a sharp calculus, has been known to bring on consider-
able bleeding, and this last cause is by no means unfrequent. The
symptoms are the existence of bloody urine unaccompanied by pain
or irritation, marking the absence of nephritis. As to treatment,
little can be done in severe cases, and mild ones only require rest,

372 THE HORSE.

a dose of physic, and perhaps the abstraction of three or four
quarts of blood. Green food should be given, and the diet should
be attended to as for diabetes. If the urine is scanty, yet evidently
there is no inflammation, two or three drachms of nitre may be
given with the mash at night, but this remedy should be employed
with great caution.

INACTION OF THE KIDNEYS is so common in every stable that
the groom seldom thinks it necessary even to inform his master of
its occurrence. An ounce of nitre is mixed and given with a bran-
mash as a matter of course, and sometimes more violent diuretics
are resorted to, such as powdered resin and turpentine. Very
often the kidneys are only inactive because the horse has not been
regularly watered, and in those stables where an unlimited supply
is allowed this condition is comparatively rare. There is no harm
in resorting to nitre occasionally, but if it is often found necessary
to employ this drug, the health is sure to suffer, and an alteration
in the diet should be tried in preference. At all events, if it ir,
given, the horse should be allowed to drink as much and as often
as he likes, without which the stimulus to the kidneys will be
doubly prejudicial, from being in too concentrated a form.

DISEASES OF THE BLADDER.

THE BLADDER is subject to inflammation of its coats or neck-
to spasm — and to the formation of calculi.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER (cystitis) is not very common
excepting when it is produced by irritants of a mechanical or chemi-
cal nature. Thus, when the kidneys secrete a highly irritating
urine, the bladder suffers in its passage, and we have the two
organs inflamed at the same time. Again, when cantharides have
been given with a view to stimulate exhausted nature, or when
they are absorbed from the surface of the skin, as sometimes hap-
pens in blistering, the bladder is liable to become inflamed. The
symptoms are* — a quick pulse — pain in the hind-quarter, evinced
by the looks of the animal in that direction — and constant strain-
ing to pass the urine, which is thick and mixed with mucus, or
in aggravated cases with purulent matter. The treatment to be
adopted if the case is severe will consist in venesection, back-rak-1
ing, and purgation with linseed or castor oil, avoiding aloes, which
have a tendency to irritate the bladder. Linseed tea should be
given as the sole drink, and scalded linseed mixed1 with a bran-
mash as food. The following ball may also be given, and repeated
if necessary : —

Take of Powdered Opium 1 drachm.

Tartar emetic 1J drachm.

To be made up into a ball with Linseed Meal and boiling water, and
given every six hours.

DISEASES OF THE BLADDER, ETC. 373

RETENTION OF URINE may be due either to inflammation of the
neck of the bladder, occasioning a spasmodic closure of that part,
or there may be spasm unattended by inflammation and solely due
to the irritation of some offending substance, such as a calculus,
or a small dose of cantharides. The treatment in either case must
be directed to the spasmodic constriction, which is generally under
the control of large doses of opium and camphor, that is, from
one drachm to two drachms of each, repeated every five or six
hours. If the symptoms are urgent, bleeding may also be resorted
to, and when the bladder is felt to be greatly distended, no time
should be lost in evacuating it by means of the catheter, which
operation, however, should only be intrusted to a regular practi-
tioner accustomed to its use.

CALCULI IN THE BLADDER are formed of several earthy salts, and
present various forms and appearances, which may be comprised
under four divisions. 1st. The mulberry calculus, so named from
its resemblance to a mulberry, possessing generally a nucleus. 2d.
A very soft kind resembling fuller's earth in appearance, and being
chiefly composed of phosphate of lime and mucus. 3d. Calculi
of a white or yellowish color, rough externally and easily friable.
And 4th. Those which are composed of regular layers, and which
are harder than the second and third varieties.

The mulberry calculus, from its extremely rough surface, occa-
sions more irritation than other forms, but during life it is impos-
sible to ascertain the exact chemical nature of the calculus which
may be ascertained to exist. These calculi sometimes attain an
immense size, weighing several pounds. The symptoms are a dif-
ficulty of voiding the urine, which generally comes away in jerks
after great straining and groaning. The horse remains with his
legs extended for some time afterwards, and evidently indicates
that he feels as if his bladder was not relieved. Often there is
muco-purulent matter mixed with the urine, which is rendered
thick and glutinous thereby, but this only happens in cases of long
standing. The treatment must be either palliative or curative. If
the former, it should consist in the adoption of the means employed
for subduing irritation and inflammation of the bladder which
have been already described. The cure can only be effected by
removing the stone. This requires the performance of a difficult
and dangerous operation (lithotomy), the details of which can be
only useful to the professed veterinary surgeon, and I shall there-
fore omit them here.

DISEASES OF THE OKGANS OF GENERATION.

BALANITIS, or inflammation of the glans penis (/9«'Aavo<r, glans),
is very common in the horse, being brought on by the decomposi-
tion of the natural secretions, when they have been allowed to
32

374 THE HORSE.

collect for any length of time. At first there is merely a slight
discharge of pus, but in process of time foul sores break out, and
very often fungous growths spring from them, which block up the
passage through the opening of the sheath, and cause considerable
swelling and inconvenience. These are quite distinct from warts,
which occur in this part just as they do in other situations. The
treatment requires some skill and experience, because mild reme-
dies are of no use, and severe ones are not unattended with danger.
The parts must first of all be well cleansed by syringing, or if the
end of the penis can be laid hold of, by washing with a sponge.
The following wash may then be applied, and it should be repeated
every day : —

Take of solution of Chloride of Zinc 2 drachms.

Water 1 pint. Mix.

If the morbid growths are very extensive, nothing but amputa-
tion of the penis or the use of corrosive sublimate will remove
them. Severe haemorrhage sometimes follows both of these mea-
sures, but it seldom goes on to a dangerous extent. Still it is
scarcely advisable for any one but a professional man to undertake
the operation.

IN THE MARE THE VAGINA is sometimes inflamed, attended with
a copious yellow discharge. An injection of the wash mentioned
in the last paragraph will generally soon set the matter right. At
first it should be used only of half the strength, gradually increas-
ing it, until the full quantity of chloride of zinc is employed.

INVERSION OF THE UTERUS sometimes follows parturition, but
it is very rare in the mare. The uterus should be at once replaced,
using as little force as possible, and taking care before the hand
is withdrawn, that it really is turned back again from its inverted
position.

NYMPHOMANIA occurs sometimes in mares at the time of being
" in use/' and goes on to such an extent as to render them abso-
lutely regardless of pain, for the time being, though not to make them
lose their consciousness. They will kick and squeal till they be-
come white with sweat, and no restraint- will prevent them from
trying to continue their violent attempts to destroy everything
behind them. These symptoms are especially developed in the
presence of other animals of the same species, whether mares or
geldings ; but the near proximity of an entire horse will be still
worse. If placed in a loose box, without any restraint whatever,
they generally become more calm, and when the state is developed,
such a plan should always be adopted. It is chiefly among highly-
fed and lightly- worked mares that the disease is manifested ; and
a dose of physic with starvation in a loose box, away from any
other horse, will very soon put an end to it in almost every instance.

MAD STAGGERS— EPILEPSY. 375

CHAPTER XXIII.
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Phrenitis, or Mad Staggers — Epilepsy and Convulsions — Megrims
— Rabies, Hydrophobia, or Madness — Tetanus, or Lock-jaw —
Apoplexy and Paralysis — String Halt — Coup de Sbleil, or Sun
stroke.

PHRENITIS, OR MAD STAGGERS.

PHRENITIS seldom occurs, except in over-fed and lightly-worked
horses, nor among them is it by any means a common dis-
ease. The early symptoms are generally those of an ordinary
cold ; there is heaviness of the eyes, with a redness of the con-
junctiva, and want of appetite. After a day or two occupied by
these premonitory signs, which will seldom serve to put even the
most experienced observer on his guard, the horse becomes sud-
denly delirious, attempting to bite and strike every one who comes
near him, regardless of the ordinary influences of love and fear.
He plunges in his stall, attempts to get free from his halter rein, and
very often succeeds in doing so, when he will stop at nothing to
gain still further liberty. If unchecked he soon dashes himself to
pieces, and death puts an end to his struggles. The only treat-
ment which is of the slightest use is bleeding till the horse abso-
lutely falls, or till he becomes quite quiet and tractable, if the case
is only a mild one. Immediately afterwards a large dose of tartar
emetic (two or three drachms) should be given, followed in an
hour or two by a strong physic ball ; or, if the case is a very bad
one, by a drench, containing half a pint of castor oil and six or
eight drops of croton oil. Clysters and back-raking will of course
be required, to obviate the risk of hard accumulations in the
bowels, but where there is great violence, they cannot always be
employed and the 'case must take its chance in these respects.
The diet should be confined to a few mouthfuls of hay or grass,
with a plentiful supply of water.*

EPILEPSY AND CONVULSIONS.

THESE DISEASES, or symptoms of disease, are not often met
with in the adult, but in the foal they sometimes occur, and are
not unattended with danger. The young thing will perhaps gallop
after its dam round and round its paddock, and then all at once stop,

* No treatment, however well directed, will be of any use. The better
way will be to shoot the horse at once, before he has a chance of destroying
the stable and other property within his reach. — EDITOR.

376 THE HORSE.

stagger, and fall to the ground, where it lies, struggling with more
or less violence, for a few minutes or longer, and then raises its
head, stares about it, gets up, and is apparently as well as ever.
It is generally in the hot days of summer that these attacks occur,
and it appears highly probable that the direct rays of the sun
playing on the head have something to do with it. Death seldom
takes place during the first attack, but sometimes after two or
three repetitions the convulsions go on increasing, and the foal
becomes comatose and dies. A mild dose of linseed oil is the only
remedy which can safely be resorted to, and as it is supposed that
worms will sometimes produce these convulsive attacks, it is on that
account to be selected. Epilepsy is so very rarely met with in
the adult and of its causes and treatment so little is 'known, that
I shall not trouble my readers with any account of them.*

MEGRIMS.

THIS TERM is used to conceal our ignorance of the exact nature
of several disordered conditions of the brain and heart. In fact, any
kind of fit, not attended with convulsions, and only lasting a short
time, is called by this name. The cause may be a fatty condition of
the heart, by which sudden faintness and sometimes death are pro-
duced, or it may consist in congestion of the vessels of the brain,
arising from over work on a hot day, or from the pressure of the
collar, or from disease of the valves of the heart. Attacks reputed
to be megrims have been traced to each of these causes, and as in
every case, the horse, while apparently in good health, staggers
and falls, and after lying still for a minutes (during which there
is seldom an opportunity of examining the state of the circulation)
rises as well as before, there is no chance of distinguishing the one
from the other. The most usual symptoms are the following : — The
horse is perhaps trotting along, when all at once he begins shaking
his head as if the bridle chafed his ears, which are drawn
back close to the poll. The driver gets down to examine these
facts, and observes the eyelids quivering, and the nostrils affected
with a trembling kind of spasm. Sometimes the rest will allow
of the attack going off, but most frequently, the head is drawn to
one side, the legs of that half of the body seem to be paralyzed,
and the horse making a segment of a circle goes down, lies a few
minutes on the ground, and then rises as if nothing had happened
beyond a light sweating, and disturbance of the respiration. Treat-
ment can be of little avail, however, unless a correct diagnosis is
made, for remedies which would be suited to congestion would be
prejudicial to a diseased heart. If the attack has happened while

* Cerebro-spinal meningitis of some New York writers, will be found
treated of in our note on chapter on " Fevers," article " Typhoid Fever" —
the so-called choking distemper. — EDITOR.

HYDROPHOBIA. 377

in harness, the collar should always be carefully inspected, and if
at all tight it should be replaced by a deeper one. A diseased
state of the valves of the heart ought to be discoverable by
auscultation, but it requires a practised ear to do this, and the
directions for ascertaining its presence are beyond the scope of this
book. The only plan which can safely be adopted, is to take the
subject of megrims quietly home to his stable, and carefully ex-
amine into the condition of all his functions with a view to im-
prove the action of any organ which appears to be out of order,
whatever it may be. If all seems to be going on well — if the appe-
tite is good, and the heart acts with regularity and with due force,
while the brain seems clear, and the eye is not either dull or suf-
fused with blood — nothing should be attempted, but the horse
being subject to a second attack, as proved by manifold experience,
should be put to work in which no great danger .can be appre-
hended from them. He is not safe in any kind of carriage, for it can
never be known where the fall will take place; and as a saddle-
horse he is still more objectionable, and should therefore be put to
some commercial purpose, in executing which, if he falls, the only
injury he can effect is to property, and not to human life.

BABIES, HYDROPHOBIA OR MADNESS.

ONE REASON ONLY can be given for describing this disease,
which is wholly beyond the reach of art ; but as the horse attacked
by it is most dangerous, the sooner he is destroyed the better ; and
for this reason, every person who is likely to have any control over
him, should be aware of the symptoms. As far as is known at
present, Rabies is not idiopathically developed in the horse, but
must follow the bite of a rabid individual belonging to one or other
of the genera canis andfelis. The dog, being constantly about our
stables, is the usual cause of the development of the disease, and
it may supervene upon the absorption of the salivary virus without
any malicious bite, as has happened according to more than one
carefully recorded case. The lips of the horse are liable to be
ulcerated from the action of the bit, and there is reason to believe
that in the early stages of rabies these parts have been licked by a
dog, the saliva has been absorbed, and the inoculation has taken
place just as it would do from any other wound. It is difficult to
prove that this is the true explanation of those cases where no bite
has been known to have occurred, but as the mouth has in each
instance been shown to have been abraded, there is some reason
for accepting it as such. To proceed, however, to the symptoms,
Mr. Youatt, who has had great opportunities for examining rabies,
both in the dog and horse, describes the earliest as consisting in
" a spasmodic movement of the upper lip, particularly of the angles
of the lip. Close following on this, or contemporaneous with it,
32*

378 THE HORSE.

are the depressed and anxious countenance, and inquiring gaze,
suddenly, however, lighted up, and becoming fierce and menacing
from some unknown cause, or at the approach of a stranger. From
time to time different parts of the frame, the eyes, the jaws, par-
ticular limbs, will be convulsed. The eye will occasionally wander
after some imaginary object, and the horse will snap again and
again at that which has no real existence. Then will come the
irrepressible desire to bite the attendants or the animals within its
reach. To this will succeed the demolition of the rack, the manger,
and the whole furniture of the stable, accompanied by the peculiar
dread of water, which has already been described. Towards the
close of the disease there is generally paralysis, usually confined to
the loins and the hinder extremities, or involving those organs
which derive their nervous influence from this portion of the spinal
cord ; hence the distressing tenesmus which is occasionally seen."
How paralysis can produce tenesmus is not very clear, but of the
very general existence of this symptom there can be no doubt. The
dread of water, as well as of draughts of cold air, is also clearly
made out to exist in this disease (as in human rabies), and the
term hydrophobia will serve to distinguish it better than in the
dog, where it is as clearly absent. Whenever, therefore, these
symptoms follow upon the bite of a dog, unless the latter is un-
questionably in good health, rabies may be suspected, and the bare
suspicion ought always to lead to the use of the bullet, which is
the safest way of killing a violent horse. There is only one disease
(phrenitis^ with which it can be confounded, and in that the
absence of all consciousness and, in milder cases, of fear, so that
no moral control whatever can be exercised, marks its nature, and
clearly distinguishes it from rabies, the victim to which is con-
scious to the last, and though savage and violent in the extreme,
is aware of the power of man, and to some extent under his
influence.

TETANUS— LOCK-JAW.

TETANUS, one form of which is known as lock-jaw, has its seat
apparently in the nervous system, but, like many other diseases of
the same class, the traces it leaves behind are extremely uncertain,
and are displayed more on the secondary organs, through which it
is manifested, than on those which we believe to be at the root of the
mischief. Thus the muscles, which have been long kept in a state
of spasm, show the marks of this condition in their softened and
apparently rotten condition. They in fact have had no interval
of rest, during which nutrition could go on, and have lost much
of the peculiarity of structure which enables them to contract.
The stomach often shows marks of inflammation, but as all sorts
of violent remedies are employed, this may be due to them rather
than to idiopathic disease. The lungs also are generally congested,

LOCK-JAW. 379

but here, like the state of the muscles, it may be a secondary effect
of the long-continued exertions of the latter, which nothing but
the absence of all important lesions of the brain and spinal cord
would induce the pathologist to pay the slightest attention to.

TETANUS may be either idiopathic or symptomatic, but the
former condition is somewhat rare. It almost always follows some
operation, or a severe injury in which a nerve has been implicated,
the most frequent causes being the piercing of the sole by a nail,
or a prick in shoeing, or the operations of docking, nicking, castra-
tion, &c.

THE SYMPTOMS are a permanent rigidity of certain voluntary
muscles, and especially of the lower jaw (whence the popular
name, lock-jaw). The mouth is kept rigidly shut, the masseter
muscles feeling as hard as a deal board. One or both sides of the
neck are rigid, in the former case the head being turned to one
side, and in the latter stretched out as if carved in marble. The
nostrils are dilated; the eyes retracted, with the haws thrust for-
ward over them; the ears erect and stiff, and the countenance as
if horror-struck. At first the extremities are seldom involved,
but as the disease progresses their control is first lost, and then
they become rigid, like the neck and head. The patient is scarcely
able to stand, and plants his feet widely apart to prop himself up,
while at last the tail also becomes a fixture. The pulse varies a
good deal, in some cases being quick, small, and hard, and in
others slow and labored. The bowels are generally costive, and
the urine scanty; but this last symptom is not so well marked as
the state of the bowels alluded to. The treatment should be of a
two-fold nature, partly palliative and partly curative. Since the
introduction into use of chloroform we have possessed a drug which
invariably enables us to remove the spasm for a time, and if it
does nothing more, it gives room for other remedies to act and
relieve the patient from the horrible tortures which are occasioned
by the spasm, while it also allows the muscular and nervous powers
to be recruited. When, therefore, a case of tetanus occurs in a
horse of any value, an apparatus for applying chloroform (described
under the chapter on Operations) should be procured, and the
animal at once placed under its influence. This done, the whole
length of the spine should be blistered with tincture of cantharides,
and an active aperient should be given, consisting, if practicable,
of a pint of castor oil, and six or eight drops of croton oil. This
may be pumped down the throat by the uSual syringe and tube,
if the front teeth can be separated; but if this cannot be done,
some solid cathartic must be selected, though there is often as
much difficulty in forcing a ball down as in passing an elastic tube.
Failing in either of these, two drachms of calomel, and the same
quantity of tartar emetic should be slightly damped, and placed in

380 THE HORSE.

the mouth as far back as possible, in the hope that they may be
gradually swallowed ; the bowels should be raked, and copious
injections of castor oil and turpentine, mixed with several quarts
of gruel, should be thrown up. If these remedies fail, nature must
be left to her own resources, and they will sometimes be found
equal to the task, for many cases have recovered after having been
given up as beyond the reach of our art. Opium, henbane,
digitalis, hellebore, and a host of other drugs have been tried,
sometimes with, and sometimes without success, and perhaps it is
worth while, after the bowels have been well relieved, to give a
full dose of one or other of these powerful remedies, such as two
drachms of solid opium; but I confess that I think little reliance
is to be placed on them, and I prefer the adoption of chloroform
every six hours, continued for about two or three hours and gra-
dually withdrawn, leaving the cure to the action of the blister and
purgatives.*

APOPLEXY AND PARALYSIS.

USUALLY these are only different degrees of the same disease,
but there are exceptions in which the latter is produced by some
chronic affection of the spinal cord or brain. As a rule both de-
pend upon pressure made on the brain by an overloaded state of
the vessels, commonly known as congestion, or by extravasation
of blood, in which it escapes from them.

APOPLEXY, known among writers of the old school as sleepy
staggers, is not often met with in the present day, owing to the
improvement in the management of our stables, and specially to
their better ventilation. It is marked by great sleepiness, from
which the horse can be with difficulty roused, soon going on to
absolute unconsciousness, attended by a slow snoring respiration,
and speedily followed by death. The only treatment likely to be
successful is copious bleeding, purgation, and blisters to the head
and neck.

PARALYSIS is marked by a loss of power over the muscles of a
part, and may be confined to one limb or organ or extend to more.
It is a symptom of pressure on, or disorganization of, some part of
the nervous system, and must be considered as such, and not as a
disease of the affected muscles. Thus it requires a knowledge of
anatomy to trace it to its seat, without which its treatment would
be conducted on false principles. By far the most common form
of paralysis is hemiplegia, or paralysis of the muscles of the hinder
extremities and loins, generally arising from an injury to the spine.

* The greatest success met with in curing lock-jaw is by the administra-
tion of 30 drops of dilute prussic acid, of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, night
and morning, keeping the horse in a quiet place. In violent cases the
chloroform spoken" of in the text will be of advantage. — EDITOR.

PARALYSIS-STRING HALT. 381

Sometimes the body of a vertebra is broken, and the parts being
separated, their edges press upon the spinal cord and produce the
disease. At others the vessels within the canal have received a
chock, and the serous membrane secretes (or allows to ooze out)
a bloody fluid which presses upon the cord, and produces the same
effect but in a more gradual manner. In India, a disease known
there as Kumree causes paralysis of the hinder extremities, and is
due to inflammation of the membranes, which secrete a bloody
serum. In this country, however, paraplegia is very rare except-
ing as the result of accident.

WHEN A HORSE FALLS in hunting, and never moves his hind
legs afterwards, but lies with his fore legs in the position to get
up, groaning and expressing great pain and distress, it may be
concluded that he has fractured or dislocated his spine and that
the case is hopeless. Sometimes, however, after lying for a few
seconds, he slowly and with difficulty rises and is led to a stable,
but after two or three hours lies down and cannot be got up again.
Here there will be some difficulty in ascertaining whether the mis-
chief is confined to a strain of the muscles or is situated within
the vertebral canal. If the former is the case the pain is extreme,
and generally there will be some quivering or slight spasm of one
or more of the muscles of the hinder extremity, which feel natu-
rally firm, while in paralysis they feel soft and are as quiet as they
would be after death. By attention to these signs the two cases
may be distinguished, but when the case is made out to be true
paralysis the treatment is not likely (even if successful in preserv-
ing life) to bring about a useful restoration to healthy action. In
valuable horses an attempt may be made by bleeding, physicking
and blistering, to produce an absorption of the effused serum or
blood, but the recovered animal is seldom worth the outlay, and
too often as soon as he is put to any kind of work is subject to a
relapse.* The most humane and certainly the most economical
plan is to put him out of his misery at once by a pistol ball or
knife, but if it is determined to try what can be done towards
effecting a cure, no better means can be adopted than those I have
alluded to.

STEING HALT.

THIS is A PECULIAR SNATCHING UP of the hind leg, and is
supposed to depend upon some obscure disease of the sciatic nerve.
It however is very doubtful whether this explanation is well
founded, and there is evidence that in some cases the hock itself
has been affected. The extensor pedis seems to be the muscle
most severely implicated, though not the only one which is thrown

* Use instead, 30 drops of the tincture of nttx vomica three times daily,
turn the horse from side to side twice in the day to prevent scalding of the
skin, and rub well over the loins. — EDITOR.

382 THE HORSE.

into spasmodic action. No treatment is of the slightest avail.
Horses with string halt are able to do any kind of work, but it 13
considered to be a form of unsound ness.*

[SUNSTROKE— COUP DE SOLEIL.

THIS DISEASE of late years has become of so frequent occur-
rence, that although not mentioned by previous veterinary writers, it
demands a notice from us. The chief symptoms are exhaustion
and stupidity, the animal usually falling to the ground and being
unable to go further.

To PREVENT IT, allow the horse at short intervals a few mouth-
fuls of water, and fasten a wet sponge over the forehead. The
sun-shades now used by extensive owners of horses, will go very
far in lessening the occurrence of this affection.

The following treatment, when attended to at once, in the majority
of cases will prove effectual.

First. Remove the horse from the harness to a cool shady
place. Second. Give two ounces of sulphuric ether ; 20 drops of the
tincture of aconite root and a bottle of ale or porter as a drench to
sustain the vital powers, and to act as a powerful stimulant in
equalizing the circulation throughout the body; whilst, Thirdly.
Chopped ice is to be placed in a coarse towel, cloth or bag, and
laid between the ears and over the forehead, secured in any way
the ingenuity of the person in charge may suggest. If the legs
be cold, bandages will be of advantage. Do not put the horse to
work again until he is completely restored. Dumbness is the
usual result of sun-stroke — a species of coma — for which there is
no cure. Horses so affected are of little use in warm weather, but
are useful in winter. — EDITOR.]

'* This affection is generally observed in well-bred horses of a highly
nervous temperament, and is noticed when the horse is about starting ; much
difficulty being experienced before the animal gets fairly down to his work.
Once under way the peculiarity entirely disappears, but returns when another
start is to be made. It rarely, if ever, disqualifies the animal for any kind
of work, except where he is liable to be suddenly called upon for any unusual
exercise of power or speed.

The Editor, in his previous work on the " Diseases in the American
Stable, Field, and Farm Yard," says : "The causes are twofold. First.
The loss of nervous influence, whereby the extensor-pedis muscle is deprived
of its power. Second. The peculiar anatomical articulation and general
structure of the hock-joint of the horse are such, that when the leg of a dead
horse is stripped of its muscles the ligaments are not disturbed at all ; and it'
the leg, above and below the hock, be caught hold of by the hands, and the
leg straightened out, the moment the hands are taken from it, will spring
into a bent position on the instant, thus imitating string halt, as near as can
be. Thus the balance of power is not equal ; the articulary ligaments of the
hock -joint are stronger than the muscles of the thigh. Hence, the moment
the horse lifts his foot from the ground the leg is instantaneously snatched
up by the power of the ligaments."— EDITOR.

INFLAMMATION OP THE EYE. 383

CHAPTER XXIV.
DISEASES AND INJURIES OF CERTAIN SPECIAL ORGANS.

Diseases of the Ear — Inflammation of the Eye — Cataract — Amau-
rosis — Buck-eye — Surfeit — Hidebound-— Mange— Lice — Mai-
lenders and Sallenders — Warbles, Sitfasts and Harness- Galls —
Grubs — Bites and Stings of Insects — Swelled Legs — Chapped
Heels — Grease and Scratches — Warts — Corns — Sander ack —
False Quarter — Ouittor — Thrush — Canker— L aminitis — Seedy
Toe — Contraction of the Foot — Navicular Disease — Accident*
to the Legs and Feet.

DISEASES OF THE EAR.

DEAFNESS is sometimes met with in the horse, but I. know of no
symptoms by which its precise nature can be made out; and with-
out ascertaining the seat of the disease, it is useless to attempt to
treat it.

SOMETIMES FROM A BLOW on the external ear inflammation is
set up, and an abscess forms ; but all that is necessary is to open it,
so that the matter can readily flow out as fast as it forms, without
which precaution it will not readily heal.

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE.

THIS IMPORTANT ORGAN is subject to three forms of inflamma-
tion, to opacity of the lens, and to paralysis of the nerve, called
amaurosis.

SIMPLE INFLAMMATION is the most common of all the diseases
to which the horse's eye is subject, and it precedes most of the
others. It is always the result of any injury of this part, or of
cold; and it shows itself if there is a tendency to inflammation
of this organ, whenever the horse is in a state of plethora. The
symptoms are an intolerance of light, so that the eye is kept half
closed, by which it looks smaller than the other; a gummy secre-
tion glues the lids together at the angles; the eyelids are* slightly
swollen, showing a distended state of their veins; and there is
more or less watering or overflowing of tears. When the lids are
separated, their internal surface looks more red than natural, and
the white of the eye is covered with a net-work of fine red ves-
sels. After the second day the transparent cornea loses its clear-
ness, and becomes muddy, sometimes over the whole surface, and
at others in specks. If the disease is allowed to go on unchecked,
the cornea is involved, and the lining membrane of the aqueous
humor follows ; a secretion of pus takes place into the chamber,
or the cornea ulcerates, and the contents of the eye escape. The

384 THE HORSE.

treatment should be a copious bleeding from the jugular vein, fol-
lowed by a ball, such

Take of Common Physic Ball 2 drachms.

Tartar Emetic 1 drachm.

Mix and give every six hours.

This not only acts on the intestines, but it keeps up a constant
nausea, and so tends to lower the action of the heart. The eye
should be bathed with warm water frequently; and, if the mischief
be severe, a seton should at once be put into the skin covering the
upper jaw, about two inches below the eye. On the next day, if
" the white" still looks red, the bleeding must be repeated; and,
if the bowels are much moved, the tartar emetic may be continued
without the aloes, while if they are obstinate, the dose of the lat-
ter may be increased. When the acute symptoms have somewhat
diminished, a camel's-hair brush may be dipped in wine of opium,
and the eye gently touched with it daily, which will generally com-
plete the cure. The diet must be low, corn being forbidden en-
tirely, and the stable should be kept very cool and airy.*

PURULENT OPHTHALMIA is confined to the conjunctiva, and it
may be recognised by the profuse discharge of purulent fluid
which takes place. The eyelids are much swollen, and the -white
of the eye is covered with a puffy red membrane, which rises up
above the level of the cornea, sometimes in fungoid excrescences.
This, form of inflammation is generally epidemic, and sometimes
runs through a stable without a single exception. The treatment
should be, at first, similar to that recommended for simple inflam-
mation; but when it reaches the chronic stage, a more powerful
stimulus is required to restore the vessels to a healthy condition.
A wash composed as follows, must therefore be applied : —

Take of Nitrate of Silver 6 grs.

Distilled Water 1 oz.

Mix, and drop R little into the eye from a quill daily.

IRITIS, or inflammation of the iris, generally known as specific
ophthalmia, is the most formidable of all the diseases to which the
eye is subject, and, if not checked, rapidly disorganizes it; while
it also, e'ven when running an unusually favorable course, is very
apt to produce opacity of the lens or its capsute (cataract). This
pest of the stable is, undoubtedly, often brought on by over stimu-
lation, first of the whole body, through the food, and secondly, of
the eyes themselves, through the foul emanations from the accu-

* The treatment recommended in the text is certainly, to say the least,
injudicious, heroic, and unsound. Apply cold water cloths to the eye for a
day or two, then use, rain -water 4 ounces, nitrate of silver 12 grains, and
apply twice daily Avith camel's hair pencil or brush. Allow green or soft
feed.* — EDITOR/

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 385

tnulated urine and dung. But these would produce no suth effect
in a horse, unless he were predisposed to ophthalmia; and we find
that cattle and sheep are often fed to an enormous degree of obe-
sity, in far closer and worse ventilated stalls, without any prejudi-
cial effect upon their eyes. It may, then, be assumed, that these
organs in a horse have a tendency to put on inflammation ; but
though these words are true they explain nothing of the real cause,
and only serve to conceal our ignorance of it. There is another
question bearing upon this subject, which is of the highest import-
ance. Is the stock of blind horses more liable to blindness than
that of sound ones ? This has been discussed so often, that it is
scarcely possible to throw any fresh light upon it, chiefly because
it is so difficult to rely upon the facts adduced pro and con. Blind-
ness is often the result of accident, and such cases are believed to be
exceptional, and not at all likely to hand down the disease; but, on
the contrary, I am inclined to believe that many of them show a
marked tendency to its development; for an accident never destroys
both eyes, and when one follows the other, it is a pretty sure sign that
there is a tendency to ophthalmia. On the whole, it may, I think, be
assumed, that the tendency to specific ophthalmia is handed down
from generation to generation, and, consequently, that the offspring
of a horse who has gone blind from that cause is peculiarly prone
to it. Its symptoms appear very rapidly, the eye having been
quite right over night, looks contracted and almost closed next
morning, and on inspecting it closely " the white" looks of a deep
red, the cornea looks muddy, and the colored part of the eye (the
iris) has lost its bright color, and often shows one or two white specks
upon it (these must not be confounded with specks on the cornea).
As the disease advances, the intolerance of light is very great, the
cornea and iris become gradually more muddy, and either lymph
is thrown out on the latter in the shape of white patches, or pus
is secreted and fills the chamber of the aqueous humor, in part or
wholly. If the treatment is sufficiently energetic, these signs
abate, the pus or lymph is absorbed, and the eye recovers its trans-
parency ; but there are generally some traces left behind. Bleed-
ing (either from the jugular or the angular veins of the face),
moderate purging, and a seton, are the remedies best calculated to
effect this object, conjoined with an airy stable and a light diet.
Unfortunately, however, iritis is almost sure to return on the
restoration of the usual food, and exposure to the elements ; and
hence it is of the utmost consequence in purchasing a horse to
examine his eyes for the marks left behind by it. If the case is
hopeless, it becomes a question whether or not it will be wise to'
put an end to the inflammation by destroying the affected eye, for
it is well known that if it goes on for any length of time the other,
sound eye, becomes affected. The only difficulty consists in feel-
33 2s

386 THE HORSE.

ing assured that there is really no chance of recovery ; for when
once the eye is finally condemned, the sooner it is opened and its
contents evacuated, the sooner will the horse return to his work, and
the more chance has the other eye of escaping. The operation is
very simple, and merely requires a sharp-pointed knife to be passed
into the anterior chamber from one edge of the cornea, and driven
back till it cuts into the lens, when it is to be brought out on the
other side of the cornea, and the whole of the humors will escape
on making pressure upon the upper eyelid.

IN INJURIES of the eye, fomentation with warm water should
be carried on for half an hour, and then omitted for three or four
hours ] after which it may be repeated again and again, at similar
intervals. Great care should be taken to remove any extraneous
bodies, such as particles of dust, &c.

CATARACT, or opacity of the lens, is very commonly the result
of iritis, its capsule having been coated with a layer of white lymph,
deposited by the inflamed vessels ; but it also sometimes makes its
appearance without being preceded by any of the signs of inflam-
mation. In the former case, the early symptoms are those of iritis ;
but in the latter, the opacity often goes on increasing, without the
owner of the horse, or his groom, having his attention drawn to
the eyes, until he finds that he is nearly blind. This progress is
generally marked by the development of an unusual timidity ; the
previously -bold animal is alarmed at objects advancing on the road,
and covered carts and wagons, of which he formerly took no notice,
occasion him to shy in the most timid manner. On examining his
eyes carefully, instead of the beautifully clear pupil, with the re-
flection of tapetum lucidum shining through it, there is seen either
a mass of dull white, generally more opaque in the centre, or an
appearance of mottled, semi-transparent soap, or, lastly, one or two
distinct white spots, not quite circular, but with irregular edges.
In confirmed cataract, the white pupil can been seen at any dis-
tance; but in the very early stage, only a practised eye can detect
the opacity, which, however, is so manifest to him that he wonders
it is not visible to every one else. The reason of this difficulty of
detecting the alteration of structure seems to be, that inexperienced
examiners look at the eye in such, a manner that they are confused
by the reflection on it of their own faces, hiding all beneath. If,
however, they will turn their heads a little more on one side, this
will disappear, and they cannot fail to perceive the disease. When
cataract is clearly proved to exist, all idea of treatment may be
abandoned, as nothing but an operation can procure a removal of
the opacity; and that would leave the horse in a more useless con-
dition than before, since he could see nothing clearly, and would
only be subject to continual alarms. In the human being, the
operation is performed with great success, because the lens which

AMAUROSIS— BUCK EYE. 387

is sacrificed can be replaced externally by means of convex glasses ;
but in the horse, nothing of the kind can be done. Hence, it is
useless to dream of effecting any improvement in this disease ; and
if both eyes are the subject of cataract, the horse is incurably
blind. But supposing there is a cataract in one eye only, is the
other sure to go blind, or may a reasonable hope be entertained of
its remaining sound ? Here the history of the disease must be
examined before any opinion can be formed. If the opacity fol-
lowed an accident, there is no reason for concluding that the other
eye will become diseased ; but if it came on idiopathically, either
preceded by inflammation or otherwise, there is great risk of a
repetition in the sound eye. Nevertheless, instances are common
enough of one eye going blind from cataract, while the other re-
mains sound to the end of life; and those are still more frequent
in which the one sound eye continues so for six or seven years.

AMAUROSIS.

THIS is A PALSY of the nervous expansion called the retina,
produced by some disease, either functional or organic, of the optic
nerve, which is generally beyond the reach of our senses, in ex-
amining it after death. The symptoms are a full dilatation of the
pupil, so that the iris is shrunk to a thin band around it, and is so
insensible to the stimulus of light, in confirmed cases, that, even
when the eye is exposed to the direct rays of the sun, it does not
contract. In the early stages, this insensibility is only partial; and
though there is such complete blindness that the horse cannot dis-
tinguish the nature of surrounding objects, yet the pupil contracts
slightly, and the inexperienced examiner might pass the eye as a
sound one. The unnaturally large pupil, however, should always
create suspicion; and when, on closing the lids and re-opening
them in a strong light, there is Jittle or no variation in its size, the
nature of the disease is at once made apparent. The treatment of
amaurosis must depend upon the extent to which it has gone, and
its duration. If recent, bleeding and a seton in close proximity
to the diseased organ will be the most likely to restore it. Some-
times the disease depends upon a disordered condition of the sto-
mach, and then a run at grass will be the most likely means to
restore both the affected organs to a sound state. Generally, how-
ever, an amaurotic eye in the horse may be considered as a hope-
less case.

BUCK EYE.

A BUCK EYE is, strictly, rather a congenital malformation than a
disease ; but practically, in reference to the utility of the animal,
it matters little. It depends upon an excess of convexity in the
cornea, by which the focus of the eye is shortened too much, the
image being thus rendered indistinct as it falls on the retina. No
treatment can be of the slightest use.

388 THE HORSE.

SURFEIT.

AN ERUPTION of the skin, which shows itself in the form of
numerous small scabs, matting the hair, and chiefly met with on
the loins and quarters, is known by this name. Doubtless, it has
been supposed to arise from an excess of food, causing indigestion ;
but it often comes on in horses which, apparently, are quite free
from that disorder. The most common cause appears to be, sweat-
ing the horse when he is in a gross or plethoric condition, and then
exposing him to a chill. Colts are very subject to surfeit while
being broken, as are horses fresh from grass during the summer,
when they are usually over-fat, and require great care in reducing
this plethoric condition. The usual course of the eruption is for
the scabs to dry and gradually loosen, when the hair of the part is
slightly thinned by being pulled out in dressing, a fresh crop of
pustules forming, and, to the casual observer, keeping up the ap-
pearance of a permanent state of the original scabs. Surfeit is
not confined to gross horses, as it sometimes makqs its appearance
in those which are low in condition, exhibiting the same appear-
ance to the eye ; but, on examination, the secretion from the skin
will be found to be thinner, and of a more purulent nature. The
treatment must greatly depend upon the state of the general health.
If the horse is very gross, it may be desirable to take a little blood
away ; but this will seldom be necessary, and never is desirable.
Physic seems to do little immediate good ; and, indeed, it is very
doubtful whether any treatment is of much service, excepting such
as will gradually bring the horse into working condition. The
disease, in most cases, has its origin in obstruction of the seba-
ceous and perspiratory pores j and until these are restored to their
proper functions, by gradually exercising them, little good can be
dope. Unfortunately, the very means which will accomplish this
object are apt to increase the disease for a time ; but still this
must be put up with, as a matter in which no choice can be made.
Regular exercise and grooming must be fully attended to, using
the whisp only in dressing the skin, when the eruption shows
itself, and carefully avoiding the brush and currycomb. By acting
on the kidneys, more good will be done than by purging physic,
which seems to be of little or no service in any case but when the
stomach is greatly out of order. An ounce of nitre may be given
with a mash twice a week, or the following balls may be ad-
ministered : —

Take of Nitre,

Su'phur, of each 3 drachms.

Sulphuret of Antimony 2 drachms.

Linseed Meal and Water enough to form two balls.

HIDEBOUND-MANl E. 389

HIDEBOUND.

THIS is ESSENTIALLY a disorder of the skin produced by sym-
pathy with the stomach. It rarely occurs in any horse but one
sadly out of health from a deficiency either in the quantity or
quality of the food. Sometimes it comes on in the latter stages of
consumption or dysentery, without any previous mismanagement;
but in the vast majority of cases the cause may be laid to the
food. The skin of a horse in health feels supple, and on his sides
it may readily be gathered up by the hand into a large fold, but
in hidebound it is as if it were glued to the ribs, and were also too
tight for the carcase which it invests.' The name, indeed, is
expressive of this state, and the disease can scarcely be mistaken
when once seen, or rather felt. Coincident with this condition of
the skin, there is also, generally, either a distended state of the
abdomen from flatulence, or a contracted and " tucked up" appear-
ance from diarrhoaa. The treatment should be addressed to the
digestive organs, the state of which must be carefully examined,
and if possible rectified. A pint of linseed, scalded, and mixed
with a bran mash every night, or scalded malt given in equal
quantities with the corn ; or in the spring time, vetches, clover, or
lucerne, will do more than any medicine ; but when there is a
deficient appetite, or the bowels or stomach, or either of them,
are evidently much weakened and disordered, a stomachic ball
once or twice a week will do good. The remedies appropriate to
these several conditions will be found under their respective heads
at pages 354, and 363, 364.

MANGE.

MANGE corresponds with the itch of the human subject in
being produced by a parasitic insect, which is an acarus, but of a
different species to that of man, and of a much larger size, so as to
be readily visible to the naked eye. It is generally produced by
contact with horses previously affected with the same disease, but
it appears highly probable that a poor, half-starved animal, allowed
to accumulate all kinds of dirt on his skin, will develop the para-
site, though how this is done is not clearly made out. The whole
subject of parasites is wrapped in mystery, which modern researches
appear likely to fathom, but hitherto little progress has been made
except in the history of the metamorphoses of the tape-worm,
from the analogy of which some idea may be formed of the prob-
able modes of production of other parasites. When caused by
contagion, as certainly happens in the vast majority of cases, the
first symptoms noticed will be an excessive itching of the skin,
which is soon followed by a bareness of the hair in patches, partly
caused by constant friction. The disease usually shows itself on
33*

390 THE HORSE.

the side of the neck, just at the edges of the mane, and on the
insides cf the quarters near the root of the tail. From these
parts the eruption extends along the back and down the sides,
seldom involving the extremities excepting in very confirmed
cases. After a time' the hair almost entirely falls off, leaving the
skin at first bare and smooth, with a few small red pimples scat-
tered over it, each of which contains an acarus, and these are con-
nected by furrows, along which the acari have worked their way
to their present habitation. In process of time the pimples
increase in number and size, and from them a matter exudes
which hardens into a scab, beneath which, on examination,
several acari may readily be seen, moving their legs like mites in
a cheese, to which they are closely allied. At first the mangy
horse may keep his health, but after a time the constant irritation
makes him feverish ; he loses flesh, and becomes a most miserable
object; but such cases of neglect are happily rare in the present
day. The treatment must be addressed to the destruction of the
life of the acarus, which, as in the human subject, is rapidly
destroyed by sulphur, turpentine, arsenic, hellebore, and corrosive
sublimate. Some of these drugs are, however, objectionable,
from being poisonous to the horse, as well as to the parasite which
preys upon him, and thev are, therefore, not to be employed
without great and urgent necessity, in consequence of the failure
of milder remedies.* The following recipes may be relied on as
perfectly efficacious, the former being sufficient in mild cases, and
the latter being strong enough in any.

1 . Take of Common Sulphur 6 oz.

Sperm or Train Oil .... 1 pint.
Spirit of Turpentine .... 3 oz.

Mix and rub well into the skin with a flannel, or in preference with a
painter's brush.

2. Take of Compound Sulphur Ointment . . 8 oz.

Train or Sperm Oil . . . . . 1 pint.

Spirit of Turpentine 3 oz.

Mix and use as above.

One or other of the above dressings should be well rubbed in
every third day for at least three or four weeks in bad cases, and
two in trifling ones, when the inflammation resulting from the

* Take a floor cloth, damp the face of it with soap and water, dip it in
fine sea sand and give the mangy parts a good scrubbing to expose the
acari, wash off dry, and apply hepar sulph. one ounce, cold water two pints.
Sulphurous acid gas is a certain remedy for this and other skin diseases
and is used as follows : — Place one ounce of roll sulphur on hot coals in a
chafer and place it where the horse is. Close all the doors and windows but
the one the animal is to stand opposite to. Continue the fumigation for an
jour or so. — EDITOR.

MANGE— LICE— MALLENBERS, ETC. 39 J

acari and also from the application may be allowed to subside in.
the hope that all the parasites are killed, in which case the erup-
tion disappears, but the hair does not always come on again as
thickly as ever. All the stable fittings around the stall or box in
which the horse has been standing should be thoroughly washed
over with a solution of corrosive sublimate, made as follows : —

Take of Corrosive Sublimate 1 oz.

Methylated Spirit of Wine . . . 6 oz.

Water 1 gallon.

Dissolve the sublimate in the spirit by rubbing in a mortar, then mix with
the water, and use with a brush, stirring it up continually to prevent its
settling.

The clothing should be destroyed, as it is scarcely possible to
cleanse it completely from the parasites; but if it is determined to
risk a return of the disease, it should be thoroughly washed, and
when dry, saturated with spirit of turpentine.

When the health has suffered from the irritation of mange, a
few tonic balls may be required, but generally the removal of the
cause will be sufficient.

LICE.

IN FORMER DAYS LICE were not uncommon in the horse, but
they are now comparatively rare. Still they are occasionally met
with, and their presence is readily ascertained, being of a consi-
derable size, and easily seen with the naked eye. They may be
destroyed by rubbing into the roots of the hair white precipitate,
in powder, taking care to avoid sweating the horse or wetting his
skin for some days afterwards.

MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS.

THESE ERUPTIONS are both of the same nature, differing only
in the locality where they are displayed. The former shows itself
in the flexure at the back of the knee, and the latter at the bend
of the hock. The symptoms are shown in the appearance of a foul
scurf mixed with a few thin scabs, the skin underneath being stiff
and unyielding. They are generally brought on by washing the
legs and leaving them undried. The treatment required is merely
the application of the following ointment, which should be well
rubbed in every night : —

Take of Cerate of Superacetate of Lead . 2 oz.

Creosote 10 drops. Mix.

If the skin continues to be very hard and stiff, a little glycerine
should be brushed on two or three times a week.

WARBLES, SITFASTS, AND HARNESS GALLS.
WHEN THE SAS DLE HAS GALLED the skin beneath it, the in-

392 THE HORSE.

flammation resulting is called a "warble," and if this is neglected,
so as to cause a troublesome sore, the term "sitfast" is applied.
The effect produced is similar to a harness gall, and there is not
the slightest necessity for inventing names to distinguish each stage
of cruelty in the rider, for if attention is paid to the warble no sit-
fast will ever make its appearance. Prevention is better than cure,
and it may almost always be effected by the adoption of the plan
of always keeping the saddle on (after loosing the girths) for a
quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. Sometimes, however, in
spite of this precaution, the skin of the back swells, and when a
heavy man has been riding for six or eight hours on a horse unac-
customed to his weight, the cuticle will perhaps peel off, bringing
the hair with it. When the swelling is considerable it should be
well fomented for an hour, and then bathed with a lotion composed
of one drachm of tincture of arnica in half a pint of water. The
saddle should never be re-applied until the skin is quite cool and
free from all inflammation, even if considerable inconvenience is
thereby suffered. The same treatment will also apply to harness
galls. Oiling the inside of the collar will often prevent the shoulder
from suffering excoriation.

GRUBS.

THE LARVA OF SOME BEETLE, but of what species I do not
know, is occasionally met with in the horse, causing a small lump,
about- the size of a raisin, and usually on the back. This obsti-
nately continues for months, if its nature is not understood, in
spite of all ordinary applications. At last a white larva or grub,
with a black head, and very similar in everything but size to the
maggot found in the nut, makes its appearance, and either escapes
to fall on the ground and become a chrysalis, or else it is squeezed
out by the groom, which is easily done as soon as the head is visi-
ble. When discovered previously, an opening may be made with
the point of a penknife, and then the larva may be gradually
squeezed out, avoiding too much haste in the operation, which will
only retard the process.

BITES AND STINGS OF INSECTS.

HORSES ARE LIABLE TO BE STUNG by hornets, wasps, and bees.
If there are only one or two stings made, no interference is neces-
sary; but sometimes a larger number of poisonous punctures have
been effected, and then the best treatment is the application of
spirit of turpentine and laudanum in equal proportions.

THE BITES OF THE GADFLY are so troublesome in their effects
that it is sometimes desirable to prevent them if possible. This is
effected by making a strong infusion of the green bark of the elder,
and washing the flanks, &c., with it before going out.

SWELLED LEGS. 393

SWELLED LEGS.

THE SKIN or THE LEGS AND THE CELLULAR MEMBRANE be-
neath it are liable to two kinds of swelling, one of which is of an
inflammatory character, while the other is solely due to a deposit of
serum (oedema), owing to the non-performance of their office by
the kidneys. Both kinds are much more frequent in the hind legs
than the fore, but especially the former.

INFLAMMATORY SWELLED LEG, sometimes called weed, is gene-
rally accompanied by a certain amount of feverishness, and conies
on suddenly, almost always showing itself on the inside of the hind
leg, which is hot and extremely tender. It is not a very common
disease, and merely requires the ordinary low treatment, by purging
physic, and, if necessary, bleeding. Should it continue for more
than two or three days after these are tried, an ounce of nitre may
be given every night in a bran mash.

ORDINARY SWELLING OF THE LEGS, OR CEDEMA, occurs in every
degree, from a slight " filling," to which many horses are always
subject, whether they work or stand in the stable, to an enlarge-
ment extending up to the stifles and elbows, sometimes rendering
the legs almost as round and as hard as mill-posts. When horses
are first brought in from grass their legs almost always fill more or
less, and until they are regularly seasoned to their work there is
seldom that clean condition of the suspensory ligaments and back
sinews which one likes to see even before the daily exercise is given.
The oedema appears to depend partly upon a deficient action of the
kidneys, but chiefly on the vessels of the legs not acting sufficiently
without constant walking exercise, such as is natural to the horse
when at liberty, and which he takes at grass. Half an hour's walk-
ing will generally produce absorption completely, so that a daily
remedy is forthcoming ; but as a rule, whenever there is this ten-
dency to " filling" of the legs, the cellular membrane is not the
only tissue in fault, but the tendons and joints are also liable to
inflammation. The treatment will greatly depend on the exact
cause. If the swelling is only due to the change from grass to
the confinement of a warm- stable, time alone is wanted, taking care
not to overwork the horse in the mean time. Bandages will always
assist in keeping down the swelling ; but they should not be used
without necessity, as when once the horse becomes accustomed to
them his legs can hardly be kept fine without their aid. If weak-
ness is the cause, a drachm of sulphate of iron given in the corn
twice a day will often strengthen the system, and with it the legs.
Diuretics may be adopted as an occasional aid to the kidneys, but
they should be of the mildest kind, such as nitre, or they will do
more harm, by weakening the body generally, than good by their
stimulus to the kidneys. Indeed, they are often the sole cause of

394 THE HORSE.

the legs filling, for some grooms use them so continually, whethei
they are wanted or not, that the kidneys become diseased and refuse
to act, which is a sure forerunner of oedema. Where swelling of
the legs is confirmed, bandages must be regularly applied as recom-
mended at page 196.

CHAPPED HEELS.

WHEN A HORSE SUFFERS FROM (EDEMA of the legs, he is par-
ticularly prone to an eruption of a watery nature in the cleft
between the heels and behind the lesser pastern. Those also
whose legs are washed and not dried are still more prone to it,
especially if the hair is white. The skin cracks, and, in bad cases,
is so inflamed and swollen that the leg cannot be bent without great
pain, and often there is a bleeding from the cracks, caused by the
action of the limb, but only to a sufficient extent to show that blood
has escaped. The treatment must be local as well as general if the
eruption is not entirely due to mismanagement. In any case, the
part should be dressed with cerate of acetate of lead, a little of
which should be rubbed in every night. Next morning some gly-
cerine should be brushed on an hour at least before the exercise,
and renewed before the daily work is commenced. This will pre-
vent all risk of the skin cracking, while the ointment will act bene-
ficially on the vessels of the part. In addition to these applica-
tions, the general health should be attended to if in fault, and
tonics or diuretics should be given, as the case may require.

GKEASE,

[Commonly called "Scratches" in the United States."]

THE ERUPTION KNOWN AS GREASE is sometimes only an aggra-
vated form of chapped heels, and is often preceded by them. At
others the appearance of the disease is ushered in by constitutional
symptoms, such as feverishness, oedema of the limbs and hide-
bound. The first local symptom is a slight swelling of the skin
of the heels and adjacent parts, which soon cracks, and from the
fissures there exudes an offensive discharge which looks greasy, but
is really watery, being of a serous nature. It inflames every part
that it touches, and has a tendency to cause a spread of the eruption
in all directions, but chiefly downwards. The legs go on swelling to
a frightful extent, and are thereby rendered so stiff and sore that
great lameness is produced. If this stage is neglected the whole
surface ulcerates, and a fungous growth makes its appearance,
chiefly from the original cracks-. The discharge becomes purulent
and has a most foul smell, and the leg can with difficulty be bent
at all. Finally, the fungous excrescences cover the whole of the
diseased skin, being of a bright red color, and slightly resembling
grapes in form, from which circumstances this stage has been

GREASE, OR SCRATCHES. 395

called " the grapes." It is now very rare to meet with grease in
any of its forms except in the cart-stable, where the hairy legs of
its inmates render them peculiarly prone to its attacks, from the
time required to dry them when wet. They are so difficult to clean
without water that the carters may well be excused for using it,
but if they do they ought carefully to dry the legs afterwards.
The treatment when grease is established must be founded upon
the same principle as in chapped heels. The skin must be kept
supple, and at the same time stimulated to a healthy action. For
the former purpose glycerine is most valuable, being far more effi-
cacious than any greasy dressing, such as we were obliged to employ
before the discovery of this substance. In all the stages of grease,
this latter agent may be employed, and as it is readily soluble iu
water it can be washed off and renewed as often as it may be desired.
The discharge is so foul and irritating that it ought to be thoroughly
removed at least once in twenty-four hours, and one of the chief
advantages of the use of glycerine is that it so greatly assists this
cleansing process from its solubility in water. In addition to this
emollient plan, some stimulus must be selected, and none answers
so well (in all stages but the very earliest) as chloride of zinc.
When, therefore, the heels are in that state that it is almost doubt-
ful whether the disease is the mere chap or absolute grease, the
treatment recommended for the former may be tried, but should
this fail, the groom should at once proceed to cut the hair of the
skin which is diseased as short as possible. Then let him take
some soap and warm water and gently wash the parts with a sponge
till the skin is perfectly clean and free from scab or scurf, taking
care to remove every particle of soap by well rinsing it. Next dry
the leg, and then with a small paint-brush rub gently into the in-
flamed parts enough of the following lotion to damp them, but not
to wet them thoroughly : —

Take of Chloride of Zinc 30 grs.

Water 1 pint. Mix.

A quarter of an hour afterwards apply a little glycerine over the
whole, and keep the parts sufficiently supple with it. If there is
much discharge the cleansing may be repeated night and morning,
followed by the chloride of zinc, but in most cases once a day will
be sufficiently often. If the ulcerated or inflamed skin does not
put on a healthy appearance in a few days, the lotion may be in-
creased in strength, using forty, fifty, or sixty grains to the pint,
as required; but the remedy will be found to be.almost a specific, ex-
cept for the grapy form, if properly proportioned in strength. When
the fungoid growths are very extensive, nothing but their removal,
either by the knife or by the actual or potential cautery, will suffice.
The least painful plan is to slice them off to a level with the skin

396 THE HORSE.

and then just touch the bleeding surface with a hot iron, which
will have the double good effect of stopping the bleeding and in-
ducing a healthy action. The glycerine may then be applied, and
next day the leg may be treated in the same way as for ordinary
grease described above. When the disease is of long standing,
local applications may cure it for a time, but either it will return,
or there will be some other organ attacked, unless the unhealthy
state of the blood is attended to. It must be remembered that
during the existence of grease this vital fluid is called upon to
supply the materials for the secretion which is constantly going on.
Now if on the cessation of the demand for them the blood still
goes on obtaining its supplies from the digestive organs, it becomes
overloaded, a state of plethora is established, which Nature attempts
to relieve in some one or other of her established modes by setting
up disease. To avoid such a result arsenic may be given internally,
for this medicine has a special power in counteracting this ten-
dency. How it acts has never yet been made out, but that it does
exert such a power is thoroughly ascertained, and if the doses are
not too large it is unattended by any injurious effect. Indeed for a
time it seems to act as as a tonic. The arsenic should be given in
solution and with the food, so as to procure its absorption into the
blood without weakening the stomach. A wine-glassful of liquor
arsenicalis (1£ oz.) should be poured over the corn twice a day,
and continued for a couple of months, when it may be discontinued
with a fair hope of its having had the desired effect. Should the
skin, however, look inflamed, a second course of it may be given,
and it will be found that if it is given with the corn it will not be
followed by any injurious consequences.*

WARTS.

WARTS are, generally, only to be considered as eyesores; for,
unless they appear on the penis, they are not injurious to health;
nor do they interfere with work unless they happen to appear on
the shoulders beneath the collar in a harness horse, which is very
rare indeed. They are, doubtless, very unsightly, and, for this
reason, it is often desired to remove them, which may be done by
first picking off the rough outer surface, so as to make them bleed,
and then rubbing in, with a stiff brush, some yellow orpiment,
wetted with a little water. This will cause considerable inflam-
mation, and in a few days the wart will drop off, leaving a healthy
Bore, which soon heals. Sometimes the whole wart does not come
away on the first application, in which case a second must be
made. When the glans penis is completely covered with warts,

* The best treatment for scratches will be found to be carbolic acid one part,
cold water forty parts, applied from one to three times daily. — EDITOR.

WARTS AND CORNS. 397

the best plan is to amputate it, as it requires the gi latest caution
and tact to remove them by arsenic or any other caustic without
destroying, also, as much of the penis as is taken away by the
knife.

-'. CORNS.

THESE TROUBLESOME results of bad shoeing, or subsequent
neglect of the feet, make their appearance in the sole of the foot,
in the angle formed between the crust and the bar (see fig. 20 (K),
Chap. XXVI.). Where the foot is properly prepared for the shoe,
and the smith seats the heel of the crust and the bar on a
level surface, no corn will make its appearance in a healthy foot j
but if a corn has previously existed, or if the shoe is allowed to
press upon the sole at E (see fig. 20, Chap. XXVI.), the delicate
blood-vessels of the sensible sole are ruptured, and, instead of se-
creting a sound horn, capable of bearing the slight strain upon it
which is required, a fungoid growth is formed, presenting a reddish
appearance, and exquisitely sensitive. This morbid substance
does not at all resemble the hard corn of the human subject, which
is a thickened secretion of cuticle, but it bears some comparison
with the soft corns that form so often between the toes, and give
so much trouble in their removal. It is, in fact, a new growth of
a semi-fungoid character, partly made up of granulations and
partly of horny matter, the two being closely united. The corn
may arise from improper pressure made on this part of the sensible
sole, either directly from the shoe, or indirectly by pressing a thin
brittle crust inwards upon it. Generally, however, it is met with
at the inner heel, from the shoe being overgrown by that part of
the foot when kept on too long. The outer nails dovnot allow it
to work in the contrary direction, and if there is a clip on the
outer quarter this is rendered still more improbable. If, there-
fore, shoeing is properly managed, corns may always be prevented,
and we shall see in the directions for shoeing, at Chap. XXVI.,.
how this is to be managed. At present I have to consider how
they are to be relieved or cured when they are already established.

THE ORDINARY MODE OF TREATING CORNS is simply to Cut

them out, leaving the bar and heel of the crust full, and thus
taking all pressure off them. This enables the horse to do his work
for about ten days, but then the shoe must be removed, and the
paring-out repeated, a process which weakens the already weak
crust by making additional nail-holes in it. The shoe at the same
time is generally " sprung," that is, it is so bent or filed that the
heel does not fully bear upon it ; but this does not last many
hours, and is of little real utility. The plan answers well enough
for the purposes of fraudulent sellers, as the horse runs sound for
about ten days ; and when he fails, and on taking off his shoe he
34

398 THE HORSE.

is discovered to have a corn, it is impossible to prove that it ex-
isted at the time of sale by any evidence but that of the smith
who shod him previously to it. Excepting, therefore, in very
slight and recent cases, in which it will sometimes be followed by
success, this plan of treatment is only palliative, and what is worse,
it tends to increase the weakness of the foot and consequent ten-
dency to the disease.

FOR THE CURATIVE PLAN we must do something more than
merely take the pressure off the sole ; the bar and heel of the
crust must also be relieved, and the sensible sole must be stimu-
lated, by a proper application, to secrete healthy horn, as well as
by pressure on the frog. If the horse is to be rested, this can be
done easily enough by taking oif his shoes, but he may be kept at
work by putting on a bar-shoe, and cutting down the bar and crust,
so as to throw all the pressure off them upon the frog. A double
purpose is effected in this way. First, the sensible sole is relieved
of the constant pressure which the crust bears upon it laterally ;
and, secondly, the jar on the frog, communicated through the shoe.
from the ground, induces a healthy action in the foot, and the sole
has a greater tendency to secrete healthy horn. There is no doubt
in my mind that all horses would work much better, and keep their
feet in much sounder condition, if their frogs could be brought into
use, without being guarded as they are by the ordinary shoe. This
part is intended by nature to take upon itself great pressure j and
if it has not its natural stimulus it becomes weak itself, and, more-
over, it does not stimulate the surrounding parts to a healthy action,
as it ought to do. The bar-shoe is inconvenient for many purposes,
and, therefore, it is not generally applied ; but as a curative agent
these objections are to be dispensed with, and then it will be found
to be extremely valuable, not only in relieving the diseased part (the
corn) but in giving a healthy action to its seat, the sole. - The smith
should, therefore, pare down the crust at the heel, so that when the
bar-shoe is applied it will allow a penny-piece to be insinuated be-
tween the two surfaces. With this the horse does his work com-
fortably on the road ; and in process of time, that is, in two or three
months, the heel grows up, and takes its own share of pressure, or
a part of it, becoming gradually accustomed to the amount which it
will have to bear when the bar-shoe is discontinued. In the mean
time a little of the following lotion may be applied daily to the
Situation of the corn by means of a feather.

Take of Chloride of Zinc . 1 drachm.

Water >. . . . 6 oz.

Glycerine 2 oz. Mix.

In every case, the bar-shoe must be continued until the heel of the
crust and the bar grow down strongly ; and then a common shoe
may be applied.

SANDCRACK— FALSE QUARTER. 399

SANDCRACK.
IN THE ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FOOT, at page 291,

it will be seen that the crust is composed of fibres, running paral-
lel to each other in a direction from the coronet to the ground sur-
face. These fibres are glued together firmly in a sound and strong
hoof; but, in a weak one, it sometimes happens that the gelatinous
matter is not in sufficient quantity, and then the fibres separate,
and leave a crack of greater or less extent, according to circum-
stances. This, called a sandcrack, happens at the thinnest part,
which is the inner quarter in the fore foot, and the toe in the hind.
To cure it, the foot must be rested, or at least that part of it where,
the crack occurs, which in the fore foot may be effected by the use
of a bar-shoe, throwing the pressure entirely on the frog, as recom-
mended in the last section on corns, and taking care that the crust
behind the crack is not in contact with the shoe. By adopting
this plan, I have succeeded in curing sand-cracks during moderate
work ; but if it happens in the hind foot, complete rest must be
given, as the toe cannot be relieved by any possible contrivance.
The next thing to be done is to open the crack slightly, so that
any grit getting into it shall not cause its further expansion ; and
in doing this, if there is any little cellular cavity, it should be ex-
posed. If the crack extends to the coronet, which it rarely does,
nothing can be done until it has grown out for at least half an
inch from that part, when the point of a hot iron may be applied
to the angle of the crack for a second, so as to keep out water,
which has the effect of causing the fibres to split by the capillary
attraction which is exercised. The burn should be very slight,
and should not be carried deeply into the substance of the horn.
A fine nail should then be driven from below through the crust,
the shoe being removed ; and when brought out at the usual place,
should be left projecting. The shoe should be put on, and the
innermost nail also left projecting. These two should then be
firmly bound together by fine wire, so as to bring the edges of the
crack together; and the foot should be left in this state for at least
• a month or five weeks, when the shoe may be taken off, and the
operation repeated. This is far better than binding wire or twine
round the whole foot, as it acts more completely on the crack,
without confining the growth of the remainder of the foot. Of
course, after the wire is twisted on, the nails must be clenched, and
there will be a greater projection than usual; but this is of no im-
portance whatever. In cracks of the hind foot the nails in each
quarter will keep the two sides from separating, but the horse can.
not be worked.

FALSE QUARTER.

WHEN, FROM AN ACCIDENT, the coronary substance is perma-
nently injured, it ceases to secrete sound horn, and a stripe of the

400 THE HORSE.

crust, defective in strength, runs all the way down from the coro-
net to the plantar edge. This generally happens at the inner
quarter, and is owing to the horse treading on his coronet; but it
may also occur on the outside, either from the tread of another
horse, or from some kind of external violence. The result is simi-
lar to that of a sandcrack ; there is no strength in the affected heel,
and lameness is produced. The treatment is very much the same
as for sandcrack. In the first place, the pressure must be taken
off the quarter, and a bar-shoe applied, so as to convey the weight
on the frog, as described under the head of Sandcrack. The heel
of the affected quarter should be lowered, and thus further injury
will be prevented. The next thing to be done is to stimulate the
coronet to a healthy action by blistering it, which must be done
two or three times, taking care that the blister is not of too violent
a nature, and that the skin heals before a second is applied. By
these means, a cure may sometimes be effected ; but it takes a con-
siderable time, and until the quarter is reproduced in full strength,
or nearly so, the bar-shoe should be continued. By its use, any
horse with a sound frog can travel very well on the road, even if
the quarter is entirely and permanently separated from the toe by
inefficient horn ; and without it, the chance of a cure is not to be
reckoned on.

QUITTOR.

BY THIS TERM is UNDERSTOOD a chronic abscess of the foot,
the matter always forming sinuses, from the difficulty which nature
has to overcome in finding a way for it to reach the surface.
Generally, the mischief is occasioned by an overreach, or a bruise
of the sole, or by the inflammation resulting from a neglected
thrush, or, lastly, from a nail-prick. From any of these causes,
inflammation of the delicate investment of the coffin-bone is set up,
pus is secreted, and, in working its way to the surface, it burrows
between the horn and the bone, and forms one or more sinuses, or
pipes, as these fistulous tubes are called by the farrier. A quittor
is recognised by the eye and nose detecting an opening in the
horn, from which a foul discharge proceeds ; and on introducing a
probe, it will generally pass freely in two or three directions, some-
times giving a grating sensation to the finger, showing that the
bone is denuded, and most probably carious. There is generally
a considerable increase of temperature in the foot, and always
more or less lameness, with, in most cases, swelling of the bulbous
heels and coronet. On examining the sole carefully, some part
will either show a difference of color from the adjacent horn, or
there will be a yielding on pressure, owing to its being undermined.
The treatment must be conducted on the same principle as for
fistulous sores. In the first place, a dependent opening must be

QUITTOR— THRUSH. 401

formed, so that no matter shall be confined, but it shall be allowed
to come away as fast as it forms. This can only be done by prob-
ing; and if the original opening is in the coronet, the probe must
be passed down as low as possible, and then the sole should be
pared away till the end can be reached. In tolerably recent quit-
tors, this plan alone will allow the sinus to heal; but in old ones,
the internal surface has become callous, and no granulations are
thrown out. Here an injection should be thrown in every day
with a syringe, a saturated solution of sulphate of zinc being that
generally recommended; but I have found the chloride answer
still better, using one drachm of the salt to a pint of water at first,
and going on up to two drachms. By injecting this daily, and in-
troducing a piece of lint, wetted with it, into the superior opening,
leaving the lower one free, I have cured many bad quitters, even
when there was evidence of caries of the coffin-joint. The disease
requires a careful adjustment of the remedies to its extent and
nature, and a theoretical description of it is of little use.

THRUSH.

ANY OFFENSIVE DISCHARGE FROM THE FROG \s called by this
name, although the cause and treatment may be as different as
possible. It varies greatly in the fore and hind feet; and, indeed,
it must never be forgotten that, in every case, the cause which
has produced the discharge must be clearly made out before any
plan of treatment can be carried out with any prospect of success.
Sometimes thrush is merely the result of the decomposition of the
horny frog, from the foot being constantly kept wet with urine,
which is most common in the hind foot. Here the surface becomes
soft, and is gradually dissolved; while the cleft, from its retaining
the moisture, is increased in size. This state is often brought on
by the too frequent use of cowdung-stopping in horses with soft
frogs; and, instead of doing good by his treatment of the foot, the
groom is really destroying it by encouraging the decomposition of
the healthy defence which Nature has given to it. For this kind
of thrush, very little treatment is required, if the cause vhich
produced it is withdrawn. Still it is not always easy to keep the
frog dry, and stop the decomposition, without the application of
some astringent; and if the mere use of dry litter, and the appli-
cation of tar ointment, do not seem to harden the frog at once, it
may be touched with a wash composed of ten grains of bluestone
to the ounce of water. This will soon dry it ; or, if it fails by any
chance, the chloride of zinc may be used in the same way, by
dissolving five grains in an ounce of water.

THE SECOND KIND OF THRUSH is that in which from a gross
habit of body there is a simple inflammation of the sensible frog,
and instead of sound horn being secreted, a spongy substance is
34* 2o

402 THE HORSE.

deposited, which breaks away in places, and the frog looks ragged
and uneven, with a greasy surface, smells very foul, and feels hot
to the touch. Here the treatment must be general as well as local.
A dose of physic should be given, the food should be of a less
stimulating quality, and care should be taken that regular exercise
is allowed every day. The stable should be kept cool, and of
course attention should be paid to cleanliness both of the foot and
the litter. As to local remedies, they must not be of the stimu-
lating kind, which will suit the thrush from decomposition, or that
presently to be described. The foot should be placed in a bran
poultice, and kept in it for some days, till the united action of the
local and general treatment have reduced the inflammation. After
a few days it will be well to dress the frog with tar ointment, or
the poultice will do more harm than good, by causing the decom-
position of its horny covering, and indeed it is seldom that this
wet application should be employed for more than a week. After
this time has elapsed, all the good to be derived from it has been
accomplished, and the subsequent treatment may generally be
effected by attention to the health, and dressing the frog with tar
ointment. Sometimes^ it may be necessary to employ a slight
stimulus, and then the solution of chloride of zinc will be found to
be the best.

THE THIRD KIND OF THRUSH occurs in contracted feet, and is
due to the same cause, namely, chronic inflammation of the sensi-
ble frog, produced by overwork, aided in many cases by neglect in
shoeing. There is a tendency to the secretion of unsound horn
over the whole foot, sometimes too thick and hard, and at others
of a cellular structure, without sufficient strength to bear the pressure
of the road. The horny frog generally looks shrunken and withered ;
and in its cleft there is a foul discharge, on wiping which out a
soft spongy matter may be seen at the bottom, which is the sensible
frog itself, but in a diseased condition. In bad cases, the sides of
the horny frog have separated, and even the toe is sometimes defi-
cient of its covering; but generally the horn has only disappeared
in patches, and there are ragged portions remaining. The disease
here is of too chronic a nature to be easily cured, and if there ia
much disorganization of the laminae it will be almost impossible to
effect a perfect cure. The first thing to be done is to clear away
all the ragged portions of horn, so as to be able to reach the sensi-
ble frog. Some tow is then to be smeared with the following oint-
ment • —

Take of Ointment of Nitrate of Mercury .... 1 drachm.

Zinc Ointment 1 oz.

Creosote 4 drops. Mix.

and pressed into the cleft of the frog, where it can best be retained

THRUSH— CANKER— LAMINITIS. 403

by a bar-shoe lightly tacked on, and in this case taking its bearing
on the heels and not on the frog. Sometimes a wash answers
better than a greasy application, and then a strong solution of the
chloride of zinc may be employed, about six grains to the ounce
of water. Tow dipped in this may be applied in the same way as
with the ointment, and either one or the other should be re-ap-
plied every day. As the new horn grows, it must be kept supple
by tar ointment, and until it is fully developed the bar-shoe should
be kept on, applying some degree of pressure by means of the tow,
which should be stuffed in so as to compress the frog, beginning
with very light pressure, and, as the horn increases in substance,
augmenting it in proportion. By attention to these directions a
thrush of this kind may be cured, if the foot is not damaged
throughout, and even the frog may be restored to a comparative
state of health.

CANKER.

CANKER is generally an extension of the third form of thrush,
the ulceration spreading to the sensible sole, and afterwards to the
coffin-bone itself. At first the ulcerated surface is concealed by the
old horn, but gradually this breaks away, and then the extent of
the mischief may be seen. A part or the whole of the sole and the
frog may be in a state of ulceration, generally depending upon the
time during which the disease has been in existence, and the care
which has been taken of it, or the reverse. The only treatment to
be adopted is the careful removal of every loose piece of horn, so
as to expose the unsound surface to the action of remedies, and at
the same time to avoid poisoning it by the decomposing horn, which
has a most irritating effect. The sulphate of copper, and chloride
of zinc, are the best applications, and they must be used in full
strength. These cases, however, require an experienced eye to
enable the prescriber to judge of the proper amount of caustic re-
quired ; and beyond suggesting the kind of remedy required, no
good can be done by written prescriptions. If it is impossible to
obtain the advice of a veterinarian, it will be better to begin by
using a mild caustic, and then increase the strength as it is found
to be wanted. Pitch ointment forms the best greasy application to
the adjacent sound surfaces to protect them from the irritation of
the discharge.

LAMINITIS.
(Founder or Fever of the Feet.)

THE TERM LAMINITIS is now familiar with every one at all ac-
customed to horses, though it has not long been introduced intc
the vocabulary of the professional man. The disease, however,
has been recognised for many years under the terms " founder"
and " fe^er of the feet." It consists in an inflammation (which

404 THE HORSE.

may be acute or chronic) of the parts between the crust or wall
and the pedal bone, including the laminae, whence the name by
which it is now distinguished. These parts are supplied with a
profusion of blood-vessels (see page 294), arid when inflammation
is set up in them, the progress which it makes is rapid, and the
constitutional disturbance is unusually great, owing probably to
the want of space for the swelling which accompanies all inflamma-
tions, and especially of vascular substances. The causes are either,
1st. Localization of fever, whence the name " fever in the feet."
2d. The mechanical irritation of hard roads upon feet not accus-
tomed to them ; and 3d. Long confinement in a standing position
on board ship. When it is recollected that in our system of shoe-
ing, the laminae are made to support the whole weight of the body
in consequence of the shoe being in contact with the crust only, it
can only occasion surprise that this disease is not more frequent.
Nature framed the horse's foot so that an elastic pad should inter-
pose between its back parts and the ground, intending that the
edge of the crust should take its share, but not all of the weight.
The laminae are therefore called upon to do far more than their
structure is designed for, and when there is the slightest weakness
or tendency to inflammation, they are sure to suffer. Acute lami-
nitis is not very often met with, because horsemen are aware of
the risks they run, and take their measures accordingly; but the
chronic form is common enough, and hundreds of horses are more
or less lame from this cause. Too often it is not suspected until
irreparable mischief is done, the elasticity of the laminae being de-
stroyed, and the foot having assumed a shape which utterly unfits
it for bearing the pressure of the shoe upon hard roads. When
the disease has been going on for a long time, the elastic substances
between the laminae and the pedal bone, as well as the fine horny
lamellae between them and the crust, lose the property of extension,
and the horn of the crust is secreted by nature of a more spongy
character, and much thicker in substance, than in health. On
making a section of such a foot, the arrangement of parts will be
such as is here delineated in fig. 19, in which 1 is the os suffraginis,
2, the os coronae, and 3, the pedal bone, with its anterior surface
separated from that of the crust (7) by a wide space occupied by
spongy matter. Here the toe of the pedal bone projects into the
sole and renders it convex, instead of being concave, and correspond-
ing with the lower surface of the pedal bone.

The laminae and elastic substances between them and their
contiguous structures no longer suspend the pedal bone to the
crust, but the weight falls partly upon the sole by means of the
toe of the pedal bone, and partly on the frog, which descends so
low that in spite of the thickness of the shoe it touches the ground.

LAMINITIS.

405

FlG. 19. — SECTION OF THE FOOT IN CONFIRMS!)
LAMINITIS.

1. Os suffraginis.

This descent of the frog is a very
marked feature in laminitis, and
whenever it is apparent that dis-
ease may be suspected.

BUT TO PRODUCE SUCH A
MARKED ALTERATION OF FORM

as is here delineated and d,e-
scribed takes a long time, and
even then it is only in a few
cases that the disease reaches to
this stage. It will, therefore, be
necessary to trace its progress from
the commencement, and the effects
which are exhibited as it goes on.
WHEN ACUTE LAMINITIS SETS
IN, there is a considerable amount
of fever, indicated by a rapid
pulse, usually full and hard, and 2. Os coronse.
hurried respiration. There is a J;
general look of restlessness from &• Frog,
pain, the horse stamping gently 7! wlii or crust greatly thickened,
with his feet, and constantly

lying down and then getting up again. When, as usually happens,
the fore feet only are affected, the hind feet are brought under the
body to bear as much weight as possible, and the fore feet are so
carried forwards that the heels support the legs rather than the
toes. On examining the feet, there is great reluctance to allow
one to be picked up, on account of the necessity which is thrown
upon the other of taking the whole weight of the fore quarter.
The coronet and hoof feel very hot, and, when wetted, may be seen
to steam very perceptibly. If this state of things is not speedily
stopped, the laminae cease to secrete horn, and the connection be-
tween them and the hoof ceases, causing the latter to separate, and
the sensible parts to be exposed, covered with a thin scaly horn.
This has happened in many cases which have afterwards secreted
new hoofs; but the horn is not so strong and useful as before, and a
horse with such feet is not fit for hard work on the road. If proper
treatment is adopted, the inflammation either subsides entirely,
leaving no mischief behind it, or there is a chronic inflammation
left which induces the alterations of structure which have been
alluded to. The treatment should be by first removing the shoes,
and then, after paring down the sole so as to allow of the expansion
of the sensible parts, a large quantity of blood is taken from the
toe, making sure that a vessel of sufficient size is opened to produce
a strong shock on the heart and arteries, as well as to relieve the
local affection. If the blood does not flow freely, the foot may be

406 THE HOUSE.

placed in a pail of warm water, but when the operation is properly
performed there is never any difficulty in obtaining any quantity
of blood which may be required. Next tack the shoes on lightly
again, and then give a smart dose of physic, or else, what is per-
haps a better plan, give the following: —

Take of Barbadoes Aloes

Tartar Emetic, of each 1 drachm.

Powdered Digitalis £ drachm.

Syrup enough to form a ball,

which should be given every six hours, until the bowels act, when
the other materials may be continued without the aloes. The feet
should be kept constantly wet and cool by tying a piece of felt or
flannel around each pastern, and allowing it to fall over the hoof,
when it is to be continually wetted. If the inflammation is not
abated next day, the bleeding may be repeated, and it will be well
also to act on the kidneys by adding two or three drachms of nitre
to the tartar emetic and digitalis.

CHRONIC LAMINITIS is generally first shown by a slight soreness
or lameness, generally appearing in both fore feet, and, therefore,
being often overlooked by casual observers. In coming in from
work the coronets feel warmer than natural ; but this goes off dur-
ing the night, and, for a time, no great fears are entertained of the
feet recovering their former condition, the blame being, perhaps,
laid upon the shoe. In a month or two, however, the smith (who
has, perhaps, been ordered to take off the shoes two or three times,
by which the injury is increased) finds that his nails do not hold,
and the quarters break away; while the action of the horse be-
comes more shambling every day, and he cannot make a sound trot
on any hard road, especially with a weight on his back. In many
cases a horse with chronic laminitis can run in hand sound enough
for an ordinary observer ; but when the extra weight of a rider is
placed on him the feet cannot bear the pain, and the gait is sham-
bling in the extreme. Such animals have a strong propensity to
save their toes, and prefer (if their shoulders will allow it) bring-
ing their heels to the ground first, so that, although their action is
excessively low and shambling, they seldom fall. An experienced
horseman at once detects this peculiar style of going, and con-
demns its possessor for laminitis. Indeed, it may be assumed as a
rule, that wherever the heel is put carefully down upon the ground
with low action, the foot is the subject of laminitis to some extent.
When the heel is naturally brought to the ground first, the knee
is well bent, and the foot is raised high in the air ; but in process
of time work tells on it, the laminae become inflamed, and then the
action is reduced in height, and the feet are moved in the manner
peculiar to foundered horses, including those which before they
were foundered perhaps exhibited " toe action," or, at all events,

LAMINITIS. 407

a level fall of the foot. This state of disease ought to be well
studied, and compared with the remarks on sound action at page
82 et seq.j which it will serve to illustrate and explain. The foot
itself is changed in form, and the toe and sole have more or less
altered their relations, as explained already. Sometimes there is
a large space or cavity between the outer surface and the inner,
shown at 7, fig. 19, page 405. This hollow in the crust is more or
less cellular, and the disease is called a " seedy toe," but for what
reason I am at a loss to know. The sole, moreover, is always either
flatter than natural or absolutely convex, and its horn is brittle and
spongy, constituting what is termed the " pumiced foot." The
frog is generally large and spongy; and on placing a straight-edge
across the shoe, from heel to heel, it is found to touch that part,
or nearly so, indicating that the relations between it and the crust,
as well as the sole, are altogether changed from a natural state.
The laminae are no longer slings for the foot, but the whole pres-
sure is taken by the parts lying beneath the pedal or coffin bone
and the navicular bone. Such being the symptoms, the next thing
is to consider what can be done. If the disease is of long stand-
ing, little hope can be given of a perfect recovery. The shape of
the external parts may be partially restored, but the internal deli-
cate structures no longer have the power of performing their offices ;
and the elastic action of the horse suffering from the effects
of laminitis can seldom be restored on hard ground. After proper
treatment, he may, and generally does, go on turf well; but either
on hard ground .or on plough (on the latter of which, though soft
enough for the laminae, the sole has to bear considerable pressure)
he is dreadfully sore and lame. This is shown after all inflamma-
tion has ceased, the foot being as cool as possible, and sometimes
exhibiting very slight evidences of previous mischief.

In treating such cases, if there is no heat or other sign of in-
flammation, bleeding and similar lowering measures will be of no
avail. They may be required soon enough, it is true, for a foun-
dered foot is always in danger of inflammation when battered;
but until symptoms of this kind of mischief are exhibited it is
better to avoid all depletory measures. At the same time, every-
thing which will tend to keep off increased action should be
avoided ; the horse should be fed on the least heating food which
will serve the purpose for which he is intended, and his stable
should be kept as cool as possible. Beans ought never to be
allowed to the possessor of feet with the slightest suspicion of
founder ; and no more oats should be used than are necessary for
the condition required. For horses at slow work, bran mashes
and nitre, with small doses occasionally of physic, will serve to
keep down the tendency to inflammation, and by their use, joined
to cold applications after work (they are of no use at other times),

408 THE HORSE.

and a cool stable, the horse may be enabled to do moderately fast
work. If the frog is not very prominent, a leather sole, put on
in the usual way, will save the jar, and in some measure supply
the place of the natural elastic tissue, destroyed in this disease.
Usually, however, it only adds to the mischief by increasing the
pressure on the frog, and then the leather must be introduced
between the foot and the shoe, but cut to the same shape as the
latter, so as not at all to bear on the frog. Many horses with slight
traces of laminitis can work for years with leather applied in this
way, and it may be said to be the most useful mode of treating
this disease when exhibited in a mild form. Sometimes by throw-
ing a horse by for six months, taking off his shoes, and blistering
his coronets two or three times, a great deal of good may be done,
but he must be put to stand on* tan 'or sawdust during the whole
time, and never allowed to go on hard ground, even for half a mile
at a walking pace. By this plan, and by very careful and- gradual
increase of exercise at the end of that time, I have succeeded in
restoring an elastic condition of the foot; but I have never known
one so patched up bear hard work, and I should never advise the
risk incurred by submitting him to it. Hunting and racing, or,
indeed, any kind of work on soft ground, will do no harm • but
battering on the roads, especially without leather, applied as above
described, is sure to bring back the inflammation.

THE SEEDY TOE.

THIS TERM is so generally employed among^ horsemen, that
though the state which it describes is one of the ordinary con-
sequences of laminitis, I prefer to give it a distinct section. I
have already described its nature in the preceding page, and have
only now to allude to its treatment. This may generally be so
conducted as to. restore the shape of the foot, if the inflammation
has not lowered the toe of the pedal bone, as shown at fig. 1 ; for
if this has taken place, although it is perhaps possible to get rid
of the cavities in the horn, the relative positions of the bony parts
cannot be changed. When, however, as is often the case, a
moderately small hollow has been formed between the layers of
the wall, and the foot retains a tolerably healthy shape, by cutting
away all the external horny walls, exposing the parts in contact
with the laminae, and resting the horse in a loose box, the secret-
ing surface will form a new wall, without any spongy texture, in
the course of three or four months, if the coronary band is con-
stantly stimulated by external applications. To effect this, the
horse should be put to stand on red deal sawdust, without shoes ;
and his coronets, after being gently stimulated by a mild liquid
blister, should be kept dressed with tar ointment, which should
also be applied to the exterior of the horn. It is seldom, how-

CONTRACTION OF THE FOOT— NAVICULAR DISEASE. 409

ever, that a foot which has been thus treated is sufficiently sound
to bear hard work.

.CONTRACTION OF THE FOOT.

THIS REPUTED DISEASE has been long the bugbear of the horse-
master ; but it is now discovered to be a complete mistake. Some
of the most contracted feet in point of width are particularly free
from all risk of disease, and on the other hand many open ones
are as liable to it. The donkey, whose heels are shaped exactly'
like those of the contracted horse's foot, is so seldom lame, that
few can recall having seen one in that condition, and, therefore,
reasoning from analogy, one would be led to doubt that this shape
renders the horse prone to lameness. At the same time it is quite
true that in the disease which will next be investigated, the frog
withers and contracts, and the heels are thereby drawn in ; but
here the contraction is a consequence and not a cause of disease,
and certainly cannot be considered as a disease in itself. Bad
shoeing will do much to cause either laminitis or navicular disease,
and it will certainly produce corns and inverted heels, but it will
not waste the frog, or induce that condition of the foot where the
sole is arched so high that the frog does not touch the ground
when, the shoe is off. Such a state of things can only be brought
on either by thrush or navicular disease, and is never the result
of the mechanical mismanagement of the foot, to which what used
to be called contraction was generally attributed. All sorts of
plans have been 'suggested for expanding the heels and for allow-
ing them to expand ; but the real truth is that so long as the frog is
sound and the parts above it, allowing the proper amount of pres-
sure to be communicated to the sole, bars and heel of the crust,
these latter divisions of the foot have no room to contract, and of
a certainty they never do.

NAVICULAR DISEASE.

THIS FORMIDABLE DISEASE, called also the navicular joint
lameness, and navicular thritis, is the chief danger to be appre-
hended from a good-looking strong foot, just as the opeo flat one
is prone to laminitis, and is rarely subject to disease in the navicu-
lar joint. The reason of this immunity on the one hand, and the
contrary on the other, is this. The open foot, with a large spongy-
frog, exposes the navicular bone and the parts in contact with it
to constant pressure in the stable, so that these parts are always
prepared for work. On the other hand, the concave sole and well-
formed frog are raised from the ground by our unfortunate mode
of shoeing, and when the whole foot is exposed to injury from bat-
tering, and in addition the tendon which plays over the navicular
35

410 THE HORSE.

bone presses it against the os coronas, the unprepared state in
which this part is allowed to remain is sure to produce inflamma-
tion, if the work is carried far enough. Thus in each case the
weak part suffers, but occasionally, though very rarely, the foot
with an arched sole contracts laminitis, and the flat one is attacked
by navicular disease; the exceptions, however, are so few that
they may be thrown out of the calculation, and from the shape of
the foot alone it may almost invariably be pronounced, when a
horse is known to be subject to chronic lameness, whether its seat
is in the laminae or in the navicular joint.

WHEN A FOOT is EXAMINED AFTER DEATH which is known tc
have been the subject of navicular disease, the parts implicated
are invariably either the navicular bone, or the soft parts in con-
tact with it, or often all together. Most frequently on dividing
the tendon of the flexor perforans and turning it down so as to
expose the back of the joint between the navicular and coronal
bones, that part will be greatly thickened and inflamed, the tendon
being often adherent to it. In the healthy condition there ought
to be no adhesion of the fibres of the tendon to any part of the
navicular bone but its postero-inferior edge, to which the tendon
is fixed by some few fibres, the bulk passing on to be inserted in
the os pedis. The posterior face of the navicular bone should be
beautifully smooth, and lined by synovia! membrane which forms
a lubricating sac for it to play upon, and thus take off the friction
between the tendon and the bone. Such is nature's provision
against mischief in this delicate part of the machinery of the foot,
which she keeps in order by the constant supply of synovia or
joint oil. But when the sac is not stimulated to a healthy action
by the pressure of the frog below it in doors and out, synovia is
no longer secreted in proper quantity, and as soon as the horse is
put to hard work inflammation takes place for want of it. The
result is some one of the consequences of inflamed joints. Either
ulceration takes place in the postero-inferior surface, where the
tendon glides over it, sometimes ending in caries of the bone itself;
or adhesion takes place without ulceration of the tendon with the
surface of the bone, or there are small exostoses thrown out, or
lastly there is simple inflammation without either adhesion or
ulceration, and in this stage the disease is amenable to treatment
without leaving any trace behind.

The symptoms of navicular disease are the same, whether the
mischief has extended to ulceration or not; but the history will
guide us in ascertaining how far it has gone. Of course they vary
in degree, for there may be only a slight extent of ulceration, or a
high degree of simple inflammation ; but in the former case the
lameness will not be so marked as in the latter, though the prospect
of recovery will be much less. There is always more or less lame-

NAVICULAR DISEASE. 411

ness; but, in consequence of its affecting both feet, it is not so
marked to the careless observer as in some much more trivial cases
where only one is diseased. The distinguishing sign, though not
absolutely infallible, is the pointing of the toe, and a peculiar
rounding forward of the fetlock joint, so as to relieve the navicular
bone of any weight. In laminitis, the object of the sufferer is to
relieve all pressure as much as possible, by bringing the hind legs
under the body, and by bearing the weight of the fore quarter on
the heels. Here, the reverse of the latter attitude is observed —
the heels are not allowed to take any pressure, and the toes alone
are placed at all firmly on the ground. This is marked in the
stable by the pointing of the toe (in each foot alternately, if both
are diseased, but in the one only, if they are not both affected).
Out of doors, the toes dig into the ground, the heel never being
brought firmly down, and frequent stumbles mark the difference
between this species of lameness and laminitis. The subject of
navicular disease generally walks sound ; but the moment he is
trotted, he goes as if his legs were tied together, his stride being
shortened in a remarkable manner, but without exhibiting the pe-
culiar fumbling gait of the foundered animal. As in his case, soft
ground suits him, and he has no fear of plough, because his sole
is hard and unyielding. Many tolerably confirmed cases of navicu-
lar disease may, therefore, be hunted, except when the ground is
hard, supposing, of course, that they are kept off the road ; but no
plan of management will enable them to bear the jars incidental to
harness-work or hacking. When one foot only is the subject of na-
vicular disease, it often happens that it is smaller altogether than the
other ; but it is somewhat difficult to say whether this is a cause
or a consequence of inflammation. One thing is quite clear, that
many horses are met with, still perfectly free from lameness, in
which there is a difference of size in their fore feet; but whether
or no these are afterwards invariably the subjects of navicular dis-
ease, it is almost impossible to ascertain. It is, however, the gene-
ral opinion, founded on experience, that when this variation exists,
navicular disease is extremely likely to attack the smaller foot, if
it is not already there; and for this reason, horses with such feet
are generally avoided by the intending purchaser.

The treatment of navicular disease, as before remarked, is only
successful in the early stage, before either ulceration or adhesion
has taken place. If a horse with strong concave soles suddenly
becomes lame, points his toe, and shows other signs that his navicu-
lar bone is inflamed, he should be treated in the usual way suited
to inflammation, and at the same time liberty should be given to
the vascular tissues to expand, by reducing the substance of the
horn. Bleeding at the toe has the double good effect of abstract-
ing blood, and at the same time weakening the sole, so is to allow

412 THE HORSE.

of the expansion which is desired. The operation should, there-
fore, at once be performed; at the same time, the \\hole sole may
be reduced in thickness, and the heels lowered in proportion. The
foot should then (after the shoe is tacked on) be placed in a cold
bran poultice, which will soften the horn ; and the system should
be reduced by the exhibition of the medicines recommended under
Laminitis, at page 406. Next day, if the pulse continues high,
more blood may be taken ; but, in ordinary cases, it is better at
once to insert a seton in the frog (see OPERATIONS, Chap. XXV.),
and trust to this for relieving the chronic inflammation remaining,
by its counter-irritation. But when the disease itself is mastered,
there is still a good deal to be done to prevent the injurious effects
which are so apt to follow. The horse contracts a habit of step-
ping on his toes, to prevent hurting his navicular structures ; and
hence the frog is not used, the heels of the crust and the bars are
not strained, and there being no stimulus to the soft parts which
secrete them, they waste and contract in size. If the human hand
is allowed to lie idle, the palm and the insides of the fingers are
covered with a delicate cuticle, which affords so poor a protection
to the cutis, that, on using it with any kind of hard work, it actu-
ally separates, and leaves an exposed surface, which speedily in-
flames. But by gradually exposing the same hand to pressure, a
thickened and tougher cuticle is secreted ; and this will bear any
moderate amount of pressure or friction without injury. Never-
theless, even the hand so prepared must be continually stimulated
by work, or the skin returns to its original delicate state, and is
then exposed to the same risk of injury as before. So it is with
the horse's foot, even in a state of health ; but this is far more
marked after an attack of disease. The tendency then is to pro-
duce the natural horny growths of a smaller substance than before;
and if the secreting surfaces are not stimulated by pressure, they
become doubly idle, and the frog, as well as the adjacent parts be-
neath the navicular bone, shows a wasted and shrivelled appearance.
To avoid the risk of these ill consequences, the horse should be
placed, for two or three hours daily, on a bed of wet clay, which
will allow the shoe to sink into it, but will yet be tenacious enough
to make firm and steady pressure on the frog, while its low tem-
perature will keep down inflammation. No plan is of so much ser-
vice in producing what is called expansion of the heels and growth
of the frog as this ; not, as is commonly supposed, from the clay
mechanically pressing the heels out, but from the stimulus of its
pressure causing the soft parts to secrete more horn, and of a
sounder quality than before.

SHOULD THESE REMEDIES FAIL in restoring the foot affected
with navicular disease to a healthy state, recourse can only be had
to the operation of neurotomy, which is perfectly efficacious in re-

ACCIDENTS TO THE LEGS AND FEEL 413

moving the lameness ; and if there is no ulceration, and merely an
adhesion of the tendon to the bone, it will, by causing the horse to
step more on his heels, effect an absolute improvement in the shape
of the foot, and hence it has sometimes been considered to have
produced a cure. Where, however, there is caries of the bone,
or even ulceration of the synovial membrane, the disease progresses
even faster than before the operation, and in process of time the
joint becomes mechanically unfit to perform its duties.

ACCIDENTS TO THE LEGS AND FEET.

THESE PARTS ARE SUBJECT to a variety of accidents, trifling
perhaps in the cause which produces them, but serious in their
effects, from the lameness which ensues. The chief of these are
ordinary cutting, speedy cutting, and pricks of the foot either
from putting the sole down upon a nail 'or a piece of glass, or driv-
ing a nail improperly in shoeing. Bruises and over-reaches also
come under this head.

ORDINARY CUTTING may occur either before or behind, the lat-
ter being the more common. It is often met with in poor horses,
where the flesh is so reduced in substance that the legs are brought
nearer together than in a proper condition. Here all that is re-
quired is patience, till the legs are restored to their proper relative
position, taking care in the mean time that there is no permanent
injury done. Usually the iuside of one or both feet strikes the
the fetlock joint of the other leg in passing it, but sometimes the
blow is given higher up, and it may occur anywhere on the cannon
bone except just below the knee, when it is called " speedy cut-
ting," which will be separately considered. Sometimes this blow
on the side of the cannon bone is either the cause or the effect of
a splint, the blow of the foot having a tendency to produce exos-
tosis (See SPLINTS, page 298). But if a splint is thrown out on a
part of the cannon bone which comes in the way of the natural
action, the horse whose foot previously passed clear of that part
of the other leg will hit it, and not only give pain, but cause a
considerable access of inflammation in the previous enlargement.
In the treatntent, therefore, of cutting, it is necessary to prevent
the habit being continued from the swelling produced either by a
splint or by previous blows. A horse perhaps, either from weak-
ness or bad shoeing, hits his leg and produces considerable swell-
ing and soreness. Here, unless the swelling is reduced or pro-
tected, there is no chance of preventing the cutting, because there
is a projection of the swollen soft parts right in the way of the
other foot. No alteration of the shoeing, and no increase of
strength or flesh, will be of service until the inflammation is re-
duced, and the sore, if any exists, is healed, and this can only be
done either by rest or by protecting the leg with a boot. The
35*

414 THE HORSE.

latter is the better plan, and wherever a horse cuts, it is, in my
opinion, advisable to let him wear a boot for some weeks, until the
skin is quite sound again and reduced to its proper thickness. A
piece of an old rug folded round the leg so as slightly to overlap,
and then tied with a tape and turned down over the fetlock joint,
is quite sufficient to serve this temporary purpose, and being soft
it is well calculated to protect a swollen joint; but if it is worn
for any length of time, the pressure of the tape and the friction
of the grit from the road wear away the hair, and cause an un-
sightly appearance, which is sometimes permanent. If, therefore,
the cutting is not rectified completely in the course of a month or
six weeks, a leather or india rubber boot should }?e nicely adapted
to the joint and buckled round it, the flat surface of the strap not
having so injurious an effect as the tape of the cloth boot. When
the cutting takes place above the joint, a pad must be adapted to
its inside, and fastened round the cannon bone by two or three
buckles, according to the height at which the injury takes place.

SUCH IS THE BEST MODE of guarding against the injury done
by cutting, but we must also consider how it can be entirely pre-
vented. In the first place it should be carefully ascertained by
what part of the foot or shoe the blow is given. Most commonly
it will be found, by chalking the inside of the foot, that a small
patch is rubbed clear of chalk, about half an inch above the mid-
dle of the quarter, and corresponding with the hindermost nail
hole, especially when four inside nails are used. When this is the
hitting point, if great care is taken to avoid driving in a nail there,
the tendency to cut can never be increased as it often is by a raised
clench, and at the same time the rasp may safely be used to reduce
the thickness of the hoof at least the eighth of an inch, or often
much more. The crust is usually here about three-eighths of an
inch thick, and very often it is so sound that it will bear to be
rasped down till there is only one-eighth left, provided it has not to
bear the pressure of a nail near it, and that the reduction is not
carried up too near to the coronet. In the hind foot the quarter
is fully half an inch thick, and it therefore will bear reduction
better even than the fore foot. Sometimes the blow is given by
the shoe itself, which is fixed on so as to overlap the crust, and
then the remedy is simple enough, for this ought never to occur,
and can easily be prevented by any smith. But supposing, in spite
of these precautions, the cutting still continues after the horse is
restored to his natural strength and flesh, can anything be done
by shoeing? In most cases this question may be answered in the
affirmative, by the use of what is called a feather-edged shoe. By
its aid the heels are both raised, not the inner one only (which is
entirely useless and even prejudicial, for then the ground surface
of the shoe is not a true plane), but both heels, the inner one be-

ACCIDENTS TO THE LEGS AND FEET. 415

ing narrow, and having no nail holes beyond the two near the toe,
so that there is no danger of the web projecting; nor is there any
nail hole required, with the fear of a clench rising, or of the crust
being weakened so as to prevent its being thinned to a proper de-
gree. By thus raising the heels (in the hind foot especially), the
fetlock is less bent, and as in horses that cut there is almost always
a tendency in their fetlock joints to bend inwards as well as back-
wards, this diminution of the angle will not only straighten the leg
in a forward direction, but will also increase the distance between
the joints, which is the object to be desired. In the fore foot the
obliquity in this direction is not so frequent, and then the high
heel will be of no use j indeed, it is only when the toes are much
turned out that this plan of shoeing the fore foot is ever successful.
When cutting occurs before, unless there is this turn out, it is bet-
ter to put the shoes on in a perfectly level manner, and trust to the
reduction of the thickness of the quarter, and the absence of the
third nail. If, with these precautions, the horse, when in good
condition, still strikes his fore legs, it will be better to put up with
the constant use of a boot. Generally, however, if the inflammation
is first subdued, and the foot is shod in a perfectly true and level
manner, taking care to rasp away the particular part which strikes
the other leg, it will be found that the cutting is avoided.

SPEEDY CUTTING is more dangerous than ordinary cutting, be-
cause the pain given by the blow is generally more severe, and is
often so great that the horse falls as if he were shot. On exam-
ining the leg of a confirmed speedy cutter there is always appa-
rent a small scab or bruise on the 'inside of the cannon bone, im-
mediately below the knee ; but in slight cases rest may have been
used to allow the skin to heal, and then no mark may possibly be
left. A careful examination will, however, generally detect a small
bare place, partially concealed by the growth of the adjacent hair.
In bad cases the periosteum is swollen, and there is a considerable
enlargement of the surface of the bone. In the management of
slight cases of this kind of cutting, the action should be examined
while the hoof is covered with chalk, and the latter should be
treated in the same way as already described. If, however, this fails,
as it generally does in this form of cutting, there is no remedy but
to put on a regular speedy-cut boot, in which there is a pad buckled
on the inside of the leg, and reaching from the knee to the fetlock.
It must be of this length, because otherwise it cannot be kept in
its place, as the leg allows it to slip down until it reaches the
larger circumference presented by the joint. Where there is pain
and swelling caused by the contusion, it must be treated in the
ordinary way, by the application of cold water and tincture of
arnica, a wine-glassful of the latter in two quarts of water.

PRICKS IN SHOEING occur from the want of skill in the smith

416 THE HORSE.

who drives the nail too near the laminae, and sometimes even abso-
lutely wounds them. It may be that the nail in its passage
upwards is not within an eighth of an inch of these delicate parts,
and the horse may not have flinched during the driving of it, but
when he is put to work the nail opposes a hard unyielding line to
the soft parts, inflammation is established, and possibly even matter
is formed which may end in quittor. When, pn the day after
shoeing, a horse which was previously sound, goes lame, and the
foot is hot to the touch, it may generally be assumed that a nail
or nails have been driven too near to the quick, unless there is
evidence of laminitis from other causes. On tapping the crust with
a hammer, the horse will flinch at some particular spot, and there
is the nail which is in fault. Sometimes there is little inflamma-
tion as yet set up, but the pressure of the nail is sufficient to cause
lameness, and in either case the shoe should be taken off. Then,
if there is reason to suppose that matter has formed, the opening
from which the nail came out should be enlarged, and the matter
allowed to escape. If, however, the foot has been merely "bound,"
it may be either left to nature, with a shoe lightly tacked on, and
a wet "swab" round the coronet, or it may be placed in a bran
poultice, which is the safest plan.

WHEN A NAIL is PICKED UP ON THE ROAD, the prognosis
will depend upon the part which it has penetrated If it has
entered deeply into the toe of the frog, the probability is that the
navicular joint has been wounded, or probably the tendon of the
flexor at its insertion into the pedal bone, either of which are very
serious accidents. If the wound is further back, there is less risk
of permanent injury, as the bulbous heels or cushion of the frog
will bear a considerable amount of injury without permanent
mischief. In any case the treatment should consist in cutting
away the horn round the opening, so as to allow of a free escape
of matter if it forms. At the same time inflammation should be
kept under by cold " swabs" to the coronet, or by putting the whole
foot into a bran poultice.

OVER-REACHES, when slight, may be treated by the application
of friar's balsam, or tincture of arnica in full strength, which will
have a tendency to dry them up and prevent suppuration. If,
however, the heel is very much bruised, a poultice must be applied,
but even then a little tincture of arnica should be sprinkled on it.
When the bruise is so severe that a slough or core comes away,
the wound may be dressed with a piece of lint, dipped in a solution
of nitrate of silver, eight grains to the ounce of distilled water,
and over this a bran poultice. In most cases, however, it is better
to foment the part well and then apply the tincture of arnica neat.

A BRUISE on a thin sole will sometimes cause matter to form,
in which case the horn must be cut away, and the case treated as

FEVERS. 417

for quittor. Before matter forms, the horn should be reduced, and
the foot should be placed in a cold bran poultice.

CHAPTER XXV.
CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES.

Fevers — Anasarca — Glanders — Farcy.

EEVEES.

THE HORSE is very rarely subject to fever as a disease of itself,
independently of inflammation, under which head I have already
described catarrhal fever, both of the simple kind and when epi-
demic, and known as influenza. Indeed, all the important inflam-
mations of the body are attended with fever; but in them the
local affections are evidently more serious than the general disturb-
ance of the system, which we call by the name of fever. By many
veterinarians it is doubted whether fever ever shows itself in the
horse without inflammation; but occasionally it may be observed
under the form of simple fever, presenting all the symptoms
which accompany ordinary inflammation, but without any such
complication, and more rarely of the typhoid form, which now
sometimes attends influenza and other epidemics.

SIMPLE FEVER shows itself by dulness and reluctance to move,
a staring coat, and cold legs and feet, with increased warmth of
the body. The pulse is quick, soft, and variable — breathing a little
accelerated, but not much — appetite entirely lost — bowels confined,
and urine scanty. These symptoms continue for two or three
days, and then either go on into the typhoid form, or they are
complicated by inflammation in some organ of the body. The
treatment merely consists in giving a mild dose of physic, followed
by a febrifuge drink, such as the following : —

Take of Spirit of Nitrous Ether 1 oz.

Nitre 3 to 5 drachms.

Tincture of Ginger 2 drachms.

Camphor Mixture 6 oz.

Mix, and give twice a day.*

TYPHOID FEVER sometimes appears as an epidemic, occurring
either as a sequel to influenza, or in its pure form, without any

* Nothing in the veterinary Materia Medica will cure fever so certainly
and successfully as aconite ; and for this purpose give 10 to 15 drops of the
tincture of the root two to three times in the twenty-four hours, and allow
plenty of pure air and cold water. — EDITOR.

2D

418 THE HORSE.

complication. The latter condition is, however, extremely rare.
In its early stage, it can scarcely be recognised or distinguished
from simple fever; but in the course of two or three days the
strength is so much reduced, the breath is so fetid, and the mouth
is loaded with such a black discharge from the tongue and gums,
that the nature of the disease is clearly manifested. The pulse is
very low, the languor increases, and there is often more or less
delirium. The course of the disease is extremely rapid, and in
five or six days a strong horse will sink beneath its powers, refusing
food, and dying without any attempt to rally. The treatment
should be of the most generous kind, as soon as the bowels have
"been gently moved, which should be effected, if possible, by injec-
tion. Then give a ball two or three times a day, composed thus : —

Take of Carbonate of Ammonia . . . . ^ to 1 drachm.

Powdered Ginger 1 drachm.

Powdered Yellow Bark .... 3 drachms.

Syrup enough to make into a ball.

This should be washed down with a quart of ale caudle, and hay
tea should be allowed as the drink ad libitum; or, if there is
diarrhoea, rice-water may be used in the same way. Few capes,
however, will recover, in spite of every exertion and careful treat-
ment on the part of the attendant.*

* As will be perceived by the text, typhoid fever is of rare occurrence in
Great Britain ; and wfyen it does occur, it is mostly as a sequel to influenza
and other debilitating diseases. Indeed, this may with truth be said of all
countries where the land is dry by nature, or made so by drainage and culti-
vation.

Until of late years, no mention is made in the books on hippopathology,
of " typhosus" as one of the ailments of the equine species. Typhoid fever
among horses in different parts of this country is of yearly occurrence, and
is known by several and distinct names — depending upon the chief symptom
observed. Thus, in Kentucky, and the South West, it is called " black
tongue," because that organ, as in man under similar circumstances, varies
in color from a deep purple to black. It is known in New York as cerebro-
spinal-meningitis, because it is thought by M. Liautard, to present symptoms
similar to those when man is the subject. In Delaware it is named " choking
distemper." In the West it is " putrid fever ," so called from the fetid smell
emanating from the diseased animal.

Isaiah Michener, Esq., of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in a lecture
delivered before the class of the Philadelphia Veterinary College, calls it
" paralysis of the par-vagum," on account of the loss of power to swallow.
The multiplicity of names given to the disease can do no possible harm,
whilst, at the same tim.e, they serve to point out to us the chief symptoms, so
that they may be grouped together and as a whole, under the head of typhosus
or typhoid fever.

The symptoms differ with the intensity of the attack, but at first they are
very obscure and likely to be overlooked, a general debility being the most
noticeable; and in a' day or two a difficulty in swallowing will be ob-

ANASARCA. 419

ANASARCA.

ANASARCA, OR MOOR-ILL, occurs chiefly among horses turned
out in marshes or low commons, and may readily be known by the
general swelling of the body, increasing by gravitation in the legs
during the standing posture, but showing itself chiefly in the lower
side of the body in the early morning, when the horse has been
lying down all night. The disease is now rare, but it occasionally
appears under the circumstances above described. The treatment
must be by acting on the kidneys, the following being a useful
recipe for the purpose : —

Take of Nitre 4 drachms.

Powdered Resin 3 drachms.

Ginger 1 drachm.

Spirit of Nitrous Ether 1J oz.

Warm Water . . 2 pints.

Mix and give as a drench every night.

served. Soon the horse staggers and is unable to walk, and in the majority
of cases, lies or falls down unable to rise again.

There are other symptoms presented in this affection which might be
described, but are unnecessary, as they are common alike to other debilita-
ting diseases, such as the quickened and wiry pulse, heaviness of the head,
fetid breath, shortened breathing, and wasting of the muscles of the body.
The animal dies in from three to ten days, though sometimes lasting as long
as two weeks, a loathsome sight, with nothing but skin and ligament covering
the bones.

No disease of the horse can, after the third day, or when the animal is
unable to stand, be mistaken for typhoid fever, if it»be not paralysis, which
occurs only in single and separate cases, whereas, in typhoid fever it is
almost always epizootic (epidemic) , attacking every horse on the place and
even neighborhood.

The causes of typhoid fever in the horse do not differ from those that give
rise to typhus in man, namely, miasma arising from level land, decaying
vegetable matter, and stagnant water.

On many splendid country seats overlooking our noble rivers and bays
along the eastern coast, the stables are often, for the sake of convenience,
located near the river banks, with sometimes pools of stagnant water in the
immediate vicinity. This is a fruitful source of this disease, especially during
an unusually rainy season. In treating it, it is especially important that the
horse be removed from the neighborhood of the miasma to a dry location :
thus the cause will cease, and a cure is more likely to be effected.

Give the following in a drench, morning, noon, and night :

Cold Water . . 1 pint.

Powdered Carbonate of Ammonia £ oz.

Capsicum 1 drachm.

Powdered Pimento Berries ^ oz.

Tincture Nux Vomica 20 drops.

If the horse is unable to stand, give him a good bed and turn him from
one side to the other twice daily, to prevent sores on the body ; and if
unable to swallow, drench him with cold water and meal several times
daily — adding thirty drops of commercial sulphuric acid to the drench.—
EDITOR.

420 THE HORSE.

GLANDEKS.

THIS FRIGHTFUL CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASE appears to consist
in the generation of some poisonous matter in the blood, which
nature attempts to throw off by establishing a discharge in the
nostrils. It is perfectly incurable, and therefore it is only neces-
sary to study its symptoms, with a view to distinguish it from
ozena, with which alone it is liable to be confounded. Its chronic
character and insidious onset will serve to distinguish it from
catarrh and strangles.*

AT ITS COMMENCEMENT, it seems to be confined to the internal
lining of the nostrils, which is not reddened, as in chronic catarrh
(ozena), but presents a leaden or purple colour, sometimes of a deep
shade, but at first generally very light and pale. This is accom-
panied by a thin acrid discharge, transparent, and without odor.
Generally, one nostril only is affected, which in this country is
more frequently the left, and in France the right; but why this
should be so has never yet been even conjectured with any appear-
ance of probability. This state of things usually only lasts for a
few weeks, but it may go on for an indefinite time, and is recog-
nised as the first stage ; during which the health does not suffer,
and the horse can, and often does, go on with his ordinary work.
It may be distinguished from ozena by the purple color of the lin-
ing membrane, and by the transparency and freedom from smell
of the discharge.

IN THE SECOND STAGE, the discharge increases in quantity, and
though still watery and transparent, it is slightly sticky, indicating
the presence of mucus. The lymphatic glands below the jaw en-

* To produce putrid disease amongst horses is an easy matter, for, by
neglect of the ordinary laws of health, it will soon show itself in Glanders
or Farcy. The blood of horses in badly-ventilated stables soon acquires toxi-
cal properties, from effete matter or miasma exhaled from and inhaled by
the lungs, or even in some cases by direct inoculation. This poison, when
introduced, acts as a ferment, so that the development of a peculiar train
of symptoms quickly follows by the operation of the principle of catalysis
(resolving matter into new compounds). This is the character of glanders,
a malignant disease, infectious and contagious. This specific blood-poison
is produced by placing horses and mules in conditions that depress their
vital powers, as badly-ventilated stables, poor food, overwork, exhaustion
from debilitating disease, &c.

Many cases of glanders, since the discovery of an anti-ferment, have been
cured, and few cases of farcy die from it. Treatment. — Half-ounce doses
of the sulphite of soda three times daily, five grains powdered Spanish fly
once in the day, and allow good, generous diet. The soda checks the fer-
mentation, and the Spanish fly acts as a tonic, and at the same time removes
effete matter from the system. When the lungs in glanders are diseased,
which is known when the horse has a cough, the case then is more like con-
sumption, and cannot be cured. It is then called equinia ylandulosa, or
glanders with tubercles of the lungs. — EDITOR.

GLANDERS— FARCY. 421

large, and become adherent to the bone, feeling hard to the touch,
and almost like exostosis. Here the permanent character of the
discharge and the adherence of the glands to the bone are the
diagnostic signs from ozena.

IN THE THIRD STAGE, the discharge increases rapidly, and be-
comes yellow and opaque — in fact, it is pure pus. If the nose is
carefully examined, its lining membrane will be seen to present
one or more sores, with depressed centres and ragged edges, and
surrounded by small varicose vessels leading to them from all
directions. In proportion to the extent of the local mischief, con-
stitutional disturbance is displayed. The appetite fails — the horse
lose? flesh and spirits — the coat is turned the wrong way — the
skin is hidebound, and the legs fill slightly during the day, but go
down at night — the nose is, at last, frightfully ulcerated, the sores
spreading to the larynx — ulcers break out on the body — and the
horse finally dies, worn to a skeleton.

When the diagnosis of the disease is confirmed, as it is undoubt-
edly highly contagious, both to other horses and to man himself,
the patient ought to be destroyed. By the use of green food, his
life may be prolonged for a time, and a certain amount of work
may be got out of him ; but the risk of contagion is too great to
be incurred, and no man who regards his own welfare, and that
of his neighbors, should keep a glandered horse.

FARCY.

THIS DISEASE appears to depend upon the development of the
same poison as in glanders; but the attempt at elimination is made
in the skin, instead of the mucous membrane lining the nose. A
horse inoculated with glanders may exhibit farcy, and vice versa;
so that the essence of the disease is the same, but its seat is a
different tissue.

FARCY usually shows itself first by one or two small hard knots
in the skin, called " farcy buds." These soon soften, and contain
a small quantity of pus; but as this is rapidly absorbed, the lym-
phatics which convey it into the circulation inflame; and at a
short distance another bud is formed, and then another, and
another. Th«se buds are usually met with in the thin skin cover-
ing the inside of the thighs and arms, or the neck and lips. They
vary from the size of a shilling to that of a half-crown ; and as
they increase in numbers, the skin becomes oedematous. In pro-
cess of time, the general system suffers, as in glanders, and the
horse dies, a miserable, worn-out object. No treatment can be
relied on to cure the disease ; and as it is equally contagious w^th
glanders, every farcied horse ought at once to be destroyed. The
hard nature of the buds, and the thickened lymphatics extending
like cords between, clearly make known the nature of the disease.
36

422 THE HORSE.

CHAPTER XXVI.
SHOEING.*

THE art of shoeing appears to have been unknown to the ancients,
although the need of it was greatly felt, especially in the rough
campaigning and long marches constantly recurring in those warlike
times. In several campaigns the cavalry was rendered worthless
and was disbanded on account of the bad condition of their horses'
feet, and the animals themselves were relieved from duty until
their hoofs were restored. The value of a horse depended more
upon the soundness and strength of his hoof than upon any other
qualification, and various methods of rendering it harder and more
serviceable were proposed by Xenophon and other early writers.
But while acknowledging the importance of a sound, vigorous hoof,
and striving to harden and preserve it, it does not seem to have
occurred to them to protect it by fastening to it by nails, a band
or shoe of iron, although Beckman states that horse shoes and
nails have been found in the graves of some German and Vandal
tribes of unknown antiquity in the northern part of Germany.
To William the Conqueror tradition ascribes the introduction of the
practice of shoeing into England, whence it has remained until the
present time.

When the delicacy of organization of the foot of the horse is
considered, its extreme sensitiveness and wonderful adaptability for
the purpose of locomotion, the enormous wear and tear incident
upon constant use in the service of man, its liability to abuse and
injury, and the consequent suffering of the dumb animal and pecuni-
ary loss to the owner, it is surprising that there has been so little real
improvement in the art. While the past half century has been
so fruitful of results in almost every other branch of industry, it
has witnessed few or none in this. This is due in great measure
to the indifference of the artisan to whom the care of the horse's
foot is committted, who, ' ignorant of the nature and structure
of the living member before him, so recklessly handles and
mutilates it, -in much the same manner as his ancestors years
before him.

The feet of most of the horses of the present day, and especially
those used for drafty purposes and heavy work in our large cities,
are in bad condition, and more subjects are brought to the knack-

* This article was prepared at our request, by a gentleman who has given
the subject much time, and patient investigation. — EDITOR.

SHOEING. 423

er's yard from this cause than all others combined. A healthy,
vigorous foot is the exception even among horses used for lighter
work. Brittle, shelly hoofs, ridged and dished, indicating internal
derangement, withered frogs with the centre arch or stay entirely
absorbed, high heels bound up by hard, unyielding crust, all these
deformities and many others are chargeable in some degree to bad
shoeing. Sometimes injuries are attributed to the blacksmith that
are due to accident or brutality of the driver, but in as far as our
.system of shoeing interferes with the natural functions of the foot,
it will induce disease.

The question then presents itself, Why not teach the mechanic
the design of the structure, to the repair of which his lifetime is
devoted ? You may command him to treat your horse as you direct,
but you must convince his judgment, if you expect obedience at all
times j as well dictate to a physician what medicines he shall give
your child at some stages of disease, and depend on him at others;
he will treat the case in his own way, or not at all; the head, heart
and hand must accord to make perfect work.

Our public schools have been a great power in the advancement
of the mechanical arts ; much of the labor-saving machinery now
building up great wealth in the country, is the fruit of the philo-
sophical truths there disseminated, and the improved sociul condi-
tion of the laboring classes is due to their influence. We have
schools of science, and colleges for the instruction of students in
the treatment and cure of horses, yet we expect those whose daily
business is to perform important surgical operations upon a deli-
cately organized member, to be reasonably successful, without
having learned the alphabet of their profession. There are among
them, individuals, intelligent and ingenious, who would be glad
of an opportunity of testing the validity of their practice by an
appeal to the condition of the hidden springs, levers, pulleys,
cushions, and powers comprising the mechanism of the feet and legs
explained by those who have made such their lifelong study. Many
of these have, by long experience, discovered for themselves a fair
system of shoeing, and are successful in the treatment and preven-
tion of injury, but, ignorant of physiology, are unable to transmit
their knowledge to others with sufficient reason to establish its
truth.

To such fully educated to their profession, we must look for im-
provement in the art, and we hope that the day is not far distant
when America may be able to boast of her veterinary colleges and
schools for farriers, as of her other institutions of learning.

A small proportion of the pecuniary loss annually sustained in
our large cities alone, would support such an institution, the good
results of which would be incalculable. But while all thinking
men admit the benefits which must result from its establishment,

424 THE HORSE.

. it is too customary to regard the idea as visionary and impracticable,
and maintain that the craft would not avail themselves of its advan-
tages.

At first, doubtless, only the most intelligent would do so, but
these, applying the theoretical knowledge received there to the
commonest details and every-day experience of the smithy, would
convince the most unreasoning that labor, when directed by skill
and judgment, is more saving of money, strength, and material,
than when unenlightened and unreasoning; and soon public
opinion would force their more ignorant brethren to follow their
example. A great painter was once asked how he mixed his colors.
" With brains, sir," was the apt reply. When this is the rule
and not the exception, we may indeed look for decided improve-
ment in the art, the dumb animal be relieved of much suffering,
and the community from unnecessary loss.

Veterinarians may propose theories, but lack the practical expe-
rience and opportunity of observation which the workmen alone
can have, while the number of the latter who have combined scien-
tific education with a thorough knowledge of the details of their
profession, has been too small to stamp any decided character
upon it.

With but very few exceptions the entire literature of shoeing is
European, and to these writers the American public is indebted
for all knowledge outside of that which an inquiring mind will
gather from individual observation.

If horse owners would resort to the books for physiological facts,
study their own horses, and use their own judgment, they would in
most cases discover the best style of shoeing for their particular
use.

Countries and sections differ greatly in the fashion of horse-shoes,
and the manner of fitting them to the foot, but the general princi-
ples are the same.

We do not pretend to advocate any particular form of shoe, nail,
or system of shoeing as an ultimatum of success, but wish to draw
the attention of horse owners to the importance of the subject, that
they may judge for themselves, the practice best suited to their
own animals, and may arrive at a more accurate conception and a
better appreciation of the hazard of a sole dependence on the gene-
ral ignorance of blacksmiths.

A careful study of the construction of the foot, as explained in
this work, will show the necessity of great caution and intelligence
in its treatment; more than is usually displayed by our mechanics.
This will be better understood by a reference to the member itself
by dissection, which is practicable to most farmers, as they may
frequently obtain specimens in their vicinity, and are possessed of
the facilities for examination.

SHOEING. 425

Sever the foot at the upper joint of the pastern bone, trace the
veins, arteries and tendons, as suggested by the description ; note
the principal resistant parts affected by locomotion, the position of
the coronary bone and its inclination within the hoof (not as fre-
quently engraved entirely without or above it, and vertical when
at rest), the navicular bone and joint, the tendons and sheath, with
the action of each, the elastic property of the fatty heels, the
tough, springy frog, its shape and position, the structure of the
coffin bone, sole, crust and bars, and their mutual relations. Let.
the examination be careful, and guided by reflection, with due
regard to each particular hoof, fore and hind, near and off, and
condition of health. Form no hasty conclusions from partial in-
vestigations, and study for practical benefit, not for a show of wis-
dom. A wooden vice, butcher's saw, chisel, knives and nippers,
are about all the instruments necessary, and after becoming ac-
quainted with the natural tone of the crust, the operation may be
facilitated by the use of warm water to soften the horn.

If this has excited an interest in the subject, let the student ex-
periment with the shoeing of his own horses, young and old ; having
the entire control and supervision of their working, driving, stabling,
pasturing and shoeing, he must learn something, if but his own
ignorance. If resident of a country of light sandy soil, and the
nature of the work will allow, the hind feet, if not all, might be
left unshod to illustrate natural development; we have seen such
with hard glossy hoofs, that could travel over turnpike roads with
a light load, without breaking the crust or flinching on the frog.

The detail of horse-shoeing has been subjected to such adverse
teachings by different authors (many of whom have but repeated
palpable errors of their predecessors without attempt at originality),
that it would be impossible to produce positive rules that will not
meet with opposition, but the indications of disease, may be related
without assigning their particular cause, of which there is much
difference of opinion and uncertainty.

The conditions of a good, sound foot as apparent, are a smooth,
glossy, resilient crust, almost circular were it continued around at
the bars, but fuller on the outside quarter, which difference is sel-
dom seen on a foot that has been shod a dozen times ; a concave
sole not too dry and hard ; a full frog elastic throughout, with its
centre or frog stay complete ; heels sufficiently low and free from
crust to bear their share of the springiness of action, and full and
well developed to allow freedom to the bones and tendons in their
movements. In horses the general rule is that dark hoofs are
harder than light ones. The. internal organization is in conformity
with the external, the healthy state has been already described
under the heads of bones, muscles, &c. In disease, we find within
a concave, furrowed crust, the elastic process or bed of the same
36*

426

THE HORSE.

FlG. 20.— A SOUND FORE FOOT PREPARED FOR THE SHOE.

A. The heel of the crust.

B. The toe.

C C. The quarters of the crust.
D D. The bars as they should be left with
frog between them.

E E. The angles between the heels and bars

where corns appear.
F F. The concave surface.
GG. The bulbous heels.
H. Cleft.

form, and a dished coffin bone ; under a convex sole a coffin bone
turned up in front by absorption and flattened like the hoof, spongy
and deficient in bony matter, the sensible sole diminished and the
horny sole increased in substance ; in long-standing cases of con-
tracted heels, the interior organizations are alike reduced. Which-
ever may be the primary change, internal or external, or whether
either be a result of bad shoeing, no satisfactory solution has yet
been given. Veterinarians wrangle over their favorite theories,
charge one another with causing the diseases they profess to pre-
vent, and are so completely antagonistic in their doctrines, that
the public cannot be confident of truth, in implicit reliance upon
the assertions of any.

In comparing the horse's foot with the human, we must be care-
ful not to fall into error ; their relations to the body are the same,
but to understand the comparative structures, we must imagine
ourselves upon all fours, resting upon thje finger and toe nails, our

SHOEING. 427

Wrist and heel corresponding to the knee and hock-joints of the
horse, though the bones are of different relative lengths and shape.
The crust of the hoof is secreted in much the same manner as our
nails, and growing downwards, or towards the extremities, slides
over a laminated and highly sensitive bed, which, when injured,
produces intense pain, on account of the unyielding nature of the
crust, and the swelling consequent to inflammation. We may then
realize the suffering produced by the prick of a horse-shoe nail,
under a horn so much thicker than our finger or toe nails.

As qualifications of resistance, and ease to superincumbent
structures, we have, of the human foot, the main arch of the soles
(which must be taken together to establish their completeness),
and the transverse arch of the ball of the foot, displayed when the
toes are brought to the ground. Of the horse there is the arch
of the sole, and those formed by the heels and frog. The sole and
coffin bone of the mule are more concave than those of the horse.

As propellers and levers, we find the same action from heel to
toe, as the body moves forward in progression. The horse having
two sets of levers, one for the fore part of the body and one for
the hind, all working in connection, must make exactly the same
length of step with each foot to avoid interference. From this
fact, we account for a frequent cause of forging and stumbling.
Both horse and man accustom the motion of the body to the length
of step; if we then attempt to walk in a pair of shoes so much
shorter than usual, as to cramp the toes and shorten the foot, we
will be unable to carry the body as far with each motion from heel
to toe, to correspond with our ordinary forward spring of the body j
the tendency, therefore (until we learn better), is to a short, quick,
stumbling gait. Now, take a horse whose hoofs have been slowly
growing in length for a month, every motion of his body trained to
accord, pull off his shoes, which will be found (owing to the for-
ward growth of the hoof) farther from the heels than when first
applied, pare away the crust down to the sole, cut out a big notch
at the toe for a clip, set the new shoe back within the front of the
foot (more on the fore feet, as they are supposed to grow faster),
then rasp off the outer part of the toe back to the shoes, and clench
the nails as tight as possible. This is a common mode of shoeing;
his shoes are too small for him; he. swings into a trot with the
usual body motion, but the feet, all shortened, fail their part,
while the fore feet, diminished more than the hind, are not thrown
out quite as far, and the horse, unaccustomed to the change, dwells
too long on them to escape a blow from behind. Weariness and
laziness will also cause forging, by a tardy movement in front, and
stumbling, by a failure to raise the toe sufficiently to avoid scrub-
bing the ground when thrown forward.

It is too common, especially in cities, among draught-horses, to

428 THE HORSE.

use up the lower part of the crust too fast for its growth. If the
human finger-nail be pierced with a fine needle in the manner of
a horse-shoe nail driven through the crust of a hoof, it will be ob-
served that the hole will remain, until the growth of the nail has
carried it beyond the flesh ; that is, the fibres of horn once sepa-
rated will never unite. Horses used for heavy work are shod with
heavy shoes, thick toe and quarter clips, high calks and steel toes,
and either because of the severe strain on the stones, the weight of
the shoes and nails, the leverage of calks and toes, waste of crust to
accommodate clips, or of all combined, they require shoeing about
once in three weeks, and frequently oftener. At each shoeing, a
little more crust and sole is taken off of the ground surface, a few
more holes made (or nails driven into old ones, enlarging the aper-
ture by working about and bending under the clenching iron).
The surface of the crust is again rasped, diminishing the thick-
ness, new furrows made to accommodate the clenches, and the horn
burned and softened by a hot shoe each time. The blacksmith
will insist that all these operations are necessary, but the fact is,
he is using up material too fast, and we leave it to horse owners
to judge by experiment, how these operations may be modified.
The French method of bringing the points of the nails out low
down on the surface of the hoof, appears rational, as it destroys
the vitality of the crust to a less degree than our custom, and
leaves a greater proportion of sound foot to bear the shocks.

Our practice has been, after removing the old shoes (with care
not to enlarge the old holes by dragging crooked nails through
them), to pare off the crust and bars well down to the outer edge
of the sole, without taking a shaving from the sole, frog, or inside

of the bars. If the crust has
not been broken by wear,
this leaves the foot as near
its natural shape as possi-
ble, and a shoe must be
made to fit it. For road-
sters, a narrow, light shoe
is fitted to the crust in
length and width, then
made perfectly level, with-
out twist or pritchell burs
at the nail holes, and while
sufficiently hot, slightly
touched to the crust, to mark any inequalities that may have been
left after paring. Six nails are used, three on each side, dividing
the space from about an inch from the centre of the toe, to the
centre of the quarters. The nail holes are set well back from the
outside edge, and made straight through the iron ; the nails are

SHOEING. 429

small, smoothed off with the hammer, and slightly bevelled on one
side of the point; the position of the holes in the shoe brings
the nails out low down on the surface of the crust, but care must
be taken to start them in the centre of the holes, that the foot
may not be cramped or forced out of its natural shape. The pro-
jecting nail points are filed close to the hoof, that they may be
broken off without twisting the nail, or enlarging the hole in the
crust; the nails are then driven up, and the clenches turned over
and hammered down.

No rasp has been used, no crust wasted by mutilation for clips,
and but little injury by nail holes; if the nails be of good iron,
they are sufficient in number, and the light clenches on a sound
foot, will hold the shoe perfectly tight, and will not cause abrasion
of the legs in travelling.

The foot presents what we might call a beautiful fit, the tender
part of the frog is protected by the thickness of the shoe, while as
it is renewed from within, the outside will be worn off by friction,
and nature will keep it exactly low enough to obtain its necessary
exercise ; moreover, by driving the nails straight through the mid-
dle of the hole in the shoe, the foot will be free from that dis-
agreeable, cramped feeling, we have imagined a horse to experience,
when the nails are started at either side of the hole in the iron,
forcing the more yielding fibres of horn to its centre.

There have been many forms of shoes recommended by different
authors, but few of which are used in this country. The French
shoe has a convex ground surface, and the foot is fashioned to it,
by leaving the quarters full, and the crust sloped off towards the
toe and heels. Why the bearing should be taken off the heels we
cannot imagine, and forcing the quarters to bear an undue amount
of concussion would apparently induce quarter crack, but having
had no experience with this shoe we .may be wrong in our
conclusions.

Another fashion imitates an old shoe worn off at the toe, which
is certainly an advantage to roadsters, as it would be to us, if we
could buy new shoes to fit our feet exactly like the old ones. Some
writers advocate nailing the shoe only upon the outside quarter, or
with but two nails on the inside, toward the toe, with the idea of
allowing unimpeded expansion of the crust when the foot strikes
the ground. Inasmuch as nails injure the crust, the practice of using
as few as possible is wise, but we have been unable to discover any
expansion of the anterior half of the ground surface in hoofs that
have never been shod. A careful examination will convince any one
that there is no mechanical necessity for such spreading, and from
the nature of the organization of the foot, it is simply impossible; all
the spring needful to the front of the crust is gained by the elasticity
of its fibres. The line of bearing of the lower part of the fore leg,

430 THE HORSE.

is directed behind the centre of the foot, and the yielding points
of the framework are the pastern, coronary and navicular joints :
as the upper part of the coronary bone works backward and down-
ward, it, with the action of the tendon, slightly spreads the heels
laterally, and the whole crust partakes of the movement, diminish-
ing in effect towards the. toe ; were the foot completely inelastic, the
motion might be detected at the quarters, but the whole of a healthy
foot is of a yielding nature j the fatty heels, in particular, may be
compressed like cork, while the frog resembles a piece of india-
rubber, and there is a spring in every fibre of the crust. These
conditions so far distribute motion, that there is practically none
in the ground surface of the crust forward of the centre.

From the fact of this style of shoe allowing free expansion, its
advocates proclaim it a preventive of contracted heels (which, un-
fortunately, is so prevalent among shod horses); but if, as we sup-
pose, there be no spreading of the front part of the crust by pressure,
a shoe nailed only at, and forward of the quarters, will not interfere
with any natural movement of the heels.

This disease (contracted heels), which has been described on
page 409, appears to be an absorption or waste of a portion of
the frog and fatty heels, accompanied by an undue secretion of
crust at the posterior part of the foot, encroaching upon the pro-
vince of the softer tissue of the heels.

Many reasons have been assigned for this disturbance of the
natural nutrition of the different parts, all or none of which may
be correct, for no theory has yet been so clearly demonstrated and
proven, as to leave the causes and nature of the disease beyond a
doubt, but we have never known any tendency to contraction, in
horses that have been shod in such manner as to allow the frog a
fair amount of exercise, indicated by its position.

An india-rubber shoe intended to be used as a cushion between
the iron and the foot, has been designed, patented and tried, within
the last two or three years, but we believe has failed to give gene-
ral satisfaction. The rubber mashes out in a short time by con-
cussion, and leaves a loose shoe. Grood sole leather is much more
durable.

Until recently, the whole process of making the shoe was per-
formed by hand, but now in the United States, the greater bulk is
made by machinery, and at one immense establishment.

The manufactory of Messrs. Burden & Sons, at Troy, New York
state, with its six forging machines, turns out six shoes per second,
and in four years made twenty-five thousand tons ; or calculating
one and a half pounds to the shoe, thirty-seven million shoes.
These shoes are of the very best iron, warranted to bend double
cold, and to wear as long as any made by hand } the iron used in

SHOEING, 431

their manufacture bearing a tensile strain of seventy-eight thousand
pounds to the square inch.

The power of the factory is gained by a large stream of water,
with a head of seventy -two feet, acting on an overshot wheel sixty
feet in diameter, with buckets twenty-two feet long and six feet
four inches deep, the whole wheel weighing over three hundred
tons. Connected with the establishment is a horse-shoe museum,
comprising many hundred specimens of shoes of all ages and all
countries, collected together at much expense with a view to im-
provement upon the old types. There are now three different
patterns manufactured, and they will furnish any other pattern
desired, if ordered in sufficient quantities. The cost of the shoe to
the blacksmith, is about a cent and a half per pound above the
price of the iron.

Independent of the immense curtailment of expense, the advan-
tage of 'machinery directed by one master mind over the old sys-
em, or rather want of system of individual effort and incongruous
labor, is great; and it should be the aim of the manufacturer,
as self-interest will dictate, to study and experiment to attain the
most desirable pattern, in width of web, seating, fullering, position
of nail holes, and quality of iron, and the mechanics will necessarily
adopt his improvements.

In short, it should be an aim in shoeing a horse, as in man, to
make a fit as neat and easy, and of as light material as would be
adapted to its use, and experience has proven, that heavy shoes
with high calks and toes, are not necessary for successful hauling
over our city cobble stones, or hard roadways.

In this article we have given no positive directions for shoeing,
judging the art in its present state too imperfect to satisfy this
progressive age, but have sought rather to stimulate inquiry and
experiment, that may lead to improvement in the system.

432 THE HORSE.

CHAPTER XXVII.
OPERATIONS.

Administration of Chloroform — Methods of confining the Horse —
Bleeding — Firing — Setons and Rowels — Blistering — Castration
— Docking and Nicking — Unnerving — Reduction of Hernia —
Administration of Physic — Clysters — Back-Raking.

ADMINISTRATION OF CHLOROFORM.

THE USE OF CHLOROFORM to procure insensibility to pain is a
great aid to the operator on the horse, who without it acts under
great difficulties, owing to the nervous twitch which the poor ani-
mal gives at each touch of the knife. Under chloroform, however,
he lies as if dead j and as long as its effects continue, the most
elaborate dissection may be conducted with comparative ease.
There is some little danger of overdoing this powerful agent, but
the risk is not so great as is generally supposed, and with ordinary
care it is more than one thousand to one that no injurious effects
are produced.

THE BEST AND MOST SIMPLE APPARATUS for the purpose of
administering chloroform is a common wire muzzle, to the upper
edge of which a strip of leather six inches deep is stitched, and
so arranged that it may be buckled round the upper part of the
jaws. This insures that all the air inspired shall pass through the
wires, and by covering them with a cap of very loose flannel, in
which a few holes are cut to facilitate respiration, the muzzle may
be made ready for use. The horse is first cast, after which the
above apparatus is put on and buckled round the jaw, when on
sprinkling the chloroform over the cap of flannel, it may be applied
or removed in an instant, and the amount of anaesthesia regulated
accordingly. Without some guard such as the wire affords, the
chloroform runs over the nostrils and lips, and blisters them to a
serious extent; but when it is used, such an accident can only
occur from over-saturating the flannel. The necessary quantity of
this powerful agent must be employed ; but when once it is found
that a prick of a pin or other pointed instrument is borne without
shrinking, the flannel may be withdrawn, and the operation quickly
commenced, taking care to have an assistant ready to put it on
again if the horse shows signs of returning sensibility to pain.
Six or eight ounces of chloroform must be provided, as the quantity
required is rather uncertain, the average dose being about three
or four ounces.

IF CASTING is objected to, either from the absence of hobbles,
or from fear of injury to the horse, a soft bed of straw should be

METHODS OF CONFINING THE HORSE. 433

provided, and a strong halter must be put over the muzzle frith
two cords, one of which should be held by a man on each side.
These will serve to guide the horse in falling ; but it is extremely
difficult to make sure of his going down where he is wanted to lie;
and there is also considerable time lost in securing him after he is
down, which the safety of the operator imperatively requires.
The effect of the chloroform must therefore be kept up for a much
longer time than if it is given after the horse is cast and secured.

METHODS OF CONFINING THE HORSE.

THERE ARE VARIOUS PLANS adopted by veterinary surgeons to
bind the horse's limbs, so that he cannot injure himself or them
when undergoing an operation. Even when chloroform is em-
ployed, some coercion of this kind must generally be adopted, as
directed in the last section ; for if it is given in the standing posi-
tion, the horse is very apt to injure himself in falling, which is
often accompanied by powerful convulsive motions, and moreover
he cannot with certainty be placed in a suitable position. The
plan adopted by Mr. Rarey is seldom suitable, because it can only
be employed on subjects previously taught to go down without
resistance, for the severe struggle which the untaught horse makes
before he submits is calculated to produce injurious constitutional
disturbance, and, moreover, it would sadly increase any of the
various diseases of the limbs for which operations are so often per-
formed. Sometimes, however, it might advantageously be intro-
duced into veterinary surgery, as for instance in castration, when
the colt will not suffer his hind legs to be touched, but even then
it will be necessary to throw him two or three times, or he will be
in such a state of arterial excitement that inflammation will be
likely to follow. The usual methods of confinement are : 1st.
The hobbles. 2d. The side line. 3d. The trevis, or break. 4th.
The twitch and barnacles.

HOBBLES consist of four broad padded leather straps, provided
with strong buckles, and long enough to encircle the pasterns. To
each of these an iron ring is stitched, and to one of them a strong
soft rope, six yards in length, is securely attached. Provided with
four, or, if possible, five assistants, the operator buckles the hob.-
ble with the rope attached to the near fore leg, and the remaining
three to the other legs. Then passing the rope through their rings,
and through the first also, it is held by three assistants, the nearest
of whom stands about a yard from the horse, so as to pull upwards
as well as away from him ; a fourth assistant holds him by the
head to keep him quiet, and to be ready to fall on it as soon as he
is down, and the fifth stands at his quarters, ready to push him
over on his off side. This place is sometimes occupied by the
operator himself when he is short of hands. Casting should never
87 2

434 THE HORSE.

be attempted on any hard surface, a thick bed of straw being ne-
cessary to prevent injury from the heavy fall which takes place.
The hind legs should be brought as far forward as possible before
beginning to pull the rope, and when the men do this they should
do it " with a will," but without jerking, so as to take the horse
off his guard, when he will resist much less stoutly than if he is
allowed more time. As soon as the legs are drawn up together,
the man at the quarters is quite safe from injury; and he may lean
forcibly against that part, and force the horse over to the off side,
upon which he falls : the assistant at the head keeping that part
down, no further struggling takes place, and he is secured by pass-
ing the end of the rope under the hobble rings between the fore
and hind legs, and securing it with a hitch. Something more,
however, is necessary to be done before any of the usual operations
can be performed, as all of the legs are at liberty to a certain
extent and the scrotum cannot be reached in safety. The fol-
lowing further precautions must therefore be taken, varying ac-
cording to the part to be operated on.

FOR CASTRATION the horse should be cast on his near side, with
a web halter in the usual place of a collar. The rope of the halter
is then passed through the ring of the hobble on the off hind leg,
and using it as a pulley the foot is drawn forcibly forward beyond
the arm and firmly secured to the webbing round the neck, and
bringing it back again it may be passed round the thigh above the
hock (which should be guarded from friction by a soft cloth or
leather), and again secured to the webbing. By these precautions
the scrotum is completely exposed, and the hind legs cannot be
stirred beyond the slight spasmodic twitch which extends to the
whole body.

TO PERFORM ANY OPERATION ON THE FORE LEG, it must be

taken out of its hobble, and drawn forward upon the straw by a
webbing attached to its pastern, where it must be held by an assist-
ant, the horse having little or no power over it in this position.

THE HIND LEG is SECURED in the same way as for castration,
unless the fetlock is to be fired, when webbing must be applied to
the thigh above the hock only. With most horses, however, firing
can be performed without casting, by buckling up the fore leg, or
by having it held by a competent assistant.

WHEN THE HORSE is to be released, the hobbles are quietly un-
buckled in succession, beginning with the undermost hind leg.

SEVERAL IMPROVED HOBBLES have been invented, but they are
suited rather for the veterinary surgeon than for the ordinary
horsemaster, who will only require them for castration and minor
operations.

THE SIDE LINE is sometimes used for securing one hind leg
thus : — the long rope and single hobble only are required, the lat-

CONFINING THE HORSE— BLEEDING. 435

ter being buckled to the hind pastern, which is to be secured. The
rope is then passed over the withers and brought back round the
bosom and shoulder of the same side as the leg to which it is
secured, and then passed inside the first part of the rope. By
pulling at the end of this cord the hind leg is drawn up to the
shoulder, and secured there with a hitch, but the plan is not nearly
so safe as casting.

THE TREVIS OR BREAK consists of four strong posts driven into
the ground, at the corners^ of a space six feet long by three feet
wide. They are strongly braced together by wooden stays, three
feet six inches from the ground on three sides, the fourth being
left open for the horse to enter, after which this also is made good
by a padded bar passed through stout iron rings fixed at three feet
from the ground to the uprights. By means of this framework, to
which sundry rings are bolted, the body of the horse is first
securely confined by two broad bands under the belly and two
above the shoulders and croup. Thus he can neither rear nor kick
to any extent sufficient to free himself, and all that is necessary is
to lay hold of any limb selected for operation, and confine it to one
of the uprights, or to some other convenient point. This is the
best plan to be adopted for firing and other operations on the legs,
and if the belly-bands are wide, strong, and secure, chloroform may
be administered in it, without the horse going down.

THE TWITCH is a short stick of strong ash, about the size of a
mopstick, with a hole pierced near the end, thrown which is passed
a piece of strong but small cord, and tied in a loop large enough
to admit the open hand freely. This is passed over the upper lip
close to the nostrils, and then, by twisting the stick, compression
is made to a painful extent, which will keep horses quiet for any
slight operation. Sometimes it is placed on the ear in preference,
but in either case the effect is dependent on the pain produced.

BARNACLES consist in the application of pressure by means of
the handles of a pair of pincers enclosing the muzzle, and held
firmly by an assistant. They are, however, not so useful as the
twitch.

BLEEDING.
IN THE EARLY PART OP THE PRESENT CENTURY bleeding was

resorted to on every appearance of the slightest inflammation, and
often without the slightest necessity. Many horses were regularly
bled " every spring and fall," to prevent mischief, as was supposed ;
but at last it always happened to every horse which lived long
enough, that the more frequently blood was taken the more the
operation was required, and when it was absolutely wanted to lower
the heart's action, such a quantity of blood must be taken that
the system was reduced to a dangerous degree. Stallions were

436 THE HORSE.

constantly submitted to this treatment, and mares as long is they
were worked, so that in course of time it has happened to the
horse, as it has also to man himself, that the horrible abuse of the
lancet for two or three consecutive generations has completely
changed the type of the diseases to which they are both subject.
Inflammation does not now follow the same course that it used to
do, but is of a much milder type, and the attendant fever is in-
clined to assume a typhoid character, if lowering measures are
pushed to any great extent. An attempt has been made to account
for this change in human diseases by the alteration in the habits
of the present generation, which are certainly more temperate than
those of the previous one ] but in the case of the horse the reverse,
holds good, for he is now stimulated by more corn than ever. The
only point, as far as I can make out, in which' the horse and his
master have been similarly maltreated, is in the abuse of the lan-
cet, which undoubtedly may account for the change in the type
of their diseases to which I have alluded, and it is, therefore, rea-
sonable to refer it to this cause. But though this powerful agent
has been thus abused, we must not be deterred from having re-
course to it when severe inflammation occurs in the horse. Some-
times there is no time to wait for the effects of a slower remedy,
even if there is one which will be sufficiently powerful to control
the heart's action. The only sensible plan in such case is to choose
the lesser of the two evils, and to save life, or the integrity of the
organ attacked, as the case may be, by abstracting blood, always
remembering that this is to be avoided as long as it is safe to do
so, but that when it is decided on, a sufficient quantity must be
taken to produce a sensible effect, without which there is no at-
tendant good to counterbalance the evil.

BLEEDING is either performed in the jugular vein, when the
whole system is to be affected ; or when a 'part of the body only is
inflamed, it may be desirable to abstract blood locally, as for in-
stance from the toe or from the plate vein, in inflammation of the
foot, and in ophthalmia from the vein which lies on the face just
below the eye.

THE INSTRUMENTS USED are either the lancet or the fleam, the
former being the safer of the two, but requiring some practice to
manage it properly. In bleeding from the jugular vein .a string
is sometimes tied round the neck below the part to be opened,
which is four or five inches below the fork in the vein in the upper
part of the neck. The skilled operator, however, makes pressure
with his left hand answer the purpose of causing the vein to rise,
and during this state either uses the lancet with his right or the
fleam with the aid afforded by the blow of a short stick, called a
" blood stick." When the blood begins to flow, the edge of the
bucket which catches it is pressed against the same part, and as

BLEEDING— FIRING. 437

long as this is continued a full stream will run Lntil faintness
occurs. After sufficient blood has been taken, the two lips of the
wound are raised between the fingers, and a small common pin
passed through both, when the point is cut off and some tow is
twisted round, by which the edges are kept together and the pin
is retained in position. In a couple of days the pin may be with-
drawn without disturbing the tow, and the wound will heal with
little or no deformity. Sometimes the blood continues to flow
beneath the skin after it is pinned, and a swelling takes place in
consequence, which is called ecchymosis. When this happens,
cold water should be freely applied and the head kept up by rack-
ing to the manger.

THE QUANTITY OF BLOOD necessary to be taken will vary accord-
ing to circumstances, and can scarcely be fixed from the appearance
of the blood drawn, but a repetition of the operation may be de-
cided on if the clot of the blood, after standing, is very concave
at the top (cupped), or if it is very yellow (buffed), and especially
if both these signs are present. In inflammation of a severe char-
acter less than six quarts of blood will seldom lower the pulse
sufficiently to be of much service, and sometimes seven or eight
quarts even must be taken from a large plethoric animal.

INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN will sometimes supervene upon
bleeding, the symptoms being a slight swelling appearing in the
evening, or the next day, with a little oozing from the wound.
These are soon followed by a hard cord-like enlargement of the
vein, which feels hot to the touch, and the parts at the angle of
the jaw swell considerably. The consequence generally is that the
vein is obliterated, occasioning some disturbance to the circulation,
especially when the head is held down, as it is at grass. The
treatment consists in cold applications as long as there is heat, the
lotion recommended at page 316 being generally useful. When
the heat has subsided, and the vein remains enlarged, the binio-
dide of mercury will procure the absorption of the new deposit, by
rubbing it in as recommended at page 300.*

FIRING.

THE PURPOSE for which the heated iron is employed is twofold ;
first, to produce immediate counter-irritation, by which the pre-
vious inflammation is reduced ; and secondly, to cause the forma-
tion of a tight compress over the part, which lasts for some months.
It is the fashion to deny the existence of the latter effect of this
operation \ but every practical man must be aware that it follows

* Bleeding in veterinary practice is by no means so general as formerly,
the substitution of pure air, cold water and aconite, except in diseases of
the head, proving very satisfactory. — EDITOR.
37*

438 THE HORSE.

upon firing to a greater or less extent, accordi g to circumstances
but always lasting for a few months, until the skin stretches to its
previous condition. The blemish which it leaves, and the pain
which it occasions, both during and after the application of the
irons, should cause it to be avoided when any equally useful substi-
tute can be employed ; but, unfortunately, there are many cases
where it stand's without a rival, as being at once the safest and the
most efficient remedy which can be adopted. Blisters and setons
can be made to cause the same amount of counter-irritation ; but
the inflammation accompanying the former often extends beneath
the skin, and increases the mischief it was intended to relieve ;
while the latter has no effect whatever in producing pressure upon
the parts beneath. The pain of firing can be relieved entirely at
the time of the operation by chloroform; but the subsequent
smarting is quite as bad, and this is beyond the reach of any
anaesthetic. Independently, however, of the interests of the master,
it is also to the advantage of the horse to get thoroughly cured;
for if he is not, he will either work on in misery, or he will be con-
signed to the knacker's yard ; and, therefore, the adoption of the
most efficacious plan of treatment, even if somewhat the most pain-
ful, is the best for both.

FIRING MAY BE PERFORMED STANDING, by the use of the side
line for the hind leg, or by fixing up one fore leg when the other
is to be operated on. There is, however, nothing like the break or
trevis, where more than a slight extent of surface is to be lined.
The firing-iron should have a smooth edge, about the* thickness of
a worn shilling ; and it should be heated to the point when it shows
a dull red in the dark. When the disease for which the irons are
used is slight, the skin should not be penetrated ; but in bad cases,
where the mischief is great, and particularly when it is wanted to
have a good permanent bandage, the cauterization must be deeper ;
but this requires some practical knowledge to decide. The hair
of the part should be cut very closely with the scissors, or shaved ;
then, having secured the leg. the iron is to be steadily but rapidly
passed in parallel lines over the skin, making just the proper pres-
sure which is required to burn to the requisite depth. A light
brown mark should be left, which shows that the proper effect has
been produced • and the color should be uniform, unless it is de-
sired to penetrate deeper at certain parts, which is sometimes
practised with advantage. The lines are sometimes made in a
slanting direction round the leg, and at others straight up and
down ; but it is useless to describe the details of this operation,
which can only be learned by watching its performance by another
hand. Badly done firing is always an eyesore ; but when the lines
are evenly drawn, and they have healed without any sloughs,
caused, by irregular or excessive pressure, they show that a master-

FIRING-SETONS AND ROWELS. 439

hand has been at work, and that the poor beast has been treated
scientifically. In very severe diseases, a blister is sometimes ap-
plied over the part, immediately after the firing ; but this can
seldom be required, and as it aggravates the pain tenfold, it should
be avoided, if possible. On the following day, a little neat's-foot
oil should be gently rubbed, or brushed with a feather, over the
leg; and this should be repeated daily, until the swelling which
comes on has nearly subsided. Less than three months' rest
should never be allowed for the operation to have its full effect, as,
if the horse is put to work before that time has elapsed, the dis-
ease will almost certainly return. Indeed, it is far better to allow
double this time, especially if the horse is wanted for fast work.

SETONS AND BOWELS.

SETONS are pieces of tape or lamp cotton, passed through and
beneath the skin, leaving the two ends hanging out, either tied
together or with a knot upon each. The latter is the safer plan,
as the loop is always liable to be caught on a hook or other pro-
jecting body. The needle with which the passage is effected has
a spear point, slightly turned up, and an eye at the other end (see
fig. 22), through which the tape or cotton is threaded. The

FlG. 22. — SETON NEEDLES ONE QUARTER SIZE.

ordinary one is about nine or ten inches long, and by its means a
tape or piece of lamp cotton, smeared with blister cerate, may be
passed through a long track of the cellular membrane, by pinching
up the skin into a fold, and piercing this close to the body with
the needle, which is then to be carried straight through. On
drawing the tape out of the eye, it must be tied in a large knot at
each end, which will prevent its slipping out. In three or four
days, a profuse discharge will come on, and it must ke kept up, if
necessary, by repeated applications of blister cerate, or digestive
ointment, as may be necessary. The ends should be sponged
occasionally, to remove the accumulated matter.

A SMALLER CURVED NEEDLE, about five or six inches long (see
lower figure, 22) is used for introducing a seton into the frog, or
beneath the eye. For the former operation, a twitch is first
applied, and the foot is then buckled up to the arm, as described
at page 167. The needle then, armed with the tape, greased with

440 THE HORSE.

blister cerate, and a little oil to lubricate the surface, is thrust in
at the heel and out at the cleft of the frog, taking care not to go
deep enough to wound the tendon as it passes over the navicular
bone. The needle is then forcibly drawn through, and the tape
knotted, as already described. The openings must be kept clean
by sponging daily \ and in three or four weeks the tape will have
nearly worked its way out, when it may be withdrawn.

ROWELS are now seldom employed, being very unmanageable
plans for causing counter-irritation. An incision, about an inch
long, is made in the skin, selecting a part where it is loosely at-
tached, and into this a blunt instrument, called a " cornet," is
pushed, and worked about in all directions, until the skin is sepa-
rated from the subjacent parts for a circle with a diameter of from
two to three inches. Into this a piece of thick leather of that
diameter, with a hole in the middle, is inserted, previously having
smeared it with blister cerate ; and the part is then left to nature.
In a few days, a discharge of matter comes on, which must be
washed off occasionally; and in the course of time, the leather, if
allowed, would find its way out by ulceration. Before, however,
this takes place, it is generally removed.

BLISTERING.

WHEN IT is DECIDED TO BLISTER any part, the hair should be
cut off as closely as possible ; the ointment is then rubbed in with
the hand for ten minutes, leaving a good quantity smeared on the
surface. If the legs are to be blistered, the heels should be pro-
tected by lard. Considerable itching is caused after the first two
or three days, and many horses, if allowed, gnaw the part to such
an extent as to cause a serious blemish. It is therefore necessary
to keep the head away, which is done by putting a " cradle " on
the neck. The irritation of loose straw is very aggravating, and
the stall or box should either be bedded with tan, or sawdust, or
with used litter, so damp as to lie smoothly. It is generally the
practice to put the blistered horse on a bare floor; but he will often
do great harm to his legs and feet (which are of course unsound,
or they would not be treated in this way), by constantly stamping
from the pain occasioned while the blister is beginning to rise
When the legs are stiff and sore from the swelling, he stands stiL
enough, but at first there is nothing of this kind to keep him quiet.
James's blister, which is very mild, and useful for trifling diseases
of the legs, or for bringing on the hair after " broken knee," can
generally be used without a cradle ; but even with it, horses will
sometimes gnaw themselves, and it is better not to run any risk.
At the end of a week, some neat's-foot oil should be applied every
morning, with a feather or soft brush, to keep the scabs as supple

CASTRATION. 441

as possible. The various formulas for blisters will be given in the
list of inateria medica.

CASTRATION.

FOR REMOVING THE TESTICLES several methods of operation
have been proposed ; but hitherto none has been tried which is so
successful as the old plan, in which the division of the cord is per-
formed by a heated iron with a sharp edge. In human surgery
the spermatic artery is tied, and all danger of hemorrhage is over,
because the small amount of bleeding which takes place from the
artery of the cord is of no consequence, as it cannot enter the cavity
of the peritoneum. In the horse, on the other hand, the inguinal
canal communicates with that cavity, and if the ligature is used,
there is a double danger of inflammation — first, from effused blood,
and secondly, from the irritation of the ends of the ligature. This
plan, therefore, is now generally abandoned, though some few prac-
titioners still adhere to it, and the choice rests between two methods
of removal by cautery, namely, the actual and potential, — the
former giving more pain at the moment when the heated iron is
applied, but the latter being really far more severe, as the caustic
is a long time in effecting a complete death of the nerve and other
sensitive parts. Torsion of the vessels has been also tried, but it
is often followed by haemorrhage, and, moreover, the pain which
is caused during the twisting of the artery is apparently quite as
great as is given by the heated iron. We are all inclined to fancy
that fire occasions more agony than it really does, but those who
have in their own persons been unfortunately able to compare the
.effects of the two kinds of cautery, have uniformly admitted that
the actual is less severe than the potential, if the two are used so
as to produce the same amount of cauterization.

THE BEST PERIOD FOR PERFORMING THE OPERATION on the

foal is just before weaning, provided the weather is mild. If, how-
ever, his neck is very light, and the withers low, its postponement
till the following spring will give a better chance for the develop-
ment of these parts. The cold of winter and heat of summer are
both prejudicial, and the months of April, May, September, or
October should always be selected.

No PREPARATION is REQUIRED in the "sucker," jbut after wean-
ing the system always requires cooling by a dose of physic and
light food before castration can safely be performed. Horses which
have been in training, or other kind of work attended with high
feeding, require at least three weeks' or a month's rest and lower-
ing, by removing corn, mashing, &c., together with a couple of
doses of physic, before they are fit to be castrated.

FOR THE ORDINARY METHOD ^OF OPERATING, a pair of clams

should be provided, lined at the surfaces where the compression

442 THE HORSE.

is made, with, thick layers of vulcanized india-rubber. This ma
terial gives a very firm hold without bruising the cord, arid causing
thereby inflammation. A large scalpel and a couple of irons will
complete the list of instruments, over and above the apparatus
necessary for casting the horse (see Casting, page 433). The horse
being properly secured according to the directions there given, and
a twitch being put on the lip in case he should struggle much, the

FlQ. 23.— CLAMS LINED WITH VULCANIZED INDIA-RUBBER.

operator, kneeling on the left side, grasps the testicle so as to make
the skin of the scrotum covering it quite tense. A longitudinal
incision, about three inches long, is then made down to the testicle,
which, if care has been taken that there is no rupture, may be
rapidly do*ne — a wound of its surface not being of the slightest con-
sequence, and giving far less pain than the slow niggling dissection
of its coverings, which is sometimes practised to avoid it. The
testicle can now be cleared of its coverings, and the hand laying
hold of it gently, the operator raises it from its bed, and slips the
clams on each side the cord, at once making the proper pressure
with them, which should be sufficient to prevent all risk of the
part enclosed slipping from between its jaws. Great care should
be taken that the whole of the testicle, including the epididimis,
is external to the clams j and as soon as this is satisfactorily ascer-
tained, the cord may be divided with the ordinary firing-iron at a
red heat. To make sure that no haemorrhage shall occur, some
operators sear the artery separately with a pointed iron ; but if the
division is slowly made with the heated iron, and avoiding any
drag upon the cord, no such accident will be at all likely to follow,
though very rarely it will happen in spite of every care. The
clams may now be removed, and the other testicle treated in the
same way; after which the hobbles are cautiously removed, and the
patient is placed in a roomy loose box, where he can take sufficient
exercise to insure the gravitation of the discharge, but no more.

THE FRENCH PLAN, by means of caustic, requires two pieces
of wood, each about six inches long and an inch square, with a
notch or neck at each end, to hold the twine by which they are
tied together, and a groove in the two opposite surfaces, to hold
the caustic. This is composed of one part of corrosive sublimate
and four of flour, made into a paste with water, and it is intro-

CASTRATION. 443

duced while moist into the grooves, which it should completely fill.
The horse is then secured as before, the cord is exposed, the pieces
of wood are adjusted on each side, and firmly held together with
pincers by an assistant, while the operator binds their ends together
with waxed string. The testicle may now be removed with the
knife, if the string has been tied sufficiently tight ; but unless the
operator has had some experience, it is safer to let it remain on till
»•_ it comes away by the ulceration of the cord. This is the uncovered
operation, the covered one being performed with the same instru-
ments, as follows. The scrotum is grasped, and opened, taking
care to avoid wounding the tunica vaginalis reflexa, or outer serous
investment, but cutting down to it through the skin, dartos muscle,
and cellular membrane. These are to be carefully dissected back,
until the cord can be isolated without wounding its serous invest-
ment (tunica vaginalis), which is so thin that it is easy to ascertain
with certainty the nature of its contents by examination with the
fingers. If there is no hernia, the caustic can at once be applied
to its outside in the same way as before j and if there is, it must
be pushed back into the cavity of the abdomen, by a little careful
manipulation.

SOME VETERINARY SURGEONS operate in a similar way to one
or other of the two last described plans, with the omission of the
caustic, which they maintain is wholly unnecessary, for-there must
be sufficient pressure to cause a sloughing of the cord. There is
certainly some truth in this argument, but if the pressure has not
been sufficient to cause the sloughs, the caustic will assure that
essential process, and thus it renders the operation safer, though
it somewhat increases the subsequent local inflammation. The
plan without caustic is almost precisely the same, as far as safety is
concerned, as that formerly adopted by country farriers, called
" twitching," in which two pieces of wood were applied on each
side the base of the scrotum, and tied firmly at each end. The
pain, however, occasioned by the pressure on so large a surface
of skin is intense, and the operation is on that account indefensible,
besides which it is not nearly so successful as either the ordinary
English or French operations.

[The accompanying engraving represents the Ecraseur introduced to his
students by the Editor some eight years since. Its use obviates the necessity

of any previous preparation, so that a hor?e of twenty years is operated

444 THE HORSE.

upon with as much safety as a colt of as many months ; the pain caused by
it lasts but a few minutes, while under the old system of clams and red hot
irons, it often continued from twelve to twenty-four hours. It is now very
extensively, and in some parts of the country exclusively, used, giving perfect
satisfaction alike to the operator and owner of the horse. — EDITOR.]

DOCKING AND NICKING.

THESE OPERATIONS ON THE TAIL are subject to the fashion
of the day, the former being used for the purpose of shortening
its length, which is inconvenient to the rider or driver in dirty
weather, and the latter for altering its carriage, when this is too
low for the taste of the owner. Nicking, is, however, very seldom
practised in the present day, and never to the extent which was
the fashion fifty years ago.

DOCKING is very rapidly performed by the aid of the docking-
knife, which is made on the principle of the guillotine. As the
tail is removed at one sudden and forcible chop, the horse need
not be confined in any way beyond fixing up his fore leg, unless he

Fig. 25 — DOCKING-KNIFE.

is a very violent animal, when he must be placed in the break (see
page 435). The exact length of the dock to be left being fixed
upon, the hair is cut off close below, and the remainder tied back
to the root of the tail. The situation of the joint, which may be
ascertained from its greater prominence, is then marked, by care-
fully removing the hair with the scissors, and then laying it in the
rounded groove of the wooden frame in which the knife plays, so
that the edge of the latter shall exactly correspond with the part
to be cut, the handles are suddenly and forcibly brought together,
and the end is removed at one blow. A pointed iron should have
been previously heated, and then raising the tail to a level with
the back, the arteries are first seared, which a very slight touch
\9ill effect, and then the point is pushed into the sheath of the
tendons lying at the top of the stump, so ,as to cause them to
adhere in that position, and effect a handsom-e carriage of the tail.

DOCKING— NICKING— REDUCTION OP HERNIA. 445

Lastly, a little resin is melted over the end of the stump with the
iron now pretty nearly cooled, and the operation is concluded by
untying the hair.

NICKING was formerly carried to such an extent that the poor
horse could not lower his tail, but was always obliged to carry it
over his back. Several deep cross-cuts were made in the under-
side after being docked, and then a cord was fastened to the hair,
and being carried over a pulley attached to the ceiling, the tail
was kept drawn up over the back by a weight at its end. The
horse could lie down by raising the weight, but by no possible
means could he lower his tail, and in course of time the wounds
healed by granulation filling up their spaces, and the nicking was
completed. When a horse now carries his dock too low, a sub-
cutaneous incision of the flexor tendons is made, which is generally
sufficient, but if not the pulley is adopted for a few days. Some-
times the tail is carried on one side, and then a similar operation
by subcutaneous division of the tendons on the side to which the
tail is carried will have the desired effect, always taking care in
each case to keep the knife clear of a joint.

UNNERVING.

THE NERVES distributed to the foot are sometimes divided for
navicular disease, as they lie on each side of the bone above the
fetlock joint. No one, however, should attempt this operation
without having previously seen it performed, as it requires con-
siderable dexterity for its due execution. I have described such
operations as may be wanted in the parts of the country where a
veterinary surgeon cannot always be reached, but unnerving is but
seldom required, and I shall therefore omit any detailed account
of it.

REDUCTION OF HERNIA.

HERNIA is sometimes strangulated; that is to say, the protrud-
ing portion of bowel is confined in its situation by such pressure
on its neck as to cause danger of mortification. Under such cir-
cumstances, if it is found to be impossible to return the bowel by
careful manipulation, an operation must be performed. This con-
sists in carefully dissecting through the coverings of the bowel,
and when it is exposed, a long and narrow guarded knife (JBistavri
cache) is passed by the side of the intestine through the opening
into the abdomen, and then making the blade prominent it is with-
drawn, and the fibres causing the pressure are divided. This
usually allows of the bowel being passed back again into the
abdomen, when the operation is completed by bringing the parts
together with one or two stitches.

WHEN HERNIA OCCURS IN THE COLT either at the navel or
scrotum, it is often desired to effect a cure by returning the bowel
38

446 THE HORSE.

and causing the opening to close by adhesive inflammation. If
the colt is uncut, the performance of the covered operation on the
French plan (see page 443) will generally succeed, great care
being of course necessary to return the intestine before the clams
are applied. In umbilical hernia a similar plan has been tried,
but the adhesion is too superficial to be of much use ; and the only
successful method is the passage of one or two skewers through
the opposite edges of the opening, and then winding some waxed
twine round them, with a moderate degree of force. This should
not be sufficient to cause mortification, or the'opening will only be
increased in size, and the bowel will protrude without any covering
of skin ; but it should be just sufficient to cause adhesive inflam-
mation ; experience in such matters alone enabling the operator to
hit upon the right amount.

IN ALL OPERATIONS FOR HERNIA chloroform is of great assist-
ance, as it prevents the risk of a protrusion of the bowel while the
knife is being used, which will otherwise sometimes happen during
the struggles of the horse.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF PHYSIC.

MEDICINE may be given to the horse either in the solid form
as a ball, or liquid, and then called a drench, or as a dry powder,
when in small compass and with little taste, mixed with the corn
or mash. Sometimes also a small quantity of a tasteless liquid,
such as liquor arsenicalis, may be given with the food.

IN GIVING A BALL, place a halter on the head with a knot, so
that the jaws may be widely opened. Then turn the horse round
in the stall and back him up to the manger, lay hold of the tongue
and draw it out of the mouth, grasp it with the left hand, which
must also hold the halter-cord so short that the strain is partly
taken off the tongue, and then holding the ball in the right hand
with the fingers enclosing it like a cone, and, the arm bare, it
should be rapidly carried to the back of the mouth and deposited
there, holding the head up till it is seen to pass down the gullet.
Cautious grooms use a balling iron, which gags the mouth and
protects the arm, but a handy man will have less difficulty in intro-
ducing his hand than in inserting the gag, unless the horse is a
determined biter, when it may be absolutely necessary. In that
case the gag is insinuated with as much ease as a bit in a flat
direction, and the handle being suddenly depressed, the mouth
gapes and £he teeth cannot be brought together. Then holding
its handle together with the halter in the left hand, the right
easily introduces the ball into the pharynx.

IN GIVING A DRENCH, two persons are necessary, the operator
standing at the right shoulder, while the assistant is ready to steady
the head and aid him on the left. The operator raises the head

PHYSIC— CLYSTERS— BACK-RAKING. 447

with his left hand beneath the jaw, and with his riglit he forces
the lip of the horn into the side of the mouth, and, raising the
small end, pours the contents in. If the horse is violent, a twitch
must be placed on the nose, and held by the assistant. The horn
must not be passed far into the mouth, or any unnecessary violence
used, for fear of producing a cough ; in which case, the hand must
be instantly lowered. A neglect of this precaution will probably
cause some of the liquid to pass into the larynx.

CLYSTERS

ARE MOST VALUABLE AGENTS, if properly administered. The
best syringe for the purpose is Read's, by which uny quantity may
be thrown up ; and in colic, some gallons of warm water are some-
times required to produce the desired effect. For an ordinary
opening clyster, a handful or two of common salt may be dissolved
in five or six quarts of warm water.

BACK-RAKING

Is EFFECTED by passing the greased hand and arm into the
rectum, and withdrawing any hardened fseces which may have
accumulated there. When the quantity of these is great, the hand
must be passed several times, until it cannot reach any more.
Whenever physic is given to an unprepared horse, as is sometimes
necessary in severe disease, this precaution should never be
neglected. Mr. Gramgee, of Edinburgh, is of opinion that this
operation is more safely and easily performed by the aid of instru-
ments, supporting his views by the assertion that the introduction
of the hand gives unnecessary pain. On one or two occasions I
have certainly seen a shoulder of mutton at the end of a human
arm, and this would perhaps cause some little difficulty; but no
hand of average size is nearly so large as the mass of dung usually
passed; and those who are not above doing a dirty job ivhen duty
requires it, well know by experience that the hand and arm may be
passed to the shoulder without giving any pain whatsoever. In •
struments are useful when they cannot be dispensed with, but they
are always liable to cause laceration.

448 THE HORSE.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINES, AND THE DOSES IN WHICH THEY
CAN SAFELY BE ADMINISTERED :

Alteratives — Anodynes — Antiseptics — Anti-Zumins — Aperients—
Astringents — Blisters — Caustics, or Cauteries — Clysters — De-
tergents— Diuretics — Embrocations, or Liniments — Febrifuges
— Injections — Lotions, or Washes — Physic Balls and Drenches
— Stimulants — Stomachics — Tonics — Traumatics — Vermi-
fuges, or Worm Medicines.

(The Formulae enclosed in [ ] are by the American Editor. )

ALTERATIVES.

THIS TERM is NOT VERY SCIENTIFIC, but it is in very general
use, and easily explains its own meaning, though the modus operandi
of the drugs employed to carry it out is not so clear. The object is
to replace unhealthy action by a healthy one, without resorting to
any of the distinctly-defined remedies, such as tonics, stomachics,
&c. As a general rule, this class of remedies produce their effect
by acting slowly but steadily on the depuratory organs, as the liver,
kidneys, and skin. The following may be found useful : —

1. IN DISORDERED STATES OF THE SKIN

Emetic Tartar ..... 5 ounces.

Powdered Ginger ... .3 ounces.

Opium ...... 1 ounce.

Syrup enough to form 16 balls : one to be given every night.

2. SIMPLY COOLING —

Barbadoes Aloes . . . 1 ounce.

Castile Soap . . . . 1| ounce.

Ginger ...... \ ounce.

Syrup enough to form 6 bolls : one to be given every morning. Or,

8. Barbadoes Aloes . . . . \\ drachm.

Emetic Tartar 2 drachms.

Castile Soap . . , . .2 drachms. Mix.

4. ALTERATIVE BALL FOR GENERAL USE —

Black Sulphuret of Antimony . . 2 to 4 drachms.

Sulphur ...... 2 drachms.

Nitre 2 drachms.

Linseed meal and water enough to form a ball.

APERIENTS— ANODYNES. 449

5. FOR GENERALLY DEFECTIVE SECRETIONS —

Flowers of Sulphur .... 6 ounces.
Emetic Tartar . . . . . 5 to 8 drachms.
Corrosive Sublimate . . . .10 grains.
Linseed meal mixed with hot water, enough to form 6 balls, one of
which may be given two or three times a week.

6. IN DEBILITY or STOMACH —

Calomel . . . -. .- . 1 scruple.

Aloes 1 drachm.

Cascarilla Bark, "J

Gentian Hoot, > of each in powder . 1 drachm.

Ginger, )

Castile Soap 3 drachms.

Syrup enough to make a ball, which may be given twice a week, or
every other night.

ANODYNES,

SOMETIMES CALLED NARCOTICS, when taken into the stomach,
pass at once into the blood, and there act in a special manner on
the nervous centres. At first they exalt the nervous force; but
they soon depress it, the second stage coming on the sooner accord-
ing to the increase of the dose. They are given either to soothe
the general nervous system, or to stop diarrhoea; or sometimes to
relieve spasm, as in colic or tetanus. Opium is the chief anodyne
used in veterinary medicine, and it may be employed in very large
doses : —

1. ANODYNE DRENCH FOR COLIC —

Linseed Oil 1 pint.

Oil of Turpentine . . . . 1 to 2 ounces.

Laudanum . . . . . 1 to 2 ounces.
Mix, and give every hour till relief is afforded.

2. ANODYNE BALL FOR COLIC (only useful in mild cases) —

Powdered Opium . . . . £ to 2 drachms.

Castile Soap 2 drachms.

Camphor . . . . . .2 drachms.

Ginger l£ drachm.

Make into a ball with Liquorice powder and Treacle, and give every
hour while the pain lasts. It should be kept in a bottle or bladder.

3. ANODYNE BALL (ordinary) —

Opium \ to 1 drachm.

Castile Soap 2 to 4 drachms.

Ginger 1 to 2 drachms.

Powdered Aniseed . . . . £ to 1 ounce.

Oil of Caraway Seeds . . . \ drachm.
Syrup enough to form a ball, to be dissolved in half a pint of warm ale,
and given as a drench.

4. ANODYNE DRENCH IN SUPERPURGATION, OR ORDINARY DIARRHCEA,

Gum Arabic ..... 2 ounces.
Boiling Water . . * .... .. , .1 pint.

450 THE HORSE.

Dissolve, and then add —

Oil of Peppermint . '•*• » .' • . 25 drops.

Laudanum . . . ; » . . £ to 1 ounce.
Mix, and give night and morning, if necessary.

5. IN CHRONIC DIARRHCEA —

Powdered Chalk and Gum Arabic, each 1 ounce.

Laudanum £ ounce.

Peppermint Water . . . .10 ounces.
Mix, and give night and morning.

6. IN COLIC —

Spirit of Turpentine . . . 3J ounces.

Laudanum . . . . . l£ ounce.
Barbadoes Aloes . . . . 1 ounce.
Powder the Aloes, and dissolve in warm water ; then add the other
ingredients, and give as a drench.

7. CLYSTER IN COLIC —

Spirit of Turpentine . . .6 ounces.

Aloes . ' . . » . .2 drachms.
Dissolve in 3 quarts of warm water, and stir the turpentine well into it.

8. ANTISPASMODIC DRENCH —

Gin . 4 to 6 ounces.

Tincture of Capsicum . . .2 drachms.
Laudanum . . . . .3 drachms.

Warm Water l£ pint.

Mix, and give as a drench, when there is no inflammation.

[ANTISEPTICS.

ANTISEPTICS ARE THOSE MEDICINES which prevent and destroy
putrescence in sores and ulcers.

1. Carbolic Acid* . . 1 drachm.

Oil, Glycerine, or Water . . .2 ounces.

* This substance, a product of gas tar, was formerly known to the scien-
tific world as Phenile or Phenic Acid, but is now generally known as Car-
bolic Acid. Its smell resembles that of Creosote, which is Carbolic Acid
and a fixed oil, and is very offensive to most persons. Its form is that of
an acid solution though sometimes sold in crystals. Its great importance
is due to its property of coagulating the albumen of the animal tissue, and
hence its value in sores, wounds, and ulcers. It may be applied with safety
to all parts of the body or legs, and is invaluable for destroying lice, wood
ticks, and all forms of parasite life, and by merely washing or moistening
those parts of the legs and body of horses, cattle, and sheep, and chosen by
the bot, horse or other flies to deposit their eggs, their hatching or even
deposit may be prevented.

As a disinfectant in stables and buildings affected with fevers and all
kinds of distempers, it was found extremely serviceable in England, in
checking the ravages of the Rinderpest by washing the floors and stalls ; and
adding a tablespoonful of the solution of the acid to a bucketful of water, in
whitewashing the walls and ceilings. — EDITOR.

ANTISEPTICS— ANTI-ZUMINS— APERIENTS. 451

2. Chloride of Zinc . . . .10 grains.
Water 2 ounces.

3. Sulphate of Soda . . . " . . 1 ounce.
Water . . ... .1 pint.

4. Charcoal or Brewers5 Yeast.]

[ANTI-ZUMINS.

A CLASS OF MEDICINES which are now deemed indispensable in.
meeting certain pathological conditions — fermentation of the blood,
as exhibited in glanders, farcy, &c.

1. Sulphate of Soda .... 3 drachms.
Spanish Fly 5 grains.

To be given once daily.

2. Carbolic Acid 20 grains or drops.

Sulphate of Iron, in powder . . 2 drachms.
Gentian Root, in powder . . .3 drachms.

Give one powder daily.

3. Inhalation of Sulphurous Acid Gas, by placing the animal in a house

by himself, and generating the gas, by placing 1 ounce of Roll Sul-
phur on top of a brazier filled with burning coal, and allowing the
horse to breathe the gas from twenty minutes to half an hour, two
or three times in the week.]

APERIENTS.
(Physic Balls and Drenches.)

APERIENTS, or purges, are those medicines which quicken or
increase the evacuations from the bowels, varying, however, a good
deal in their mode of operation. Some act merely by exciting the
muscular coat of the bowels to contract ; others cause an immense
watery discharge, which, as it were, washes out the bowels; whilst
a third set combine the action of the two. The various purges
also act upon different parts of the canal, some stimulating the
small intestines, whilst others pass through them without affecting
them, and only act upon the large bowels ; and others, again, act
upon the whole canal1. There is a third point of Difference in
purges, depending upon their influencing the liver in addition,
which mercurial purgatives certainly do, as well as rhubarb and
some others, and which effect is partly due to their absorption into
the circulation, so that they may be made to act, by injecting into
the veins, as strongly as by actual swallowing, and their subse-
quent passage into the bowels. Purgatives are likewise classed,
according to the degree of their effect, into laxatives acting mildly,
and drastic purges, or cathartics, acting very severely.

452 THE HORSE.

1. ORDINARY PHYSIC BALLS —

Barhadoes Aloes . . •„ . 3 to 8 drachms.

Hard Soap . -' . •" . . 4 drachms.

Ginger ...... 1 drachm.

Dissolve in as small a quantity of boiling water as will suffice ; then
slowly evaporate to the proper consistence, by which means griping ia
avoided.

2. A WARMER PHYSIC BALL —

Barbadoes Aloes . . > . . 3 to 8 drachms.

Carbonate of Soda • ',".'• . £ drachm.

Aromatic Powder . , « . I drachm.

Oil of Caraway . . ; . 12 drops.
Dissolve as above, and then add the oil.

3. GENTLY LAXATIVE BALL —

Barbadoes Aloes » ,, , . 3 to 5 drachms.
Rhubarb Powder . . . . 1 to 2 drachms.
Ginger . . . . .2 drachms.

Oil of Caraway . , . .15 drops.
Mix, and form into a ball, as in No. 1.

4. STOMACHIC LAXATIVE BALLS, FOR. WASHY HORSES —

• Barbadoes Aloes . • ." .3 drachms.

Rhubarb . . . . . . 2 drachms.

Ginger . . . . . .1 drachm.

Cascarilla Powder . • . .1 drachm.

Oil of Caraway . . . .15 drops.

Carbonate of Soda . . . • 1? drachm.
Dissolve the Aloes as in No. 1, and then add the other ingredients.

5. PURGING BALLS, WITH CALOMEL —

Barbadoes Aloes , . . . 3 to 6 drachms.

Calomel . . . . . • £ to 1 drachm.

Rhubarb . . -, . . . 1 to 2 drachms.

Ginger . . : , • '• . £ to 1 drachm.

Castile Soap . . . . .2 drachms.
Mix as in No. 1.

6. LAXATIVE DRENCH —

Barbadoes Aloes . . . . 3 to 4 drachms.

Canella Alba 1 to 2 drachms.

Salt of Tartar 1 drachm.

Mint Water 8 ounces. Mix.

7. ANOTHER LAXATIVE DRENCH —

Castor Oil 3 to 6 ounces.

Barbadoes Aloes . . . . 3 to 5 drachms.

Carbonate of Soda . . . 2 drachms.

Mint Water 8 ounces.

Mix, by dissolving the Aloes in the Mint Water by the aid of heat, and
then adding the other ingredients.

8. A MILD OPENING DRENCH —

Castor Oil •' . • ,* • . .4 ounces.

Epsom Salts 3 to 5 ounces.

Gruel . • i . » . 2 pints. Mix.

9. A VERY MILD LAXATIVE —

Castor Oil « « . ;* . 4 ounces.
Linseed Oil ..... 4 ounces.
Warm Water or Gruel . • . 1 pint. Mix.

APERIENTS— ASTRINGENTS. 453

10. USED IN THE STAGGERS —

Barbadoes Aloes » « . . 4 to 6 drachms

Common Salt . . . . .6 ounces.

Flour of Mustard . . , . »1 ounce.

Water . . . . . . 2 pints. Mix.

11. A GENTLY COOLING DRENCH IN SLIGHT ATTACKS OF COLD —

Epsom Salts 6 to 8 ounces.

Whey 2 pints. Mix.

12. PURGATIVE CLYSTER —

Common Salt . . . . 4 to 8 ounces.

Warm Water . . . . . 8 to 16 pints.

ASTRINGENTS.
(For Diarrhoea and Dysentery.)

ASTRINGENTS appear to produce contraction on all living ani-
mal tissues with which they come in contact, whether in the
interior or on the exterior of the body ; and whether immediately
applied or by absorption into the circulation. But great doubt
exists as to the exact mode in which they act ; and, as in many
other cases, we are obliged to content ourselves with their effects,
and to prescribe them empirically. They are divided into astrin-
gents administered by the mouth, and those applied locally to
external ulcerated or wounded surfaces.

1. FOR BLOODY URINE —

Powdered Catechu ... . £ ounce.

Alum ...... | ounce.

Cascarilla Bark in powder . . 1 to 2 drachms.
Liquorice Powder and Treacle enough to form a hall, to be given twice

a day.

2. FOR DIABETES — •

Opium ...... £ drachm.

Ginger powdered . . 2 drachms.

Oak Bark powdered .... 1 ounce.

Alum, as much as the tea will dissolve.

Chamomile Tea .... 1 pint.

Mix for a drench.

3. EXTERNAL ASTRINGENT POWDERS FOR ULCERATED SURFACES —

Powdered Alum .... 4 ounces.
Armenian Bole ... .1 ounce.

4. White Vitriol 4 ounces.

Oxide of Zinc 1 ounce. Mix.

5. ASTRINGENT LOTION —

Goulard Extract . . . . 2 to 3 drachms.

Water • \ pint.

6. Sulphate of Copper . . . . 1 to 2 drachms.
Water £ pint. Mix.

454 THE HORSE.

7. ASTRINGENT OINTMENT FOR SORE HEELS —

Acetate of Lead . . , .1 drachm.
Lard .- „ . . * . 1 ounce. Mix

8. ANOTHER FOR THE SAME —

Nitrate of Silver powdered . . £ drachm.
Goulard Extract , . .1 drachm.

Lard ...... 1 ounce.

Mix, and use a very small portion every night.

BLISTERS.

BLISTERS are applications which inflame the skin, and produce
a secretion of serum between the cutis and cuticle, by which the
latter is raised in the form of small bladders ; but in consequence
of the presence of the hair, these are very imperfectly seen in the
horse. They consist of two kinds — one, used for the sake of coun-
ter-irritation, by which the original disease is lessened, in conse-
quence of the establishment of this irritation at a short distance
from it ] the other, commonly called " sweating" in veterinary sur-
gery, by which a discharge is obtained from the vessels of the part
itself, which are in that way relieved and unloaded. There is also
a subsequent process of absorption in consequence of the peculiar
stimulus applied.

1. MILD BLISTER OINTMENT (COUNTER-IRRITANT) —

Hog's Lard . . . . .4 ounces.

Venice Turpentine . f , , . 1 ounce.

Powdered Cantharides • . .6 drachms.
Mix, and spread.

2. STRONGER BLISTER OINTMENT (COUNTER-IRRITANT) —

Spirit of Turpentine . ... 1 ounce.

Sulphuric Acid, by measure . . 2 drachms.
Mix carefully in an open place, and add —

Hog's Lard . . . . .4 ounces.

Powdered Cantharides . • . 1 ounce.
Mix, and spread.

3. VERY STRONG BLISTER (COUNTER-IRRITANT) —

Strong Mercurial Ointment . .4 ounces.

Oil of Origanum . . • . .# • . £ ounce.

Finely-powdered Euphorbium . .3 drachms.

Powdered Cantharides . . . £ ounce.
Mix. and spread.

4. RAPIDLY ACTING BLISTER (COUNTER-IRRITANT) —

Best Flour of Mustard . . .8 ounces.
Made into a paste with water ; then add —

Oil of Turpentine .'..'• . 2 ounces.

Strong Liquor of Ammonia . . 1 ounce.

This is to be well rubbed into the chest, belly, or back, in cases of
acute inflammation.

BLISTERS-CAUSTICS, OR CAUTERIES. 455

5. SWEATING BLISTER — •

Strong Mercurial Ointment . . 2 ounces.
Oil of Origanum .... 2 drachms.
Corrosive Sublimate , . .' .2 drachms.

Cantharides powdered » , " .- . 3 drachms.
Mix, and rub in with the hand.

6. STRONG SWEATING BLISTER, FOR SPLINTS, KING-BONES, SPAVINS

&c. —

Biniodide of Mercury . . . 1 to l£ drachm.

Lard . \ 1 ounce.

To be well rubbed into the legs, after cutting the hair short ; and followed
by the daily use of Arnica, in the shape of a wash, as follows, which is to
be painted on with a brush : —

Tincture of Arnica .... 1 ounce.

Water 12 to 15 ounces.

Mix.

7. LIQUID SWEATING BLISTERS —

Cantharides ..... 1 ounce.
Spirit of Turpentine . . .2 ounces.

Methylated Spirit of Wine . . 1 pint.
Mix, and digest for a fortnight ; then strain.

8. Powdered Cantharides . . .1 ounce.
Commercial Pyroligneous Acid . 1 pint.

Mix, and digest for a fortnight ; then strain.

CAUSTICS, OR CAUTERIES.
( To destroy Proud Flesh in Wounds.)

CAUSTICS are substances which burn away the living tissues of
the body, by the decomposition of their elements. They are of
two kinds, viz. : First, the actual cautery, consisting in the appli-
cation of the burning iron, and called firing; and, secondly, the
potential cautery, by means of the powers of mineral caustics, such
as potassa fusa, lunar caustic, corrosive sublimate, &c.

FIRING is described in the chapter on Operations, at page 438.

The following are the ordinary chemical applications used as
potential cauteries; —

1. FUSED POTASS, difficult to manage, because it runs about in all

directions, and little used in veterinary medicine.

2. LUNAR CAUSTIC, or Nitrate of Silver, very valuable to the veterinary

surgeon, and constantly used to apply to profuse granulations.

3. SULPHATE OF COPPER, almost equally useful, but not so strong as

Lunar Caustic. It may be well rubbed into all high granulations,
as in broken knees, and similar growths.

4. CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE in powder, which acts most energetically

upon warty growths, but should be used with great care and dis-
cretion. It may safely be applied to small surfaces, but not with-
out a regular practitioner to large ones. It should be washed off

456 THE HORSE.

after remaining on a few minutes. For the mode of applying it in
castration, see page 442.

5. YELLOW ORPIMENT is not so strong as Corrosive Sublimate, and may

be used with more freedom. It will generally remove warty
growths, by picking off their heads and rubbing it in.

6. MURIATE OF ANTIMONY, called Butter of Antimony ; a strong but

rather unmanageable caustic, and used either by itself or mixed
with more or less water.

7. CHLORIDE OF ZINC is a most powerful caustic. It may be used in

old sinuses in solution — 7 drachms in a pint of water.

MILDER CAUSTICS : —

8. Verdigris, either in powder or mixed with Lard as an ointment, in

the proportion of 1 to 3.

9. Red Precipitate, ditto, ditto.

10. Burnt Alum, used dry.

11. Powdered White Sugar.

MILD LIQUID CAUSTICS : —

12. Solution of Nitrate of Silver 5 to 15 grains to the ounce of dis-

tilled water.

13. Solution of Blue Vitriol, of about double the above strength.

14. Chloride of Zinc, 1 to 3 grains to the ounce of water.

CLYSTERS, OR INJECTIONS.

CLYSTERS are intended either to relieve obstruction or spasm of
the bowels, and are of great service when properly applied. They
may be made of warm water or gruel, of which some quarts will be
required in colic. They should be thrown up with the proper
syringe, provided with valves and a flexible tube.

ANODYNE CLYSTER IN DIARRHCEA —

Starch, made as for washing . . 1 quart.

Powdered Opium .... 2 drachms.
The Opium is to be boiled in water, and added to the Starch.

[DETERGENTS

ARE THOSE AGENTS which possess the property of cleansing ulcers,
wounds, and sores, inducing in them a healthy action.

1. Solution of the Sulphate of Zinc.

2. Sulphate of Copper .... 1 ounce.
Water 1 pint.

3. , Acid Nitrate of Mercury of the drug-shops.

4. Carbolic Acid 1 drachm.

Water 2 ounces.]

DIURETICS-EMBROCATIONS. 457

DIURETICS.
( To increase the Flow of Urine. )

DIURETICS are medicines which promote the secretion and dis-
charge of urine, the effect being produced in a different manner by
different medicines; some acting directly upon the kidneys by
sympathy with the stomach, while others are taken up by the
blood-vessels, and in their elimination from the blood cause an
extra secretion of the urine. In either case their effect is to
diminish the- watery part of the blood, and thus promote the absorp-
tion of fluid effused into any of the cavities, .or into the cellular
membrane in the various forms of dropsy.

1. STIMULATING DIURETIC BALL —

Powdered Resin .... 3 drachms.

Sal Prunelle 3 drachms.

Castile Soap 3 drachms.

Oil of Juniper 1 drachm. Mix.

2. A MORE COOLING DIURETIC BALL —

Powdered Nitre . . . . $ to 1 ounce.

Camphor 1 drachm.

Juniper berries 1 drachm.

Soap 3 drachms.

Mix, adding linseed meal enough to form a hall.

3. DIURETIC POWDER FOR A MASH —

Nitre $ to £ ounce.

Resin $ to f ounce. Mix.

4. ANOTHER MORE ACTIVE POWDER —

Nitre 6 drachms.

Camphor . . . . . • l£ drachm. Mix.

EMBROCATIONS, OR LINIMENTS.

EMBROCATIONS, OR LINIMENTS, are stimulating or sedative
external applications, intended to reduce the pain and inflamma-
tion of internal parts when rubbed into the skin with the hand.

1. MUSTARD EMBROCATION —

Best Flour of Mustard . . .6 ounces.

Liquor of Ammonia . . . • l£ ounce.

Oil of Turpentine . . * . .if ounce.
Mix with sufficient water to form a thin paste.

2. STIMULATING EMBROCATION —

Camphor £ ounce.

Oil of Turpentine . . . • H ounce.

Spirit of Wine l| ounce. Mix.

39

458 THE HORSE.

3. SWEATING EMBROCATION FOR WINDGALLS, &c. —

Strong Mercurial Ointment . . 2 ounces.

Camphor . . . • "•'.' . £ ounce.

Oil of Rosemary . ... 2 drachms.

Oil of Turpentine . ... 1 ounce. Mix.

4. ANOTHER, BUT STRONGER —

Strong Mercurial Ointment . . 2 ounces.

Oil of Bay 1 ounce.

Oil of Origanum . . £ ounce.

Powdere'd Cantharides . . . \ ounce. Mix.

5. A MOST ACTIVE SWEATING EMBROCATION —

Biniodide of Mercury . . . £ to 1 drachm.
Powdered Arnica Leaves . . .1 drachm.

Soap Liniment ..... 2 ounces. Mix.

FEBRIFUGES
(Fkver Balls and Powders),

GENERALLY CALLED fever medicines, are given to allay the arte-
rial and nervous excitements which accompany febrile action.
They do this partly by their agency on the heart and arteries
through the nervous system, and partly by increasing the secre-
tions of the skin and kidneys.

1. FEVER BALL —

Nitre . . • •" • . - .4 drachms.
Camphor . . . . . i 1J drachm.
Calomel and Opium, of each . . 1 scruple.
Linseed meal and water enough to form a ball. Or,

2. Emetic Tartar 1 J to 2 drachms.

Compound Powder of Tragacanth . 2 drachms.

Linseed meal as above. Or,

3. Nitre 3 drachms.

Camphor 2 drachms.

Mix as above.

4. COOLING POWDER FOR MASH —

Nitre .6 drs. to 1 ounce.

May be given in a bran mash.

5. COOLING DRENCH —

Nitre ...... 1 ounce.

Sweet Spirit of Nitre . . .2 ounces.
Tincture of Digitalis . . .2 drachms.
Whey 1 pint.

6. [Tincture of Aconite Root . . . 15 drops.

Extract of Belladona . . .2 drachms.
To be repeated, if necessary, three times daily.]

INJECTIONS. (See CLYSTERS.)

LOTIONS— STIMULANTS. 459

LOTIONS, OR WASHES

CONSIST in liquids applied to the external parts, either to cool
them or to produce a healthy action in the vessels.

1. COOLING SOLUTION FOR EXTERNAL INFLAMMATION —

Goulard Extract . . . .1 ounce.

Vinegar 2 ounces.

Spirits of Wine, or Gin . • . .3 ounces.

Water lj pint.

Mix, and apply with a calico bandage.

2. ANOTHER, USEFUL FOR INFLAMED LEGS, OB FOR GALLED SHOUL-

DERS OR BACK —

Sal Ammoniac . . . . . 1 ounce.

Vinegar 4 ounces.

Spirits of Wine .... 2 ounces.

Tincture of Arnica .... 2 drachms.

Water £ pint. Mix.

3. LOTION FOR FOUL ULCERS —

Sulphate of Copper .... 1 ounce.

Nitric Acid £ ounce.

Water 8 to 12 ounces.

Mix.

4. LOTION FOR THE EYES —

Sulphate of Zinc . . . . 20 to 25 grains.
Water 6 ounces. Mix.

5. VERY STRONG ONE, AND ONLY TO BE DROPPED IN —

Nitrate of Silver . . . . 5 to 8 grains.
Distilled Water .... 1 ounce.
Mix, and use with a camel-hair brush.

PHYSIC BALLS AND DRENCHES. (See APERIENTS.)

STIMULANTS.

BY THIS TERM is understood those substances which excite the
action of the whole nervous and vascular systems. Almost all
medicines are stimulants to some part or other, as, for instance,
aperients, which stimulate the lining of the bowels, but to the
general system are lowering. On the other hand, stimulants, so
called par excellence, excite and raise the action of the brain and
heart.

Old Ale 1 quart.

Carbonate of Ammonia . . . £ to 2 drachms.

Tincture of Ginger .... 4 drachms.
Mix, and give as a drench.

460 THE HORSE.

STOMACHICS.

STOMACHICS are medicines given to improve the tone of the
stomach when impaired by bad management or disease.

1. STOMACH BALL —

Powdered Gentian . . . . $ ounce.

Powder-ed Ginger . . . . l£ drachm.

Carbonate of Soda . • . .1 drachm.
Treacle to form a ball. Or,

2. Cascarilla, powdered • * • 1 ounce.
Myrrh . . •• . , . . l£ drachm.
Castile Soap 1 drachm.

Mix, with syrup or treacle, into a ball. Or,

3. Powdered Colombo . . . . \ to 1 ounce.
Powdered Cassia .... 1 drachm.
Powdered Rhutoarb '. . . 2 drachms.

Mix as in No. 2.

TONICS

AUGMENT the vigor of the whole body permanently, while stimu-
lants only act for a short time. They are chiefly useful after low
fever.

1. TONIC BALL —

Sulphate of Iron .. «. Y . Bounce.
Extract of Camomile • . .1 ounce.
Mix, and form into a ball. Or,

2. Arsenic 10 grains.

Ginger 1 drachm.

Powdered Aniseed .... 1 ounce.
Compound Powder of Tragacanth . 2 drachms.

Syrup enough to form a ball. It is a very powerful tonic.

[TRAUMATICS

ARE THOSE MEDICINES which excite the healing process in
wounds, ulcers, or sores.

1. Carbolic Acid . . • • .1 drachm.
Water 2 ounces.

2. Tincture Aloes and Myrrh.

3. Chloride of Zinc .... 5 grains.
Water \ %. ^ > .« . Jounce.

4. Yeast and Charcoal.]

VERMIFUGES— LIST OF IMPORTED .HORSES. 461

VERMIFUGES, OR WORM MEDICINES.

THEIR ACTION is partly by producing a disagreeable or fatal
impression on the worm itself, and partly by irritating the mucous
lining of the bowels, and thus causing them to expel their con-
tents. Failing the remedy recommended at page 368, the follow-
ing may be useful : — j

1. WORM BALL (recommended by Mr. GAMQEE) —

Asafoetida ..... 2 drachms.

Calomel U drachm.

Powdered Savin . . . . l| drachm.
Oil of Male Fern . . . .30 drops.

Treacle enough to make a ball, which should be given at night, and fol-
lowed by a purge next morning.

2. MILD DRENCH FOR WORMS —

Linseed Oil ..... 1 pint.
Spirit of Turpentine . . . .2 drachms.
Mix, and give every morning.

3. [Tincture Nux Vomica . . .15 drops.
Give three times daily for two or three days. ]

CHAPTER XXIX.
LIST OF IMPORTED HORSES.

IN ORDER TO SHOW how largely the Americans are indebted to
English blood, I here insert the following list of horses imported
by them from England, with the date of foaling of each, for
which I am indebted to Mr. Herbert: — *

Abjer, 1817, by Old Truffle — Briseis by Beninborough.

Actaeon, 1837, by Comus or Blacklock — Panthea.

Admiral, 1799, by Florizel — Spectator mare.

Admiral Nelson, 1795, by John Bull— Olivia.

Ainderby, 1832, by Velociped — Kate.

Alderman, 1778, by PotSos — Lady Bolingbroke.

Alexander, by Alexander, son of Eclipse ; dam's pedigree unknown.

Alexander, 1791, by Champion — Countess.

All-Fours, 1772, by All-Fours — Blank mare.

Ambassador, by Emilius — Trapes by Tramp.

Americus, 1755, by Babraham— Creeping Molly.

Amurath, 1832, by Langar — Armida.

Apparition, 1827, by Spectre — Young Cranberry.

Archduke, 1796, by* Sir Peter Teazle — Horatia, by Eclipse.

Archer, 1760, by Faggergill — Eclipse mare.

Archibald, 180l', by Walnut — Bay Javelin.

Arrakooker, 1789, by Drone — Camilla.

* From his last and crowning work, "The Horse and Horsemanship of
the United States and British Provinces of North America," by kind per-
mission of the publishers, Messrs. W. A. Townsend & Adams. — EDITOR.
39*

462 THE HORSE.

Autocrat, 1822, by Grand Duke — Olivetta.

Bachelor, 1753, by Blaze — Smiling Tom mare.

Barefoot, 1820, by Tramp — Rosamond.

Baronet, 1782, by Vertumnus — Penultima.

Bay Richmond, 1769, by Feather — Matron.

Bedford, 1792, by Dungannon — Fairy.

Belshazzar, 1830, by Blacklock — Manuella.

Bergamot, 1788, Highflyer — Orange Girl.

Berner's Comus, 1827, by Comus — Rotterdam.

Black Prince, 1760, by Babraham — Riot.

Blossom, 1795, by Bordeaux — Highflyer mare.

Boaster, 1795, by Dungannon — Justice mare.

Bolton, 1752, by Shark — Partner mare.

Brilliant, 1691, by Phenomenon — Faith.

Brian O'Lynn, 1756, by Aston — Le Sang mare.

Brutus, 1748, by Regulus — Miss Layton.

Buffcoat, 1742, 'by Godolphin Arab — Silver-locks.

Buzzard, 1787, by Woodpecker — Misfortune.

Camel, 1822, by Whalebone — Selim mare.

Cannon, 1789, by Dungannon — Miss Spindleshanks.

Cardinal Puff, 1803, by Cardinal — Luna.

Celer, 1774, by Old Janus— Brandon.

Centinel, 1758, by Blank— Naylor, by Cade.

Cetus, 1827, by Whalebone — Lamia.

Chance, 1787, by Lurcher — Recovery.

Chariot, 1789, by Highflyer — Potosi, by Eclipse.

Chateau Margaux, 1822, by Whalebone — Wasp.

Citizen, 1785, by Pacolet — Princess.

Claret, 1850, by Chateau Margaux — Partisan mare.

Clifden, 1797, by Alfred— Florizel mare.

Clifton, 1797, by Abbe" Thulle— Eustatia, by Highflyer.

Clockfast, 1774, by Gimcrack — Miss Ingram.

Ciowrt, 1785, by Bordeaux — Eclipse mare.

Coeur de Lion, 1789, by Highflyer — Dido.

Commodore, 1820, by Caleb Quot'em — Mary Brown.

Consol, 1828, by Lottery — Cerberus mare.

Consternation, 1841, by Confederate — Curiosity.

Contract, 1823, by Catton — Helen.

Cormorant, 1787, by Woodpecker — Nettletop.

Coronet, 1828, by Catton — Paynator mare.

Crab, 1736, by Crab — Councillor mare.

Crawler, 1792, by Highflyer — Harriet.

Creeper, 1786, by Tandem — Crawler's dam.

Cub, 1739, by Old Fox— Warlock Galloway.

Cynthius, 1799, by Acacia — Yarico.

Dancingmaster, 1787, by Woodpecker — Madcap.

Dare Devil, 1787, by Magnet — Hebe.

David, 1756, by Gower Stallion — Fox Cub mare.

De Bash, 1792,' by King Fergus — Highflyer mare.

Denizen, 1836, by Actseon — Design.

Derby, 1831, by Peter Lely— Urganda.

Diomed, 1777, by Florizel — Spectator mare.

Dion, 1795, by Spadille— Faith.

Doncaster, 1834, by Longwaist — Muley mare. '

Don John, 1835, by Tramp or Waverley — Sharpset's dam.

Don Quixote, 1784, by Eclipse — Grecian Princess.

LIST OF IMPORTED HORSES. 463

Dormouse, 1753, by Dormouse — Diana, by Whitefoot.

Dragon, 1787, by Woodpecker — Juno.

Briver, 1784, by Driver — Dorimont mare.

Drone, 1778, by Herod — Lily.

Druid, 1790, by PotSos— Maid of the Oaks.

Dungannon, 1793, by Dungannon — Miss Spindleshanks.

Eagle, 1796, by Volunteer — Highflyer mare.

Eastham, 1818, by Sir Oliver — Cowslip.

Eclipse, 1778, by Eclipse— Phoebe.

Emancipation, 1827, by Whisker — Ardrossan mare.

Emilius Colt, 1836, by Bourbon — Fleur de Lis.

Emu, 1832, by Picton — Cuirass.

Englishman, 1812, by Eagle — PotSos mare.

Envoy, 1827, by Comus — Aline.

Escape, 1798, by Precipitate — Woodpecker mare.

Espersykes, 1837, by Belshazzar — Capsicum mare.

Eugenius, 1770, by Chrysolite — Mixbury.

Expedition, 1795, by Pegasus — Active.

Express, 1785, by Postmaster — Syphon mare,

Exton, 1785, by Highflyer — lo.

Fairfax Roan, 1764, by Adolphus — Tartar mare.

Fearnought, 1755, by Regulus — Silvertail.

Fallower, 1761, by Blank — Partner mare.

Fellow, 1755, by Cade— Goliah mare.

Felt, 1826, Langar — Steam.

Figaro, 1731, by Figaro — Catton mare.

Figure, 1747, by Standard— Beaufort Arabian mare.

Firebrand, 1802, by Braggart — Fanny.

Firetail, 1795, by Phenomenon — Columbine.

Flatterer, 1830, by Muley— Clare.

Flexible, 1822, by Whalebone— Themis.

Flimnap, 1765, by South — Cygnet mare.

Florizel, by Florizel — Alfred mare.

Fop, 1832, by Stumps — Fitzjames mare.

Frederick, 1810, by Selim — Englishman's dam.

Friar, 1759, by South — Sister to Lowther Babraham, by Babraham.

Fylde, 1824, by Antonio — Fadladinada.

Gabriel, 1790, by Dorimont — Highflyer mare.

Genius, 1753, by Babraham — Aura.

Gift, 1768, by Cadormus— Old Cub mare.

Glencoe, 1831, by Sultan — Trampoline, by Tramp.

Gouty, 1796, by Sir Peter Teazle — Tandem mare.

Grariby, 1759, by Blank— Old Crab mare.

Grecian, 1821 (Brother to Alasco), by Clavalino — Pioneer mare.

Grey Highlander, 1787, by Bordeaux — Teetotum mare.

Greyhound, 1796, by Sweetbriar — Miss Green, by Highflyer.

Hambleton, 1791, by Dungannon — Snap mare. %

Hamilton, 1793, by son of Highflyer — Eclipse mare.

Hector, 1745, by Lath — Childers mare.

Hedgeford, 1826, by Filho-da-Puta — Miss Craigie.

Hark Forward, 1840 (brother to Harkaway), by Economist — Naboc-

lish mare.

Hibiscus, 1834,. by Sultan — Duchess of York.
Highflyer, 1782, by Highflyer — Angelica.
Honest John, 1794, by Sir Peter Teazle — Magnet.
Hugh Lupus, 1836, by Priam— Her Highness.

464 THE HORSE.

Humphrey Clinker, 1822, by Comus — Clinkerina.

Invalid, 1822, by Whisker — Hamilton mare.

Jack Andrews, 1794, by Joe Andrews — Highflyer mare.

Jack the Bachelor, 1753, by Blaze — Gallant mare.

James, 1746, by Old James — Little Hartley mare.

John Bull, 1799, by Fortitude — Xantippe.

John Bull, 1833, by Chateau Margaux — Woful mare.

Jolly Koger, 1741, by Roundhead— Partner mare.

Jonah, 1795, by Escape — Lavender mare.

Jordan, 1833, by Langar — Matilda.

Julius Caesar, 1757, by Young Cade — Snip mare.

Juniper, 1782, by Babraham — Aura.

Junius, 1752, by Starling Crab — Monkey mare.

Justice, 1782, by Justice — Curiosity.

Justice, 1759, by Blank — Aura, by Stamford Turk.

King William, 1777, by Herod— Madcap.

King William, 1781, by Florizel— Milliner.

Knowsley, 1795, by Sir Peter Teazle — Cupella, by Herod.

Kouli Khan, 1772, by The Vernon Arab — Rosemary.

Lancelot, 1837, by Camel.

Langar colt, by Langar — Malvina.

Langford, 1853, by Starch— Peri.

Lapdog, 1823, by Whalebone — Canopus mare.

Lath, 1763, by Shepherd's Crab — Lath mare.

Leopard, by Liverpool — Sneaker, by Camel.

Leviathan, 1823, by Muley — Windle mare.

Lofty, 1753, by Godolphin Arab — Croft's Partner mare.

Ludford, 1832, by Wamba — Idalia.

Lurcher, 1832. by Greyleg — Harpalice, by Gohanna.

Luzborough, 1820, by Williamson's Luzborough — Dick Andrews mare.

Lycurgus, 1767, by Blank — Snip mare.

Magic, 1794, by Volunteer — Marcella.

Magnum Bonum, 1774, by Matchem — Snip mare.

Manfred, 1796, by Woodpecker — Mercury mare.

Mark Antony, 1767, by Spectator — Rachel.

Margrave, 1829, by Muley — Election.

Marmion, by Whiskey — Young Noisette.

Marplot, by Highflyer — Omar mare.

Master Robert, 1793, by Star — Young Marske mare.

Matchem, 1773, by Matchem — Lady.

Matchless, 1754, by Godolphin Arab — Soreheels.

Medley, 1776, by Gimcrack — Arminda, by Snap.

Mendoza, 1778, by Javelin — Pomona.

Merman, 1835, by Whalebone — Orville mare.

Merryfield, 1808, by Cockfighter— Star mare.

Messenger, 1778, by Mambrino — Turf mare.

Meux, 1816, by Chorus — Diana.

Mexican, 1775, by Snap — Matchem mare.

Moloch, by Muley Moloch — Sister to Puss.

Monarch, 1834, by Priam — Delpini mare.

Monkey, 1825, by Lonsdale Bay Arab — Curwen's Bay Barb mare.

Mordecai, 1833, by Lottery — Miss Thomasina.

Moro, by Starling — Brown Slipby.

Morven, 1836, by Rowton— Nanine, by Selim.

Moscow, 1746, by Cullen Arab — Croft's Starling mare.

Mousetrap, by Careless — Regulus mare.

LIST OF IMPORTED HORSES. 465

Mufti, .1783, by Fitz Herod — Infant mare.
Nicholas, 1833, by St. Nicholas — Moss Rose.
Non Plus, 1824, by Catton— Miss Garforth, by Walton.
North Star, 1768, by Matchem — Lass of the Mill.
Northumberland, by Old Bustard — Old Crab mare.
Onus, 1835, by Camel — The Etching, by Rubens.
Oroonoko, 1745, by Old Crab — Miss Slamerkin.
Oscar, 1795, by Saltram — Highflyer mare.
Othello, 1743, by Crab — Miss Slamerkin.
Pam, 1757, by Regulus— Cade mare.
Pantaloon, 1778, by Herod — Nutcracker.
Partner, 1760, by Partner — Camilla.

Partner, by Duke of Hamilton's Figure — Old Figure mare.
Passenger, 1836, by Langar — My Lady.
Passaic, 1836, by Reveller — Rachel.
Paul, 1807, by Saltram — Purity, by Matchem.
Phenomenon, 1780, by Herod — l^renzy.
Pharaoh, 1753. by Moses — Godolphin mare.
Phil Brown, by Glaucus — Bustle.
Phoenix, 1798," by Old Dragon — Portia.
Pilgrim, 1762, by Samson — Regulus mare.
Play or Pay, 1791, by Ulysses — Herod mare.
Plenipo, 1837, by Plenipo — Polly Hopkins.
Portland, 1834, by Recovery — Caifacaratodaddera.
Post Captain, 1835, by The Colonel — Posthuma.
Precipitate, 1787, by Mercury — Herod mare.
Priam, 1827, by Emilius — Cressida.
Priam, 1834, by Priam — Soothsayer mare.
Prince, 1773, by Herod— Helen, by Blank.
Prince Ferdinand, by Herod — Matchem mare.
Punch, by Herod — Marske mare.
Regulus, 1747, by Regulus — Partner mare.
Restless, 1788, by Phenomenon — Duchess.
Reveller colt, 1836, by Reveller — Rachel.
Rutland, 1810, by Stamford — Worthy mare.
Riddlesworth, 1828, by Emilius — Filagree.
Roan colt, 1802, by Sir Peter Teazle — Mercury mare.
Robin Redbreast, 1796, by Sir Peter Teazle— Wren.
Roman, 1815, by Camillus — Leon Forte.
Rotherham, 1838, by Grey Conqueror — Camilla mare.
Rosalio, 1 836, by Vanish — Rose Leaf.
Rowton, 1826, by Oiseau — Katherina.
Rowton colt, 1836, by Nanine — Nannie.
Royalist, 1790, by Saltram — Herod mare.
Ruby, 1836, by Emilius — Eliza.
St. George, 1789, by Highflyer — Sister to Soldier.
St. Giles, 1829, by Tramp — Arcot Lass.
St. Patrick Colt, 1835, by St. Patrick — Maria, by Whisker.
St. Paul, 1791, by Saltram — Purity, by Matchem.
Saltram, 1780, by Eclipse — Virago.
Scout, 1836, by St. Nicholas — Blacklock mare.
Scythian, 1851, by Orlando — Scythia.
Selim, 1780, by Bajazet— Miss Thigh.
Serab, 1821, by Phantom — Jessie.
Shadow, 1759, by Babraham— Bolton Starling mare.
Shakspeare, 1823, by Smolensko — Charming Molly.
2a

466 THE HORSE.

Shamrock, 1827, by St. Patrick — Fairy.

Shark, 1771, by Marske — Snap mare.

Shock, by Stork — Partner mare.

Shock, 1729, by Jig — Snake mare.

Silver, 1789, by Mercury — Herod mare.

Silver Eye, by Cullen Arab — Curwen's Bay Barb.

Sir Harry, 1794, by Sir Peter Teazle— Matron.

Sir Peter Teazle, 1802, by Sir Peter Teazle— Mercury mare.

Sir Robert, 1833, by Bobadil— Fidalma, by Waxy Pope.

Skylark, 1826, by Waxy Pope— Skylark.

Slender, 1779, by Kin g "Herod— Eachel.

Slim, 1768, by Wildman's Babraham — Babraham mare.

Sloven, 1756, by Cub — Bolton Starling mare.

Slouch, 1745, by Cade — Little Hartley mare.

Sorrow, 1836, by Defence — Tears.

Sour Grout, 1786, by Highflyer — Jewel.

Sovereign, 1836, by Emilius — Fleur de Lis.

Spadille, 1784, by Highflyer— Flora.

Spark, by Honeycomb Punch — Miss Colville.

Speculator, 1795, by Dragon — Herod mare.

Spread Eagle, 1792, by Volunteer — Highflyer mare.

Stafford, 1833, by Memnon — Sarsaparilla.

Star, 1786, by Highflyer — Snap mare.

Starling, 1800, by Sir Peter Teazle — Magnet mare.

Stirling, 1797, by Volunteer — Harriet.

Stirling, 1762, by the Bellsize Arabian — Simpson's 'Snake mare.

Strap, 1800, by Beninborough — Highflyer mare.

Stratford, 1834, by Shakspeare — Pheasant.

Swiss, 1821, by Whisker — Shuttle mare.

Tarquin, 1720, by Hampton Court Arab — Leedes mare.

Telegraph, 1795, by Guildford— Fame.

Tickle Toby, 1786, by Alfred— Cselia, by Herod.

Tom Crib, by Gladiator — Jemima.

Tom Jones, 1745, by Partner — True Blue mare.

Tranby, 1826, by Blacklock — Orville mare.

True Blue, 1797, by Walnut — King Fergus mare.

Truffle, 1825, by Truffle— Helen.

Trustee, 1829, by Catton — Emma.

Tup, 1756, by Javelin — Flavia.

Valentine, 1823, by Magistrate — Miss Forester.

Valparaiso, 1831, by Velocipede — Juliana.

Vampire, 1757, by Eegulus — Steady mare.

Vanish, 1834, by Vanish — Elephant's dam.

Victor, 1838, by Defence — Vivid.

Volney, 1833, by Velocipede — Voltaire's dam.

Volunteer, by Volunteer — Whipcord mare.

Whale, 1830, by Whalebone— Rectory.

Whip, 1794, by Saltram — Herod mare.

Wildair, 1753, by Cade — Steady mare.

William the Fourth, 1795, by Blacklock — Juniper mare.

Wonder, 1786, by Florizel — Saccharissa.

Wonder,- 1794, by Phenomenon — Brown .Fanny.

Wrangler, 1794, by Diomed — Fleacatcher.

Yorkshire, 1834, by St. Nicholas — Miss Rose.

Zinganee, 1825, by Tramp — Folly.

Zinganee colt, 1840, by Zinganee — Miss Andrews.

ESSAY

ON THE

AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE

BY

ELLWOOD HARVEY, M. D.

(467)

THE

AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE

THE trotting gait has been brought to such a degree of excel-
lence in this country, and the breeding, training, and driving of
trotting horses claims so large a share of attention, both in town and
country, that a book on horses would be incomplete if it did not
treat more fully of these subjects than any foreign work could be
expected to do.

This Essay is therefore intended to give some account of the
history of American trotting and of trotters of distinction, together
with a few suggestions on breeding and training of this class of
horses.

Though trotting has been greatly cultivated here, and enters
more largely into the business and pleasure of Americans than of any
other people, it would be an error to suppose that no attention has
been given to it in any other country, or that the matching of
trotters in races had its origin here. The trot is a natural gait to
the horse, as it is to many other quadrupeds, and wherever horses
are driven in harness their trotting is likely to be improved. A
horseback rider finds the gallop and the canter easier to him, and
horses are chiefly trained to those gaits in countries where light
vehicles and good roads are unknown ; as in Asia, Africa, the
eastern part of Europe, and all of America except the United States
and Canada.

Trotting, as a sport, began in England as early as 1791, in which
year we find an account of a brown mare, eighteen years old, that
trotted on the Essex road 16 miles in 58 minutes. On the 13th of
October, 1799, a trotting match was decided on Sunbury Common,
England, between Mr. Dixon's brown gelding and Mr. Bishop's
gray gelding, each carrying 168 pounds, which was won in 27m.
10s. The distance is not stated, but the time shows that it was a
trial of endurance as well as speed. Nearly all of the English
trotting matches of that early period were of great distance. A
Mr. Stevens drove a pair of his own horses tandem, in 1796, from
40 (469)

470 THE HORSE,

Windsor to Hampton Court, 16 miles, in less than an hour; and
the celebrated English trotter. Archer, carried 210 Ibs 16 miles
in 55 minutes. At about this period a variety of roadsters called
Norfolk trotters came into notice in England, and still maintain a
good reputation there, though none of them have ever attained a
speed that would be considered very fast here. No other European
country has produced trotters worthy of notice.

Trotting as a public amusement began somewhat later in this
country. Porter's Spirit of the Times, of December 20, 1856,
states : " The first time ever a horse trotted in public for a stake
was in 1818, and that was a match against time for $1000. The
match was proposed at a jockey-club dinner, where trotting had
come under discussion, and the bet was that no horse could be
produced that could trot a mile in 3 minutes. It was accepted by
Maj. Win. Jones, of Long Island, and Col. Bond, of Maryland, but
the odds on time were immense. The horse named at the post was
Boston Blue, who won cleverly, and gained great renown. He
subsequently was purchased by Thomas Cooper, the tragedian, who
drove him on several occasions between New York and Philadel-
phia, thereby enabling him to perform his engagements in either
city on alternate nights/' This performance was more then twenty
years later than the first public trotting in England, where the
sport was then receiving some encouragement ; and Boston Blue
was taken to that country, wliere he trotted 8 miles in 28m. 55s.,
winning a hundred sovereigns. He also trotted several shorter
races, making about 3m. time. He was a rat-tailed, iron-gray
gelding, 16 hands high, and nothing is known of his pedigree.

Trotting received very little attention here until after 1820,
when the descendants of Messenger attracted notice by their speed,
spirit, and endurance; chiefly about Philadelphia and New York.

In 1825 the New York Trotting Club was organized, and estab-
lished a trotting course on Long Island. .

In 1828 the Hunting Park Association was established in Phila-
delphia— " for the encouragement of the breed of fine horses, espe-
cially that most valuable one known as the trotter." Its course,
known as the Hunting Park, was located about four miles north of
the city.

Before the era marked by the organization of these two associa-
tions, three minutes was about the shortest time in which any horse
here or in England had trotted a mile. In imitation of the four-
mile running heats then and now common, the first trials of trot-
ting speed were usually for three miles or more ; and effort was not
then directed to the development of the greatest degree of speed
for a single mile.1 For several years, two and three-mile heats were
trotted at about the rate of 2m. 40s. to the mile, and this is about
the average speed of to-day, estimating from the reports of trotting

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 471

races in the Spirit of the Times, though we now have many that
can go the mile in less than 2m. 30s., a few that can make 2m. 24s.,
and two or three that have trotted in less than 2m. 20s. Among
the early celebrities were Screwdriver, Betsy Baker, Topgallant,
Whalebone, Shakspeare, Paul Pry, Trouble,, and Sir Peter; all
grand-colts of Messenger, except the first named, and he was a
great-grand-colt. As many of the most distinguished trotters of
the present day claim the same lineage, and as the influence of this
great progenitor on the trotting stock of the country was immensely
greater than that of all others together, a history of Messenger and
his descendants would be a pretty full history of the eminent trot-
ting horses of the world.

Messenger was an English thorough-bred, foaled in 1780. and
imported, as were many other English thorough-breds, on account
of his value as a running horse, and for the improvement of
thorough-breds in this country. He had run successfully in sev-
eral races, and at five years old won the King's Plate. It was
three years after this performance, 1788, that he was imported
into New. York by Mr. Benger. The first two seasons dfter his
arrival he was kept at Neshaminy Bridge, near Bristol, in Bucks
county, Pa. Mr. Henry Astor then purchased him, and kept him
on Long Island for two years. About this time Mr. C. W. Van
Rantz purchased an interest in him, and for the remainder of his
life he was kept in various parts of the state of New York, with
the exception of one year at Cooper's Point, in New Jersey, oppo-
site Philadelphia. He died January 28, 1808.

Messenger was a gray, 15 hands 3 inches high, and stoutly built.
His .form was not strictly in conformity with the popular notions
of perfection, being upright in the shoulders and low on the
withers, with a short, straight neck and a large, bony head. His
loins and hind quarters were powerfully muscular, his windpipe
and nostrils of unusual size, his hocks and knees very large, and
below them limbs of medium size, but flat and clean ; and whether
at rest or in motion, his position and carriage always perfect and
striking. It i.s said that during the voyage to this country the
three other horses that accompanied him became so reduced in
flesh and strength that when the vessel landed at New York they
had to be helped and supported down the gang-plank; but when
it came Messenger's turn to land, he, with a loud neigh, charged
down the gang-plank, with a colored groom on each side holding
him back, and dashed off up the street at a stiff trot, carrying the
grooms along in spite of their efforts to stop him.

Though his name has been made illustrious chiefly by the per-
formances of his trotting descendants, he was also the sire of some
of the best running horses of his day. The most famous on the
turf of his immediate thorough-bred descendants were Potomac,

472 THE HORSE.

Fair Rachel, Miller's Damsel (dain of American Eclipse), Bright
Phoebus, Hambletonian, Sir Solomon, and Sir Harry. The cele-
brated four-mile racer, Ariel, had Messenger in her pedigree four
times in five generations.

In his day trotting was not much in fashion, as we have shown,
and nothing is known of the trotting speed of this great fountain-
head of trotters, nor were any of his sons or daughters ever trained
to that gait. It was the second generation of his descendants, the
grand-colts of Messenger, and mostly those produced by a cross
with the common stock of the country, that attracted attention by
their trotting speed. This fact is easily explained. The thorough-
breds of his get were trained to running, and were not used as road
horses, or some of them would probably have surpassed any of his
half-bred descendants in trotting. But even his own half-bred
colts made no mark as trotters, though some of them became cele-
brated as the sires of trotters. This is somewhat remarkable ; but
we should bear in mind that public attention had not then been
given to that gait, good roads and light vehicles were not so com-
mon, and the next generation being more numerous, the -probabili-
ties were greater that this remarkable quality of the family should
not remain undiscovered.

The sons of Messenger to which nearly all the fast trotters of
the present day trace their pedigree were Plato, Engineer, Com-
mander, Why-Not, Mount Holly, Mambrino, and Hambletonian.

Mambrino, named after the sire of Messenger, was thorough-
bred, a bright bay, 16 hands high, long bodied, and, like his sire,
upright in the shoulders. He was not only a large, but also a
coarse horse, badly string-halted ; a disease that seldom impairs a
horse's usefulness, though it was hereditary in this case, and many
of his descendants had it. He had a free, rapid, swinging walk, a
slashing trot, and running speed of the first order. He was the
sire of Betsy Baker, one of the first eminent American trotters ;
of Abdallah, from whom are descended many of the fastest, includ-
ing the get of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, who was sired by Abdallah,
and of Mambrino Paymaster, from whom are descended Mambrino
Chief and all his get, including Lady Thorn, Mambrino Pilot, Bay
Chief, &c. This son of Messenger stands undoubtedly at the head
of the family as a progenitor of trotters.

Next in celebrity is Hambletonian, also thorough-bred. He
was a dark bay, 15 hands 1 inch, beautifully moulded, and without
a single weak point. He was the sire of Topgallant, Whalebone,
Sir Peter, Trouble, and Shakspeare ; all ranked among the best of
the early American trotters.

Abdallah was a grandson of Messenger, and deserves especial
mention in this connection because so many trotters of celebrity
are descended through him. He was foaled in 1826, the property

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 473

of Mr. John Treadwell, of Jamaica, L. I. His sire was Mambrino,
and his dam a daughter of Messenger, called Amazonia. Thus
Abdallah was closely inbred. He was a bay, and inherited much
of the plainness of his sire ; but also inherited the trotting quality
of Messenger in great degree. He was trained at four years eld,
and was considered the fastest young horse of his day. In the
spring of 1840 he was sold to Mr. John W. Hunt, of Lexington,
Ky. ; but, on account of the great value of his stock, he was
bought back the next year, at a high price, and died in 1852.
Beside being a progenitor, through his son, Rysdyk's Hamble-
tonian, of that numerous and highly-distinguished family of trotters
of which Dexter, Q-eorge Wilkes, and Mountain Boy are the most
eminent representatives, he is equally remarkable for the number
of mares of his get from whom very fast trotters have been bred.
To say that a horse is " out of an Abdallah mare," is pedigree
enough on that side with most horsemen.

Of the other sons of Messenger it is not necessary to speak at
length, though we find many horses of the present day descended
from them, and inheriting the Messenger characteristics. When
the pedigree of any fast trotter can be traced far enough, it rarely
happens that Messenger is not found in it. Many horses that show
good trotting speed, and are considered by their breeders and
owners to be nothing but common stock, are found to be descended
from Messenger, when intelligent investigation reveals their pedi-
grees.

Another imported horse that added something to the trotting
quality of our stock was Bellfounder, a stallion foaled about 1817
and brought from England to Boston in 1823 by Mr. James Boot.
He was a bay of fine form, size, and action ; and these character-
istics were transmitted to his colts with great uniformity. Many
of them were very good and stylish carriage horses, with consider-
able speed, but only those infused with Messenger blood were very
fast. Nothing is known of his pedigree, though his appearance
indicated that he was nearly thoroughbred. It was said that he
had trotted in England 2 miles in 6m. when three years old and
10 miles in 30m. at four years old. It was also asserted that he
had trotted 17 £ miles in an hour; but these statements, not being
very well authenticated, are deemed apocryphal by the best horse-
men of this day. One of his colts, of the same name, stood several
years in Delaware county, Pa., and left a numerous family of
handsome, lively trotters, nearly all of which became lame in the
fore feet, and some even to the fifth generation. His advent to
that locality was a loss of many thousands of dollars to breeders.
The name of Bellfounder, there, is about synonymous with worth-
lessness, and will long remain in disrepute ; though this particular
son of the imported horse probably inherited his constitutional

474 THE HORSE.

tendency to lameness from "his dam, as the Bellfounders elsewhere
are not charged with the same defect. Many distinguished trotters
are in part descended from some of the many thorough-breds that
have been imported from England at various times, and, indeed,
our most celebrated horses have a strong infusion of that blood,
derived from other sources than Messenger. Conceding the value
of good thorough-bred crosses in giving spirit and endurance to
trotting horses, and admitting that Diomed, Whip, Trustee, Glen-
coe, Margrave, and other imported thorough-breds have eminent
trotters among their descendants, it may be safe to say that all
of them together would not have produced a family of trotters
without a cross from Messenger ; and equally safe to assert that
the fame of Messenger would have been no less if any one of the
others had never been foaled. The imported Arabian, Grand
Bashaw, had the luck to have his name perpetuated in a family
of good trotters that originated in Bucks county, Pa., but the
trotting quality all came from Messenger, who stood in that county
two years. The first of the Bashaws that manifested any trotting
quality was Young Bashaw, a son of the Arabian j and he was the
only one of the whole get (if we may coin a word) that was thus
endowed. The explanation is found in the fact that Young
Bashaw's dam was a granddaughter of Messenger.

Of American horses not descended from Messenger that have
contributed to establish the reputation of our trotters, the number
is not large nor the influence very considerable. Sir Henry, the
famous competitor of American Eclipse, and Duroc, both thorough-
breds, and both descended from imported Diomed, seem to have-
transmitted some trotting quality to their descendants, but it is
very doubtful that either, or both, would have established a family
of trotters. Seely's American Star, quite famous as the sire of
modern trotters, combines the blood of both, being sired by Ameri-
can Star, a son of Duroc, and out of Sally Slouch by Sir Henry ;
but his grand-dam was by Messenger. American Eclipse, the
progenitor of many good trotters, had also the blood of Duroc, his
sire ; but as his dam, Miller's Damsel, was by Messenger, the Duroc
part of the pedigree is seldom thought of. Americus, who beat
Lady Suffolk on the Hunting Park Course in a five-mile match to
wagons in the remarkable time of 13m. 54s. and 13m. 58 Js., was
by Red Jacket, a son of Duroc, and not known to have inherited
his trotting from any other source.

Canada has added something to our trotting stock. In Lower
Canada, where the earliest settlers were French, and brought with
them a breed of horses now known in France as Normans, they
have a breed of hardy, spirited, compactly built horses, descended
from the larger French horse, inheriting much of his form and
general appearance, but greatly diminished in size. These Cana-

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 475

dian horses are often called Cannucks. and by some are known as
French horses, a designation likely to lead to misapprehension.
They are of all colors, with thick, long manes, heavy tails, and
hairy legB. Their heads are generally very good in size and form,
faces dished, indicating gamy dispositions; necks well arched,
often heavy in the crest but carried well up; backs shoit, rumps
steep, particularly in those that pace ; bodies round and roomy,
the ribs sometimes projecting from the backbone nearly horizon-
tally, giving a peculiar, flat appearance to the back. Their legs
are generally good, but somewhat inclined to spring in the knees;
feet often narrow and mulish, but very durable. In trotting they
are usually short, quick steppers with very high knee action, and
are spirited, trappy harness horses, and" long-lived. These horses
are often said to be degenerated from their Norman ancestry by
reason of the coldness of the climate, the long winters and scanty
fare. There have been numerous importations from France to
this country of the choicest specimens of Norman horses, and an
impartial comparison shows that the Canadian has gained in spirit
and speed more than enough to compensate for all he has lost in
size.

The best of the Canadians that ever came to the States was,
probably, Pilot, a black pacing and trotting horse whose descend-
ants inherited trotting speed. He was often distinguished as Old
Pacer Pilot. Wallace's American Stud Book says of him : " Foaled
about 1826. Nothing is known of his pedigree. He was called
a Canadian horse, and both trotted and paced ; at the latter gait,
it is said, he went in 2m. 26s. with 1651bs. on his back. He was
bought about 1832 by Major 0. Dubois, from a Yankee peddler
in New Orleans, for $1000. He was afterwards sold to D. Hein-
sohn of Louisville, Ky., and was kept in that vicinity until he
died about 1855. His stock were very stout and fast." As no-
thing is known of his pedigree, and as he was in all appearance a
genuine Cannuck, it is likely that he did not owe anything to
Messenger. One of his get, Alexander's Pilot, Jr., out of Nancy
Pope by Havoc, was the sire of many fast trotters, the fastest of
which was John Morgan, out of a mare by Medoc and he by Ameri-
can Eclipse. The dam of Mambrino Pilot was also by Pilot, Jr.,
and, like John Morgan, was of Messenger descent on the dam's
side. Though the best of the descendants of Old Pilot are part
Messenger, there is none of Jhat blood in Pilot, Jr., and it must be
confessed that Old Pilot sired some very good horses that took the
trotting all from himself.

Another horse of Canadian origin, though not a Cannuck,
deserves notice in this connection. Royal George, called Warrior
before he came to the States, the sire of the fast stallion Toronto
Chief, and several other good trotters, was a native of Canada and

476 THE HORSE.

probably out of a Cannuck mare, but his sire was Black Warrior,
and he by an imported English horse.

Some very good colts have been bred out of Cannucks by good
trotting stallions. Thus the celebrated sons of Rysdyk's Hamble-
tonian, Bruno and the Brother of Bruno, and their full sister
Brunette, are out of a Canadian mare. At three years old Bruno
made the astonishing time of 2m. 39s. in harness. At four years
old, 2m. 30s. and 2m. 34s. At six years old he trotted to the
pole with Brunette, seven years old, on the Fashion Course in 2m.
35*s.

Gift, a chestnut gelding by Mambrino Pilot, was out of a small
pacing Cannuck. At four years old he received five forfeits, and
challenged, through the Spirit of the Times, any colt of the same
age to trot in harness or to wagon for $1000, without being accepted.
Though these colts are out of Canadian mares, it must be considered
that the mares themselves were not very fast, and that Rysdyk's
Hambletonian and Mambrino Pilot are the best two trotting foal
getters in the world. The bay stallion St. Lawrence, the sire of
several fast trotters, was a Canadian, and one of the best of his
breed. He died at Kalamazoo in 1858. There is one other horse
deserving especial notice as a progenitor of trotters, in whose veins
no blood of Messenger can be found, though his pedigree is too
obscure to warrant the assertion that none existed there. Black
Hawk, often called Vermont Black Hawk to distinguish him from
the equally celebrated Long Island Black Hawk, and also called
Hill's Black Hawk, was of Morgan stock on his sire's side ; being
a son of Sherman, one of the best sons of Justin Morgan, the
founder of the Morgan family. The dam of Black Hawk was
raised in New Brunswick, and nothing is known of her pedigree.
Black Hawk was foaled in 1833 at Greenland, N. H. At four
years old he was sold to Lowell, Mass., where he was used as a
carriage horse for seven years. He then became the property of
David Hill, of Bridport, Vt., where he acquired great fame; beget-
ting more high priced colts than any other horse of his day. He
had remarkable power in propagating his own characteristics, and
his stock were uniformly stylish, spirited harness horses, many of
them fast and some of them among the fastest. Another history
of his pedigree mades him the son of a Canadian named Paddy ;
and still another declares him a veritable native of Canada, though
not a pure Cannuck. The story, as fit was given the writer by
Mr. Lucien Bechard, a Canadian horse dealer, is as follows : An
old Canadian Frenchman engaged in smuggling tobacco from the
States, bought there and took home with him a brown mare with
foal. In due time she had a bay colt, that at two years old begot
Black Hawk out of a little gray mare not over 14 hands high.
The fortunate possessor of the black colt was a widow who lived

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 477

by the Chambly river in the Montreal district. At four years old
he was sold to John Harris for $200, and at six years old was sold
again to Van Loiseu, a dealer, for $400. Van Loiseu taught him
many tricks, at learning which he showed great aptitude, and sold
him in New York to a Bostonian for $600. From Boston he got
to Lowell, &c. This story is probably all true of some horse, but
the identity is not established. Black Hawk's colts were never
gray, as many of them would have been if his dam was that color,
but many of them were chestnuts with white feet and faces, which
was the color of Sherman and of Sherman's dam. This fact pretty
clearly shows that neither the " Paddy" story nor the Canadian
pedigree are correct, but that Black Hawk was truly a Morgan.
He was a little under 15 hands, and weighed about lOOOlbs. In
1842 he won $1000 by trotting five miles over the Cambridge
Park Course in 16m. In 1843 he won a race of xtwo-mile heats
with ease in 5m. 43s. and 5m. 48s., and several times trotted single
miles in 2m. 42s. He was the sire of Ethan Allen, Black Ralph,
Lancet, Belle of Saratoga, Black Hawk Maid, Flying Cloud, and
many others of good repute for speed. His colts were in great
demand, particularly in the West and South, where hundreds were
sold at very high prices. As many of his sons were, and still are,
kept as stallions, his descendants are very numerous; and he
undoubtedly has done much to improve the stock of American
horses. But, notwithstanding these facts, the reputation of the
family appears to be diminishing. Of fifty- two trotting stallions
advertised in the Spirit of the Times in 1868, only three are
descendants of Vermont Black Hawk, and all of these are also
part Messenger.

Every one of the fifty-two is descended from Messenger, and
those most distinguished as sires of trotters have each several crosses
of Messenger blood in their pedigree. These are very, remarkable
facts, and, taken in connection with the whole history of trotters,
prove that we not only owe to Messenger the origin of American
trotting horses, but also that the continuance of that particular
quality, down to the present day, in increasing force, is due to the
perpetuation of his stock, and to breeding together his descendants
so as to combine the greatest quantity of Messenger blood in one
animal. The value of his descendants depends, undoubtedly, in
great degree, upon the quality of the horses crossed with the Mes-
senger blood; and those other horses, both native and foreign,
whether thorough-breds, Cannucks, or of mixed blood, that may
justly claim a share in establishing the fame of American trotters,
have done very little more than cross well with the Messengers.
It is, probably, no exaggeration to say that all of them, together
would have failed to establish a family of trotters in the country
if Messenger the Great had not been imported. The trotting

478 THE HORSE.

quality runs out of all of them in a few generations if not crossed
with the Messenger blood. They are but the tributary streams to
the great river of which Messenger was the source. The immense
influence of this one horse has a universal recognition in the com-
mon expression : "A full-blooded Messenger," than which nothing
can be more absurd. There was never but one full-blooded Mes-
senger, and he died sixty years ago. Another expression often
used in pedigrees is : " Out of a Messenger mare." This may not
be so absurd as the other, for the mare may be well endued with
Messenger blood and quality, and almost entitled to the distinction ;
but in strict meaning none were Messenger mares except those of
his own begetting. The Messengers are not a breed, as Cannucks
and Mustangs and thorough-breds are, but only a family; and we
have not arrived yet to the perpetuation of the family names of
horses in the male line, as is common among people of civilized
countries.

Pacing is not considered a good harness gait, but some of our
fastest road and sporting horses have been pacers, and they are fre-
quently matched with trotters in races. Many horses both trot and
pace, and of those that have both gaits, some go faster in one and
some in the other. To teach a trotter to pace is somewhat difficult
unless the horse naturally inclines to it, but it may be done some-
times by riding with a severe curb-bit and spurs. Of course it
requires good horsemanship, as well as means and appliances, to
urge the movement desired, and to restrain the animal from the
steps he is most accustomed to take. When the saddle was more
in use than now, pacing was a favorite gait with many riders, but
unless the horse can occasionally change his way of going into a
canter, it becomes very tiresome on a long journey. Though the
rider may not be jolted from the saddle so much as by a trotter,
the wabbling twists his back first one way and then the other most
fatiguingly.

Pacing and cantering are pleasant gaits for ladies' hackneys, and
are well enough adapted to short journeys. In harness the pacer
is not graceful. There is a gait, somewhat between a pace and a
trot, and called a single-footed pace, that does pretty well in har-
ness, but very few horses have it. For taking weight in harness,
or on muddy or rough roads, the trot is greatly preferable.

To teach a pacer to trot, various expedients are resorted to.
Fence-rails are put down about as far apart as a trotter steps in a
jog. The pacer is ridden over them and finds it difficult to lift his
feet over them in that gait, and adopts the trot. When a horse
has become very tired by long pacing he will sometimes ease his
weary muscles by a change of action into a trot; and this he is
more likely to do if the roads are muddy. From such a beginning
a skilful driver may make the trotting permanent.

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 479

Some very good and fast trotters were first pacers and were caught
the better way of going, and some of them after they had acquired
speed in their natural gait.

Pelham was first a very fast pacer, and afterward became a dis-
tinguished trotter. In 1849 he was the first to win a heat in har-
ness in 2m. 28s. Cayuga Chief was a pacer in a livery stable, in
Worcester, Mass., and a favorite ladies' hackney. One day te
struck a trot, and soon became distinguished. In 1844 he trotted
to a wagon with 2201bs. in 2m. 36£s. The black gelding Pilot,
probably a son of the old pacer of the same name, was first a fast
pacer. He surprised his owner by striking a trot, and improved
so rapidly that in a short time he trotted in 2m. 28£s. Tip, and
Dart, and Sontag were all pacers that afterward trotted fast. Old
Pacer Pilot went fast in both gaits, and so did his grandson, Tom
Wonder, the sire of the famous twenty-mile trotter, John Stewart.

Though there are objections to pacing as a road gait, in harness,
some of the fastest have been pacers \ and though it is generally
believed that a pacer soon tires, there are performances on record
that prove them capable of keeping in the best of trotting com-
pany for any distance. In 1843. Sir Walter Scott paced on Beacon
Course eighteen miles in less than an hour without a break or halt.
In the same year, Oneida Chief paced against the best trotters of
that time — Lady Suffolk, Confidence, and Dutchman — and won
more races than he lost, making 2m. 28 £s., the best time then on
record. In the following year, Tippecanoe paced 4at New Orleans
in 2m. 36s., carrying a very heavy rider; and Unknown paced
on Beacon Course in 2m. 23s., a performance that had never then
been equalled by trotter or pacer. Old Pacer Pilot paced in 2m.
26s. with 1651bs. on his back. In 1850, Roanoke paced under
saddle in 2m. 21 ?s. He was a roan gelding, and nothing is
known of his pedigree. In 1854, Pocahontas paced three heats
in a race at New Orleans in 2.20, 2.25, and 2.20. But in the next
year she brought the figures down to something less than has ever
been equalled by any trotter but Dexter, and not surpassed by him.
In a race with Hero, the pacer, in a wagon that weighed with the
driver 2651bs., Pocahontas paced the first mile in 2.17. This was
never beaten but once, and not until 1868, when Billy Boyce paced
at Buffalo faster than any other horse has ever trotted or paced.
In a race with Holla Grolddust, a trotter, mile heats, 3 in 5, to sad-
dle, Boyce paced the second mile in 2.15i, and the third in 2.14i,
pacing the last half of the second mile in 1.5J, and the first half
of the third mile in 1.6.

Many pacers belong to trotting families, and some trotters seem
to take their speed from a pacing ancestor, though this is not com-
mon. Oneida Chief was half-brother of Flora Temple's sire.
Woodpecker, the trotter, and James K. Polk, the pacer, both took

480 THE HORSE.

their speed from the same dam. Hero, the pacer, and competitor
of Pocahontas in her wonderful performance, was begotten by
Harris's Hambletonian, the sire of the trotters True John, Green
Mountain Maid, John Anderson, and Sontag, a mare that was at
first a natural pacer and afterward trotted very fast. Saltram, the
sire of Highland Maid, was a pacer, and his dam, Roxana, was also
a pacer. Highland Maid paced naturally, but was taught to trot,
and went very fast. At six years old she trotted against Flora
Temple, and lost the race by getting tired, being young, and going
into a pace, which was her natural and easiest gait. She won the
first heat in 2.29, the second in 2.27, but was distanced in the
third. Highland Lass, a daughter of Highland Maid, was a fast
trotter, and died in 1865. Her daughter, Highland Ash, by
Ashland, is also a trotter, and in 1868 won the Spirit of the
Times Stake for three-year olds, over four thousand dollars, in
2.48. Flatbush Maid, one of Mr. Robt. Bonner's pair that trotted
to a road wagon in 2.26, was begotten by a chestnut pacing horse
that also trotted. Pocahontas is nearly thorough-bred, and was
begotten by Cadmus, a son of American Eclipse. She, therefore,
takes her wonderful pacing speed from Messenger, the sire of Mil-
ler's Damsel, who was the dam of American Eclipse. Her daughter,
Pocahontas, Jr., by Ethan Allen, is a trotter and very fast.

.Billy Boyce, a bay gelding, and very bloodlike in his appear-
ance, is by Gorbeau, a horse owned near Harodsburg, Ky., aud
the sire of several trotters. Corbeau was by a Canadian, not
known as a begetter of trotters; but his dam was by Frank, a
thorough -bred, by Sir Charles, his granddam by Sir Archy ;
which gives Corbeau two lines of descent from imported Diomed,
and probably gives him also his trotting quality. ,

Boyce has a cross of the Messenger, through American Eclipse,
the sire of his granddam, and this gives him another cross of
Diomed, through Duroc, the sire of American Eclipse. He is,
therefore, of kindred blood with Lady Thorn, Dexter, Mambrino
Pilot, Kemble Jackson, Independent, John Morgan, Peerless, and
others of celebrity; that is, they all combine in their pedigrees
the blood of Messenger and Diomed.

These facts, a few of the many that could be cited, show the
close relationship between pacers and trotters. They derive their
speed from the same sources; trotters beget pacers, and pacers
beget trotters ; many go fast in one gait, and, after being taught
the other, go equally fast in that; so that they may properly
enough be classed together, and designated by the common title
of American Trotters.

Though trotters are derived from so few sources as to be nearly
all related to all the others, there are certain families that claim
especial notice.

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 481

At present the most celebrated are the Hambletonians. The
founder of this family is Rysdyk's Hambletonian, owned in Ches-
ter, N. Y., and having more Messenger blood than any other
stallion living. See pedigree, Table I. He was foaled in 1849,
and is still (in 1869) standing at $500 to insure. He is the sire
of Dexter, George Wilkes, Bruno, Brunette, and many others of
celebrity. Mountain Boy, owned by Commodore Vanderbilt, was
begotten by Major Winfield, a son of Hambletonian.

The Abdallahs are an older family, and not less distinguished.
Abdallah's pedigree and history are mentioned on pages 472 and
473.

The Vermont Black Hawks were once very popular, and for a
few years their fame quite eclipsed all other families. On page
476 may be found a more extended account of them.

The Bashaws are a very excellent family of trotters, but nearly
obliterated now by admixture with others. They are a branch
of the Messenger family that took their name from an imported
Arabian, but not the trotting quality. The first of the family
was Young Bashaw, a son of the Arabian ; and his best colt was
Andrew Jackson, the first stallion that ever trotted in a public
match. From him are descended many sub-families — the Clays,
the Patchens, &c. In the pedigree of Green's Bashaw, Table III.,
may be seen the pedigree of Andrew Jackson, and why he was
the best son of Young Bashaw. Charlotte Temple, a very fast
marc that was taken to France, her full brother, the stallion Sala-
diri, and Black Bashaw, another stallion, were all begotten by
Young Bashaw, and the two last named were both progenitors
of many good trotters. Comet, Whiskey, Lantern, Belle of Balti-
more, and Lightning, were all by Black Bashaw. One of Andrew
Jackson's best colts was the stallion Long Island Black Hawk,
often confounded with Vermont Black Hawk, the Morgan Horse.
They should be carefully distinguished. Long Island Black Hawk
had Messenger blood by four lines of descent (see pedigree of
Green's Bashaw, Table III.), and his descendants inherit the trot-
ting in large degree. Vermont Black Hawk begot many good
horses, but the speed seems to run out in a few generations. He
had no Messenger in him.

George M. Patchen was descended from Long Island Black
Hawk through Henry Clay and Cassius M. Clay, with 'a cross of
Imported Diomed and another of Imported Trustee. See pedigree,
Table VI. Patchen had speed and bottom worthy of such a good
pedigree, but his descendants have not met the expectations of
breeders. They are coarse in form, and subject to curbs and ring-
bones. Lucy, the best of his get, was out of a May Day mare,
and thus got another cross of the Diomed from Sir Henry, the sire
of May Day.

41 " 2H

482 THE HORSE.

Long Island Black Hawk's best son as a stock horse was Henry
Clay, out of Surry, a mare of great speed from Canada. Henry
Clay begot trotters, and died in 1867, aged 30 years. His son,
Cassius M. Clay, out of a fast mare of unknown pedigree, was the
sire of Patchen, and the ancestor of a numerous progeny of trot-
ters. He may be considered the founder of a family of Clays,
including C. M. Clay, Jr., Harry Clay (believed by many to be the
sire of Dexter), Amos's C. M. Clay, the sire of American Girl,
that trotted in 2m. 40s. at 4 years old, and 2m. 32 £s. at 5 years
old; Clay Pilot, Kentucky Clay, Cora, Nonpareil, and others.

A very good and handsome family are the Morrills, a branch
of the Morgans ; Morrill being a descendant of Justin Morgan,
with two crosses of Dioined and four of Messenger to account for
the trotting. His best colt was Young Morrill, owned by Samuel
Perkins, Cambridge, Mass., now about 20 years old, and sire of
Draco, Fearnought, Danville Boy, Mountain Maid, Hiram Wood-
ruff, and many others that are among the best of road horses. He
is more of a Morgan than his sire (see pedigree, Table V.), having
two lines of descent from Justin Morgan on his dam's side.

The Morgans are not distinguished as fast trotters, though
many of them, like the Canadians, from whom they are in part
descended, are good and smart road horses ; and when crossed
with Messenger, as Ethan Allen, Flying Cloud, Morrill, Lone Star,
&c., they are among the best.

Another family of very excellent reputation are the American
Stars. The founder of the family was foaled in 1837, and died
in 1861, the property of Jonas Seely, Orange county, N. Y. He
had some Messenger blood, but more of Dioined through Duroc
in one line and Sir Henry in another. See his pedigree in the
pedigree of Dexter, Table VII. The dam of Dexter was by Ameri-
can Star, as were a good many fast trotters, the best of which is
Peerless, a gray mare, foaled in 1853, and owned by Robert Bon-
ner, of New York. Hiram Woodruff said she was the fastest
animal that he or any other man ever drove to a wagon, and that
he drove her a quarter in 30s. and a mile in 2m. 23 is. Her dam
was full of Messenger blood. American Star was a rat tailed
horse, and some of his colts are rather deficient in hair on their
tails; but they are fast and very gamey.

Green's Bashaw, foaled in 1855, and owned in Muscatine, Iowa,
has some superior colts, among them Kirkwood and Bashaw, Jr.,
both fast; and this, together with his remarkable pedigree (Table
III.), justifies the expectation that he will become the head of a
distinguished family. On his sire's side he has the Messenger
blood through four channels, and on his dam's side the same pedi-
gree as Rysdyk's Hambletonian with an additional cross of Web-

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 483

ber's Tom Thumb, a fast horse that looked like a Canadian and
begot trotters.

Golddust, a chestnut, foaled about 1855, and owned by L. L
Dorsey, Lexington, Ky., has begotten quite a numerous family of
trotters considering his age. He is a very bloodlike horse, a fast
walker and a fast trotter. He takes his speed from his sire, Ver-
mont Morgan, whose dam was by Cock-of-the-Rock, he by Duroc,
a son of Diomed. Cock-of the-Rock's dam was Romp, a full sister
to Miller's Damsel, by Messenger. On his dam's side he has some
Arabian and thorough-bred blood that shows in the style and form
of his colts. See Table IV.

The Pilots, another Kentucky family, are descended from the
Old Pacer Pilot, and are best represented by one of his sons,
Alexander's Pilot, Jr., and his descendants. Pilot, Jr., owned by
R. A. Alexander, Lexington, Ky., is a black, and was foaled about
1845. His dam was Nancy Pope, by Havoc, a grandson of Diomed,
and thus he takes the trotting from both sides, and in excellent
combination. (See pedigree, in the pedigree of Mambrino Pilot,
Table II.) He is the sire of John Morgan, Jim Rockey, Tackey,
Pilot Temple, Dixie, Tattler, and many more. John Morgan was
the closest competitor of Flora Temple in her best days, and every
way one of the best trotters in the country. His dam was by
Medoc, a son of American Eclipse, and he thus had another cross
of Diomed, and one of Messenger. Tackey has trotted in 2m.
28s.; Pilot Temple, out of the dam of Flora Temple, trotted in
1868 in 2m. 31s. ; Jim, Rockey trotted in 1859 in 2m. 32s. ; and
Tattler, 5 years old, trotted in 1868 in 2m. 26s., a performance
that probably has never been equalled by any horse of the same
age. The famous twenty-miler, John Stewart, is a descendant of
Old Pilot, through Tom Wonder and Tom Crowder — the last, a
son of the old pacer.

A modern family, that rivals the Hambletonians, is composed of
the descendants of Mambrino Chief — a horse that was bred in the
East, and taken to Kentucky by James B. Clay in 1854, where
he died in 1861. His sire was, Mambrino Paymaster, by Mam-
brino, the best son of Messenger in the trotting line. (See pedi-
grees of Lady Thorn and Mambrino Pilot, Tables IV. and IX.)
His fast progeny is very numerous and very famous, and includes
Lady Thorn, Bay Chief, Mambrino Pilot, Ericsson, Mambrino
Patcheu, Brignoli, Kentucky Chief, Ashland, &c.

Lady Thorn stands first among all trotters now in public, and
second only to Dexter and Flora Temple. Her pedigree and her
performances are in perfect accord ; the speed and bottom both
represented by three lines of descent from Messenger, and three
from Diomed ; herself almost thorough-bred.

Bay Chief, unfortunately shot by guerrillas, trotted half a mile

484: THE HORSE.

when 4 years old in 1m. 8s., a performance rarely equalled at any
age. Ericsson trotted at 4 years old in 2m. 30£s., to a wagon, and
is now at the head of the large breeding stud of K. C. Barker,
Detroit, Mich. Brignoii, at 5 years old, trotted two-mile heats in
harness in 5m. 20$s., 5m. 18 $s , arid 5m. 17£s. Mambrino Patchen
is a full brother of Lady Thorn, and wretchedly misnamed, being
related to Patchen only in a remote degree, though both inherit-
ing largely the Messenger blood.

The most distinguished son of Mambrino Chief, is Mambrino
Pilot, owned by 0. P. Relf, of Norristown, Pa. ; and, though foaled
so lately as 1859, is already distinguished as a sire of trotters. He
is a brown of large size and pony built, faultless in form and action,
with an air of majesty in every attitude. At 6 years old, with
very short preparation, he trotted against time in 2m. 27s. He
inherits the blood of Messenger through three channels, and of
Dionied through two, with a cross of Old Pilot, through his best
son, Pilot, Jr.

Considering that his oldest colts are but 5 years old, and that
when those now old enough to show speed were begotten, he had
not made his reputation, and did not receive the best of trotting
mares, the number and speed of his fast colts is truly astonishing.

Grift, ch. g., received five forfeits at 4 years old, and challenged
through the " Spirit of the Times" any colt of the same age, to
trot in harness for $1000 a side, without being accepted. Bell-
ringer, b. s., trotted in 2m. 40s. before he was 4 years old. Gift
and Bellringer both belong to Mr. Relf. Cranston, owned by
Amasa Sprague, R. I., at 3 years old, trotted the second mile in
a two-mile heat in 2m. 40£s. Vosburgh, ch. s., the property of
A. .& 'J\ H. Carpenter, of Lyons, Iowa, when just 3 years old,
trotted several times in 2m. 40s., and challenged any other horse
in the world of the same age, to trot for any amount, at 4 years
old, in September 1869. Charles S. Dole, of Chicago, 111., has a
chestnut mare in his breeding stud, by Mambrino Pilot, that in
the management of Dr. Kerr, of Lexington, Ky., trotted in 3m.
at 2 years old. Eschol, Detective, Etta, Agitator, and Mambrino
Messenger are other fast colts of the same family.

Horsemen have been looking among the coming stallions for a
successor to the renowned Rysdyk's Hambletonian, whose age
must soon end his usefulness; and if the colts of Mambrino Pilot
keep the early promise, and improve with maturity, as his remark-
able pedigree and performances seem to justify us in expecting,
then is a successor of even greater merit already indicated.

There are many good trotting foal getters in the country not
named in these allusions to the families oi trotters. To mention
half of them individually would be beyond the scope and limits
of this Essay, but most of them belong to some of the familirn

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 485

named. The object is not so much to instruct the reader in facts
as in principles. There is a very prevalent opinion that trotters
are chance horses, and that there is no certainty in breeding for
them. So prevalent was this opinion a few years ago, that -then
trotters were chance horses, no well directed effort was made to
produce the desired result, by applying the same principles of
breeding that had been so long acknowledged in the breeding of
thorough-breds for running races. But when trotting became more
popular as a public amusement, when the value of good trotting
horses for road driving became more fully appreciated, and when
the increased demand ran the prices of even good roadsters into
the thousands, enlightened breeders began to apply to the breeding
of trotters the laws of hereditary descent, that had been discovered
in the breeding of other animals, and with the usual result.

Now there are numerous large breeding establishments in Ken-
tucky, New York, Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois,
Michigan, and perhaps some other states, in which especial atten-
tion is given to breeding trotters. Beside these breeding studs,
where much care and judgment are used in the matter, there are
thousands of farmers and others who in breeding horses, always
have in their minds the possibility of drawing a capital prize in
the shape of a fast trotter; but who have never had an opportunity
to be well informed in regard to the best method of accomplishing
that desirable result.

These farmers and others who only rear one or two colts a year,
each, are in the aggregate the great horse breeders of the country;
and it is to them chiefly that the facts and arguments of this
essay are addressed.

A very slight examination of the pedigrees of distinguished
trotters, will show their relationship to each other in so many cases,
that no one can doubt the derivation of their trotting speed from
a common ancestry. A few tabulated pedigrees are given at the end
of this essay, to facilitate the examination of them, and to more fully
impress on the minds of breeders the importance of breeding their
mares to stallions of good families, if they would reasonably expect
success. A horse may trot fast enough to make a public reputation,
and never beget fast colts, because he does not himself inherit the
quality strongly from his ancestors; for it may be that the quality
comes down to him through a single line of descent, and perhaps
that has been broken by one or more generations that showed no
speed. In such a case, the horse would be said to have " bred
back" to a speedy ancestor, and though he might beget fast colts
with fast mares, the probabilities of their being fast from common
mares would be very small. John Henry, a chestnut stallion, bred
in Salem county, New Jersey, trotted well, and begot many colts ;
but the best of them all, Bob Johnson, was nothing remarkable
41*

486 THE HORSE.

John Henry had not the trotting quality by a long and continuous
line of hereditary descent, and hence the disappointment of breed-
ers, who depended on his speed alone to give the trotting to his
colts.* Similar cases are quite common.

. If a mare that cannot trot better than four minutes was by a
horse of good speed and good pedigree, such as Mambrino Chief,
or American Star, the probabilities of her breeding a fast colt by
some other good horse, as by Hambletonian, would be much greater
than if she had no trotting ancestor in her pedigree. Such a mare,
though not fast herself, might produce a fast colt from a common
horse; or if she did not herself produce anything smart, some of
her descendants in the next generation might show speed. This
is called breeding back, or atavism, and all breeders are familiar
with it.

In choosing a stallion to breed from for speed, the first thing to
be considered is his pedigree. Maiiy breeders will differ from that
opinion, l?ut it is not hastily expressed. The longer the lines of
trotting descent in his pedigree, and the more numerous they are,
the greater will be the probability that his colts will inherit the
desired quality.

Next to pedigree should be considered the speed, bottom, health,
size, style, color, &c. If the pedigree is good and the horse sound,
he will beget fast colts, though he may not himself be fast; but
if he has the speed, too. so much the better. Many diseases are
hereditary, and the stallion should be sound ; it is poor policy to
breed from a horse with contracted feet, spavin, ringbone, sprung
knees, or weak eyes.

' In breeding for speed, it should be remembered that size is
important if the colt turns out fast, and still more if he does not.
If he is large enough for taking a carriage with two persons over
common roads at a lively gait, the breeding was not a failure,
though he may not be very fast. The style and color are matters
of taste, about which each breeder will make his own choice. It
is generally admitted that a good horse is always the right color,
but he might sometimes be equally good and a better color. If
the mare has any particular defect, a horse should be chosen that
will correct it in the progeny.

Much speculation has been indulged in concerning the relative
influence of the sire and dam on the offspring. By some it has
been asserted that if either parent is more vigorous than the other
by reason of youth, health, or better care, the offspring will most
resemble that parent. This theory is not sustained by facts. In
crossing the horse and the ass, some facts of interest are elicited.
The mule takes size from its dam, the mare ; but takes its outward
form and its voice from the sire, the ass. The ears are long, the
tail and mane are scantily furnished with hair, and the feet are

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 487

narrow. But if the female ass is bred to a horse, the produce,
called a hinny, is quite unlike the mule. It inherits its organiza-
tion by the same law, and has the small size of its dam, the female
ass, with ears, feet, mane, tail, and voice like its sire, the horse.

Now these statements, though correct in a general sense, need
some qualification. The ears of the mule are not as long as its
sire's in proportion to the body, the feet are not as narrow, the tail
and mane are not so scantily supplied with hair. In all the points
of greatest resemblance to the ass, there is still some resemblance
to the other parent, the mare. In other words, the mule does not
take any part of its conformation from either parent alone; but
every part is like both parents in some degree. The same Temarks
apply to the hinny. Its mane, tail, ears, and feet are more like a
horse's than a mule's are, but not exactly like a horse's. In every
part of its body it has some resemblance to the ass, its dam. The
point established is this : — That the mule and the hinny both take
their outward form and appearance from their respective sires
more than from their dams ; but neither of them is exactly like
either parent in any respect.

These facts are constant when the two species are bred together,
and the produce is a hybrid ; and we might infer that some cer-
tainty was attainable in the same direction when animals of the
same species are bred together, as in breeding horses. That is, we
might expect the colt to always inherit its ears, mane, tail, and
feet more from the horse than from the mare. The rule may apply
to some extent, but it is not to be relied on with anything like the
certainty that is observed in breeding the horse and ass together.
Hat-tailed stallions beget rat-tailed colts, and hoof-bound mares
have colts inheriting the same tendency to disease of the feet.

Every part of every offspring partakes of the quality of both
parents in some degree ; and in the present state of our knowledge,
we can neither control nor foresee the amount of any particular
quality that the offspring will inherit from either parent.

In a family of children, one may be tall like the father and have
black hair like thev mother; another may be short like the mother
with light hair like the father ; and a third may have stature and
complexion that partake more evenly of the qualities of both
parents. If three more children are to be born to the same
parents, no physiologist can predict their stature nor the color of
their hair. If parents are much alike ia all respects, the children
will be much alike; but the children of the same family will be
much diversified in appearance and character if their parents are
much different from each other in these respects. 'If parents are
alike in any particular, though different in all other respects, their
children will all inherit that quality strongly which comes from
both parents, and will transmit it to the next generation with

488 THE HORSE.

greater certainty than if they had inherited it from only one parent.
Of course these rules may all have exceptions ; atavism, or breed-
ing back, may modify the results.

If one parent belongs to a particular breed, as a cow to the
Devonshires, and is bred with another of no particular breed, the
offspring will resemble the full-bred parent more than the other
of common stock, because the form, color, &c., of the full-bred
parent have become fixed by a long line of ancestry in which all
the ancestors had the same qualities. It does not follow that the
full-bred parent gives more than half of the quality to the off-
spring, but only that the other half may resemble some of the
ancestors of common stock that were quite unlike the low-bred
parent. Thus, if a Devonshire cow were bred to a common bull
of a white color, more of the calves would be red than white,
because all the ancestors on the cow's side were red, and a part of
them on the bull's side were probably of the same color. As many
as bred back to the Devonshire side for color would be red ; those
that bred back to the common side for color might be black, or
brindle, or any other color. It is simply a case in which atavism
has an influence, as it always has in all breeding. There is no
law by which a high-bred parent transmits more than half of the
organism of the offspring; the low-bred parent has an equal influ
ence in the matter; but there is more probability that the progeny
will resemble the high-bred parent than the common one. If by
atavism it resembles any ancestor on the well-bred side, it resem-
bles the parent on the same side, for they are all much alike; but
if it breeds back to the low-bred side, there has been so much
diversity in the ancestors on that side that nothing is certain.

In breeding for trotters, these principles must always be con-
sidered. We have no breed of trotters that can be called tho-
rough-bred or full-blooded trotters, in the same sense as we speak
of the thorough-bred race horse, or of the thorough-bred Durham
or Devonshire cattle ; but we have families of trotters, in which
the trotting quality has been transmitted for several generations,
and in several lines of descent; and, in breeding, the best practice
will be that which most nearly conforms to the principles here
stated. The more trotting quality in the family, the greater the
probability of its being transmitted to the descendants.

In choosing a mare to breed from, the same rules are applicable
as in choosing a stallion. . If a breeder chance to have a mare of
good speed and good pedigree, he may expect more from her than
from a common mare if both are put to the same horse. It is
somewhat the fashion to select thorough-bred mares to breed to
trotting stallions, that the spirit and endurance of the thorough-
bred may be combined in the colts with the trotting action ; and
trotting mares are put to thorough-bred stallions with the same

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE.

489

object in view. The practice is good, and will improve the breed
of trotters in the long run ; but for immediate results, more trot-
ting speed may be expected when trotting mares are bred to trot-
ting stallions. It should not be disregarded that we already have
trotting families quite equal to thorough-breds in spirit and bot-
tom j and though these may have been inherited from a thorough-
bred ancestry, that is not a reason why we should breed again to
thorough-breds and risk the loss of the trotting quality. The
famous trotter Flora Temple was frequently put to Mambrinc

FLORA TEMPLE.

Pilot without success, but she became with foal by a two-year old.
Old mares will often breed to a colt when they will not to a ma-
tured horse. The colt "selected on this occasion was Rysdyk, by
Rysdyk's Hambletonian, out of a thorough-bred mare by Lexing-
ton. Now, this dam of Rysdyk had no trotting quality, and he is
just as likely to inherit running speed from his dam as trotting
speed from his sire. Or he may take the trotting action from his
sire and have that action made good by the Lexington side of his
pedigree — Lexington being the sire of more winners in running

490 THE HORSE.

races than any other horse in America. But the probability is
strong that Rysdyk will not be very speedy, though he will proba-
bly have good bottom, and still stronger that his colts out of Flor?
will not equal their celebrated dam.

Flora Temple's pedigree is not very well known, but this much
appears to be reliable : Her sire was One-Eyed Kentucky Hun-
ter, he by Kentucky Hunter, the sire of the famous pacer Oneida
Chief. Her dam. Madam Temple, was by a spotted horse called
an Arabian, though he probably was not. That her trotting waa
inherited from her sire's side is quite certain, and her dain also
may have added something, as she afterward produced a very good
trotter, Pilot Temple, but he was by a very good horse, Alexan-
der's Pilot, Jr. Though Flora Temple has enough in her pedigree,
so far as known, to account for her trotting, the probability of
speed in her colts by Rysdyk is not very great. It is a pity she
would not breed to Mambrino Pilot, that any deficiency in her own
pedigree might have been made up by his extraordinary good
breeding. The portrait of Flora Temple and her colt, facing the
title page, is from a photograph, and gives a very good idea of
them as they appear in their winter coats.

The effect on offspring of breeding blood relations together,
called breeding in-and-in, is a matter that has received much atten-
tion from breeders and physiologists; and these two classes of
observers have arrived at somewhat different conclusions about it ;
the physiologists condemning the practice among human beings,
the breeders approving of it among domestic stock. As the same
laws govern all nature, this difference of opinion must grow out of
an imperfect knowledge of the law, and might be reconciled by a
more comprehensive view of the facts relating to the subject.

When blood-relations intermarry, the children are often imper-
fect, being idiotic, or blind, or scrofulous ; or if they escape these
and a host of other ills that in-bred flesh is heir to, they are sel-
dom so healthy and strong in mind and body as their parents were.

This is too well known to admit of a doubt, though, happily,
the evil consequences of such intermarriages are not always notice-
able in such unpleasant forms. On the other hand, many good
horses have been the result of close in-and-in breeding. By refer-
ring to the pedigree of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, Table I., it will
be seen that Abdallah was by Mambrino, out of his half-sister ;
Hambletonian was by Messenger, out of one of his own daugh-
ters; and One-Eye was by in-bred Hambletonian, out of his half-
sister. Then comes one out-cross with Bellfounder, and again the
offspring of that cross, the Charles Kent Mare, is bred to in-
bred Abdallah of the same stock. The result was a stallion that
has for several years stood at the head of the list of tro'ting foal
getters.

THE AMERICAN TROTTING Hv.RSE. 491

How are these two classes of facts to be reconciled? The
theory that gregarious animals — animals that, like horses, cattle,
and sheep, go naturally in herds — are an exception to the rule that
in-breeding is attended by debility in the offspring, is not very
satisfactory. It cannot be true, as has been asserted, that in a
wild state one stallion would keep his own herd of mares and all
of his own female progeny to himself for several years, and that
hence breeding with his own offspring would be in accordance
with Nature's plan. In a wild state there would be as many
males as females ; his herd of mares would be but one or two ;
half of his offspring would be males ; they would each contend
for and obtain some sexual opportunities ; the fillies of one sire
would naturally be squandered everywhere among other herds
before they were old enough to breed; and all the conditions
would favor continual out-crossing rather than in-breeding. Pigs
are gregarious, and in-breeding spoils the breed of them in one
generation. No matter how near the hog-breeder has brought his
stock to perfection, one single in-breeding spoils all. In chickens,
if in-breeding is continued for several years, the first noticeable
result is their increased productiveness of eggs. The stock be-
comes smaller and more delicate with each successive in-breeding ;
and all weakly animals are more prolific than stronger ones, hence
the increased number of eggs. When the conditions of life de-
press and retard the development of plants or animals, they become
more prolific because their offspring will come into being under
circumstances unfavorable to the continuance of their existence,
and Nature equalizes the chances by producing more of them.
It is in accordance with this law that fat animals and idle animals
are not sure to breed ; that families living luxuriously for a few
generations have very few children, while those that " live from
hand to mouth" are proverbially fruitful — " A fool for luck, and
a poor man for children." The chickens are more prolific for a
few generations, but continue the in-breeding, and they become
so very weakly and small that the experiment will end in a good
out-cross. If it were continued longer in the same direction, the
result would probably be the extinction of the stock.

Hambletonian, Plato, and Abdallah, the in-bred descendants
of Messenger, were remarkable for giving the trotting quality to
their descendants. Taking Messenger as a single source of the
trotting quality, and supposing there was not another horse in the
country above mediocrity in that respect, we might expect some
of his fillies to inherit his trotting in great degree. To perpetuate
that particular quality in her offspring, it would be better to breed
her to her sire than to any horse of another stock, though her
offspring might lose something in stamina by the in-breeding. It
might be still better to breed her to any son of Messenger that

492 THE HORSE.

also, equally with herself, inherited the trotting quality. In
either case, her colts would take the trcttting from two directions,
and would consequently transmit it with more certainty to their
descendants than if they inherited it from only one side. The
trotting quality was a peculiarity of Messenger, and by in-breeding
it was perpetuated ; so would any other peculiarity have been —
any imperfection. If Messenger had been lop-eared, that quality
could have been perpetuated in the same way ; but as breeders
would not choose his lop-eared colts to breed from, and would
choose his perfect colts, the desirable qualities of the stock could
be, and would be, perpetuated, and the defects would become
extinguished from his family.

The purpose of in-breeding the Messenger family was not, at
first, to produce trotters ; but the result followed without regard
to the intention. Whatever loss of stamina accompanied the
practice was remedied by out-crossing, and the trotting was still
preserved by careful selection.

Taking this view of the subject, we see how the perpetuation
of any particular quality may be effected by in-breeding, and how,
also, the evils of the practice may be to a great extent avoided.
It should be borne in mind that Messenger was remarkably free
from defects, and had so much strength of constitution that his
descendants from good mares might be in-bred and still give good
constitutions to their offspring. It was because of this excellence
that the in-breeding was practised. Not for the purpose of re-
producing in the progeny any particular quality, but with a desire
to get as much as possible of the general characteristics of a horse
recognised as greatly superior to all others in the same vicinity.
The same reasons that induced to the practice made it physiologi-
cally safe.

Now let us suppose that another equally good trotting family
had existed at the same time and place, and that instead of breed-
ing Messenger's descendants together closely they had been crossed
with the other family. The result would have been equal speed,
with equal power of transmitting it to offspring, and better con-
stitutions. There came to this country another thorough-bred,
that was foaled in England one year before Messenger, and died
here, one year before Messenger died. His name was Diomed,
and a reference to the tabulated pedigrees will show how much
many of our best trotters are indebted to him for their speed.
He was not brought to this country until he was twenty-two years
old, and was kept in Virginia, while Messenger was in the North.
Diomed's colts were nearly all thorough-breds, and used for run-
ning, not trotting. Trotting did not become so highly valued in
the South, and how much trotting quality the immediate descend-
ants of Di-omed possessed was not known. The best results have

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 493

followed breeding the two families together after several genera-
tions of descent ; and there is no reason to doubt that if Diomed
had come with Messenger to this country, and had stood some-
where near Philadelphia or New York, instead of coming seven-
teen years later, and standing in Virginia, the two families would
have been inter-bred sooner. Two good results would have
attended : first, all the advantage of breeding trotters with trotters
without the disadvantage of in-breeding; and, second, the inter-
breeding of two good trotting families before the trotting quality
was diluted by other crosses not possessing it. American Eclipse,
who gave so much trotting quality to his descendants, combined
both bloods. . See pedigree of Mambrino Pilot, Table II. Eclipse
was known only as a running horse, and was one of the very best
thorough-breds ever foaled in America. He was equally distin-
guished on the turf and in the stud. Post Boy, a distinguished
race-horse that lived to a great age, had many trotting descend-
ants. He, too, combined the blood of Messenger and Diomed.
See pedigree of Young Merrill, Table V. All the trotting of
Morrill on his sire's side was inherited from Post Boy. Another
thorough-bred of the same descent was Cock-of-the-Rock. He
too was a race-horse that begot trotters. Golddust inherits all
of his trotting from him. See Table IV. These and other simi-
lar cases that might be adduced, show that the produce of a cross
between two trotting families has equal power of transmitting its
peculiar qualities to offspring that the produce of in-breeding has.

In breeding two trotting families together, if one has any defect
the other may correct it, as it is improbable that both will have
the same defect; but by in-breeding any defect of the family will
be pretty surely perpetuated, as the colt will inherit it from both
sides. Now that we have trotters enough to allow of a free selec-
tion without breeding near relations together, there are no reasons
why the practice should be continued, and many why it should
not be.

The opinion is quite prevalent among breeders, that every horse
a mare is bred to modifies, not only his own get, but all the colts
she may afterwards have by any other horses. Without denying
the facts set forth in the body of this book by Stonehenge, of a
mare that had colts by a horse, and that they resembled the
quagga she was first bred to, I am prepared to assert that no such
effects are commonly noticed when mares are bred to different
stallions. I have looked for such results in various species of ani-
mals— the human included — and could never detect the slightest
resemblance in the offspring of one sire to any other sire the dam
had previously borne offspring to. Practically, the theory is of no
value whatever. Another notion, about equally common, is, that
a mare that has bred a mule will not breed to a horse. It is
42

494: THE HORSE.

equally unfounded. Mares are often bred to norses after having
been bred to an ass* and nobody ever sees a foal by a horse from
such a mare look like a mule. I have known several instances of
white women having mulatto children, and afterwards having
children by white men ; and in no instance was the influence of
the negro perceptible on the child of the Caucasian father. If
any man has a good mare that has produced a colt from a scrub
stallion, he need not hesitate, on that account, to breed her to a
good horse, if he has an opportunity.

Breeders often desire that a colt shall be a male, or a female ;
but that is always left to chance for the best of reasons. It is
probably possible, however, to discover the laws governing the
production of sex, and also possible to so control their action as to
attain the desired result. Some chance experiments in breeding
dogs, so long ago as 1845, induced me to a more careful investiga-
tion of the subject. I discovered, that if a slut were kept until
near the last of her heat, before a dog was admitted to her, the
pups would be chiefly males j but if she were at large, with all
the dogs of the neighborhood, from the beginning of the heat,
they would be mostly females. Further experiments, and on
other species of animals, were prevented by removal to a city ; but
haVing called public, attention to the matter, in lectures on physi-
ology in several states, others have pursued the investigation with
very satisfactory results. Dog-breeders make practical application
of the discovery in hundreds of instances, and a few dairy-men
have found it applicable to cows. The theory is, that if the female
is long in heat before conception, it implies a scarcity of males,
and Nature supplies the deficiency by producing them. I also
noticed that if a cock had many hens, the chicks would be mostly
males. This I had but one opportunity of observing. The single
observation, however, is in conformity with the same law. Apply-
ing the law to horses, it would follow that, other things being
equal, the more mares he served in one season, the more of his
colts would be males. The action of the law would be modified
by the time of the mare's heat when put to him, and by the cir-
cumstance that his sire, his grandsire, and so on, for many genera-
tions, had been used to serving many mares in one season — so that
the power to do so without forcing the action of the law would
have become hereditary. If the mare were served in the begin-
ning of her heat, we might expect a mare foal ; and if in the last
part of the erotic season we might, by the same rule, expect a
horse foal. Of course, the conditions mentioned as affecting the
stallion might modify the result. If a mare were put to a horse
in the last part of her heat, and if the horse had quite recently
served one or more other mares, the conditions would be favorable
on both sides to the production of a male offspring. If the case

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 495

were reversed — if she were in the first pact of her season of ex-
citement, and he had not served a mare for a considerable time,
the conditions would favor the begetting of a female.

Many horsemen attempt to discern the speed of a horse in his
form, and in his way of going. Various signs are relied on, by
those who know less than they think they do, but there is but one
sign, and it is infallible ; it is that the horse goes fast when tried.
A shoulder that slants well backward to the withers is considered
a good point in any horse — but Messenger had upright shoulders,
and so have some very good trotters of to-day. A long back, with
an open flank between the hip and ribs, is thought to allow of a
long stride, and some good trotters have that conformation ; but
many others have short backs, and are ribbed close up to the hips.
Of these two forms, the last is the best, as it indicates that the
animal will keep in good condition on less food. Flat-sided horses
have trotted fast, but not because they were flat-sided. War Eagle
had that conformation, and though he trotted in the best of com-
pany, he was not an all-day horse. I drove him- a year in a
country practice before he trotted in public, and did not consider
the narrow chest and small abdomen any advantage. A steep
rump is a sign that a horse paces ; but with the same form he may
be a trotter ; and in either case it has no relation to speed. The
hind legs may be more crooked or more straight than usual, and
the fore legs may be a little sprung forward, or a little set back,
like a calf's; the pasterns may be thick or slender, upright or
oblique; but none of these forms indicate speed, nor the absence
of it. Many fast horses are short in the rump — that is, from the
croup, or highest point, to the root of the tail. This is pretty
common among trotters ; but some that are not fast have the same
shape.

In the way of going, there is as much difference with as little
significance. Some lift their fore-feet very high, with a great
deal of knee action ; others go fast, with a low, long stride. There
is a way of reaching out with the fore-feet, that seems utterly in-
compatible with speed. It is a long, pitching step, such as is seen
in horses trotting slowly and loftily in a field when startled. To
go fast, the fore-feet should be struck at the ground, as if they
were pulling the horse along, whether the stride be long or short.

If a horse stands with the toes of his fore-feet turned in, he will
paddle in trotting ; that is, he will swing his feet out right and
left from a straight line ; and the foot that is most turned in at
the toe in standing will be most swung around like a paddle in a
mush-pot, in trotting. The movement is unsightly and objection-
able, but not absolutely incompatible with speed. If the toes are
turned out in standing, they will be turned in in trotting, and may
strike the opposite knee. This is so common in fast trotters, as to

496 THE HORSE.

have received the appellation of speedy-cut. It should not be
inferred, that cutting the knee is any sign of speed. It only hap-
pens, that a horse with this defect in his way of going, hits his
knee when he goes fast enough to get his foot up that high. It
is a serious objection, but many more fast horses have that action
than the opposite one of paddling.

Nearly every good trotter goes with his hind-feet wide apart,
when he goes fast. There are some exceptions to this rule, but
they are not numerous. Some horses have a short stride, and as
they generally show plenty of knee-action, and step fast, they ap-
pear to go very fast, and so they do sometimes. The Cannucks, from
Canada, generally go in that way ; and all of such steppers are
usually spirited and pleasant road horses, being free-goers. Long-
striders are sometimes rather heavy in a jog-trot; but they get
over the ground faster than they appear to, and on the road will
often pass short-steppers that appear to be going as fast, or faster.
Many of the best are long-striders, and, other things being equal,
the probabilities are greater of a horse going fast in a long stride
than in a short one.

Hiram Woodruff, in his admirable work on " The Trotting
Horse of America," expresses the opinion that short-steppers are
better weight-pullers at speed, and gives reasons — speculative rea-
sons— for the opinion : but his own instances do not sustain the
rule, unless we accept the logic, that as exceptions prove the rule,
the more exceptions the stronger the proof. The truth appears to
be, that the ability to pull weight does not depend much on the
stride. The strongest movers are stout, muscular horses, broad
behind, with the knees and hocks let well down ; that is, with
short cannon bones.

A horse may be lazy, and yet trot fast when called on ; or he
may be very spirited, always willing to do his best, and not be
able to trot in four minutes. A very strong horse, that can trot
off with a loaded market-wagon behind him at a good gait, and
keep it up for miles, may not be a fast trotter at any weight. Or
a horse may have most excellent bottom — may take two men in a
wagon over common roads sixty miles in a day, and repeat it every
day in the week ] or he may be good for ten miles an hour under
the same circumstances, and not be able to trot a single mile in
four minutes.

Speed, then, does not depend entirely on the form, nor on the
way of going, nor on the strength, nor on the spirit of a horse.
The value of a fast trotter may depend greatly upon these quali-
ties, but not his speed. Any form, and any style of going, may
do, if he can step fast enough ; and the power to step fast does not
depend on form, spirit, strength, nor stamina — though all of these

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 497

do modify the manifestation of that power upon which speed does
depend.

Let us now consider the essential element of speed at any «-ait
whether it be running, pacing, or trotting. All the movement is
effected by the contraction of those masses of lean meat called
muscles. The muscles of voluntary motion are each attached to
two bones by its two extremities, and the bones being attached to
each other by a movable joint, when the muscle contracts one or
both of the bones must move; and, of course the rapidity of the
movement depends on the rapidity of the contraction. An animal
wills the movement of a limb; that will, which originates in the
brain, is transmitted through nerves to the muscles; they contract
and the limb moves. It would seem, then, that if a horse desired
to go fast, and his muscles were large enough and his joints supple,
he must needs do so whenever he tries ; for if the muscles obey
the will, and the will is that they shall contract quickly, the whole
thing would be accomplished. Speed would then depend on the
size of the muscles, and the willingness of the horse to contract
them rapidly. But the facts are clearly against such a theory ; for
all have noticed that a highly spirited horse that is very strong to
pull a load, may not be able to go fast in any gait.

The truth is, that all power to move, lies not in the brain which
is the seat of the will, nor in the muscles which are the place of
the movement, but between the two, in the spinal cord, which
is the centre of the nervous system, and the generator of the
power. The spinal cord lies in the back bone, filling the carial
or hole that extends through its whole length, and giving off nerves
from every part of it that go to all parts of the body. It is con-
nected to the brain, and appears like a prolongation of it from the
cavity of the skull along the cavity of the spine ; but the rational
view of the spinal cord, and the one that is sustained by compara-
tive anatomy, is that which considers it the centre of the nervous
system ; the brain being an extension of it in one direction, and
the nerves an extension of it in another direction, the whole con-
stituting the nervous system.

The brain is the seat of all mental manifestations — of thought,
memory, love, fear, emulation, courage, &c. The disposition and
character depend upon the brain, but it is not necessary to animal
life. The -nerves extend to every part of the body; some of them
convey sensations to the brain, as of heat, or cold, or pain ; others
of them go to the muscles, and convey to them the power that is
generated in the spinal cord by which they contract. The will
to move is conceived in the brain, and goes to the spinal cord,
which then generates the power to move. The power, which for
convenience of language we will call nerve force, is sent through
the nerves and expended in the muscles, effecting their contraction
•2* 2 1

498 THE HORSE.

and a consequent movement of the bones to which they are
attached. The brain may be compared to a telegraph operator,
the spinal cord to his galvanic battery, and the nerves to the
wires. A chicken 'with its head off kicks and flutters with strength
enough to fly over a barn, or to run around it. The spinal cord
generates the power for a short time, and would do so longer but
for the loss of blood; but the brain, that gives intelligent direc-
tion to the power, is not there. The battery is sending its elec-
tricity along the wires without the control of the operator.

If enough of the nerve force is sent to the muscles to move the
body a mile in six minutes, it is six minutes in being generated.
If the same amount of nerve force can be generated and sent to
the muscles in three minutes, we might suppose that the body
would be moved the same distance in three minutes ; and herein
would appear to lie all the difference of speed. But the amount
of force generated by the nervous centre, and expended by the
muscles, in a given time, does not exactly explain the difference
of speed. One horse may expend as much nerve force in pulling
a load a quarter of a mile in three minutes, as another does in
trotting a whole mile in the same time, and yet not be able to trot
a mile in four minutes. The speed depends on the ability of the
spinal cord to generate and send to the different sets of muscles
concerned in locomotion, the required amounts of nerve force in a
quick succession of discharges ; and on the capability of the nerves
to transmit it to the muscles in large quantity in a short time.
The difference between trotting fast and drawing a heavy load, is
not in the amount of force used, but in the manner of using it.
In one case, the nerve force is sent to a muscle during the whole
time of taking a slow step with a heavy load ; and in the other, it
is all expended in an instant, causing the muscle to contract
quickly, and thereby projecting the horse rapidly forward — the
acquired momentum continuing after the muscle ceases to con-
tract. It is like driving a nail by a succession of blows, that
could not be moved by the same aggregate amount of pressure dif-
fused and continued over the whole time of driving.

The essential quality of speed, at any gait, is therefore a cer-
tain organization of the nervous system, and this is the one thing
needful in every case. This is what we breed for when we breed
for speed ; this is the quality that has been transmitted through
so many generations from Messenger, Diomed, Pilot, Bellfounder,
and other progenitors of American trotters. A descendant of
Messenger might have neither his form, size, nor way of going,
but if he had a similar organization of the nervous system, he
would have speed. We cannot detect this peculiarity of organiza-
tion by any outward sign ; we can know of it only by its mani-
festations. We know that it is hereditary, and we also know that

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 499

it may be associated with any form. We therefore must respect
the pedigrees of the horses and mares we breed from ; and the more
of the trotting quality we find in their pedigrees, the more reason
we will have for expecting a fast colt. Form, size, style, and
action are all important matters in the constitution of any horse,
and particularly important in trotters, because they are kept for
use and for pleasure-driving as well as for racing ; but the speed
is not a result of any combination of these qualities. The right
kind of a nervous system will accomplish more if the form and
action are good than if they are bad ; and all the necessary condi-
tions of speed may exist in a horse, and yet he may be valueless
because of an incurably bad temper, or because he inherits a
strong tendency to some disqualifying disease. These matters
every breeder will use his own judgment on. If a mare is good
in all respects except speed, and is bred to a horse of speed, but
of bad organization in other respects, the colt may have all the
good qualities of the dam and the speed of the sire ; or may have
the bad qualities of the sire and the want of speed of the dam.
It is impossible to foresee in what proportion the two parents will
transmit their respective qualities to the offspring; so that the
safest rule in breeding, is to have as much of all the qualities we
breed for in both parents as is possible. The speed should be in
both families to make its inheritance certain ; but if it is strongly
inherited (jy one side, we may reasonably expect all of the progeny
to go faster than the parent that is not speedy. Thus a slow mare
bred to a good trotting-foal getter, will always produce faster colts
than she would if bred to a slow stallion like herself.

The condition of parents at the time of conception has a power-
ful influence on the progeny — whether it be mental or physical
condition. Offspring inherit both the congenital and the acquired
qualities of parents, as is well exemplified in the familiar case of
dogs taught to hunt birds, and when they are found, to stand and
wait for a man to shoot them, instead of rushing on to catch them
as the instinctive impulse would prompt. The standing is an
acquired quality, the effect of teaching, and yet it is transmitted
by hereditary descent as certainly as any other quality. A well-
bred setter or pointer pup will stand stanchly at a game bird, when
only four months old, without any teaching. The effect on offspring ,
of the transient condition of parents, may be seen in every family.
No two children of the same parents are alike, unless they be
twins. The reason is plain; the parents change from year to
year,, and the children inherit the changed conditions. The father
may have a lawsuit, and a child may inherit the contentiousness
and obstinacy engendered by it ; he may afterwards be engaged in
active business enterprises, and transmit energy and a clear intel-
lect to another child ; a third may be idiotic, because his father

500 THE HORSE.

was enervated by a debauch. Many causes of change will occur
to each parent in the year or two that elapses between the births
of children, and these changes in the parents modify the constitu-
tions of the children. Twins may be much alike, because there
is no time for change, commonly, between the times of their con-
ception ; though they may differ by resembling different parents,
or by an interval between the times of conception, or even by being
the children of different fathers.

It is not essential to the transmission of acquired qualities, that
they shall have been long acquired ; a few days of strength or of
debility, even perhaps a single hour of difference in the parent,
may make a life-long difference to the child. A mental impression,
however short, if only strong enough, may be transmitted. Well-
authenticated cases have been related to me, one of a full-bred
Durham calf that resembled neither parent, but a brindle ox that
strongly impressed the minds of both parents at the time of con-
ception ; and another of a litter of pigs of the white variety, com-
mon in Chester and Delaware counties, and famous everywhere,
that were part of them black, because a black sow from Maryland
was conspicuously present at the time of conception. Several
cases have come within my own knowledge, of mares that pro-
duced foals colored and marked like some stable or field companion,
and entirely unlike both parents in that respect.

It is a popular belief that impressions made on the mind of the
mother during pregnancy, may be transmitted to the offspring; but
that cannot be true, because there is no connection by nerves
between the mother and child ; and a mental impression could not
be conveyed by the blood. All of such supposed cases were pro-
bably instances in which the impression was made on the mind of
the mother before conception — became a part of herself — and was
then transmitted to her offspring by the same law that any other
quality of a parent is transmitted. This accounts, probably, for
the well-authenticated case, before alluded to, of colts resembling
a quagga that was not their sire. The mare had a distinct recol-
lection of the strange beast associated in her mind, with the
sexual intercourse she had first with him; and subsequent occa-
sions of a similar kind with horses recalled the mental impression,
/and it was /transmitted, being, and having been for years, a part
of her mental constitution.

It follows, that in breeding for trotting horses, we should not be
unmindful of the temporary condition of the sire and dam. Mares
are generally worked, and are nearly always in very good condition
for breeding. With stallions, it is usually quite different. They
are kept, as if their use was procreating colts for beef, rather than
speed, spirit, and endurance. They are overfed and underworked;
they are fat and feeble; their muscles and ligaments are not

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 501

strengthened by exercise; their blood is not purified by the
increased secretions that accompany a quickened circulation of
blood; their courage and endurance are not developed by a
long journey occasionally; their emulation is not stimulated by
racing; arid consequently these qualities, all so desirable in the
offspring, are not transmitted in the intensity and power they might
be if a more rational plan were pursued. The health and longevity
of the stallion are endangered by these debilitating causes, and the
best horse might lose reputation as a good trotting-foal getter
in a few years of the enervating management too common every-
where. It is supposed by many, that a horse that serves many
mares has demand enough upon his strength without working.
The truth is, he needs plenty of well-regulated exercise to keep
his strength up, and his health good, that he may safely and pro-
fitably meet the great demand upon his vitality.

It is becoming quite common to test the speed of trotting colts
at three, at two, and even at one year old ; and with proper care, it
may be done safely. The trial should be made after a little pre-
paration, by gradually increased exercise, and the distance should
be short. Curiosity being gratified by a few trials, should be also
satisfied, for colts cannot stand much speeding without danger of
injury.

To teach a young horse to trot well requires judgment and care.
He is to be improved by practice, there is no other way ; and he
should be made to like it, not fear it. He should make his best
effort, willingly, eagerly, and doing so repeatedly, he cannot fail
to improve. Kindness and gentleness are always necessary in the
management of horses, and especially so in the taming and teach-
ing of young horses. No horse should be put to a high rate of
speed until he is first warmed up and breathing freely, and then
he should be rested a little by a slow gait, but not allowed to cool
off before he is called an to do his best.

The young horse does not always know just what is wanted of
him, and it is therefore a good plan to trot him on the same piece
of level road always, and when he comes to it he will expect to
trot. He should never be made tired of it, but always stopped
while he is still anxious to go. The training is as much a mental
as a physical discipline ; it must be both. Some horses need the
stimulation of the voice or whip; others will require only to be
held to their work. The dull one should be stimulated by emula-
tion— another horse should be trotted or galloped alongside^ of
him; and whether the accompanying horse should be kept just
even with him, or a little before or behind, must be ascertained by
trial. An intelligent horse becomes discouraged by being beaten
in a race, and either breaks into a run to catch up, or quits mak-
ing any strong effort. Young horses being more impulsive and

502 THE HORSE.

less under the influence of training and experience, feel the mor-
tification of defeat more than older ones. Some colts are so
anxious to beat, that it is impossible to keep them trotting with a
competitor of equal or greater speed, but if put in double harness
they understand that they cannot get ahead of the other by run-
ning, and will do their very best trotting honestly. All animals,
except men, have more intelligence than they get credit for; and
a great many failures in the management of horses come from
men's over-estimate of themselves, and their failure to appreciate
and properly regard the intelligence of the other animal.

The ground should be smooth, and level, or a little descending.
If rough it throws him out of his step ; and if ascending he may
get to hopping, or hipping, as it is sometimes called — that is, he
does not trot square, but goes in a half gallop with his hind legs,
as an easier way of taking the weight along, while he trots with
his fore legs. Taking too much weight, or being pushed beyond
his speed, may make him do it; and the remedies are, avoidance
of the causes, and driving at a moderate speed until the habit is
forgotten. The common notion that a horse can better trot up hill
than down, is too absurd to merit serious refutation. Whether the
hill be steep or otherwise, long or short, the horse can trot down
it, either under saddle or in harness, easier than he can trot up it.

A high speed for a- short distance does not injure even quite
young horses, but keeping them at it until the ligaments that bind
the bones together at the joints are overtaxed, and feel sore the
next day, is the way to stiffen the joints, to cause knuckling of the
hind fetlock joints, and springing of the knees. No horse should
be so tired by a day's work that a night's rest will not make him
fresh again, and this is especially true of young horses. If a
horse is worked moderately at first, and a little more is exacted of
him in each succeeding day, but without violation of the rule just
stated, his powers will gradually increase 'to meet the increased
demand; but if that rule is violated for days in succession, the
horse's powers daily diminish, and the experiment will end in
injury to his health and spirit.

In trotting young horses the greatest difficulty is in keeping
them squarely at their work. They will try to go as fast as they
can, and they know that they can run faster than they can trot.
The colt that can naturally trot very fast will have less desire to
run, and being necessarily descended from trotting ancestors, he
will naturally be more disposed to do his best going in that way.
If possible, he should never be driven " off his feet," but should
be made to understand that he has but one way of going, and that
is trotting.

Inexperienced drivers are never satisfied with their horse's trot-
ting until they have driven them out of their gait, and then they

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 503

are more dissatisfied than before. Rude snatching and sawing of
the mouth by the bit make matters worse — but the man who
always makes his horse break up, always punishes the horse for
doing it ; and particularly is this true when some other horse is
out-footing his. He then imagines that his horse is not doing as
much as he could, if he were disposed to ; the whip is brought
into passionate use, and the bit is cruelly made an instrument of
torture to counteract the effect of the whip. This kind of driving
teaches a young horse that trotting is to always end in a break,
and the break in a painful and alarming punishment. These
unskilful, ungentlemanly drivers find a remedy for the horse's too
much willingness in fatiguing him by a long drive at speed, after
which the poor creature may stick to his trot from sheer exhaus-
tion. A more skilful driver would get all the speed the horse was
capable of while he was fresh and strong, and without injury to
his health or disposition. A. high-strung young horse may need
to have the wire-edge taken off sometimes before he will go
steadily; and it should be done by a long jog-trot, with a few
short brushes of speed occasionally, which will work off his exu-
berance of spirits without injury.

No trotter attains his greatest speed before maturity ; and the
best of them continue to improve up to fifteen and eighteen years
of age. To do this a horse must have a good constitution ; one
that will carry him to a great age without disease, and will stand
the hard work necessary to develop his powers. Breeding from
such horses will therefore improve the stock of the country — not
only in speed, but also in stamina. The cultivation of thorough-
breds, for running races, has been of immense benefit to the road
stock of the country, by improving its speed and stamina, and by
giving it better form and style. The American trotter gets more
of his peculiar excellence from the thorough-breds, than from all
other sources. But a thorough-bred of acknowledged excellence
as the sire of racers, might be utterly worthless to improve the
road stock. Lexington, the sire of more winners than any other
horse now in this country, is blind; his sire, Boston, was blind;
arid many of the Lexington colts go blind at an early age. In
1868 two of his get were foaled blind. Yet the best thorough-
bred mares are bred to him, because the progeny will probably
keep good sight until five years old, before which age nearly all
the racing is done. If he were a trotting stallion breeders would
not use him, because his colts would go blind before they had-
attained their greatest usefulness.

We may, therefore, reasonably expect the. breeding of trotting
horses to improve the road stock of the country, even far more
than was done by the thorough-breds. A thorough-bred that fails
as a racer, may be only a middling kind of a horse for any other

504

THE HORSE.

use ; but the trotting horse that may not be among the fastest on
the course, may, and probably will be, a very superior road horse.
The following table shows the best performances from the begin-
ning of trotting as a public amusement in this country in 1818,
to 1868, in which year a larger number of very fast horses trotted
in public than in any former period. The driving of horses long
distances at speed, is a practice that cannot be too strongly repro-
bated. Four horses have trotted twenty miles within an hour, and
several others have tried it and failed. Black Joke, that trotted
fifty miles in less than four hours, was severely injured by it. The
Orange County horse, that trotted a hundred miles in less than
nine hours, died the same day. Such cruelties bring discredit on
trotting races, and should not be countenanced. Ordinary racing
is not cruel — albeit, many good people who never saw a race think
differently; and though these performances at long distances are
introduced to show the utmost capacjty of horses, it is " devoutly
to be wished," that there may never be any more to record.

ONE MILE.

Year.

Name of Horse.

Place of Performance.

Style of Going.

Time.

1818

Boston Blue, . . .

Boston,

Harness,

3m. Os.

1824

Albany Pony, . . .

Long Island,

Saddle,

2m. 40s.

1834

Edwin Forrest, . .

Long Island,

Saddle,

2m. 31is.

1839

Dutchman, ....

Beacon Course,

Saddle,

2m. 28s.

1847

Highland Maid, . .

Long Island,

Harness,

2m. 27s.

1849

Lady Suffolk, . . .

Cambridge,

Saddle,

2m. 26s.

1855

Pocahontas (pacer), .

Long Island,

Wagon,

2m. 17s.

1858

Ethan Allen, . . .

Long Island,

Wagon,

2m. 28s.

1859

Flora Temple, . . .

Kalamazoo,

Harness,

2m. 19|s.

1859

Flora Temple, . . .

Long Island,

Wagon,

2m. 25a.

1863

Long Island,

Wagon,

2m. 23is.

1865

Dexter,

Long Island,

CȣVSIJ,

Saddle,

2m. 18£a.

1866

Dexter,

Buffalo,

Saddle,

2m. 18s.

1867

Dexter,

Buffalo,

Harness,

2m. 17^3.

1868

Lady Thorn, . . .

Boston,

Harness,

2m. 20is.

1868

Mountain Boy, . .

Boston,

Harness,

2m. 20£s.

1868

Clinton, Iowa,

Harness,

2m. 21s.

1868

Geo. Palmer, . . .

Boston,

Harness,

2m. 21H

1868

Geo. Wilkes, . . .

Cranston, R. I.,

Harness,

2m. 22s.

1868

Lucy, ......

Cranston, R. I.,

Harness.

2m. 224s.

1868

Goldsmith Maid, . .

Boston,

Harness,

2m. 23s.

1868

Fearnought, . . .

Buffalo,

Harness,

2m. 2.34s.

1868

Rhode Island, . . .

Fashion Course,

Harness,

2m. 234s.

1868

Draco Prince, . . .

Cranston, R. I.,

Harness,

2m. 24is.

1868

American Girl, . .

Buffalo,

Harness,

2m. 24£s.

1868

Myron Perry, . . .

Cranston, R. I.,

Harness,

2m. 254s.

1868

Tattler (5 yrs.), . .

Louisville,

Harness,

2m. 26s.

1868

Billy Boyce (pacer),

Buffalo,

Saddle,

2rn. 14Js.

1868

Lamplighter (pacer),

Detroit,

Harness,

2m. 24|s.

1868

Rolla Golddust, . .

Island Park, N.Y.

Harness,

2m. 21s.

THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE.
Two MILES.

505

Year.

Name of Horse.

Place of Performance.

Style of Going

Time.

1831
1847

1852

Top Gallant, . . .
Lady Suffolk, ...
Tacony, . .

Philadelphia,
Lx>ng Island,
Long Island

Saddle,
Saddle,
Saddle

5m. 19|s.
5m. 3s.
5m 2s

1858
1859
1865
1867

Lady Franklin, . .
Flora Temple, . . .
Dexter,

Long Island,
Long Island,
Long Island,
Long Island,

Wagon,
Harness,
Wagon,
Harness,

5m. 11s.
4m. 50is.
4m. 56is.
4m. 51s.

THREE MILES.

Year.

Name of .Horse.

Place of Performance.

Style of Going.

Time.

1827
1832

Screwdriver, . . .

Philadelphia,
Long Island,

Saddle,
Saddle,

8m. 2s.
8m. Os.

1839
1841
1853

Dutchman, ....
Lady Suffolk, . . .
Pet.

Beacon Course,
Philadelphia,
Long Island,

Saddle,
Saddle,
Waeon,

7m. 32is.
7m. 40is.
8m. Is.

1864

Stonewall Jackson, .

Long Island,

Harness,

7m. 39s.

ONE MILE IN DOUBLE HARNESS.

Lantern and Whalebone,

Ethan Allan and running mate,

Lady Palmer and Flatbush Maid (private trial),

Bruno and Brunette,

Ethan Allen and running mate,

2m. 42s.
2m. 19|s.
2m. 26s.
2m. 25is.
2m. 15s.

Two MILES IN DOUBLE HARNESS.

Lady Suffolk and Rifle, . . .
Lady Palmer and Flatbush Maid,

5m: 19s.
5m. IJs.

TWENTY MILES.

Year.

Name of Horse.

Place of Performance.

Style of Going.

Time.

1848

Union Course,

Harness,

59m. 35is.

1855

Lady Fulton, . .

Centreville Course,

Harness,

59m. 55s.

1865

Capt. McGowan,

Boston,

Harness,

58m. 25s.

1868

John Stewart, . . .

Fashion Course,

Harness,

58m. 30s.

-1868

John Stewart, . .

Boston,

Wagon,

59m. 23s.

43

506

THE HORSE.
FIFTY MILES.

1842

Black Joke,

3h. 57m.

ONE HUNDRED MILES.

1840

Kate, . . . . '. . .

9h. 45m.

1842

9h. 41m. 26s.

1845

9h. 38m 34s.

1853

8h 55m 53s

If these few pages, written hastily in hours snatched from a
laborious profession, and from sleep, should inspire the reader
with a higher respect for and more tender sympathy with man's
most useful and willing servant, they have not been written in
vain.

CHESTER, PA., February 1869.

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(523)

A HISTORY

or

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE IN AMERICA.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by

TICKNOil & FIELDS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

A HISTORY

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE IN AMERICA,

BY JOHN ELDERKIN,

AUTHOR OF " HOW TO MAKE SLOW HORSES FAST," &C., &C.

[From the Atlantic Monthly.]

NEARLY all the great trotting horses of America have come of
one blood, — that of Messenger, an English horse, imported into
New York in 1788.

The lineage of this horse can he traced directly back to the
Parley Arabian, who was the sire of Flying Childers ; and to the
Cade mare, who was a granddaughter of the Godolphin Arabian.
He was, therefore, of the best English thorough-bred racing stock.

All accounts concur in representing Messenger as a horse of
superb form, and extraordinary power and spirit. A groom who
saw him taken off the sbip which brought him to this country,
was accustomed to relate that " the three other horses that accom-
panied him on a long voyage had become so reduced and weak
that they had to be helped and supported down the gang-plank;
but when it came Messenger's turn to land, he, with a loud neigh,
charged down, with a negro on each side holding him back, and
dashed off up the street on a stiff trot, carrying the negroes along,
in spite of all their efforts to bring him to a stand still."

He was a handsome gray, fifteen and three-quarter hands high,*
with ua large bony head, rather short, straight neck, with wind-
pipe and nostrils nearly twice as large as ordinary; low withers,
shoulders somewhat upright, but deep and strong; powerful loin
and quarters ; hocks and knees unusually large, and below them

* A hand is four inches.

(527)

528 THE HORSE.

limbs of medium size, but flat and clean, and, whether at rest or
in motion, always in a perfect position.

These records indicate that he had more of the form of the
trotter than the thorough-bred horse in general. This form, along
with the extraordinary vitality and endurance of his race, he gave
to his progeny; which being persistently used and trained to trot,
became still more marked in these characteristic particulars. The
first generation of his descendants were fine road horses, many of
them fast, and all endowed with extraordinary courage and en-
durance. The second and third generations possessed in still
„ greater perfection the form and action of the trotting horse, of
which the fourth generation has furnished the most perfect
specimens.

Messenger lived to be twenty-eight years old. For fifteen years
he was owned in the neighborhood of New York, and was held in
such estimation that he probably left a more numerous family
than any horse that has ever lived. So great has been the impress
of his wonderful stamina and splendid form upon the horses of
America, that those best acquainted with the subject do not
hesitate to estimate his value to the country at one hundred
millions of dollars.

Of the other horses that have founded lines of trotters, Justin
Morgan deserves to be mentioned first. He was fualed in 1793 at
Springfield, Massachusetts, and when two years old was taken to
Vermont. His sire was True Briton, a fine horse ridden by
General Delancey in the Revolutionary war.

Justin Morgan is described as a " low, compact, powerful horse,
with a proud step, and good lively action." These qualities he
communicated to his descendants, who are smooth, easy travellers,
and possessed of indomitable perseverance. Fox, one of his colts,
was driven one hundred and seventy-five miles on the road within
twenty-four hours. The excellence of the stock of New England
is due to this horse and to Hambletonian, a son of Messenger.

The Bashaws are descended from two imported Arabian horses.
The first, known as Bashaw, was bred by the Emperor of Mo-
rocco, by whom he was presented to the Dey of Algiers, and
finally, through the Swedish Consul, found his way to this country
about the year 1768.

Grand Bashaw was imported from Tripoli in 1820. Andrew
Jackson, Kemble Jackson, Long Island, Black Hawk, Henry
Clay, Lantern, and George M. Patchen are of his descendants,
although all of them are more or less derived from Messenger.
The Bashaws are characterized by fine size, handsome head and
neck, full mane and tail, and a certain pride and magnificence of
style.

The trotting horse Bellfounder was imported from England in

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 529

1823. He was a horse of great substance, of remarkable spirit,
and his career in England was marked by splendid achievements.
At three years old he trotted two miles in six minutes ; and when
four years old, ten miles in thirty minutes. Afterwards he trotted
over the Norfolk Course, seventeen and one-half miles, within an
hour, winning a purse of five hundred guineas. He gave muscle
and sinew to his progeny, and a Bellfounder cross appears in the
pedigrees of many fine trotting horses.

There remain to be mentioned imported Trustee, and Sir
Henry; Duroc, by thorough-bred Diomed; Glencoe, by Sultan;
and the French horses Pilot and Royal George. These last horses
were only in part of the original Norman stock j but they had
enough of the blood to show it in their form, in the toughness of
their constitution, and in their bold trotting action.

From the horses that have been here enumerated, all the
trotting horses and most of the road horses in the United States
have come. In the case of many trotting horses a pedigree cannot
be made out; but whenever one is fully ascertained, it invariably
establishes a connection with one or the other of them. An
excellent authority claims that no great trotter has been produced
whose pedigree, when traced for four generations, does not show
a connection with imported Messenger.

This record proves the immense influence of a few good horses
upon the stock of a nation, and attests also the superior qualities
of the English racer. All the horses here mentioned are of the
Arabian and English thorough-bred stock, except the French
horses, and even they are known to have had a strong infusion of
the blood. From the vast hordes of wild horses which roamed
over the plains of Texas, Mexico, and South America, not a single
animal equal in size, speed, and enduring power to these English
horses and their direct descendants has ever been bred.

The first public trotting race in America, of which there is any
record, took place in the year 1818. There had been for many
years previous a growing taste for driving the trotting horse, and
racing or running had been popular from the first settlement of
the country ; but it was not until that comparatively recent date
that the interest in trotting culminated in a public exhibition of it.

The love of the horse is a part of the birthright of Americans,
as the offspring of a people who for centuries have been devoted
to the sports of the turf, and whose patriotism and pride have
co-operated with their love of pleasure in the cultivation and
improvement of a national stock. As early as the twelfth century
a regular race-course was established in London ; this being none
other than Smithfield. Fitzstephen, who lived at that period,
gives the following quaint account of the contests between the
palfreys of the day : " When a race is to 'be run by horses which
45 2L

530 THE HORSE.

in their kind are strong and fleet, a shout is raised, and common
horses are ordered to withdraw from without the way. Two
jockeys, then, or sometimes three, as the match may be made,
prepare themselves for the contest, — such as are used to ride, and
know how to manage their horses with judgment; the grand point
being to prevent a competitor fro:ti getting before them. The
horses on their part are not without emulation. They tremble,
and are impatient, and continually in motion. At last, the signal
once given, they hurry along with unremitting velocity; the
jockeys, inspired with the thoughts of applause and the hopes of
victory, clapping spurs to their willing steeds, brandishing their
whips, and cheering them with their cries." Youatt adds, that
this description, with the exception of the cries, might form part
of the record of a modern race at Epsom, in the columns of a morn-
ing paper, — so national is the English sport of horse-racing, and
so unchanged are its characteristics. The history of the English
horse and turf is full of interest. Such was the importance that
Edward III. attached to good stock, that he gave a thousand
marks for fifty Spanish horses, negotiating at the same time with
the kings of France and Spain for their safe passage by land. The
Stuarts imported many fine horses from the East, and laid the
basis of the modern thorough-bred stock. Since their time it has
been considered obligatory upon royalty to encourage breeding
and racing, and even Parliament adjourns in honor of the Derby.
As a recent writer in an P]nglish magazine says : " I4t is an
undoubted necessity that Englishmen should have a national
pastime, capable of affording amusement to all classes, enacted in
the open air, devoid of all taint of cruelty, and conducted, as far
as possible, with the rules of fair play. That want racing supplies ;
and when the national amusements of other times and peoples are
reviewed, it will be found a difficult task to dispute, successfully,
the claim that the English turf is the noblest pastime in which
any nation, ancient or modern, has ever indulged."

The love of the national sport was strongly implanted in the
breasts of those Englishmen who settled Virginia and other
southern and southwestern portions of the Unite^ States. They
imported the best English horses, and the time early came when
every planter kept his stud. As the country was sparsely settled,
and wagon-roads uncut, the horse and saddle furnished the prin-
cipal means of communication with neighbors and towns, and to
be well mounted became one of the distinguishing marks of social
position. The stage-coach came afterward, and the railroad ; and
travelling on horseback gradually ceased, but not until the taste
for using the horse under the saddle had become thoroughly
established, and yearly meetings for racing in the English style
had become popular.

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 531

Passing over colonial times, and the period immediately follow-
ing the Revolution, we come upon the period when racing reached
the highest point of popularity. For a period of over twenty-five
years every city and considerable town, from New York to Florida,
from Cairo to Balize, and all through the valley of the Mississippi,
had biennial meetings, in which the most distinguished men of the
time took part. The leading politicians of the South were fore-
most in patronizing the turf. The efforts of General Jackson to
improve the stock of Kentucky, and his fondness for racing, are
fully set forth in his biography by Mr. Parton. The names of
Sir Henry, American Eclipse, Ariel, Black Maria, Gray Eagle,
Boston, and Fashion will render this period in American turf-
annals for ever illustrious.

But racing had its origin in the Southern States. Virginia and
Kentucky were the great nurseries of the running horse. The
principal race-courses were near Southern capitals; and although,
in the great race on Union Course, Long Island, in 1823, between
Sir Henry and American Eclipse, the North was successful, in
the main the greatest success in breeding running horses, as well
as the greatest popularity of the sport, was at the South.

If the English love of the horse was shared by the Puritan
settlers of New England at all, it did not show itself in patronage
of the turf. On the contrary, they regarded racing and all its
accompaniments with peculiar aversion. Their creed and lives,
indeed their very expatriation, formed a protest against the habits
and principles of those of their countrymen at home with whom
the maintenance of the turf was the first object of life. Nor was
the exhilarating ride in the saddle in harmony with the Puritan
temper. It was tainted with incitements whose direct tendency
was the race-course. Their settlements covered a narrower field,
and consequently there was not the same demand for the horse
for use in travelling as at the South. It was as an assistant in
the labors of agriculture that they found him principally service-"
able. His decorous use before the rude vehicles which carried
their families to meeting was the nearest approach which they
made to modern pleasure-driving. Harnessed before their " one-
horse shays," a horse possessing the speed of Flora Temple or
Dexter, would be brought down to an orthodox amble. Thus it
came that driving the horse before vehicles of varying degrees of
clumsiness generally prevailed in New England ; whence it has
gradually spread over the country, displacing the use of the horse
under the saddle, and furnishing another evidence of the complete
predominance of Puritan influence in the country. The habit of
driving led naturally to the cultivation of trotting; that gait being
the easiest for the horse in harness, and the most unobtrusive and
agreeable to the driver.

532 THE HORSE.

There exists but a scanty record of the early trotting horses and
their achievements. The first sporting-paper published in Ame-
rica, " The Turf Register/' was first issued September 1, 1829.
This monthly journal was almost entirely devoted to the thorough-
bred running horse and racing; and, during the first two or three
years of its existence, trotting was barely mentioned in its pages.
As has been stated, the first public trotting race took place in
1818. In that year the horse Boston Blue trotted at Boston, in
a match against time, a mile within three minutes (the exact time
is unknown), which was reckoned a very great performance. In
1824 Albany Pony trotted a mile on the Jamaica turnpike in 2 m.
40 s., which shows a considerable advance in speed in the six
years which had intervened.

The performances of Top Gallant were so extraordinary, and he
was in every respect such a superior horse, that a more complete
record of him has been handed down than of any of the old-time
trotters. He was foaled in 1808, but trotted his principal races
after he was twenty years old. Hiram Woodruff, who rode him
at his exercise, thus describes him : " Top Gallant was a dark bay,
fifteen hands three inches high; plain and raw-boned; but with
rather a fine head and neck, and an eye expressive of much
courage. His spirit was very high, and his bottom was of the
finest and toughest quality." In 1828, in a four-mile race against
Whalebone over the Hunting Park Course, Philadelphia, he
'trotted four heats* of four miles each, in 11 m. 16 s., 11 m. 6 s.,
llm. 17 s., 12 m. 15 s., the whole sixteen miles in 45 m. 44 s.
In 1830, when twenty-two years old, he trotted twelve miles over
the same course in 38 minutes; and in 1831, on the same ground,
two miles in 5 m. 19 s.

A correspondent of the " English Sporting Magazine," writing
of the trotting horses at the Hunting Park Course in 1829, men-
tions Top Gallant first, as follows:

"Top Gallant, by Hambletonian, he by Messenger, trotted twelve
miles in harness in 38 minutes; and three miles, under saddle, in
8 in. 31 s. He is now nineteen years old, and can trot a mile with
one hundred and fifty pounds in 2 m.' 45 s.

" Betsey Baker, by Mambrino, he by Messenger, beat Top Gal-
lant three miles, under saddle, carrying one hundred and fifty
pounds, in 8 m. 16 s. This mare, when sound, could trot twenty
miles within the hour.

" Trouble, by Hambletonian, a horse of good bottom, trotted two
miles in 5 m. 25 s.

" Sir Peter, by Hambletonian, trotted three miles in harness in
8 m. 16 s.

* A heat is one continuous effort, either in running or trotting.

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 533

" Whalebone, by Hambletonian, trotted three miles in 8 m. 18 s.
These two, Sir Peter and Whalebone, can be matched either against
Rattler or Tom Thumb, now in England, for any amount."

(Tom Thumb trotted, in England, 16.5 miles, in harness, in 56
m. 45 s., and 100 miles in 9 h. 30 m.) .

" Screwdriver, by Mount Holly, he by Messenger, in a race with
Betsey Baker, trotted two three-mile heats in 8 m. 2 s., and 8 m.
10 s."

This record of performances would be creditable to the trotting
horse in any year of his history. It illustrates the general char-
acter of all the trotting races of the early time. They were as
much a test of endurance as of speed, and were seldom of less
than two, and frequently of three and four miles. Races were
trotted in which the endurance of horses was taxed to the utter-
most, and the tasks most commonly imposed would render com-
pletely worthless one-half of the trotting horses of the present
day. Speed has been cultivated to the neglect of bottom, and
what has been gained in swiftness has been lost in staying power.

In this respect, the course of trotting in America is analogous
to that of racing in England. The English racers of half a c*en-
tury ago partook of .the^ characteristic excellence of the Oriental
horses, from whom they were derived, — which was that, in addi-
tion to their speed, they possessed extraordinary powers of endur-
ance. Such horses as Bay Middleton, Glencoe, Mameluke, The
Baron, Pyrrhus the First, Blair Athol, Wild Dayrell, Lanercost,
and Harkaway, and the mares Catherina, Beeswing, and Alice
Hawthorn, are not now found upon the English turf, and it is doubt-
ful if ever they will be found there again. An English writer on
the present condition of the turf says : " There is not a six-year-
old now in training in England to whom any of these four (Laner-
cost, Harkaway, Beeswing, and Alice Hawthorn) could not at the
same age have given a stone and a beating over the Beacon
Course."

The " Turf Register" of March, 1834, copies from a Philadel-
phia paper the following comments on a race which took place at
Trenton, N. J., in which the horse Edwin Forrest trotted a mile
in 2 m. 36 s., and Columbus, in 2 m. 37 s. : " The improvement
of the trotting horse is engaging the attention of some of the best
sporting characters in the country. We believe our state boasts
of the best trotters in the Union. New York is nearly as good as
our own. It is, in our opinion, a sport which should be encou-
raged."

The horses Edwin Forrest and Columbus were the best trotting

horses of their time. The first trotted on Long Island, in 1834,

a mile in 2 m. 31 £ s., which was then the best time ever made.

He was afterward beaten by Daniel D. Tompkins, a New England

. 45*

534 THE HORSE.

horse, in a great race for ten thousand dollars. Columbus was
the first horse to trot three miles in less than eight minutes.

The celebrated horse Dutchman made his appearance on the
turf in 1833. His pedigree was never ascertained. In his work
on the trotting horse, Hiram Woodruff says of him: "For the
combined excellences of speed, bottom, and constitutional vigor,
equal to the carrying on of a long campaign and improving on it,
Dutchman has had few, if any equals, and certainly no superior."
In 1836 he was entered in sweepstakes with Fanny Pullen and
Confidence. Fanny Pullen was the dam of Trustee, the first horse
to trot twenty miles within an hour. Confidence was a handsome
bay horse, afterwards purchased for the well-known English
horseman, Mr. Osbaldestone, and' taken out of the country.
Dutchman won the race in 5 m. 17£ s., and 5 m. 18$ s. He
afterwards beat Lady Suffolk in two straight two-mile heats in 5
m. 11 s., and 5 m. 13 s. His race with Ratler, a horse that Hiram
Woodruff declared to be the best trotter ever taken to England,
was one of the most closely contested and best three-mile races
ever trotted. For eleven miles the horses were never clear of each
other; and when Dutchman left Ratler in the twelfth, it was by
inches only. In 1839, on the Beacon Course, New Jersey, Dutch-
man made his great and imperishable record of three miles in 7
in. 32 £ s. He trotted one mile of this race in 2 m. 28 s., which
was the best one-mile time that had then been made, as the three-
mile time is the best made up to the present writing.

Long Island, the scene of so many of the triumphs of the
trotting horse, is equally distinguished as the birth-place of some
of the most celebrated. Messenger was kept at its western ex-
tremity, and his blood was disseminated over the whole island.
From one of his descendants, Engineer, came Lady Suffolk, for
many years the unquestioned mistress of the trotting-turf. She
was bred in Suffolk county, whence her name, and when three
years old was purchased by David Bryant, from the farmer who
raised her, for ninety dollars. She was a gray, raw-boned, slab-
sided, homely animal ; but deep in the chest and muscular in the
arms and quarters, which enabled her to keep up a wonderfully
long and clearing stride. Her first appearance on the turf was in
1838, when she was fiv.e years old. From that time she was kept
steadily at work for sixteen years, trotting one hundred and sixty-
one races, of which she won eighty-eight. Her owner, though
devotedly attached to her, did not use the discretion in her
management which is necessary to secure success, even with the
most reliable animals; so, despite her extraordinary speed and
bottom, the list of her defeats is nearly as long as that of her
victories. She was beaten by Dutchman, Repton, Lady Victory,
Lafayette, Independence, Aaron Burr, and by Americus in a

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 535

great five-mile race which came off on the Centreville Course
in the fall of 1841. That same year she beat Dutchman on the
Hunting Park Course, Philadelphia, trotting three miles in 7 m.
40 £ s. The year before, the same horse had beaten her easily in
7 m. 51 s. She had steadily improved from the time of her first
appearance, although she had been driven in races of two and
three miles every season, until it was a cause of surprise that her
legs were strong enough to bear her up at all. Anything of less
steel-like fibre would have given way, and the trotting-turf been
deprived of one of its greatest ornaments.

In 1842 she beat Ripton in a two-mile race, in harness, in 5 m.
10 s., and 5 m. 15 s. This was on the 7th of May. On the 1st
of August Ripton turned the tables by beating her in 5 m. 6 s., and
5 m. 22 s. This Ripton was a handsome bay, small, but a trotter
of peculiar smoothness and beauty. He had many contests with
Lady Suffolk, and the record shows that he beat her oftener than
he was beaten. Even as late as this year, 1842, most of the races
were of two and three miles, and in all such races it is important
to husband the power of the horse as much as possible; conse-
quently the full speed is very seldom called out, but a gait is
aimed at which can be maintained to the end of a long race. For
this reason, horses of moderate speed and great endurance may
beat, in such races, far faster trotters. Although Lady Suffolk
had the hardiest bottom and highest courage, she was a long
strider, and calculated to put forth all her strength in a great
effort, rather than expend it gradually in a moderate effort long
continued. In spite of this, such was her enduring power, that,
in 1837, she distanced the pacer James K. Polk, the first heat of
a two-mile race in 5 m. 3 s. But her greatest performance was
in the season of 1849. Hiram Woodruff says : " This arduous
season began at the Union Course on the 21st of May. Lady
Suffolk and Lady Moscow trotted mile heats, Moscow winning in
four heats. Lady Suffolk then went Down East, and trotted three
races at Providence, Rhode Island. From there she went to
Boston, and on the 14th of June she trotted on the Cambridge
Course with Mac, on which occasion she made the fastest heat
she ever trotted. The first heat was won by Mac in 2m. 31 s.
The Lady won the second in 2 m. 26 s." This was her greatest
performance. It raised her to the highest place among trotting
horses, and gave her a world-wide fame, which has endured to the
present day. She afterwards trotted with Jack Rossiter, Lady
Sutton, Trustee, Long Island Black Hawk, Gray Trouble, and Gray
Eagle, — all horses of the very first class, — and remained on the
turf until 1853, doing an immense amount of work every season,
maintaining her great reputation both for speed and endurance
until she passed into honorable retirement.

536 THE HORSE.

Long Island Black Hawk was one of the greatest stock-horses
ever bred upon the island which furnished the first half of his
name, and one of the best representatives of the feashaw family.
He was fifteen and a half hands in height, finely moulded, a great
weight-puller, and a good traveller. He was hardly a match for
Lady Suffolk, who drew three hundred and fifty pounds, and beat
him in 2 m. 40 s.

Kemble Jackson, another son of Andrew Jackson, was equally
distinguished. As a trotter, he surpassed Long Island Black
Hawk. He commenced his career on the Centreville Course in
December, 1850. The next year he beat the Nelson Colt in a
three-mile race, giving a strong proof of his great qualities. On
the 1st of June, 1853. in a similar race with O'Blenis, Boston
Grirl, Pet, lola, and Honest John, he achieved a national reputa-
tion. This race attracted almost as much attention as the great
race between Sir Henry and American Eclipse, in which the
honor of two sections of the country, the North and the South,
was considered at stake. The contest was mainly between the
popular favorites Kemble Jackson and O'Blenis. The latter was
by Abdallah, from whom he inherited all the fine characteristics
of the Messenger stock. Kemble Jackson was driven by Hiram
Woodruff, whose skill and judgment in driving were signally dis-
played in the management of his horse on this occasion. All the
horses came on the ground in good condition, and were well
started for the first trial. The popular judgment was immediately
confirmed by Kemble Jackson and O'Blenis drawing ahead of the
others, — Kemble Jackson on the lead, which he maintained for
three miles, winning the first heat in 8 m. 8 s. In the second
heat, lola and Pet got off with the lead, but on the second quarter
Kemble Jackson headed them, and O'Blenis coming up, a duel
between them was maintained until the end of the second mile ;
Kemble Jackson, leading easily in the third mile, won the heat
and the race in 8 m. 4f s. All the horses did well, but Kemble
Jackson surpassed all expectation ; and though the time has been
frequently beaten, this is generally considered one of the best
three-mile races ever witnessed on Long Island.

Lady Suffolk's day was hardly over before a successor appeared
who was more than her equal, whose career on the turf was
nearly as long, and marked by achievements exciting equal admi-
ration, and gaining her even greater celebrity. The new light
was Flora Temple. She was foaled in 1845, near Utica, New
York, and was by One-eyed Hunter, a son of Kentucky Hunter.
She was a little bay mare, fourteen and a half hands high, of
thorough-bred, muscular form, and peculiarly quick and nervous
gait. When four years old she was sold for thirteen dollars, and
again for sixty-eight dollars, and ultimately found her way to New

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 537

York, where she soon became known on the suburban roads as a
trotter of unusual promise. In the summer of 1850 she trotted
her first race, a half mile, on the old Red-House track. In the
fall of the same year she trotted with Delaware Maid, Whitehall,
Napoleon, and Hiram, winning in 2 m. 55 s., 2 m. 52 s., and
2 m. 49 s.

In 1852 she beat the horse Centreville in 2 m. 42 s., and this
year she was sold again ; the price paid was four thousand dollars.
In 1853 she beat Black Douglas, who had previously beaten her
on the Hunting Park Course, Philadelphia. In this race she
trotted a mile in 2 m. 3U s. Her races with Highland Maid
took place the same season. This mare was bred in Orange
county, New York, and was of the purest Messenger blood. She
was very powerful, and a great strider, and was then, like Flora
Temple, in the first flush of what promised to be a brilliant career.
Their first race was in harness, and came off on the Centreville
(Long Island) Course, on the 15th of June, 1853. Highland
Maid won the first heat in 2 m. 29 s., and the second in 2 m.
27 s., which last was the best time that had then been made in
harness. Flora Temple had pushed her antagonist to the top of
her speed, and the great strain had told upon her. In the third
heat she gave out, and was distanced in 2 m. 32£ s. The next
race between them was to wagons, and took place on the 28th of
the same month. In the first heat Flora Temple got the lead, and
maintained it, winning in 2 m. 28 s. The next heat was won by
Highland Maid in 2 m. 32 s. The third heat was severely con-
tested, and was declared a dead heat. The fourth was won by
Highland, Maid in 2m. 33 s. But in the fifth and sixth Flora
Temple showed her superior power to repeat by beating her rival
in 2m. 31 £ s. and 2 m. 35 s. This was a very severe race, and
Highland Maid, not being thoroughly matured and seasoned, did
not recover from it for a long time. It raised Flora Temple to
the rank of the first trotting horses of the country.

The next month she trotted with Tacony. This horse was bred
in Canada, and had trotted under the saddle in 2 m. 25£ s. The
race was in harness, and was won by Tacony in three desperately
contested heats, the time being 2 m. 28 s., 2 m. 27 s., 2 m. 29 s.
The horses were immediately matched to trot again two-mile heats
in harness, the race to come off in five days. Flora Temple won
easily in 4 m. 59 s., and 5 m. 1 s. On the 26th of July she beat
Tacony again at Saratoga; and afterwards, in 1856, distanced him
in 2m. 24 £ s., effectually establishing her superiority.

In 1854 Flora Temple beat Lady Brooks in four heats, and
Kemble Jackson in five heats, to wagons. The victory over this
veteran was only one after a terrific struggle. It seemed hard for
the victor over so many courses to lay all his laurels at the feet

53S THE HORSE.

of a youthful rival. In November she beat Gree» Mountain
Maid and Rhode Island at Rochester. After her return to New
York she trotted with Mac, an old antagonist of Lady Suffolk.
She beat him easily in 2 m. 31f s , 2 m. 32 s., and 2 m. 33 s.

Not long after this race, Flora Temple became the property of
James McMann, who henceforth drove her in her principal races,
and with whom she is chiefly associated. Her first appearance
after this change of ownership was in a race with Sontag. This
mare was by Vermont Hambletonian, a grandson of Messenger,
and a sire of many famous trotting horses. In this race Flora
Temple was driven by Warren Peabody (Hiram Woodruff had
driven her in most of her previous races), and was beaten by Son-
tag in 2 m. 31 s., 2 m. 33 s., and 2 m. 85 s. The loss of this
race would seem to be owing to the change of drivers, as the best
time made had been repeatedly beaten by Flora Temple on pre-
vious occasions. She was now matched to trot twenty miles within
an hour, but was withdrawn after trotting twelve miles. Like
Lady Suffolk, she does not appear to have been constituted for the
dragging effort which is required for success in such races.

It was in October of the year 1856 that Flora Temple and the
great Morgan horse, Ethan Allen, trotted their first race. Ethan
Allen may well be the pride of New England, for a finer built and
more beautiful trotter was never harnessed. He had just beaten
Rose of Washington and Hiram Drew ; and this, with his easy and
perfect trotting gait, made many regard him as fully a match for
the pet of Long Island. The race came off on the 5th of Novem-
ber, and was won by Flora in two heats in 2 m. 32 £ s., and 2 m.
36£ s. It proved that Ethan Allen had hardly arrived at the
period of development, or become sufficiently seasoned 'upon the
turf, to compete with its mature and experienced mistress.

Her first match in 1857 was with Rose of Washington. This
Messenger mare was bred by that veteran horseman, Smith Burr,
of Comae, Long Island, and was a full sister of Lady Woodruff.
Although she had been beaten by Ethan Allen when four years
old, she was now fully matured and in prime condition for the race.
Flora, on the contrary, had only shortly returned from her .winter
quarters, and had not had the work necessary to put her in condi-
tion to trot with a rival who had beaten Tacony in 2 m. 30 s. and
2 m. 31 s. that same season. In addition, it was stipulated that
Flora should draw a wagon, Rose of Washington going in har-
ness.* The result was that Flora was beaten in three straight
heats. Another race between these two mares took place two

* A horse is held by the best judges to be able to trot under the saddle
three seconds faster than in harness, — that is, harnessed to a sulky, — and
six seconds faster than when harnessed to a wagon.

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 539

weeks afterwards, with a different result. Flora, in the mean
time, had trotted with the Belle of Portland, and had been worked
into trotting condition, and in this race distanced Rose of Wash-
ington in the first heat. The time, however, was not so good by
one quarter of a second as the time made in the previous race; and
had it not been for the early death of Rose of Washington she
might have eclipsed her victorious rival.

After these races, Flora travelled about the country, trotting for
purses at various places, with Miller's Damsel, Redbird, Lancet,
and Brown Dick. In 1858 she was sold to Mr. William McDonald
of Baltimore for eight thousand dollars. The change of owner-
ship made no difference in her trotting appointments, all of which
continued to be made by James McMann. She trotted with
Lancet at Philadelphia on the 8th of June, and at Baltimore on
the 8th of July. In October she went West, and trotted at De-
troit, Chicago, St. Louis, and other places. Among her antago-
nists in these races were Hero the pacer, Prince, and Reindeer.

But it was not until 1859 that Flora Temple made the time
which raised her to the high position which she holds among later
trotting horses. She began the season that year by beating Ethan
Allen in 2 m. 25 s. Her races with Princess followed. Princess
was a very beautiful trotter. She was bred in New Hampshire;
but had been in California, where she had trotted ten miles to
wagon in 29 m. 10£ s. The first race between Flora and Princess
was one of three miles, and was won by the former, after a hard pull,
in 7 m. 54 s. and 7 m. 59 ^ s. The second race of two miles was
won by Princess in 5 m. 2 s. and 5 m. 5 s. The third race of one
mile was won by Flora in 2 m. 23$ s., 2 m. 22 s., and 2 m. 23£ s.
Although this most extraordinary race was won by Flora, Princess
had trotted so well that it was still thought by some that she was
the better horse. In August a fourth race of two miles took place
between them, which was won by Flora in the unprecedented time
of 4 m. 50 £ s. The time of the second heat was 5 m. 5 s. The
two mares then made a trip together, trotting at Saratoga, Boston,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, and, on the 15th of October, at
Kalamazoo, Mich. In the third heat of the race at this place,
with Princess and Honest Anse, Flora trotted a mile in 2m. 19f s.
The news of this great performance was received by telegraph in
the principal cities of the Union, and created a general excitement.
It was the culmination of a long and brilliant career. Flora Tem-
ple became thenceforth an object of public interest, and wherever
she went was regarded with the greatest curiosity and favor.
Before she returned to New York, she visited Cleveland, and St.
Catharine's, Canada, winning races at both places.

Flora was now fifteen years old. She had been on the turf for
ten years, during which time she had trotted over fifty successful

540 THE HORSE.

races, and won thousands of dollars. Ifwould seem that she had
fairly earned a release. But such was not the fate in store for her.
Another great horse had made his appearance, with whom she was
destined to fight her old battles over again. This was George M.
Patcheri. He was bred in New Jersey, and was of Bashaw, Mes-
senger, and Trustee lineage. He had been beaten once by Ethan
Allen, but had beaten Brown Dick and Lancet, and trotted under
the saddle in 2 m. 25 J s. He was a large, powerful horse, and
every way worthy of 'his reputation as a trotter. His first race
with Flora took place on the *21st of November, 1859, Flora won
the first heat in 2 m. 23 s., the second in 2 m. 24 s., and the third
in 2 m. 24 s. ; but this heat, because of some irregularity, was
given to Patchen by the judges. The race was then postponed,
on account of darkness, until the following day, but was never
finished.

The second race between them took place on the 6th of June,
1860, and was won by Flora in 2 m. 21 s., 2 m. 24 s.,'and 2 m.
21 5 s. Hiram Woodruff pronounces this the best of Flora's races,
and the horse that pushed her in it could not be other than very
nearly as good as herself. They afterwards trotted a number of
races at different places, in which Flora maintained her place at
the head of the trotting horses of the country.

In 1861 a new rival came from the West, to put the undecayed
powers of this wonderful mare to one more trial. This horse had
been known as Medoc, but was now called John Morgan. He was
by Pilot, Jr., deriving Messenger blood from his dam. He was a
very strong horse, and of great courage and endurance as well as
speed. He was matched to trot three races with Flora ; the first
of one mile, the second of two miles, and the third of three miles.
In all he was beaten ; but in the second race he proved himself
worthy to rank with the very best horses that had ever been pitted
against Flora. In this race he pushed her at every step, and the
two heats were the best ever trotted in one race j the time being
4 m. 55 s. and 4 m. 52£ s.

Flora's races with Ethan Allen and running mate remain to be
mentioned. In these she was beaten, but they are not to be con-
sidered in any fair estimate of the powers of the two horses. A
horse trotting with a running mate is not only relieved of the whole
weight of wagon and driver, but is absolutely helped along. In
these races Flora showed undiminished speed and endurance, and
in the last heat of the last race was only beaten by the team by a
length, in her own best time, 2 m. 19f s. She was now withdrawn
from the turf, and has never since made her appearance in a public
race.

In this sketch of the career of Flora Temple, in which the
interesting " Reminiscences of the Trotting Horse, by Hiram

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 541

Woodruff," published in the " Spirit of the Times/' have been
consulted, most of the first trotting horses of the country, of the
twelve years of her life on the turf, have been noticed. During
the period of her ascendancy there was a great development of
the taste for trotting, and the number of trotting horses had con-
stantly increased. During the past five years that taste has
become still more marked, and diffused over the whole country.
The number of trotting courses has multiplied until nearly every
town of three thousand inhabitants is supplied with one. The
attention of farmers is largely given to breeding trotters; and the
amount of money, care, and intelligence bestowed upon that one
branch of rural economy is almost incredible. In one county in
the state of New York — Orange county, on the Hudson — there
are millions of dollars invested in trotting stock farms. At the
Stony Ford establishment alone there are one hundred and twenty-
five horses of the Messenger blood. So many fast trotters have
consequently been produced since 1861, that it is possible, within
the limits of this article, to mention only the most celebrated.

The fast noticeable race of the year 1862 was that of Lady
Emma and Jilt, on Long Island. Lady Emma was a grand-
daughter of Abdallah, and every way worthy of her descent from
that patriarch of trotters. In the race with Jilt she made the
following surpassing record, — 2 m. 28 J s., 2 m. 29 J s., 2 m. 30 s.,
2 m. 31 s. This was followed by the race between two great
horses, Ethan Allen and Robert Fillingham, or George Wilkes,
as he is now called. The latter is by the celebrated Messenger
horse Hambletonian of Chester, — with one exception the only son
of Abdallah living, and the sire of more great trotting horses than
any horse that has ever lived in America. George Wilkes has
all the characteristics of the Hambletonian stock. — fine size, great
muscular development, smooth long stride, and superior endurance.
He beat Ethan Allen in three straight heats, in 2 m. 24f s., 2 m.
25f s., and 2 m. 31 s.

In October of the same year the first race between the horses
General Butler and Rockingham was trotted, to wagons, on the
Fashion Course, Long Island. General Butler is a very remark-
able horse. He developed slowly, and came to his great speed
only after long and careful training. He has shown lasting powers
equal to those of old Top Gallant. Rockingham was bred in
Massachusetts, where he was known as the Granger colt. He
was a large, flea-bitten gray horse, of very stylish appearance, and
a great trotter. In this race five heats were trotted, — Rocking-
liarn winning the first two, in 2m. 30 Js. and 2m. 29 Js. ; and
General Butler the last three, in 2 m. 28 s., 2 m. 27 s., and 2 m.
30 s. The second and third of their races were both won by
46

542 THE HORSE.

Rockingham, in the third of which he trotted a mile under the
saddle in 2 m. 22 Js.

The famous feat of the t( Ledger team/' Lady Palmer and
Flatbush Maid, also took place in the season of this year, 1862,
on the Fashion Course, Long Island, on the day of the race be-
tween the black mare Sunnyside and Gray Eddy. As Sunnyside
was a new-comer of great pretension, a large concourse of people
had assembled to witness her first performance. After the race
was over, it was whispered that Mr. Bonner would give his mares
a trial of one mile ; and his appearance on the course in his road
wagon, driving the well-known beauties, detained the whole
assembled multitude. The reason of this public exhibition of the
speed of a pair of horses kept strictly for private amusement by a
gentleman strongly opposed to betting, and all the demoralizing
accessories of the turf, was known to many upon the grounds, and
tended to intensify their interest. A few years before Mr. Bonner
had taken up driving for his health. On the roads about the
city, among others he met Commodore Vanderbilt, the great
steamship owner, who has for many years been known as an inde-
fatigable roadite and horseman. They were accustomed to meet
at what is known as the Club House on Harlem Lane, where easy
and pleasant social intercourse, enlivened by an occasional brush
between some of the first-class horses that were daily assembled
there, made such meetings exceedingly agreeable. On one of
these occasions some badinage took place between Commodore
Vanderbilt and Mr. Bonner as to the speed of their respective
teams, that resulted in a lasting rivalry. Mr. George Wilkes,
writing of this rivalry, says : " It was a fair contest. Commodore
Vanderbilt was worth eight or nine millions of dollars, and Mr.
Bonner had an income of considerably more than one hundred
thousand a year. Every one, therefore, looked on with pleasure
at this rivalry, and the efforts each gentleman made to secure
pre-eminence made the contest conspicuous to all lookers-on."
The efforts here referred to were efforts to obtain the fastest
horses in the market. As Mr. Bonner would not accept a bet of
ten thousand dollars, he offered the Commodore the alternative
of competing in a friendly way, should he see fit, with the time
that he should make with his horses in a public trial. On the
day in question the Commodore was on the course, and, by re-
quest, held a watch upon the horses, and took note of the time
made.

When Mr. Bonner brought out his team there was a murmur
of admiration. The horses were well matched, of the finest mould,
full of life and elastic vigor, and moved together as if they obeyed
a single impulse. Lady Palmer is a dark chestnut Glencoe mare,
of fine thorough-bred appearance, but has bone and muscle in

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 543

abundance, where bone and muscle are needed in trotting. Flat-
bush Maid is of the same height, but of heavier build. She has
the compact and solid form and vigorous action, which indicate
ability to carry weight and trot a long race. In the preliminary
skirmishes, previous to starting, it became apparent that both
were in the best condition for the trial. Mr. Bonner now gave
them a turn around the course, gradually increasing the rate of
speed, and passed over the score for the trial at a flying gait. The
quarter pole was passed in 38 £ seconds, and, urged on to their
utmost endeavor, the team increased the pace, and crossed the
score in 2 m. 32 £ s. But Mr. Bonner did not stop them at the
end of the first mile. He pushed straight forward for the second
mile, rightly estimating that in the first half of the first mile they
had not been quite up to the mark. But they were now fully
down to the work. They moved with the steadiness of a locomo-
tive, and as they came upon the home-stretch, they appeared to
put forth all their strength. The eyes of thousands were upon
them as they came flying on ; and as they passed over the score,
they were greeted with a general exclamation of delight and a
universal clapping of hands. The time had not been announced,
but all were satisfied that it was a great improvement upon the
previous record, though few were prepared to hear 2 m. 28 f s.
announced from the judges' stand. This made the time of the
two miles 5m. li s. It was entirely unprecedented; the best
time on record being that of Lady Suffolk and Rifle, of two miles
in 5 m. 19 s., made May 31, 1842, and of one mile in 2 m. 42 s.,
by Lantern and Whalebone in 1856. After learning the time in
which his horses had trotted, Mr. Bonner publicly declared that,
while it was a rule with him never to make a bet, he would pre-
sent ten thousand dollars as a gift to any gentleman who owned a
team, if he would drive them in the time just made by Lady
Palmer and Flatbush Maid ; and this, although the time was not
so good by nearly three seconds as that of a private trial, namely,
2 m. 26 s., made a few days previous.

This great feat, and the circumstances out of which it arose,
had more influence in drawing public attention to driving the
trotting horse than any other single occurrence in his whole his-
tory. Mr. Bonner's refusal to bet somewhat dispelled the fancy
that it was impossible to own a fast horse without using him for
gambling purposes; which fancy had arisen from the fact that
running horses in America are of no use except upon the turf.
Taken with the established popularity of driving, and the in-
creased facilities for it provided in trotting-parks and improved
roads, that refusal assisted in making the use of the fast trotting
horse general, and in freeing a perfectly innocent and healthful

544 THE HORSE.

amusement from a disreputable odor which had for many years
attached to it.

During the year 1863 the war caused a great diversion of public
attention ; nevertheless, the records of the turf exhibit a goodly
amount of excellent work. It was marked by the splendid trot-
ting of the horses General Butler, George Wilkes, George M.
Patchen, Silas Rich, California Damsel, and by the first appear-
ance of a number of the horses that have since become famous.
In May, the Hambletonian, Shark, made his mark in a three-mile
race with Frank Temple; placing himself in the list with Screw-
driver, Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, and all the famous old three-
milers of the first generations. He won the race with Frank
Temple in two heats ; trotting the first in 7 m. 47f s., and the
second in 7 m. 52^ s.

The great two-mile race, on the Fashion Course, Long Island,
between General Butler and George M. Patchen, in which General
Butler made the best two-mile time to wagon on record, took place
on th« 18th of June. General Butler won the first heat in 4 m.
56* s. In the second heat, owing to some unfair advantage taken
by the driver of General Butler, the judges declared him dis-
tanced. Two days after, the same horses met again, when Gene-
ral Butler came off victorious ; winning three mile-heats in 2 m.
27 £ s., 2 m. 30 s., and 2 m. 32 s. In the early part of this
month — June — George Wilkes, in harness, beat Rockingham,
under the saddle, in three straight mile-heats, the best of which
was trotted in 2 m. 24? s.

In September, George Wilkes and General Butler were pitted
against each other again, in a race on the Fashion Course. The
year before, George Wilkes had beaten Ethan Allen, and he came
to the encounter with the green laurels of his victory over Rock-
ingham. It was stipulated that he should go in harness, but this
was to him no drawback, while General Butler was privileged to
go under the saddle, the style most favorable to an exhibition of
all his powers. The day was fine, and the track in excellent con-
dition. General Butler appeared in trim to surpass all his pre-
vious performances, and perhaps outstrip all his predecessors.
George Wilkes did not appear so well, and in the race broke fre-
quently, but pushed General Butler out in the last heat in 2 m.
23? s. The preceding two heats were won by General Butler, in
2 m. 29£ s. and 2 m. 28£ s. General Butler may therefore be
fairly regarded as the first horse upon the trotting turf in 1863;
and his great endurance and speed entitle him to be mentioned
among the very first of American trotting horses, living or dead.

The great performance of the gray mare Peerless also took place
on Long Island in the summer of this year. She was then, as
now, the property of Mr. Robert Bonner, and the performance

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 545

referred to was a trial of one mile to wagon. Hiram Woodruff
drove her in 2 m. 23^ s., which is the best time to wagon upon
record. This mare was bred in Orange county, New York, and
is directly derived through her sire, American Star, from Sir
Henry. She is therefore the best living representative of that
excellent and popular strain of trotting blood, and is held by many
of its admirers to be able to draw a wagon faster than any other
horse living.

It will perhaps be noticed that the principal races mentioned
have been upon Long Island. This is owing to the fact of its
being the seat of the great metropolitan race-courses to which
every first-class horse sooner or later is brought. New York City
is, in truth, the sporting emporium of the Union. The great
facilities for driving in its suburbs, and the large number of its
wealthy men interested in fast horses, make it the best market for
them in America. The record of trotting on Long Island is, con-
sequently, a record of its progress in the whole country.

The year 1864 was one of the most brilliant in trotting-turf
annals. A fitting record of its great races would fill a volume.
They represent the best horses of 1862 and 1863,— General But-
ler, George Wilkes, Lady Emma, and Stonewall Jackson ; and
such additions as Dexter, Shark, Nutwood, Brunette, Prince, May
Queen, Lady Thorn, and Commodore Vanderbilt. Some of the
latter had been on the turf for a short time previous ; but it was
in 1864 that they flowered into a fulness of speed which gained
them a national reputation. Dexter, however, the greatest of all,
and the horse that at present represents the highest development
of speed in trotting, made his first appearance on the 4th of May
of this year.

Dexter was bred in Orange county, New York, of the blood of
Messenger and Sir Henry. That of the former he derived from
his sire, Hambletonian ; and the latter from his grandsire, Ameri-
can Star. He was foaled in 1857, and was therefore seven years
old when he made his appearance on the turf. He is of a rich
brown color, fifteen hands one and one-half inches high, and has
all the characteristics which distinguish the trotter, as the follow-
ing minute analysis of his prominent features exhibits : a His
head, though somewhat large, is clean and bony; lower jaw well
open at the base, leaving ample room for the windpipe ; ears taper-
ing and lively; eyes bright and prominent; head well set on to a
rather light neck, which is well fitted to fine sloping shoulders ;
withers high, with great depth of brisket, and a good barrel;
back slightly arched, with broad loin and hips, and a drooping
rump; -uncommonly long from the point of the hip to the hock;
shurt cannon-bone. Though wide across the hip, he is more so
measured across the stifles, where his power is most apparent; fine
46* 2M

546 THE HORSE.

arm and thigh ; his limbs are clean and sinewy, and without
blemish, with long pasterns fitting into well-shaped hoofs ; mane
and tail sufficiently full, and the latter denoting his Hambletonian
origin." * In the seven years which preceded his first appearance,
his frame had become firmly knit, and his muscles developed and
hardened, so that, when placed in the skilful hands of Hiram
Woodruff, he had the strength to undergo a thorough training,
and to maintain and repeat every improvement in speed.

The first race on the Fashion Course in 1864 was that in which
Stonewall Jackson, of Hartford, Connecticut, beat Frank Cosette
and General Grant in 2 m. 30 s. This was on the 10th of April ;
and the race of Stonewall Jackson, Lady Collins, and Dexter fol-
lowed on the 4th of May. Although Dexter was a green horse,
the fact of his being pitted against such a champion as Stonewall
Jackson, under the management of Hiram Woodruff, was sufficient
to excite considerable expectation as well as curiosity, and there
was in consequence a good attendance at the race. In the first
heat the horses got off well, Dexter leading, and giving a taste of
his quality by trotting the first quarter in 37 seconds. Stonewall
Jackson then drew up, but did not succeed in dispossessing Dexter
of the lead which he maintained to the end of the heat; time,
2 m. 33 s. In the next heat Stonewall Jackson led nearly half-
way round the course, when he was overhauled and passed by
Dexter, who kept the lead, winning the heat in 2 m. 36 s. In
the third heat Dexter opened a wide gap between himself and his
two competitors, which was never closed. He won this heat in
2 m. 34£ s., and with it the highest opinion of all who had been
witnesses of the race. Not only his style of trotting, but his
apparent vigor and courage, impressed every one with the idea of
a great horse, and caused much speculation as to his future.
Looking back now, there appears to have been a chance for specu-
lation of a more easily computable value, as Dexter could probably
have been bought at that time for five thousand dollars. Two
days afterwards Dexter beat Lady Collins on the Union Course.
In the interval between the last heats Commodore Vanderbilt
drove his famous team, Ploughboy and Postboy, around the course
several times in fine style, but made no attempt to compete with
the time placed upon record by Mr. Bonner with Lady Palmer
and Flatbush Maid. On the 3d of June Dexter started in a race
with two other Hambletonians, Shark and Hambletonian Second,
but struck his leg in the first heat, and was withdrawn. He did
not appear on the turf again during 1864.

In the early part of this season there was a great revival of
trotting in all parts of the country. In the West as well as in the

* From " Turf, Field, and Farm."

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 547

East there was an unusual activity upon the turf. At Cincinnati
Quaker Boy trotted in 2 m. 30£ s. ; at Chicago, Black Diamond
beat General Grant and Boston; at Woodlawn, Kentucky, Holla
Golddust distanced Jerry Morgan in 2 m. 29} s. ; at Hartford,
Connecticut, John Morgan beat Prince, trotting five heats, — the
fifth in 2 m. 28f s. ; at Springfield, Massachusetts, Dan Mace
beat General Butler, trotting under the saddle, one heat, in 2 m.
31 s. ; and later in the season, at Boston, Belle of Hartford and
mate trotted in double harness in 2 m. 33f s.

The principal races of the year, however, came off on Long
Island. On the 1st of June, Lady Emma, May Queen, and Dan
Mace met in a race on Union Course, which was won by Lady
Emma in three successive heats, — two of which were trotted in
2 m. 27i s. On the 15th of June General Butler beat George
Wilkes and John Morgan in a great race on the Fashion Course.
George Wilkes won the first two heats; but through the dis-
graceful conduct of his driver, in driving foul, he was distanced
by the judges in the third, although he won the heat in 2 m. 24 s.
The fourth and fifth were won by General Butler in 2m. 38 £ s.,
and 2 m. 31 i s., who came out of the contest apparently as fresh
and vigorous as when he went into it. On the 16th, Toronto
Chief, the famous son of Royal George, beat Shark, on the Union
Course, in 2 m. 25f s. ; and July 8th, Shark was also beaten by
Goshen Maid in 2 m. 31 f s.

On the 21st of September a great race between the champions
General Butler, Lady Emma, Prince, and John Morgan, took
place on the Fashion Course. It was won by Prince, of Hartford,
who trotted the three last of five heats in 2 m. 28 £ s., 2m. 30 £• s.,
and 2 m. 30fc s., beating at the same time both Lady Emma and
General Butler, — a distinction never enjoyed by any other horse.

October 8th there was another meeting of the same horses.
George Wilkes was entered also ; and if he had trotted, it would
have included nearly all the great rivals on the turf. As it was,
the celebrity of the horses engaged in it, and the fact of their
having trotted together a few weeks before, excited very great
interest in the race. Their previous trial had been in harness;
this was to wagons. Lady Emma was the favorite, and she came
on the ground in the finest condition ; Prince had the prestige of
success ; while General Butler and John Morgan were well sus-
tained by their friends, upon the strength of their many victories.
The race was worthy the reputation of the horses engaged, and
fully met public expectations. It was indeed one of the best that
was ever trotted. Lady Emma increased her great reputation by
winning every heat. Her time was 2 m. 27i s., 2 m. 26J s., and
2 m. 26| s. Flora Temple, in her best race to wagons, trotted
three heats in 2 m. 25 s., 2m. 27 J s., and 2 m. 27* s., which

548 THE HORSE.

cannot be regarded as very much better than the time of Lady
Emma in this race.

On the 12th of October Stonewall Jackson trotted a three-mile
race with Shark, in which he made the best three-mile time on
record, excepting that of Dutchman. He trotted two heats; the
second in exactly, the same time as the first, — 7 m. 39 s. Shark
showed himself a worthy antagonist, and his splendid trotting
made the race very interesting. October 17th, the horse Com-
modore Vanderbilt beat Toronto Chief in 2 m. 33| s., and esta-
blished his reputation as a first-class trotter, — a reputation which
he fully sustained the following year. On the 21st of October
Lady Thome, the famous daughter of Mambrino Chief, the great
Messenger horse of the West, trotted at Philadelphia with Shark
in one of her earliest races, in 2 m. 32 J s. In this race she gave
a good earnest of her future greatness.

The trotting season of 1865 opened about the 1st of June, and
was marked by fine races in all parts of the country. In many
of these the horses that have been previously mentioned were pitted
against Dexter, who made the year memorable in trotting records
by his surpassing performances. On the 2d of June he beat
General Butler; trotting three heats in 2 m. 26f s., 2 m. 261 s.,
2 m. 24£ s. This showed a marked improvement in his trotting
capacity, his best time in 1864 being 2 m. 30 s. On the 12th he
was beaten by Lady Thorne, who trotted a mile in this race in
2 m. 24 s. On the 26th she beat Stonewall Jackson in a three-
mile race, but without making a remarkable record. A race with
General Butler followed September 7th, and one with the same
horse and George Wilkes, September 21st. George Wilkes had
been previously beaten on the 20th of June by Lady Emma, — a
mare in praise of whose beauty, speed, endurance, and reliability
it is impossible to say enough. The race of September 21st was
won by Dexter, whose claim to the title " King of the Turf" was
now pretty clearly established. It received, however, an endorse-
ment on the 10th of October, which rendered it indisputable.
On that day he trotted his great race against time, on the Fashion
Course. In the presence of all the leading horsemen of the
country, who had assembled to see Flora Temple for ever dis-
possessed of her place at the head of the trotting horses of
America, Dexter trotted one mile under the saddle in 2m. 18 1 s.
Subsequent to this great feat he made his appearance on the turf
only twice in this year, — each time in a race with the indefatiga-
ble bay veteran, General Butler. In the last race Dexter trotted
two miles in 4 m. 56} s.

In the latter part of this season there remains to be mentioned
the race in which General Butler beat George Wilkes and Lady

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 549

Emma, adding another to his long list of splendid victories ; and
two races in which George Wilkes beat Commodore Vanderbilt.

November 16th, 1865, the gentlemen of New York interested
in horses had the high honor of entertaining General Grant at
their pleasant rendezvous, Dubois's Club House, on Harlem Lane.
The Club House is an open cottage building, situated near the
road, with a one-half mile course immediately in the rear.
Through the agency of Mr. George Wilkes, — during General
Grant's visit to the city, — the owners of most of the fine horses
were informed of the General's desire to see their horses, and,
upon solicitation, he appointed a day to meet them at Dubois's
Club House, On the day appointed, there was such a gathering
of trotting horses and horsemen as was never equalled. Flora
Temple, still living, was there to claim admiration for the splendid
performances of other days j Dexter, in the height of fame ; The
Auburn Horse, of whose great speed every one present had caught
glimpses; Lady Emma, Lantern, Peerless, George Wilkes, Gene-
ral Butler, Toronto Chief, Commodore Vanderbilt, Brunette, Ella
Sherwood, Lady Clifden, and many others. The General, who is
a great lover of the horse, was highly gratified; and his discrimi-
nating remarks indicated his ability to review an army of horses
quite as well as an army of men.

This review showed the strength and richness of the trotting
turf in material for various and brilliant displays of speed, and in
the seasons of 1866 and 1867 these succeeded each other so
rapidly as to lose something of their former novelty. The season
of 1866 opened early. The reappearance of Dexter on the 15th
of June was preceded by several fine races. In one of these,
which took place on the 15th of May, on the Fashion Course,
Rosamond, a dark chestnuD mare by Old Columbus, and Mambrino
Pilot, in whom the strains of Messenger and Pilot are united, took
part. Mambrino Pilot, although untrained, won one heat in 2 m.
34 f s. The other three heats were won by Rosamond, who trotted
the first in 2 m. 30 1 s. On the 30th of May, Shark, a really
first-cla^s horse, but almost uniformly unsuccessful, beat Lady
Emma in 2 m. 28* s., 2 m. 30 s., and 2 m. 36 s.; Lady Emma
winning two of the five heats in 2 m. 28f s., and 2 m. 261 s.

The antagonist of Dexter, on the 15th of June, was George M.
Patchen, Jr., a son of George M. Patchen, — a horse sixteen and
one-half hands high, and of proportionate size, but compactly
built, and possessing rare ability as a trotter. He had beaten
Commodore Vanderbilt on the 1st of the month, and high hopes
were entertained of his power to dispute the supremacy of the
" King of the Turf;" but Dexter beat him easily in three suc-
cessive heats. After beating General Butler and Commodore
Vanderbilt once more. Dexter made a tour of the country, trotting

550 THE HORSE.

at Philadelphia, Syracuse, Avon Park, Buffalo, Cleveland, tlam-
trank Course, Chicago, Milwaukee, Adrian, Kalaniazoo, Pitts-
burgh, Baltimore, and Washington. He was everywhere successful.
At Buffalo he beat Holla Golddust; at Pittsburgh, the Magoozler
pacer and George M. Patchen, Jr. ; and at Washington, Silas
Rich.

October 25th, 1866, there was a race on the Union Course,
Long Island, between the celebrated mares Lady Thome and
Lady Emma. Judged by the record, there was hardly a choice
between them, — if anything, the balance was in favor of Lady
Emma; both represented the best blood and the form of the
trotter in the highest perfection. The race between them was
one which any amateur in horses, desirous of seeing a race be-
tween equals, would have suggested, and the result proved the
wisdom and beauty of such races. The first and second heats
were won by Lady Thome ; the third and fourth by Lady Emma;
and so closely had each heat been contested that the betting in
the last heat was even. When this was trotted, so near were they
together at the score that it was generally considered a dead heat;
but the judges decided Lady Thome the winner by a head.

The purchase of the beautiful trotting mare Young Pocahontas
by Mr. Bonner, for a very large sum, was among the interesting
turf items of the year. This mare is a daughter of Ethan Allen
and the pacer Pocahontas. She inherited the wonderful sym-
metry and perfect trotting gait of her sire, and the power and
endurance of her dam. The great pacing match, in which Poca-
hontas distanced Hero, in 2 m. 17J s., is in the memory of all
veterans of the turf. Young Pocahontas was owned for a time in
Boston, but caught the attention of Mr. Bonner, who obtained the
refusal of her. Nevertheless, she was sold to other parties in
New York, from whom Mr. Bonner obtained her by paying over
twenty-five thousand dollars.

The trotting season of 1867 is still fresh in the minds of all
readers of newspapers. It will be long remembered for its extra-
ordinary number of races and trotting horses, and for the great
performances of Dexter, and his retirement from the turf. In the
first part of the season he was taken to his early home, and gave
an exhibition of his speed at Middletown, beating Lady Abdallah.
He returned to distance Lady Thome in 2 m. 22 s. on the 28th
of May. The next day a race took place on the Fashion Course
between Ethan Allen and Brown George, both with running
mates, in which Ethan Allen astonished the trotting world by
making a heat in 2 m. 19 s. He was forthwith matched to go
with a running mate against Dexter. Although a running mate
was known to be of very great assistance, yet Ethan Allen, thus
assisted, was not generally considered by any means the equal of

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 551

Dexter. His best performance made in this way. was nearly a
second slower than Dexter's 2 m. 18J s., and the latter's power of
endurance was acknowledged by all to be superior. The race
excited the greatest interest. It took place on the Fashion Course,
on the 21st of June, in the presence of many thousands of people!
There was the largest amount of speculation, and conning over of
the records of the turf, in order to arrive at a more correct approx-
imation of the result; but this was all to no purpose, as the result
was entirely unprecedented. Ethan Allen and mate won in three
terrific trials, in 2 m. 15 s., 2 m. 16 s., 2 m. 19 s. Dexter's time
was 2 m. 17 s.. 2 m. 18 s., 2 m. 21 s. Although beaten, Dexter
surpassed himself and all his predecessors on the trotting turf.
The advantage of a running mate, great as it was known to be,
was not until now fully appreciated. Ethan Allen's best time,
single, does not approach the time made in this race by Dexter.
Notwithstanding this, the sterling qualities of this grand old horse
must not be overlooked or depreciated. As the^ antagonist of
Flora Temple and George M. Patchen, as well as of Dexter, he is
entitled to rank among the first trotting horses of his time.

Dexter, after trotting two two-mile races with Lady Thome on
the Fashion Course, in the first of which he made his best two-
mile time, 4 m 51 s , started on another tour through the country,
trotting for purses at the principal cities.

July 4th, at Middletown, New Jersey, he encountered Ethan
Allen and running mate a second time, and with* the same result;
the team winning in three successive heats. July 10th, he beat
Lady Thorn at Trenton, New Jersey.

It was now established that there was no horse in the country
capable of competing with Dexter on equal terms; and his next
three races were with Brown George, assisted by a running mate.
But the latter, thus assisted, was not equal to the New England
champion ; and Dexter beat him in three successive races, winning
each race in three successive heats. The time made by Dexter in
the last race, which took place at Boston on the 30th of July,
shows the terrible demand upon him in these uneven contests. It
was 2 m. 21f s., 2m. 19 s., 2 m. 21J s.

On the 14th of August he trotted at Buffalo in a race against
the time he had just previously made at Boston, 2 m. 19 s. He
was allowed three trials, in the second of which he trotted a mile
in 2 m. 17J s. This was in harness, and was altogether unex-
pected and unprecedented. After this race it was announced that
he had been sold to Mr. Robert Bonner ; and that, so soon as his
engagements at Chicago were fulfilled, he would pass into that
gentleman's hands, and be added to the unequalled collection of
famous horses in his private stable.

The withdrawal of this great horse from the turf was univer-

552 THE HORSE.

sally regarded with regret; as thousands were thereby deprived
of an opportunity of seeing him, and witnessing an exhibition of
his wonderful powers. This general feeling of regret shows the
strength of the interest in the trotting horse throughout the
country, as it exists entirely free from the passion for betting, for
no one would bet against Dexter. His superiority had made the
purses raised from the admission fees to the various race-courses
where he trotted, the principal source of his profit to his owners.
The price paid for him was also an evidence of the high value
placed upon the trotting horse for pleasure-driving, and induces
the hope, that in the popularity of this pastime the horse and the
turf may be relieved of the odium which immoral practices have
brought upon both.

During the summer the great fairs held in the interior had
attracted most of the best horses and professional horsemen, and
the stables and race-courses of Long Island were deserted; but by
the end of September most of them had returned to their old
quarters, and were in the best condition for the severe work of
the fall season.

On the 30th of September a race took place between Lady
Thome, Lucy, and a new horse, Mountain Boy, bred in Orange
county. New York, of the Hambletonian stock, and owned by
Commodore Vanderbilt. He had recently risen into high favor,
and from certain private trials it was assumed that he was more
than a match for Lady Thorne. This assumption, however, proved
incorrect, as Lady Thome won the race in three successive heats,
making a record which has been surpassed but a few times in the
whole history of trotting.

The second race between Lady Thorne and Mountain Boy came
off on the 7th of October, and was won by the latter; but the
best time made was slower by one and one-half seconds than the
time made by Lady Thorne in the previous race. Mountain Boy
has since trotted a mile in harness in a public trial, in 2 m. 21 i s. ;
but it is still doubtful whether he can draw a wagon, and beat
Lady Thorne.

The races of General Butler, George Wilkes, May Queen,
George M. Patchen, Jr., Daisy Burns, Mountain Maid, Ben
Franklin, and Empress, which took place in various parts of the
country this year, were in the best style of these fine horses.

On the 10th of October a race took place on the Fashion
Course, which is noticeable for the great interest with which it
was regarded by breeders. It was projected a year before it took
place, and was between colts three years of age, and all by Ham-
bletonian. There had been sixteen entries of promising colts
scattered all over the country, but on the day of the race only six
appeared on the ground. The winner was a full brother of Bru-

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 553

nette and Bruno, one of the most promising young horses in the
country.

This concludes a survey of trotting in America from its rise to
the present time. It will be seen that it is at present stronger in
popularity, and in the number and quality of its horses, than ever
before in its history. The progress in speed has been gradual,
and can be better appreciated by referring to the tabular state-
ments of the best performances, commencing with the first public
trotting race, on pages 523 and 524.

Trotting horses have increased in value even more rapidly than
in numbers or speed. Since 1830 that increase has been about
one hundred per cent, every ten years. The amount paid by Mr.
McDonald, of Baltimore, for Flora Temple in 1858, $8000, repre-
sents the value of the best trotting horse bred in the country up
to that date. In 1862, Mr. Sprague, of Rhode Island, paid
$11,000 for California Damsel. Mr. Bonner paid $18,500 for The
Auburn Horse in 1864; $25,000 for Young Pocahontas in 1866;
and $33,000 for Dexter in 1867. The great stock horse of Orange
county, Hambletonian, was valued in 1866 at $100,000. It is
now no unusual thing for fast trotting horses, and fine stock horses
of the best trotting blood, to sell for amounts varying from ten to
twenty thousand dollars.

The events which have transpired in the country during the
past few years, affecting all values, have had an effect in bringing
about the change in the value of horses; but a great deal must
also be credited to the legitimate rise caused by increased demand.
The increase in the demand becomes apparent when the source
from which it now chiefly emanates is considered. The highest
prices paid for trotting horses are paid by those who have no inten-
tion of placing them upon the turf. They are bought for pleasure-
driving. The taste for this pastime has already deprived the turf
of its greatest ornaments, and it absorbs nearly all the promising
young trotting horses as soon as they make their appearance The
market thus created by a taste which makes nearly every man a
driver and every road a course is infinitely more extensive than
that which existed when the only field for the display and enjoy-
ment of speed was the regularly appointed race-courses. The
race-course in America is, in fact, gradually becoming merely an
exercising ground for developing and training horses previous to
their passage into the hands of gentlemen who keep them solely
for their own amusement.

In proportion as the cultivation of the trotting horse has been
encouraged by the demand for him for driving, the practice of
using him on the turf for the purpose of gaming has declined.
Gaming is not a practice in harmony with the calculating and
careful acquisitive character of the American people. Their
47

554 THE HORSE.

native prudence and foresight incline them to shun any mode of
investment in which the chances of loss and gain are so nearly
equal.

The turf and its gaming accompaniment have been only the
nurses of trotting. They have furnished a field where those inte-
rested in the horse could gratify their taste, and see the results of
their labor and expenditure in breeding and training. But the
growth of a more general appreciation of trotting has widened
and enlarged the arena for the display of it, and the turf has
assumed a secondary place. The decay of betting, its leading
feature, is the best evidence of the fact. During the past year a
large majority of the races throughout the country were for purses
offered by associations formed for the improvement of stock ; and
in all the exhibitions the excitement and pleasure were princi-
pally derived from a genuine interest in the performances of
favorite animals.

In conclusion, the peculiar adaptation of driving, as a pastime,
to the character and needs of a large portion of the people, affords
an assurance of its enduring popularity. The undivided pursuit
of wealth has made native-born Americans in the highest degree
active, intense, and calculating. The fierce competition resulting
from the predominance of the commercial spirit makes the largest
demand upon their intellectual and vital energies. The life of the
American, especially in towns, is one of unremitting endeavor;
and an adequate means of relief and recreation is one of the
chief requirements of the time. Driving furnishes the means.
The act of driving is an easy and pleasant diversion. It gratifies
a natural inclination to control, and affords moderate exercise.
The docility, spirit, and power of the horse engages the sym-
pathies; while the trials or brushes on the road, to which emula-
tion on the part of owners of fast horses gives rise, add zest and
piquancy.

The change from the town to the open country is gradual.
There is a preparation for the effect of the landscape. The influ-
ence of nature in restoring mental equilibrium, and counteracting
the effect of perplexing and absorbing employment, cannot be
over-estimated. It furnishes the great corrective of American
life, and the eagerness with which it is sought is evidenced in the
national art. A fine nervous temperament makes the majority of
the population peculiarly open to this influence; and, whether
acknowledged or not, the facilities which driving affords for enjoy-
ing it constitutes one of the strongest claims of this pastime to
popular favor.

THE TURF AND THE TROTTING HORSE. 555

APPENDIX.

THE position of the turf in America, despite the prejudices
and practices which tend to make it disreputable, was never so
high as at present. There is throughout the country an interest
excited in the sport among a class of citizens who have hitherto
held entirely aloof from it. This is undoubtedly owing to the ex-
ample of Mr. Robert Bonner and a few other gentlemen, who have
had the moral courage to withstand the wholly unreasonable popu-
lar prejudice against owning and driving fast horses ; and hence
the growth and extension of the practice of fast driving for plea-
sure. In another place we endeavored to show the real adaptation
of this pastime to the taste, disposition, and occupation of our
American people, who require an outdoor sport that does not ne-
cessitate much physical exertion. This want is met by driving;
and racing is its legitimate adjunct. The turf has reaped its ad-
vantage in this new and general interest in the horse, both in its
revival on a far grander scale, and in a truly moral and healthy
system of management. The rapidly increasing wealth of the
country, and the consequent increase in the price of luxuries so
rare and highly prized, has encouraged the breeding of fine horses,
and we now have stock-farms that a few years ago would have
placed their owners, no matter how situated, upon the sure road
to bankruptcy. These great nurseries are not confined to one
state, but are scattered over the whole Union, and they are now
bringing forth hundreds of speedy horses, and promise, -ere long,
a rival of Dexter. From Stony Ford, the splendid establishment
of Mr. Charles Backman, we have the young horse Startle, who
had hardly made his appearance when he was caught up by Mr.
Bonner. The habit of buying up promising young horses and
withdrawing them from the turf on the part of Mr. Bonner. is re-
sented by some persons professionally interested in the turf; but
whatever their views may be, people in general will be disposed to
consider that a horse is put to quite as good a purpose when he is
trotted for pleasure as when he is trotted for money. As another
has noted, the certainty of obtaining such a price as was paid for
Startle, for every horse that performs an equal feat at an equal
age, will go much further towards improving the breed of horses
for uses undeniably legitimate, than the chance of winning un-
known sums by uses of questionable legitimacy.

During the past two or three years we have had an unparalleled
increase in the number of fast trotting horses. Since the first
publication of the paper of which these pages are a postscript,
there have appeared horses, then but just born, which are already

556 THE HORSE.

ranked with the greatest on the turf. Of these, Joe Elliott
is the first. On the 16th of November, 1870, this six-year old,
driven by John Murphy, and carrying over track weight, trotted
a mile at Prospect Park in 2m. 18 £ s. On the same day, Poca-
hontas, driven by Dan Mace, and carrying full track weight,
trotted a mile in 2m. 19s. Pocahontas had, a few weeks pre-
viously trotted a mile on the Fashion Course, with light weight, in
2 m. 18 s. These are the fastest miles ever trotted on Long Island,
excepting Dexter's performances. In August, 1870, Dexter
trotted half a mile at Fleetwood Park to a road wagon in 1 m. 6 £ s.,
which is several seconds faster than any other horse ever trotted
even to a skeleton wagon. The fine horses, George Palmer and
American Girl, have greatly distinguished themselves in races
during the past year. In one race to wagon in which they were
the contestants, very fast time was made. George Palmer won
the race in four heats. The first was in 2m. 25 $ s. The second
was in 2m. 24$ s., and in this heat the mare, American Girl, was
only a length behind the winner. This is not, as has been stated,
the fastest time to wagon on record; but it beats the 2m. 25s.
of Flora Temple and George Wilkes. The best time on record to
wagon, is 2m. 24s. This time was made by Dexter in a race
with Lady Thorn on the Fashion Course, and was afterwards made
by Lady Thorn herself on the same course. But Dexter has
trotted much faster than this to wagon. In a public trial at
Prospect Park, the same course on which George Palmer trotted
in 2 m. 24£ s., Dexter trotted a mile to a road wagon in 2m. 21 f s.
He drew on this occasion 319 pounds. As this feat, however,
was not accomplished in a race it is not upon the record. The
most recent addition to the ranks of the fleetest horses on the
trotting turf, is Gazelle, a mare by Hambletonian, dam the Clay
mare Hattie Wood. Gazelle has never yet trotted in a public
race or at a public trial, yet her speed is well known, and it is an-
nounced that she has been sold by the owner of Stony Ford, by
whom she was bred, for $25,000. We are well acquainted with
this mare, having picked her out from a field of colts as a good
one when she was a yearling filly. We have no doubt but that
if she lives to make a public exhibition she will surprise the world
by her speed. J. E.

New York, January 1871.

THE

PERCHERON HORSE.

47'

^ u
'

-

s i

THE

PERCHERON HORSE

THE Percheron Horse, a native of the department of Perche,
in the north-western part of France, is thus described by Mr.
Charles Du Huys, in a recent official report to the government :
" He is in height from 144 to 16 hands; of a sanguine tempera-
ment, mixed in variable proportions with the musculo-lymphatic ;
his color is almost always gray, and is, among the characteristic
features, that which first strikes the eye. He has style, although
the head is rather large and long ; nostrils well open and well
dilated ; eye large and expressive ; forehead broad ; ear fine ; neck
rather short but well filled out ; withers high ; shoulder pretty
long and sloping ; breast rather flat but high and deep ; a well-
rounded body • back rather long ; the croup horizontal and mus-
cular ; tail attached high ; short and strong joints, and the ten-
don generally weak ; a foot always excellent, although rather flat
in the low countries and natural meadows j a gray coat j fine skin ;
silky and abundant mane. Such are the most general characteris-
tics of the old Percheron race! These are the points which are
still noticed upon what remain of some old horses, preserved from
the transformation which commenced long ago ; for at the present
moment everything is much changed. Since the time of the for-
eign crossings the foot has become flatter, the head overcharged,
the tendon still weaker, the back longer, the shoulder has lost its
direction and the croup has become shorter. The race has changed
suddenly to fill new wants which have unexpectedly sprung up."
From the same authority we quote : " The Percheron shows a very
great analogy by his coat, conformation, character of race, mild
disposition, and endurance, to the Arab, of which he seems to be
the son, notwithstanding certain differences, the result of time, cli-
mate, and region in which he is bred and in which he lives. I have
said that the Percheron exhibits in common with the Arab numer-
ous marks of a common parentage and relationship; these parks are
very obvious. A Percheron, a true Percheron, for some still exist
J (559)

560 THE HORSE.

(as the famous Toulouse of M. Cheradame of Ecouche*; and the
renowned Jean-le-Blane of M. Viard, of Villers, near Sap, in the
department of the Orne, etc., etc.,) placed alongside of an Arab,
presents, notwithstanding his heavier and grosser form, analogies
with him so striking that we are easily induced to believe them un-
doubted relations. The Percheron of the primitive type has a gray
coat like the Arab ; and like him, an abundant arid silky mane, a
fine skin, and a large, prominent, and expressive eye j a broad fore-
head, dilated nostrils and a full and deep chest, although the girth
with him as with the Arab, is always lacking in fulness; more bony
and leaner limbs, and less covered with hair than those of the draft
horse families. He has not, it is true, the fine haunch and fine
form of the shoulder, nor that swan-like neck which distinguishes
the Arab ; but it is not to be forgotten that for ages he has been
employed for draft purposes, and these habits have imparted to
his bony frame an anatomical structure, a combination of levers
adapted to the work he is called upon to perform. He has not,
I again acknowledge, such a fine skin as the Arab, nor his
prettily rounded oval and small foot, but we must remember the
fact that he lives under a cold climate upon elevated plains, where
nature gives him for a covering a thicker and warmer coat, and
that he has for ages been stepping upon a moist, clayey soil.

In all that remains in him, we recognise a heavy Arab, modified
and remodelled by climate and peculiar circumstances. He has
remained mild and laborious, like his sire ; he is brought up like
him, in the midst of the family, and, like him, he possesses in a
very high degree the faculty of easy acclimation. He acquires
this in the midst of the numerous migrations he accomplishes in
Perche, the counterpart of those that the type horse makes upon
the sands of the desert. A final comparison, which, as yet, has
not been sufficiently noticed, is, that like the Arab, he has no
need of being mutilated in order to be trained, managed, and kept
without danger. In a word, the Percheron, notwithstanding the
ages which separate them, presents an affinity as close as possible
with the primitive horse, which is the Arab."

Du Huys mentions in support of his theory of the Arabian
origin of the Percheron, the historical fact of the defeat of the
Saracens near Tours, by Charles Martel, in the fourth century,
assuming the probability that many horses of the invaders were
apportioned among the people of that section of France, and as the
males were entire, the eastern and native blood would naturally be
commingled in subsequent generations.

He also says, " The Abbe Fact, in a letter addressed to the
Congress of Mortagne, July 16th, 1843, and in his great work
upon La^Perche, cites in this connection a Lord of Montdoubleau,
Geoffrey IV., and Ilotrou, Count of La Perche, as having brought

THE PERCHERON HORSE. 561

back from Palestine several stallions which were put to mares, and
the progeny most carefully preserved.

" The small number of the sires, their incomparable beauty, and
manifest superiority, must have led to the in-and-in breeding so
much deprecated by most breeders ; but the qualities of the sires
became indelibly fixed upon their progeny.

" The Lord of Montdoubleau was, it is said, the most zealous of
the advocates and breeders of the new blood, and, being the most
zealous, was the most successful ; hence it is that the Montdoubleau
stock is to this day "the best in Perche. The Count Roger of
Bellesme, imported both Arabian and Spanish horses, as did
Goroze, the Lord of Saint Cerney, Courville, and Courseroult; these
are historical facts which have their importance. Like chronicles,
it is true, exist for other provinces — for Limousin, for Navarre, for
Auvergne (the land of noble horses), also for Brittany and
Maine ; but in the latter not the least sign of Eastern blood is
perceptible. The fact is, the crusaders from all the French
provinces naturally brought back with them more or less of the
Eastern blood, which they had learned to appreciate on the plains
of Palestine — but the truth is, it has not been preserved elsewhere;
and that we in La Perche, after so many centuries, should be so
fortunate as to be able to show the traces of it, should stimulate
us to its careful preservation. The historical data, these induc-
tions, incomplete as they may be, lead to the belief that for
antiquity the Percheron yields to no other of our French races,
and that the soil which has nourished and preserved it, must be
one of the best in France for horse-breeding. Under the feudal
rule it is not probable that the Percheron as a race had the
characteristics it now possesses. It must have been lighter, but
still possessing within itself the character it now presents.

" The essential point is to prove that there was, at that period, a
native race ; and if the extraordinary life formerly led there — if
the aspect of the country, which must have been always fertile —
if the historical inductions do not prove it, the universal tradition
of the whole country should not leave us in any doubt in respect
to the fact. Let us then take no account of the silence of
historians. This silence is no proof of the non-existence of the
Percheron. Most of these writers were gentlemen of the eques-
trian order; they prized the saddle-horse, while they ignored the
equally useful breeds of all work."

Allowing due weight to Mr. Du Huys' arguments of historical
induction, national tradition, and similarity of color, disposition,
and form, it is hardly fair to presume that the true Percheron is
the primitive Arab modified by climate, food, and education.
History is the most important element in establishing the periods
of the formation of races; and inasmuch as history has been until

2N

562 THE HORSE.

recently silent with regard to the existence of the Percheron
type of horses, we are entitled to suppose that a breed as distinct
in its character from others as is the Percheron, has but lately
attained its present development. h\r. Du Huys' conclusions are
evidently labored ; he seems content with the idea that as the
Arabian is as near perfection as any horse can be, and the
Percheron is as near perfection as any horse ought to be, there-
fore the Arabian and the Percheron are of the same family. He
entirely ignores the well-known fact, that the color of the Arabian,
within the knowledge of naturalists, has never been confined to
gray, but for ages the race has shown the bay and gray and their
derivatives clear-bay, brown-bay, sorrel, white, pure gray, mottle-
gray, blue-gray, brown and dark chestnut, indicating the mixed
blood of primitive stocks.

He forgets that the Percheron does not possess that nervous
ambition, which is so patent in the horse, largely derived from the
oriental strain, that we naturally associate this temperament with
the idea of blood, or warm-blooded as we term it.

It is much easier to believe that the base of the Percheron
breed has been something of a different character from the
Eastern type, the impression of which upon the present stock is a
matter of history.

A gray race of horses in France can be traced back to the
eleventh century, when the influence of the martial barons of that
period was manifested over Europe in the power of their cavalry.
In the succeeding century as the use of heavy armor became more
common, we find a disposition to increase the weight and strength
of war-horses, which was effected by crossing with the Flanders
or Flemish stock.

About this time very large horses were imported into England
from Lombardy, and as the French Counts were intimately
connected with the Norman rulers of Britain, it is probable that
they made use of the same blood for improving their own stock
of chargers. The origin or history of these Flemish and Lombardy
horses, we cannot with any degree of certainty ascertain, but
know that they were of rather coarse organizations, or what Du
Huys calls the musculo-lymphatic temperament.

According to tradition, the Norman horse of France had been
prior to this period largely infused with Spanish blood, a stock
which owed its best qualities to the Saracen invasion, with its
consequent introduction of the Arabian and Barbary strains.

This is the well known historical account of the Norman Horse,
which has for a long time been one of the celebrated races of
Europe.

A feral race of gray horses, stout and pony built, for ages
roamed through the Pyrenean forests in Gascony, and in the

THE PERCHERON HORSE. 563

Champagne province ; these also may have been used in the for-
mation of the Norman, as they have been known to reassume (by
judicious crossing and liberal nourishment and attention through
a few generations), the normal characteristic of the primitive
white stock, large proportions.

Here then is a race made up of the primitive long-haired white
stock, intermingled with several artificial races modified in differ-
ent countries by climate, food, and education, but largely indebted
to the Arab and Barb influences for nobility, constitution, ambi-
tion, and symmetry, which we may term blooded qualities, and to
the cold-blooded stock of Germany for size and power.

In Perche, adjoining the home of the Norman, we find a horse
similar in color (white and the mixture of white and bay, the dap-
ple) and weight, but finer and nobler, with more constitutional
vigor, precocity, and activity ; in short, showing more blood.

Is it likely, as Du Huys supposes, that these two neighbors have
been distinct races for eight hundred years, or is it easier to be-
lieve that the Percheron is of comparatively recent formation ;
that he owes his cleaner limbs and finer physique to later infu-
sions of Eastern blood than that which the Saracens brought into
France ?

Du Huys writes under the head of " Modifications of the Per-
cheron race." " The Percheron race comes from the Arab, but it
is necessary to know the causes which have separated it from the
primitive type. How has it been modified ? How has it lost the
Arabian character in which it must have been at first clothed ? A
large number of the French races have been even more pro-
foundly modified, and have become abject, miserable, puny, and
misshapen. All equine races have been changed by the effects of
climate, by the extinction of the feudal system, and by the inau-
guration of peaceful habits, which have made an agricultural and
draft horse, of the horse primitively used for the saddle and for
war. The Percherons must have been especially modified by con-
tact with the breed of Brittany, where their striking character-
istics are now met with in a large number of individuals.

However, it has been vigorously attempted to offset the intru-
sion of the heavy horse by the continued use of the Arabian
horse. Indeed we see towards 1760, under the administration of
the Marquis of Brigges, manager of the stud stables of Piu, all the
large number of fine Arabian, Barb, and Eastern stallions that
this establishment owned, were put at the disposition of the Count
of Mallart, for use at his mare stables of Cdesme near Bellesme.

The arrival of the Danish and English stallions at the stud
stables of Piu, put an unfortunate end to the influence of the
Arab horse in Perche, and it will now be many a long year before
the Eastern blood will be seen as before. It is only towards 1820,

564 THE HORSE.

still at the same chateau of Coesme, with the grandsons of those
old admirers of the Arabians, that we find again two Arab horses
from the stud stables of Pin, Godolphin and Gallipoli.

These two valuable stock getters, both gray, again gave tone
and ardor to the Percheron race, and transformed definitely into
gray horses the stock of the entire country, which had, it was said,
become less uniform, and of all colors.

The Brittany horses have been strongly attracted towards Perche
by the immense outlet oflfered by the public service, since the in-
crease of the roads, to the Percherons. Mixtures between the
two races must have been frequent. And when a good Brittany
horse was there met with, he must have been made use of, and the
old native type has gradually tended to disappear, and its traces
become more and more rare. This mixture of Percheron and
Brittany blood, too well marked to be questioned, arises from
several causes."

Lieut. Col. Chas. Hamilton Smith, President of the Devon and
Cornwall Hist. Society, gives the following points in history,
which have a bearing upon the origin of the ' Percheron gray as
well as the Norman, and also furnishes some useful hints in rela-
tion to the improvement of breeds which are worthy of attention,
especially the use of large mares in the formation of large stocks.

" It has been remarked that the Romans paid only a tardy and
imperfect attention to breeding horses, and we have observed also
that the stature of these animals, with the exception of the races
before named, was below the present ordinary size. The Norman
pirates carried in their ships the small hardy breed of Scandina-
via, still in perfection in Iceland j all the riding nations from the
east and north, Huns, Bulgarians, Goths, and Magyars had small
horses ; those of the Ardennes, of many parts of France, of the
Camargue, of Switzerland, the Pyrenees and Britain were still
smaller ; the Netherland Menaphian alone appear to have reached
a full stature. It was, therefore, in the first centuries after the
Moslem invasion of Spain, France, and Calabria, when art and
science began to revive, and the great empire of the Franks could
and did provide wide-spreading precautions against invaders,
among which the most pressing were those that were calculated
to resist the conquests of Islam.

With the newly introduced stirrup, they could more properly
adopt heavy defensive armor, and in order to give the Christian
chivalry a fair chance of success, that which would increase the
stature of their war-horses became an object of importance. Ac-
cordingly about this period, we begin to observe in the West,
places for breeding and institutions of horse-fairs.

The Moorish and Spanish Vandal (Andalusian) breeds gradually

THE PERCHERON HORSE. 555

passed the Pyrenees, captured in forays, received as presents, or
introduced by Jews, who were then great horse dealers.

The race of the Prankish Netherlands carried to the south
and the largest mares that could be found in Lombardy, were
crossed by the southern varieties in breeding places called Haras,
modified after a name which was derived from some nation on the
Danube, where Garas and Guida denoted both sexes of that
animal.

It was then that the nobility and chivalry of Europe, leading
almost a nomad life, in quest of war and adventures, began to pay
large prices for tall, fleet and strong horses ; the Christian kings
of Oviedo and Leon were often pressed to sell or procure war-
horses.

We find a Pope John applying to the King of Gallicia for
" several of the best Mauriscos, which are called in Spain, Al-
faraces." These Alfaras or Andalus, were a cross breed of Arab
blood upon the black Vandal and other Gothic races, themselves
crossed with Roman and the ancient Spanish Calpe studs; which
last retained the name of Ginetas, because they were smaller and
fit only for light-armed chivalry.

African and Barbary blood by crossing with the Gothic, like-
wise rose in stature, and spread in Navarre to the Garonne.

These two formed the first well-bred horses in Christian Europe,
and the gray being most accessible, probably in consequence
of a farther cross with the Gallician Mountain Race, was soon
noticed in France by the names of Ferrant, Auferrant and Blanc-
ferrant, as they were of different shades of color."

However the Percheron may have originated, it is at present a
race which has been so carefully bred as to become a type (capa-
ble of transmitting its character to posterity) superior to the Nor-
man in speed, precocity, beauty, endurance, and probably intelli-
gence,— all most important points for a breeder to seek.

To the Norman, German, and Canadian blood, our horses have
been for many years especially indebted for strength and weight;
but as the Percheron possesses the good qualities of all these, and
others which are also desirable, it is evident that our stock may be
still more improved by careful crossing with this race.

A number of stallions and mares have been already imported
into this country, and wherever we have known of their intro-
duction their popularity has been substantial proof of their fitness.

One of the best bred stallions that we have seen, was imported
by John J. Parker, Esq., of Chester County, Pennsylvania, — a
beautiful dapple gray, with remarkable action for his weight.

Probably many farmers expecting to raise from scanty low-bred
mares, colts as fine as the Percheron sire, will, from the result of
48

566 THE HORSE.

their own ignorance of nature's laws, condemn the use of very
large stallions.

Experience has shown that the small Arab horse, crossed with
a mare of fair size and good physical development, will produce
horses larger than either parent, provided the colts are generously
fed and well cared for until maturity ; there being apparently a
tendency in the Arabian blood to reassume an aboriginal condition,
which it had lost through influences bearing upon it for ages un-
favorable to great development of structure.

In the formation of such a race as the Percheron, the Eastern
blood has imparted a limited amount of nerve-power to the cold
lymphatic temperament of the North ; that is, the cross does not
contain as much of vigor as the Eastern element, but is modified
by the mixture, hence it cannot bear much deterioration.

We must, therefore, remember that in using large stallions of
this character with mares deficient in nerve and physical power,
we supply too little stamina for the increased structural develop-
ment of the progeny, the dam having barely sufficient for its own
scanty organism, and the sire none to spare.

A long-continued course of such breeding will inevitably pro-
duce long-legged horses with weak lungs and insufficient consti-
tution, devoid of beauty, and a disgrace to the breeder. Such a
stock can only be improved by more Eastern blood.

But by selecting mares of good size, and pretty well-bred (of
which we have plenty), carefully attending to results, and making
available " good hits " with a view to permanent improvement,
these Percheron horses will undoubtedly be a great acquisition to
our country, and their importation should be encouraged.

The war now devastating France, which will probably change
the geographical features of the country, will also have its effect
upon the equine race of that section of Europe. German stock
will be left in Perche, and Percheron stock will be carried to Ger-
many. What particular characteristics will be developed in the
future generations of the horses of La Perche must be left to the
eccentricities of humanity.

INDEX.

ABDALLA.H, history of, 472; as a stal-
lion, 473 ; inbred, 490, 491.

Abd el Kader, on the Arab horse, 40 ;
on the influence of the sire and dam
respectively in breeding, 110.

Abdomen, boundaries of the, 278; con-
tents of the, 279.

Abdominal viscera, diseases of the, 350.

Abyssinia, the horses of, 32.

Accidents to the legs and feet, 413.

Action, locomotive, of the various parts,
76.

Administration of chloroform, 432 ; of
physic, 446.

Africa, South, the horses of, 32.

Age, shown by the dental system,
258 ; average, 28 ; best to breed from,
109.

AH Bey, his description of the modern
Arab, 33.

Alice Carneal, 55.

Alice Hawthorne (English thorough-
bred), 58.

Alimentary canal, absorption of fluid
from, 280.

Alteratives, action of, 448 ; recipes for,
448.

A maurosis, nature of, 387; symptoms
of, 387 ; treatment of, 387.

Amble, description of the, 95.

America, South, the horses of, 45.

American Eagle (trotter), 49.

American Eclipse (thorough-bred),
pedigree of, 474 ; influence of upon
trotting stock, 474, 493.

American Star (Seeley's), description

of, 482 ; pedigree of, 482 ; as a stal-
lion, 482.

American thorough-bred, the, 52;
stoutness of the, 54.

American trotter, the, 50 ; essay on the,
467 et seq.

Americus (trotter), 474.

Anasarca, symptoms and treatment of,
419.

Anchylosis, nature of, 298.

Ancient methods of using the horse, 17.

Andrew Jackson (trotter), by Young
Bashaw, as a stallion, 481.

Anodynes, action of, 449; recipes for,
449.

Antiquity, the Arab of, 16.

Antiseptics, 450 ; recipes for, 450.

Anti-Zumins, 451 ; recipes for, 451.

Aperients, action of, 451 ; recipes for,
452.

Apoplexy, nature of, 380 ; treatment of,
380.

Apparatus for breaking to harness, 152.

Arab horse, the, color of, 37 ; disposi-
tion of, 36 ; food of, 36 ; of antiquity,
16 ; the modern, 33 ; size of, 35 ; speed
of, 37 ; Abd el Kader's description of
the modern, 40 ; Ali Bey's description
of the modern, 33; Capt. Shakepear's
description of the modern, 37 ; the
mare, 40.

Archer (an English trotter), 470.

Ariel (thorough-bred), 472.

Arsenic, the effects of, 352 ; treatment
of the effects of, 353.

Arteries of the foot, the. 295 ; of the

(867)

568

INDEX.

foot, view of, injected, 294; of the

frog and sole, view of, injected, 295.
Asiatic horses, the, 42.
Astringents, action of, 453 ; recipes for,

453.

Atavism, principles of, 486.
Atmospheric air, changes produced in

by respiration, 277.
Attitude assumed in standing, 78.
Australian horse, the, 44.
Average age, 28.

BACK and loins, symptoms of strains
in, 316 ; treatment of strain in, 317.

Back-raking, mode of performing, 447.

Back-sinews, strain of the, 319 ; symp-
toms of, 319; treatment of, 320.

Bail, the, hanging, 168; gangway, 170.

Balanitis, symptoms of, 373; treatment
of, 374.

Bandages, use and application of, 196.

Barb, the, 30.

Barbs, treatment of, 352.

Barnacles, 435.

Bashaw (Grand) imported Arabian stal-
lion, influence of upon trotting stock,
474.

Bashaw (Green's), as a stallion, 482;
pedigree of, 482, 509.

Bashaw (Young), 474; as a stallion,
481.

Bath, the Turkish, 213; ground plan
of, 214.

Baucher's method of horse-breaking,
145.

Bay Chief, by Mambrino Chief, 483.

Bellfounder (imp.), description of, 473;
history of, 473 ; influence of upon
trotting stock, 473 ; reputation as a
stallion, 473.

Bellringer, by Mambrino Pilot, 484.

Bengal, the horses of, 43.

Berenger, his description of the Barb,
30.

Big-head, nature and symptoms of, 308.

Billy Boyce (pacer), 479 ; pedigree of,
480, 523 ; performances of, 504.

Birmah, the horses of, 44.

Bishoping, 264.

Bit used for horse-breaking, 143.

Bites of insects, treatment of, 392.

Biting, remedy for the vice, 206.

Black Hawk (Hill's, also called Ver-
mont), 49, 476, 477; influence upon
trotting stock, 476 ; as a stallion,
477.

Black Hawk (Long Island), 481; as a
stallion, 482.

Blacking, recipes for harness, 230.

Bladder, anatomy of the, 284; calculi
in, 373; diseases of, 372; inflamma-
tion of, 372.

Bleeding, 435 ; instruments used in,
436 ; quantity of blood taken in, 437 ;
inflammation of the vein, when per-
formed, 437.

Blindness, caused by various diseases,
385.

Blink Bonny (an English thorough-
bred), external formation of, 62.

Blistering, 440.

Blisters, action of, 454; recipes for, 454.

Blood, the, 273 ; circulation of the, 274 ;
purity of in the thorough-bred, 60 ;
spavin, (see Bog Spavin).

Blood-vessels of the chest aud nose,
diseases of the, 349.

Bog spavin, nature of, 313 ; symptoms
of, 313 ; treatment of, 313.

Bone, diseases of, 297 ; office of, 249 ;
structure of, 248; fracture of the
canna, 310 ; strain of the round, 322.

Bone-spavin, nature of, 302; symptoms
of, 303 ; treatment of, 303.

Bones, number of, composing the skele-
ton, 252.

Bornou, the horses of, 32.

Boston, pedigree of, 103 ; stoutness of,
53.

Boston Blue (trotter), 470, 504.

Bots, 355 ; group of, attached to the
stomach, 356.

Bowels, calculi in the, 365 ; nature of
inflammation of the, 357 ; symptoms
of inflammation of the, 359; treat-
ment of inflammation of the, 359.

Break, or trevis, the, 435.

Breaking, Rarey's principles and prac-
tice, 128; Rarey's apparatus, 130;
for the saddle, ordinary method, 141 ;
Baucher's method, 145 ; superiority
of the ordinary method, 151 ; to har-
ness, 151.

Breaking down, 321 ; symptoms of,
321 ; treatment of, 321.

INDEX.

569

Breathing, essence of, 277; physiology
of, 277.

Breed of race-horses, object of encour-
aging the, 58.

Breeding, atavism, or breeding back,
486 j best age for, 109; causes of a
hit in, 106 ; choice of sire and dam
in, 113, 486; condition of parent at
time of conception, 499; in-and-in,
103, 490; importance of health and
soundness in, 107, 486; influence of
the sire and dam respectively, 110,
486; out crossing, 104; principles
of, 99, 487 et aeq. ; kind of horse most
profitable for, 116 ; theory of genera-
tion, 99, 494.

Breeding-back, 486.

Bright Phoebus (thorough-bred), 472.

Brignoli (trotter), by Mambrino Chief,
484.

British horse, the original, 17.

Broken knee, treatment of, 324.

Broken wind, nature of, 3 16 ; symptoms
of, 346 ; treatment of, 347.

Bronchitis, nature of, 329 ; symptoms
of, 329 ; treatment of, 330 ; treatment
of chronic, 330.

Brood mare, the, 117; after treatment
of the foal, 127; early treatment of
the foal, 125; general management
of, 122; hovel for, 119 ; paddock for,
118; time of sending to the horse,
123; treatment of the, when in foal,
123; treatment of the, after foaling,
125 ; weaning of the foal, 127.

Bruce, his description of the horse of
Dongola, 32.

Brunette (trotter), 476, 505.

Bruno (trotter), 476.

Buck eye, nature of, 387.

Burden's horse shoe manufactory, de-
scription of, 430.

Bursae mucosae, anatomy of, 271; in-
flammation in, 314.

Butterfly (English thorough-bred), 61.

CALCULI, in the bowels, nature of, 365 ;
urinary, 373 ; symptoms of urinary,
373 ; treatment of urinary, 373.

Canadian horse, the, 47, 475, 476 ; por-
trait of, 47 ; influence of upon trot-
ting stock, 476.

48*

Canker, nature of, 403 ; treatment of,

403.

Canna bone, fractures of, 310.
Cannucks (see Canadian horse), 475.
Canter, the, 89 ; mode of starting into

a, 238.
Capped elbow, treatment of, 316 ; hock,

cause of, 315; treatment of, 315.
Capulet (see Capped Elbow).
Carbolic acid, description of, 450.
Caries, nature of, 298; of the jaw,

symptoms of, 307; treatment of, 308.
Cart-horse, the Vermont, 55.
Cartilage, 266 ; diseases of, 312; struc-
ture and composition of, 267 ; ulcera-

tion of, 312.
Cartilages, ossification of the lateral,

301 ; symptoms of, 301 ; treatment

of, 302.
Cassius M. Clay (trotter), reputation

of as a stallion, 481, 482.
Casting, method of, 432 ; for operations

upon the fore leg, 434 ; for castra-
tion, 434. .
Castration, 441 ; method of casting for,

434 ; operation for, 441.
Cataract, nature and causes of, 386.
Catarrh, nature of, 327 ; treatment of,

327.

Catchpit, section of, 163.
Caustics, action of, 455 ; recipes for, 455.
Cauteries (see Caustics).
Cayuga Chief, (trotter), 479.
Cerebro-spinal meningitis, nature of,

328, 376, 418; symptoms of, 418;

treatment of, 419.
Chaban, an Arabian stallion, portrait

of, 35.
Chanticleer (English thorough-bred),

75.
Chapped Heels, symptoms of, 394;

treatment of, 394.
Chest, diseases of the blood-vessels of,

349 ; water on the, 345.
Choking, distemper (see Cerebro-spinal

meningitis).

Chillaby, an Arab horse, 36.
China, the horse of, 44.
Chloroform, apparatus for administer-
ing, 432; mode of administration,

432.
Chronic cough, 331 ; symptoms of, 331 ;

treatment, 331.

570

INDEX.

Chyle, the, 280.

Circulation, plan of the, 275.

Clipping, 189.

Clothes, tearing off the, 204; remedy
for, 205.

Clubs, trotting, establishment of, 470.

Clysters, mode of administering, 447 ;
action of, 456 ; recipe for, 456.

Coach-house, 174.

Coat of the thorough-bred, 75.

Coffin-joint, strains of the, 318.

Cold, nature of, 327 ; treatment of, 327.

Colic, nature of, 360 ; symptoms of,
360 ; flatulent, signs of, 361: from
stoppage, symptoms of, 361 ; signs
of spasmodic, 361 ; treatment of,
361; treatment of flatulent, 362;
treatment of impaction, 362; treat-
ment required after, 362; remedies
for, 452.

Color, of the Arab horse, 37; of the
thorough-bred, 75.

Colt, breaking of the, 128.

Commander, by Messenger, influence
of upon trotting stock, 472.

Conestoga draught-horse, the, 55; por-
trait of, 56.

Confining the horse, methods of, 433.

Congestion of the lungs, nature and
cause of, 339 ; symptoms of, 341 ;
treatment of, 342.

Constitutional diseases, 417.

Consumption (phthisis), symptoms of,
346 ; treatment of, 346.

Contraction of the foot, 409; of the
heels, 430.

Convulsions, symptoms of, 375 ; treat-
ment of, 376.

Corbeau (trotter), character of as a
stallion, 480 ; pedigree of, 480. '

Cord, spinal, the source of power of
moving, 497.

Corns, nature of, 397 ; treatment of, 397.

Coronary frog-band, the, 293.

Coronary substance, anatomy of the,
293.

Corrosive sublimate, treatment of effects
of, 353.

Cough, nature of chronic, 331 ; symp-
toms of chronic, 331 ; treatment of
chronic, 331.

Counter-irritants, 454.

Coup de soleil, treatment of, 382.

Crab (imp.), 53.

Cranston (trotter), by Mambrhio Pilot,

484.

Crib-biting, 202 ; bar-muzzle for, 203.
Cruiser, 36, 128, 131 ; in the power of

his master, 133 ; with the leg-strap

and surcingle on, 132.
Crust of the foot, anatomy of the, 292.
Curb, nature of, 322 ; treatment of, 323.
Cushion of the frog, 293.
Cuts, stable management of simple,

222; contused, 222.
Cutting, ordinary, 413 ; description of

speedy, 415 ; prevention of, 415 ;

treatment of ordinary, 413; treat-
ment of speedy, 415.
Cystitis, symptoms of, 372; treatment

of, 372.

DAILY exercise, 200.

Dart (trotter), 479.

Deafness, 383.

Depuration, its office in the animal
economy, 281.

Detergents, 456; recipes for, 456.

Dexter (trotter), performances of, 50,
504, 505 ; pedigree of, 473, 480-2, 513.

Dgelfe, a breed of Arab horse, 33.

Diabetes, symptoms of, 371; treatment
of, 371; remedies for, 453.

Diaphragm, symptoms of spasm of,
348 ; treatment of spasm of, 348.

Diarrhoea, nature of, 362 ; treatment of,
363; medicines for chronic, 450; clys-
ter for, 459 ; remedies for, 452, 456.

Digestion, physiology of, 280.

Diomed (imp.), 474, 492; influence
of upon trotting stock, 474.

Dishing, in the trot, 88.

Dislocation, nature of, 324; of the hip
joint, 324; of the patella, 324.

Distemper, nature of, 328 ; treatment
of, 329 ; choking, 376, 418.

Diuretics, action of, 457 ; recipes for,
457.

Docking, operation for, 444.

Dongola, the horses of, 32.

Door for loose box, 161.

Doors of stables, materials for, 161.

Drainage of stables, 163.

Draught-horse, the Conestoga, 55 ; por-
trait of, 56.

INDEX.

571

Dressing of horses before work, 183 ;

after work, 186.
Duct, the thoracic, 280.
Ducts, the lacrymal, 289.
Duroc (thorough-bred) 474, 483.
Dysentery, nature of 362; treatment

of, 362; remedies for, 453J
Dyspepsia, nature of, 354; symptoms

of, 354; treatment of, 355.

EAR, anatomy of the, 289 ; diseases of,
383 ; scratching the, remedy for,
204.

Early maturity of the thorough-bred,
57.

East, the horses of the, 30.

Eclipse (American thorough-bred), in-
fluence upon trotting stock, 474.

Eclipse (English thorough-bred), de-
scription of, 27 ; Percival's descrip-
tion of, 28.

Ecraseur, the, 443.

Egyptian horse, the ancient, 16; the
modern, 32.

Elbow-joint, treatment of capped, 316.

Embrocations, action of, 457; recipes
for, 457.

Engineer, by Messenger, 472.

Enteritis, nature of, 357; symptoms of,
358.

Epilepsy, symptoms of, 375; treatment
of, 376

Ericsson (tro-tter), by Mambrino Chief,
483, 484.

Eruptions of the skin, 388 et aeq.

Essentials in the thorough-bred, 60.

Ethan Allen (trotter), 49, 482, 505.

Excretion, physiology of, 281.

Exercise, daily, 200.

Exhaustion, after work, treatment of,
221.

Exostosis, nature of, 297 ; of the hu-
merus and scapula, treatment of, 305.

External form as indicated by points,
19 ; formation of the thorough-bred,
61.

Extremities, anatomy of the anterior,
254; of the hind, 253; considered as
organs of support, 255; of locomo-
tion, 256.

Eye, anatomy of the, 287 ; appendages

of, 289 ; simple inflammation of, 383;
symptoms of simple inflammation of,
287; treatment of simple inflamma-
tion of, 384; treatment of purulent
ophthalmia, 384; irites, 384; injuries
of, 386; treatment of injuries, 386;
cataract, 386 ; amaurosis, 387 ; buck-
eye, 387 ; wash for the, 459.

FACE, anatomy of the, 254.

Fair Rachel (thorough-bred), 472.

False quarter, nature of, 399; treat-
ment of, 400.

Farcy, symptoms of, 421 ; treatment
of, 421 : remedies for, 451.

Fearnought (imp.), 53.

Febrifuges, action of, 458 ; recipes for,
458.

Feeding, theory and practice of, 177.

Feeling, 290.

Feet, accidents to the, 413; manage-
ment of, 197; dryness of the, 198.

Femur, treatment of fracture of the,
310.

Fetlock, remarks on the strain of the,
318 ; treatment of the strain of the,
318.

Fevers, remarks on, 417 ; symptoms of
simple, 417; symptoms of typhoid,
417 ; treatment of simple, 417 ; treat-
ment of typhoid, 418.

Fever balls and powders, 458.

Fibre, muscular, 270.

Fibrous tissue, nature of, 268 ; chemi-
cal composition of, 269.

Firing, method of performing, 438 ;
remarks on, 437.

Fisherman (English thorough-bred),
portrait of, 62.

Fistula of the withers, nature of, 306;
symptoms of, 306 ; treatment of, 306.

Flatbush Maid (trotter), 480.

Flatulent colic, symptoms of, 361;
treatment of, 362.

Flora Temple (trotter), 50, 489, 490,
504, 505 ; portrait of, 489.

Flying gallop, the, 92.

Foal, the, 125 ; after treatment of the,
127 ; early treatment of the, 125 ;
weaning of the, 127.

Foals, rheumatic inflammation peculiar

572

INDEX.

to, 313 ; treatment of rheumatic in-
flammation of, 314.

Foot, anatomy of the, 290 ; lateral car-
tilages of, 296 ; section of, 291 j the
parts entering into the composition
of, 290 ; view of the under surface of,
292; with the hoof removed, view of
the, 292; contraction of the, 409,
430; the boof, 292; the arteries of,
295 ; founder of the, 403 ; conditions
of a good sound, 425.

Fere-quarters, relative proportions of
the/21.

Formation, external, of the horse, 61.

Founder of the foot, 403.

Fractures, remarks on, 308 ; simple,

309 ; treatment of simple, 310 ; of
the femur, 310; treatment of, 310;
of the humerus, 310 ; treatment of,
310; of the canna bones, 310 ; treat-
ment of, 310 ; of the lower jaw, 310 ;
treatment of, 310 ; of the pelvis, 310 ;
treatment of, 310 ; of the pasterns,

310 ; treatment of, 310 ; of the bones
of the skull, 310 ; treatment of, 310 ;
of the radius, 310 ; treatment of, 310 ;
of the ribs, 310 ; treatment of, 310 ;
of the scapula, 310 ; treatment of,
310 ; of the spine, 310 ; treatment of,
310; of the tibia, 310; treatment of,
310.

Frog, anatomy of the, 293.

GAD-FLY, bites of the, 392 ; treatment
for, 392.

Gallop, the flying, 92 ; variation on
length of stride of, 95 ; correct view
of the 94 ; received interpretation of
the, 91 ; the hand, 90 ; the extended,
91 ; method of starting to the, 239.

Galls, treatment of harness, 391; rem-
edy for, 459.

Gangway, bail for stable, 170.

Gastritis, rarity of, 352 ; symptoms of,
352; treatment of, 352. •

General characteristics of the horse, 18.

Generation, anatomy of the female
organs of, 286 ; anatomy of the male
organs of, 285 ; theory of, 99, 494.

Generative organs, diseases of the,
373.

George M. Patchen (trotter), reputa-

tion of as a stallion, 481 ; pedigree
of, 512.

George Palmer (trotter , 504.

George Wilkes (trotter), 473, 481, 504.

Gift (trotter), 474, 484.

Gland, the kidneys, 284; the liver, 283 ;
the pancreas, 284.

Glands, structure of the, 280. -

Glanders, symptoms of, 420 ; treatment
of, 421 ; remedies for, 451.

Glencoe (imp.), 474.

Godolphin Arabian, history of, 31.

Golddust (trotter), 483; pedigree of,
493, 510.

Goldsmith's Maid (trotter), 504; pedi-
gree of, 517.

Granary, construction of, 160.

Grand Bashaw (imp.), influence of upon
trotting stock, 474

Grass, turning out to, 225.

Grease (Scratches), symptoms of, 394;
treatment of, 395.

Green's Bashaw, reputation as a stal-
lion, 482, 483 ; pedigree of, 509.

Greek horse, the ancfent, 14.

Grooming, after work, 184; before
work, 186.

Grubs, removal of, 392.

HABITS in a wild or free state, 18;
out-door bad, 243 ; remedies for bad,
202r

Hacks, preparation of for work, 220.

Haematuria, causes of, 371 ; symptoms
of, 371; treatment of, 371.

Haemorrhage, from the lungs, treatment
of, 349 ; from the nose, treatment of,
349.

Halters used for breaking colts, 142.

Hambletonian (Harris'), 480.

Hambletonian (Rysdyk's), thorough-
bred, 490 ; character of as a stallion,
481; closely in-bred, 490; pedigree
of, 507.

Hambletonian (thorough-bred), by
Messenger, 472 ; influence of upon
trotting stock, 472.

Hand-gallop, the, 90.

Harness, blacking, recipes for, 230;
breaking to, 151; care of, 229 ; direc-
tion for cleaning, 22 ) ; fittings for,
173 ; room in stables, '„ 78 ; galls, 391.

INDEX.

573

Havoc (thorough-bred), 483.

Hay, chamber, 159.

Head, bones of the, 254; relative pro-
portions of the, 19.

Health, importance of in sire and dam,
107, 486; upland grass useful in re-
storing, 228.

Heart, diseases of the, 348.

Heels, symptoms of chapped, 394;
treatment of chapped, 394; treat-
ment of contracted, 430; remedies
for sore, 454.

Height of the thorough-bred, 75.

Henry Clay (trotter), by Long Island
Black Hawk, 481, 482; character of
as a stallion, 482.

Hepatization of the lungs, 340.

Herbert's description of wild horse of
America, 46.

Hernia, reduction of, 445.

Hero (pacer), 479, 480.

Hidebound, nature of, 389 ; symptoms
of, 389 ; treatment of, 389.

Highblowing, nature of, 338.

Highland Ash (trotter), 480; pedigree,
520.

Highland Lass (trotter), 480.

Highland Maid (trotter). 480, 504.

Hill's Black Hawk, 476 ; character of
as a stallion, 476; pedigree, 476.

Hind quarters, points of the, 25.

Hip-joint, dislocation of the, 324 ;
strain of the, 322.

Hiram Woodruff (trotter), 482.

" Hit," causes of a, 106. *

Hobbles, description of, and method of
using, 433.

Hobgobblin, 31.

Hock, cause of capped, 315 ; treatment
of capped, 315; treatment of strain
of the, 322.

Hock-joint, strain of the, 322.

Hogging the mane, 194.

Hoof, anatomy of the, 291 ; develop-
ment of by secretion, 293 ; view of
the, 292.

Horsemanship, Baucher's method of,
150.

Hounds, riding to, 240.

Hovel, the, for the brood mare, 119.

Hughes, Mr., tames the Arabian stal-
lion Chillaby 36.

Humerus,, and scapula, exostosis of,

305; and scapula, treatment of exos-
tosis of, 305 ; treatment of fracture
of, 310.

Hunter, final preparation of the, 219;
preparation of the, 206 ; treatment
of blows on the legs of the, 22 Ij
treatment of exhaustion of the, 221;
treatment of overreach of the, 222 ;
treatment of thorns in the legs of the,
221.

Hunting Park Association, established,
470.

Hydrophobia, nature of, 377 ; symptoms
of, 377 ; treatment of, 378.

Hydrothorax, a sequel of pleurisy, 345;
treatment of, 345.

IN-AND-IN breeding, 103, 490 et eeq.

Incisor teeth, section of, 257.

Independent (trotter), 480.

India, horses of, 43.

Indian pony, the, 46.

Indigestion (dyspepsia), causes of, 354;

treatment of, 354.
Inflamed bursse mucosae, 314; of ten-

derous sheath, 314.
Inflammation of the bones, 298 ; of

bursse mucosae, 314; of the bladder,

372 ; of the bowels, 357 ; of the brain,

375 ; of the bronchi, 329 ; of the eye,

383; of the kidneys, 369; of the

laryngitis, 332; of the lungs, 339;

of the pleura, 345 ; of the stomach,

352 ; of the vein after bleeding, 437 ;

rheumatic, 311 ; wash for external,

459.
Influenza, nature of, 328 ; symptoms of,

328; treatment of, 328; typhoid,

symptoms in, 329.
Injections (see Clysters).
Insects, treatment of bites and stings

of, 392.
Intersusception, nature and symptoms

of, 364.
Intestines, anatomy of the, 282 ; large,

283 ; small, 282.
Inversion of the uterus, 374.
Iritis, cause of, 384 ; symptoms of, 385;

treatment of, 385.
Iron fitting for stalls and loose boxee,

172.

574

INDEX.

JAMES K. POLK (pacer), 479.

Java, the horse of, 44.

Jaw, caries of, 307 ; symptoms of caries
of, 308 j treatment of, 308 j fracture
of the bones of, 310 ; osteo sarcoma
of, 308.

Jenny Cameron (imp.), 53.

Jim Rockey (trotter), 483.

Jog-trot, the, 236.

John Anderson (trotter), 480.

John Henry, failure as a stallion, 485.

John Morgan (trotter), 480, 483; pedi-
gree of, 475, 483, 516,

John Stewart (trotter), 479, 483, 505.

Joint, strain of the coffin, 318 ; treat-
ment of strain of the coffin, 318;
strains of the hip, 322 ; treatment of,
322 ; dislocation of the hip, treatment
of, 324.

Joints, remarks on the, 266; wounds
of, 324.

Jolly Roger (imp.), 53.

Jugular vein, when obliterated, renders
the horse unfit to be turned out, 227.

Jumping, 96.

Justin Morgan, 476, 482.

KAILHAW, a breed of Arab horses, 34.

Kate (trotter), 506.

Kemble Jackson (trotter), pedigree of,
480, 518.

Kentucky, by Lexington, (thorough-
bred), 55.

Kentucky Chief (trotter), 483.

Kentucky Clay (trotter), 482.

Kicking, out of doors, prevention of,
245 j in the stable, 203, 206.

Kidneys, diseases of the, 369; inflam-
mation of the, 369 ; inaction of, 372 ;
situation of the, 284.

Knee-joint, remarks on the strain of
the, 317 ; symptoms of strain of the,
318; treatment of punctured, 326;
treatment of strain of the, 318 ; bro-
ken, 324; wounds of the, 324.

Kochlani, a breed of Arab horses, tra-
dition of the, 34.

LACRYMAL apparatus, anatomy of, 289.

Lacteals, the, 280.

Lady Franklin (trotter), 504, 505.

Lady Fulton (trotter), 505.

Lady Palmer and Flatbush Maid (trot-
ters), 505,

Lady Suffolk (trotter), 474, 479, 504,
505 ; pedigree of, 514.

Lady Thorn (trotter), 472, 480, 483,
504 ; pedigree of, 515.

Lameness, shoulder joint, 305.

Laminae, anatomy of the, 294.

Laminitisr nature of, 403 ; section of a
foot in confirmed, 405 ; symptoms of,
405; treatment of acute, 405; treat-
ment of chronic, 409.

Lamp for singeing, 193.

Lampasr symptoms of, 351; treatment
of, 351.

Lamplighter (pacer), 504.

Lantern (trotter), 481 ; performance
with Whalebone, 405.

Laryngitis, nature of, 322 ; symptoms
of acute, 332; symptoms of chronic,
333 ; treatment of acute, 333 ; treat-
ment of chronic, 334.

Lateral cartilages, ossification of, 301 ;
symptoms of ossification of, 301 ;.
treatment of ossification of, 302.

Lath (thorough-bred), 31.

Leaping, 96.

Lecompte (thorough-bred), stoutness
of, 55.

Legs, aecidents to, 413 ; inflammatory
swelled, 393 ; ordinary swelled, 393;
lotion for inflamed, 459.

Lexington (thorough-bred), shape of,
54 ; stoutness of, 53 ; as a getter of
trotters, 489.

Libyan horse, the ancient, 17.

Lice, destruction of, 391.

Ligaments, 268; diseases of, 311;
strains of the suspensory, 318.

Lighting of stables, 165.

Lightning (trotter), 481.

Limbs, as agents of locomotion, 256;
as means of support, 255.

Liniments, action of, 457; recipes for,
457.

List of English stallions imported into
America, 461.

Litter, remedy for eating the, 205.

Liver, anatomy and function of the,
283; disease of the, 369; symp-
toms of disease of the, 369; treat-
ment of disease of the, 369.

INDEX.

575

Lock -jaw, nature of, 378 ; symptoms
of, 377 ; treatment of, 378.

Loins, strains of the, 316; treatment
of strains of the, 316.

Lone Star (trotter), 482.

Long Island Black Hawk, 481 ; repu-
tation as a stallion, 481, 482.

Loose boxes, remarks on, 157.

Lotions, action of, * 459 ; recipes for,
459.

Lower jaw, treatment of fractures of
the, 310.

Lucy (trotter), 481, 504,- pedigree of
of, 481, 519.

Lungs, remarks on congestion of the,
340,- symptoms of congestion of the,
340 ; treatment of congestion of the,
341 ; inflammation of (pneumonia),
339 ; treatment of haemorrhage from
the, 349.

Lying down at work, 245.

MADNESS, nature of, 377; symptoms
of, 377 ; treatment of, 378.

Mad staggers, nature of, 375 ; symp-
toms of, 375 ; treatment of, 375.

Mahomet, the traditional founder of the
Kechlani, 34.

Major Winfield, by Rysdyk's Hamble-
tonian, 481.

Malcom, Sir John, his description of
the Persian horse, 41.

Mallenders, symptoms of, 391 ; treat-
ment of, 391.

Mambrino (thorough-bred), description
of, 472 ; influence upon trotting stock,
472, 483.

Mambrino Chief, 472, 483 ; character as
a stallion, 483 ; pedigree of, 483,

Mambrino Messenger (trotter), 484.

Mambriuo Patchen, by Mambrino
Chief, 483, 484.

Mambrino Paymaster, by Mambrino,
472, 483.

Mambrino Pilot, description of, 484 ;
pedigree of, 472, 480, 483, 484, 508 ;
character as a stallion, 484.

Mane, of the race horse, the, 76 ; hog-
ging the, 194.

Manege, paces of the, 96.

Mange, insect, 389; nature of, 389 ;
symptoms of, 389 ; treatment of, 390.

Mangers for stables, 170 ; material for,
171.

Mare, management of the brood, 122;
after treatment of the foal of, 127;
choosing the, for breeding, 489;
early treatment of the foal of, 125 ;
hovel for, 119; paddock for, 118;
time of sending to the horse, 123;
treatment of after foaling, 125 ; treat-
ment of when in foal, 123; weaning
of the foal of, 127 ; the Arab, 40.

Margrave (imp.), 474.

Marrow, the, 250.

Match, trotting, first on record in Eng-
land, 469 ; first on record in Ame-
rica, 470.

Maturity of the horse, 28.

Medicines, list of the principal, and
recipes for, 448 ; alteratives, 448 ;
anodynes, 449; antiseptics, 450;
anti-zumins, 451; aperients, 451;
astringeiats, 453; blisters, 454; caus-
tics, 455; clysters, 456; detergents,
456 ; diuretics, 457 ; embrocation.*,
457; febrifuges, 458 $ lotions, 459;
stimulants, 459 ; stomachics, 460 ;
tonics, 460 ; traumatics, 460 ; ver-
mifuges, 461,

Mefki, a breed of Arab horse, 33,

Megrims, nature of, 3745 ; symptoms of,
376 ; treatment of, 376.

Membrane, synovial, acute inflamma-
tion of the, 313 ; rheumatic inflam-
mation of, 313 ; treatment of rheu-
matic inflammation of the, 313.

Meningitis, cerebro-spinal, nature cf,
376, 418 ; symptoms of, 418 ; treat-
ment of, 419.

Mental development, 29.

Messenger (imp.), description of, 471 ;
influence upon trotting stock, 471S
472, 477 j character as a stallion, 471 j
his progeny in-bred, 492.

Methods of using the horse, ancient, 17.

Middlepiece of the horse, proportions
of, 23.

Miller's Damsel (thorough-bred), 474,
483.

Miss Colville (imp.), 53.

Mode of progression in horses, 78.

Modern Arab, the, 33 ; AH Bey'e de-
cription of, 33 ; size, 35 ; docility of,
36 ; food of, 36 ; color of, 37 ; speed

576

INDEX.

of, 37 ; Capt. Shakspear's description
of, 37 ; the mare, 40.

Molten grease, treatment of, 364.

Monkey (imp.), 53.

Moor-ill, symptoms of, 419 ; treatment
of, 419.

Moorish horse, the, 17.

Morgan horse the, 48, 482; Linsley'a
description of the, 48.

Morrill, pedigree of, 482.

Morrill (Young), influence upon trot-
ting stock, 482 ; pedigree of, 482, 493,
511.

Moulting, periodical, 29.

Mountain Boy (trotter), 473,481 ; pedi-
gree of, 521.

Mountain Maid (trotter), 482.

Mount Holly, by Messenger, 472.

Mounting, directions for, 230; Rarey's
directions for, 232; Richardson's di-
rections for, 230.

Mouth, the three-year old, 259 ; the
six-year old, 263; the five-year old,
261 ; the four-year old, 260 ; the three-
year old, 259 ; the two-year old, 259 ;
the eight-year old, 263; of the very
old horse, 264; diseases of the, 350.

Mucosae, Bursae, anatomy of, 271; in-
flamed, 314.

Muscles, anatomy of, 270 ; diseases of
the, 311 ; appearance of to the naked
eye, 270 ; chronic rheumatism of, 312 ;
identical in composition with the
fibrine of the blood, 270 ; mode of
describing, 271; physiology of, 269;
diseases of, 311 ; rheumatic inflamma-
tion of, 311.

Mustang, horse the, 46.

Myron Perry (trotter), 504.

NANCY POPE, by Havoc, 483.

Narraganset Pacer, the, 52.

Navicular disease, nature and cause of,
409, 412; symptoms of, 410; treat-
ment of, 411.

Neck, relative proportions of the, 21.

Nejdi, a breed of Arab horse, 33.

Nephritis, cause of, 369; symptoms of,
369; treatment of, 370.

Nerves, the, 286.

Nervous system, diseases of the, 375.

Neurotoiny, for navicular disease, 412.

j New York trotting club organized, 470.
J Nicking, operation for, 444.

Nonpareil, by Cassius M. Clay, 482.

Norfolk trotter, the, 89, 470.

North America, wild horse of, 46.

Nose, the, 287; diseases of the blood-
vessels of the, 349; haemorrhage from
the blood-vessels of the, 349.

Numidian horse, the, 17.

Nymphomania, nature and symptoms
of, 374; treatment of, 374.

OBJECT of encouraging the breed of
race-horses, 58.

CEstrus equi, history of the, 356.

Oneida Chief (pacer), 479.

Operations, 432 ; administration of
chloroform, 432 ; methods of confin-
ing the horse, 433; bleeding, 435;
firing, 437 ; setons and rowels, 439 ;
blistering, 440 ; castrating, 441 ;
nicking and docking, 444; unnerv-
ing, 445; reduction of hernia, 445;
administration of physic, 446; clys-
ters, 447; back-raking, 447.

Ophthalmia, symptoms of purulent,
384; treatment of purulent, 484.

Orange connty horse, the, 504, 506.

Organs, classification of the various,
248.

Original British horse, the, 17.

Ossification of lateral cartilages, 301;
symptoms of, 301 ; treatment of, 301.

Osteo sarcoma of the jaw, nature and
symptoms of, 308.

Out-crossing in breeding, 104, 491.

Over-reaches, stable management of,
222; treatment of, 416. ,

Ozena, nature of, 328.

PACER, the Narraganset, 52.

Pacers, 479 ; belonging to trotting fam-
ilies, 480 ; to teach to trot, 478 ; per-
formances of, 479.

Paces, natural and acquired, 76 ; modea
of starting to the various, 235.

Pacing, nature of, 96 ; close relation-
ship to trotting, 479.

Paddock, the, for brood mares, 118.

Pancreas, anatomy of the, 284..

Paps, treatment of, 352.

INDEX.

577

Paralysis, nature of, 380; from injury
of the spine, 380 ; symptoms of, 381 ;
treatment of, 381 ; of the par-vagum,
418.

Par-vagum, paralysis of the, (see Ty-
phosus).

Pastern, fractures of the, 310.

Pasturing, 225.

Patella, dislocation of the, 324.

Paul Pry (trotter), 471.

Pedigrees, importance of in breeding,
486; tables of, 507-523.

Peerless (trotter), 480, 482, 504.

Pelham (trotter), 479.

Pelvic arch, anatomy of the, 255.

Pelvis, the, boundaries of, 284; frac-
tures of, J310.

Performances of American trotters, ta-
bles of, 504 et sea.

Perichondrium in the cartilage, 267.

Periodical moulting, 29.

Periosteum, the, 250.

Peritonitis, nature of, 357 ; symptoms
of, 359 ; treatment of, 359 ; to distin-
guish from colic, 360.

Persian horse, the, 41.

Pet (trotter), 505.

Phrenitis, nature of, 375 ; symptoms
of, 375 ; treatment of, 375.

Phthisis, symptoms of, 346 ; treatment
of, 346.

Physic, circumstances which modify
the dose of, 217; cooling powers of
218; effects of. in getting rid of in-
jurious food, 217 ; injurious effects
of, 219 ; mode of administering, 446 ;
superseded by the Turkish bath as a
mode of reducing flesh, 218.

Physic balls and drenches, 459.

Physiology, of the blood, 273; of diges-
tion, 280; of muscle, 269; of respira-
tion, 277 ; of secretions, 281.

Pilot (bl. g.), 479.

Pilot (Canadian), 475; influence of
upon trotting stock, 475.

Pilot, Jr. (Alexander's), 479, 483 ; in-
fluence of upon trotting stock, 475.

Pilot, Old (pacer), 479.

Pilot Temple, 483.

Piping, nature of, 338.

Plato (thorough-bred), influence upon
trotting stock, 472, 491.

Pleura, anatomy of the, 272.

49 20

Pleurisy, symptoms of, 345; treatment

of, 345.
Pleurodynia, nature of, 345 ; treatment

of, 346.
Plunging, treatment of, 245.

Pneumonia, cause of, 340; definition
of, 339 ; sub-acute, 344; hepatization
in, 344; symptoms of acute, 343;
termination of, 344 ; treatment of
acute, 343.

Pocahontas, Jr. (trotter), 480.

Pocahontas (pacer), performances of,
96, 470, 480; pedigree of, 480, 522;
progeny of, 480.

Points of the trotter, 495; of the horse,
20; proportions of the various, 26.

Poll-evil, nature of, 307; symptoms of,
307; treatment of, 307.

Porter, Sir Robert Ker, his description
of the Persian horse, 41.

Post Boy (thorough-bred), influence
upon trotting stock, 493; pedigree
of, 493.

Potomac (thorough-bred), 471.

Preparation, final, of the hunter, 219;
of the hunter, 206; for work, 206;
of hacks for work, 220.

Pricks, from a nail picked up on the
road, 416; in shoeing, 416; treat-
ment of in shoeing, 416 ; treatment of
from a nail picked upon the road, 416.

Prioress (thorough-bred), her staying
qualities, 54.

Progression, mode of, 78,

Proportions of the various points, 26.

Proud-flesh, in wounds, medicines for
destroying, 455.

Puffs, treatment of, 315.

Purges (See Aperients).

Purity of blood in the thorough-bred, 60.

Purulent opthalmia, symptoms of, 384;
treatment of, 384.

Putrescence in sores and ulcers, medi-
cines for, 450.

Putrid fever (See Typhosus).

Quarter, points of the fore, 21 ; points
of the hind, 25 ; nature of false, 399 ;
treatment of false, 400.

Queen Mab (imp.), 53.

Quittor, nature of, 400 ; treatment of,
400.

578

INDEX.

Rabies, nature and symptoms of, 377.

Race-horse, croup of the, 65; back of
the 65 ; back ribs of the, 70 j belly
of the 70 ; bone of the leg of the, 73 ;
coat of the, 75 ; color of the, 75 ; ex-
ternal formation of the, 61 ; flank of
the, 70 ; fore-arm, or arm of the, 73 ;
head of the, 71 ; height of the, 75 ;
hind quarter or the, 74 ; knee of the,
73; loins of the, 65; inane of the,
76 ; neck of the, 70 ; object of en-
couraging the breed of, 70; purity
of blood iu the, 60 ; shoulder blade
of the, 72 ; tail of the, 76.

Racing or hunting stable, ground plan
of, 175.

Racking, 95.

Racks for stables, 170; material for,.
171.

Radius, fracture of the, 310.

Rarey's apparatus for breaking horses,
130 ; halter or bridle for colts, 142 ;
method of training, 128 ; reflections
on plans of, 137.

Rearing, management of, 244.

Red Jacket, influence of as a stallion,
474.

Reduction of hernia, 445.

Reins, management of, 233.

Relationship of pacers to trotters, 480.

Relative influence of sire and dam, 110,
486.

Relative proportions of the fore-quar-
ters, 21 ; of the head, 19 ; of the
horse, 19 ; of the neck, 21.

Respiration, effect of on atmospheric
air, 277,;. physiology of, 277.

Retention of urine, treatment of, 373.

Rheumatic inflammation, 311 ; peculiar
to foals, 313.

Rheumatism, symptoms of acute, 311 ;
treatment of acute, 312; symptoms
of chronic, 312.

Rhode Island (trotter), 504.

Ribs, treatment of fractured, 310.

Riding, 230 ; to hounds, 240 ; to hounds,
rules adopted in, 240 ; to hounds, di-
rections for, 241 ; modes of starting
the horse in the various paces, 235 ;
mounting and dismounting, 280 ;
management of the reins in, 233;
necessity of good hands in, 238 ; the
seat in, 232 ; starting into a gallop,.

239 ; starting into a trot in, 236 'r
starting into a walk in, 235.

Ring bone, 300; nature of, 300; symp-
toms of, 301 ; treatment of, 301 ; rem-
edy for, 455.

Roanoke (pacer), 479.

Roaring, nature and causes of, 335 ;
produced by alteration in the shape
of the cartilages, 337 ; produced, by
thickening of the mucous membrane,
335 ; produced by paralysis of the
muscles of the larynx, 336; remarks
on, 335 ; plan for stopping the noise
made in, 335.

Rolla Golddust (trotter), 479.

Roman horse, the, 16.

Romp (t'aorough-bred), 479.

Round worms, 367.

Rowels, 439.

Roxana (thorough-bred, English), 31.

Royal George, 475 ; pedigree of, 475.

Running, the pace, 96.

Running away, management of, 245.

Rupture of the bowels, 364.

Rysdyk's Hambletonian, pedigree of,
472, 473, 481,.5&7; closely inbred, 490.

SABI, a breed of Arab horse, 33.

Saddlery, care of, 227.

Saladin (trotter), 481.

Sallenders, symptoms of, 391; treat-
ment of, 391..

Salt, as food, 180..

Saltram (pacer), 480.

Sand-crack, nature of, 399; treatment
of,, 399.

Sarcoma, Osteo, 308.

Saunterer (an English thorough-bred),
64 ; portrait of, 64.

Scapula, exostosis of, 305 ; fractures
of the, 310; strains of the, 310.

Scratches (Grease), 394; nature and
treatment of, 395.

Scratching the ear, management of
204.

Screwdriver, (trotter), 471, 505.

Scripture, the horse of, 13.

Seat in riding, directions for, 232.

Seclaoni, a breed of Arab horses, 33.

Secretion, physiology of, 281; medi-
cines for defective, 449.

Seedy toe, nature and treatment of, 408.

INDEX.

579

Seeley's American Star, pedigree of,
474, 482 j character as a stallion, 482.

Selima (imp.), 53.

Sensation, nerves of, supplied to the
lips, 290.

Servants' rooms in stables, 174.

Setons, insertion of, 439.

Seton needles, description of, 439 ; view
of, 439.

Shakspeare (trotter), 471, 472.

Shakspear, Capt, his description of the
Arab horse, 37.

Shaving, 193.

Sheaths, inflamed tendinous, nature and
treatment of, 314.

Sherman, by Justin Morgan, 476.

Shoe, clenches for the, 200 ; losing the,
200 j removal ef the, 199 ; view of a
sound fore foot prepared for the, 426.

Shoeing, 422 et aeq. ; pricks in, 415.

Shoulder, oblique, 22; remarks on strain
of, 317; symptoms of strain of, 317;
treatment for strain of, 317 ; upright,
lotion for galled, 22 ; galled, 317.

Shouldering, the habit of, 245.

Shoulder-joint lameness, nature and
treatment of, 305.

Shying, management of, 243.

Siam, the horses of, 44.

Sidebone, nature of, 300 ; symptoms
of, 301; treatment of, 301.

Side line, description and use of, 434.

Sight, the organ of, 287.

Sinews, strains of the back, 319.

Singeing, 192; lamp for, 193.

Sire and dam, relative influence of,
486; condition of in breeding, 500.

Sir Harry (thorough-bred), by Messen-
ger, 472.

Sir Henry (thorough-bred), influence
of upon trotting stock, 474, 481.

Sir Peter (trotter), 471, 472.

Sir Solomon, by Messenger (thorough-
bred), 472.

Sir Tatton Sykes (English thorough-
bred), 63, 75.

Sir Walter Scott (pacer), 479.

Sitfasts, treatment of, 391.

Size, importance of in the stallion, 486 ;
of the trotting horse, 495.

Skeleton, the, 250 ; number of bones
composing the, 252; the artificial,
251.

Skin, the organ of touch, 290; medi-
cines for disordered state of the, 448.

Skull, treatment of fractures of, 310.

Sleepy staggers (See Apoplexy), 380.

Smell, anatomy of the organ of, 287.

Soiling, 223.

Sole, anatomy of the, 293; treatment
of bruises of, 416.

Sontag (trotter), 479, 480.

Sore-throat, treatment of, 350; treat-
ment of catarrhal, 327.

Sovereign (imp.), 103.

Soundness, importance of, in sire and
dam, 107, 486.

South American horse, the, 45.

Spark (imp.), 53.

Spasm of the diaphragm, symptoms of,
348 ; treatment of, 348.

Spasmodic colic, treatment for, 361.

Spavin, nature of bog, 313 ; nature of
bone, 302 ; symptoms of bone, 303 ;

• treatment of bog, 313; treatment of
bone, 303 ; remedy for, 455.

Speed of the Arab horse, 37 ; import-
ance of, in the stallion, 486 ; of the
trotter, 495.

Spinal- column, bones composing the,
252 ; general anatomy of the, 252.

Spinal cord, the source of the power to
move, 497.

Spine, injury of the, causing paralysis,
380 ; fractures of the, 310.

Spleen, anatomy and function of the,
283.

Splints, definition of, 298; symptoms
of, 298; treatment of, 299; remedy
for, 455.

St. Lawrence, influence of upon trot-
ting stock, 476 ; character as a stal-
lion, 476.

Stable management, 177 ; vices and bad
habits, 202.

Stables, aspect of, 156; doors of, 161 ;
drainage of, 163; coach house of,
174; chaff or grain shoots in, 160;
floors of, materials for, 161; enam-
elled tiles for, 172; fittings, 168;
foundations of, 157; gangway bail
for, 170; granary of, 160; ground
plans of, 174; harness room, for,
173; hay-chamber of, 159 ; lighting
of, 165; mangers for, 170; material
for mangers of, 170; necessity for

580

INDEX.

airing new, 176; number of stalls in,
157; plan of for three or four horses,
176; proper temperature of, 200;
racks for, 170; servants' rooms of,
174; situation of, 155; stalls and
loose boxes of, 157; the travis, 169;
ventilation of, 165 ; ventilating win-
dows in, 162; walls, lining of, 173;
water pipes for, 165; water supply
of, 165; windows for, 162.
Stafford, tamed by Rarey, 128, 130, 131.
Staggers, mad, nature and symptoms
of, 375; mad, treatment of, 375;
sleepy, 380; stomach, nature, and
symptoms of, 353 ; stomach, treat-
ment of, 354 ; remedy for, 453.
Stallion, choosing a, for breeding pur-
poses, 486 ; importance of a good
pedigree in, 486 ; of soundness in,
486 ; of size ofr 486 ; of color of, 486.
Stallions, list of, imported into Ame-
rica, 461.

Stalls, 157 ; iron fittings for, 172.
Standing, attitude assumed in, 78.
Strangulation of the bowels, nature and

symptoms of, 364.
Starting the horse in his various paces,

modes of, 235.
Stench traps, 164.

Stifle joint, symptoms of strain of the,

322; treatment of strain of the, 322.

Stimulants, action of, 459; recipes for,

459.

Stings of insects, treatment of, 392.
Stomach, anatomy of the, 282 ; medi-
cines for debility of, 449; small, 29;
staggers, 353.
Stomachics, action of, 460 ; recipes for,

460.

Stonewall Jackson (trotter), 505.
Strains, nature of, 316; of the back
sinews, symptoms of, 319 ; of the back
sinews, remarks on, 319; of the back
sinews, treatment of, 320 ; of the back
and loins, nature and symptoms, 316 ;
of the back and loins, treatment of,
316 ; of the coffin-joint, remarks on,
318 ; of the coffin-jo.int, treatment of,
318; of the hock, symptoms of, 322;
of the hock, treatment of, 322; of the
fetlock, remarks on, 318 ; of the fet-
lock, treatment of the, 318 ; of the
hip-joint, symptoms of, 322; of the

hip-joint, treatment of, 322; of the
knee, symptoms of, 317; of the knee,
treatment of, 315; of the shoulder,
symptoms of, 317; of the shoulder,
treatment of, 317; of the stifle-joint,
symptoms of, 322; of the stifle-
joint, treatment of, 322; of the sus-
pensory ligaments, symptoms of,
318; of the suspensory ligaments,
treatment of, 319.

Strangles, symptoms of, 351 ; treatment
of, 351.

Stride, in trotting, essential elements
of the, 495.

String halt, nature and causes of, 381.

Structure of bone, 248.

Stumbling, management of, 246.

SummeriHg, 222.

Sunstroke, nature of, 382; treatment
of, 382,

Superpurgation, symptoms of, 363 ;
treatment of, 363; remedy for, 449.

Surfeit, nature and symptoms of, 388;
treatment of, 388.

Surplice (English thorough-bred), 75.

Suspensory ligaments, strain ©f the,
symptoms of, 318; strain of the,
treatment of, 319.

Sweat, mode of giving the ordinary,
210.

Sweating, object of, 208; the ordinary,
210.

Swelled legs, inflammatory, treatment
of, 393; ordinary, nature and symp-
toms of, 393; ordinary, treatment of,
393.

Synovial membrane, nature and treat-
ment of acute inflammation of, 313;
nature and treatment of rheumatic
inflammation of, 313 ; diseases of,
312.

TACKEY (pacer), 483.

Tacony (trotter), 505.

Tail, anatomy of the, 255 ; of the tho-
rough-bred race horse, 76.

Tartary, the horses of, 43.

Tattler (trotter), 483, 504.

Teeth, after nine years, 264; at nine
years. 264 : at about the eighth year,
263 ; at the end of the first year, 258 ;
bishoping of, 264 ; composition of,

INDEX.

581

257 ; development of the, 257 ; dur-
ing the second year, 259 ; during the
third year, 259 ; horseman's nomen-
clature of, 258 ; irregularities in the
growth of, 265 ; Icnver nippers and
tushes at five years, 262 ; mouth at
three years, 260 ; mouth at four
years, 260 ; mouth at five years, 261 ;
of the very old horse, 264 ; shedding
of, between four and a-half and five
years, 261 ; the six year old mouth,
263 ; view of the mouth at four and
a-half years, 260 ; view of the upper
nippers and tushes at five years, 261 ;
upper nippers in the eight year old
horse, 263 ; formula of, 257 ; section
of incisor or nipper, 257 ; molar or
grinder, 258 ; milk incisors, 258 ;
canine teeth, or tushes, 258.

Tendinous sheaths, imflammation of,
314 ; treatment of inflamed, 314.

Tendon, 268 ; disease of the, 311 ; in
muscle, 269 ; treatment of small
tumors on the, 312.

Tetanus, nature of, 378 ; symptoms of,
379 ; treatment of, 379.

Thick wind, nature of, 347.

Thiselo (see Fistula of the Withers).

Thoracic, arch, anatomy of the, 254;
organs, diseases of the, 326.

Thorns, boundaries of, 273; contents
of, 272 ; plan of the, 272.

Thormanby (English thorough-bred),
58.

Thorns in the leg of the hunter, treat-
ment of, 221.

Thorough-bred, the, 57 ; essentials in
the, 60 ; external formation of, 61 ;
general history of the American, 52 ;
stoutness of the American, 54.

Thoroughpin, nature and symptoms of,
313; ireatment of, 313; treatment
of when in the bursa, 315.

Thread worms, 368.

Throat, treatment of sore, 350.

Thrush, varieties of, 401 ; treatment
of, 402.

Tibia, fractures of the, 310.

Tiles, en'amelled for stables, 172.

Tip (trotter), 479.

•Tippecanoe (pacer), 479.

Tissue, fibrous, 268 ; white, 268 ; yel-
low, 268 ; red, 268 ; chemical compo-
sition of, 269.
49*

Toe, treatment of seedy, 408.

Tom Chowder, 483.

Tom Thumb (Webber's), influence upon
trotting stock, 482.

Tom Wonder, 483.

Tongue, black (See Typhosus).

Tonics, action of, 460 ; recipes for, 460.

Toorkistan, the horses of, 42.

Topgallant (trotter), 471, 472, 505.

Touch, anatomy of the organ of, 290 ;
sense of, necessary to the apprecia-
tion of form, 290.

Training colts to trot, 501.

Training horses, Rarey's method, 128.

Traumatics, action of, 460 ; recipes for,
460.

Traveller (imp.), 53.

Travis, the, of stables, 168.

Trevis, the, or break, 435.

Trimming, 193.

Trot, the, 86 ; action in the true, 88 ;
starting into a, 236 ; the jog, 87 ; the
flying, 87; dishing, in the, 88 ; teach-
ing the colt to, 501. '

Trotter, the American, 50, 467 et aeq.;
the Norfolk, 89, 470; early Ameri-
can, 471 ; influence of imported tho-
rough-breds, 471 ; influence of Cana-
dian stallions, 474; trotting families,
481; breeding of the, 485; principles
of breeding of, 485 et aeq. ; points of
a, 495 ; elements of speed in, 497 ;
training, 501 et seq.} performances
of, 504 et aeq.

Trotting, origination of, in England as
a public amusement, 469 ; origina-
tion of, in America as a public amuse-
ment, 470 ; first match on record,
470; establishment of trotting clubs,
470; influence of imported thorough-
breds upon the trotting stock of
America, 471; relationship to pacing,
480; principles of breeding and train-
ing, 485.

Trouble (trotter), 471, 472.

Trumpeting, nature of, 338.

Trustee (imp.), 474, 505.

True Briton, the founder of the Morgan
stock, 48.

True John (trotter), 480.

Tumors, treatment of small, on the ten.
dons, 312.

Turkish bath, description of the, 213;
plan of a, 214.

582

INDEX.

Turkish horse, the, 42.
Turning out to grass, 225.
Twitch, the, 435.
Typhoid fever (See Typhosus).
Typhosus, nature and symptoms of,
418; treatment of, 419.

Ulcers, lotions for foul, 459.

Umpire (thoroughbred), 54.

Unknown (pacer), 479.

Unnerving, remarks on, 445.

Unsoundness of the feet and legs,
marshes useful in, 225.

Urine, bloody, -nature and symptoms
of, 371 ; bloody, treatment of, 372 ;
retention of, causes of, 373 ; retention
of, treatment for, 373 ; bloody, medi-
cines for, 453 ; medicines to increase
the flow of, 457.

Uterus, inversion of the, 374.

Vagina, inflammation of the, 374 ; treat-
ment for inflammation of the, 374.

Vein, inflammation of, after bleeding,
437.

Venous blood, action of air on, 277.

Ventilating shaft, 167; windows, 162.

Ventilation of stables, 166.

Vermifuges, action of, 461 ; recipes for,
461.

Vermont Black Hawk (also called
Hill's), 476, 477; influence upon trot-
ting stock, 476; character as a stal-
lion, 477, 481.

Vermont cart horse, the, 55.

Vertebrae, anatomy of the, 253.

Vices, out door, 243; treatment of,
243; shying, 243; rearing, 244;
kicking, 245; lying down, 245;
plunging, 245 ; running away, 245 ;
stumbling, 246 ; cutting, 246; stable,
remedies for, 202.

Viscera, abdominal, diseases of the, 350.

Vives, treatment of, 352.

Vosburgh, by Mambrino Pilot, 484.

WALK, action in the, 82 ; exceptional
mode of starting for the, 82 ; mode
of starting the horse into a, 235; of
horses, the, 78 ; received interpreta-
tion of the, 81 ; starting for the, 80 ;
order of sequence of the feet in the, 79.

Walking, rate of, 86.

Warbles, treatment of, 391.

War Eagle (trotter), conformation of,
495.

Warts, removal of, 396.

Washes, action of, 469 ; recipes for, 459.

Water in the chest (Hydrothorax), na-
ture and treatment of, 345.

Water ipipes for stables, 165.

Water, remarks on, 180; proper quan-
tity of, 181 ; proper temperature of,
182:; quality of, 182.

Weaving, remedy for, 205.

Webber's Tom Thumb (trotter), influ-
ence upon trotting stock, 482.

Weight, distribution of, 7*6.

Western hemisphere, horses of the, 45.

Whalebone (trotter), 471, 472.

Wheezing, nature of, 338.

Whip (imp.), 474.

Whistling, nature of, 338.

Why Not, by Messenger, 472.

Wild Dayrell (English thorough-bred),
75.

Wild horse of America, Herbert's ac-
count of the, 46.

Wild Tartar horse, the, 43.

Wilkes' Old Hautboy Mare (imp.), 53.

Wind, broken, nature and symptoms
of, 346 ; broken, treatment of, 347 ;
thick, nature of, 347.

Windows for stables, 162.

Wind-galls, nature and treatment of,
314 ; remedy for, 458.

Withers, fistula of the, nature of, 306;
fistula of the, symptoms of, 306; fis-
tula of the, treatment of, 306.

Woodpecker (trotter), 479.

Work, preparation for, 206 ; treatment
of, after, 220.

Worms, intestinal, 367 ; symptoms of
intestinal, 367; treatment of intesti-
nal, ?68.

Worm medicines, action of, 461 ; re-
cipes, 461.

Wounds, medicines to destroy proud
flesh in, 455; of joints, treatment of,
324.

Xenophon, his directions for purchas-
ing a horse, 14.

Young Bashaw, 474; character of, as a

stallion, 481.
Young Morrill (trotter), pedigree of,

511.

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