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THE
HORSE TRAINERS
HANDBOOK
HEALTH and MANAGEMENT
OF THE HORSE
PRICE: $5.00 EACH
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. . . INDEX . . .
PAGE
Early History and Habits of the Horse — 9
Dentition of the Adult Horse 14
The True Way of Breaking Horses 17
How to Feed, Water and Drive 18
Special Advice in Reference to Feeding Horses 19
Horse Feed Mixture 19
How to Get a Colt From Pasture 19
How to Stable a Colt 20
Objects of Fear — How to Prevent Fear 21
The Kind of Halter to be Used, and How to
Put It on the Colt 22
To Break a Horse to Harness 22
To Break Horses to Stand the Fire of a Gun 23
Necessity of Repetition of Lessons and a Thorough Training..23
How to Proceed with the Colt after Haltering 24
Do not Try to Force the Colt if Excited 25
How to Proceed if a Colt is Stubborn 25
To Make a Colt Follow Under the Whip 26
How to Make a Horse Stand Still Without Hitching 27
How to Lead a Colt with a Broke Horse 27
The Eureka Bridle 29
How to Make the Eureka Bridle 29
How to Lead a Colt into a Stable 28
How to Break Horses to Ride „ 30
How to Teach a Horse to Pace 31
Management of Wild Horses 31
The Kind of Bit to Use and How to Use It 33
How to Make a Bitting Bridle for an Unruly Horse 34
How to Saddle a Colt 34
How to Mount a Colt _ 35
How to Ride a Colt 36
Foot Strap, and How to Use It 37
How to Prevent a Horse Running Away 38
How to Make a Horse Lie Down „ 38
Kicking in Stall 39
How to Tame a Horse with Vicious Habits 39
How to Cure Bad Kickers 41
How to Hitch a Horse to a Sulky 41
To Train Horses for the Chaise 42
To Train a Horse to Stand „ 43
Halter Pulling 43
How to Manage Balky Horses 44
Advice to Those Who Hire Horses 46
INDEX
PAGE
On Choking as a Means of Subduing a Horse 47
To Make Horses Perfectly Safe for Family Use 48
On the Rearing of Colts - 48
On the Training of Horses for Trotting 49
On Horse Blinds, or Blinkers 49
Rules to be Observed in the Purchase of a Horse .•. 50
How to Tell a Horse's Age by His Teeth 52
Weights to be Carried in Trotting 53
Race Distances 53
To Put Horses in Good Condition 53
To Keep Horses Free from Disease 54
How to Shoe a Horse 54
The Shoe - 57
Interfering Shoes 58
The Foot and Its Diseases - 58
The Frog 59
The Sole 59
The Coffin Bone 59
Contracted Feet 61
Thrush 61
Grease 62
Cure for Grape Legs 63
Founders, How Caused, Etc 63
The Navicular Bone — 64
Quarter Crack 64
Heaves — Reasons Why It is Not in the Lungs 65
Lung Fever 65
Adhesive Plasters „ 67
Physicing _ 68
Poultices 69
Wind Galls 69
The Action of the Kidneys on the Blood 69
Antimony „ 70
Sweeny 71
Hide Bound 71
Cough 72
For Restoring Hair to Galled Spots on Horses 72
For Spavin 72
Preparation for Blood Spavin 73
Cure for Heaves _ 73
Anti-Spasmodics 73
Anti-Spasmodic Tincture for Man or Horse 73
Worms in the Horse— How Treated 73
Anodynes 74
Farcy — Its Treatment 74
Pleurisy — How to be Treated 74
Staggers 75
INDEX
PAGE
Warbles, Sitfasts and Saddle Galls 75
For Inflammation of the Lungs in a Horse - 76
For Colic in Horses ^...76
Stoppage of Water. „ „ 76
Colic or Cholera in Mules 77
Colts Brought Up by Hand 77
Vegetable Caustic 78
To Cure Warts 78
Hoof Medicine 78
To Restore the Appetite „ 78
Stoppage of the Bowels 78
Salve for Man or Beast 79
To Soften the Feet 79
Stifle _ 79
Tonics 79
Mercurial Ointment 79
Spavin nad Ringbone 79
Receipt _ 80
To Clean and Oil Harness _.81
Strength of Food for Horses 81
To Cure Cribbing 82
To Prevent Horses Jumping 82
Bots or Grubs 82
Quinsy „ 83
Distemper „.83
Scours 85
Blind Staggers 85
Weakness Across the Loins ^ 85
Stocked or Swollen Legs 86
To Cure Distemper 86
Remedy for Bots _..86
Inflamed Swellings or Lame Shoulder - 86
To Cure Heaves 86
Physic Ball 86
Diuretic Drops 87
Colic 87
Fistula and Polevil - 87
Farmers and Stock Owners' Department 88
Cruelty to Horses „ 90
Rarey's Liniment 90
Rarey's Wizard Oil 90
Rarey's Directions for Shoeing Horses 90
To Prevent Horses Kicking in the Stall 93
To Cure Broken Legs 93
Lampas .- 93
Gravel ^ '. 93
Halter Puling „ 93
INDEX
PAOB
Hide Bound --93
To Prevent Horses from Jumping 93
Big Leg 94
Sore Breasts - 94
The Check Rein on Horses 94
Feeding Horses on the Road 94
Itch ^ ^ 95
Urine Stoppage 95
To Cure Balky Horses 95
Dr. Cole's King of Oils 95
Mexican Mustang Liniment 95
Sloan's Horse Ointment 95
Merchant's Gargling Oil ~ 95
Arabian Condition Powders ~ 95
Blistering Liniment 96
Medicated Food for Horses and Cattle 96
Lotion for Mange — 96
Hoof-Bound Wash 96
To Toughen Hoofs -96
Scratches .- 96
Cough ^ ~ 96
Split or Broken Hoof 97
Colic Cure 97
To Cure Distemper -97
Founder Cured in Twenty-Four Hours 97
Cure for Staggers 97
Ring-Bone and Spavin Cure - 97
Cure for Bone Spavins ~ 97
Another Very Valuable Recipe for Ring-Bone 98
Splint and Spavin Liniment 98
Poll Evil and Fistula 98
To Tame Horses _ - 98
Best Remedy for Heaves — - ~ 98
THE HORSE
EARLY HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE HORSE
THE early history and origin of the horse is wrapped in
■ obscurity and fable, and we really know little or nothing
of it, except that we have reason to believe that he first came
from Asia, like man, and, according to the Mosaic account, all
other animals now existing; and that he was used in Egypt
more than 1600 years before Christ. But with the history of
the horse I shall not encumber this book, which might be
enlarged to an enormous extent if this department were entered
into at length. Sufftce it, then, to discuss the present condition
of the horse, and its more recent origin, as now existing in
this country, in addition to his general habits.
The habits of the horse in all countries, and of all varieties,
are pretty much alike. Wherever he is at large, he is bold
but wary, and easily taking note of the approach of man to
give him as wide a birth as he possibly can, or rather show him
a clean pair of heels. Wild horses exist to the present day in
the interior of Asia and in South America. But both the
horses of the Tartars and those of La Plata are dsecended
from domesticated animals, and can scarcely be called wild
in the ordinary acceptation of the term. Indeed, the Califor-
nian horses, which are still more recently bred in a wild state
from Spanish horses, are quite as wild as those described by
Sir F. B. Head. From their constant state of liberty, and
their roving habits, in order to obtain food and water, they
are inured to fatigue, and can bear an enormous amount
of long-continued fast work without failing under it, and with-
10 THE HORSE
out that training which the domesticated animal must have.
The walk and the gallop are the horse's natural paces, and all
Others are acquired; but nothing can excell the fiery anima-
tion and elegance of movement of the free horse, and in these
two paces art has done nothing to improve his form except
perhaps in slightly increasing the speed of the latter. In all
countries and in every age the horse feeds upon grain or grass,
though it is said that in Arabia he is occasionally supported
upon camel's milk when food such as he usually lives upon is
not to be had.
It may be useful to specify the terms employed to describe
the principal parts of the horse. These details will not prove
altogether superfluous, as some of the words we are about to
explain not unfrequently occur in conversation.
The two parts of the head of the horse which correspond to
the temples in a man, are above the eyes. The eyes them-
selves have a loose crescentiform fold of the conjunctiva at the
inner angle, often erroneously called membrana nietitans, but it
neither performs its office or possesses its muscular apparatus.
The orbit, which is formed of seven bones, four cranial and
three facial, contains the globe of the eye, on the inner angle
of which is situated the haw (a). The figure attached will per-
fectly supply the means of verifying all these indications. The
eye-pits (b) a'-e deep indentations which lie between the eyes
and the ear, above the eyebrows on each side.*
The jace (c) is the front of the head from the eyes to the
nostrils; this part corresponds to the upper part of a man's
nose. This name is, however, generally applied to that por-
tion that surrounds the curl or centre on the forehead from
whence the hair radiates.
The neck of the horse is designated by the word cres. (d),
it is comprised from one end to the other between the mane on
the upper side, and the gullet on the lower.
The forelock (e) is the portion of the mane which is on the
top of the head and falls over on the forehead between the
eyes.
The withers (j) is the spot where the shoulders meet up
above, between the back and the neck, at a point where the
neck and the mane come to an end.
The chest (g) is that part which is in front between the
shoulders and below the throat.
The back (h) commences at the withers and extends all
• The horse possesses a peculiar structure within the eye — the tapetum luclda—
•f a lustrous green color, by which he is enabled to see objectsln comparatlTe
darkness, and especially under his feet.
THE HORSE
11
along the spine as far as the crupper. When the horse is fat,
the whole length of the spine forms a kind of hollow, which is
said to be channeled.
The space which is included within the ribs is called the
barrel (i) ; the name of the stomach (j) is also given to the
lower part of the body which joins the os sternum and the
bottom of the ribs.
The jianks lie at the extremity ot the stomach, and extend as
far as the hip-bones. The tail is divided into two parts; the
stump or dock, and the hair.
The upper part of the front leg of the horse is called the
shoulder (m), although it corresponds with the forearm in a
man ; the for eat .a (n) follows it lower down.
The joint which is below the forearm is called the knee (o);
it corresponds to the place of the wrist in man, and forms &n
angle turning inwards when the leg is bent.
12 THE HORSE
The shank (p) forms the second portion of the foreleg;
it commences at the kneejoint, and corresponds to the metacar'
pus in man.
Behind the shank is a tendon, which extends from one end
to the other, and is called the back-sinew.
The fetlock-joint (q) is the articulation immediately below
the shank.
The fetlock itself is a tuft of hair covering a sort of soft
horny excresence, which is called the ergot.
The pastern (r) is the portion of the leg between the fetlock
joint and the foot.
The coronet (s) is an elevation lying below the pastern, and
is furnished with long hair falling over the hoof, all round
the foot.
The hoofs (t) form, so to speak, the nails of the horse, and
consists of a horny substance.
In order to describe the parts which make up the hind legs
of the horse, we must go back to the haunches. Each of these
contains the femur, and corresponds to the thigh of a man. It
is, therefore, the thigh of the horse which is joined to the body,
and bears the name of buttocks. It is terminated below and in
front by the stifle (k), which is the joint of the knee containing
the kneepan. It is situated below the haunch, on a level with
the flank, and shifts its place when the horse walks.
The highest part of the hind leg, which is detached from the
body, is called the thigh or gaskins (ni), and corresponds to the
leg of a man. It extends from the stifle and lower part of the
buttocks down to the hock (o).
The hock is the joint which is below the thigh, and bends
forward. This joint represents the instep in a man; the hinder
part of the hock, which is called the point of the hock, is the
heel.
Below the hock are the shank, the fetlock- joint, the pastern,
and the foot, just the same as in the forelegs.
We will now say a few words as to the diversity of color in
the coat of the horse, in order to fix the meaning of the terms
which are generally employed to designate the various hues
which the coat presents.
Bay is a reddish nut-brown color, with various shades.
Dark Bay horses are of a very dark brown, almost black, ex-
cept on the flanks and tip of the nose, where they are of a red-
dish color. The golden or light hay is a yellow sun-light hue.
Dappled Bay horses have on their rumps spots of a darker bay
than on the rest of their bodies. In bay horses the extremi-
ties, the mane, and the tail are always black.
. There are three kinds of black horses ; the rusty black,
which is of a brownish tinge, more or less conspicuous in
THE HORSE 13
various lights ; the black and the coal black which is the darkest
of all.
Dun colored horses, of which there are several shades, are of
a yellowish sandy hue. The mane and the tail of these are
either white or black. Some of the latter have a black line
along the vertebra, which is called a mule's or eel-stripe.
Chestnut is a kind of reddish or cinnamon colored bay.
There are several shades of it, among which are the bright
chestnut, which is the color of a red cow's coat ; the common
chestnut, which is neither dark nor bright ; the bay chestnut,
which verges upon the red ; the burnt chestnut, which is dark
and nearly approaches black. Some chestnut horses have
white manes and tails : others, black. The roan is a mixture
of red and white.
Grey horses have white hair mixed with black or bay. There
are several modifications of this color ; the dappled grey, the
silver grey, the iron grey, etc. Dapple-grey horses have on
their backs and other parts of their body a number of round
spots, in some cases black ; in others, of a lighter hue ; these
spots are somewhat irregularly distributed. Grey horses as
they increase in age become lighter in color, ultimately be-
coming white.
Piebald and Skewbald horses are white, with large irregular
spots and stripes of some other color irregularly arranged.
The different kind are distinguished by the color that is com-
bined with the white, as the piebald proper, which are white
and black ; the skezvbald, which are white and bay ; the chest-
nut piebald, which are white and chestnut.
The horses which have small black spots on a white or grey
coat are called flea-bitten, particularly prevalent in India among
Arabs.
We have hitherto considered the wild and domestic horse in
common, both as regards their structure and their color — in
short, their outward appearance generally — without noticing
the different breeds, which must soon occupy our attention.
But before we enter upon the study of the various equine
races, it is necessary to give a short explanation as to the way
in which the bit regulates the paces of the horse. By this we
are led to speak of the construction of the mouth, a knowledge
of which is most useful.
The horse either walks, trots, gallops or ambles.
The paces of the horse are essentially modified by means
both of the bit and spur. The spur excites a quickness of
movement; the bit communicates to this movement a due
amount of precision. The mouth of the horse is so sensitive
that the least movement or the slightest impression which it
14
THE HORSE
receives, warns and regulates the motion of the animal. But
to preserve the full delicacy of this organ, it is highly neces-
sary to treat tenderly its extreme sensibility.
The position of the teeth in the jaw of the horse affords to
man the facility which exists of placing a bit in its mouth, by
which instrument this high-spirited and vigorous animal is
broken in and guided. Let us, therefore, in the first place,
study the arrangement of its mouth.
There are in each jaw six incisors or foreteeth, followed on
either side by a tush, which is generally deficient in mares,
especially in the lower jaw. Next comes a series of six grind-
ers on each side in both jaws; these teeth have a square
crown, marked with four crescents, formed by the lamina of
enamel which are embedded on them. Between the tushes
and grinders there is a considerable space called the bar,
which corresponds to the angle of the lips, and it is in this
interval that the bit is placed.
FIG. 1.- DENTITION OF THE ADULT HORSE.
6
(a). Indiwa, \{h) TSxahes or Canines, (c) Interval caUed (he Bar.
(d) MoloTa-
It is also by means of the teeth that we are enabled to know
a horses age — a knowledge which is of the highest utility;
for a horse increases in value in proportion as he approaches
maturity, again decreasing in worth as he becomes older. Up
to nine years the age can be determined pretty accurately by
means of the changes which take place in the teeth.
The foal, at its birth, is usually devoid of teeth in the front
THE HORSE 15
of the mouth, and has only two grinders on each side in each
jaw (Fig.2). At the end of a few days, the two middle fore
teeth, or pincers, make their appearance. In the course of
the first month a third grinder shows itself, and in four months
more the two next fore-teeth also emerge ; within six and a
half or eight months the side incisives, or corner teeth, show,
and also a fourth grinder. At this period the first dentition is
complete. The changes which take place up to the age of three
years depend only on the fore-teeth being worn away more or
less, and the black hollows being obliterated gradually by con-
tact with food. In thirteen to sixteen months the cavities on
the surface of the pincers are effaced ; they are then said to be
razed. In sixteen to twenty months the intermediate fore-
teeth are likewise razed, and in twenty to twenty-four months
the same thing takes place with the corner teeth.
FIG. 2. Fia 3.
AT EIGHTEEN DAYS.
AT THREE TEARS.
The second dentition commences at the age of two and a half
or three years (Fig. 3). The milk-teeth may be recognized by
their shortness, their whiteness, and the construction round
their base, called the neck of the tooth. The teeth which re-
place them have no neck, and are much larger. The pincers
are the first to fall out and be replaced by new ones. At the
age of from three years and a half to four years the interme-
diate fore-teeth experience the same change, and the lower
tushes begin to make their appearance. The corner teeth are
also renewed when between four and a half to five years ; the
upper tushes likewise pierce the gums, and about the same
date the sixth grinder shows itself.
18 THE HORSE
ises to the child, he will expect exactly what you promise.
Here proof becomes faith, because he has never been deceived
by the want of performance. Even among men the principle
is the same. That man, who is always found truthful, and
who performs exactly as he promises to do, becomes a standard
of public confidence and trust; but he who disregards truth
and the principles of honor, becomes an object of suspicion to
all knowing him. As the child, then, is the reflex of the love
and truth of the parents in confidence, and the public in him
of undoubted integrity — so are we forced to believe the horse
becomes in the character of his habits what he is, in exact pro-
portion to the teaching and example to which he may have
been subject.
How to Feed, Water and Drive
Do not feed or water heavy before driving, filling the stomach
with water and food ; water destroys the juices of the stomach,
weakening digestion. The grain becomes swollen and gener-
ates a gas, filling the stomach with wind ; the stomach becom-
ing diseased, the Bot will work his head into the coating of
the stomach. All grain will digest best while the horse is
standing still ; and all food that passes oflF without digestion
weakens the action of the stomach and bowels, and, in many
cases, will scour the horse. The less you feed before driving
the better. Then again, you should water very little on the
road. Feed mostly at night ; food will then all digest and
make flesh and blood. I should advise not more than two
quarts in the morning, and the same at noon. I do not feed
in the morning, neither do I water. If I was going to make a
long and fast drive, I should feed twelve quarts the night
before, then my horse would be strong, and feel light and
active, and do his work easy. By giving him a little water,
the horse will fully digest what he has eaten; if you weaken
the juices, of course you weaken digestion. A horse should
only be fed what he can easily digest. I think by so doing
you will save one third of the grain formerly given. Diseases
are caused by too much food and water ; the water destroys the
juices, and disables digestion; by feeding most of the grain
whilst the horse is at rest, it will fully digest, and leave the
horse strong and able to do his work.
Giving a great amount of water, diseases the blood and dead-
ens the hair. The water must pass in some way; it can't all
pass in the urine, and it passes off through the pores of the
skin, and causes the hair to become gummed, and makes the
horse very hard to clean. So much water passing off through
the pores of the flesh destroys the roots of the hair, and causes
it to look dull and faded ; then, again, you should be cautious
THE HORSE 19
not to drive your horse in cold water, when warm, or throw
water on him ; so doing, chills the blood, separates the blood
from the watery substances that the blood forms from, and
causes disease, the skin will become full of small tumors and
the hair fall off. By avoiding too much water on the road, and
too m.uch food before driving, and by keeping the horse warm
after driving, you avoid disease.
Special Advice in Reference to Feeding Horses
Never give a horse whole grain. Bruising and wetting it
with soft water, you save thirty per cent of its nutritious ef-
fects. Steam it in preference to wetting, if you have facilities
for doing so. Feed your horse two hours before he begins his
day's work. Give him the largest feed at night. Never tie
him to a rack ; it is cruel to thus prevent a horse from lying
down when he is tired. The best way is to take away your
rack altogether, and arrange your stable so as to make it un-
necessary to tie up the horse. The stable should always be dry
and well littered. Never give your horse hard water, if soft
water is to be had. If you cannot get soft water, draw the
hard water out of the well two hours before you let him drink
it. Beans should be full a year old before they are fit to feed
horses ; they should be bruised, the same as grain, not ground.
Horse Feed Mixture
You ATT recommends for horse feed, the following mixture :
Cut hay, two parts ; cut straw, three parts — add to this a quan-
tity of bruised beans, oats, or other grain — wet the whole with
soft water, and mix it well. Do not feed your horse too much
hay, as it is not only a waste of provender, but when he is put
to work with an overloaded stomach it endangers his wind. If
left to pull hay out of the rack at pleasure, a horse will eat or
waste some thirty pounds a day, whereas, by cutting up his
hay and mixing it with other feed, as above described, ten
pounds is an ample abundance for twenty-four hours. Horses,
when worked, should be fed three or four times a day with a
mixture of hay, straw, and grain as above described. Give
them their food in the manger — be careful that it is sweet and
clean. By following these rules, horses will always be in good
condition — will not have that swelled belly so peculiar to ani-
mals who are allowed to fill their stomachs with hay — and will
usually enjoy good health.
How to get a Colt from Pasture
Go to the pasture and walk around the whole herd quietly,
at such a distance as not to cause them to scare or run. Then
20 THE HORSE
approach very slowly ; if they stick up their heads and seem
to be frightened, hold on till they become quiet, so as not to
run them before you are close enough to drive them in the
direction you want them to go. When you begin to drive, do
not flourish your arms or halloo, but gently follow them off,
leaving the direction free you wish them to take. Thus ta-
king advantage of their ingnorance, you will be able to get
them in the pound as esaily as the hunter drives the quails
into his net. For if they have always run in the pasture un-
cared for (as many horses do in prairie countries and on large
plantations) there is no reason why they should not be as wild
as the sportsman's birds, and require the same gentle treat-
ment, if you want to get them without trouble; for the horse,
in his natural state, is as wild as any of the undomesticated
animals, though more easily tamed than most of them.
How to Stable a Colt
The next step will be to get the horse into a stable or shed.
This should be done as quietly as possible, so as not to excite
any suspicion in the horse of any danger befalling him. The
best way to do this, is to lead a broken horse into the stable
first and hitch him, then quietly walk around the colt and let
him go in of his own accord. Be extremely deliberate and
slow in your movements, for one wrong move may frighten
your horse, i^nd make him think it necessary to escape at all
hazards for the safety of his life — and thus make two hour's
work of a ten minutes' job ; and this would be all your own
fault, and entirely unnecessary — for he will not run unless
you run after him, nor will he try to break away unless you
attempt to force him into measures. If he does not see the
way at once, and is a little fretful about going in, do not un-
dertake to drive him, but give him a little less room outside,
by gently closing in around him. Do not raise your arms,
but let them hang at your side, for you might as well raise a
club; the horse has never studied anatomy, and does not
know but they will unhinge themselves and fly at him. If he
attempts to turn back, walk before him, but do not run ; and
if he gets past you, encircle him again in the same quiet
manner, and he will soon find that you are not going to hurt
him; and then you can walk so close around him that he will
go into the stable for more room, and to get farther from you.
As soon as he is in, remove the quiet horse and shut the door.
This will be his first notion of confinement — not knowing how
he got into such a place, nor how to get out of it. That he
may take it as quietly as possible, see that the shed is entirely
free from dogs, chickens, or anything that would annoy him.
Then give a few ears of corn, and let him remain alone fifteen
THE HORSE 21
or twenty minutes, until he has examined his apartment, and
has become reconciled to his confinement. And now, while
your horse is eating those few ears of corn, see that your hal-
ter is ready and all right, and reflect upon the best mode of
operations ; for in horse-breaking, it is highly important that
you should be governed by some system.
Objects of Fear — How to Prevent Fear
Whatever the horse understands to be harmless he does not
fear; consequently great pains should be taken to cause him
to examine and smell such things as are likely to frighten him
in after life. This should be attended to in his early educa-
tion, since early impressions are strong in the horse. A log
or stump by the roadside, if regarded with suspicion, should
be approached slowly or cautiously ; to the imagination of the
horse, such things are supposed to be some great beast that
may spring upon him, but which he will soon comprehend to
be harmless if obliged to examine its nature in his own way, by
advancing to the object and allowing him to understand it
fully by smelling and breathing with the nose. The boy
frightened by a false face will care nothing about it after he
takes it in his hands and examines it ; and the principal is the
same in familiarizing horses to objects of fear.
If your horse is frightened at an umbrella, you can soon
learn him to be used to that. Go into the stable with him, and
first let him look at the umbrella before it is opened — let him
touch it with his nose. Open it a little way and then let him
see it; and finally open it wide. By ordinary patience you
can soon learn the horse to have the umbrella opened suddenly
in his face, without being afraid of it. By a similar treat-
ment you can break any horse from scaring at almost any
thing that may look frightful to him. If you wish to make a
trial of this theory, just take a horse into the stable and let
him examine the frightful object a few minutes after his mode
of examining things, and you will be perfectly satisfied.
There is a singular fact connected with taming the horse that I
would have never believed if I had not tried it. If you accus-
tom him to any particular object by showing it to him on one
side only, he will not be afraid when he sees it with the eye on
that side; but he will be afraid if you approach him with it on
the other side. It is, therefore, necessary to pacify him
on both sides in all cases. After you have accustomed him to
the umbrella, or whatever you may wish to make him familiar
with, on his right side, repeat the operation on the left side in
the same manner as if you had not approached him at all.
22 THE HORSE
The Kind of Halter to be Usedi and How to Put
It On the Colt
Never use a rope halter. The cords of the rope are hard,
and appears to aggravate and excite distrust rather than con-
fidence ; but by all means procure a leather halter made of
bridle leather, so it will feel soft and pliable to the touch, and
to fit tolerably tight on the head, so as not to feel uncomfort-
able. Before putting a halter on the colt, he must be rendered
familiar with it by carressing him and permitting him to ex-
amine the article with his nose. Then place a portion of it
over his head, occasionally giving it a slight pull, and in a few
minutes he will be accustomed to these liberties, and then the
halter may be fastened on properly. To teach him to lead is
another difficulty. Stand a little on one side, rub his nose
and forehead, take hold of the strap and pull gently, and at
the same time touch him very lightly with the end of a long
whip across his hind legs. This will make him start forward
a few steps. Repeat the operation several times and he will
soon learn to follow you by simply pulling the halter. The
mouth of the colt should be frequently handled, after which
introduce a plain snaffle between his teeth and hold it there
witli one hand while you caress him with the other. After a
time he will allow the bridle to be placed upon him. The
saddle can then be brought in and rubbed against his nose, his
neck, and his legs ; next hang the stirrup strap across his
back, and gradually insinuate the saddle into its place. The
girth should not be fastened, until he becomes thoroughly
acquainted with the saddle. The first time the girth is
buckled, it should be done so loosely as not to attract his atten-
tion ; subsequently it can be tightened without inspiring him
with fear, which, if fastened immediately, it would most cer-
tainly do. In this manner the wildest colt can be effectually
subjugated by such imperceptible degrees that he gives tacit
obedience before he is aware of his altered condition.
To Break a Horse to Harness
Take him in a tight stable, take the harness and go through
the same process as you would with the saddle, until you get
him familiar with them, so you can put them on his back and
rattle them about without his caring for them. As soon as he
will bear them, put on the lines, caress him as you draw them
over him, and drive him about in the stable till he will bear
them over his hips. The lines are a great aggravation to some
colts, and often frighten them as much as if you were to raise
a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the harness
and lines, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle
THE HORSE 23
horse, and go through the same process that you did with the
blinds when you are breaking a horse to harness.
After fixing the lines, then hitrh the horse to a small log
that he can draw very easy, with iong traces, frequently turn-
ing him, so that the traces will draw lightly against his legs —
frequently stopping and petting him ; then hitch him to some-
thing heavier ; then get behind him and drive him. By thus
working with him you will make a strictly true horse of him —
he also getr so that he is not afraid of the traces or harness.
You r?.n then proceed to hitch him to a buggy or wagon.
Persons should not drive fast at first hitching a colt in harness
— he should be handled very careful at first. In handling colts
in this way you will have no trouble with them, but will have
a much better broke horse, and one that would be more safe
for a family. A horse broken in this way is not half so easily
spoiled as one broken by any other process.
In breaking horses to ride they should be handled in very
much the same way as I have spoken of. After biting them
sufficiently you may proceed to saddle them ; then ride them
over two or three miles at a time — not enough to tire them.
To Break Horses to Stand the Fire of a Gun
You commence by administering the three articles first men-
tioned in the nostrils this will prevent him from smelling the
powder. Then load your pistol — but very light, so as to make
the report as light as possible ; every time you fire, give him a
small piece of an apple, with some powder on it ; then rub and
pat him on the head and neck. When you first commence
firing, stand close to the horse's shoulders, rest your arms on
his withers. After you have fired a sufficient number of times
mount the horse and shoot from his back. Keeping up this
practice for a short time, the horse will get so that he will not
care anything about the fire of a gun at any time or place.
Necessity of Repetition of Lessons and a
Thorough Training
The horse must be convinced by repeated proofs of being
over-matched that resistance is useless. For since his willing-
ness and rebellion are each based upon the limited reasoning
of his experience, he must be thoroughly convinced by expe-
rience that unconditional submission is the only alternative ;
this you cannot prove to the understanding of the horse with-
out repeating your lessons until he submits unconditionally.
But as nursing and care is to the patient over the force of dis-
ease, so is the subjugation of the horse — his submission should
be encouraged and rewarded by kindness, and feeding from
24 THE HORSE
the hand with little presents of such things as he likes. That
master is supreme in his control, and submission to his com-
mands becomes a pleasure, who has the power to enforce his
will, but who exercises it with the sweetening encouragement
of love. While force is necessary, and you have the means of
making your horse almost a plaything in your hands, let the
silken cord of love be the cement that fixes and secures this
submission to your will. A good-natured, clever man, it is
admitted, can teach a horse almost anything, and it has be-
come a proverb that kindness will lead an elephant by a hair.
Show your horse exactly what you want him to do, and en-
deavor to use the patience and reason in teaching and con-
trolling him, you would believe necessary for yourself to un-
derstand if placed in like circumstances. Ignorant of the lan-
guage and intentions of such a teacher, who even preserved
his patience, and refrained from abuse, what progress would
you make as a pupil — gifted as you are with all your intelli-
gence? If possible, ennoble and elevate your feelings by real-
izing your responsibility to yourself, to the community, and
to the noble animal committed to your charge. Make your
horse a friend by kindness and good treatment. Be a kind
master, and not a tyrant — make your horse a willing servant,
and not a slave.
How to Proceed with the Colt after Haltering
The first time you halter a colt you should stand on the left
side, pretty well back to his shoulder, taking hold of that part
of the halter that goes around his neck, then with your two
hands about his neck you can hold his head to you, and raise
the halter on it without making him dodge,, by putting your
hands about his nose. You should have a long rope or strap
ready, and as soon as you have the halter on attach this to it ;
so that you can let him walk the length of the stable without
letting go the strap, or without making him pull on the halter,
for if you only let him feel the weight of your hand on the
halter, and give him more rope when he runs from you, he
will never rear, pull or throw himself, yet you will be holding
him all the time, and doing more towards gentling him than
if you had the power to snub him right up, and hold him to
one spot ; because he knows nothing about his strength, and
if you don't do anything to make him pull, he will never know
what he can do in that way. In a few minutes you can begin
to conrtol him with the halter, then shorten the distance be-
tween yourself and the horse by taking up the strap in your
hand. As soon as he will allow you to hold him by a tolerably
THE HORSE 25
short strap, and to step up to him without flying back, you
can begin to give him some idea about leading.
But to do this, do not go before him and attempt to pull him
after you, but commence by pulling him very quietly to one
side. He has nothing to brace either side of his neck, and
will soon yield to a steady, gradual pull of the halter; as soon
as you have pulled him a step or two to one side, step up and
caress him, and then pull him again, repeating this operation
until you can pull him in every direction, and walk about the
stable with him ; this you can do in a few minutes, for he will
soon think when you have made him step to the right and left
a few times, that he is compelled to follow the pull of the
halter, not knowing that he has the power to resist your pull-
ing ; besides you have handled him so gently that he is not
afraid of you, but rather likes you. After you have given him
a few lessons of this kind, at proper intervals, he will be so
tame that if you turn him out to pasture, he will come up to
you to be caressed every opportunity he gets.
While training him in the stable, you should lead him about
some time before you take him out, opening the door, so that
he can see out, leading him up to it and back again, and
then past it. See that there is nothing on the outside to
make him jump when you take him out, and as you go out
with him, try to make him go very slowly, catching hold of
the halter close to the jaw with your left hand, while the right
is resting on the top of his neck, holding to his mane. Do not
allow anyone to be present or in sight, during your operations,
either in or outside the stable. If you are entirely alone, and
manage your colt rightly, you will soon be able to lead and
hold him as easily as you could a horse already broken.
Do Not Try To Force The Colt If Excited
When excited the colt is not in a condition to understand
what you require of him, or to .be submissive. You should
also be careful not to train the colt until he becomes heated
and confused. But little should be required at a time, and
hold to that point until you gain it thoroughly before you un-
dertake to do more. For example : in making a colt follow, if
he submits ever so little, caress and reward him for it, and so
continue and you will have no trouble.
When you resort to force do it sharply, so as to impress him
as much as possible with your power.
How to Proceed if a Colt is Stubborn
If the animal you are operating upon seems to be a stubborn
or mulish disposition rather than wild ; if he lay back his ears
as you approach him, or turn his heel to kick you, he has not
26 THE HORSE
that regard or fear of man that he should have, to enable you
to handle him quickly and easily ; and it might do well to give
him a few sharp cuts with the whip, about the legs, pretty
close to the body. It will crack keen as it plies about the legs,
and the crack of the whip will affect him as much as thr stroke ;
besides, one sharp cut about the legs will affect him more than
two or three over the back, the skin on the inner part of the
legs or about his flanks being thinner, and more tender than
on his back. Do not whip him much ; only just enough to
scare him ; it is not to hurt the horse that we whip him ; we do
it to scare bad disposition out of him. But whatever you do,
do quickly, sharply and with a good deal of fire, but always
without anger. If you go to scare him at all, you must do it
at once. Never go into a pitched battle with your horse, and
whip him until he is mad, and will fight you: you had better
not touch him at all, for you will establish, instead of fear and
regard, feelings of resentment, hatred, and ill-will. It will do
him no good, but harm, to strike him, unless you frighten
him ; if you succeed in frightening him, you can whip him
without making him mad; for fear and anger never exist
together in a horse, and as soon as one is visible, you will
find that the other has disappeared. As soon as you have
frightened him, so that he will stand up straight and pay some
attention to you, approach him again and caress him a good deal
more than you whipped him ; thus you will excite the two
controlling passions of his nature, love and fear; he will love,
and fear you too ; and as soon as he learns what you require, he
will obey quickly.
If the colt is of too mulish a disposition to yield to careful
and gentle treatment, as here given, you must resort to the sev-
eral measures recommended for taming vicious horses.
To Make a Colt Follow Under the Whip
After the colt comes around to you readily by pulling a little
on the halter, and follows freely, take your whip in the right
hand ; pull upon the halter a little saying : "Come here. Sir !"
And at the same time tap lightly with the whip over the hips ;
he will come to you mainly because you have taught him to
yield to a slight pull upon the head, and will come to you at
this signal, and because he wishes to get away from the touch
of the whip behind. As soon as he comes to you, caress
him and feed him from the hand with something he likes ;
repeat this, each time pulling upon the halter, until he will
come to you as readily by tapping with the whip as he did at
first to the halter. Now, instead of hitting with the whip,
commence by snapping it behind him ; if he comes, caress and
encourage as before, and so repeat, at each time increasing the
THE HORSE 27
distance from him, until he will follow or come to you quickly
by cracking the whip.
A few lessons of the foregoing kind, will make him run after
you, when he sees the motion of the whip — in twenty or thirty
minutes he will follow you around the stable. After you have
given him two or three lessons in the stable, take him in a
small lot and train him ; and from thence you can take him
into the road, and make him follow you anywhere and run
after you.
How To Make a Horse Stand Still Without Hifching
After you have well broken him to follow you, stand him in
the centre of the stable — begin at the head to caress him, and
gradually work backwards. If he moves, give him a cut with
the whip, and put him back to the same spot from where he
started. If he stands, caress him as before, and continue
gentling him in this way until you can get around him without
making him move. Keep walking round him, increasing
your pace, and only touch him occasionally. Enlarge your
circle as you walk around, and if he then moves, give him
another cut with the whip and put him back to his place. If
he stands, go to him frequently and caress him, and then walk
round again. Do not keep him in one position too long at
a time.
How to Lead a Colt with a Broke Horse
If you should want to lead your colt by the side of another
horse, you must first put the horse into a stable with the colt.
You first attach a second strap to the colt's halter, and lead
your horse up along side of him. Then get on the broke
horse, and take one strap round his breast under the martin-
gale, (if he has any on), holding it on your left hand. This
will prevent the colt from getting back too far; besides you
have more power to hold him, with the strap pulling against
the horse's breast. The other strap take up in your right hand
to prevent him from running ahead ; then turn him about in
the stable, and if the door is wide enough, ride out with him
ixi that position; if not, take the broke horse out first, and
stand his breast up against the door, then lead the colt to the
same spot and take the straps as before directed, one on each
side of his neck, and then let some one start the colt out, and
as the colt comes out, turn your horse to the left, and you will
have them right. You can manage any kind of a colt this
28 THE HORSE
way, without trouble ; for, if he tries to run ahead or pull back,
the two straps will bring the two horses facing each other, so
that you can very easily follow up his movements without
doing much holding, and as soon as he stops running back-
ward, you are right with him and all ready to go ahead. If he
gets stubborn and does not want to go, you can remove all his
stubbornness by riding your horse against his neck, thus com-
pelling him to turn to the right; and as soon as you have
turned him about a few times, he will be willing to go along.
The next thing, after you are through leading him, will be to
take him into a stable and hitch him in such a way as not to
have him pull on the halter.
How to Lead a Colt Into a Stable
You should lead a broken horse into the stable first, and
get the colt, if you can to follow in after him. If he refuses to
go, step up to him, taking a little stick or switch in your right
hand ; then take hold of the halter close to his head
with your left hand, at the same time reaching over his
back with your right arm so that you can tap him on the op-
posite side with your switch ; bring him up facing the door,
tap him slightly with your switch, reaching as far back with it
as you can. This tapping, by being pretty well back, ^nd on
the opposite side, will drive him ahead, and keep him close to
you ; then by giving him the right direction with your left
hand you can walk into the stable with him. I have walked
colts into the stable this way in less than a minute, after men
had worked at them half an hour, trying to pull them in. If
you cannot walk him in at once in this way, turn him about
and walk him around awhile until you can get him up to the
door without pulling at him. Then let him stand a few min-
utes, keeping his head in the right direction with the halter,
and he will soon walk in of his own accord. Never attempt to
pull the colt into the stable ; that would make him think at
once that it was a dangerous place, and if he was not afraid of
it before he would be then. Besides, we do not want him to
know anything about pulling on the halter. If you want to
tie up your colt, put him in a tolerably wide stall, which should
not be too long, and should be connected by a bar or some-
thing of that kind to the partition behind it; so that, after the
colt is in he cannot go far enough back to take a straight, back-
ward pull on the halter ; then by tying him in the centre of the
stall, it would be impossible for him to pull on the halter, the
partition behind preventing him from going back, and the hal-
ter in the centre checking him every time he turns to the right
or left. In a stall of this kind you can break any horse to
stand tied with a light strap, anywhere, without his ever know-
THE HORSE 29
ing anything about pulling. For if you have broken your
horse to lead, and have taught him the use of the halter (which
you should always do before you hitch him to anything), you
can hitch him in any kind of a stall, and if you give him some-
thing to eat to keep him up to his place for a few minutes at
first, there is not one colt in fifty that will pull on his halter,
or ever attempt to do so.
This is an important feature in breaking the colt, for if he
is allowed to pull on the halter at all, and particularly if he
finds out that he can break the halter, he will never be safe.
THE EUREKA BRIDLE
The most powerful means of learning a colt to lead is by the
use of what is designated or called the Eureka Bridle.
How to Make the Eureka Bridle
Take a cotton cord made of fine yarn such as is sometimes
used for a bed cord or clothes line, usually about three eighths
of an inch thick. If you cannot get cotton cord, hemp or any-
thing of the kind that is strong enough will answer the pur-
pose. Let it be about fifteen feet long, tie one end into a hard
knot, just as you would to prevent its raveling ; tie another
knot about ten inches or little more from the one on the end,
but before you draw it tight, put the knot on the end through.
You now have a loop that will not slip, made on the same
principle that a rope is tied around the neck of a horse to hitch
with, so as not to tighten upon the neck by pulling upon it.
This loop should be just large enough to slip over the under
jaw of the horse you wish to train ; put this loop over the lower
jaw, then, while standing on the near side, take the cord in
the left hand and bring over the neck by passing the left hand
under the neck to the opposite side towards the mane, bring
the right hand over the neck and take the cord from the left
and pass back to the loop, and put through from the top side,
until the part over the neck is drawn down like a check-rein;
now take hold of the end of the rein, and you will find you
have a means of power in it that makes the strongest horse al-
most a plaything in your hands.
The objection to the use of the Eureka Bridle in the train-
ing of the innocent colt, is, that the ignorant are inconsiderate
in its use. Instead of using it with the utmost mildness a
little resistance on the part of the colt is made an excuse to use
30 THE HORSE
it in the most severe manner, until the colt either submits un-
conditionally, or becomes so desperate with pain as to be en-
tirely reckless and regardless of the utmost efforts.
When your horse resists too much you will always find it to
your advantage to put him away for a short time until he be-
comes cool. In fact, the great secret of training is in not train-
too long, and repeating. If you intend using the Eureka
Bridle as a means of subduing your colt, put it on after you
tamper him on three legs, with the strap over the back. As
soon as he submits cleverly to this step, instead of fastening
up the leg as by the method already described, take off your
strap. Then put on the Eureka Bridle gently, when step to
one side and back, and say: "Come here sir!" pulling a very
little upon the bridle, just enough to bring his head towards
you a little. Now step up to him and pat him on the neck,
and say, "You are a fine fellow." Then try again in the same
way, and so repeat until he will come to you quite freely. You
may increase your force upon the bridle in proportion to his
submission, but not if he show stubbornness. You may then
step to the other side and repeat the lesson until he will come
to you either way cheerfully. Now you wish him to follow
you; continue your training in this way, gradually pulling a
little more on a line with his body, until he will follow as well
ahead as he does sideways.
How to Break Horses to Ride
If a colt, you must first supple the muscles of the back be-
fore permitting much weight to be carried. You must keep
in mind that he is not accustomed to carry weight, and that to
put one hundred and fifty pounds on would be entirely wrong.
You must give the colt to understand that you are his friend.
It will require but a few days to supple the muscles of the neck
and back ; then you have a horse that will guide easily. After
the first three days, the horse will carry one hundred and
twenty-five pounds easier than at first he would carry forty.
You will now fasten the saddle on, but not too far forward ;
buckle the girths tight, and let him remain a few moments ;
then approach him gently, pat him on the neck, and draw up
the reins tight, with the left hand to the withers ; put the foot
in the stirrup, and bear gently on the saddle, then pat him
gently on the back and rump, speaking very low during the
time. Then rise gently, throwing the right leg over the
saddle, and sit perfectly still for a few moments ; then^. dis-
mount and caress him, patting his head and back, after doing
so a few times he will be as submissive as a lamb.
THE HORSE 31
As to Heindting the Feet of a Horse
Should the colt refuse to have his feet handled, he may be
made to submit by reproving with the bridle and putting a
small strap on the hind foot, then pull on this strap and bring
the foot up ; then at the moment he kicks, bring down on the
mouth sharply with the bridle. In a short time he will sub-
mit to your control unconditionally. The same principle ap-
plies to the use of this under all circumstances. It is a means
of reproof, and certainly has a powerful effect upon a horse.
How to Teach a Horse to Pace
First take nine or ten pound of lead, divide in four parts,
equal to three and three-quarter inches, by four and a half in
size; make two holes in each end of these leads, then fasten
two of them together and have them padded. Then fasten
them on the horse's legs, one on each hind leg, just above the
ankle joint. Ride your horse briskly with those weights upon
his ankles, at the same time pulling each rein of the bridle al-
ternately. By this means you immediately throw him into a
pacey After you have in this way trained him to some extent,
change your leaden weights to something lighter ; leather pad-
dings, or something equal to it will answer the purpose. Let
him wear those weights until he is perfectly trained. By
adopting this plan, you will speedily make a smooth and easy
pacer of any horse.
Management of Wild Horses
Cause your horse or colt to be put in a small yard, stable, or
room. If in a stable or room, it ought to be large in order to
give some exercise with the halter before you lead him out. If
the horse belongs to that class which only appears to fear man,
you must introduce yourself gently into the stable, room, or
yard where the horse is. He will naturally run from you, and
frequently turn his head towards you; but you must walk
about extremely slow and softly, so that he can see whenever
he turns his head towards you which he never fails to do in a
short time — in a quarter or half an hour. I never knew one to
be much longer without turning his head towards me. At the
very moment he turns his head, hold out your left hand to-
wards him, and stand perfectly still, keeping your eyes upon
the horse, watching his motions, if he make any. If the horse
does not stir for ten or fifteen minutes, advance as slowly as
possible, and without making the least noise, always holding
out your left hand. If the horse makes the least motion when
you advance towards him, stop and remain perfectly still until
32 THE HORSE
he is quiet. Remain a few moments in this condition, and
then advance again in the same slow and almost imperceptible
manner. If the horse then stirs again, stop without changing
your position. It is very uncommon for the horse to stir
more than once after you begin to advance ; yet there are some
exceptions. He generally keeps his eyes steadfast upon you
until you get near enough to touch him on the forehead. When
you are thus near to him, raise slowly and by degrees your
hand, and let it come in contact with that part just above the
nostrils, as possible. If the horse flinches (as many will), re-
peat with great rapidity these light strokes upon the fore-
head, going a little further up towards his ears by degrees, and
descending with the same rapidity until he will let you handle
his forehead all over. Now let the strokes be repeated with
more force over all his forehead, descending by lighter strokes
to each side of his head, until you can handle that part with
equal facility. Then touch in the same light manner, making
your hands and fingers play around the lower part of the
horse's ears, coming down now and then to his forehead,
which may be looked upon as the helm that governs all the
rest.
Having succeeded in handling his ears, advance towards the
neck, with the same precautions and in the same manner;
observing always to augment the force of the strokes when-
ever the horse will permit it. Perform the same on both sides
of the neck, until he lets you take it in your arms without
flinching.
Proceed in the same progressive manner to the sides, and
then to the back of the horse. Every time the horse shows any
nervousness, return immediately to the forehead, as the true
standard, patting him with your hands, and thence rapidly
to where you had already arrived, always gaining ground
a considerable distance farther on every time this happens.
The head, ears, neck, and body being thus gentled, proceed
from the back to the root of the tail.
This must be managed with dexterity, as a horse is never to
be depended on that is skittish about the tail. Let your
hand fall lightly and rapidly on that part next to the body a
minute or two, and then you will begin to give it a slight pull
upwards every quarter of a minute. At the same time you
continue this handling of him, augment the force of the strokes
as well as the raising of the tail, until you can raise it and
handle it with the greatest ease, which commonly happens in a
quarter of an hour in most horses, in others almost imme-
diately, and in some much longer. It now remains to handle
all his legs ; from the tail come back again to the head — handle
•t well, as likewise the ears, breast, neck, etc., speaking now
THE HORSE 33
and then to the horse. Begin by degrees to descend to the
legs, always ascending and descending, gaining ground every
time you descend until you get to his feet.
Talk to the horse while you are thus taming him ; let him
hear the sound of your voice, which at the beginning of the
operation, is not quite so necessary, but which I have always
done in making him lift up his feet. "Hold up your foot,"
you will say, at the same time lifting up his foot with your
hand. He soon becomes familiar with the sounds, and will
hold up his foot at command. Then, proceed to the hind feet,
and go on in the same manner ; and in a short time the
horse will let you lift them, and even take them up in your
arms.
All this operation is no magnetism, no galvanism; it is
merely taking away the fear that the horse generally has of
man, and familiarizing the animal with his master. As the
horse doubtless experiences a certain pleasure from this hand-
ling, he will soon become gentle under it, and show very
marked attachment to his keeper.
The Kind of a Bit to Use and How to Use It
To accustom a colt to the bit, you should use a large, smooth
snaffle, so as not to hurt his mouth, with a bar at each side to
prevent it from pulling through either way. This should
be attached to the headstall of your bridle, and put it on your
colt without any reins to it, and let him run loose in a large
stable or shed some time, until he becomes a little used to the
bit, and will bear it without trying to get it out of his mouth.
Repeat this several times before you do anything more with the
colt ; and as soon as he will bear the bit, attach a single rein to
it, without any martingale. You should also have a halter on
your colt, or a bridle made after the fashion of a halter, with a
strap to it, so that you can hold or lead him about without
pulling much on the bit.
Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing
they do to him, buckling it on as tight as they can draw it, to
make him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a lot
to run half a day at a time. This is one of the very worst pun-
ishments they can inflict on a colt, and is very injurious to a
young horse that has been used to running in pasture with his
head down. I have seen colts so injured in this way that they
never got over it.
A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put
on the bitting harness, and when you first bit him you should
only rein his head up to the point where he naturally holds it,
let that point be high or low ; he will soon learn that he cannot
lower his head, and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in
34 THE HORSE
his mouth. This will give him an idea of raising his head to
loosen the bit, and then you can draw the bitting a little
tighter every time you put it on, and he will still raise his head
to loosen it. By this means you will gradually get his head
and neck in the position you want him to carry it, and give
him a nice and graceful carriage without hurting him, making
him mad, or causing his mouth to get sore. Horses that have
their heads drawn up tightly, should not have the bitting on
more than fiteen minutes at a time.
How to Make a Bitting Bridle for an Unruly Horse
Take the Eureka Bridle, already described, and fix a loop
upon the other end, just like that already used to put around
the jaw, but big enough to go over the head and fit over the
neck, rather tight, where the collar is worn. Now bring your
cord forward, put through the mouth from the off side, and
bring back on the near side and put through the loop around
the neck. Pull upon this cord, and the head will be drawn
back to the breast. You are now prepared to bit. Simply pull
upon the cord a little, which will draw the head back slightly ;
after holding for a short time, render loose ; then draw up a
little tighter, and so repeat for four or five times. Then
stop bitting and repeat at some future time till you have the
horse entirely under your control.
How to Saddle a Colt
Any one man who has this theory, can put a saddle on the
wildest horse that ever grew, without any help, and without
scaring him. The first thing will be to tie each stirrup strap
into a loose knot, to make them short and prevent the stirrups
from flying about and hitting him. Then double up the skirts
and take the saddle in your right arm, so as not to frighten
him with it when you approach. When you get to him, rub
him gently a few times with your hand, then raise the saddle
very slowly, until he can see it, and smell, and feel it with his
nose. Then let the skirts loose, and rub it very gently against
his neck the way the hair lays, letting him hear the rattle of
the skirts as he feels them against him, each time a little fur-
ther backward, and finally slip it over on his back. Shake it
a little with your hand, and in less than five minutes you can
rattle it about over his back as you please, and pull it off and
throw it on again, without his paying much attention to it.
As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten
the girth. Be careful how you do this. It often frightens the
colt when he feels the girth binding him, and making the
saddle fit tight on his back. You should bring up the girth
THE HORSE . 35
very gently, and not draw it too tight at first, jr.st enough to
hold the saddle on. Move him a little, and then girth it as
tight as you choose, and he will not mind it.
You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right be-
fore you put it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt
him, or feel unpleasant to his back. It should not have any
loose straps on the back part of it, to flap about and scare him.
After you have saddled him in this way, take a switch in your
right hand to tap him up with, and walk about in the stable a
few times with your right arm over your saddle, taking hold
of the reins on each side of his neck with your right and left
hands, thus marching him about in the stable u::til you teach
him the use of the bridle and can turn him about in any di-
rection, and spot him by a gentle pull of the rein. Always
caress him, and loose the reins a little every time you stop
him.
You should always be alone, and have your colt in some light
stable or shed the first time you ride him ; the loft should be
high so that you can sit on his back without endangering your
head. You can teach him more in two hours' time in a stable
of this kind, than you could in two weeks in the common way
of breaking colts, out in an open place. If you follow my
course of treatment, you need not run any risk, or have any
trouble in riding the worst kind of horse. You take him a
step at a time, until you get up a mutual confidence and trust
between yourself and horse. First teach him to lead and stand
hitched ; next acquaint him with the saddle, and the use of the
bit ; and then all that remains is to get on him without scaring
him, and you can ride him as well as any horse.
How to Mount a Colt
First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle and all
over, until he will stand still without holding, and is not afraid
to see you anywhere about him. As soon as you have him well
gentled, get a small block about one foot or eighteen inches in
height, and set it down by the side of him, about where you
want to stand and mount him ; step up on this, raising yourself
very gently. Horses notice every change of position very
closely, and if you were to step up suddenly on the block, it
would be very apt to scare him ; but by raising yourself grad-
ualy on it, he will see you without being frightened, in a po-
sition very near the same as when you are on his back. As
soon as he will bear this without alarm, untie the stirrup strap
next to you, and put your left foot in the stirrup, and stand
square over it, holding your knee against the horse, and your
toe out, so as to touch him under the fore-shoulder with the
toe of your boot. Place your right hand on the front of the
26 THE HORSE
saddle, and on the opposite side of you, taking hold of a por-
tion of the mane and reins (they hang loosely over his neck),
with your left hand then gradually bear your weight on the
stirrup and on your right hand, until the horse feels your
whole weight on the stirrup ; repeat this several times, each
time raising yourself a little higher from the block, until he
will allow you to raise your leg over his croup, and place
yourself in the saddle. Another, and in some cases a better
way of mounting, is to press the palm of your right hand
on the off-side of the saddle, and as you rise lean your
weight on it. By this means you can mount with the girths
loose, or without any girths at all.
There are three great advantages in having a block to
mount from. First, a sudden change of position is very apt
to frighten a young horse that has never been handled ; he will
allow you to walk to him, and stand by his side without scar-
ing at you, because you have gentled him to that position ; but
if you get down on your hands and knees and crawl towards
him, he will be very much frightened; and upon the same
principle, he would frighten at your new position if you had
the power to hold yourself over his back without touching him.
Then, the first great advantage of the block is to gradually
gentle him to that new position in which he will see you when
you ride him. Secondly, by the process of holding your weight
in the stirrups, and on your hand, you can gradually accustom
him to your weight, so as not to frighten him by having him
to feel it all at once. And, in the third place, the block ele-
vates you so, that you will not have to make a spring in order to
get on the horse's back, but from it you can gradually raise
yourself into the saddle. When you take these precautions,
there is no horse so wild but that you can mount him without
making him jump. I have tried it on the worst horses that can
be found, and have never failed in any case. When mounting,
your horse should always stand without being held. A horse
is never well broke when he has to be held with a tight rein
when mounting; and a colt is never so safe to mount as when
you see that assurance of confidence and absence of fear, which
cause him to stand wihtout holding.
How to Ride a Colt
When you want a colt to start, do not touch him on the side
with your heel, or do anything to frighten and make him jump.
At once speak to him kindly, and if he does not start, pull him
a little to the left until he does so, then let him walk off slowly
with the reins loose. Walk him around in the stable a few
times until he gets used to the bit, you can turn him about in
every direction and stop him as you please. It will be well to
THE HORSE 37
get on and off a good many times until he gets perfectly used
to it before you take him out of the stable. After you have
trained him in this way, v»rhich should not take more than two
or three hours, you can ride him anywhere you choose without
ever having him jump o" make an effort to throw you.
When you first take him out of the stable, be very gentle
with him, as he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run,
and be easier frightened than he was while in the stable; but
will nevertheless find him pretty well broke, and will be able
to manage him without trouble or danger.
When you first mount a colt, take a little the shortest hold
on the left rein, so that if anything frightens him, you can
prevent him from jumping by pulling his head round to you.
This operation of pulling a horse's head round against his side
will prevent him from jumping ahead, rearing up, or running
away. If he is stubborn and will not go, you can make him
move by pulling his head around to one side, when whipping
him would have no effect. Turning him around a few times
will make him dizzy, and then by letting him have his head
straight, and giving him a little touch with the whip, he will
go along without any trouble.
Never use martingales on a colt when you first drive him
every movement of the hand should go right to the bit in the
direction in which it is applied to the reins, without a martin-
gale to change the direction of the force applied. You can
guide the colt much better without it, and teach him the use
of the bit in much less time. Besides, martingales would pre-
vent you from pulling his head round if he should try to
jump.
After your colt has been ridden until he is gentle and well
accustomed to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he
carries his head too high or his nose too far out, to put martin-
gales on him.
You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as
to heat, worry, or tire him. Get off as soon as you see he is a
little fatigued ; gentle him and let him rest ; this will make him
kind to you, and prevent him getting stubborn or mad.
Foot Strap, and How to Use It
Take a common strap or rope about the size of the Eureka
Bridle. The Eureka bridle will do by untying one of the loops.
Fasten the end untied carefully to the forward foot, below the
fetlock. Pass the other end over the bellyband of the harness
and carry it back on the left side to the sulky over the hold-
back strap of the breechen, and hold as a third rein in your
hand. You have in this strap or cord, connected with the foot
38 THE HORSE
in this way, a means of control, with which you can almost as
easily as if a plaything, control a horse while moving in the
harness, and embodies one of the most valuable and effective
means of controlling a horse in harness yet demonstrated. If
the horse attempts to run away, simply pulling upon your
strap throws him instantly upon three legs, and he has to stop.
If he attempts to run back, the same remedy stops him. If he
attempts to kick, you attract his attention forward instantly,
and at the same time make it impossible for him to kick.
How to Prevent a Horse Running Away
Put on the foot strap, and when he attempts to run take up
his foot, make him run, and tripping every time he will not
stop instantly at the word "Whoa." Should he be of the ex-
tremely wilful character, he may run on three legs. If you
mistrust so, attach another strap to the opposite foot. Then
make him run, and if he will not run for the taking up the
second, which will destroy his confidence at once, when one
strap will answer just as well. Make your lesson thorough, so
that the horse will stop every time you call "whoa."
Although we have given a powerful means of coercion and of
impressing the horse of his inability to resist the will of man,
still practical and thorough as are those means, they are but of
little account if not used with prudence and judgment.
How to Moke a Horse Lie Down
Everything we want to teach the horse must be commenced
hi such a way as to give him an idea of what we want him to do,
and then be repeated till he learns it perfectly. To make a
horse lie down, bend his left fore-leg and slip a loop over it, so
that he cannot let it down. Then put a surcingle around his
body, and fasten one end of a long strap around the other fore-
leg, just above the hoof. Place the other end under the be-
fore-described surcingle, so as to keep the strap in the right
direction ; take a short hold of it with your right hand ; stand
on the left side of the horse; grasp the bit in your left hand
pull steadily on the strap with your right; bear against his
shoulder till you cause him to move. As soon as he lifts his
weight, your pulling will raise the other foot, and he will have
to come on his knees. Keep the strap tight in your hand, so
<hat he cannot straighten his leg if he rises up. Hold him in
this position, and turn his head towards you ; bear against his
side with your shoulder, not hard, but with a steady, equal
pressure, and in about ten minutes he will lie down. As soon
as he lies down, he will be completely conquered, and you can
THE HORSE 39
handle him as you please. Take off the straps, and straighten
out his legs ; rub him lightly about the face and neck with your
hand the way the hair lies ; handle all his legs, and after he has
lain ten or twenty miinutes, let him get up again. After rest-
ing him a short time, make him lie down as before. Repeat
the operation three or four times, which will be sufficient for
one lesson. Give him two lessons a day, and when you have
given him four lessons, he will lie down by taking hold of one
foot. As soon as he is well broken to lie down in this way, tap
him on the opposite leg with a stick when you take hold of his
foot, and in a few days he will lie down from the mere motion
of the stick.
Kicking in Stall
To cure a horse of this habit put on the saddle part of a car-
riage harness, and buckle on tightly. Then take a short strap,
with a ring attached, and buckle around the forward foot be-
low the fetlock. To this short strap attach another strap, which
bring up and pass through the turret; then return to the foot
and run through the ring in the short strap. Then pass over
the bellyband and tie to the hind leg, below the fetlock. With
this attachment on each side, the moment the horse kicks he
pulls his feet from under and trips himself upon his knees,
which he will be very careful not to do but a few times.
i^ow to Tame a Horse with Vicious Habits
Having given full instructions relative to system of dealing
with young colts, I will now proceed to detail the plan of op-
perations for taming and subduing wild or vicious horses.
The principles of this method are the same as those in man-
agement of colts — kindness and gentleness — but the practice
differs. When you desire to subdue a horse that is very wild,
or has a vicious disposition, take up one fore-foot and bend
his knee till liis hoof is bottom upwards, and nearly touch-
ing his body ; then slip a loop over his knee, and shove it up
until it comes above the pastern-joint, to keep it up, being
careful to draw the loop together between the hoof and pas-
tern-joint with a second strap of some kind to prevent the loop
from slipping down and coming off. This will leave the horse
standing on three legs ; you can now handle him as you wish,
for it is utterly impossible for him to kick in this position.
There is something in this operation of taking up one foot, that
conquers a horse quicker and better than anything else you
can do to him; and there is no process in the world equal to
it to break a kicking horse, for by conquering one member
you conquer, to a great extent, the whole horse.
40 THE HORSE
You can do anything you wish with the horse in this condi-
tion, as when he becomes convinced of his incapacity to cope
with man, he wlil abandon all antagonistic demonstrations, and
become willing to obey, and be generally docile. Operate on
your horse in this manner as often as the occasion requires,
and you will soon find him as gentle as his nature will permit
him to be. By these means the most vicious, uneasy, unruly,
or fretful horse may be cured, though it depends upon the age
and disposition of the animal how long it will take to make him
amiable. When you first fasten up a horse's foot, he will some-
times get very mad, and strike with his knee, and try every pos-
sible way to get it down; but as he cannot do that he will
soon give up.
Conquering a horse in this manner is better than anything
else you could do, and leaves him without any possible danger
of hurting himself or you either ; for after you have tied up his
foot you can sit down and look at him until he gives up. When
you find he is conquered, go to him, let down his foot, rub his
leg with your hand, caress him, and let him rest a few minutes;
then put it up again. Repeat this a few times, always putting
up the same foot, and he will soon learn to travel on three legs
so that you can drive him some distance. As soon as he gets a
little used to this way of traveling, put on your harness and
hitch him to a sulky. If he is the worst kicking horse that ev-
er raised a foot, you need not be fearful of his doing any dam-
age while he has one foot up ; for he cannot kick, neither can he
run fast enough to do anly harm. And if he is the wildest
horse that ever had harness on, and has run away every time he
has been harnessed, you can now hitch him to a sulky and
drive him as you please. If he wants to run, you can let him
have the lines, and the whip too, with perfect safety ; for he
can go but a slow gait on three legs, and will soon be tired and
ready to stop ; only hold him enough to guide him in the right
direction, and he will soon be tired and willing to stop at the
word. Thus you will eflfectually cure him at once of any fur-
ther notion of running off.
Kicking horses have always been the dread of everybody ;
you always hear men say, when they speak about a bad horse,
"I don't care what he does, so he don't kick." This new mode
is an effectual cure for that worst of all habits. There are plen-
ty of ways by which you can hitch a kicking horse and force
him to go, though he kicks all the time ; but this does not have
any good effect towards breaking him, for we know that horses
kick because they are afraid of what is behind them, and when
they kick against it and it hurts them they only kick harder;
and this will hurt them still more and make them remember
the scrape much longer, and make it still more difficult to per-
THE HORSE 41
suade them to have any confidence in anything dragging behind
them ever after. But by this new method you can harness them
to a ratthng sulky, plow, wagon, or anything else in its worst
shape. They may be frightened at first, but cannot kick or do
anything to hurt themselves, and will soon find that you do
not intend to hurt them, and then they will not care anything
more about it. You can then let down the leg and drive along
gently without any further trouble. By this new process a
bad kicking horse can be learned to go gentle in harness in a
few hours' time.
How to Cure Bad Kickers
For extremely bad kickers or horses bad to shoe, the follow-
ing method wlil be found effectual. Put on a common rope or
strap halter, with a hitching rope or strap about twice as long
as the animal's body Have round the body a common rope or
surcingle. Then pass this rope or strap between the fore-legs
over the surcingle, back around the hind feet, below the fetlocks
and forward over the surcingle between the legs, and tie short
into the halter beneath the jaws. Now make the horse kick and
you will find that he reproves himself in the most severe man-
ner, and in a short time will submit unconditionally. Care
should be taken against chafing the foot by the action of the
strap or rope around the fetlocks. If you can attach a little
strap around each foot, with rings in them, through which run
strap or rope from the head instead of around the feet, horses
extremely bad to kick when handled about the feet, or to be
shod, yield readily to this mode of treatment. Always after a
horse has submitted he should be treated in a kind and gentle
manner. For driving in harness, attach to a common halter-
head-stall a strap about six feet long, over which put a two inch
ring, then tie the end of this strap back into the halter. Now
pass this double strap down between the fore-legs, so that the
ring will extend just back of the belly band, then buckle round
each hind foot below the fetlocks, short straps with rings at-
tached, to these rings attach a rope which is passed through the
ring upon the halter, just enough to enable the horse to stand
naturally. In this condition it will be seen the horse has suffi-
cient freedom to walk and trot but the moment he attempts to
kick, he reproves himself by the attachment to the head.
How to Hitch a Horse to a Sulky
Lead the horse to and around the sulky ; let him look at it,
touch it with his nose, and stand by it until he does not care
for it; then pull the shafts a little to the left, and stand your
horse in front of the off wheel. Let some one stand on the
42 THE HORSE
right side of the horse and hold him by the bit, while you stand
on the left side facing the sulky. This will keep him straight.
Run your left hand back and let it rest on his hip, and lay hold
on the shafts with your right, bringing them up very gently to
the left hand, which still remains stationary. Do not let any-
thing but your arm touch his back, and as soon as you have the
shafts square over him, let the person on the opposite side take
hold of one of them, and lower them very gently to the shaft
bearers. Be very slow and deliberate hitching ; the longer
time you take, the better as a general thing. When you have
the shafts placed, shake them slightly, so that he will feel them
against each side. As soon as he will bear them without scar-
ing, fasten your braces, etc., and start him along very slowly.
Let one man lead the horse to keep him gentle, while the other
gradually works with the lines till he can get behind and drive
him. After you have driven him in this way a short distance,
you can get into the sulky, and all will go right. It is very im-
portant to have your horse go gently when you first hitch him.
After you have walked him awhile, there is not half so much
danger of scaring. Men do very wrong to jump up behind a
horse to drive him as soon as they have him hitched. There
are too many things for him to comprehend all at once. The
shafts, the lines the harness, and the rattling of the sulky, all
tend to scare him, and he must be made familiar with them by
degrees. If your horse is very wild, I would advise you to put
one foot up the first time you drive him.
To Train Horses for the Chaise
It will not require a very vivid imagination for those that
use the chaise much, to know that there is a great difference in
the motion of the chaise ; and what makes the difference ? It is
the gait of the horses ; and those who would purchase a good
chaise horse, must look for a short gaited one. A long gaited
horse gives an unpleasant motion to the chaise. Now all horses
of good action will make a good chaise horse if you shorten
their gait. To do this, you must use a net. This net is like a
breast collar ; it must be two feet or two and a half and must
now be fastened to the collar and harness, and worn long,
reaching to the knees ; the cords in the fringe to this must be
about four inches apart, and on each cord there must be four
balls of one inch and a half in diameter.
There must be a similar net on the breaching, reaching round
the flank and meeting the front one ; this net must hang below
the gambrils ; then use a string of smaller balls on the fore
feet, these to be one inch in diameter. They will effectually
shorten the gait. You should be careful in the first exercise
after the putting on of the net. Drive or lead the horse around
THE HORSE 43
after the harness and net are on, before putting him to chaise.
After a few days practice, you will have a fine chaise horse.
Some of the best chaise horses have become so from having
sore feet, which made them step short. If you will attend to
the remarks on shoeing, and take care of the foot otherwise,
your horses will never have contracted feet.
To Train a Horse to Stand When You Are
Getting Into a Carriage
There are many horses that are very gentle after starting,
but that will not stand to let more than one get in; they will
then rear up and start very suddenly, and, if stopped, they be-
come stubborn, and refuse to start when called on. People
usually punish them with the whip, or by kicking them, some-
times in the belly, which is very dangerous, as they have thus
been ruptured. Now, with such a horse as this, you should
commence in this way — after he is hitched, caress him about
the head, then take hold of the reins, and put your foot on the
step, and shake the carriage ; if he starts, pull gradually on
the reins, and at the same time, speak low, 'Whoa my boy V or
something like it. Then approach his head, and give him a
piece of apple, caress him on the head, between the eyes, and
on the nose and neck ; continue this kind of treatment a few
minutes, and when you get in don't you allow him to start oflf
in a hurry — walk him off. After a few repetitions of this exer-
cise he will be perfectly submissive.
Halter Pulling
It is a very easy matter to break up this bad habit. Put on
the Eureka Bridle, and train the horse about until he will come
to you readily when you pull upon him a little sideways.
Simply repeat this, gradually a little more on a line with his
body at each repetition, until he will yield as readily at being
pulled forward as sideways. Then tie a strap, or a piece of
rope around the body where the harness saddle rests. Now
lead the horse to his manger or to a post, run the halter strap
through the ring or hole and pass back between the fore-legs
over the strap or cord tied around the body, and tie to the
hind leg below the fetlock. If your halter strap is not long
enough, splice a piece to it. Your horse so fastened, step for-
ward to his head and make him pull. Of course he will go
back with a rush, but the moment he attempts going back, the
halter strap pulls directly upon the hind leg, which not only
disconcerts, but makes it impossible for him to pull. The most
halter pullers will not pull two or three times when so hitched
but success in this as well as all other cases depends much on
the prudence and good judgment used in managing the case.
44 THE HORSE
How to Manage Balky Horses
Horses know nothing about balking until they are forced into
it by very bad management. When a horse balks in harness, it is
generally from some mismanagement, excitement, confusion,
or from not knowing how to pull, but seldom from any unwil-
lingness to perform all that he understands. High-spirited
free-going horses are the most subject to balking, and only so
because drivers do not properly understand how to manage
this kind. A free horse in a team may be so anxious to go,
that when he hears the word he will start with a jump, which
will not move the load, but give him so severe a jerk on the
shoulders that he will fly back and stop the other horse. The
teamster will continue his driving without any any cessation, and
by the time he has the slow horse started again, he will find
that the free horse has made another jump, and again flown
back. And now he has them badly balked, and so confused,
that neither of them knows what is the matter, or how to start
the load. Next will come the slashing and cracking of the
whip, and hallooing of the driver, till something is broken, or
he is through with his course of treatment. But what a mis-
take the driver commits by whipping his horse for this act !
Reason nad common sense should teach him that the horse
was willing and anxious to go, but did not know how to start
the load. And should he whip him for that? If so, he should
whip again for not knowing how to talk. A man that wants
to act with reason should not fly into a passion, but should
always think before he strikes. It takes a steady pressure
against the collar to move a load, and you cannot expect him
to act with a steady, determined purpose while you are whip-
ping him. There is hardly one balking horse in five hundred
that will pull truly from whipping ;it is only adding fuel to
fire, and will make him more liable to balk another time. You
always see horses that have been balked a few times, turn their
heads and look back as soon as they are a little frustrated. This
is because they have been whipped, and are afraid of what is
behind them. This is an invariable rule with balky horses,
just as much as it is for them to look around at their sides
when they have the bots ; in either case they are deserving of
the same sympathy, and the same kind of rational treatment.
When your horse balks, or is a little excited, or if he wants
to start quickly, or looks around and don't want to go, there is
something wrong, and he needs kind treatment immediately.
Caress him kindly, and if he don't understand at once what
you want him to do, he will not be so much excited as to jump
and break things, and do everything wrong through fear. As
long as you are calm, and can keep down excitement of the
THE HORSE 45
horse, there are ten chances to have him understand j-'ou,
where there would not be one under harsh treatment ; and then
the Httle flare up would not carry with it any unfavorable re-
collections, and he would soon forget all about it, and learn to
pull true. Almost every wrong act the horse commits is from
mismanagement, fear or excitement ; one harsh word will so
excite a nervous horse as to increase his pulse ten beats in a
minute.
Almost any team, when first balked, will start kindly if you
let them stand five or ten minutes, as though there was nothing
wrong, and then speak to them with a steady voice, and turn
them a little to the right or left so as to get them both in mo-
tion before they feel the pinch of the load. But if you want
to start along a team that you are not driving yourself, that
lias been balked, fooled, and whipped for some time, go to
them and hang the lines on their hames, or fasten them to the
wagon, so that they will be perfectly loose ; make the driver
and spectators, if there are any, stand off some distance to one
side, so as not to attract the attention of the horses ; unloose
their check reins, so that they can get their heads down if they
choose; let them stand a few minutes in this condition, until
you can see that they are a little composed. While they are
standing you should be about their heads gentling them ; it
will make them a little more kind, and the spectators will think
you are doing something that they do not understand, and will
not learn the secret. When you have them ready to start,
stand before them, and as you seldom have but one balky horse
in a team, get as near in front of him as you can, and if he is
too fast for the other horse, let his nose come against your
breast ; this will keep him steady, for he will go slow rather
than run on you ; turn them gently to the right, with the wagon ;
have it stand in a favorable position for starting out, letting
them pull on the traces as far as the tongue will let them go;
stop them with a kind word, gentle them a little, and turn
them back to the left, by the same process. You will have
them under your control by this time, and as you turn them
again to the right, steady them in the collar, and you can take
them where you please.
There is a quicker process that will generally start a balky
horse, but not so sure. Stand him a little ahead, so that his
shoulder will be against the collar, and then take up one of his
fore-feet in your hand, and let the driver start them, and he
will go right along. If you want to break a horse from balking
that has long been in that habit, you ought to set a day apart
for that purpose. Put him by the side of some steady horse,
have check lines on them ; tie up all the traces and straps, so
that there will be nothing to excite them ; do not rein them up,
46 THE HORSE
but let them have their heads loose. Walk them about to
gather as slowly and lazily as possible; stop often and go up
to the balky horse and gentle him, but keep him just as quiet
as you can. He will soon learn to start off at the word, and
stop whenever you tell him.
As soon as he performs right, hitch him to an empty wagon.
It would be well to shorten the stay chain behind the steady
horse, so that if it is necessary he can take the weight of the
wagon the first time you start them. Do not drive but a few
rods at first; watch your balky horse closely, and if you see
that he is getting excited, stop him before he stops of his own
accord, caress him a little, and start again. As soon as they
go well, drive them over a small hill a few times, and then over
a large one, occasionally adding a little load. This process
will make any horse t-ue to pull.
Advice to Those Who Hire Horses
It will be for your interest, reader, to use all precautions to
prevent a horse from becoming sick while in your hands. This
can be done by adhereing to certain rules which I will now note
down.
When you leave the stable drive slow for a few miles unless
you know how much the horse has been fed. If he has just
finished his meal it is very necessary that he should be driven
at a moderate pace on the start. If he had eaten a few hours
before the precaution will be necessary. When you water
your horse never give over two quarts, and that once in three
hours. Look at his mouth — if it is moist with saliva, he does
not need watering. If the mouth is dry and if tepid water is
at hand, wash out the nostrils and mouth with it, if no tepid
water is at hand use cold, but warm water would cause the
saliva to exude, relieving the horse by keeping the mouth moist
afterwards.
If you are on a journey stop at 11 a. m. and let your horse
stand without any food for a half or one whole hour, then give
about one gallon of water, and let him stand ten minutes
when he may be given three quarts of oats, or five ears of
good bright corn, or three pints of shelled corn. Let him
stand after eating, two or three hours, if you can; then you
may put him on a brisk trot, without any danger of causing
disease. I should rather have a horse driven seven miles an
hour, treated in this way, than four, if started off directly
after eating. By watering after feeding, and then driving off,
gases are generated on the stomach, and give colic, or set the
bots to work in the membrane of the stomach.
Again, if the horse is warm when you stop, be careful not
to stand him in a current of air ; he might take a disease in
THE HORSE 47
ten minutes that would carry him off; if in very warm
weather, he had better stand in the sun than in a draught
of air. If in very cold weather, either stable him or clothe
him when you stop, to keep the cold air from closing the pores
of the skin. If you are compelled to stop in the wind, always
face the wind, then the air blows the way the hair lays. If in
the winter in a northern climate, never allow a snowball to
remain in the foot, especially if he has been driven fast and is
warm. The coffin muscle is relaxed by heat, and the close
proximity of snow would cool off the foot so suddenly that the
muscle would contract, and in a few days the hoof would
shrink to the contraction and make him lame.
Always be cautious to keep the feet from cold water when
the horse is warm, and any sudden contact of cold with hot
blood, either in the body or legs, would be dangerous. These
precautions should be taken either in riding or driving. If
you drive through water when the horse is warm, give exercise
enough to keep up the circulation, not to allow the blood to be
chilled in the veins. If you adhere to these rules, you will not
be likely to have a horse injured by your management.
On Choking as a Means of Subduing a Horse
Choking is another method of conquering a skittish, stub-
born or refractory horse. It is resorted to in cases where the
measures before described fail to produce the desired effect.
The principles on which the plan of choking are based, are,
that you must make a powerful appeal to the intelligence of
the animal by physical means before you can subdue him.
Now we must know that most animals, in fighting, seize each
other by the throat, and that a dog thus held by his antagon-
ist for a few minutes, on being released, is often so thoroughly
cowed that no human artifice can again induce him to resume
the unequal contest. It is, then, reasonable to suppose that
choking will have a similar effect on the horse. When it can
be done without injuring the animal, it is an easy mode of
subduing him, for by its operation he becomes docile, and will
thereafter receive any instruction which he can be made to un-
dertake. Teaching the horse by this means to lie down at our
bidding, tends to keep him permanently gentle towards man,
for it is a perpetual reminder of his subdued condition.
It requires a deal of practice to tame a horse successfully by
choking; also a nice judgment to know when he is choked suf-
ficiently, as there is a bare possibility that he might get more
than would be good for him. We advise persons not perfectly
familiar with a horse, to resort rather to the strapping and
48 THE HORSE
throwlng-down process, unless the animal to be operated upon
is so vicious and intractable that he cannot be cured by it.
To Make Hopse$ Perfectly Safe For Family Use
For a family hrose, we should select one with a full, prom-
inent eye, and a broad space between them, full forehead,
ears straight and pointed ; when in action the ear should be in
motion, working back and forth, thus showing that he knows
what is transpiring around him. He should have a long, thin
neck, and a full trumpet nostril. A horse of these points is
not apt to tire on the road, for they indicate good blood.
By giving the animal to understand that we are his friend
and protector, he will feel that he is safe and have confidence
in us. To assure him of this we must caress him on the head
and neck, and talk softly to him ; then if you have something
he is very fond of — by feeding him with it we gain his sym-
pathy and confidence, and he will remember us and our kind-
ness to him. To us this is most reasonable. So long as he is
treated kindly he will be kind and gentle himself to every one
handling him. If he should frighten at any new object, by
speaking gently, "So ho, my boy!" several times over, it as-
sures him at once that he is safe. When your horses are har-
nessed to the carriage, and they wish to start before you are
ready, do not jerk them, or speak cross, but go to their heads
and caress and soothe them, and when you get in, draw the
reins up carefully, and talk kindly to them, and allow them to
walk off slowly; in a few days, with such treatment, your
horses will be perfectly tractable and gentle. A full blooded
horse is as sensitive as a well bred man, and you must not
hilloa to him as you might to a hog. This you may not be-
lieve, but it is so. You must never use the whip, except when
the horse knows what and how to do, and will not do it, or is
lazy, and requires the lash to increase the speed. Adhere to
the principle of kindness, and you will not fail to have a well
trained family horse.
On the Rearing of Colts
If a fine colt is desired we must breed to a fine horse thor-
ough blooded.
The colt should not be allowed to shrink for two years at
least.
If the dam has not sufficient milk to keep him plump, he
must be fed on cow's milk. Feed him through the winter on
oatmeal dry and give him cow's milk to drink. If a colt is
allowed to shrink during the first two years, he will never fill
THE HORSE 49
out again as full and plump — his fine points will be unde-
veloped.
The colt should not be kept close to a stable, but allowed to
run in and out at pleasure. He should not be allowed to
stand on a plank floor at all. In the spring as soon as the
grass is good he should be turned out to pasture.
On the Training of Horses for Trotting
The horse should be in good flesh. He should be driven
moderately, with walking exercise every morning of about five
miles. Before going into quarters, give him a brush, for one
hundred yards, at the top of his speed, and one or two miles
of moderate driving, sufficient to sweat him ; then rub dry with
rubbing rags, light rubbing is the best, just enough to dry the
hair. Hard rubbing on the bones or cords causes soreness.
Rub the flesh and muscles well to harden them. When driving
to sweat, put on two thick woollen blankets, and drive at full
speed two miles. Then turn down the hood, or neck cover,
and scrape the head and neck well, and rub dry; then cover
dry, and continue the same over the whole body, rubbing
lightly and only enough to dry the hair. Then put on nice
dry covering, and let him stand. Sweating often in this way
will weaken; it should be done but seldom.
Their food and drink should be of the purest kind ; sift their
oats free from all dust, and dust their hay too. Give about a
handful at a feed, morning and noon, and about twice that at
night. From twelve to sixteen quarts of oats would be a great
plenty per day — twelve would be plenty for the majority.
Give one gallon of water in the morning. The same at noon.
At night, give two gallons of water, and a peck of oats, with
treble the quantity of hay. You should not exercise any horse
on a full stomach, for then fast work hinders digestion. Grain
lying undigested in the stomach, generates a gas by fermenta-
tion, which sets the bots at work, and gives colic. Indigestion
is the cause of many diseases, and can be avoided by adhering
to the directions for feeding, watering and driving, given in
the first part of this book. If he is bound up, and you wish
to physic, give him bran mashes.
On Horse Blinds, or Blinkers
All my experience with, and observation of horses, proves
clearly to me that blinkers should never be used, and that the
sight of the horse for many reasons, should not be interfered
with in any way. Horses are only fearful of objects they do
not understand, or are not familiar with, and the eye is one of
50 THE HORSE
the principal mediums by which this understanding and this
lamiliarity are brought about. The horse, on account of his
very amiable nature, can be made in the course of time to bear
almost anything, in any shape, but there is a quicker process of
reaching his intelligence than that of wearing it into him
through his skin and bones. However wild or nervous a horse
may be, he can be taught in a very short time to understand
and not to fear any object, however frightful in appearance.
Horses can be broken in less time, and better without blinkers ;
but horses that have always worn them will notice the sudden
change, and must be treated carefully the first drive. After
that they will drive better without the blinkers than with. I
have proved by my own experiments that a horse broken with-
out blinkers can be driven past any omnibus, cab or carriage,
on a parallel line as close as it is possible for him to go, with-
out ever wavering or showing any disposition to dodge. I
have not in the last eight or ten years, constantly handling
horses, both wild and nervous, ever put blinkers on any of
them and in no case have they ever shied at passing objects.
The horse's eye is the life and beauty of the animal, as well
as the index of his emotions. It tells the driver in the most
impressive manner, what the horse's feelings are. By it he can
tell the first approach of fear in time to meet any difficulty;
he can tell if he is happy or sad, hungry or weary. The
horse, too, when permitted to see, uses his eyes with great
judgment. He sees better than we do. He can measure dis-
tances with his eyes better than we can, and if allowed the free
use of them, would often save himself, by the quickness of his
sight, from collisions when the driver would fail to do so by a
timely pull of the reins. It would also save many accidents to
pedestrians in the streets, as no horse will run into any person
or anything he can see. Blinkers are rapidly going out of
use in the United States, and I have yet to find the man who
having once left them off, could be persuaded to put them on
again. They are an unnecessary and injurious incumbrance
to the horse, and in years hence will be a thing to be read of
as one of the follies happily reformed in the nineteenth cen-
tury.
Rules to be Observed in the Purchase of a Horse
When about to purchase a horse, examine the eyes well.
The best judges are sometimes deceived in the eyes therefore
you cannot be too careful. Clearness of the Eyes is a sure in-
dication of their goodness ; but this is not all that should be
attended to; the eyelids, eyebrows, and all the other parts
must also be considered ; for many horses whose eyes appear
clear and brilliant, go blind at seven or eight years old. There-
THE HORSE 51
fore be careful to observe whether the parts between the eye-
lids and the eyebrows are free from bunches, and whether the
parts round the under eyelids be full, or swelled ; for these
are indications that the eyes will not last. When the eyes are
remarkably flat, or sunk within their orbits, it is a bad sign;
also when they look dead and lifeless. The iris, or circle that
surrounds the sight of the eye, should be distinct, and of a
pale, variegated, cinnamon color, for this is always a sure sign
of a good eye, and it adds beauty to the appearance of the
animal.
Next examine the teeth, as you would not wish to purchase
an old horse, nor a very young one for service.
The Feet should next be regarded ; for a horse with bad feet
is like a house with a weak foundation, and will do little ser-
vice. The feet should be smooth and tough, of a middle size,
without wrinkles, and neither too hard and brittle, nor too
soft, the Heels should be firm, and not spongy and rotten; the
Frogs horny and dry ; the soles somewhat hollow, like the in-
side of a dish or bowl. Such feet will never disappoint your
expectations, and such only should be chosen.
Particular regard should be had to the Shoulders ; they
should not be too much loaded, for a horse with heavy shoul-
ders can never move well ; and on the other hand, one that
has very thin shoulders, and a narrow chest, though he may
move briskly so long as he is sound, yet he is generally weak,
and easily lamed in the shoulders ;a medium should therefore
be chosen.
The Body, or Carcass, should neither be too small nor too
large. The Back should be straight, or have only a moderate
sinking below the Withers ; for when the back of a horse is
low, or higher behind than before, it is both very ugly and a
sign of weakness. The back should also be a proper length.
The Ribs should be large, the Flanks smooth and full, and the
Hind-parts, or uppermost Haunches not higher than the shoul-
ders. When the horse trots before you, observe if his haunches
cover his fore-knees. A horse with a short hind-quarter does
not look well.
The next thing to be regarded in a horse is his Wind, which
may be easily judged of by the motion of his flanks. A broken
winded horse also pinches in his flanks, with a very slow mo-
tion, and drops them suddenly, which may be easily per-
ceived. Many horses breathe thick that are not broken-winded
indeed, any horse will in foggy weather, or if foul fed, without
sufficient exercise ; but if a horse has been in good-keeping,
and had proper exercise, and yet has these symptoms, there is
some defect either natural or accidental ; such as a narrow
chest, or some cold that has affected the lungs.
52 THE HORSE
There are other particulars that should be observed In choos-
ing a horse. If his Head be large and fleshy, and his Neck
thick and gross, he will always go heavy on the hand, and
therefore such should never be chosen. A horse that has his
Heels very wide, seldom moves well, and one that has them
too near will chafe and cut his legs by crossing them. Fleshy-
legged horses are generally subject to the Grease, and other
infirmities of that kind, and therefore should not be chosen.
The Temper of a horse should be particularly attended to.
Avoid a fearful horse, which you may know at first sight by
his starting, crouching, or creeping, if you approach him. A
hot and fretful horse is also to be avoided, but the buyer should
be careful to distinguish between a hot, fretful horse and one
that is eager and craving. The former begins to fret the mo-
ment he is out of the stable, and continues in that humor till
he has quite fatigued himself; and the latter only endeavors
to be foremost in the field, and is truly valuable ; he has those
qualities that resemble prudence and courage; the other those
of intemperate heat and rashness.
A horse that goes with his fore-feet low is very apt to
stumble and there are some that go so near the ground that they
stumble most on even roads ; and the dealers, to remedy this,
put heavy shoes on their feet, for the heavier a horse's shoes are
the higher he will lift his feet. Care also should be taken that
the horse does not cut one leg with the other. A horse that
goes near the ground will cut the low side of the fetlock joint,
but one that goes high cuts below the knee which is called the
speedy cut. A horse that lifts his feet high generally trots
fast, but is not the easiest for the rider. Some horses cut with
the spurn of the foot, and some with the heel ; but this you
may soon perceive by their standing ; for if a horse points the
front of his foot inward, he cuts with the spurn, and if out-
ward, with the heel.
These few instructions may be of use in purchasing horses ;
but I advise every one to get some experimental knowledge of
them before he trusts to his own judgment, for the dealers
have so many arts to hide the defects of their horses, that the
best judges are often very much deceived.
How to Tell o Horse's Age By his Teeth
The only sure way of telling the age of a horse, is by the
teeth, and these only for a certain time ; after which time there
is nothing to depend on, although you can guess very near, by
the front teeth of his upper jaw, until he is about twelve or
thirteen; this, with the face of the horse, and some other
marks, enables one experienced in horses to guess pretty
correctly.
THE HORSE . 53
There are six teeth above, and six below, in the fore part of
the horse's mouth, from which we may judge of his age, they
are called gatherers. When a colt is foaled, he has no teeth
in the front of his mouth. In a few days two come in the up-
per jaw, and two below. Again, in a few days, four more ap-
pear; but the corner teeth do not come for several months —
three or four. These twelve teeth remain unchanged in the
front of the colt's mouth, until he is two or two and a half
years old, when he begins to change them for permanent ones ;
although the manner in which he has been fed regulates, in a
measure, the time of change.
Until he is in his eighth year, you tell his age by the front
teeth in the lower jaw — so we will only speak of these. At first
he sheds the two middle teeth of the six. These are succeeded
by two permanent, or horse teeth, of a deeper color, and
stronger — and grooved or fluted from top to bottom, with a
black cavity in the centre. He is now about three. In the
latter part of the fourth year, the teeth on each side of the
teeth in the centre undergoes the same process, and he be-
comes possessed of four horse teeth in the middle, with their
natural black marks in the centre, and one colt's tooth only on
each side. He next sheds his corner teeth. When he has their
successors his mouth is full. He has the black mark now in
all the six teeth, and is five years old.
After a horse is seventeen or eighteen, the grinders wear
down, and the nippers prevent the grinders from coming to-
gether, so that he cannot masticate his food as well as a six
year old horse.
Weights to be Carried in Trotting
Weights to be carried by every trotting horse starting for a
match, purse or stake:
Every horse shall carry one hundred and forty-six pounds;
if in harness, the weight of the sulky and harness not to be
considered. Pacing horses liable to the same rule.
Race Distances
A distance of mile heat— best three in five— shall be one hun-
dred yards; for one mile heats eighty yards; and for every
additional heat an additional eighty yards.
The time between heats shall be, for one mile twenty, and
for every additional mile, five minutes.
To Put Horses in Good Condition
They need good care and clean feed. Do not use condition
powders, or such medicines; they are not needed, and are
54 THE HORSE
humbugs. If your horse is hide-bound, and out of condition,
give him a good purge of linseed oil, or castor oil — one pint.
Then give bran mashes morning and evening ; he will soon
regain his appetite, and will be all right. At any time when
your horse loses his appetite, check his food, and give a mash.
Give as little medicine as possible. By this treatment you will
have healthy horses.
To Keep Horses Free From Disease
The stable must be clean and well ventilated. There is
nothing more conductive to good health than pure air and
clean food. The ceiling of the stable should be at least ten
or twelve feet high, with a ventilating box at the head four
inches square, running out at the roof. The loft should be
perfectly tight, so that the breath of the horse cannot rise
and mix with the hay, which may be injured both in taste and
wholesomeness. It is a bad plan to put hay in a rack ; the
horse breathes on it and makes it less palatable and healthy.
Feed from a box in front, and but little at a time ; he will
neither waste it or otherwise injure it. The ventilation in wall
of the stable should be as high up as possible so as not to
injure him by drafts of air, from which he should always
be kept.
Filthy stables cause weak eyes, and a running at the nose,
in many instances. The decomposition of vegetable matter,
and the urine, give out stimulating and unhealthy vapors, and
a strong smell of hartshorn. How can it but cause inflamma-
tion of the eyes or lung, or glanders and farcy? Be careful to
have your stables so the urine will run off, but don't raise the
planking much higher at the front than at the back, for this
will cause a strain of the back sinews, and lameness, and
thickening up of the same. It is an unnatural way for man
or horse to stand.
The horse stalls should have holes bored in the planking,
and they should always be kept open. In summer, the horse
should always, if he stands on a dirt floor, stand on straw, or
litter of some kind ; it relieves the feet in stamping.
It is very injurious to keep horses in a dark stable; it is
bad for the eyes, and many horses go blind from this cause.
You should likewise avoid a glaring light, or straining white
walls. Give a mellow light, with clean stabling, clean food,
clean litter, and all will be well.
How to Shoe a Horse
If we examine the horse's foot while in his natural state it
will be found almost round, and very elastic at the heel. The
THE HORSE 55
frog, broad, plump, and of a soft yielding character; the com-
missares, open and well defined, and the sole concave, the out-
side of the crust, from the heels to the toe, increased from a
slight level to an angle of about forty-five degrees. Conse-
quently as the hoof grows, it becomes wider and larger in pro-
portion to the amount of horn secreted, and the narrower
and shorter in proportion to the amount of horn cut away
from the ground surface. If a shoe were fitted nicely and ac-
urately to the foot, after being dressed down well, it would
be found too narrow and short for the same foot after the lapse
of a few weeks. Now, if any unyielding shoe of iron is nailed
firmly to this naturally enlarged and elastic hoof, it prevents
its natural freedom of expansion almost wholly, and does not,
as the foot grows down, allow it to become wider at the
quarters, in proportion to the quantity of horn grown, as
before being shod ; and consequently the foot changes, from
the continued effect of the restraint, from an almost round,
healthy foot, to a contracted and unhealthy condition, as gen-
erally seen in horses shod for a few years. The principles
which should govern in shoeing, are few and simple, and it
is surprising that a matter involving such serious conse-
quences, should be conducted with so little consideration.
The object of the shoer should be, in trimming and prepar-
ing the hoof for the shoe, to keep the foot natural, and this
involves :
First. — The cutting away of any undue accumulation of horn
affecting in the least its health and freedom.
Second. — To carry out in the form of the shoe, that of the
foot as nearly as possible.
Third. — To fit and fasten the shoe to the foot so as to inter-
fere least with its heatlh and elasticity.
The object in preparing the foot for the shoe should be to
remove any undue accumulation of horn, designed to prevent
its natural bearing, and the free, healthy action of its parts,
and requires the cutting away of about the proportion contact
with the ground would have worn off or so much as had grown
since being shod last. If the shoes had been on a month, then
the proportion of horn secreted in the time is to be removed.
If on two months, then the proportion of two months growth.
No definite rule can be given, the judgment must be governed
by the circumstances of the case. The stronger and more
rapid the growth of the foot, the more must be cut away ; and
the weaker and less horn produced, the less, to the extreme of
simply leveling the crust a little the better to conform to the
shoe. There is generally a far more rapid growth of horn at
the toe, than at either the heels or the quarters ; more, there-
fore, will require to be taken off the toe than off the other parts.
56 THE HORSE
Therefore shorten the toe and lower the heels until you suc-
ceed in bringing down the bearing surface of the hoof, upon
the shoe, to almost a level with the live horn of the sole. Be
careful to make the heel level.
Having lowered the crust to the necessary extent with the
buttress or knife, smooth it down level with the rasp. The
sole and frog detach the old horny exfoliation as it becomes
superabundant. The sole, therefore, would not need paring
were it not for the restraining effect of the shoe upon the gen-
eral functions of the foot, which is liable to prevent such de-
tachment of the horn.
When this is the case, the sole should be properly dressed
out with an English shave, the end of which is shaped like an
iron used at sawmills to mark and measure boards. The but-
tress is too large and square edged to dress out so concave a
surface properly, and unless great care is exercised it will not
only penetrate through the sole in some places, but leave
others entirely neglected. While a good workman may work
well with almost any kind of tool, such have also the facility
of adapting tools to the work. A horse's foot is not to be
hacked and cut as if only a block of lifeless wood, and if even
a lifeless machine, what care would be found necessary to pre-
serve its harmony of action complete. The buttress does not
seem to be at all adapted to dressing out the sole, and should
not be used for that purpose. While we are obliged to find
fault with the carelessness of blacksmiths in this respect, it is
with the spirit of kindness, sensible that we are ourselves only
dull pupils in the work of reform, and perhaps deserving se-
vere criticism.
We would be particular also in impressing the necessity of
not confounding the bars with the substance of the sole, and
cutitng them down to the common level with the sole. Any
man of common sense can see, that the bearing of the bars
should be equal to the outside of the crest upon the shoe, and
that they offer a decided resistance to the contraction of the
heels. The cutting away of the bars, to give the heels an open
appearance, is inexcusable, and should never be done.
In a natural, healthy condition, the frog has a line of bear-
ing with the hoof, and by its elastic nature, acts as a safeguard
to the delicate machinery of the foot immediately over it, and
helps to preserve the foot in its natural state, by keeping the
heels spread. It seems to be wisely intended to give life and
health to the feet. Permitting the heels to grow down, with
the addition of high heeled shoes, raises the frog from its nat-
ural position, and causes it to shrink and harden, and bears in
THE HORSE 57
consequence an important influence in setting up a diseased
action that usually results in contraction of the foot. If the
heels are square and high and the hoof presents rather a long,
narrow appearance, and is hollow on the bottom, there is a
state of contraction going on and you must not hesitate to dress
down thoroughly. Do not hesitate because the foot will ap-
pear small ; cut away until you are well down to a level with
live horn of the sole, and if the foot is weak, use the same
prudence in not cutting it away too much. The shoer must
always bear in mind that the sole must not rest upon the shoe.
The sole, when not clogged with old horn, acts as a spring to
the weight of the horse, and if it rests upon the shoe, an in-
flammation may be caused by the pressure of the coffin bone
upon the sensitive luminse, which is liable in consequence to
be so bruised as to cause soreness and inflammation. The effect
of such bruises are most common at the angle of the inner
heel, where the descending heel of the coffin bone, forcibly
pressing the soft, sensitive sole, upon the horny sole, is apt to
rupture one or more of the small blood vessels of the delicate
fleshy substance connecting the crust to the coffin bone of the
part, causing red spots called corns. Let the foot be so dressed
down, and the shoe so approximated, that the bearing will
come evenly upon the crust all the way round, without the
sole touching the shoe. This requires the crust to be dressed
level, and although well down to the live horn of the sole, it
should always be left a little higher. The corners between the
bars and crust should be well pared out, so that there is no
danger of the sole resting upon the shoe.
The Shoe
The principal object should be to have the shoe so formed
as to size, weight, fitting and fastening, as to combine the
most advantages of protection, and preserves the natural tread
of the foot the best ; in weight it should be proportioned to
the work or employment of the horse. If the horse walks
principally upon the road, his shoes should be rather heavy.
The ground surface of the shoe should correspond with the
ground surface of the foot in its natural state, or in other
* words it must have a concave surface corresponding with the
concave surface of the foot. The nail holes should be punched
coarse, and in the centre of the web. If the hind shoe, four
on the side and well forward ; if the forward shoe, four on the
outside, and two or three well forward in the inside toe, as
found necessary to retain the shoe. The manner of fastening
the shoe in what really affects the foot ; and which require the
most especial attention in shoeing.
58 THE HORSE
Interfering Shoes
First find what part of the foot hits the opposite ankle which
you can do by wrapping the ankle with a rag nicely, which
color with some kind of coloring matter, over where the oppo-
site foot hits, you can then discover by driving where the color
adheres and what portion of the crust hits the ankle. Remove
this portion and have the shoes well under the foot, but care-
fully fitted, so as to support the foot safely by the bearing of
the bar and heel. The hoof should be pared lower on the
outside, to turn the ankle, that the other hoof may pass clear.
Yet if the inside sole is not dressed, the rim soon breaks, and
the inside is found to be actually lower than the outside. Shoes
to prevent interfering, should be light and of narrow web, on
the inside, with three nail holes near the toe. They should
be straight at the point where they come in contact with the
opposite leg. By adhering strictly to this principle of paring
the foot, and fitting and fastening of the shoe, you will prevent
a recurrence of the difficulty.
Shoes, to prevent over-reaching, should be long, and for the
forward feet, heavy, especially at the heels ; and for the hind
feet, light, with heavy toes. The hoof should be well pared
at the toe.
The Foot and Its Diseases
The crust, or wall, is that part which is seen when the foot
is placed upon the ground and reaches from the hair to the
ground. It is deepest in front, where it is called the toe ;
shallower at the sides, which are called quarters, and of least
depth behind where it is termed the heel, it is placed flat upon
the ground, but ascends obliquely backward, and possesses
different degrees of obliquity in different feet. In a sound
hoof, the proper degree of standing is calculated at forty-five
degrees, or the fourth part of a semi-circle. This crust is
thicker in front, being about half an inch, and at the quarters
and heel is very much thinner. It is also thinner at the inner
than the outer quarter, where the most weight is thrown upon.
It is under the inner splint bone, on which so much weight
rests, and being thinner, it is able to expand more — its elas-
ticity is called more into play, and concussion and injury are
avoided.
On account of its thinness and the additional weight which
it bears, the inner heel wears away quicker than the outer — a
circumstance which should never be forgotten by the smith.
His object is to give a plain and level bearing to the whole of
the crust.
Thus it will be unnecessary to remove but very little, if any
THE HORSE 59
from the inner heel, as it has worn away faster than the out-
side, from the greater weight it bears, which would cause
corns and quarter cracks, and even slints, the concussions
being so much greater. This may all be avoided by paying
a little attention when shoeing.
The Frog
In the place between the bars, and exactly filling it, is the
frog. It is a triangular piece of horn projecting from the sole,
almost on a level with the crust, and covering and defending a
soft and spongy substance, and called the "sensible frog." It
is wide at the heels, and above the shell of the foot, and runs to
a point like a wedge. This is to keep the heel apart, and pre-
vent him from slipping. It will adhere to the ice like rubber.
There is a cleft, commencing at the back and running nearly
two thirds the length of the frog, which is firmly united to the
sole, but of a nature entirely different from it, being a soft,
spongy substance, and very elastic. It never can be bruised
until it has been cut, when it becomes a hard, horny substance
and by treading on anything solid in going fast, it springs or
presses on the sensitive part of the foot, and causes corns. Now,
this frog should never be cut or pared in the least ; let it look
ever so ragged it is then healthy. It sheds every three months ;
but if the knife is used, it is more or less injured.
The Sole
This is the inner surface of the foot, and is both concave and
elastic, and extends from the crust to the bars and frog. It is
not as thick as the crust. Notwithstanding its situation, there
is not as much weight thrown on it as there is on the crust;
because it was intended to expand, in order to prevent con-
cussion when the weight was thrown upon it. It is thicker at
the toe, and where it connects with the crust. The principal
weight is thrown upon the toe, by the coffin bone wedging in.
It is not brittle, in health, and it is somewhat hollow, which
gives spring to it and lessens the shock of striking the ground
when in rapid motion; for if the sole was flat, there would be
no spring to it, and it would be bruised by sudden contact
with the ground. Thus you see that by cutting, the spring of
the sole is injured and the sole itself becomes dry and hard,
and brittle. But if never touched, it retains the moisture,
keeps the foot from shrinking, and keeps it healthy.
The Coffin Bone
Beneath the lower pastern, and entirely enclosed in the hoof,
is the proper bone of the foot — the coffin bone. It fills about
60 THE HORSE
one half of the fore part of the hoof, to which it is fitted. It is
light and spongy, and filled with numerous holes, through
which pass the blood-vessels of the foot. These are necessarily-
numerous, considering the important and various secretions
there going on; and the circulation could' not be kept up if
these vessels did not run through the substance of the bone.
The holes about the coffin bone carry the blood to the little
leaves with which it is covered; those near the lower part go
to the sole. As this bone is enclosed in the horny box of the
crust, no inconvenience can arise from an outward pressure : for
the bone allows free passage to the blood, and protects it from
every obstruction.
The fore part of the coffin bone, besides being thus perfor-
ated, is curiously roughened, for the attachment of numerous
little leaves. On its upper surface is a concavity for the head
of the lower pastern. In front is a striking prominence, into
which is inserted the extensor tendon of the foot. At the back
it is sloped for articulation with the navicular bone ; and more
underneath is a depression for the reception of the flexor ten-
don, continued down the leg, passing over the navicular bone,
and then inserted into this bone. On either side are projec-
tions, called the heels of the coffin bone, and the bottom is
hollowed to match the internal part of the sole. The most pe-
culiar part of the coffin bone is the production of numerous
little leaves around its front and sides. They are prolonga-
tions of the thick and elastic membrane covering the coffin
bone, and consist of cartilagenous fleshy plates corresponding
with and received between the horny leaves that line the in-
side of the crust. The horny leaves are secreted from or pro-
duced by the fleshy ligaments, and, being five hundred in
number, their union with each other is so strong that they are
inseparable.
When the animal is at rest, the whole weight is supported
by these leaves, and not by the sole. It is the contraction of
the coffin muscle that creates so much pain when the horse is
foundered. The foot is then feverish, the blood vessels are
filled with hot blood, and the foot is very sensitive to the touch
of the hammer or any jar upon the crust. The elasticity of
the sole prevents the foot from being bruised when in violent
action.
Between the coffin bone and horny sole is the sensible sole,
which is of a ligamentous or tendonous nature, well supplied
with blood vessels and with nervous fibres, so that it is very
sensitive. A small stone under the shoe will cause great in-
flammation, and corns are caused by the same. The smith
needs to use great care in setting the shoe.
THE HORSE 61
Contracted Feet
Sometimes only one foot becomes contracted; this may be
caused in a cold climate by leaving a snowball in the bottom
of the foot after the horse has been exercised until he is very
warm. The coffin muscle is then relaxed by heat, and the
snow ball cools it so sudden that it contracts. In a few days
the hoof shrinks to the muscle thus contracted, leaving a ridge
in the hoof.
In a warm climate, it may be caused by letting a horse stand
even a short time, in cool water, after exercising and heating
the blood. If you wish to bathe your horse's legs, do it with
warm water, always ; then you avoid all danger, and leave the
limbs soft and pliable.
Also, cutting away too much of the sole of the foot, deprives
it of the very substance which holds the moisture and keeps
the foot healthy. Cutting the frog makes it hard and horny,
and when struck hard upon a stone it is pressed to the quick,
causing fever. Both practices will cause contraction.
Cure. — When first discovered, bathe the legs from the knee
down, in hot water; do this twice a day for two weeks, every
night stuffing the feet with clay. His shoes should merely
rest on the rim of the foot. Never use a shoe with a swelled
heel. When caused by cutting, stuff the feet with clay and
use the concave shoes. Never use ointments or grease of any
description upon the outside of the hoof, as they close the
pores and create fever, without removing the cause of the dis-
ease.
Thrush
This is a very disagreeable discharge of offensive matter from
the cleft of the frog, by which pus is secreted togther with, or
instead of horn. If the frog is sound, the cleft sinks but a lit-
tle way into it ; but by contraction or other causes, the cleft
will penetrate to the sensible sole within. Through this fissure
the discharge proceeds. It may be caused by bruises or filth.
The sinking in at the quarters will cause the horn to press up-
on the frog, or cutting the frog will cause it to become hard
and horny. It can readily be distinguished from any other
disease by the offensive smell ; run a stick or blade in the fis-
sure, and the discharge will assure you.
Cure. — First poultice with linseed meal, put on hot, and let
it remain twelve hours ; then use a paste made of two ounces of
blue vitriol, one ounce white vitriol, powdered as finely as pos-
sible, mix well with one pound of tar and two pounds of lard.
Apply this in the cleft. It may be put on tow and pushed in.
Let it remain twelve hours ; and then cleanse out with soft wat-
62 THE HORSE
er and soap. When dry, make the second application; also
renew the poultices at night, until all inflammation dis-
appears.
If you wish to dry it up quick (which I do not approve),
you can use the spirits of salt, ten or fifteen drops at a time.
(2.) Cleanse the foot out well, then crowd in fine salt and wash
with beef brine. But in all cases of thrush, first use poultices,
to relieve the inflammation. A carrot poultice is good, if lin-
seed is not convenient. After this, stuff the foot with clay, in
dry weather; this will keep it cool and moist, and it will
also make it less liable to be bruised. The horse should
take physic during the time, to cleanse the blood. Use Bar-
badoes aloes, pulverized, and mixed with linseed oil sufficient
to make into balls. Dose one ounce.
Grease
In many cases swelled leg, although distinct from grease,
degenerate into it. This disease is inflammation of the skin
of the heel, and very seldom comes on the fore legs. The skin
of the heel has a peculiar greasy feeling, and when inflamed,
the secretion of this greasy matter is stopped. The heels be-
come red, dry and scurvy, and being so much in motion, they
very soon crack, and sometimes ulceration and fungus will ex-
tend over the whole heel. The first appearance of grease is
usually a dry scurvy state of the skin of the heel. They should
be washed with soap and water, and relieved of all the hard
substance that they can by soaking ; then wipe dry, and sprinkle
pulverized verdigris; this will dry up. But when the heels
are badly cracked, and ulceration has commenced, it will be
necessary to poultice them with linseed oil, or, if not at hand,
carrots boiled soft and mashed fine ; this is a good poultice
for any inflamed part.
When inflammation and pain have gone, and there is a heal-
thy discharge of matter, dress with an ointment of one ounce
of rosin, two ounces of rosin, two ounces of honey in the comb,
two ounces of lard, and one ounce of caliman powder; this
cools and heals very fast. If the fungus is not entirely gone,
wash with two drachms of blue vitriol in a pint of water. It
is well to give a mild diuretic every third day — one tablespoon-
ful of pulverized rosin in a ball of bran mash. Mash the
horse while treating for this. Sassfras tea is good for him.
If the legs swell after they are healed, bandage every night,
and give moderate walking exercise. Give a slight purge of
linseed oil or Barbadoes aloes.
Another Cure or Remedy is: — Two ounces Flour Sulphur,
one-half ounce Verdigris. Mix and apply after washing.
THE HORSE 63
Cure for the Grease from Internal Causes : — If the horse be
full of flesh, the cure must be begun by bleeding, rowels, and
repeated purging ; after which two ounces of the following
balls should be given every other day for some time, and they
will work by urine the day following: 4 oz. of Yellow Resin,
2 oz. of Salt Prunel, 1 oz. of Oil of Juniper, 2 oz. of Salt of
Tartar, 8 oz. of Castile Soap, 1 oz. of Camphor. Put these into
a mortar with about two ounces of honey, or as much as will
make them into balls, and they will carry off the offending
humors, and free the blood from its noxious qualities. But at
the same time that these internal remedies are taken, outward
ones should not be omitted.
Cure for Grape Legs
These may be cured on their first appearance, when they
are in the bud, by laying on caustic, or corrosive sublimate.
When the swelling is abated, make the following into a salve
to dress the sores with : 1 oz. of Blue Stone Vitriol, in powder
2 oz. of White Lead, in powder, 4 oz. of Honey. Mix these
well together, and lay them on the sores with tow, to heal
them ; but, should they continue foul, and not frame to heal,
mix four ounces of green salve and four ounces of .^Egyptia-
cum ointment well together, and lay it on in the above man-
ner. The mixtures will both heal and dry up the sores.
Founders, How Caused, Etc.
The Chest Founder is produced by violent exercise on a full
stomach, and drinking large quantities of cold branch water ;
by the use of mouldy bran, corn, or oats, or by eating large
quantities of green food, such as oats, wheat, peas, etc., while
performing hard labor. The seat of the disease is in the lungs ;
the heart and liver are also considerably enlarged, inasmuch
that there is not room, for them to perform their office with
ease. The liver, lungs, diaphragm, and surrounding parts, are
all covered with large brown spots, and are much inflamed.
There are many that hold that a horse can be foundered
with grain. This is not so. The argument given is that they
have driven horses or have known of cases where the horse was
driven under a shed and fed without watering. This may be
so ; but that is no argument ; for a horse may be driven and
stand where there is a cold blast of wind that would chill a
horse as bad as water. This would create founder as well as
water; anything cold would create contraction; where, on the
contrary, grain would create heat, instead of cold, and heat
would relax; so that argument is worth naught. I will not
pretend to say but that grain would injure a horse when hot.
You might give corn meal and it would bake in the maw, and
64 THE HORSE
there would be no passage ; this would kill, but not founder.
You are well aware that to heat a tire, then place it over the
felly, it is perfectly loose, but when you put on cold water, it
contracts to the felly and strengthens the wheel. So you will
see at once that it is cold that causes founder. Cold contracts
and heat relaxes, and grain would create heat.
Cure. — When the horse is foundered take one and a half or
two gallons of blood from the neck vein ; then give, as a physic
six drachms of Barbadoes aloes, dissolved or in balls. Cover
the horse over ; then commence bathing with as hot water as
you can use. Keep this up for an hour at least. Then stretch
an old pantaloon leg over each of his fore legs, bind it around
the hoof, then fill in with hot boiled oats ; give as a drink sas-
safras tea, made from the root, and give bran mashes, with a
table-spoonful of pulverized rosin. He should have a mash
once a day for three or four days. This will cure him.
But in case of founders of long standing, or even if the hoof
has shrunk to the contraction of the muscle, it will be neces-
sary to treat it somewhat differently. The bleeding should be
omitted, the legs bathed twice a day, and the feet should be
poulticed with flaxseed meal three times a week, at night, or
in day time if he is not at work. If he could run out to a
marshy pasture, it would not be necessary to poultice. But
he must have something to act on the blood. Take of digitalis
four drachms, emetic tartar four drachms, nitre six drachms ;
divide this into two doses, and give one in three days. Between
the days that this is given give bran mashes mixed with sas-
safras tea. This physic may be given once in every three
weeks, with the feet always to be kept moist. It will take three
months to effect a cure. When of long standing, the muscles
of the shoulder sometimes contract, as in sweeney. In this
case a seaton of from nine to fifteen inches must be used, ac-
cording to the contraction.
The Navicular Bone
This is placed at the head of the coffin bone, and at the foot
of the lower pastern, and is shaped like a wedge. Its office is
to protect the coffin-joint at the back part. The frog getting
dry and feverish, would allow the ligaments to be bruised, and
cause lameness — another reason why the foot needs great
care.
Quarter Crack
For this, pare with a sharp knife from the hair down, taking
away the whole back part of the hoof down to the quick ; then
pare the other down thin ; then set your shoes only so far
THE HORSE 65
as the hoof runs. By this means the shoe cannot spring
down upon the heel. The hoof will then grow down firm
and sound.
Heaves — Reasons Why if Is Not in tiie Lungs
First. — If the disease was in the lungs, it would create in-
flammation, and have the same effect as inflammation of the
lungs by cold. The horse would be weak and drooping with-
out appetite, and, really, could not be driven two miles as any
person would drive a horse. But a heavy horse can be driven
from eight to twelve miles within an hour. This is positive
proof that it is not in the lungs.
Second. — Take a heavy horse and turn him out to pasture
forty-eight hours, and he will breathe clear and easy, showing
no signs of the heaves. The grass has not reached the lungs
still it has stopped the hard breathing ; but if you will give the
horse cold water to drink, he will cough. Has the water
touched the lungs ? No ; but it has touched the disease. This
is another reason why it is not in the lungs.
I will tell you where the disease is, and what it is caused by.
1st. A dainty horse is not liable to heaves, but a hearty eater
is liable to this disease — not from the amount of food that he
eats, but from the hoggish way of eating. There are two
pipes leading to the stomach and lungs ; where they meet there
is a throttle valve. A horse on eating coarse food, scratches
his throttle; then, by a hard drive, and warming the horse,
he takes cold in his wound, and becomes a running sore or
canker. By turning the horse to grass, the juice cleanses and
washes the wound ; the grass being cool takes the inflamma-
tion from the disease ; the swelling is gone, and the horse
breathes free and easy as ever. This is positive proof that it is
not in the lungs. Then, by feeding with coarse and dry hay,
it irritates and creates inflammation and causes the horse to
breathe hard again.
Cure. — Take Balsam of Fir and Balsam of Copavia, equal
parts ; add enough calcined magnesia to make into balls.
Give a middle-sized ball, night and morning, for ten days or
two weeks — a ball about the size of the yolk of an egg. This
is a sure cure. I never made a failure in any case. You
should be careful about feeding for two weeks after giving the
medicine. Cut, feed, and wet the hay. A little brown sugar
in his food for a few days will be good.
Lung Fever
This disease always makes its appearance by a chill, the
horse v/ill shake and tremble like a person with the ague.
66 THE HORSE
Whilst the chill is on, take half a pint of fine salt, put in a
bottle of water, shake well, and drench the horse. This will
release him entirely from the chill, and create perspiration,
and he will be quite sick for a few minutes ; but it will drive
the cold entirely out, and he will look bright, and feel entirely
well in a few hours. But if you should not discover him while
the chill is on, it will require a different treatment. If he has
been free from the chill for five or six hours, the symptoms
will be, eyes inflamed, nostrils distended, breath short and
quick and he will stand with his head down ; his pulse from
fifty to one hundred. You will find it under the jaw, just be-
low where they buckle the throat latch. By putting your ear
back of the fore leg you will hear a quick, heavy beating of the
lungs. He will have no disposition to move or eat, but will
drink ; he never lies down. These are sure signs of inflamma-
tion of the lungs.
The causes of inflammation of the lungs are many. It may
be brought on by filthy stables, but is usually by sudden
changes from heat to cold and vice versa. The membrane that
lines the cells of the lungs is very sensitive; there is also an
intimate connection between the lungs and the pores of the
skin ; by stopping the insensible perspiration, a cold and cough
ensue. A horse is driven until a sensible perspiration is
pouring from him, then he is left in a current of air which
closes the pores of the skin, thus arresting the perspiration,
and driving the inflammation which it causes to the lungs.
The majority of cases are very sudden. At first, the pulse is
not much quicker, but the artery is plainly to be felt under
the finger, and of its usual size. The pulse no longer indi-
cates the expansion of the vessel ; in some cases it eludes a
most delicate touch ; the legs are cold and the nostrils ex-
panded; the flanks begin to heave with a quick and hurried
motion, a symptom of pain ; the membrane of the nose is very
red ; he stands with his legs abroad ; his countenance indicates
suffering, and he looks mournfully towards his flanks — he
is unwilling to move — scarcely ever lies down ; if he does, it is
only for a moment from actual fatigue.
The duration of this disease is very uncertain. It will in
some cases destroy in from twelve to twenty hours, and some-
times they will last for weeks. In sudden attacks of this kind,
the lungs are entirely destroyed, resembling one black mass
of blood.
The disease invariably makes its appearance with a chill.
He commences trembling and shaking as if half frozen. At
this stage of disease, the object should be to get up a reaction.
Dissolve half a pint of fine salt, in warm water; shake it well,
THE HORSE 67
and give as a drench ; then clothe him, and in fifteen minutes
he will be wet with perspiration; bathe his legs in warm
water.
But if the fever has commenced, it will require different
treatment ; if it has been on, say six hours, it will be necessary
to bleed, and very severely so. Open as large an orifice in
the vein as possible ; the object is to get control of the blood.
The heart is working very hard to force the blood through
the lungs. Bleed until the pulse is much slower, or flutters ;
then bathe the leg with as hot water as he can b<;ar ; bathe
frequently, to get up circulation in the extremities.
If the attack is a severe one, blister the brisket, and the
sides, as high up as the elbows — a mustard blister, if it will
do ; if not, with the flyblister — four oz. lard, one oz. rosin, and
one oz. flies. It will not do to purge ; there is so much sym-
pathy between the bowels and the lungs, purging would
transfer the inflammation to the bowels. In such a case, you
must use clysters. Take eight oz. Epsom salts, dissolve in
warm gruel, and inject; this will start the bowels, which are
somewhat relaxed. You must now use cooling or sedative
medicines. Take of digitalis one drachm, one and a half of
emetic tartar, and three of nitre ; give three times a day ; this
will have an immediate effect on the heart, lessening the num-
ber of pulsations and producing an intermittent state of the
pulse ; every six or seven beats, there will be a suspension
while two or three could be counted. From this he will amend.
Now reduce the dose to one half, and in a few days, it will not
be necessary to give any medicinal treatment of any kind.
He should now have oatmeal gruel, or flaxseed meal gruel,
they are strengthening. Mashes may be given, or green food,
in small quantities. For inhaling, which is one of the most
essential things to be done, use — digitalis one half ounce, nitre
one ounce, and of balsams, fir and copaiva, two ounces each.
Mix these together with one pint 95 spirits, and add one pint
hot rain water. Cover the horse all over, letting the blankets
reach the ground, so that no air can get under them. Then
hold the mixture under his nose, and at the same time, touch
a hot iron in the compound, and let him inhale the steam or
fumes arising from the mixture. This will relieve the lungs
from fever, drive the inflammation to the surface, and the cure
is positive.
Adhesive Plasters
These plasters should be used over parts that have been
strained, or otherwise weakened, and on deep-seated inflam-
mation of the loins or back sinews. They are always to be ap-
68 THE HORSE
plied warm, when they will adhere for a long time. The fol-
lowing is a good plaster:
Take of Burgundy or common pitch five ounces, of yellow
wax one ounce, of tar six ounces. Melt together. When
cooled to blood heat, add half a drachm of pulvreized cantha-
rides. Stir well together.
When you apply it, warm or melt it over, and rub it well
into the hair upon the sprain; then, while it is yet warm, (for
it should be applied as hot as possible,) spread over it a lint
of tow, well picked; pat down with the hand. This will make
a strong covering, and will remain for months. It will grad-
ually remove deep-seated inflammation, and, by its pressure,
promotes the absorption of any callous or thickening beneath;
at the same time, as a bandage, it gives strength to the parts.
Physicing
There is more injury done in the practice of this than in any
other medical treatment of the horse. The old practice has
been to physic and bleed every spring, and this is necessary
where the horse is really sick. When you change him from
the pasture to the warm stable and dry food, it is also good,
the horse must be prepared for it. Give three or four mashes
before the physic, and, in the majority of cases, they will be
sufficient without it, especially if the bowels are slightly moved
for really the less medicine given the better.
After the physic is given, the horse should have walking
exercise for an hour or two ; but, when it begins to operate, he
should be kept still as possible, or the medicine would be
likely to gripe, and perhaps irritate the intestinal canal, and
cause inflammation. You can give him a small amount of hay
and as much mash as he will eat, and as much water with the
chill off as he chooses to drink; if he will not drink tepid
water, give him about a quart of cold water every hour. When
the purging ceases, give a mash twice a day, until you give
more physic, which should be only once a week.
Barbadoes aloes is the best purgative, being always sure and
safe. The dose, with the horse prepared by bran mashes,
would vary from five to seven drachms, the latter sufficient for
any horse. You can dissolve in warm water, and give as a
drench, or make into a ball with linseed oil, and lay upon
the roots of the tongue, letting go the tongue at the same
time.
The next best purgative is the Croton nut; the fatina or
meal of the nut is used. It should be made into a ball with
linseed oil. Give from a scruple to half a drachm, according
to the state of the subject. It acts more speedily than aloes,
but causes more debility. Linseed oil is uncertain, but safe
THE HORSE 69
in doses from a pound to a pound and a half. It leaves the
horse in very good condition.
Poultices
Fev^ horsemen are aware of the value of these simple prepa-
rations in abating inflammation and in allaying pain, cleans-
ing wounds and causing them to heal. They are the best kinds
of fomentations ; they continue longer and keep the pores
open. In all inflammations of the foot they are very beneficial
and in cases of contraction. A poultice that retains the heat
and moisture longest is the best. They will relieve swellings,
take out the soreness from the pores, and draw out the unna-
utral substances. Linseed meal makes the best poultice; it
will hasten any tumor that is necessary to open, and cleanse
any old one, causing a healthy discharge, where it is offensive.
But in this case — where the ulcer smells badly — add two
ounces of pulverized charcoal or chloride of lime — half an
ounce to one pound of meal. This is good to use in grease or
cracked heel.
A poultice should never be put on tight. Carrots are very
good, mashed fine, after boiling soft. The coal may be used
in this also, where the parts smell offensively.
Wind Galls
These appear oftener on the hind than on the fore legs. It
is a filling in of a mucous fluid in bags or sacks. It is caused
by undue pressure from violent action, and by straining the
tendon. These bags inflame, and fill larger and harder; they
always form about the joint, as so many tendons concentrate
there. Very few horses are perfectly free from them. At first
they may cause lameness ; but, in the majority of cases, they
do not. It has been thought that these bags were filled with
wind, and, in some cases, they have been opened, but this
causes inflammation, and would lame the horse. The way to
treat them is with a powerful blister directly on them, and
then bandage ; after the blister is formed, you must bathe it in
some astringent. A decoction of oak bark is good. By this
treatment the mucous is taken up by the absorbents, and you
will have a cure. You must be very careful in driving for sev-
eral days.
The Action of the Kidneys on the Blood
The blood contains a great quantity of watery fluid, unne-
cessary for the nutriment or repair of the frame. There also
mingles with it matter which would become noxious if allowed
70 THE HORSE
to accumulate too much. The kdineys are actually employed
in separating these fluids, and in carrying off a substance,
which, as an ingredient in the urine, is called the urea, and
consists of what would be poisonous to the animal if remain-
ing. The kidneys are two large glandular bodies placed under
the loins, very much the shape of a kidney bean. The right
kidney is forward under the liver; the left is back by the
stomach and spleen. A large artery runs to each, and carries
about one-sixth part of the whole blood that circulates through
the frame. It divides into numberless little branches, most
complicated, and coiled upon each other. The blood has waste
parts, which, if allowed to remain, would be very injurious;
and these must be separated from it.
The fluid separated varies materially in quantity and compo-
sition even during health, more so in the horse than in any
other animal ; and there is no organ so much under our con-
trol as the kidneys.
Diuretics are the most useful medicines, and, at the same
time, the most injurious if improperly used.
In fevers, and in inflammation generally, for diuretic, use
nitre and digitalis, on account of their sedative effects. They
stimulate the kidnys to separate more than usual the quantity
of water from the blood, and lessen the quantity of the latter.
The object in this is to reduce the circulation, and thus ease
the heart in its labor by calming the excitement. An over-
flow of blood gives quicker action to the heart, and causes the
heating you will notice in lung fever. Diuretics lessen the
blood, and give more perfect control over the heart.
In cases where the legs are swelled, the absorbents set to
work and take up, and pour into the circulation, the fluid
which has been effused into them.
The legs of some horses cannot be rendered fine, nor kept
so, without the use of diuretics ; nor can what is called grease
heel — frequently connected with these swellings, yet cured
without the use of them, always let the horse have plenty of
tepid water — the more the better. You must always be care-
ful not to keep him too warm ; for if he sweats the medicine,
instead of stimulating the kidneys, passes off in perspiration.
Antimony
There are several valuable preparations of this. The black
sulphuret of antimony, a compound of sulphur and antimony
is a good alterative. It is given with more sulphur, and with
nitre, in varying doses, according to the disease, and the slow
and rapid effect to be produced. The dose if you expect to
continue it, should be at the most, four drachms. It should
THE HORSE 71
never be bought in powder, whatever may be the trouble to
pulverize it, for it is frequently adulterated with lead, mag-
nesia forgedust, and arsenic.
Sweeny
The disease is on the side of the shoulder. The horse suf-
fering from it will be quite lame, and will stand with one foot
before the other ; or if it is both shoulders, he will change from
one to the other. The use of the shoulder is sluggish, and in
breaking he will drag the foot, instead of raising it from the
ground. It is caused by a strain or bruise, or by favoring the
foot when diseased in some other part.
The membrane or muscle of the shoulder will shrink much.
Where the horse has not been lame long enough to know how
to ease himself by standing, you can easily tell what the
trouble is by pressing with the thumb upon the muscle, which
may be shrunk but a little, yet when you press the point af-
fected, he will shrink from the touch.
Cure. — The only way this can be cured is by a seaton or
rowell. The object of this is to create inflammation of the
membrane. This seaton in these diseases should be from five
to fifteen inches in length. The best article to use for it is
tarred rigging rope ; this should be turned every day for from
two to three weeks. To insert this you must make an incision
on the top through the skin and the membrane under the
skin ; the same at the bottom. Procure along, thin iron needle
with a large eye, and thread with strong twine, to which
fasten the rowell ; run the needle through the two openings,
drawing the rowell through, and then tie, leaving either inches
slack to tie with. In some cases it will be necessary to wet the
rowell with oil of terpentine or tincture of cantharides — either
will do. Bathe the shoulder every day with as warm water as
he can bear.
If it has the desired effect, it wlil discharge freely. This
will relax and loosen up the membrane, and make the parts
fill out smooth. Keep clean by soft water and soap, so that
the discharge will not remove the hair. If you apply grease
on the hair under the cut, it will prevent the hair from
coming off.
Hide Bound
This is not so much a shrinking of the fatty substance be-
tween the skin and the muscles, as it is an alteration of the
skin itself. It is a drying up of the oily moisture of the skin ;
it thus becomes dry and hard, the scales to the cuticle no
longer yields to the skin, but separating in every direction,
72 THE HORSE
turns the hair and gives it a staring rough look, which is an in-
dication that the horse is out of condition. The vessels of the
skin and bowels, as well as the stomach are deranged. It is a
symptom of disease of the digestive organs.
At first, give a bran mash, and, if it can be had, sassafras
tea. But in severe cases use levigated antimony two drachms
nitre three drachms, sulphur five drachms — give every night
in a mash. The antimony acts on the skin, the sulphur on
the bowels, and the nitre on the urinary organs. Rub him
and give him warm clothing. The skin will soon become loose
and the horse be in condition again.
Cough
Use elecampaine roots, horehound and smartweed with six
red pepper pods to two ounces of ginger root ; boil till all the
strength is extracted, then strain through flannel ; add two
quarts of molasses to every gallon of this extract, and boil all
together for half an hour. Give one gill twice a day. Use an
ox horn, or a crooked tin horn : Raise the head, and draw the
tongue out on the left side ; put the small end of the horn on
the roots of the tongue, and empty the contents ; then let go
the tongue. Swab the throat every night with this mixture,
using a whalebone with linen wrapped on the end. This is a
sure cure for coughs.
Among all diseases to which this noble creature is subject,
none has given more perplexity to farriers than a settled
cough ; indeed, it too often defies all the attempts of art, and
the horse frequently becomes ashtmatical or broken winded.
For Restoring Hair to Golled Spots on Horses
Take one pound red clover blossoms and six quarts of water,
simmer to a thick syrup — then add sufficient barbary tallow to
make a paste. This form is the best ointment for this pur-
pose extant.
For Spavin
Five ounces euphorbium; 2 ounces Spanish flies, (fine;) one
ounce iodine, dissolve with alcohol ; one half ounce red pre-
cipitate ; one ounce corosive sublimate ; one half ounce quick-
silver; six ounces hog's lard; six ounces white turpentine, one
quarter pound verdigris. Melt the lard and the turpentine
together, then while hot add all together. Mix well ; when
cold, fit for use. Rub it in thoroughly on the spavin every
day for three days, then wash clean with soap-suds, omit for
three days, and then repeat for three days again, and so on
until a perfect cure is produced. Should it blister, use it
more cautiously.
THE HORSE 73
Preparation for Blood Spavin
One half pound blood-root, one quart alcohol, two ounces of
tannin and a quarter of a pound of alum. — Mix and let it
stand, shaking it several times a day, till the strength is all in
the alcohol, and bathe the spavin twice a day, rubbing it in
with the hand.
Cure for Heaves
Take smart weed, steep it in boiling water till the strength
is all out ; give one quart every day mixed with bran or shorts
for eight or ten days. Give green or cut up feed, wet with
water during the operation, and it will cure.
Anti-Spasmodics
There are but few of these, and the horse is subject but to
few spasmodic diseases. Opium is the best for general effect
and that exerted particularly on lock jaw the oil of turpentine
as a specific for spasms of the bowels.
Anti-Spasmodic Tincture for Man or Horse
Oil cajeput, one ounce ; oil cloves, one ounce ; oil peppermint,
one ounce; oil anise, one ounce; alcohol one quart. Mix all
together and bottle for use. Dose for a horse, one ounce every
fifteen minutes in a little whisky and hot water, sweeten with
molasses; continue until relieved. Dose for a man, one tea-
spoonful.
Worms in tlie Horse — How Treated
There are several kinds of worms in the intestines, and they
are hurtful only when in large quantities. The long white
worm resembles the common earth worm, and is from six to
ten inches long. They are in the small intestines, and, when
in large numbers, consume much of the nutritive part of the
food, or the mucous of the bowels. Then the smaller and
darker colored worm, called the needle worm, in the large in-
testines. In may cases they descend into the rectum in
large quantiies ; they irritate the fundament and annoy the
horse. This is the trouble when he rubs his tail very much.
The horse shows this disease by falling off in flesh ; his hide
will be tight and the hair looks bad and sets forward; the eye
has a dull look and at times will scringe and shrink down ;
he sometimes passes worms and he cannot be kept in condi-
tion.
Cure. — One ounce of aloes dissolved in warm water and
given as an injection. This will succeed in most of cases. If
74 THE HORSE
not give one pint of neatsfoot oil as a drench, and one pint as
an injection. These will not fail. Give mashes after this for
a few days.
It is well known that horses which have many worms can
never thrive or carry much flesh. If the breeding of these
vermin were prevented, it would add much to the strength of
the horse; and it might be done by giving him a decoction of
bitter herbs, such as wormwood in Spring. It may be boiled
or steeped in hot water, and given two or three times a week.
Or a decoction of wormwood buck-bean, gentian root, and
camomile flowers, of each a large handful, boiled in a sufficient
quantity of water, and given will answer the end.
Anodynes
Of these there is but one in horse practice. Opium is the
only drug that will lull pain. It also acts as an astringent in
doses of one, two or three drachms.
Farcy — Its Treatment
When farcy attacks only one part of the horse, and that
where the blood-vessels are small, it may be easily cured ; but
when the plate vein is affected and turns corded, and especially
the crural veins inside the thigh are in that condition, the
cure is very difficult, and the creature is rarely fit for anything
but the lowest work, after it.
Bathe the legs every night in hot water, into which put a
shovel of hot wood ashes making a weak lay. When he re-
gains his appetite be very careful in feeding. Give him
mashes at least twice a day until he gets his strength; then
give green food if possible.
In very severe cases of farcy, internal medicines will be
necessary. Use of corrosive suglimate, ten grains — increased
to a scruple with two drachms of gentian, and one of ginger;
repeat morning and night, until the ulcers disappear.
Pleurisy — How to be Treated
This is an attack of the membrane covering the lungs, and
the lining of the chest, called the "pleura." The symptoms
are nearly the same as in inflammation of the lungs. The horse
has no disposition to lie down or to move about ; the neck will
be the same as in lung fever ; nostrils distended, and the mem-
brane of the nose very red ; he breathes very hard, with a kind
of grunt ; the legs will be cold, and he will have a hard full
pulse. The blood, however, is not obstructed in its passage
through the lungs. By pressing on his side, he will give
symptoms of pain in a very decided grunt.
THE HORSE 75
Cure.— Blister both sides of the chest, and bathe the legs in
hot water. Or broil bran, and then put an old pantaloon leg
on over this, and fill in around with hot bran; this will get up
a circulation in the extremities. Then give one and a half
drachms emetic tartar, two drachms digitalis, three drachms
nitre. Keep well covered with warm clothing. Use one ounce
of cream tartar in two quarts of tepid water, for a drink. Be
sure to keep the legs warm by hot applications and bandages.
Use these medicines until a cure is affected.
Staggers
There is but little of this disease in the Northern States, but
it exists to a great extent in all the Southern. The food is the
principal cause; there is a great quantity of diseased corn used
and too much of any kind is usually given ; then as much
water as he will drink after it, which generates an unhealthy
gas in the stomach, and causes distention ; the blood is in-
flamed and rushes to the head, and the brain is somewhat in-
flamed. The horse staggers about, or becomes sluggish, and
stands with head down ; the eyes look glassy ; in some cases,
he will rear, and fall back, or run ; he will not eat, but hold
the hay in his mouth, and then drops it; he sweats profusely,
and in a short time will fall and die.
Cure. — First, physic with one ounce of aloes dissolved in
warm water, and given as drench; in one hour, give half an
ounce more of the aloes, and continue this until it operates.
As soon as the first aloes is given blister the head with a strong
fly blister, apply this over the brain, from below the ear nearly
down to the eye ; then bathe the legs with as hot water as you
can use, and bandage them with flannel, keep them as warm
as possible. Then give one drachm of digitalis, one and a half
of emetic tartar, and three drachms of nitre. If it is to be re-
peated, use half of the above amount in three hours. Then if
he has any disposition to eat, give bran mash, with one table
spoonful of pulverized resin; use this for a week as he re-
covers, and feed and work lightly until he regains his strength.
If he is bound up, it may be necessary to use injections, which
are always beneficial.
Warbles, Sitfasts and Saddle Galls \
These are caused in many cases by using a blanket under
the saddle in hot weather, thus scalding the back, and causing
these little lumps to appear ; and when they ulcerate, they are
called "sitfasts." The ulcer has a calloused spot in the center.
When they first make their appearance, rest will remove them;
but if the horse is to be used, you must remove he stuffing
76 THE HORSE
from the pad of the saddle, that the bearing may not come on
the ulcer. Bathe in strong salt water, to remove the enlarge-
ment ; but if it does not effect this, and it is really a sitfast, ap-
ply a blister, this will dissolve it, then apply the resin and
honey ointment to heal it. A horse with high withers, long
back, and broad loins, will make the best saddle nag, and
carry his rider with ease. In hot weather, it is a good practice
to bathe the back with salt water, when the saddle is removed
at noon and night.
For Inflammation of the Lungs In a Horse
First a thorough bleeding, then would give tincture vera-
trum varide, half an ounce ; laudanum, four ounces ; tincture
aconite, quarter of an ounce; shake well together and give a
half tablespoonful every three or four hours, in some water,
well sweetened; and should it not bring down the pulse, the
dose can be gradually increased to a tablespoonful, and as soon
as the horse recovers so as to eat and lie down naturally, would
keep him on hay alone perhaps, with a few carrots or potatoes,
and daily give a bran mash with saltpetre, crude antimony and
sulphur for ten or fifteen days, and you will prevent dropsy of
the chest, which is a sequel of that disease.
For Colic in Horses
Sulphur ether, one pint ; aromatic spirits ammonia, one pint ;
sweet spirits nitre, two pints ; opium, quarter of pound ; asa-
foetida (pure), half pound; camphor, half pound; put irj a
large bottle, let stand fourteen days with frequent shaking
and it will be fit for use. Dose two ounces every two, three,
or four hours until the horse is relieved. Should be given in
water well sweetened.
Another Remedy. — One ounce laudanum ; one ounce sweet
spirits of nitre ; one ounce tincture asafoetida, one tablespoon-
ful capsicum ; from two to three ounces carbonate soda ; half
pint whiskey ; half pint water. Mix and give at one dose, and
if not better in twenty-five minutes, repeat half doses.
Stoppage of Water
This disease in most cases is caused by allowing the horse to
become foul, and what is called a beam thereby forms in the
end of penis. The horse will stand and weave or stretch
out ; then paw and kick his belly with his hind legs ; he may
drop down in harness, and sometimes break out in a profuse
sweat. The only thing to be done in this case is to draw his
yard carefully, and run the finger around the head, where you
THE HORSE 11
will find two or three hard substances ; withdraw them and
wash the sheath clean and grease it with lard.
In some cases it originates from contraction of the muscle of
the loins or inaction of the kidneys. To cure this, bathe the
loins with hot water for half an hour; then bathe with hot
vinegar and pepper-sauce; then cover the loins with three or
four thicknesses of blankets. Then mix of turpentine one
ounce, sweet spirits of nitre two ounces, and give as a drink.
Give a bran mash with one tablespoonful of resin in it every
day for a week and the cure is complete.
Colic or Cholera in Mules
This appears to be a prevalent disease on the plantations, and
is brought on by giving too much food and water at one time,
and then immediately putting him to work. The hard work
retards digestion, and a gas is generated fro the food and
water, which fills the stomach and bowels and also sets the
bots to work. The gas would kill the bot, and to save himself,
he bores into the membrane of the stomach, or tries to get
out at the meat-pipe or by the passage between the stomachs.
They will thus stop up the passage, sometimes, and kill the
animal. But if the passages are open, the gas will pass into
the bowels, and then the disease is colic. He will be much
swollen and distended, breathe short and hard, and will fall
or lay down and get up; ears will lop over on each side, and
eyes look dull and heavy. When the mule is first taken, take
him out of the stable and keep him as still as possible, and
in the majority of cases he will recover without the use of
medicine.
Cure. — If he does not thus get over it, take one ounce laud-
anum ; one ounce ether, two tablespoonfuls soda, two drachms
of peppermint ; put with half pint hot gin, and give as a
drench. Then give injection of one ounce of aloes dissolved
in warm water. This is an effectual cure.
Colts Brought Up by Hond
It is a frequent remark, that cosset colts, are worse to break
than those which were never handled up to two or three years
old. The reason is that they are spoiled by petting them, and
allowing them to do as they please. When playing with colts,
you should always make them do as you wish, and then, if they
are learned to do as you will in playing, they will not be-
come stubborn when you wish them to work. The great ob-
ject in laying the horse down is to make him understand that
we can do as we please with him, and then he sees there is no
use resenting, and we have gained our point. After this, he
78 THE HORSE
obeys without difficulty, and that stubborn, willful feeling is
subdued. You may then teach him anything you please.
Vegetable Caustic
Make a strong lye of hickory or oak ashes, put into an iron
kettle and evaporate to the consistency of thin molasses ; then
remove into a sand bath, and continue the evaporation
to the consistency of honey Keep it in a grand stopped
glass jar.
This caustic is very valuable in fistulas, cancers, scrofulas
and indolent ulcers, particularly where there are sinuses
necrosis (or decay or bone) and in all cases where there is
proud flesh, and also to excite a healthy action of the parts.
It removes fungous flesh without exciting inflammation, and
acts but little except on spongy or soft flesh.
To Cure Warts
Take corrosive sublimate and red precipitate, powdered and
mixed, equal parts, and it will cure the worst wart in the
world on horses or cattle.
If the wart is large and loose, tie a fine, strong cord around
it close to the skin. In a short time the wart will come off,
then apply the powder until the wart is eaten down below the
skin, then wash off and rub on a little sweet oil, and it will
soon heal over. If the wart is dry, scratch it with a pin or
point of a knife until it bleeds, then rub on the powder.
It will make a dry scab; pick off the scab and put on the
powder again until it is all eaten off.
Hoof Medicine
Take Rosin, four ounces; beeswax, five ounces; lard, two
pounds ; melt together, pour it into a pot, add three ounces
turpentine ; two ounces finely pulverized verdigris, one pound
tallow; stir all until it gets cold. This is one of the best
medicines for the hoof ever used. It is good for corks or
bruises of the foot.
To Restore the Appetite
Use of pulverized caraway seeds and bruised raisins, four
ounces each, of ginger and palm oil, two ounces each. Always
use twice as much of the first as of the last, in whatever quantity
you wish to make it. Give a small ball once a day until the
appetite is restored — use mashes at the same time.
Stoppage of the Bowels
Take two quarts of soft fresh horse manure, add one quart of
THE HORSE 79
boiling hot water, then strain through a common cloth strainer
— give one pint as a drench. This will not fail for man or
beast. For a man, dose one tablespoonful every hour until it acts.
Salve for Man or Beast
For all kinds of old sores, use honey and rosin, melted to-
gether; add lard enough to make a paste; when cool, it is fit
for use. There is no salve better than this, its medicinal
qualities are excellent.
To Soften the Feet
Spirits of tar, two ounces ; fish oil, four ounces. This is '
very penetrating, to use where the feet are hard and brittle.
Rub it in with a brush upon the crust and sole every night.
Stifle
This is a strain of the stifle muscles only; the stifle joint
never gets out ; if it should the horse would be worthless. The
stifle shoe should never be used.
Cure. — Take the whites of six eggs, and two ounces of alum,
pulverized ; mix well together, and rub on the stifle muscles ;
dry with a hot iron. One application will probably be
sufficient.
2. — One ounce of sugar lead, one pint of alcohol, mix and
apply three or four times a day, until a cure is affected.
Tonlcf
Where it is necessary to use tonics, gentian is one of the best
vegetables, especially in chronic debility. It is best united
with camomile and ginger. Gentain, four drachms ; camomile,
two drachms ; ginegr, one drachm ; give in balls.
Mercurial Ointment
Of quicksilver, one ounce ; lard, three ounces ; stir until
there are no globules to be seen. This is used sometimes in
preparing sprains and spavins for the regular spavin ointment
rubbed on once a day, for two or three days, before using the
ointment.
For all slints, bruises, and swellings of the limbs, use
thoroughwort and mullen, steeped and applied as hot as pos-
sible, with bandages.
Spavin and Ringbone
Cantharides four ounces, origanum two ounces, sulphate of
C one ounce, Venice turpentine three ounces, murat. tinct.
80 THE HORSE
iron, two ounces, verdigris three ounces, oil vitriol two ounces,
fresh lard one pound. Shave the hair from the part diseased,
and rub the parts with the medicine. You must use your own
judgment in using this medicine ; that is in the length of time
necessary to remove the callus. It must be used every other
day, this will dissolve the ossified substance, and ooze it out.
When you see the lump is diminished enough, then use the
same astringent as I have directed in the other cure, that is,
white oak bark and alum, a quarter pound to a half gallon of
bark juice, boiled down to a strong decoction. Use morning
and evening.
Receipt
The first-named disease comes at the lower part of the gam-
bre joint. It is caused by a strain or bruise — either will cause
it; this opens the pores and causes the substance to concen-
trate at one place, and forms in a gristly or bony substance,
and causes the joint to become stiff and sore. The horse some-
times becomes lame before enlargement is perceivable. In
some cases it will continue to grow for two years ; it will then
become a hard bone. The enlargement at this stage cannot
be removed — you may kill the disease, and kill the lameness.
The great object with this disease is stop the leakage. There
has nothing been used as an astringent, when by removing the
lump without the astringent it leaves the parts loose and open
but if used it closes and stops the pores, then, by letting the
horse stand until it heaves, becomes firm.
Cure. — Four ounces green euphorbium, fine, one ounce
Spanish flies pulverized, four ounces corrosive sublimate, four
ounces red precipitate, six ounces white pine turpentine, four
ounces iodine, six ounces lard, melt the lard and turpentine
together, after it is nearly cold, add the other articles and stir
until it is cold, it is then ready for use.
Then rub the enlargement until it is warm, then rub on the
ointment and let it remain for twenty-four hours, then take
lard and rub upon it until all of the ointment is taken out.
Let it remain one day, then apply the medicine again, keep
this up until the enlargement is gone; then use oak bark as an
astringent to bathe it in, and bandage until well, keeping it
well saturated with the oak bark water.
You may use the same ointment for "thorough-pin," after
it is blistered sufficiently deep, use the oak bark and bandage
until healed. The same for blood spavin and wind puffs, It
will be necessary to use a pad under the bandage in "thorough-
pin," to make it bear evenly.
Keep the horse quiet, while using these medicines and on a
low diet.
THE HORSE 81
To Clean and Oil Harness
First take the harness apart, having each strap and piece by
itself, then wash it in warm soap suds. When cleaned, black
every part with the following dye : One ounce extract logwood,
twelve grains bichromate of potash, both pounded fine, when
put into two quarts of boiling rain water, and stir until all is
dissolved. When cool, it may be used. You can bottle and
keep for future use if you wish. It may be applied with a
shoe-brush, or anything else convenient. When the dye has
struck in, you may oil each part with neats foot oil, applied
with a paint brush, or anything convenient. For second oiling
use one-third castor oil, and two-third neatsfoot oil mixed. A
few hours after, wipe clean with a woolen cloth, which gives
the harness a glossy appearance.
The preparation does not injure the leather or stitching,
makes it soft and pliable and obviates the necessity of oiling
as often as is necessary by the ordinary method.
Strength of Food for Horses
It will, perhaps be interesting to the horseman and farrier
to know how much nutritive matter in contained in the differ-
ent kinds of food given the horse. The quantity cannot be
considered as expressing the actual value of each, because
other circumstances beside the simple quantity of nutriment
seem to influence their effect in supporting the strength and
condition of the horse. Yet many a useful hint may be learned
when the farmer looks over the produce of his soil. The list
is taken from Sir Humphrey Davy's Agricultural Chemistry :
1000 parts of wheat contain 955 parts of nutritive matter.
barley "
oats
950
744
peas
beans "
573
570
potatoes "
red-beets "
230
148
parsnips "
carrots "
99
98
Of the grasses, 1000 parts of the meadow catstail contains,
at the time of seeding, 98 parts of nutritive matter; narrow-
leaved meadow grass in seed, and sweet-scented soft grass in
flower, 95; narrow leaved and flat-stalked meadow grass in
flower, fertile weadow grass in seed, and talefescue in flower
93 ; creeping soft grass in flower, 78 ; common turnips, 42 ;
long-rooted clover, 39; white clover 32; and lucerne 23.
82 THE HORSE
To Cure Cribbing
If caused by irritation of the teeth growing too near together
saw between the upper and lower front teeth. If a simple
habit, arrange the stall so as to make it impossible for him to
crib. This you can do by making the stall plain, with a simple
box manger in front, rather low, but extending the whole
width of the stall. Immediately over the front edge of this
plain box manger, hang a roller of about six or seven inches
in diameter, on pivots, which must be so arranged that it will
turn easily. This roller, extending clear across the manger,
offers the only means within reach on which to crib. The
horse, in cribbing, will press the front teeth firmly upon this
roller, pulling down and towards him, which causes the roller
to turn from under his mouth, and he is defeated in his efforts.
There is no trouble in breaking a young horse of this habit by
this means. A very good way is to feed a horse from a basket
hung loosely by a cord to something overhead. The roller,
properly adjusted, is however, much the best means.
To Prevent Horses Jumpinc;
Have a good firm strap halter made that will fit the horse
nicely, with a wide strap stitched to each side so as to come
over the eyes. Cut holes in this strap over each eye ; over these
eye-holes put fine wire-cloth, supported nicely by wires, so
that it can not possibly touch the eyes. Before a horse at-
tempts jumping over a fence, he will put his head over to
calculate upon the height and distance he is about to jump ; but
by looking through this wire-cloth everything is so magnified
in appearance, that he is disconcerted in his efforts to do so,
and is afraid to jump.
Bofs or Grubs
There are a great many horses lost with this disease. It is
impossible to put anything down a horse to kill a bot, that
would not kill the horse. I will take what the most of farriers
will prescribe for this disease, and kill any horse in three or
four days, and will give you reasons for it. First, a bot never
works when the stomach is in order; as soon as the gasses
of the stomach become deranged, the bot goes to work — and
you can derange the stomach by giving strong medicine. The
bot goes to work in the maw ; after he gets worked in a short
distance, you can put nothing there that he can taste, without
letting loose from the maw; and by giving strong medicine,
anything that has any tendency to burn or hurt the bot, he
would work into the maw to get rid of the medicine; and if
you put any sweets down, the bot could not eat it, because
his head is in.
THE HORSE 83
Now, I will give you a sure and positive cure for this dis-
ease. Take a bucket half full of hot water ; then procure a
quart bottle; set the bottle down in the hot water; then bleed
the horse in the neck vein, and let the blood run into the bot-
tle. When full, drench the horse with this hot blood. The
blood goes to the maw so much hotter than the natural
stomach, that the bot becomes relaxed and lets loose. He then
sucks his fill of this sweet blood, and passes off from the
horse.
Quinsy
The symptoms of this disease are something like inflamma-
tion of the lung — difficulty of breathing, eyes inflamed, nos-
trils distended, breath quick and short ; he stands with his
head down, and has no disposition to move about, and you
will hear a rattling in the throat, caused by an accumulation
of mucous matter in the glotis or throttle, which becomes
swollen so as to be perceivable on the outside of the throat. A
horse with this disease sometimes has an inclination to eat,
but with the lung fever — never. Quinsy is entirely an affec-
tion of the glands of the head and throat distinct from the
lungs.
Cure. — Take one ounce pulverized aloes, to one half ounce
oil of sassafras, mix with a little flour to make it thick, and
then make into balls the size of a black walnut, or the yolk of
an egg — this quantity is for a dose. Open the mouth, pull
out the tongue, put the ball on the roots of the tongue, this is
the easiest way to give the medicine. A thick heavy blister
should be drawn on the throat, and a mustard or fly poultice
to draw the inflammation to the surface. Bathe the limbs with
hot water, and bandage them from the hoof to the knee ; bathe
three or four times a day. When he has a disposition to eat,
give a mash of scalded wheat bran — two quarts twice a day.
Give no hay or grain for three or four days ; then if he breathes
easy you can increase the feed. Keep the horse from the wind
and well blanketed.
Distemper
This is a disease that all colts are liable to ; and, if taken in
time, there will be no danger of swelling in the throat. This
frequetly causes thick wind. By distempers breaking in the
throat, it becomes a callous where the opening in the htorat
was ; then by choking the horse there is not room for the wind,
and he wheezes ; but as soon as he stops, he breathes easy
again. When this disease first makes its appearance, bleed
freely from neck vein ; then give from a half to one pint of
linseed oil, with three drachms of sassafras oil; this thins
and purifies the blood.
»4 THE HORSE
There are two different modes of nicking. I will give the
best and easiest. To make a horse carry an elegant tail is
attended with some uncertainty. It much depends upon the
spirit, disposition, form and vigor of the bone of the tail, etc.
A horse that has good spirits, tolerable shape, and a small
bone in the tail can be made to carry an elegant tail with the
greatest ease, particularly if he carries a tolerable natural
tail; but a dull, leather-headed, flop eared horse, with a re-
markably large bone in the tail, will set you a task although
you break the bone in two or three places. Indeed, there is so
much difference in horses, that a great deal of judgment must
be exercised about the best mode to be adopted for the accom-
plishment of the object in view.
Nothing can more disfigure the appearance of a horse than
to be half nicked. The form of the tail, when this unfortu-
nately happens, depart from the simplicity of nature, and never
attains the elegance of art,
I shall now proceed to the best method of nicking every
description of horse, and which, if well attended to, will
seldom or never fail to succeed. The horse should be con-
fined in stocks fitted for that purpose. The tail then should
be plaited up, and clubbed at the end, turned over a small
stick and securely tied with a string. Being provided with
a knife made for that purpose, turn the tail up within a
direct line with the back ; commence the operation by mak-
in an incision about one inch from the rump close to the
hair, cut the cords in one place on each side, leaving an in-
cision only the size of the knife blade ; be very careful not to
touch the bone with the knife, for if so, it would create in-
flammation, and the hair would come out. Great pains should
be taken to have the weights equal, in order to keep the tail
in a perpendicular direction, and prevent it from turning to
either side during the time of healing, as a horse that carries
his tail to one side, instead of being elegantly nicked, is
ruined.
The horse many times turns a crooked tail before he has
been nicked. To straighten the tail, cut the top cord — the
under cord depresses the tail, and the top one raises it. When
standing, the tail is straight ; you will see at once that it is the
top cord. In cutting the cord to straighten, cut the long cord,
and the short cord will pass by on a lap and grow together,
leaving the tail as strong as ever. Pulling in not required in
straightening the tail.
Scours
This is a disease which requires no description — ^you will
know it when it comes. It is the same as cholera in a man but
THE HORSE 85
is very easy to manage. In a warm climate it is very danger-
ous, as two-thirds of the horses taken with it, die in three or
four days.
Cure. — Boil red or white oak bark to a strong ooze ; put two
tablespoonfuls of cream of tartar, to one quart of this decoc-
tion ; give to drink or as a drench — then use the bark water
for injection. Keep this up until the purging is stopped, then
give a mash of scalded wheat bran twice a day. Give no hay
or grain, or you will cause a relapse. He will have a good ap-
petite, but be very careful for several days, and when you
commence feeding, feed very light. A positive cure.
Blind Staggers
The cause of this disease is too much food and water. In
giving as much as a horse can eat, then give as much water as
he will drink, in driving, the grain becomes swollen and the
stomach distended by undigested food. The distention of the
stomach prevents the passage of the blood, which causes it to
flow to the head, and makes him crazy and blind. Sometimes
he will fall back, at other times run, and is apt to run oflF from
a bluflf or against any object that may be in his way.
Cure. — If the disease is in its worst stages, split the skin of
the forehead and fill with salt and black pepper; then, if you
can get sassafras roots, boil to a tea, give one gallon twice a
day, bleed one gallon from the neck vein. Feed light with
bran mash ; do not use any very hearty food for two weeks.
This is a sure cure.
Weakness Across the Loins
This originates many times from a stoppage of water. It is
not always what would be called gravel, it may be from con-
traction of the muscles across the loins. The more the horse
strains, the more contraction it would cause. He becomes
stifiF, and it is difficult for him to move his hind parts.
Cure. — Give one ounce of pulverized aloes ; one ounce sweet
spirits of nitre, one ounce oil sassafras.. Give this as one dose
after making into small balls. Then bathe the loins with hot
pepper sauce. Blanket the horse well, putting several thick-
nesses over the loins. As soon as he can stand, give two
quarts bran mash, with one tablespoonful of powdered rosin.
Give this for two or three days, and keep the loins as warm as
possible. Also use a liniment, origanum, two ounces, oil of
sassafras two ounces ; spirit of turpentine two ounces, well
mixed together, and bathe the loins twice a day.
8C THE HORSE
Stocked or Swollen Legs
This is caused by sudden heats and colds.
Cure. — Bathe the legs, from the hoof to the knee, in as hot
water as he will bear, and then bandage them; the hot water
opens the pores and thins the blood, that has become thick,
and will not circulate well. Make a strong tea of sassafras
roots, and give it to drink. If not easily procured, give as a
purge one pint of linseed or castor oil, half an ounce of oil of
sassafras. Feed light, give bran mash with one tablespoonful
of cream of tartar for a few nights.
To Cure Horse Distemper
If the glands of the neck are not swollen much, give half of
a three cent paper of smoking tobacco, morning and evening,
in a warm bran mash, and give no hay, but a little fine cut
straw, wet, with bran mixed in. If the glands of the neck are
swollen, then apply a warm poultice made of wheat bran and
hot vinegar, changing as often as the poultice gets dry and be
sure to get down all you can of flaxseed tea, or slippery elm
tea will answer the same purpose ; and let this be his constant
drink. Be cautious to keep the horse from taking colds, in
any way, and keep on a blanket, and thus you will save many
a noble animal. Be cautious never to bleed your horse during
the horse distemper, or physic him any more than what you
will be able to do with the warm bran mash.
Remedy for Bots
Wliich will remove them in a few days : Take of oil of tur-
pentine eight ounces, alcohol one quart; mix and bottle for
use. Dose, five ounces in the horse's feed once a day for eight
days, and this will effectually remove the last vestige of the
bots.
For Inflamed Swellings or Lame Shoulder
Equal parts oil of amber, oil of spike, camphor gum, ether.
To Cure Heoves
Oil tar, 1 oz. ; oil amber 1 oz. Mix and give 15 or 20 drops
in feed daily.
Physic Ball
Barbadoes aloes, 1 lb., syrup buckthorn, 3 ounces, cod liver
THE HORSE 87
oil, 3 ounces, melt the whole and stir till cold. In winter, add
a little water, make into eighteen pills and give one every four
hours, or as much as will move the bowels.
Diuretic Drops
That are reliable for stoppage of water, foul water, or inflam-
mation of the kidneys in all cases.
Take of sweet spirits of nitre 4 ounces, balsam copavia, 2
ounces, oil juniper two ounces, spirits of turpentine two ounces
gum camphor pulverized one ounce, mix all together, and
shake well, bottle and it is ready for use, for man or beast, un-
der all circumstances where a diuretic is required.
Dose. — For a horse one ounce, in half a pint of milk once
in six hours, for a man one teaspoonful in a tablespoonful of
milk once in six hours. Be sure to shake the ingredients up
well before turning out for use.
Colic
This is caused by giving too much feed and water, or by
watering often on the road. The water reduces the juices of
the stomach, disabling digestion and causing the grain to swell
generates a gas in the stomach, which, passing into the bowels
causes the acute pain of Colic. He becomes restive, lies down,
rolls about and gives many signs of pain. Many times the
horse has bots and colic at the same time, the only difference
in the symptoms being that in colic the ears are cold, and in
bots they are warm.
Cure. — Take one and a half ounces of laudanum, one ounce
of ether, two tablespoonfuls soda, in half pint of warm water,
give as a drench. Do not exercise the horse with this disease,
as exercise causes the gases to move from one part of the bowels
to another, each time causing pain, therefore keep him as quiet
as possible.
Fistula and Polevil
These diseases are both of the same nature, caused by a
bruise, and the other part becomes swollen, and a mattery
substance forms in the flesh; and, as the disease becomes seat-
ed, it fills in with pips and roots and increases the inflamma-
tion. When this disease first makes its appearance, it can be
driven away by blistering, and drawing the inflammation to
one point ; but after it forms in roots, or pips, the only way of
getting rid of it is to eat out or kill the roots of the disease.
The most effectual way of doing this is to take of euphor-
bium pulxerized one ounce ; Spanish flies pulverized one half
ounce ; tincture of cantharides one half ounce ; iodine one ounce ;
88 THE HORSE
corrosive sublimate, one ounce; red precipitate, one ounce;
white pine turpentine, one ounce and a half; lard, one ounce
and a half. Melt the lard and turpentine together, and when
it becomes blood warm, as it is cooling off, add the other arti-
cles. Use a large dish to mix them in, for when you put them
together the mixture will foam ; stir until cool, it is then ready
for use. If the sore has not broken, use it on the outside un-
til you draw the disease to the surface. If it has broken,
put the salve in the wound, it will eat out all of the diseased
flesh. When you wish to heal the wound, wash clean with
soap, then use as a salve, powdered rosin and honey, the best
healing salve for horse flesh ever used.
FARMERS AND STOCK OWNERS' DEPARTMENT
Rarey's Directions for Breaking and Training of
Horses. — In training horses you must remember that there are
certain natural laws that govern them. For instance, it is
natural for him to kick whenever he gets badly frightened ; it is
natural for him to escape from whatever he thinks will do him
harm. His faculties of seeing, hearing and smelling, have been
given him to examine everything new that he is brought in con-
tact with. And so long as you present him with nothing that
offends his eyes, nose or ears, you can then handle him at will,
notwithstanding he may be frightened at first, so that in a
short time he will not be afraid of anything he is brought in
contact with. All of the whipping and spurring of horses for
shying, stumbling, etc., is useless and cruel. If he shys, and
you whip him for it, it only adds terror, and makes the object
larger than it would otherwise be ; give him time to examine it
without punishing him. He should never be hit with the whip
under any circumstances, or for anything that he does. As to
smelling oil, there is nothing that assists the trainer to tame
his horse better. It is better to approach a colt with the scent
of honey or cinnamon upon your hand, than the scent of hogs
for horses naturally fear the scent of hogs, and will attempt to
escape from it, while they like the scent of honey, cinnamon,
or salt. To affect a horse with drugs you must give him some
preparation of opium, and while he is under the influence of it
you cannot teach him anything more than a man when he is
intoxicated with liquor. Another thing, you must remember
to treat him kindly, for where you require obedience from any
subject, it is better to have ii rendered from a sense of love
than fear. You should be careful not to chafe the lips of your
THE HORSE 89
colt or hurt his mouth in any way, if you do he will dislike to
have the bridle on. After he is taught to follow you, then put
on the harness, putting your lines through the shaft straps
along the side, and teach him to yield to the reins, turn short
to the right and left, teach him to stand still before he is ever
hitched up ; you then have control over him. If he gets fright-
ened, the lines should be used as a telegraph, to let him know
what you want him to do. No horse is naturally vicious, but
always obeys his trainer as soon as he comprehends what he
would have him do ; you must be firm with him at the same
time, and give him to understand that you are the trainer, and
that he is the horse. The best bits to be used to hold a horse,
to keep his mouth from getting sore, is a straight bar-bit, 4-1/8
inches long between the rings ; this operates on both sides of
the jaw, while the ordinary snaffle forms a clamp and presses
the side of the jaw. The curb or bridoon hurts his under jaw
so that he will stop before he will give to the rein. To throw
a horse, put a rope 12 feet long around his body in a running
noose, pass it down to the right fore foot through a ring in a
spancil, then buckle up the left or near fore foot, take a firm
hold of your rope, lead him around until he is tired, give him
a shove with your shoulder, at the same time drawing up the
right foot which brings him on his knees, hold him steady, and
in a few moments he will lie down. Never attempt to hold
him still, for the more he scuffles the better.
Take your colt into a tight room or pen, and with a long
whip commence snapping at the colt's hind leg, taking care not
to hit above the hocks, stopping immediately when the colt
turns his head towards you ; while his head is tovi^ards you,
approach him with the left hand extended towards him, hold-
ing your whip in the right ready to snap him as soon as he
turns his head from you. In this way you can soon get your
hands upon him. As soon as you have done this, be careful to
caress him for his obedience, and snap him for disobedience.
In this way he will soon learn that he is safest in your presence
with his head towards you, and in a very short time you can-
not keep him from you. Speak kindly and firmly to him all
the time caressing him, calling by name, and saying, "Ho,
boy," or "Ho, Diana," or some familiar word that he will
soon learn.
If a colt is awkward and careless at first, you must bear with
him, remembering that we too, were awkward when young ; al-
lowing him his own way, until by degrees he will come in. If
he is wilful, you must then change your course of treatment,
by confining him in such a way that he is powerless for harm
until he submits. If he is disposed to run, use my pole check
on him ; if to kick, fasten a rope around his under jaw, pass it
90 THE HORSE
through the collar and attach it to his hind feet. In this way
one kick will cure him, as the force of the blow falls on the
jaw. If he should be stubborn, lay him down and confine him
until you subdue him, without punishing him with the
whip.
Colts should be broken without blind-bridles ; after they are
well broke, then you may put on blinds. Bridles without
blinds are the best unless you want to speed your horse, then
it will be necessary to keep him from seeing the whip. Colts
should be well handled and taught to give readily to the rein
before they are hitched up. If you hitch them up the first
thing and they become frightened, then you have no control
over them; but if you teach them to start, stop, and stand at
the word before they are hitched, then you can govern them.
Cruelty to Horses — Besides the cruel punishment inflicted
upon horses by the careless and heartless driver, he is subject-
ed to severe punishment in the winter season, by being com-
pelled to take frozen bits into his mouth in cold weather, tear-
ing the skin from the tongue and the roof of his mouth, pro-
ducing a heavy inflammation in the mouth and throat; he gets
poor, hidebound, and the sympathetic nerves of the head take
up the inflammation, carry it to the head and eyes, frequently
producing blindness, and a hundred other diseases. The whip
should be used as an instrument of pleasure instead of tor-
ture; and your bits should be wound with flannel or leather,
so that no frozen iron will come in contact with his mouth,
lips or tongue.
Rarey's Liniment. Sulphuric ether, 4 ounces ; hartshorn,
4 ounces ; oil of origanum, 4 ounces ; alcohol, 4 ounces ; sweet
oil, 4 ounces. Shake well before using. For sprains on horses
etc., apply by rubbing and cover with a tight flannel bandage.
For headache, rub a little on the temples and apply a bandage
wet with the liniment to the forehead.
Rarey's Wizard Oil. — Oil of origanum, 6 ounces alcohol, 6
ounces, spirits turpentine, 1 ounce ; camphor, 1 ounce. Shake
well before using.
Rarey's Directions for Shoeing Horses. — "There are very
few blacksmiths that ever once think what a complicated piece
of machinery the foot of a horse is, and by one careless blow
they frequently stop the working of this machine. The ma-
jority of smiths, as soon as they pick up a horse's foot, go to
work paring the heel, from the fact that it is the most conven-
ient part of the foot, and thereby destroy the heel and braces
of the foot, causing, in many instances, contracted heels. The
heels of a horse should be well kept up and the toe down. By
lowering the heels you throw the entire weight of your horse
upon the back tendon of the legs, and thereby produce lame-
THE HORSE 91
ness from overtaxing a very important set of tendons. By
keeping up the heel you throw the weight upon the wall of the
foot. In this position you prevent stumbling, clicking, etc.
Next the shoer commences to pare a.way the sole, thins it down
until he can feel it spring with his thumb. Ask him why he
does this, and he gives you no reason, except from custom ;
next comes the bars or braces of the foot, they are smoothed
down ; next in his ruinous course, comes the frogs of the feet,
they are subjected to the same cutting and smoothing process.
All the cutting, paring, and smoothing of the soles, bars, or
frogs is a decided injury to the horse as well as to the owner.
All the corns in the land are produced by this process of paring.
The frogs have been placed in the foot by nature to expand the
wall of the foot, and as soon as you commence to cut it, the
oily substance commences to leak out, it drys up, becomes
hard, losing its oily substances, makes the wall hard and dry,
inducing it to crack. The nerves of the feet are very sensitive
and smiths should be very careful not to prick the foot, as it
requires quite a time to relieve them. The foot i3 a very com-
plicated piece of machinery, and if you keep a horse well shod
and his feet in good condition, you can then generally manage
the balance. The feet suffer from being kept too dry. Horses
that stand on board floors should have their feet wet every day
or there should be a vat five inches deep, five feet long, and
three wide, filled with water and clay, in which each horse can
stand for one hour per week, unless his feet are feverish, then
he should be kept in it one hour per day, or until the fever
subsides. Another source of injury to horses' feet, is the habit
of patronizing cheap blacksmiths. If a man can drive a nail,
he then sets up a sign as a farrier or a veterinary surgeon,
when in fact he knows nothing of the anatomy of the horse's
foot, not having spent any time or money in acquiring the
necessary information, he can afford to shoe a few shillings
cheaper than a well informed man, but the patrons of such
cheap shoeing are generally the sufferers. All horseshoers
should be a well skilled veterinary surgeon, or there should be
a skillful surgeon attached to every shop. Another source of
poor shoeing and injury is the loss of elasticity of the frog, re-
fusing to perform its proper functions ; the heel contracts, the
foot rolls, and you have a sore horse for ten or twelve months,
for it requires this long to relieve a horse's suffering from being
badly shod.
Under the circumstances, the first " thing that touches the
road or the floor of the stall, should be the frog, and the wall
of the foot should be kept cut so as not to prevent it from
touching at every step ; and no man that owns a horse should
ever allow a blacksmith to cut the soles, bars, or frogs of his
92 THE HORSE
horse's feet. Nature has adapted the frogs to all description
of roads, climates, and weather, without being pared. So
many horses have been ruined by this process of paring, that
there are now several establishments in this country, that man-
ufacture India Rubber pads, thinking thereby to supply the
wasted frog and the elasticity of the natural foot The frog is
insensible to pressure, and you may place the whole weight of
your horse on the frog and he will suffer no inconvenience, as
may be seen from shoeing with one of my com shoes ; besides
this is the only reliable way to cure contracted feet ; by throw-
ing the weight upon the frog, you force them up between the
walls ; it acts as a wedge and soon relieves the contracted feet.
Smiths should never have their shoes hot when fitting them
as the application of hot iron extracts the oily substance from
the hoof. The amount of cruel punishment inflicted on horses
by cross grained blacksmiths is another source of poor shoeing.
As soon as the horse does not stand, the smith gets angry, and
commences whipping and jerking the animal, which only adds
terror to it, so that he soon refuses to go to the shop if he can
avoid it; it is natural for horses to dislike to be shod, because
the hammering shocks the nervous system, until they are ac-
customed to it. He should be taught to stand, and his feet
well handled at home, before he is ever brought to the shop by
the owner. You then save the horse pounding, and the smith
an immense amount of labor that he never gets any pay for, for
no man ever thinks of paying anything extra for shoeing a bad
horse. The wall of the foot should never be rasped above the
nail holes, and as little below the clenches as possible; all the
rasping and filing but tends to thin and weaken the wall by
cutting the fibers of the foot. The nails should be counter-
sunk into the shoe, so that there will be no chance for the
clenches to rife. No horse interferes with the heel or toe; it
is always the side of the foot. The habit of turning the inside
of the shoe under causes a number of horses to interfere, that
would not if they were shod straight in the inside. Spread the
heels as wide as possible ; set the outside a little under ; keep
the toes full. For clicking horses, raise the heels high, cut
the toes short. For speedy cuts place your toe corks a quarter
of an inch to the inside of the centre of your shoe; keep the
heels wide apart. For corns, put on a shoe with a prong, for
the main rim, so as to cover the entire frog, pare the wall lower
than the frog,so as his entire weight will be thrown on the frog.
Have the inner cork not quite so sharp as the outer one, so
that if he steps upon the other foot it will not cut it; make the
shoes as light as possible consistent with good service, as they
are ordinarily made just about one-third too heavy."
To Prevent Horses Kicking in the Stall. — Fasten a
THE HORSE 93
short trace chain about 2 feet long, by a strap to each hind foot.
A better way is to have the stalls made wide enough so that
the horse can turn in them easily. Close them with a door or
bars, and turn the animal loose. After a while he will forget
the habit, and stand tied without further trouble.
To Cure Broken Legs. — Instead of summarily shooting
the horse, in the greater number of fractures it is only neces-
sary to partially sling the horse by means of a broad piece of
sail, or other strong cloth placed under the animal's belly,
furnished with two breechings and two breast girths, and by
means of ropes and pulleys attached to a cross beam above, he
is elevated, or lowered, as may be required. By adoption
of this plan every facility is allowed for the satisfactory treat-
ment of fractures.
Lampas. — This consists in a swelling of the first bar of the
upper palate. It is cured by rubbing the swelling two or three
times a day with one-half ounce of alum and the same quan-
tity of double refined sugar mixed with a little honey.
Gravel, — Steep one-half pound of hops in a quart of water
and give it as hot as the horse can stand it.
Halter Pulling. — A new way to prevent horses pulling at
the halter is to put a very small rope under the horse's tail
bringing the ends forward, crossing them on the back, and ty-
ing them on the breast. Put the halter strap through the ring,
and tie the rope in front of the horse. When the horse pulls,
he will, of course, find himself in rather an uncomfortbale po-
sition, and discontinue the effort to free himself.
Hide Bound. — To recruit a hide bound horse, give nitrate
potassa (or saltpetre) 4 ounces, crude antimony 1 ounce, sul-
phur 3 ounces. Nirate of potassa and antimony should be
finely pulverized, then add the sulphur, and mix the whole
well together. Dose, a tablespoonful of this mixture in a bran
mash daily.
To Prevent Horses From Jumping. — Pass a good stout
surcingle around his body; put on his halter, and have the
halter strap long enough to go from his head, between his fore
legs, then through the surcingle, and back to one of his hind
legs. Procure a thill strap, and buckle around the leg between
the foot and joint, fasten the halter strap in this — shorter or
longer, as the obstinacy of the case may require. It is also
useful to keep colts from running where there is likely to be
danger from the result; if the thill strap should cause any
soreness on the leg it may be wound with a woolen cloth,
and it would be well to change it from one leg to another
occasionally.
Big Leg. — To cure, use the "Blistering Liniment" with
regularity every third hour until it blisters. In three days
94 THE HORSE
wash the leg with linseed oil. In six days wash it clean with
soap and water. Repeat every six days until the swelling goes
dov/n. If there should be any callous left, apply spavin oint-
ment.
Sore Breasts. — This generally occurs in the spring, at the
commencement of plowing. At times the fault is in having
poor old collars, and not having the collar well fitted to the
horse's breast ; and often, the hames are either too tight or too
loose. There is a great difference in horses about getting
chafed or galled, and at times it has seemed to be impossible
to keep their breasts from getting sore; but a thorough appli-
cation of strong alum water or white oak bark to the breasts of
the animal, three days before going to work, toughen them so
that they will not get sore. Another excellent plan is, when
you let your team rest for a few moments during work, to raise
the collar and pull it a little forward, and rub the breast thor-
oughly with your naked hand.
The Check Rein on Horses. — We desire to register an
earnest protest against this barbarous appendage to horses*
harness. It retards the horse's progress in every position both
while he is at work, and while travelling on a journey. It is
both useless and cruel in every sense of the word, without any
compensating qualities to recommend it. Mr. Angell, of the
"Boston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,"
who has travelled over a great part of Europe in the interests
of humanity to our dumb servants, says, that the use of the
check rein is confined to America alone, being deservedly dis-
carded everywhere both in England and on the Continent.
The reason why it was discarded, was very graphically ex-
plained by an extensive horse owner in Glasgow, as he re-
marked, in conversation with Mr. Angell, that "We canna get
the wark oot'o, the horse wi' the check rein." To check
rein a horse, is equivalent to trussing a man's head backwards
towards his back or heels, and compelling him, while bound in
this position, to do duty with a loaded wheelbarrow.
Feeding Horses on the Road. — Many persons, in travel-
ing, feed their horses too much, and too often, continually
stuffing them, and not allowing them to rest and digest their
food; of course, they suffer from over-fullness, and carrying
unnecesary weight. Horses should be well fed in the evening,
and must not be stuffed too full in the morning, and the trav-
eling should be moderate on starting when the horse has a
full stomach. If a horse starts in good condition, he can go
twenty or twenty-five miles without feeding. The provender
required by horses while traveling or engaged in ordinary
farm work, per day, may be stated thus: Hay 20 pounds, oats
three gallons, water four gallons. Muddy water is the best for
THE HORSE 95
horses. Beeves require twenty pounds of hay and six gallons
of water per day. Quantity will vary in every case according
to the size, condition, breed, etc., together with the kind of
work in which they are employed.
Itch. — To cure a horse affected with itch, first reduce his
daily allowance of food, putting him on a low diet, and then
give him a teaspoonful of a mixture of equal parts of sulphur
and antimony, and at the end of a week or ten days the sores
will have disappeared and the horse will be covered with a
fine coat of new hair.
Urine Stoppage. — Symptoms ; Frequent attempts to uri-
nate, looking around at his sides, lying down, rolling and
stretching. To cure, take half pound of hops, three drachms
oil of camphor, grind and mix. Make this into three pills.
Give one every day with a drench made of a small spoonful of
saltpetre and two ounces of water. This will cure as a gen-
eral thing.
To Cure Balky Horses. — One method to cure a balky
horse is to take him from the carriage, whirl him rapidly
around till he is giddy. It requires two men to accomplish
this, one at the horse's tail. Don't let him step out. Hold
him to the smallest possible circle. One dose will cure him,
two doses are final with the worst horse that ever refused to
stir. Another plan is to fill his mouth with gravel from the
road, and he will at once go, the philosophy of this being that
it gives him something else to think about.
Dr. Cole's King of Oils. — One ounce green copperas; two
ounces white vitriol ; two ounces common salt ; two ounces lin-
seed oil ; eight ounces molasses. Boil over a slow fire fifteen
minutes in a pint of urine; when almost cold, add one ounce
of oil of vitriol and four ounces spirits of turpentine. Apply
to wounds with a feather. A very powerful linament.
Sloan's Horse Liniment. — Four ounces resin; four ounces
bees-wax ; lard, eight ounces ; honey, two ounces. Mix slowly
and gently, bring to a boil ; then add less than one pint spirits
of turpentine; then remove and stir till cool. Unsurpassed for
horse flesh, cracked hoofs, human flesh, etc.
Mexican Mustang Liniment. — Petroleum, olive oil, and
carbonate of ammonia, each, equal parts, and mix.
Merchant's Gargling Oil. — Take two and a half gallons
linseed oil ; two and a half gallons spirits turpentine ; one gal-
lon western petroleum ; eight ounces liquor potass. ; sap green,
one ounce; mix all together, and it is ready for use.
Arabian Condition Powders. — Ground ginger, one pound;
sulphuret of antimony, one pound; powdered sulphur, one
pound; saltpetre, one pound. Mix all together, and adminis-
96 THE HORSE
ter in a mash, in such quantities as may be required. The
best condition powder in existence.
Blistering Liniment. — One part Spanish flies, finely
powdered; three of lard, and one of yellow resin. Mix the
lard and resin together, and add the flies when the other in-
gredients begin to cool. To render it more active, add one
pint of spirits of turpentine.
Medicated Food for Horses and Cattle. — Take linseed
cake and pulverize or grind it up in the shape of meal, and to
every fifty pounds of this ingredient add ten pounds Indian
meal ; two pounds sulphuret of antimony ; two pounds ground
ginger, one and three quarter pounds saltpetre, and two
pounds powdered sulphur. Mix the whole thoroughly to-
gether, put in neat boxes or packages for sale or otherwise as
desired, and you will have an article equal in value to Thorley's
Food, or almost any other preparation that can be got up for
the purpsoe of fattening stock or curing disease in every case
when food or medicine can be of any use whatever. This
article can be fed in any desired quantity, beginning with a
few tablespoonfuls at a time, for a horse, mixing it with his
grain, and in the same proportion to smaller animals, repeating
the dose and increasing the quantity as the case may seem to
require.
Lotion jor Mange. — Boil two ounces toacco in one quart
water; strain; add sulphur and soft soap, each two ounces.
For Strains and Swellings.— Strong vinegar saturated
with common salt, used warm, is good for strains and reducing
swellings. One ounce of white vitriol, one ounce of green
copperas, two teaspoonfuls of gunpowder, all pulverized to-
gether, and dissolved in one quart of soft water, and used cold,
rubbing in thoroughly, is one of the best applications known
for reducing swellings.
HooF-BouND Wash. — Spirits turpentine four ounces, tar
four ounces, whale oil, eight ounces. Mix and apply to the
hoofs often.
To Toughen Hoofs.— Wash them frequently in strong
brine, and turn brine upon the bottoms and soak a few minutes
each time.
Scratches. — Cut oflF the hair close, and wash the legs in
strong soap-suds or urine, or wash with warm vinegar sat-
urated with salt, and afterwards dress over with a small
quantity of hog's lard.
Cough. — Quit feeding musty hay, and feed roots and laxa-
tive food. Sprinkle human urine on his fodder, or cut up
'edar boughs and mix with his grain, or boil a small quantity
of flax-seed, and mix it in a mash of scalded bran, adding a
few ounces of sugar, molasses, or honey. Administer I'^ke-
THE HORSE 97
warm. If there should be any appearance of heaves, put a
spoonful of ground ginger once per day in his provender, and
allow him to drink freely of lime water.
Split or Broken Hoof. — Let the blacksmith bore two holes
on each side of the crack or split ; pass long nails through the
holes and clinch tight. After anointing with the hoof-bound
liquid, it will soon grow together.
Colic Cure. — Bleed freely at the horse's mouth; then take
one half pound raw cotton, wrap it around a coal of fire, so as
to exclude the air, when it begins to smoke, hold it under his
nose till he becomes easy.
To Cure Distemper. — Take one and a quarter gallons of
blood from the neck vein ; then administer sassafras oil one and
a half ounces. Cure speedy and certain.
Founder Cured in Twenty-four Hours. — Boil or steam
stout oat-straw for half an hour, then wrap it around the
horse's leg quite hot, cover up with wet woolen rags to keep in
the steam ; in six hours renew the application, take one gallon
of blood from the neck vein, and give one quart linseed oil.
He may be worked next day.
Cure for Staggers. — Give a mess twice a week composed
of bran, 1 gallon ; sulphur, 1 tablespoonful ; saltpetre, 1 spoon-
ful; boiling sassafras tea, one quart; asafcetida, 11-8 ounces.
Keep the horse from cold water for a half day afterwards.
Ring-bone and Spavin Cure. — Venice turpentine and Span-
ish flies, of each 2 ounces ; cuphorbium and aqua-ammonia, of
each 1 ounce ; red precipitate, one-half ounce ; corrosive sub-
limate, one-quarter ounce ; lard, one and one-half pounds.
Pulverize all, and put into the lard; simmer slowly over coals,
not scorching or burning ; and pour off, free of sediment. For
ring-bones, cut off the hair, and rub the ointment well into the
lumps once in forty-eight hours. For spavins, once in twenty-
four hours for three mornings. Wash well previous to each
application with suds, rubbing over the place with a smooth
stick, to squeeze out a thick, yellow matter. This has removed
very large ring-bones.
Cure for Bone Spavins — $300 Recipe. — Corrosive subli-
mate, quicksilver, and iodine, of each 1 ounce. Rub the quick-
silver and iodine together; then add the sublimate, and lastly
the lard, rubbing them thoroughly. Shave off the hair the site
of the bone enlargement; grease all around it, but not where
the hair is shaved off, this prevents the action of the medicine,
except on the spavin. Then rub in as much of the paste as will
lie on a three cent piece, each morning, for three or four morn-
ings. In from seven to eight days, the whole spavin will come
out; then wash the wound with suds for an hour or so, to re-
move the poisonous effects of the paste ; afterwards heal up the
98 THE HORSE
sore with any good healing salve, or Sloan's Horse Ointment
as per recipe above, keeping the sore covered while it is
healing up.
Another Very Valuable Recipe for Ring-bone. — Pulver-
ized catharides, oils of spike, origanum, amber, cedar, Barba-
does, tar, and British oil, of each 2 ounces ; oil of wormwood, 1
ounce ; spirits turpentine, 4 ounces ; common potash, one-half
ounce; nitric acid, 6 ounces; sulphuric acid, 4 ounces; lard, 3
pounds. Melt the lard, "nd slowly add the acids; stir well,
and add the other articles, stirring until cold, clip off the hair,
and apply by rubbmg and heating in. In about three days,
or when it is done running, wash off with soap-suds, and apply
again. In old cases, it may take three or four weeks ; but, in
recent cases, two or three applications have cured.
Splint and Spavin Liniment. — Oil of origanum, 6 ounces ;
gum camphor, 2 ounces; mercurial ointment, 2 ounces; iodine
ointment, 1 ounce; melt by putting all into a wide-mouthed
bottle, and setting it in a kettle of hot water. Apply it to bone
spavins or splints, twice daily, for four or five days, and a cure
is guaranteed.
Poll Evil and Fistula. — Common potash dissolved in one-
half pint of water, 1 pound; add one-half ounce belladonna
extract, and one ounce gum arabic dissolved in a little water;
work all into a paste with wheat flour, and bottle up tight.
Directions : Wash the sores well with Castile soap suds ; then
apply tallow all around them. Next, press the above paste to
the bottom of all orifices; repeat every two days till the
callous fibrous base around the poll evil or fistula is completely
destroyed; put a piece of oil-cloth over the sores, and after-
wards heal up with Sloan's Horse Ointment.
To Tame Horses. — Take finely grated horse castor, oils of
rhodium and cumin ; keep them in separate bottles well corked
put some of the oil of cumin on your hand, and approach the
horse on the windy side. He will then move toward you.
Then rub some of the cumin on his nose, give him a little of
the castor on anything he likes, and get eight or ten drops oil
of rhodium on his tongue. You can then get him to do any-
thing you like. Be kind and attentive to the animal, and your
control is certain.
Best Remedy for Heaves. — Balsam of fir and balsam of co-
paiba 4 ounces, each, and mix with calcined magnesia sufl5-
ciently thick to make it into balls; and give a middling sized
ball night and morning for a week or ten days.
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